People usually have a sense of pride, such as pride in health, pride in knowledge, pride in family, pride in history, and so on. The general idea is that a sense of pride is very important. This creates positive qualities in a person such as self-respect, self-confidence and enthusiasm.

People believe that if a person does not have anything to be proud of, he will feel inferior. He will develop a temperament to feel oppressed and inferior. He will not be able to live among people with exalted thoughts.

But these justifications for pride are not correct. The fact is that pride is a moral evil. Pride is not a separate attribute; there are many other things associated with pride. For example, with pride come selfishness and a sense of superiority. Pride gradually takes the form of arrogance. Pride is a beautiful form of the evil that Satan described in these words: I am better than he is. (7:12)

Being ‘proud’ is not a single stand-alone adjective. Being ‘proud’ is a comparative adjective. Pride always arises in comparison to someone else. Inside the proud person, consciously or unconsciously, there is a feeling that ‘I am better than others.’

This feeling is exactly what is mentioned in the Quran concerning Iblis (Satan). The proud man falls under the influence of Satan. Such a person gradually becomes arrogant and there is no doubt in this world that there is nothing worse than arrogance. The only difference between pride and arrogance is that of spelling. In reality, there is no difference between the two.