Allah, the Almighty, created humans from spirit and flesh, and endowed them with many attributes mentioned in the Quran. Some of these are innate and part of their creation, while others are acquired through their environment. Between these, a person should recognize these traits to enhance the good ones and avoid the bad ones.

Innate Traits

• Weakness: Despite humans being the only creatures endowed by Allah with intellect and entrusted with the earth, they were created with inherent weakness in both physical and psychological makeup. Allah says, “Allah wants to lighten for you [your difficulties]; and mankind was created weak.” (An-Nisa: 28) This weakness encompasses not only physical frailty but also psychological weakness, lack of determination, willpower, and the inability to consistently control one's desires and whims. ⁽¹⁾ Hence, Allah's care extends to them through His Sharia laws and the opening door of repentance whenever their weakness overcomes them.

• Transgression: Allah says, “No! [But] indeed, man transgresses because he sees himself self-sufficient.” (Al-Alaq: 6-7) By nature, humans tend to overstep bounds when they feel self-sufficient, imagining they can manage on their own, which leads to their destruction. Thus, Allah's wisdom involves testing His servants to protect them from their own evils, making them realize their need for their Creator.

• Hastiness: Humans always rush for what they desire, whether good or bad. Allah says, “And man supplicates for evil as he supplicates for good, and man is ever hasty.” (Al-Isra: 11) This hastiness can be beneficial if it leads to good deeds and diligent efforts but harmful if it leads to rash actions that require deliberation. A balanced individual is one who can navigate between these impulses.

• Stinginess: Stinginess is an inherent trait in humans. Allah says, “Say to them, 'If you possessed the depositories of the mercy of my Lord, then you would withhold out of fear of spending." And ever has man been sting.'” (Al-Isra: 100) Stinginess means restricting Human’s livelihood. ⁽²⁾ This trait reflects the human tendency to be miserly due to their intense love for wealth. Allah says, “And indeed, he is, in love of wealth, intense.” (Al-Adiyat: 8)

• Pride: Al-Raghib said: Pride involves boasting about external possessions such as wealth and status. ⁽³⁾ There are two corrupting elements in pride: the first is the desire to outdo others and disregard their rights, and the second is denying Allah's blessings by attributing success to one's own efforts, imagining they are better than everyone else. ⁽⁴⁾ Allah says, “Indeed, Allah does not like those who are self-deluding and boastful.” (An-Nisa: 36)

• Argumentativeness: Allah says, “And man has ever been, most of anything, [prone to] dispute.” (Al-Kahf: 54) Human intellectual abilities enable them to use various tactics of argumentation, including showing and hiding, evasion, and deception, making them capable of prolonged disputes, whether in truth or falsehood. ⁽⁵⁾

Ali bin Abi Talib Narrated: That one night Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) visited him and Fatima, the daughter of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and said to them, “Won 't you offer (night) prayer?.. `Ali added: I said, “O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Our souls are in the Hand of Allah and when He Wishes to bring us to life, He does.” Then Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) went away when I said so and he did not give any reply. Then I heard him on leaving while he was striking his thighs, saying, 'But man is, more quarrelsome than anything.' (18.54) (Musnad Ahmad)

• Injustice and Ignorance: Allah says, “Indeed, we offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they declined to bear it and feared it; but man [undertook to] bear it. Indeed, he was unjust and ignorant.” (Al-Ahzab: 72) This means that man was exceedingly unjust and extremely ignorant, ⁽⁶⁾ as he accepted the trust and then did not fulfill it, guaranteeing it but then betraying this guarantee. ⁽⁷⁾

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah states: “Man was created unjust and ignorant; fundamentally lacking in knowledge and inclined towards his own desires for evil. He always needs detailed knowledge to dispel his ignorance, and fairness in his love and hate, satisfaction and anger, actions and inactions, and his giving and withholding.” ⁽⁸⁾

• Panic: Allah says, “Indeed, mankind was created anxious: when evil touches him, impatient. And when good touches him, withholding [of it].” (Al-Ma'arij: 19-21) Ibn Kathir explains that when harm befalls him, he panics and becomes distraught, his heart almost escaping from his chest due to intense fear, and he loses hope that any good will come to him thereafter.

