Somewhere read the quote of Budha:
Do you agree?
If yes, then what defines the border between self-love and selfishness??
Re: Is self-love the greatest medicine?
Oooh, that’s a deep question.
If you believe that being a creation of Allah (the Greatest) is such a huge honor in itself that it should warrant one to feel love for themselves…and to honor and respect every part of their body…and to believe that the life given is a gift from the Almighty and should be lived according to the terms HE has set…then I think that kind of self-love is acceptable because that kind of self-love contains pride but at the same time contains humility.
The kind of self-love that does not contain humility is perhaps the kind that is not encouraged. For example, there are people who have gharoor over their beauty. Did you create yourself? No. That beauty was given to you by Allah. There are those who have gharoor over their wealth. You may have worked hard for your wealth. But what if Allah was to render you disabled or subject you to an out-of-control situation in which you lose that same wealth? What if you were not born with the high IQ that Allah blessed you with?
This kind of self-love is different from the first kind I mentioned because the person either removes Allah from the equation completely or diminishes Allah’s role in their life…and in either case the person has made themselves the center or their life. So, this can reduce the feeling of accountability for actions, etc.
May be wrong…but that’s my attempt at answering the question.
Re: Is self-love the greatest medicine?
May be the said quote is half a statement. I mean self-love might be very important as in terms of thankfulness, appreciation, and respect. But there is no way it should excel the love for other living creatures as well, top of which is fellow human being.
Also it may be coming as a caution or warning that crushing self-love or self-respect wont do anything good, not to oneself and not to the related people either. On the other hand indulging in it may give the needed confidence and boost you deserve in order to do the best.
Re: Is self-love the greatest medicine?
Yes, I think self-love is very powerful.
I think self-love is respecting and loving yourself despite all your flaws, weaknesses and past mistakes. It’s learning to stand up for yourself and know your self-worth. It’s learning to be at peace when alone. It’s learning to give with all your heart to everyone but to save a piece of it for yourself too.
Re: Is self-love the greatest medicine?
So.. @SID_NY, I’ve been thinking of some questions for you and your initial question.
Do you think you love yourself? How much?
Do you take care of yourself? Make sure you’re getting everything you need to stay happy and healthy w/o sacrificing the needs of those around you?
Have you forgiven yourself for past mistakes and are at peace with how things have turned out in your life?
Do you love yourself enough to know what your strengths are and how you can use them to change the lives of others?
Do you love yourself enough to say no to someone who wants you to do something you don’t believe is right?
How much do you trust yourself? Your decisions? Those close to you?
I think when one can answer these questions confidently you are practicing self-love and have balance in your life.
Re: Is self-love the greatest medicine?
hyen hyen.. ye topon ka rukh mujh ghareeb pe kyon?!!
Well, I dont agree with this philosophy to begin with. Hence this thread, to get it understood from the wiser people. And coming out of Budha, if true, is more surprising.
I think love thyself can be a small component, but not the most important one. I believe if everyone starts believing on loving others more than themselves, that’ll be most beautiful world. But loving oneself means either already or getting ready to be selfish, thats where all the problems start.
Now remember I also said in the other thread that everyone in this world is selfish to some extent atleast. So they do love themselves.
If you try to find our parallel of Budha, that’ll probably be Rumi. And I’ve read him a lot. Cant recall him saying anything similar.
But well, you know I know nothing 
Re: Is self-love the greatest medicine?
I like rumi too!
I agree. I think we all need to love more to create a beautiful world.
I think we often try to find love in the wrong places (ie. the dunya) when truly it comes from Allah and then from within when we are at peace with ourselves, our life and everything we have. I think self-love allows you to take care of yourself. It allows you to stand up for any wrong that’s being done to you that will harm your self-esteem or future. It allows you to have goals and ambitions because you believe in yourself. It allows you to be happy so that you can in turn make others happy. I do think self-love has the potential to turn into selfishness so it’s always best to have balance like with everything in life.
Restored attachments:
Re: Is self-love the greatest medicine?
I am not sure if this is the statement made by Budha, but I would not be surprised if he had.
In some way, yes.
I would not say, self-love is greatest medicine, but I would say that self-love is greatest trait, greatest quality a human can have (not that humans do, but humans can … only few lucky ones love themselves).
Well, self-love is not self-fish. That is obvious, as love is not fish. 
Well … self-love is most important trait, quality or character a human being can develop, as it is required to know Allah, become good human as well as good Muslim.
Self-love … do not mean self-praise or feeling of self-importance, neither self-love develops selfishness, greediness or enviousness. We should remember that one cannot love others if one do not love oneself.
