When the prophet [peace and blessings of AIlaah be upon him] went on the miraculous nigh Journey [lsra wa Miraj] to Allaah, one of the things that Allaah showed him is how He [Allaah] would reward His servants with regards to the good deeds that they do and also the bad deeds that they commit. Narrated Ibn Abbas; The Prophet [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] narrating about his Lord said, Allaah ordered (the appointed angels over you) that the good and the bad deeds be written, and He then showed (the way) how (to write). If somebody intends to do a good deed and he does not do it, then Allaah will write for him a full good deed (in his account with Him); and if he intends to do a good deed and actually did it, then Allaah will write for him (in his account) with Him (its reward equal) from ten to seven hundred times to many more times: and if somebody intended to do a bad deed and he does not do it, then Allaah will write a full good deed (in his account) with Him, and if he intended to do it (a bad deed) and actually did it, then Allah will write one bad deed (in his account). "[Bukhari]
From this hadith, we can see how merciful Allaah is towards His servants and we will almost conclude that every Muslim will end up in Paradise without tasting the punishment of the Fire of Hell. But wait a minute; before you reach that conclusion, you need to read this story; The story of the Three! The Martyr? Abu Hurayrah [RA] said, "I heard Allaah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: "The first of people against whom judgement will be pronounced on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who died a martyr. He will be brought and Allaah will make known to him His favours and he will recognize them. Allaah will say: "And what did you do about them?" He will say" l fought for you until I died as a martyr". He will say; "You have lied - you did but fight that it might be said: "He is courageous". And so it was said. "Then he will be ordered to be dragged along his face until he is cast into the Hellfire. The Scholar [Another] will be a man who has studied [religious] know/edge and has taught it and who used to recite the Quraan. He will be brought and Allaah will make known to him His favours and he will recognise them. Allaah will say: "And what did you do about them?" He will say, " studied [religious] knowledge and I taught it and I recited the Quraan for Your sake". He will say, "You have lied - you did but study [religious] knowledge that it might be said [of you]: "He is learned". And you recited the Quraan that it might be said [of you]: "He is a Qaari [reciter]". And so it was said". Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hellfire. The Philanthropist [Another] will be a man whom Allaah had made rich and to whom He had given all kinds of wealth. He will be brought and Allaah will make known to him His favours and he will recognise them. Allaah will say: "And what did you do about them?" He will say, "I left no path [untrodden] in which you like money to be spent without that it might be said [of you]: "He is openhanded". And so it was said "Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hellfire. "(Muslim). From this noble hadith of the Prophet [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him], we can see that though Allaah has promised the believers manifold reward for the little efforts that they do in this world, Shaytan is around the corner to make sure that this does not happen by using the instrument of show-off [riyaa]. Not only would the person who does show-off lose the reward for his deeds, he will also be punished for associating partners with Allaah in the good deeds that he performed! [May Allaah save us from that] Other warnings on show-off Apart from the above hadith, there are other similar warnings from Allaah and the Prophet [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] concerning show-off.
Let us look at some of them: No fragrance of Paradise! The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever learnt knowledge by which the Face of Allaah should be sought, but did not learn it except to gain a portion of the world will not smell the fragrance of Paradise on the Day of Judgement. "(Abu Dawood).
No showing-off or seeking to be heard of The Messenger of Allaah [peaceﾕ and blessings of Allaah be upon him]. used to say when making talbiyyahforthe Hajj: "O Allaah!A Hajj in which there is no showing off (riyaaJ in it or seeking to be heard of. (ad-Diyaa with saheeh isnad). ... disbelief.. . leaves it bare .. : Allaah says; 0 you who believe! Do not render in vain your Sadaqah [charity] by reminders of you generosity or by injury, like him who spends his wealth to be seen of men, and he does not believe in Allaah, nor in the Last Day. His likeness is the likeness of a smooth rock on which is a little dust; on it fall’s heavy rain which leaves it bare. They are not able to do anything with what they have earned. And Allaah does not guide the disbelieving people. [Q 2:264]
Disgrace
Narrated Jundub; The Prophet said, "He who lets the people hear of his good deeds intentionally, to win their praise, Allaah will let the people know his real intention (on the Day of Resurrection), and he who does good things in public to Show-off and win the praise of the people, Allaah will disclose his real intention (and humiliate him). "[Bukhari] Hidden Shirk Abu Saeed al-Khudri [RA] said; We were talking about Maseeh ud-Dajaal in the presence of the Prophet [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him]. He said shall I not inform you about something which I fear more for you than Maseeh ud-Dajjaal? We said: Of course, 0 Messenger of Allaah! He said: The Hidden Shirk. A man stands far prayer and beautifies his for those who are watching him. From the above we can see that riyaa or show-off is something that is very evil and that it is one of the handiwork of Shaytan to rob us Muslims of the reward that we are supposed to get for the good deeds that we do, the cousins of show-off Apart from show-off there other things that can render our good deeds unacceptable to Allaah. They are similar to show-off but they are not exactly the same. They are; 1. Sumah: Sumah is similar to show-off but has Slight differences. It is those verbal statements that a person utters for the sake of people. Such as someone making exaggerated statements about his abilities just to make others think he is courageous. It can also be that someone does a good deed for the sake of Allaah while nobody is present but he goes out to the people and makes a boast of it. 2. Ujb: This when a person becomes impressed with Himself for the great deeds that he has done. Both of these are dangerous to the good deeds that a person does and we need to purify ourselves from them completely. . What is not Show-off! There are some things that people do but in the eyes of people they see it as show-off but in the true sense of it they are not.
