Is It Sinful to Compare My Strength to the Companions or Prophets?

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Question

Is it haram to say I will be the strongest and best fighter of all time, and even stronger than the Sahaba in terms of raw physical strength, as all time includes them, but not in a way that grows contempt for them?

Is it fine to say of all time, as this includes the prophets, who I know are different, as they are blessed with miraculous strength, which isn’t normal?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

Thank you for a question that already embodies good manners. Your care not to belittle the Companions or the Prophets is itself a sign of a sound heart, so let me begin by setting your worry at rest.

To wish for great physical strength and to train for it is not blameworthy in itself. Strength is one of Allah’s gifts, and He praises it when it is placed in its right setting.

One of the two women of Madyan said of Moses (peace be upon him), “A strong, trustworthy person is definitely the best to hire.” [Quran 28:26] Notice that strength is praised there beside trust, not on its own. Strength is a tool. What matters is the hand that carries it and the heart behind it.

The Rank of the Prophets and Companions Is Not a Matter of Muscle

The greatness of the Prophets and the Companions (Allah be pleased with them) is not bodily power. It is nearness to Allah, faith, and sacrifice.

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) placed their rank beyond all reach: “Do not abuse my Companions, for if one of you were to spend gold equal to Mount Uhud, it would not reach a handful of one of them, nor even half of it.” [Bukhari]

So a claim about raw physical strength does not touch their true excellence at all. And it is not from good manners (adab) even to weigh ourselves against the Prophets and the Companions in any quality whatsoever. We hold them above such comparison, and we simply keep them where Allah placed them.

Strength Becomes Blameworthy Only When Pride Enters

The danger is never the strength. It is arrogance and boasting. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Pride is rejecting the truth and looking down on people.” [Muslim]

Imam Ghazali (Allah have mercy on him) draws the line clearly: a person is not blamed for enjoying a gift of Allah; he is blamed only when he joins it with arrogance or forgets that the gift came from Allah. [Ghazali, Ihya Ulum al-Din]

This is why Allah warns us against parading our strength: “And do not walk on the earth arrogantly. Surely you can neither crack the earth nor stretch to the height of the mountains.” [Quran 17:37]

A boast like “the strongest of all time” is the part to leave, even when what it describes is real. Hold the aspiration quietly in your heart, as effort and thanks, rather than as a slogan.

How the Strong of the Quran Carried Their Strength

Look at how Allah’s mighty servants held their power. David (peace be upon him) was given strength, iron softened in his hands, and victory in battle, yet the Quran sums him up not by his might but by his returning: “And remember Our servant, David, the man of strength. Indeed, he constantly turned to Allah” [Quran 38:17].

Moses (peace be upon him) lifted a stone that many men together could scarcely move, then withdrew, hungry, to confess his need of his Lord, so that no self-admiration could touch him. [Qushayri, Lataif al-Isharat]

Dhul-Qarnayn was given dominion across the earth, and when he raised his great barrier of iron and copper, he claimed none of it for himself: “This is a mercy from my Lord.” [Quran 18:98]

And Saul was chosen and increased in knowledge and stature, his strength given for the service of his people, not for display. [Quran 2:247; Qurtubi, al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Quran]. Their strength turned them toward Allah and turned them toward serving others. That is the pattern to follow.

Wanting Strength for the Sake of Good

So want strength for good, and it becomes a door of reward. Want it out of gratitude to the One who gave you your body. Want it so that, if Allah grants you success in a sport or a discipline, you can support your family, serve your community, and stand for what is right. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer, though in each there is good” [Muslim]. Our scholars explain that the strength most praised there is strength of resolve in Allah’s cause, not muscle alone [Nawawi; Mulla Ali al-Qari, Mirqat al-Mafatih]. And Allah has promised, “If you are grateful, I will certainly give you more” [Quran 14:7]. Whatever strength you carry, remember its source: “Whatever blessings you have are from Allah” [Quran 16:53].

Aspire High, but Rest in Allah, Not in Yourself

There is one more turn of the heart worth learning. Ibn Ata’illah (Allah have mercy on him) wrote, “The precedence of resolute aspirations does not pierce the walls of the divine decrees.” [Ibn Ata’illah, al-Hikam].

However high your ambition, it reaches only what Allah has already written; so aim high, strive fully, and then rest in Him rather than in your own power. He also wrote, “Realize your weakness, and He will support you with His strength.” [Ibn Ata’illah, al-Hikam]

The believer of high aspiration trains hard and leans on Allah, and so his strength never becomes a veil between him and his Lord.

As for the second-guessing, that “of all time” might somehow wrong the Companions or the Prophets, treat it as a passing whisper (waswasa) and turn away from it. These misgivings are not knowledge, and dwelling on them only feeds them. Your heart already honors those Allah honored; let that settle you.

So train, aspire, and grow strong, and do it out of gratitude and for the sake of good. Keep the Prophets and the Companions above all comparison, hold your strength as a trust from Allah, and let it carry you nearer to Him.

And Allah knows best.

[Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani