Chapter 4
Showing Off
45872: The Shaytaan whispers to him that he is showing
off so that he will give up doing acts of worship
Question:
I am committed, praise be to Allaah, to doing
the obligatory acts of worship which Allaah has
enjoined, and I ask Allaah to accept them. But recently I have
started to experience waswaas (whispers from the
Shaytaan) telling me that which I do is contaminated with
elements of showing off, and Allaah will never accept it.
Sometimes I find myself hesitating to do some good things for
fear of showing off.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Just as the Shaytaan comes to the Muslim to make
him admire his actions and show off to people,
sometimes too he uses the opposite trick and makes a person
think that he is showing off, so that he will not do it.
In order to avoid both problems, we have to make
sure that our intention is sound and make it sincerely and
purely for the sake of Allaah, and not worry after that
about anything that the Shaytaan may come up with.
Ibn Muflih al-Hanbali said _ in a chapter on "We
should not give up prescribed actions for fear of showing
off": One of the things that may happen to a person is
that when he wants to do an act of worship, it occurs to
him that he should not do it for fear of showing off.
What he should do is not to pay attention to that. He
can do that which Allaah has commanded him to do
or encouraged him to do, and seek the help of Allaah,
and trust in Him that he will do it in the manner prescribed
in Islam.
Shaykh Muhiy al-Deen al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: You should not give up
remembering Allaah verbally and in your heart because you think
you may be showing off, rather you should remember Him
in both ways, seeking thereby the Face of Allaah. And
he quoted al-Fudayl ibn `Iyaad (may Allaah have mercy
on him) as saying: Giving up a good deed for the sake
of people is also showing off, and doing it for the sake
of people is shirk. He said: If a person opens the door
to noticing people and worrying about what they think
then most of the doors to goodness will be closed to him.
Abu'l-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi said: With regard to not
doing good deeds for fear of showing off, if the motive for
doing that deed is other than religious, then he should not do
it because it is a sin. But if the motive for that is
religious and it is sincerely for the sake of Allaah, then he
should not refrain from doing it, because the motive is
religious. Similarly if he does not do a good deed for fear that
it will be said that he is a show-off, then he should
ignore that because it is one of the tricks of the Shaytaan.
Ibraaheem al-Nakha'i said: If the Shaytaan comes to
you when you are praying and says, "you are showing
off," then you should make it even longer. With regard to
the reports narrated from one of the salaf, that he
stopped worshipping for fear of showing off, this is to
be understood as meaning that they felt that they
were showing off, so they stopped it. And that is indeed
the case. For example, al-A'mash said: I was with
Ibraaheem al-Nakha'i when he was reading Qur'aan, and a man
asked for permission to enter, so he covered the Mus-haf.
He said: So that he will not think that I read it all the time.
So if you should not stop doing an act of worship for fear
of showing off, it is more appropriate that you should
not stop it for fear of self admiration that may occur later on.
Al-Adaab al-Shara'iyyah, 1/266-267
Shaykh Ibn `Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on
him) was asked:
When a person thinks of doing a good deed, the
Shaytaan comes and whispers to him: "You want to do that to
show off and have a good reputation," so he backs off
from doing that good deed. How can we avoid this?
He replied:
That can be avoided by seeking refuge with Allaah
from the accursed Shaytaan, and going ahead with the
good deed. You should not pay attention to this
waswaas (whisper from the Shaytaan) that puts you off doing
good. If you turn away from this and seek refuge with
Allaah from the accursed Shaytaan, the problem will
disappear, by Allaah's leave.
Majmoo' Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn `Uthaymeen,
question no. 277
And Allaah knows best.
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11909: Haatim al-Taa'i in the Sunnah
Question:
What did Prophet Muhammad say regarding Hatim Tai?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
There are a number of ahaadeeth which mention
Haatim al-Taai, some of which are hasan (good), some
da'eef (weak) and some mawdoo' (fabricated).
(a) It was narrated that `Adiyy ibn Haatim said: I said
to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him), "My father used to uphold the ties
of kinship, and do such and such… Will he have any
(reward) for that?" He said, "Your father seeking something
and he got it."
This was narrated by Ahmad, 32/129, and classed
and hasan by Shaykh Shu'ayb al-Arna'oot.
(b) It was narrated that `Adiyy ibn Haatim said: I said,
"O Messenger of Allaah, my father used to uphold the ties
of kinship, and do such and such." He said, "Your
father wanted something and got it" meaning, fame.
