a key aspect of pride is maintenance. if you are proud of something about you or something you have created, it is essential to help to maintain it. people who are proud of X will not allow X to degrade. so in this way, its a lot of work to be proud.

i agree, nadia. arrogance is where the buck stops.

but can we say we are actually 'proud'? there is nothing achieved if not through Allah. He is the beginning and the end. so indeed gratefulness, humilty and integrity are key traits, but is pride a true emotion when we have nothing to do with our results?

on the other hand, surely Allah has bestowed upon us the ability to reason, to gain and to lose. so that which we have achieved in (or failed in) is indeed by our own doing. so when we succeed, surely we should be proud!

and then there is a discussion about those things that we have had no hand in--our surnames, our heritage. is 'pride' a proper description of what we feel?

there's a FINE LINE between pride and arrogance. i think there is nothing wrong with being proud as long as one is grateful, humble and has integrity. it's arrogance that is repugnant to most people.

so no one is proud? i find that hard to believe, especially in this village! :P