Humility in Islam

Humility is one of the quietest qualities a believer can carry, and one of the most rewarded. It does not announce itself. It shows in the way a person walks through a crowd, in the volume of his voice, in how he answers someone who speaks to him rudely, and in how he behaves when he has power over others or need before them. A humble person is not someone who thinks badly of himself; he is someone who knows his place before Allah, and because of that he can afford to be gentle, low, and unassuming before people.

The promise attached to this quality turns the world’s logic upside down. People often fear that lowering themselves will cost them standing — that if they walk softly, speak softly, and forgive quickly, others will think less of them. The Prophet ﷺ taught the opposite. Abu Huraira reported that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said:

“Charity does not decrease wealth, no one forgives another except that Allah increases his honor, and no one humbles himself for the sake of Allah except that Allah raises his status.” (Sahih Muslim 2588 — Sahih)

This article gathers what the Quran and Sahih hadith actually say about humility: the raising that Allah promises to the one who lowers himself for His sake, the humble walk of the servants of the Most Merciful, Luqman’s counsel about the walk and the voice, and the portrait of character that the Prophet ﷺ drew in one of his sermons — the people of Paradise on one side, and the traits that lead away from it on the other.

1. Raised by Allah: The Promise Behind Humility

The narration above carries three clauses, and humility is taught inside the company of the other two. Charity, the Prophet ﷺ said, does not decrease wealth — giving away what you own does not make you poorer in the way people fear. Forgiveness does not decrease honour — the one who forgives another is not shamed by it; Allah increases his honour instead. And the third clause completes the pattern: humility does not decrease standing. The one who humbles himself for the sake of Allah is raised by Allah.

Notice the direction of each clause. In all three, something that looks like loss is answered by Allah with gain. The giver fears his wealth will shrink; it does not. The forgiver fears his honour will shrink; it grows. The humble man fears his status will shrink; Allah raises it. The measure of these things, the hadith teaches, is not in the eyes of onlookers but with Allah, and He repays lowliness chosen for His sake with elevation.

Notice, too, the condition carried in the words themselves: “for the sake of Allah.” The humility that is raised is not performance — not a show of meekness put on to win praise, which would really be pride wearing a costume. It is lowliness adopted because Allah loves it and commands it: the believer lowers himself before his Lord in worship, beginning with the return to Him described in our guide to repentance (tawbah) in Islam, and that same lowliness then softens the way he moves among people. Whoever humbles himself in that spirit has the Prophet’s word that Allah will raise his status — in this world, in the next, or in both, as Allah wills.

2. The Servants of the Most Merciful Walk Humbly

If the hadith gives humility its promise, the Quran gives it its portrait. When Allah describes His devoted servants, the very first thing He mentions about them is the way they walk:

“The servants of the RaHmān (the All-Merciful, Allah) are those who walk on the earth humbly, and when the ignorant people speak to them, they reply peacefully,” (Quran 25:63)

They walk on the earth humbly. Not dragging themselves in shame, and not strutting in self-importance — they move through the world as servants, aware of whose earth it is and whose servants they are. The gait of a person often betrays what is in his heart before his words do; pride swells the chest and stiffens the stride, while a heart that knows Allah walks at ease, unhurried to impress anyone.

The verse then joins the walk to the tongue. When ignorant people speak to these servants — roughly, mockingly, or in provocation — they reply peacefully. Humility is tested most sharply not in quiet moments but in rude ones. Anyone can be gentle when treated gently. The servant of the Most Merciful keeps his peace when addressed with ignorance: he does not answer arrogance with arrogance or insult with insult, but responds with words of peace and moves on. This is humility under pressure, and walking humbly among people in this way lies close to the heart of true brotherhood in Islam, where no believer places himself above his brother.

3. Luqman’s Counsel: A Moderate Walk and a Lowered Voice

The Quran preserves the advice that Luqman gave his son, and among its closing counsels are two instructions about presence — how a person carries his body and his voice among people:

“and be moderate in your walk, and lower your voice. Surely, the ugliest of voices is the voice of the donkeys.”” (Quran 31:19)

Be moderate in your walk: neither the swagger of the self-admiring nor the creep of the timid, but a balanced, purposeful stride — the same humble walking that Allah praised in His servants. And lower your voice: shouting is not strength, and a raised voice is not a raised argument. Allah draws the comparison Himself — the ugliest of voices is the braying of donkeys, loud without meaning or beauty. The verse teaches a son, and through him every reader, that dignity is quiet.

There is tenderness in noticing where this counsel sits. It is a father’s advice to his child, preserved in the Book of Allah for every generation. Humility, in the Quran’s own telling, is something taught at home, modelled before it is lectured, and carried in small daily things — a walk, a voice — long before it is tested in great ones. A person who masters his stride and his volume has begun to master the self that pride wants to inflate.

4. The Sermon’s Portrait: The People of Paradise

The fullest character portrait in this article comes from a sermon the Prophet ﷺ delivered, reported by ‘Iyad b. Himar. He began by announcing that what he was teaching came from his Lord:

“Behold, my Lord commanded me that I should teach you which you do not know and which He has taught me today.” (Sahih Muslim 2865a — Sahih)

In that sermon he described the people of Paradise as three. Read the description slowly, because each of the three is a study in power or need carried without arrogance:

“The inmates of Paradise are three: One who wields authority and is just and fair, one who Is truthful and has been endowed with power to do good deeds. And the person who is merciful and kind hearted towards his relatives and to every pious Muslim, and one who does not stretch his hand in spite of having a large family to support.” (Sahih Muslim 2865a — Sahih)

The first is a person with authority — the very position that tempts men to pride — yet he is just and fair. Power did not lift him above people; it made him careful with them. The second is a person of truthfulness, enabled by Allah to do good. The third joins two kinds of lowliness in one description: a person merciful and kind-hearted towards his relatives and to every pious Muslim — softness of heart towards family and believers alike, the spirit described in our article on kindness to family in Islam — and, alongside that mercy, a person who does not stretch out his hand in begging even though he has a large family to support.

