Ar-Riya’
Ash-Shirk Al-Asghar – Minor Shirk
The Prophet (May
the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) said:
"Shall I not
tell you what I fear for you more than the false Messiah?" The Companions
(May Allah be pleased with him) said, "Indeed, O Messenger of Allah,"
He said, "Inconspicuous Shirk,
as, when a person
improves his rendering of the Salat when he knows that others are
watching."[1]
Ar-Riya’
Ar- Riya’ is the
practice of performing any of the various forms of worship in order to be seen
and praised by people. This sin destroys all the benefits that lie in righteous
deeds & brings on the one who commits it a serious punishment. Doing
religious acts to impress people or in order to be praised by them is,
therefore, an evil which deserves man’s utmost caution. This danger is really
significant to the believers, whose goal is to make all the acts of their lives
religious acts dedicated to God.
The likelihood
that knowledgeable true believers would commit ash-Shirk Al-Akbar is small,
since its pitfalls are so obvious. But for the true believer, like everyone
else, the chance of committing RIya’ is great because it is so hidden. It only
involves the simple act of changing one’s intention.
“Shirk is more
hidden than a black ant creeping on a black stone in the middle of a moonless
night.”
Intention
The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Surely all
actions are but driven by intentions and, verily, every man shall have but that
which he intended.”[2]
This hadith is one
of the most comprehensive hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him). This
hadith is considered one half of Islam because the religion concerns both the
internal and the external. The deeds are the external aspect & the
intention behind them is the internal aspect.
It is also
considered to be covering 1/3rd of Knowledge because the person
earns rewards with his heart, tongue & body. Thus intention is involved in
one of these 3 components.[3]
Intention is the
intent & resolve in the heart. Imam Suyooti, may Allah have mercy upon him
said, “Intention describes the driving force in the heart.” Intention is not
just a thought but it is a determination, want & aspiration to do
something. Niyyah is also referred to as the intent in the heart that must
accompany & precede any act of worship.
Hypocrisy in Ones Intention
“And woe to those who make show of their deeds..”[4]
The Prophet (May
the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) said:
“The first to be
judged on the day of resurrection will be a man who died a martyr. He will be
brought forward and Allah(swt) will remind him of the blessings He had bestowed
upon him and the man will acknowledge them. Then He will ask him: ‘What did you
do with those blessings?’ The man will reply: ‘I fought for Your sake until I
was martyred.’ Allah will say, ‘You have lied! You fought so that the people
would call you courageous and they have done so.’ Allah’s command, with regards
to him, will be issue and he will be dragged on his face and thrown into Hell.
“Next a man who
had acquired and imparted knowledge and read the Qur’an will be brought
forward. Allah will remind him of the blessings He bestowed upon him and the
man will acknowledge them. Then He will ask, ‘what did you do with those
blessings?’ The man will reply: ‘I acquired knowledge and taught it and recited
the Qur’an for Your sake.’ Allah will say to him, ‘You have lied! You acquired
knowledge so the people would call you a scholar and you recited the Qur’an so
they would call you a recited and they have done so.’ A command will then be
issued regarding him and he will be dragged on his face and thrown into Hell.
“Next a man whom
Allah had granted affluence and much wealth, will be brought forward and Allah
will remind him of the blessings He bestowed upon him and the man will
acknowledge them. He will ask him, ‘What did you do with those blessings?’ The
man will reply ‘I did not neglect any of the ways you liked wealth to be spent
except that I spent it for Your sake.’ Allah will say to him: ‘You have lied!
You did it so the people would call you generous and they have done so.’ And a
command will be issued regarding him and he will be dragged on his face and
thrown into Hell.”[5]
Trait of a Hypocrite- Showing off ones deeds
“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”[6]
Allah the Most Exalted
said:
"Whosoever
desires the life of the world and its glitter; to them we shall pay in full
(the
wages of) their
deeds therein and they will have no diminution therein. They are those for whom
there is nothing in the Hereafter but the Fire; and vain are the deeds they did
therein. And of no effect is that which they used to do."[7]
Causes of Riya’
The primary cause
of riyaa is weak imaan. When a person does not have strong faith in Allaah-- no
matter how much they pretend to have it in the eyes of others-- he or she will
prefer the admiration of people, or of a certain person, over the pleasure of Allaah.
1)
Weakness of Imaan
2)
Lack of God-Consciousness
3)
Lack of knowledge about Riya’
4)
To avoid criticism
Symptoms of Riya’
1)
To show off - To be seen of men
Allah the Al-Mighty says:
“And do not be like those who came forth from their homes insolently
and to be seen by people and avert [them] from the way of Allah. And Allah is
encompassing of what they do.”[8]
2)
Love of Praise
The Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Three things destroy: desires that are followed, greediness that is
obeyed, and a person’s self-admiration and conceit: and this is the worst of
the three!”[9]
Allah the Al-Mighty says:
“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.”[10]
3)
Laziness towards acts of worship
Being lazy regarding acts of worship when one is alone but not when he
is within people.
