![Photo: ✦ THE DANGERS OF RIYA’ [Showing off] ✦
Riya [ Riya Means Showing off] refers to doing things that are pleasing to Allah with the intention of seeking admiration from others. The intention in such cases, therefore, is usually to show off one’s good deeds to win praise and admiration of others. It amounts to practicing virtue out of vanity, with the aim of achieving popularity among people.
Riya makes us focus on earning appreciation from people rather than seeking Allah’s favor and acceptance. It makes us focus on people’s appreciation of our virtuous acts, which means we give importance to them, and not to Allah the Most Benevolent.
☛ The Dangers of Riya’ are so many in number, just to point out a few:
1. Hidden Shirk:
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) out of his love and concern for the Ummah (nation), feared this calamity more than any other. Abu Sa’eed reported that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) came to us while we were discussing about Dajjal and said: “Should I inform you of that which I fear for you even more than the dangers of Dajjal? It is hidden Shirk: A person stands to pray, and he beautifies his prayer because he sees the people looking at him.” [Sahih Sunan ibn Maajah, vol.2, p.410, no.3389]
2. Weakens Iman and Tawheed:
By committing ‘riya’, a person destroys the very purpose of his creation, since instead of truly worshipping Allah, he pretends to worship Allah while seeking to achieve the pleasure and praise of the creation of Allah. Allah Almighty Says in Holy Quran: “And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” [Surah Az Dhariyat 51:56]
Allah describes the true believers as those who perform their acts of worship solely for the sake of Allah, not desiring reward nor thanks from others for their deeds. Allah Almighty Says in Holy Quran: And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive, Saying, "We feed you only for the countenance of Allah. We wish not from you reward or gratitude. [Surah Al Insan 76:8-9]
In direct contrast to this, Allah says about the hypocrites: So woe to those who pray But who are heedless of their prayer -Those who make show of their deeds And withhold simple assistance. [Surah Al-Maun: 107:4-7]
3. Increases Misguidance:
There is no doubt that the person who commits riya’ has a disease in his heart, and if this disease is not cured, it will lead to further problems. In this regard, Allah Almighty Says in Holy Quran: “They think to deceive Allah and those who believe, but they deceive not except themselves and perceive it not. In their hearts is disease, so Allah has increased their disease; and for them is a painful punishment because they habitually used to lie.” [Surah Al Baqarah 2:9-10]
4. Deprives Deeds of Blessings:
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has informed in a number of his statements that Allah will not accept actions done for the sake of others. Mahmood ibn Labeed related that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Allah the Exalted, will say to those who practised riya’ when He is taking account of people’s deeds on the Day of Judgement. ‘Go to those whom you used to show off your deeds to, and see if you will find any reward with them!’” [Sahih at Targheeb wat-Tarheeb, no.29]
5. Prohibits Entrance to Paradise:
Performing righteous acts for human praise can also lead to being barred from entering Paradise. Abu Hurayrah quoted the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying, “Whoever gains any knowledge that should be learnt for the sake of Allah, with the intention of benefit in this world will not even smell the fragrance of Paradise on the Day of Judgement.” [Sunan Abu-Dawud, vol.3, p.1039, no.3656 and Sunan ibn-Majah, vol.1, p.144, no.252]
☛ THE CURE – WAYS TO AVOID RIYA’
i. Increasing Knowledge:
One of the cures for the vast majority of the problems Muslims face, is to increase their knowledge of the Religion. As Allah says in the Final Revelation: “Indeed, only those who have knowledge among His slaves truly fear Allah.” [Surah Fatir 35:28]
We must realize that attaining correct knowledge is the duty of every God-fearing Muslim, and not merely the administrators of the religion (i.e. Imams, Shaykhs, Scholars, etc).
ii. Invocations (du’a):
Among the strongest repellents of riya’ and one of the easiest is du’a. Abu Baker related that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Shirk amongst you is more hidden than the crawling of an ant, and I shall tell you of something which, if you do it, will remove from you both the minor and the major Shirk.
Say: Allaahumma innee a’oothu bika an ushrika bika wa ana a’lamu wa astagh-firuka limma laa a’lam (O Allah, surely I seek refuge in you from knowingly worshipping others besides you and I seek your forgiveness for what I don’t know).” [Sahih al-Jaami, no. 3731]
Allah, the Most High says in regards to the above: Indeed, those who fear Allah - when an impulse touches them from Satan, they remember Him and at once they have insight. [Surah Al-A’raf 7: 201]
iii. Reflection Upon Heaven and Hell:
Reflection on the Hereafter helps one develop more fear of Allah, and increases one’s desire to stay away from sins. If a person realises that his purpose in life is not to gain fame and prestige, nor the acceptance or happiness of others, but rather to save himself from Hell and enter Paradise, he will try his utmost to avoid riya’.