Narrated by Ahmad (30/200); classed as hasan by
Shaykh Shu'ayb al-Arna'oot, and classed as saheeh by
Ibn Hibbaan, 1/41.
(c) It was narrated from Sahl ibn Sa'd al-Saa'idi
that `Adiyy ibn Haatim came to the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said:
"O Messenger of Allaah, my father used to uphold the ties
of kinship, and spend on the needy, and feed people."
He said, "Did he live to see Islam?" He said, "No." He
said, "Your father wanted to be remembered."
Narrated by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, 6/197. Its
isnaad includes Rushdeen ibn Sa'd, who is da'eef (weak), but
it is supported by the report mentioned above.
The phrase translated above and "spend on the
needy" means spending on the weak, the poor, orphans
and dependents, etc.
(d) It was narrated that Ibn `Umar said: Mention was
made of Haatim in the presence of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and he said, "That is
a man who wanted something and got it."
Al-Haythami said:
This was narrated by al-Bazzaar, and its isnaad
includes `Ubayd ibn Waaqid al-`Absi, who was classed as
da'eef by Abu Haatim.
Majma' al-Zawaa'id, 1/119
But it is supported by the reports quoted above.
Ibn Katheer said:
We have mentioned the biography of Haatim Tay' in
the days of the Jaahiliyyah when we mentioned those
who died of the famous people of that era, and we referred
to his generosity and kindness to people. But generosity
and kindness must be based on faith if they are to benefit
a person in the Hereafter, but he never said one day,
"O Lord, forgive me my sins on the Day of Judgement."
Al-Bidaayah wa'l-Nihaayah, 5/67.
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6356: Admiring oneself after doing a good deed
Question:
Sometimes a person finds himself filled with
self-admiration or showing off after doing a good deed or
act of worship, and he is scared that this will cancel out
what he has done. What do you advise?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah. If a person feels self admiration
after doing something good or fears that he may show off,
he should ward that off and resist it by seeking refuge
with Allaah from it, and saying "Allaahumma inni
a'oodhu bika an ushrika bika wa ana a'lam, wa'staghfiruka
lima laa a'lam (O Allaah, I seek refuge with you
from knowingly associating anything with You, and I seek
Your forgiveness for that of which I am unaware)" _ as
was reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him).
These kind of feelings happen to everyone, but you
have to try to be sincere towards Allaah, seek His
forgiveness, and remember that there is no strength and no
power except with Allaah; if it were not for the help of
Allaah, you would not have been able to do this good deed, so
to Allaah be praise in the beginning and at the end.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said to Mu'aadh ibn Jabal: "O Mu'aadh, by Allaah
indeed I love you, and I advise you, O Mu'aadh, do not forget
at the end of every prayer to say: Allaahumma a'inni
`ala dhikrika wa shukrika wa husni `ibaaditika (O Allaah,
help me to remember You, give thanks to You and
worship You in the best way)."
(Narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dawood, al-Nasaa'i, and
others; it is saheeh).
Do not forego doing good deeds for fear of showing
off, because this is one of the tricks that the Shaytaan uses
to weaken people's resolve and stop them from doing
things that Allaah loves and is pleased with.
As for merely feeling happy that one has done a
good deed, this does not contradict sincerity and faith, for
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Say: "In the Bounty of Allâh, and in His Mercy
(i.e. Islâm and the Qur'ân); —therein let them rejoice."
That is better than what (the wealth) they amass"
[Yoonus 10:58] _ meaning, if he attains guidance, faith
and righteous deeds, and the mercy resulting from
that overwhelms him and he feels joy and success as a
result. Hence Allaah commanded us to rejoice over such things.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: "If your good deeds make you happy and your
bad deeds make you sad, then you are a believer."
(Narrated by Ahmad, Ibn Majaah and others from
the hadeeth of Abu Umaamah; it is a saheeh hadeeth).
By the same token, if people praise you for your
good deed, then this is a portion of the glad tidings of
the Hereafter, which Allaah gives a person in this world.
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) was asked, "What do you think if a man
does a good deed and the people praise him for it?" He
said: "That is the portion of the glad tidings for the
believer which he is given in this world." (Narrated by
Muslim from the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah, may Allaah be
pleased with him).