Delaying the obligatory acts of worship, lacking the enthusiasm for
worship, and public performance of good deeds are also warning signs of Riya’.
`Ali Ibn `Abi Talib (May Allah be pleased with him) said, "There
are three signs for the one who works to be shown by people: Inactivity when
alone and activity before people, love for estimation and abhorrence to
criticism."
4)
Reacting to Praise
Increasing in one’s good deeds when one is praised for them and
decreasing in them when one is not praised
Consequences & Effects of Riya’
1)
Riyaa’ renders good deeds void and
unacceptable turning them into sins
Allah the Al-Mighty says:
“O you who have believed, do not invalidate your charities with
reminders or injury as does one who spends his wealth [only] to be seen by the
people and does not believe in Allah and the Last Day. His example is like that
of a [large] smooth stone upon which is dust and is hit by a downpour that
leaves it bare. They are unable [to keep] anything of what they have earned.
And Allah does not guide the disbelieving people.”[11]
2)
An act of worship intended for other
than Allah will bear witness against the person on the Day of Judgment and he
will be subject to punishment for this very deed.
3)
The one who sought the pleasure and
praise of others will be disgraced on the Day of Judgment.
The Messenger of Allah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said,
“He who acts to show off, and he who does good deeds so that people
might esteem him, Allah will expose his hidden intentions before all people on
the Day of Resurrection.”[12]
Curing Riya’
1)
Purify your intentions
2)
When riya’ creeps in & you are able
to ward off the idea of showing off and do not give in to it, rather you should
turn away from it and hate it. This does not have any effect on your reward or intention,
because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah
has forgiven my ummah for what crosses their minds, so long as they do not act
upon it or speak of it.”
3)
Acquiring knowledge about this disease
of the heart so that you can diagnose yourself with it when it occurs
4)
Concealing acts of worship and not doing
them openly is better than doing them openly and announcing them.
Allah the Al-Mighty says:
“If you disclose your Sadaqat(alms-giving), it is well, but if you
conceal it, and give it to the poor, that is better for you. Allah will forgive
you some of your sins. And Allah is well acquainted with what you do.”[13]
Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The words “but if
you conceal it, and give it to the poor, that is better for you” indicate
that giving charity in secret is better than giving it openly, because that is
further removed from showing off, unless giving it openly will serve a greater
purpose by setting an example for people, in which case it is better in that
respect.[14]
The Sunnah indicates that it is better to offer the superagotary
prayers at home. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
“You should pray in your houses, for the best of a man’s prayer is in his
house, apart from the obligatory prayers.”[15]
5)
Intending the face of Allah(swt) when
performing the deed –Sincerity
Ibn Mas'ood said: "Do not learn knowledge for three reasons: to amaze and confound
the foolish, to argue with the learned and to make people's faces turn towards
you. Rather, seek what is with Allah with your hearts and actions, since only
that will remain and whatever is besides it will go."[16]
6)
Make Dua
The Prophet
taught the specific dua for Riya:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ
بِكَ أَنْ أُشْرِكَ بِكَ وَأَنَا أَعْلَمُ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُكَ لِمَا لَا أَعْلَمُ
“O Allah, we seek refuge in you
from committing shirk knowingly, and ask your forgiveness for (the shirk that
we may commit unknowingly).”
“O Allah! Purify my heart of hypocrisy, and my deeds
from showing off, and my tongue from lying, and my eyes from betraying trust
(looking at the forbidden). For indeed, You know what the eyes betray, and what
is hidden deep in the breasts.”[17]
Glad Tidings to the Believer
It is not showing
off if a person feels happy because he has done an act of worship, because that
is a sign of his faith.
The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Whoever feels
happy because of his good deeds and sad because of his bad deeds, that is the
believer.”
The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked about that and said:
“That is the first
glad tidings of the believer.”
To avoid Riya’ we
abstain from performing good deeds, especially in front of others. This is
incorrect and an attitude that surrenders to Satan. It is more serious that one
abstain from doing good actions as this is one of Satan’s traps against the
unaware worshipper.
Imam Qayyim, May Allah have mercy upon him,
said:
The Keys to the life of the heart lie in
reflecting upon the Qur’an, being humble before Allah in secret, and leaving
sins.[18]
[1]
Ahmad
[2]
Sahih Muslim, Sahih Bukhari
[3]
Fath al Bari – Ibn Hajr Asqalani
[4]
Qur’an (107:6)
[5]
Sahih Muslim
[6]
Qur’an (4:142)
[7]
Quran (11: 15-16)
[8]
Qur’an (8:47)
[9]
Saheeh, Mishkaat al Masaabih Vol2 #1061
[10]
Qur’an (3:188)
[11]
Qur’an (2:264)
[12]
Sahih Bukhari & Muslim
[13]
Qur’an (2:271)
[14] Tafseer Al Quran al Azeem 1/701
[15]
Sahih Bukhari (6113), Sahih Muslim (781)
[16] http://www.kalamullah.com/hearts22.html
[17]
Baihaqi
[18]
Haddiyul Arwah ila Biladil Afrah (pg 45) by Imam Qayyim
