ON HUMILITY

So I bid them stop and began to ask if they ever knew me. Before I could philosophise on them, another ‘dan-giwa’ exited the Hilton Congress Hall doors, and they abandoned me and went after him. And lo and behold! He was throwing wands of cash at them with each ‘ba ka yi farin banza […]

So I bid them stop and began to ask if they ever knew me. Before I could philosophise on them, another ‘dan-giwa’ exited the Hilton Congress Hall doors, and they abandoned me and went after him. And lo and behold! He was throwing wands of cash at them with each ‘ba ka yi farin banza ba’; never mind he is as dark as a Nigerian night sans PHCN.

So it is that time again. The time of politics and of praise-singing! It would do the ‘praise-worthy’ some good to ruminate on the following stories.

“King Canute on the Seashore”, was originally written by James Baldwin in his ‘The Book of Virtues’: Long ago, England was ruled by a king named Canute. Like many leaders and men of power, Canute was surrounded by people who were always praising him. Every time he walked into a room, the flattery began: “You are the greatest man that ever lived,” one would say. “O king, there can never be another as mighty as you,” another would insist. “Your highness, there is nothing you cannot do,” someone would utter. “Great Canute, you are the monarch of all,” another would sing. “Nothing in this world dares to disobey you.”

The king was a man of sense, and he grew tired of hearing such foolish speeches.  One day he was walking by the seashore, and his officers and courtiers were with him, praising him as usual. Canute decided to teach them a lesson.

“So you say I am the greatest man in the world?” he asked them.  “O king,” they cried, “there never has been anyone as mighty as you, and there never can be anyone so great, ever again!” Canute asked: “And you say all things obey me?” “Absolutely!” they said. “The world bows before you, and gives you honour.”

“I see,” the king answered. “In that case, bring me my chair, and we will go down to the water.”  “At once, your majesty!” They scrambled to carry his royal chair over the sands. “Bring it closer to the sea,” Canute called. “Put it right here, right at the water’s edge.” He sat down and surveyed the ocean before him. “I notice the tide is coming in. Do you think it will stop if I give the command?”

His officers were puzzled, but they did not dare say no. “Give the order, O great king, and it will obey,” one of then assured him. “Very well. Sea,” cried Canute, “I command you to come no further! Waves, stop your rolling!. Surf, stop your pounding! Do not dare touch my feet!” He waited a moment, quietly, and a tiny wave rushed up the sand and lapped at his feet.

“How dare you!” Canute shouted. “Ocean, turn back now! I have ordered you to retreat before me, and now you must obey! Go back!” And in answer, another wave swept forward and curled around the king’s feet. The tide came in, just as it always did. The water rose higher and higher. It came up around the king’s chair, and wet not only his feet, but also his robe. His officers stood before him, alarmed, and wondering whether he was not mad.

“Well, my friends,” Canute said, “it seems I do not have quite so much power as you would have me believe. Perhaps you have learned something today. Perhaps now you will remember there is only one King Who is All-Powerful, and it is He who rules the sea, and holds the ocean in the hollow of His Hand. I suggest you reserve your praises for Him.”

The royal officers and courtiers hung their heads and looked foolish. And some say Canute took off his crown soon afterward, and never wore it again.

And then, a long time ago, a proud King who decided to build a very large palace for himself, so he ordered his ministers: “Go out into the forest and find the tallest tree. This I shall use for my palace.”

Deep in the forest the ministers found such a tree. It was magnificent and stood surrounded by many other smaller trees. That night they reported back to the King and announced: “Your Majesty, we have found just what you wanted. Tomorrow, we shall return to the woods and chop it down.”

The King was very happy and went to sleep. That night he had a very strange dream. He dreamt that a spirit, which lived in the great tree, appeared before him: “Oh, King!” it said, “please do not cut down the home in which I live. If you do so, each cut will hurt me very much and I shall die.” But the King answered, “Yours is the finest tree in all the forest. I must use it for my palace.”

The spirit pleaded, but the King was very stubborn and insisted the tree would be cut down. Finally the tree spirit said to him, “Alright, you may cut it down. But please do it like this. Do not cut it down from the bottom, as people usually do. Instead, have your men climb to the top of the tree and cut it down little by little. First have them cut off one piece, then another, until they have cut down the whole tree.”

The King was very surprised by this and said: “But if I have my men do as you say and cut through your tree many times, it will cause you much more pain than if they cut it down just once from the bottom.” The spirit answered: “Yes, this is true. But it is better for the other creatures in the forest if you do as I suggest. You see, my tree is very large. If it falls down in one big piece, it will crash into the other smaller trees around it and kill many small animals. Many birds and insects will lose their homes and many smaller trees will be destroyed. But if you cut it down piece by piece, it will not do so much damage.”

Then the King awoke. He thought: “That spirit would have let itself be cut a hundred times so that the small animals of the forest would not suffer. How brave and kind it is! And how selfish of me to want to cut that tree down for my own pleasure and pride. Instead of cutting it down, I shall let it be! This dream has taught me that I should also be kind and gentle to everyone.”

And so the next day, the King told his men not to cut that tree, and he was a kind and just ruler from that day onwards.

In a Hadith narrated by Abu Bakra: “A man was mentioned before the Prophet, upon whom be peace, and another man praised him greatly. The Prophet said, ‘May Allah’s Mercy be on you! You have cut the neck of your friend.’ The Prophet repeated this sentence many times and said, ‘If it is indispensable for anyone of you to praise someone, then he should say, ‘I think that he is so-and-so,’ if he really thinks that he is such. Allah is the One Who will take his accounts (as He knows his reality) and no-one can sanctify anybody before Allah.’”

Allah Almighty commands us not to be stuck-up.  He commands us to be laid back and down-to-earth type of people. He says in the Qur’an 17:37: “Nor walk on the earth with insolence: for thou cannot rend the earth asunder, nor reach the mountains in height.” And Allah adds further, in Quran 31:18: “And swell not thy cheek (for pride) at men, nor walk in insolence through the earth; for God loveth not any arrogant boaster.”