Allah Almighty Says in Holy Quran: “So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord - let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone." [Surah Al-Kahf 18:110]
☛ GENERAL CAUSES OF RIYA’
A. Pride:
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) stated that Allah said: “Pride is my Cloak and greatness my Robe, so whoever competes with Me, with respect to either of them, I shall cast him into Hell.” [Sahih Muslim, vol.4, p.1381, no.6349]
Allah also warned against falling into this category as:
And never think that those who rejoice in what they have perpetrated and like to be praised for what they did not do - never think them to be in safety from the punishment, and for them is a painful punishment. [Surah Al-Imran 3:188]
B. Showing Off:
Allah Almighty Says in Holy Quran: “Indeed, the hypocrites think to deceive Allah , but He is deceiving them. And when they stand for prayer, they stand lazily, showing themselves to the people and not remembering Allah except a little.” [Surah An-Nisa 4:142]
C. Pleasing Allah as well as others:
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Allah – the blessed, the transcendent – said, I am the most Self-Sufficient, without need of any associate. So, he who does an action for someone else’s sake, as well as Mine, I will leave him with whoever he associated with Me (i.e. he will get no blessings for that deed whatsoever).” [Sahih Muslim, vol.4, p.1538, no.7114]
D. Clothing:
This is the case of a person who does not care for his appearance, dresses shabbily in order to show that he does care for worldly appearance, rather is concerned for the hereafter, Or he may revert to the exact opposite; that is to dress up like a scholar in order to be said of or considered ‘a scholar’ by people.
Allah Almighty Says in Holy Quran: And when you see them, their forms please you, and if they speak, you listen to their speech. They are as if they were pieces of wood propped up - they think that every shout is against them. They are the enemy, so beware of them. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?. [Surah Al-Munafiqun 63:4]
However, to maintain a good appearance for the sake of looking nice, (as opposed to the sake of attracting attention and praise), does not constitute riya’.
☛ Other Related Issues
Unintended Praise: If the people attend a lecture that greatly benefited them, it is likely they will go to the speaker and praise and thank him. This type of praise will not ruin a person’s actions as long as it did not effect or alter his intention. Abu Tharr al-Ghifaaree asked the Prophet (ﷺ): “O Messenger of Allah! What do you think of a person who does good deeds, and the people praise him for it?” He responded: “This is part of the indications of the blessings of a believer in store for him in the Hereafter.” [Sahih Muslim, vol.4, p.1388, no.6388]
Discouraged to Praise: It is discouraged to praise a person to his face, as this act very easily leads to self-conceit on the part of the person who was praised. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “When you see those who shower praises (on others), throw dust in their faces!” [Sahih al-Bukhari,vol.3, pp.512-3, no.830 and Sahih Muslim,vol.4, p.1542, no.7143].
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✦ THE DANGERS OF RIYA’ [Showing off] ✦
Riya [ Riya Means Showing off] refers to doing things that are pleasing to Allah with the intention of seeking admiration from others. The intention in such cases, therefore, is usually to show off one’s good deeds to win praise and admiration of others. It amounts to practicing virtue out of vanity, with the aim of achieving popularity among people.
Riya makes us focus on earning appreciation from people rather than seeking Allah’s favor and acceptance. It makes us focus on people’s appreciation of our virtuous acts, which means we give importance to them, and not to Allah the Most Benevolent.