So this praise is a sign that Allaah is pleased with
him and loves him, so He makes him dear to other people.
We ask Allaah to make our intentions and deeds right.
Reference: Masaa'il wa Rasaa'il by Muhammad al-Mahmood al-Najdi, p. 21
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21254: He gave charity because he felt embarrassed
in front of his boss at work
Question:
I gave money to a charitable project because I felt
scared of my boss at work. If it had been up to me I would
not have given even a penny. Will I have the complete
reward for this action just as I would if I had given willingly
and by my own choice? Please answer with evidence (daleel).
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
If the situation is as you described, then you will not
be rewarded for this donation, because you did not give
it for the sake of Allaah, rather you gave it for the sake
of your boss because you were afraid of him. It was
narrated that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: "Actions are but by
intention and each man will have but that which he
intended." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari in Bad'
al-Khalq and Muslim in al-Imaarah, no. 1907).
Fataawa li'l-Muwazzafeen wa'l-`Aml, al-Lajnah
al-Daa'imah, p. 66 (www.islam-qa.com)
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22293: He has stopped advising people for fear of
showing off
Question:
I am afraid of showing off, and I am cautious about it
to the extent that I cannot advise some people or forbid
them from doing certain things such as backbiting,
slandering, etc. I am afraid that doing so would be showing off
on my part, and I am scared that people may think that I
am showing off. So I do not give any advice, and I tell
myself that they are educated people and they do not need
any advice. What do you suggest?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
This is one of the plots of the Shaytaan by means of
which he discourages people from calling others to Allaah
and from enjoining what is good and forbidding what is
evil. For example, he makes them think that this is a kind
of showing off or that people will think he is showing
off. You, my sister in Islam, should not pay any attention
to it, rather you should advise your sisters and your
brothers if you see them falling short in any duty or
committing any sin such as backbiting, slandering, or not covering
in front of men. Do not be afraid of showing off, rather
focus your intention on Allaah and be sincere towards
Him, and be of good cheer. Ignore the plots and whispers
of the Shaytaan. Allaah knows what intention is in your
heart and how sincere you are towards Him and towards
His slaves. Allaah knows that showing off is shirk and it
is not permissible, but it is also not permissible for a
believer, man or woman, to stop doing what Allaah has
enjoined, namely calling people to Him and enjoining what is
good and forbidding what is evil, for fear of showing off.
So you have to beware of that and do what is obligatory
in the midst of men and women. Men and women are
equal in this regard. Allaah has explained this in His Book
where He says (interpretation of the meaning):
"The believers, men and women, are Awliyaa'
(helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another; they
enjoin (on the people) AlMa`roof (i.e. Islamic Monotheism
and all that Islam orders one to do), and forbid (people)
from AlMunkar (i.e. polytheism and disbelief of all kinds,
and all that Islam has forbidden); they perform
As-Salaah (Iqaamat-as-Salaah), and give the Zakaah, and
obey Allaah and His Messenger. Allaah will have His
Mercy on them. Surely, Allaah is All-Mighty, All-Wise"
[al-Tawbah 9:71]
Shaykh `Abd al-`Azeez ibn Baaz in al-Fataawa al-Jaami'ah li'l-Mar'ah al-Muslimah, p. 1016.
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21880: We should not stop doing what is prescribed
for fear of showing off
Question:
Sometimes I want to do a righteous deed such as
praying or reading Qur'aan, then someone comes in and I
stop reading in the Mushaf or I don't start praying, or I
shorten my prayer if I have started it. Is it correct to do this?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Ibn Muflih said:
"We should not stop doing what is prescribed in
Islam for fear of showing off."
One of the things that may happen to a person is that
he wants to do an act of worship, but something
happens that makes him stop doing it for fear that he may
be showing off in some way. He should not pay attention
to that. We should do what Allaah has commanded
and encouraged us to do, and seek the help of Allaah, and
put our trust in Him that He will help us to do the action
in the manner prescribed in sharee'ah.
