Seorang budak belian yang mempunyai kedudukan terhormat dalam rentang peradaban manusia adalah Lukman al-Hakim. Dia bukan malaikat bukan pula Nabi.
Namun, namanya terekam dalam Alquran, bahkan menjadi nama sebuah surah. Sampai-sampai Nabi pun menegaskan, ada tiga orang berkulit hitam yang akan menjadi pemimpin penghuni surga.
Salah satunya adalah Lukman al-Hakim. Banyak tamsil berisi pelajaran dari Lukman. Di antaranya pesan agar jangan takabur.
Ucapan Lukman kepada anaknya, “Dan janganlah berjalan di muka bumi dengan congkak. Allah tidak menyukai orang yang sombong dan membanggakan diri.” (Lukman: 18).
Takabur sering didefinisikan dengan rasa kagum terhadap diri, sikap suka membangga-banggakan, membesar-besarkan, dan membusungkan dada.
Lantaran kagum pada potensi dirinya, akibatnya membuahkan sikap arogan, pongah, sombong, dan angkuh terhadap orang lain. Hanya dialah pemilik superioritas dan tak ada seorang pun yang bisa menandinginya.
Ar-Razi berujar, “Seseorang yang menyombongkan kudanya tidak mau menukarnya dengan kuda lain yang lebih kencang larinya sebab dia berpandangan tak ada kuda lain yang mungkin berlari lebih cepat dari kuda miliknya.”
Mutakabbir (orang yang takabur) percaya dialah satu-satunya pemilik kebenaran, karenanya tak ada kebenaran lain di luar dirinya.
Take and give tak masuk dalam kamus kehidupan orang-orang takabur. Dia bebal terhadap inovasi, saran, dan kritik orang lain. Nabi bersabda, “Sesungguhnya takabur adalah mencampakkan kebenaran dan meremehkan manusia.’’ (HR Ath-Thabrani).
Takabur tidak hanya berbahaya terhadap orang lain tetapi juga terhadap dirinya sendiri. Dia hanya tahu kelemahan orang lain, sedang boroknya sendiri tak ia sadari. Dia menutup mata rapat-rapat akan kemajuan orang lain.
Maka petaka bagi sebuah bangsa yang pemimpinnya dihinggapi penyakit takabur karena tak akan ada alih ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi, sehingga ia terus berkubang dalam status quo-nya dan tersisih dari percaturan dunia internasional.
Karena si takabur berkeinginan memperoleh puja-puji tetapi sesungguhnya ia menuju ambang degradasi. Posisinya justru makin terpuruk.
Sufyan ats-Tsauri berucap, “Sesungguhnya kemaksiatan yang tumbuh dari nafsu mempunyai harapan untuk memperoleh ampunan namun setiap kemaksiatan yang lahir karena takabur, tak ada ampun baginya. Karena kemaksiatan iblis itu berawal dari takabur (dia menduga dirinya lebih baik dari Adam), sedang dosa Adam berawal dari nafsu (keinginana untuk mengecap buah pohon terlarang).”
Contoh paling gamblang dari sosok takabur adalah Firaun yang karam ditelan lautan. Dia tak hanya sombong dan mengingkari ayat-ayat Tuhan tetapi juga begitu berani mengaku dirinya sebagai Tuhan.
Karena itu, belajarlah dari bumi, yang meski berjibun makhuk mengeruk pelbagai karunia darinya namun ia tetap berada di bawah.
Jalaludin Rumi, sufi besar Persia abad ke-13 berucap, “Sebuah pohon yang sarat buah-buahan, cabang-cabangnya merunduk ke bumi. Tetapi kemudian pohon itu mengangkat kepalanya ke langit, dapatkah kita berharap memetik dan menikmati buahnya?’’
Sumber: republika.co,.id
Arrogance demands constant apprehension. Over an extended period of time, this causes tension and stress on the human body. Concerns such as over making a mistake, being subject to criticism or humiliation, losing prestige, earning the approval of others, or losing things for which one is proud, puts man under extreme pressure and demand constant attention of him. This is just the exact condition for stress to result. Hence, the facial expressions and the moods of an arrogant person vary greatly from that of a modest one.
An arrogant person, who leads his entire life under undue stress, actually causes great harm to his body. This, however, he often fails to understand. Lost in the pursuit of being seen as superior puts him under great pressure, the traces of which it is possible to discern in his physical body.
The distress the arrogant feel internally manifests itself physically. Their hair, for instance, becomes dull and slows its growth. Their skin thickens, becomes hard and loses its pliability. The tension in their muscles become apparent. They look old for their age, and wrinkles begin to appear. Their mouth dries. Their eyes lose their vitality and become dull. Under the influence of arrogance, masculine qualities appear in women; their skin thickens, they become hairy and veiny, and their hands bony. Their skin turns to dark. Any positive physical aspects in such an arrogant person do not help to counter his or her ultimate lack of appeal.
Despite any physical charm, a “deficiency,” as a consequence of his pride and lack of wisdom, pervades an arrogant person’s body. Ironically, a modest and sincere believer has a positive effect on people, though he may lack physical beauty.
On the other hand, an arrogant person is impaired in speech, failing to speak fluently or sincerely. His reasoning is flawed. Instead of speaking candidly or purposefully, he speaks boastfully, so as to cover his flaws, or to earn the acclaim of others. This is why every sentence he utters is clearly lacking in wisdom, and thus, makes known his insincerity. Especially, when his mistakes are made known, or when he is given advice he dislikes, the features mentioned above become even more obvious.
Internal organs are also vulnerable to the negative effects of arrogance. As in the case of cigarettes and alcohol, the negative effects of stress, as a consequence of arrogance, become apparent over an extended period of time. Specialists have also linked many disorders to stress. The most observable consequences of stress are stomach aches, gastritis, and other disorders of digestive system.
We need to remember that all these effects mentioned above can be observed only by an attentive eye. People having these traits may deny the existence of these symptoms or explain them away. Yet, a comparison between a believer, who is submissive to Allah, and an arrogant person, would make these physical and mental differences apparent. As one grows old, the differences become ever more apparent. Thus, an arrogant person causes the most damage to himself. Believers, on the other hand, lead a joyful and peaceful life, since they put their trust in Allah, and believe in the reality of fate. Of course, signs of aging will appear on them as well, yet, not to the extent of the harm of stress and the gloomy temperament of the arrogant. In this way, believers lead a happy life, both in this world and beyond…