When the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was sitting in the assembly with the companions, a man passed by. This was a lofty man, powerful, arrogant, boastful man, he passed by and the Prophet simply asked, 'What do you think about this man?' They replied, 'this man if he proposed everyone will agree, if he speaks everyone will listen, if he wants anything, anything he wants he can get.' Then the Prophet sat down. After a while, another man passed by, this man was humble, demeanor, dirty clothes, the Prophet then asked, 'What do you think about this man?' It was said in reply to him, 'this man, if he proposed it'd be rejected, if he speaks no one will listen, if he wants to borrow money no one will lend him...' and so on, only negative things about him. The Prophet said, 'this man, the humble man, he is better than the Earth full of men like the other man!' Everyone has a different criteria - we're not talking about a population, we're talking about the whole Earth full of the other man, this man is better than that. People they discard a man like that, but see his status in the sight of Allah and His Rasool! This is Islam, it's not about having a lofty status, being wealthy etc. Islam looks at the character, the deeds, the manner, how one is and the cleanliness of the heart! - Shaykh Musa Jibril حفظه الله
