10 TYPES OF MODESTY

Ibn ul Qayyim Al Jawziyah (Rahimahullah) mentioned in his book “Madarij us
Saaliheen” Vol 2 page 267, Al Hayaa (i.e. modesty) is categorized into ten types:

The First: The modesty of Shame: This is similar to the modesty of Adam (Alaihis
salam) when he fled in paradise after eating from the forbidden tree. Allah asked him
“Are you fleeing form me O Adam because of your sin?” He said: “No my lord! Rather
it is out of shame that I flee from you!”

The Second: The modesty that results in you realizing your shortcomings such as; the
modesty of the angels, those who praise Allah day and night and never enervate. On the
Day of Judgment they will say Subhanaka! (i.e. Glory be to You!) we did not worship
You as You deserved to be worshiped.”

The Third: The modesty of Magnification: This modesty is a result of knowledge. The
extent of knowledge the slave has of his Lord, will determine how modest or shy of Him
he/she is.

The Fourth: The modesty of Generosity: This is similar to the modesty of the Prophet
(Sallahu alaihi wa salam) with those people he invited to the walimah (i.e. marriage
banquet) of Zaynab Bint Jahsh (Radiyallahu anha)and they stayed with him longer than
necessary, so he stood up and walked away without saying to them “Leave!”.

The Fifth: The modesty of Embarrassment: This is similar to the modesty of Ali Ibn
Talib (Radiyallahu anhu) when he was too embarrassed to ask the Prophet himself about
the pre-seminal discharge he was experiencing, because he was married to his daughter.

The Sixth: The modesty of Low self-worth: This is similar to the modesty of the slave
in front of his lord when he asks Him for his needs, knowing that he doesn’t deserve it.
In a narration of Bani Israel Musa (Alaihis salam) said: “O lord, a need or desire of this
life arises and I am too modest to ask You for it O lord!” So Allah responded to him by
saying: “Ask me for what whatever you like, whether it is the salt for your dough or the
fodder for your herd!” And it is possible that this is because of two things:

The First: The questioner deeming himself to be unworthy while considering the
gravity of his sins and mistakes.

The Second: The magnitude of what he is asking for.

The Seventh: The modesty of Love: This is the modesty of the one who loves another,
and when he thinks in his heart of the one he loves during his absence, his modesty for
him is greater than what he feels for him in his presence and he doesn’t even know why.

There is no doubt that the love of a person has a stronger and more magnificent
authority over the individual than the authority of the one who conquers the body
physically. And because of this, kings and elite authority wonder in amazement about
creation and how they are conquered because of the love they have for someone greater
than they are conquered by power and physical authority. We asked Sheik ul Islam Ibn
Taymiyah (Rahimahullah) about this issue, and I mentioned this to him and he just
smiled and didn’t say anything.

The Eighth: The modesty of Servitude: This is the type of modesty that is mixed with
love and fear while witnessing that there is no perfection in his worship or servitude to
the One he worships. And the slave acknowledges that his Lord is greater and more
opulent than what he is offering of worship, so his servitude to Allah causes him to be
modest of Him, and there is no way around this.

The Ninth: The modesty of honor and dignity: The modesty of the noble and
prestigious soul. if he does something that is beneath his caliber, either by exerting
himself or doing some random act of good, he is modest despite what he has exerted of
himself with a type of modesty that is honorable and dignified, and there are two reasons
for this:

The First: As we have mentioned, due to his dignity and honor.

The Second: His modesty in front of the one on the receiving end, as if he himself
was asking for it. Someone who is generous finds it difficult to face the one on the
receiving end due to the modesty and shyness he has in front of him.

The Tenth: The modesty of an individual regarding himself: This is the modesty of the
noble, honorable and dignified individual due to him being pleased with the fact that he
has some shortcomings. He prostrates himself out of modesty as if he has two
personalities. He is modest with one regarding the other and this is the most complete
form of modesty. If the slave is modest regarding himself then he is more likely to be
modest in front of others.

Translated by Abu Azzubayr Shadeed Muhammad on July 18, 2010 in
USA