That last figure deserves a pause. Here is a man with every excuse to ask, carrying heavy responsibility, yet he restrains his hand and bears his need with dignity before Allah rather than displaying it before people. Humility is not only for the powerful learning to be fair; it is also for the needy learning to be patient and self-restrained, guarding their honour while trusting their Lord. Between the just ruler at one end and the patient provider at the other, the sermon leaves no station of life outside humility’s reach.

5. The Traits the Sermon Warns Against

The same sermon then turns to the opposite portrait, and its warning is part of humility’s teaching, because these are the traits of hearts that have lost their lowliness:

“The inmates of Hell are five: the weak who lack power to (avoid evil), the (carefree) who pursue (everything irrespective of the fact that it is good or evil) and who do not have any care for their family or for their wealth. And those dishonest whose greed cannot be concealed even in the case of minor things. And the third. who betray you. morning and evening, in regard to your family and your property.” (Sahih Muslim 2865a — Sahih)

“He also made a mention of the miser and the liar and those who are in the habit of abusing people and using obscene and foul language.” (Sahih Muslim 2865a — Sahih)

Look at what the sermon gathers here: carelessness about family and wealth, dishonesty driven by greed that cannot even pass over minor things, betrayal practised morning and evening against those who trusted a person with their households and property, miserliness, lying, and a tongue given to abuse and foul language. These are not the sins of the lowly-hearted. Greed that stoops to petty dishonesty, betrayal of trust, and contempt poured out in obscene speech are the fruits of a self that serves only itself — pride turned predatory. The company a person keeps shapes exactly these traits, which is why the choice of choosing righteous friends matters so much: friends either school the heart in honesty and restraint or train it in greed and loose talk.

Humility’s side of the ledger is the mirror image: a person who cares for his family and his wealth, guards trusts, speaks truth, holds his tongue from abuse, and keeps his hand from greed. The sermon sets the two portraits side by side so the believer can examine himself honestly — and turn back wherever he finds the wrong likeness.

6. Practising Humility Day by Day

Humility is learned in motions small enough to repeat every day, and the texts above name most of them. Walk moderately: leave the swagger and the strut, and move as a servant on his Master’s earth. Lower your voice: dignity is quiet, and the verse’s comparison with the donkey’s braying is meant to sting a believer into softness of speech. Answer provocation peacefully: when ignorant speech comes at you, let “peacefully” be your reply, as the servants of the Most Merciful do.

Forgive, and do not fear for your honour: the Prophet ﷺ tied forgiveness directly to increased honour with Allah, so let the offence go rather than clutching at pride. Give in charity, and do not fear for your wealth: the same narration promises that charity does not decrease it. If you hold any authority — over a household, a team, a classroom — wield it justly and fairly, for that is the first of the sermon’s three. Be merciful and kind-hearted to relatives and to every believer you meet. And if you are the one in need, carry it with the dignity of the sermon’s third figure: restrain the hand where you can, work where you can, and place your asking before Allah first.

It helps to turn these texts into a short self-examination at the end of the day. How did I walk among people today — moderately, or with a strut I would be ashamed of before Allah? How did I use my voice — lowered, or raised to win? When someone spoke to me ignorantly, did I reply peacefully, or did I hand back the same roughness? Whom could I have forgiven, and did I let the offence go or nurse it for pride’s sake? Did I give, though I feared decrease? A few honest questions like these, asked nightly, keep the heart travelling in humility’s direction.

Above all, meet every raising with gratitude, because the raised status of the humble is a gift and not an achievement; remembering that keeps the heart low even as Allah lifts it, and our guide to gratitude (shukr) in Islam explores that response further. Humility, in the end, is a direction of the heart: always downward before people in gentleness, always upward to Allah in trust — and He has promised what He will do with such a heart.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: What does the Prophet ﷺ say happens to the one who humbles himself for Allah? He said that no one humbles himself for the sake of Allah except that Allah raises his status — and in the same narration, that charity does not decrease wealth and that forgiving another increases a person’s honour (Sahih Muslim 2588 — Sahih).

Q2: How do the servants of the Most Merciful walk and speak? Allah describes them as those “who walk on the earth humbly, and when the ignorant people speak to them, they reply peacefully” (Quran 25:63) — a humble walk, and a peaceful answer even to rude speech.

Q3: What did Luqman advise his son about walking and the voice? He advised him: “be moderate in your walk, and lower your voice. Surely, the ugliest of voices is the voice of the donkeys” (Quran 31:19).

Q4: Who are the three people of Paradise described in the Prophet’s sermon? A person of authority who is just and fair; a truthful person endowed with power to do good deeds; and a person merciful and kind-hearted towards his relatives and every pious Muslim, who does not stretch out his hand despite having a large family to support (Sahih Muslim 2865a — Sahih).

Q5: Does forgiving someone lower a person’s honour? No — the Prophet ﷺ said, “no one forgives another except that Allah increases his honor” (Sahih Muslim 2588 — Sahih). Forgiveness, like humility itself, is answered by Allah with elevation, not loss.