Most important result of Self-love is desire and effort to know and recognise oneself.
Knowing and recognising oneself make one know and accept limit of oneself, acknowledge good and bad in oneself.
Once a person knows oneself, recognise and accept limit of oneself, and acknowledge good and bad in oneself, than only one can appreciate and accept limits in others and understand good and bad in others.
Actually, knowing oneself is the only way to know Allah and his creations, but unfortunately, most humans do not know themselves even when they think they do know themselves, hence could not know Allah.
It is obvious, as those who do not love themselves do not know themselves (even when they think they do know themselves).
Unfortunately, it is ignorance, arrogance, not accepting reality, hiding from truth, living in lies, ego, desire, greed, anger, envy, jealousy, feeling of self-importance, lack of will power, no concept of empathy, submission to pleasure … etc … limits a human ability to love themselves … and thus know themselves.
Well: That is a part of what I understand of the topic (and I hope I did not over written it). I hope what I wrote would help.
Note: I think many great scholars of Islam have also written that … to know Allah, one have to know oneself. …
And it is obvious that to know oneself, one have to love oneself, as it is love of oneself that makes a person try to know oneself … just like, when a person loves someone or something, one try to know everything about that someone or something.
Re: Is self-love the greatest medicine?
When Muslim scholars talk about the subject, instead of writing to love yourself, they would say that to know yourself. But to know oneself, one have to love oneself. That is how, one become willing to do anything for oneself that is good for oneself. If one do not love oneself, than one start fulfilling the ego, desire and whims in oneself.
Just imagine, if you love yourself, you would do exercise, limit your food and take care of your health, You will get amazed of how your body and soul work, than would think of the one who created such body and soul (Allah). You will worship and praise Allah that he created you. Knowing your creator, you would realise that you are just a creation of Allah similar to people around you, and thus would start respecting other creations also, because they are created by Allah (one who created you too). Just think, you could not become tormentor of others or harm or kill others, You would accept others with all their goods and bad, limits and sins … just because they are a creation just like you, …
Rumi: Find the sweetness in your own heart, then you may find the sweetness in every other heart.
Re: Is self-love the greatest medicine?
Very good perspective. :k:
Thanks for sharing Rumi’s quote. Its awesome
Re: Is self-love the greatest medicine?
balanced life is one thing, bold questions are not related to self-love.
Instead changing lives of others take selflessness which may not be opposite of self-love but entirely different behavior.
Re: Is self-love the greatest medicine?
I havent researched about this topic apart from a few quotes from The Secret I could remember. I think calculated moves and preventive measures is not what we call love. You will have to establish first how self-love is not selfishness. if “if you love yourself, you would do exercise, limit your food and take care of your health” is love, than what is “I would eat the food that’s taste I like, instead of eating tasteless food which is healthy”?
Re: Is self-love the greatest medicine?
Peace Sid_Ny,
love and hate (like and dislike) swirl in ourselves since our childhood till death.
If we give two different things to a baby, the baby will select one (liked or loved for self) and another (disliked or hated for self). Selfishness is like you give two different things and he/she wants more 
even single is sufficient for him/herself. 
So answer is Yes, but as ‘great’ not ‘greatest’, b’coz for self-love we’ll have what we wants but how and who will defines its value as greatest? In that case we need something like a ‘user manual’.
The ‘user manual’ is known as 'Auswat-ul-Husna’ i.e., Excellency Pattern" (Chapter 33 Verse 21), precisely speaking, it is for us a measurement tool to check our self-love and/or selfishness. For Example: see below hadith.
Narrated `Abdullah bin Hisham:
We were with the Prophet and he was holding the hand of Umar bin Al-Khattab. Umar said to Him, “O Allah’s Apostle! You are dearer to me than everything except my own self.” The Prophet said, “No, by Him in Whose Hand my soul is, (you will not have complete faith) till I am dearer to you than your own self.” Then Umar said to him, "However, now, by Allah, you are dearer to me than my own self." The Prophet said, "Now, O Umar, (now you are a believer).
Almighty Allah Knows best.
Re: Is self-love the greatest medicine?
Thanks for sharing your opinion but all the questions I’ve asked have to do with self-love.
You take care of what you love. And if you aren’t taking care of your mind, body and spirit then do you really love yourself?
Self-love also means to have a greater sense of self which includes knowing your strength and weaknesses.
When you love someone or something you also trust them. So if you don’t love yourself your sense of self-trust also diminishes.
We can always agree to disagree if this doesn’t relate to you.