The remedy for this is seeking Allah's help, relying on Him, and having hope in His command, so that a person does not become prey to calamities, overwhelmed whenever something befalls him.

• Joy: Some interprets distinguish between praiseworthy and blameworthy joy based on whether it is mentioned conditionally or unconditionally in the Quran. They say that if joy is mentioned unconditionally, it is blameworthy, and it is only praiseworthy when it is qualified with something good, as in Allah's statement: “Rejoicing in what Allah has bestowed upon them of His bounty.” (Aal 'Imran: 170) ⁽⁹⁾ Joy is also mentioned in the context of blame, such as in Allah's statement: “But if We give him a taste of favor after hardship has touched him, he will surely say, 'Bad times have left me.' Indeed, he is exultant and boastful.” (Hud: 10) Ibn al-Anbari said: He is blamed for this joy because it implies insolence and arrogance in disobeying Allah.

• Ingratitude: Allah the Almighty says, “Indeed mankind, to his Lord, is ungrateful.” (Al-Adiyat: 6) This means that human nature tends towards ingratitude for blessings. ⁽¹⁰⁾ This is a trait that affects every human to varying degrees, and only the prophets and the most righteous among people are free from it; it is a trait that arises from a person's selfishness and can only be countered by self-monitoring and remembering the rights of others. ⁽¹¹⁾ The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “Ingratitude is typified by someone who refuses to give, lives alone, and beats his slave.” (Al-Adab Al-Mufrad) This means that he does not give anything from what Allah has blessed him with, nor does he show compassion to His servants as Allah has shown to him; he is ungrateful for His blessings and contrary to what reason and religion dictate. ⁽¹²⁾

Acquired Traits

• Disbelief: Disbelief is one of the most reprehensible and detestable traits with which Allah has described humans in the Quran. It is mentioned in six instances, classified by interpreters into two types:

First Type: Disbelief as opposed to gratitude, or ingratitude for blessings, as in the ayah: “And indeed, when We let man taste mercy from us, he rejoices in it; but if evil afflicts him for what his hands have put forth, then indeed, man is ungrateful.” (Ash-Shura: 48)

Second Type: Disbelief as opposed to faith, as in the ayah: “But they have attributed to Him from His servants a portion. Indeed, man is clearly ungrateful.” (Az-Zukhruf: 15)

• Despair: The term “despairing” appears in the Quran in several instances to describe the intense despair of humans when they are afflicted by harm or deprived of a blessing. As in Allah’s sayings, “And when We bestow favor upon the disbeliever, he turns away and distances himself; and when evil touches him, he is ever despairing.” (Al-Isra: 83) All this because he is materialistic, believing only in material things and not hoping for what is with Allah, who gives and withholds, honors and humbles. ⁽¹³⁾

• Despondency: Despondency is a form of despair, but some interpreters differentiate between the two because if they were identical, the Quran would not have used both. Some say that despair is a trait of the heart, cutting off hope in Allah's mercy, while despondency is a physical trait, showing despair in the body, causing one to wither, grieve, be broken, and humble. ⁽¹⁴⁾ The Quran condemns this trait, as Allah says, “He said, 'And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord except for those astray?'” (Al-Hijr: 56)

• Wickedness: Wickedness refers to indulgence in sins. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Allah says, “But man desires to continue in sin.” (Al-Qiyama: 5) This verse reveals the reality of the disbeliever who does not want any restraints on his desires; rather, he wishes to continue in disobedience to Allah throughout his life, refusing to repent. Therefore, he denies the Day of Judgment because belief in it would impose restrictions and guidelines on him. ⁽¹⁶⁾

• Adversarial: This trait came in exaggerated form in two places, ⁽¹⁷⁾ meaning one who argues falsehood. As in Allah's statement: “Does man not consider that We created him from a sperm-drop - then at once he is a clear adversary?” (Yasin: 77) This attribute is mentioned after discussing human creation, reminding that Allah created him from a sperm-drop, a despised fluid, and then formed him, transitioning him from one state to another, bringing him into the light of the world, nourishing, providing for, and strengthening him. Yet, after reaching maturity, he disbelieves in his Creator, denies His blessings, and argues about significant matters like the resurrection, denying it and presenting arguments against it. ⁽¹⁸⁾

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 -        Tafsir Modoee Encyclopedia

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