1. Doing good action and being praised on account of it: Abu Dharr (RA) reports that it was said to Allaah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): "Have you seen the man who does an action of goodness and the people praise him for that?" He said: This is the good tiding which the believer receives (in this life)". (Muslim). What this means is that he did not do it in the first place so that people can praise him, rather he did it for the sake of Allaah. However, the people saw what he did and appreciated it and praised him as a result of that.
2. When a person becomes lively and eager for worship upon seeing other worshippers: What this means is that the person is encouraged to do good deeds for the sake of Allaah when he sees other righteous people doing that thing. For instance, a Muslim slept in his friend’s house who woke up to say the night prayer [Tahajjud] and he feels encouraged by that to also get up and pray along with him. This is not show-off.
3. When a person requests a position which he knows he is fit for, such as the saying of Yuusuf (AS): "Give me authority over the treasures of the land. Indeed I am one who guards and one who has knowledge", (12:54 )
4. Wearing beautiful and elegant clothes and shoes: Allaahs Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, "He who has an atoms weight of pride in his heart will not enter Paradise". A man said, "A man loves that his garment is beautiful and his shoes are beautiful". He said, "Indeed AIlaah is beautiful and He love’s beauty. Pride is to reject the truth and to look down upon people". "[Muslim]
5. Not Informing Others About Ones Sins and Concealing Them: It is forbidden for a Muslim to make his sins known to the people either by confession or celebrating it. Rather he should feel bad about it and repent from it and not making it known to the people. The Prophet [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] said; "All army ummah will be forgiven except those who make their sins known. A man does an action by night and then awakens in the morning while AIlaah had concealed his sin for him and he says: "0 so and so! I did such and such yesterday" yet he spent the night while his Lord was covering him and awoke removing the cover of Allaah. "(Bukhari and Muslim).
6. When a servant gains fame and recognition without having desired it: al-Maqdisi (RA) said, ``A man’s seeking fame is blameworthy. As for when it occurs due to Allaah, without the man having desired it, then that is not blameworthy although it may be a trial for those who are weak. " Sincerity; the cure for show-off Sincerity is the opposite of show-off. It is defined as honesty in the expression of true or deep feelings. This is what Allaah requests from us when we are doing any deed that is meant for him. It is one of the two conditions that we have to fulfil before we can get full reward for our deeds, the other being doing the deed according to the way of the Prophet [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him]. Allaah says; And they were commanded not, but that they should worship Allaah, and worship none but Him Alone [abstaining from ascribing partners to Him] and perform As-Salat and give Zakat, and that is the right religion. [Q 98:5]
Benefits .of Sincerity Apart from sincerity being a cure for show-off, it also has the following benefits;
1. Safety from the Punishment in the Hereafter: Allaah says concerning the sincere believers; "And they feed, out of love for Him, the indigent, the orphan and the captive saying: We feed you only for the sake of Allaah, no reward do we desire from you nor thanks. We fear from our Lord a stern and intense day". So AIlaah saved them from the evil of that day and gave them alight of beauty and joy. Their recompense shall be Paradise and silken garments, because they were patient". (Q 76:8-12)
2. ,A Great Reward: Allaah says; "Verily, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depth [grade] of the Fire; no helper will you find for them. Except those who repent [form hypocrisy], do righteous deeds, hold fast to AIlaah, and purify their religion for Allaah [by worshipping none but Allaah, and do good for Allaah’s sake only, not to show off] then they will be with the believers. And AIlaah will grant the believers a great reward" [Q4:145-146]
3. Increase in Guidance: Allaah said concerning the youths in surah al-Kahf; "They were youths who believed (in their Lord). So We increased them in guidance". (Q 18:13). It is clear from the story of these youths that they had sincerity in the first place and that is why they were able to go through what they went through and as a result of that Allaah increased them in guidance. 4. Love of the angels of the heavens for the sincere and their hatred for one who shows off. Allaahs Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "When Allaah the Exalted loves a servant, He calls to Jibreel: "Indeed, Allaah, the Exalted, loves so and so, therefore love him." So Jibreel loves him and then he calls the inhabitants of the Heaven: "Indeed Allaah loves so and so, therefore love him." The inhabitants of the Heaven love him and then acceptance is made for him in the earth. And when He hates a servant He calls Jibreel and says: "Indeed I hate so and so, therefore hate him". So Jibreel hates him. Then Jibreel calls the inhabitants of the Heaven: "Indeed Allaah hates so and so, therefore, hate him". The hatred of him is then placed on the earth". (Muslim). These are some of the benefits that we can derive from being sincere and staying away from show-off. O Allaah we seek refuge in You from associating partners with You knowingly and we seek your forgiveness in that which we do ignorantly.