He does not care at any time to purge himself of the filth...

He does not care at any time to purge himself of the filth of committing offenses. The thick curtain of conceit blocks him from seeing his own ills.

This catastrophe stops one from achieving perfections, afflicts him with all sorts of shortcomings, brings about eternal perdition, and the doctors of the psyche can find no cure for him." DEPRIVATION FROM BENEFITS OF ADMONITION AND GUIDANCE One of the problems with conceit with which one is afflicted as a result of this psychological disease, and as a result of one believing in his own superiority over others and the status which he has with Allah, he regards others as ignorant, seeing no value for their viewpoint.

As a result for this condition, he accepts neither advice from any adviser nor any admonishment from any preacher. One who is deprived of the abundant benefits of admonishment, both the nafs and Satan have a free hand in tempting him.

There is a great deal of emphasis in traditions, statements of great men, poets and wise men, on the company of the folks of righteousness and on being in contact with scholars, so much so that even looking at the face of a scholar is adoration, and looking at his house door is adoration, according to traditions.

On one hand, the nab' and Satan find no room to tempt him because, as a result of keeping the scholars and the wise company, he becomes keenly aware of his faults, seeing himself as being derelict on the path towards Allah. But if he stops keeping them company, he will be surrounded with detriments, and he becomes unaware of his faults, so he stops seeking his pursuit, claiming he has already achieved his pursuit and no longer needs to exert any effort.

One whose condition is like that is definitely going to perish and will imminently fall. Imam al-Khomeini may his blessings endure, says that among the harms of conceit is that one looks askance at Allah's servants, seeing their good deeds as nothing even if they may be better than his own: this, too, is one of the paths towards the annihilation of man and thorns on his path.

UNAWARENESS OF THE SERVANTS' DETRIMENTS Among the perils of conceit is that instead of one seeing his faults and shortcomings, he becomes too blind to see these, so he does not examine his deeds, nor does he ascertain his acts of worship. If the nafs and Satan find their ways to him through other venues such as pretension and others, one may treat himself before it is too late.