Shaykh Muhiy al-Deen al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: We should not stop
remembering Allaah (dhikr) with our tongues as well as in our
hearts for fear that people may think that we are showing
off; rather we should remember Allaah with both, seeking
the pleasure of Allaah thereby. He mentioned what
al-Fudayl ibn `Iyaad (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: that
not doing something because of people was (a form
of) showing off, and doing something because of people
was (a form of) shirk. He said: if we start to pay attention
to people and try to protect ourselves from their
thinking badly of us, that would stop us from doing a lot of
good deeds. Abu'l-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi said: As for not doing
an act of worship for fear of showing off, if the motive
for doing that act of worship is something other than
religious commitment, then he should refrain from doing it,
because it is a sin. But if the motive for doing it is
religious commitment and he does it sincerely for the sake
of Allaah, then he should not refrain from doing it,
because the motive is religious commitment. Similarly, if
he refrains from doing a righteous deed for fear that he
will be called a show-off, he should not do that (refrain
from that deed) because this is one of the traps of the Shaytaan.
Ibraaheem al-Nakha'i said: if the Shaytaan comes to
you whilst you are praying and says, "you are showing
off," then make your prayer longer. With regard to the
report that one of the salaf stopped praying for fear of
showing off, this is to be interpreted as meaning that they felt as
if they were showing off, so they gave up. This is as
he said. For example, al-A'mash said, "I was with
Ibraaheem al-Nakha'i and he was reading Qur'aan. A man
asked permission to enter and he covered the Mus-haf and
said, `He should not think that I read it all the time.' If
we should not stop doing acts of worship for fear of
showing off, then it is more appropriate that we should not
refrain from doing them for fear of the self-admiration that
may come after doing them.
We have discussed above the issue of
self-admiration before the chapters on enjoining what is good
and forbidding what is evil. We mentioned before the
chapter on clothing the issue of visiting the ruler in order to
enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil, and we quoted
the opinion of Dawood al-Taa'i who said, `I fear that he
may be punished by the whip.' It was said to him, `He
can bear that.' He said, `I fear that he may be executed by
the sword.' It was said to him, `He can bear that.' Then
he said, `I fear that he may be afflicted by the hidden
disease', i.e., self-admiration.
Al-Adaab al-Shar'iyyah by Ibn Muflih, 1/267,
268 (www.islam-qa.com)
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12603: Seeking knowledge in order to teach people and
not for the purpose of showing off
Question:
If a person learns one of the branches of
religious knowledge in order to play his role in the village
where he lives, and he memorizes Qur'aan in order to lead
the young men in praying at night in Ramadaan, will that
be a kind of minor shirk (al-shirk al-asghar)?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
It is known from the evidence of sharee'ah that
seeking knowledge and seeking to understand the religion is
one of the best acts of worship and obedience. The same
is true of studying the Qur'aan and trying to recite it a
lot and to memorize it or as much as one can. All of these
are among the best acts of worship. If you do what you
should of teaching the people of your village, guiding
them, leading them _ the young men and others _ in prayer,
all of these are good deeds which will be appreciated
and for which you will be rewarded. This is not showing
off and it is not shirk, if your aim is to seek the pleasure
of Allaah and the Hereafter, and you are not doing it to
show off to people and earn their praise, but to help them
and increase their knowledge and understanding of
their religion. That could be minor shirk only if you did it
to show off to people or to earn their praise. The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,
"The thing that I fear most for you is minor
shirk." He was asked what that was, and he said, "Showing off."
"When a man stands up to pray and he makes his prayer
beautiful because he thinks that the people are looking at him."
On the Day of Resurrection, Allaah will say to those
who show off, "Go to those for whom you used to show off
in the world, and see whether you find any reward
with them." Showing off means that you do something
with the aim of people seeing you and praising you;
reputation is a part of that. For example, if you read Qur'aan so
that people will praise you and say, "He is a good reader"
or "He reads well"; or you do a lot of
dhikr so that they will praise you and say, "He does a lot of
dhikr"; or you enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil so that people
will praise you. This is showing off, and this is minor
shirk. It is essential to beware of that and to do what you do
for the sake of Allaah alone, not for the sake of showing
off to people and earning their praise. But you should
learn in order to act upon that knowledge and to teach
your brothers and lead them in prayer, and hope for the
reward that is with Allaah. You should do that with the aim
of helping them, not for the purposes of showing off
or enhancing your reputation. If you read from the
Mus-haf there is nothing wrong with that if you lead your
brothers in prayer reading from the Mus-haf in Ramadaan.
The freed slave of `Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with
her) used to lead her in prayer reading from the
Mus-haf. So it is OK to read from the
Mus-haf when praying at night in Ramadaan if you have not memorized it, but if one
has learned it by heart and can recite it from memory, that
is better, but there is nothing wrong with reading from
the Mus-haf if necessary.