☛ The Dangers of Riya’ are so many in number, just to point out a few:
1. Hidden Shirk:
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) out of his love and concern for the Ummah (nation), feared this calamity more than any other. Abu Sa’eed reported that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) came to us while we were discussing about Dajjal and said: “Should I inform you of that which I fear for you even more than the dangers of Dajjal? It is hidden Shirk: A person stands to pray, and he beautifies his prayer because he sees the people looking at him.” [Sahih Sunan ibn Maajah, vol.2, p.410, no.3389]
2. Weakens Iman and Tawheed:
By committing ‘riya’, a person destroys the very purpose of his creation, since instead of truly worshipping Allah, he pretends to worship Allah while seeking to achieve the pleasure and praise of the creation of Allah. Allah Almighty Says in Holy Quran: “And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” [Surah Az Dhariyat 51:56]
Allah describes the true believers as those who perform their acts of worship solely for the sake of Allah, not desiring reward nor thanks from others for their deeds. Allah Almighty Says in Holy Quran: And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive, Saying, "We feed you only for the countenance of Allah. We wish not from you reward or gratitude. [Surah Al Insan 76:8-9]
In direct contrast to this, Allah says about the hypocrites: So woe to those who pray But who are heedless of their prayer -Those who make show of their deeds And withhold simple assistance. [Surah Al-Maun: 107:4-7]
3. Increases Misguidance:
There is no doubt that the person who commits riya’ has a disease in his heart, and if this disease is not cured, it will lead to further problems. In this regard, Allah Almighty Says in Holy Quran: “They think to deceive Allah and those who believe, but they deceive not except themselves and perceive it not. In their hearts is disease, so Allah has increased their disease; and for them is a painful punishment because they habitually used to lie.” [Surah Al Baqarah 2:9-10]
4. Deprives Deeds of Blessings:
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has informed in a number of his statements that Allah will not accept actions done for the sake of others. Mahmood ibn Labeed related that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Allah the Exalted, will say to those who practised riya’ when He is taking account of people’s deeds on the Day of Judgement. ‘Go to those whom you used to show off your deeds to, and see if you will find any reward with them!’” [Sahih at Targheeb wat-Tarheeb, no.29]
5. Prohibits Entrance to Paradise:
Performing righteous acts for human praise can also lead to being barred from entering Paradise. Abu Hurayrah quoted the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying, “Whoever gains any knowledge that should be learnt for the sake of Allah, with the intention of benefit in this world will not even smell the fragrance of Paradise on the Day of Judgement.” [Sunan Abu-Dawud, vol.3, p.1039, no.3656 and Sunan ibn-Majah, vol.1, p.144, no.252]
☛ THE CURE – WAYS TO AVOID RIYA’
i. Increasing Knowledge:
One of the cures for the vast majority of the problems Muslims face, is to increase their knowledge of the Religion. As Allah says in the Final Revelation: “Indeed, only those who have knowledge among His slaves truly fear Allah.” [Surah Fatir 35:28]
We must realize that attaining correct knowledge is the duty of every God-fearing Muslim, and not merely the administrators of the religion (i.e. Imams, Shaykhs, Scholars, etc).
ii. Invocations (du’a):
Among the strongest repellents of riya’ and one of the easiest is du’a. Abu Baker related that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Shirk amongst you is more hidden than the crawling of an ant, and I shall tell you of something which, if you do it, will remove from you both the minor and the major Shirk.
Say: Allaahumma innee a’oothu bika an ushrika bika wa ana a’lamu wa astagh-firuka limma laa a’lam (O Allah, surely I seek refuge in you from knowingly worshipping others besides you and I seek your forgiveness for what I don’t know).” [Sahih al-Jaami, no. 3731]
Allah, the Most High says in regards to the above: Indeed, those who fear Allah - when an impulse touches them from Satan, they remember Him and at once they have insight. [Surah Al-A’raf 7: 201]
iii. Reflection Upon Heaven and Hell:
Reflection on the Hereafter helps one develop more fear of Allah, and increases one’s desire to stay away from sins. If a person realises that his purpose in life is not to gain fame and prestige, nor the acceptance or happiness of others, but rather to save himself from Hell and enter Paradise, he will try his utmost to avoid riya’.
Allah Almighty Says in Holy Quran: “So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord - let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone." [Surah Al-Kahf 18:110]
☛ GENERAL CAUSES OF RIYA’
A. Pride:
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) stated that Allah said: “Pride is my Cloak and greatness my Robe, so whoever competes with Me, with respect to either of them, I shall cast him into Hell.” [Sahih Muslim, vol.4, p.1381, no.6349]
Allah also warned against falling into this category as:
And never think that those who rejoice in what they have perpetrated and like to be praised for what they did not do - never think them to be in safety from the punishment, and for them is a painful punishment. [Surah Al-Imran 3:188]
B. Showing Off:
Allah Almighty Says in Holy Quran: “Indeed, the hypocrites think to deceive Allah , but He is deceiving them. And when they stand for prayer, they stand lazily, showing themselves to the people and not remembering Allah except a little.” [Surah An-Nisa 4:142]
C. Pleasing Allah as well as others:
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Allah – the blessed, the transcendent – said, I am the most Self-Sufficient, without need of any associate. So, he who does an action for someone else’s sake, as well as Mine, I will leave him with whoever he associated with Me (i.e. he will get no blessings for that deed whatsoever).” [Sahih Muslim, vol.4, p.1538, no.7114]
D. Clothing:
This is the case of a person who does not care for his appearance, dresses shabbily in order to show that he does care for worldly appearance, rather is concerned for the hereafter, Or he may revert to the exact opposite; that is to dress up like a scholar in order to be said of or considered ‘a scholar’ by people.
