Who Taught You To Look Down?

WHO TAUGHT YOU TO LOOK DOWN?

Who taught you to look down

Upon the one beneath your gaze?

Because their clothes are different,

Or they don't live in your ways?

Who taught you that your garments

Make you better than the rest?

That another's choice of clothing

Makes your own somehow the best?

You see a girl in hijab

And decide that you know her heart,

You see someone dressed differently

And judge them from the start.

You see a man with money

And suddenly you bow,

But see a man with nothing

And refuse to see him now.

You measure people by their riches,

By the houses that they own,

By the cars they drive in public,

By the lifestyle that they've shown.

You boast about your intellect,

Your grades, your brilliant mind,

Then mock the one who struggles

As though they're left behind.

But tell me, what is knowledge

If it teaches you disdain?

What good is being clever

If you use it to cause pain?

And what is wealth tomorrow

When tomorrow isn't known?

What makes you think your fortune

Will forever be your own?

Your beauty may grow older,

Your possessions may depart,

Your knowledge may be surpassed,

But humility lives in the heart.

Religion is not a trophy

That you carry to be seen;

It is more than just appearance,

More than garments worn and seen.

For what good is outward piety

If pride lives deep within?

If you look upon another

As though you could never sin?

You may be highly educated,

You may have wealth and fame,

But none of these should give you

The right to shame a name.

The one you call inferior

May possess a heart of gold;

The one you think is worthless

May be worth more than you're told.

So before you look down on someone,

Before you proudly stand,

Remember: every blessing

Is received, not self-command.

You didn't choose your intellect,

You didn't choose your birth,

You didn't earn the family

Or circumstances of your worth.

So why the pride? Why the arrogance?

Why make another small?

What makes you think you're standing high

When you could stumble and fall?

Who taught you to look down?

Who taught you to judge their crown?

For greatness isn't measured

By the riches you have found.

True greatness isn't boasting,

It isn't making others frown;

It isn't proving you're above them;

It's having every reason to rise,

Yet choosing not to look down.

— Amal_Ash