Ignoble Pursuits
\r\n Al-Imran (The House of Imran) - Chapter 3: Verse 26 (partial)
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"[O God], You exalt whomever You will, and You debase whomever You will."
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\r\n Dignity with God comes to those who are humble before Him; who place prime value on how they are received by their Maker and not by how they will be judged by the ephemeral norms of people. Dignity and honor are gifts.
Proofs of this Divine law abound. There are many accounts, for example, of people who were once in positions of authority and wealth, who then find themselves paupers completely stripped of their former glory, reduced, in many instances, to wards of the state. God is powerful over all things, and all good, authority, and provision are in His hand, not ours.
\r\nFrom this, we derive an important principle: if one ignobly pursues an attribute, he or she will be adorned by its opposite. If one is humble before God, He will render him or her honorable. Conversely, God humbles and humiliates the haughty ones, those who arrogantly seek out rank and glory before the eyes of people. The Quran gives the examples of Pharaoh and Korah and their abject fall and disgrace.
\r\nCompiled From:
\r\n \"Purification of the Heart\" - Hamza Yusuf. pp. 17, 18