Allah Almighty Says in Holy Quran: And when you see them, their forms please you, and if they speak, you listen to their speech. They are as if they were pieces of wood propped up - they think that every shout is against them. They are the enemy, so beware of them. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?. [Surah Al-Munafiqun 63:4]
However, to maintain a good appearance for the sake of looking nice, (as opposed to the sake of attracting attention and praise), does not constitute riya’.
☛ Other Related Issues
Unintended Praise: If the people attend a lecture that greatly benefited them, it is likely they will go to the speaker and praise and thank him. This type of praise will not ruin a person’s actions as long as it did not effect or alter his intention. Abu Tharr al-Ghifaaree asked the Prophet (ﷺ): “O Messenger of Allah! What do you think of a person who does good deeds, and the people praise him for it?” He responded: “This is part of the indications of the blessings of a believer in store for him in the Hereafter.” [Sahih Muslim, vol.4, p.1388, no.6388]
Discouraged to Praise: It is discouraged to praise a person to his face, as this act very easily leads to self-conceit on the part of the person who was praised. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “When you see those who shower praises (on others), throw dust in their faces!” [Sahih al-Bukhari,vol.3, pp.512-3, no.830 and Sahih Muslim,vol.4, p.1542, no.7143].
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Riya [ Riya Means Showing off] refers to doing things that are pleasing to Allah with the intention of seeking admiration from others. The intention in such cases, therefore, is usually to show off one’s good deeds to win praise and admiration of others. It amounts to practicing virtue out of vanity, with the aim of achieving popularity among people.
Riya makes us focus on earning appreciation from people rather than seeking Allah’s favor and acceptance. It makes us focus on people’s appreciation of our virtuous acts, which means we give importance to them, and not to Allah the Most Benevolent.
☛ The Dangers of Riya’ are so many in number, just to point out a few:
1. Hidden Shirk:
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) out of his love and concern for the Ummah (nation), feared this calamity more than any other. Abu Sa’eed reported that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) came to us while we were discussing about Dajjal and said: “Should I inform you of that which I fear for you even more than the dangers of Dajjal? It is hidden Shirk: A person stands to pray, and he beautifies his prayer because he sees the people looking at him.” [Sahih Sunan ibn Maajah, vol.2, p.410, no.3389]
2. Weakens Iman and Tawheed:
By committing ‘riya’, a person destroys the very purpose of his creation, since instead of truly worshipping Allah, he pretends to worship Allah while seeking to achieve the pleasure and praise of the creation of Allah. Allah Almighty Says in Holy Quran: “And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” [Surah Az Dhariyat 51:56]
Allah describes the true believers as those who perform their acts of worship solely for the sake of Allah, not desiring reward nor thanks from others for their deeds. Allah Almighty Says in Holy Quran: And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive, Saying, "We feed you only for the countenance of Allah. We wish not from you reward or gratitude. [Surah Al Insan 76:8-9]
In direct contrast to this, Allah says about the hypocrites: So woe to those who pray But who are heedless of their prayer -Those who make show of their deeds And withhold simple assistance. [Surah Al-Maun: 107:4-7]
3. Increases Misguidance:
There is no doubt that the person who commits riya’ has a disease in his heart, and if this disease is not cured, it will lead to further problems. In this regard, Allah Almighty Says in Holy Quran: “They think to deceive Allah and those who believe, but they deceive not except themselves and perceive it not. In their hearts is disease, so Allah has increased their disease; and for them is a painful punishment because they habitually used to lie.” [Surah Al Baqarah 2:9-10]
4. Deprives Deeds of Blessings:
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has informed in a number of his statements that Allah will not accept actions done for the sake of others. Mahmood ibn Labeed related that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Allah the Exalted, will say to those who practised riya’ when He is taking account of people’s deeds on the Day of Judgement. ‘Go to those whom you used to show off your deeds to, and see if you will find any reward with them!’” [Sahih at Targheeb wat-Tarheeb, no.29]
5. Prohibits Entrance to Paradise:
Performing righteous acts for human praise can also lead to being barred from entering Paradise. Abu Hurayrah quoted the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying, “Whoever gains any knowledge that should be learnt for the sake of Allah, with the intention of benefit in this world will not even smell the fragrance of Paradise on the Day of Judgement.” [Sunan Abu-Dawud, vol.3, p.1039, no.3656 and Sunan ibn-Majah, vol.1, p.144, no.252]
☛ THE CURE – WAYS TO AVOID RIYA’
i. Increasing Knowledge:
One of the cures for the vast majority of the problems Muslims face, is to increase their knowledge of the Religion. As Allah says in the Final Revelation: “Indeed, only those who have knowledge among His slaves truly fear Allah.” [Surah Fatir 35:28]
We must realize that attaining correct knowledge is the duty of every God-fearing Muslim, and not merely the administrators of the religion (i.e. Imams, Shaykhs, Scholars, etc).