Majmoo' Fataawa wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi'ah li Samaahat al-Shaykh al-`Allaamah `Abd al-`Azeez
ibn `Abd-Allaah ibn Baaz, may Allaah have mercy on
him, vol. 9, p. 3 (www.islam-qa.com)
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1733: Working for a salary and not for the Hereafter _
is this blameworthy?
Question:
There is an employee who has been working for the
state for more than twenty years. He is an honest worker
with a good attitude who tries to please his superiors and
boss, and works hard so that he will receive his salary in
full with nothing docked from his pay, and so that he
will earn promotion. All of these efforts are only for the
sake of his work, not for the sake of Allaah. But this
employee worships Allaah and does good deeds sincerely for
the sake of Allaah, outside of his work. He prays, fasts,
gives charity, pays zakaah, goes for Hajj, reads Qur'aan,
reads Tafseer and does all kinds of good things sincerely
for the sake of Allaah and in accordance with His
sharee'ah. So what is your opinion _ may Allaah reward you
with good _ about this man's attitude when he is at work? Is
it permissible, or is it shirk , or what? Please advise us
and tell us what he should do. Is there any sin on him for
what he has done in the past in his work? May Allaah take
care of you.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
It is known that employment and work is not
called `ibaadah (worship), and it is not one of the kinds
of worship that should be done only for Allaah. People
work at their jobs in order to make their salaries halaal, and
so that they will be deserving of what they are given, and
so on. The intention cannot be described in terms of
worship. But if he knows that it is a trust between him and
Allaah, and that Allaah is always watching him, so he
pays attention to the fact that his Lord is watching him in
this work, so that what he takes as wages will be halaal
beyond a doubt, then he will have the reward for this
sincerity, even if his intention is that nothing should be docked
from his pay and so on. Given that this employee
undertakes his religious duties and keeps away from haraam
things, he is to be commended for that. And Allaah
multiplies the reward for whomsoever He wills. And Allaah is
the Generous Bestower and All-Knowing.
Al-Lu'lu' al-Makeen min Fataawaa al-Shaykh `Abd
al-rahmaan ibn Al-Jibrin, p. 62 (www.islam-qa.com)
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449: An imaam is guilty of some secret sin; should
he continue in his position as imaam?
Question:
A young man is an imaam in one of the mosques. He
is, as he says, well-liked by the people at the mosque, but
he knows deep down that he has shortcomings and is
guilty of some sins, and does not deserve to be the imaam or
to have this love and respect from people. He fears that
if he remains as imaam of the mosque, he may become
a hypocrite or show off. Should he stay in the
mosque? Should he continue leading the people in prayer, or
should he leave this position out of fear of becoming a
hypocrite and show off?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
You describe this young man as being loved by his
people, but he is guilty of some transgression which is a
matter between him and his Lord. I say that the fact that
Allaah has blessed him with the position of imaam and the
love of his people dictates that he should give up his sin
and stop transgressing against himself, and he should
worship Allaah properly, and give thanks to Allaah, because
the fact that a person is loved by his people and is their
imaam is a great blessing from Allaah. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"And the slaves of the Most Beneficient (Allaah) are
those who walk on the earth in humility and sedateness…
And those who say: `Our Lord… and make us leaders
for the muttaqoon (the pious)…" [al-Furqaan 25:68, 74]
Those who pray are among the pious, and the one
who leads them in prayer is imcluded in this aayah,
"…and make us leaders for the muttaqoon (the
pious)…" So let him praise Allaah for this blessing, and stop
transgressing against himself, and let him make this one of the
means of bringing himself back to obedience to Allaah, and
let him fear Allaah with regard to his status.
When he says that he is afraid he may show off, this
is waswaas (insinuating thoughts) that the Shaytaan
puts into a person's mind whenever he wants to do an act
of obedience to Allaah. The Shaytaan comes to him and
says, "You are showing off." He has to cast this idea
aside, ignore it and seek the help of Allaah, for he always
recites in his salaah the words, "Iyyaaka na'budu wa
iyyaaka nasta'een (You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone)
we ask for help" [al-Faatihah 1:5 _ interpretation of
the meaning].
Liqa' al-Baab al-Maftooh by Ibn `Uthaymeen,
53/77 (www.islam-qa.com)
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