|
Warning signs of Riyaa' (showing off)
By Abu Ammar Yasir Al-Qathi
Certain actions do not
directly fall under riyaa', but are the preliminary steps
leading to it. They are like signs, warning of the impending
arrival of riyaa'. If a person finds himself involved in any of
these actions, he should honestly question his motives in doing
them in order to avoid actually falling into riyaa'. The
following are some of the warning signs of riyaa':
1) Delaying the Obligatory Acts of Worship
If a person is very careless in performing those acts which
Allah has made obligatory on him, such as compulsory formal
prayer (Salah), compulsory charity (Zakat), or the pilgrimage
(Hajj or 'Umrah), it is an indication that his Eemaan (faith) is
very weak. An example of this is the habit of delaying the
prayers, until the very last possible moment. For example, some
people regularly pray 'Asr just a few minutes before sunset,
while Allah says:
"So woe to those who pray- who delay
their prayers from its stated time, those who do good deeds only
to be seen (of men), and who refuse even the smallest kindness."
(107:4-7)
In these verses, Allah has linked riyaa' with laxity in
performing the obligatory acts. If a person is not motivated by
his eemaan to perform these acts at their stated times, then it
is very likely that his motivation for doing them will be riyaa'.
2) Lack of Enthusiasm for Worship
Similarly, if a person is not eager to worship his Lord, it is
to be expected that he would be eager to receive praise from the
people. Concerning the hypocrites. Allah says in the Qur'an:
"Verily, the hypocrites seek to deceive
Allah, but it is He who deceives them. And when they stand up to
pray, they stand up with laziness, only to be seen of men, and
they hardly remember Allah at all." (4:142)
In these verses, Allah links laziness in worship with the evil
of riyaa'.
3) Public Performance of Good Deeds
When a person discovers that he is doing good deeds only in
public, and doing evil deeds when he is alone, this is an
indication that he is falling into riyaa'. The following advice
from the scholars of the past is worth considering:
"Remove the causes of riyaa' from yourself by considering the
opinion of people as important to you as cattle and small
children. Do not differentiate in your worship between the
presence of people or their absence, or between their knowledge
of your actions and their ignorance. Rather, be conscious of the
infinite knowledge of Allah alone"
From: Riyaa' - Hidden Shirk
Back
|
