Self-respect or self-esteem is a very precious thing. Self-esteem refers to holding yourself in high regard and believing that you are good and deserve praise for your actions. Undoubtedly, self-esteem is a great asset. It refers to a state in which a person lives in a state of full confidence. An Arab poet had said: “Man La Yakram Nafsa La Yakram” (He who does not respect himself is not respected). This morning while leaving the mosque after praying Fajr, I slipped on the snow and fell down. As soon as I got up, I started looking around to see if anyone had seen me fall. After looking around, I was satisfied that no one had seen me. When I reached home I found that my hand was slightly bruised and my clothes were also wet. The point here is that whenever we slip and fall somewhere on the road, we forget about our bodies and our clothes, we don’t care about getting our clothes dirty or getting hurt. We ignore the pain and at the very outset see if someone saw us or if someone is laughing at us. This self-respect is a very precious thing. Unless we take care of our own respect and dignity, unless we respect ourselves, we cannot respect others at all. How to stay? what to say? how to walk? what to do? what not to do? etc. all these things should be taken care of in such a way that the feeling prevails that man is the best of all creation and the honor and respect of man are very high.
Every human being expects to be respected by others, so my experience is that first we should respect ourselves and realize how to maintain self-respect, then we should expect the same from others. We can also call self-esteem in the words of Allama Iqbal ‘Khudi’ or self-esteem. If a person makes this quality necessary for his life, then he is able to live a dignified, purposeful and courageous life and if it is not present, then a person falls in his own eyes and lives with a sense of regret and humiliation. This quality should be cultivated in children from an early age. For this, it is necessary to respect the child and give him respect and give him the idea that he deserves respect and esteem and no one has the right to take away this right from him and hurt his self-esteem and dignity. Children who grow up with this concept, whose family members respect them, are independent, courageous and willing to struggle. Instead of being oppressed and marginalized and living on the support of others, they make their own way through struggle and in fact, this is what is wanted and intended in the life of a Muslim.
The objective of the word
Without self-respect, you cannot have pride, which is also very important. No matter what happens in life, if you know you did your best to make things better, that’s what matters most. Always keep this in mind. Remember that apart from self-respect, love is also a feeling that when hurt, a person starts to despise himself.
Self-esteem is an essential part of life, and it doesn’t just help you get what you want out of the world; it makes your relationships with others stronger. Without self-respect, there is no respect for oneself or others, and without respect for others, society will collapse into hatred and violence.
If you want to get more out of life for yourself, make sure you have enough self-esteem to keep you on track and keep your goals in sight. Your self-esteem will give you the strength to climb higher, and it’s invaluable in helping you maintain your pride.

Author is a blogger and writer, and is pursuing MSc in Earth Sciences at IGNOU, New Delhi

Shiekh Bilal