How can a person know if they are afflicted with self-admiration (ʿujb), and what is the interpretation of the saying: "Whoever is pleased by his good deed and displeased by his bad deed is a believer"?

The Hadith: "Whoever is pleased by his good deed and displeased by his evil deed, then he is a believer," was narrated by Ahmad, Al-Tabarani, and Al-Hakim, who all authenticated it. Its meaning is that a believer rejoices in his good deed and grieves over his evil deed, unlike a hypocrite.

As for self-admiration (ujb), it is the magnification of a blessing and reliance upon it, while forgetting to attribute it to the Bestower. If a servant attributes a right to himself from Allah and expects honor from Him, it is called idlal (presumption) based on one's deed.

Self-admiration (ujb) has three states: 1. To fear the removal of the blessing; this is not self-admiration. 2. To rejoice in the blessing because it is from Allah; this is not self-admiration. 3. To rejoice in the blessing because it is his own attribute and attributed to him; this is the blameworthy self-admiration.

The perils of self-admiration are many; it leads to arrogance and the forgetting of sins. It makes its possessor magnify his acts of worship, forget Allah's favor upon him in granting success, blinds him to the imperfections of his deeds, causes him to be deluded by himself, makes him feel secure from Allah's plot, makes him think he has a right with Allah, and praise himself.