ii. Invocations (du’a):
Among the strongest repellents of riya’ and one of the easiest is du’a. Abu Baker related that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Shirk amongst you is more hidden than the crawling of an ant, and I shall tell you of something which, if you do it, will remove from you both the minor and the major Shirk.
Say: Allaahumma innee a’oothu bika an ushrika bika wa ana a’lamu wa astagh-firuka limma laa a’lam (O Allah, surely I seek refuge in you from knowingly worshipping others besides you and I seek your forgiveness for what I don’t know).” [Sahih al-Jaami, no. 3731]
Allah, the Most High says in regards to the above: Indeed, those who fear Allah - when an impulse touches them from Satan, they remember Him and at once they have insight. [Surah Al-A’raf 7: 201]
iii. Reflection Upon Heaven and Hell:
Reflection on the Hereafter helps one develop more fear of Allah, and increases one’s desire to stay away from sins. If a person realises that his purpose in life is not to gain fame and prestige, nor the acceptance or happiness of others, but rather to save himself from Hell and enter Paradise, he will try his utmost to avoid riya’.
Allah Almighty Says in Holy Quran: “So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord - let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone." [Surah Al-Kahf 18:110]
☛ GENERAL CAUSES OF RIYA’
A. Pride:
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) stated that Allah said: “Pride is my Cloak and greatness my Robe, so whoever competes with Me, with respect to either of them, I shall cast him into Hell.” [Sahih Muslim, vol.4, p.1381, no.6349]
Allah also warned against falling into this category as:
And never think that those who rejoice in what they have perpetrated and like to be praised for what they did not do - never think them to be in safety from the punishment, and for them is a painful punishment. [Surah Al-Imran 3:188]
B. Showing Off:
Allah Almighty Says in Holy Quran: “Indeed, the hypocrites think to deceive Allah , but He is deceiving them. And when they stand for prayer, they stand lazily, showing themselves to the people and not remembering Allah except a little.” [Surah An-Nisa 4:142]
C. Pleasing Allah as well as others:
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Allah – the blessed, the transcendent – said, I am the most Self-Sufficient, without need of any associate. So, he who does an action for someone else’s sake, as well as Mine, I will leave him with whoever he associated with Me (i.e. he will get no blessings for that deed whatsoever).” [Sahih Muslim, vol.4, p.1538, no.7114]
D. Clothing:
This is the case of a person who does not care for his appearance, dresses shabbily in order to show that he does care for worldly appearance, rather is concerned for the hereafter, Or he may revert to the exact opposite; that is to dress up like a scholar in order to be said of or considered ‘a scholar’ by people.
Allah Almighty Says in Holy Quran: And when you see them, their forms please you, and if they speak, you listen to their speech. They are as if they were pieces of wood propped up - they think that every shout is against them. They are the enemy, so beware of them. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?. [Surah Al-Munafiqun 63:4]
However, to maintain a good appearance for the sake of looking nice, (as opposed to the sake of attracting attention and praise), does not constitute riya’.
☛ Other Related Issues
Unintended Praise: If the people attend a lecture that greatly benefited them, it is likely they will go to the speaker and praise and thank him. This type of praise will not ruin a person’s actions as long as it did not effect or alter his intention. Abu Tharr al-Ghifaaree asked the Prophet (ﷺ): “O Messenger of Allah! What do you think of a person who does good deeds, and the people praise him for it?” He responded: “This is part of the indications of the blessings of a believer in store for him in the Hereafter.” [Sahih Muslim, vol.4, p.1388, no.6388]
Discouraged to Praise: It is discouraged to praise a person to his face, as this act very easily leads to self-conceit on the part of the person who was praised. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “When you see those who shower praises (on others), throw dust in their faces!” [Sahih al-Bukhari,vol.3, pp.512-3, no.830 and Sahih Muslim,vol.4, p.1542, no.7143].
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