20
Ways to Show Off
By Sheikh Salman b. Fahd al-Oadah
General
Supervisor of the IslamToday Website
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CHAPTER
TWO
20 Ways to Show Off
Since
the tendency to show off is so dangerous, we must be very wary of
it and know its causes and the ways that it can come about. With
this in mind, we will discuss twenty different ways that this tendency
to show off can manifest itself.
1.
Publicizing one’s good deeds:
Some
people go around intentionally taking about the things they have
done, boasting about their virtues. They cannot sit with others
without saying: “I did this and I did that… I spent
so much in charity.” Sometimes they can be a bit more subtle,
like saying: “Actually, I cannot stay up in prayer at night
more than two hours…” or: “Unfortunately, I cannot
cope with fasting every day, so I must suffice with fasting on Mondays
and Thursdays…” In this way, they want to show others
just how much they are praying and fasting.
They
only publicize their good works and make sure to perform them in
front of others in order to earn the people’s praise. This
is why it is preferable for most acts of worship to be done in private.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said : “O people! Pray
in your homes, for truly the best prayers are those that a person
prays are at home, with the exception of the prescribed prayers.”18
It is, therefore, preferable for voluntary prayers to be made in
the privacy of one’s own home. This protects the worshiper
from the whispers of Satan and makes certain that the prayers are
not being performed for show. It also prevents the home from becoming
like a graveyard where no prayers are made. A further benefit of
praying at home is that it impresses the children of the house with
the importance of prayer. However, voluntary prayers that are supposed
to be made in congregation are an exception to this rule, like the
eclipse prayers, the prayer for rain, the Tarâwîh prayer,
and the two `Îd prayers (if we deem the `Îd prayers
to be voluntary).
The
same goes for charity. Allah says: “If you make public your
charity, it is well, but if you conceal it and give it to the poor,
then it is better for you.” [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 271]
A person
should always give charity in secret and not give it publicly unless
he can make sure not to fall into showing off and sees that making
it public will bring about some greater good. Sometimes public charity
can encourage others by example. In the case of spending on the
war effort, it can make the enemy cower.
Some
people do charitable works publicly to get their names printed in
the papers or to receive official recognition for their works. If
the intention of such individuals is to garner more public support
for the charitable efforts in question, then it is good. Otherwise,
it is merely showing off. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
“Actions are but by intentions, and every person will
only get what he intended.”19 Allah
says: “Whether you hide your words or make them known, He
certainly has full knowledge of what is in the hearts. Should He
who created not know, and He is the Subtle, the Aware?”
[Sûrah al-Mulk: 13-14]
2.
Making false claims:
There is a type of person who likes to boast about things he
never did. He may claim that he struggled for Islam with patience
and forbearance. He may even claim to have suffered persecution
and hardships in the path of Allah. If he meets someone who does
not know about his past, he goes on to tell him: “I used
to do this and I used to say that…”, speaking about
a past more embroidered than true.
This
person goes on like this in front of others in order to earn a reputation
for himself. This behavior is worse than the one we have just gotten
through discussing, since it combines between two evils: showing
off and lying. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “A
person who claims to be given things he has never been given is
a double liar.”20
One
trick is for a person to leave his own country and go to another
so he can pass himself off to them as some great martyr by embroidering
tales about himself.
A poet
wrote:
Claims
not backed by solid proofs
Turn their claimants into braggarts.
Then
there is the poser who wishes to pass himself off as a learned person.
He claims that he spent years studying with a certain sheikh and
that he was one of his nearest and dearest disciples.
I know
a person who claims that he memorized the Qur`ân with its
seven different styles of recitation. He would say to people : “I
learned from a number of sheikhs” then go on to mention
the names of the leading scholars of our time. I know this person,
and I know he cannot even read the Qur’ân properly from
a book, forget about his reciting it by heart or knowing different
styles of recitation.
Some
people, though, are more insidious than that. They speak about the
scholars of our time – especially those among them who have
died – as if they were his colleagues, not his teachers. They
tell anecdotes about those sheiks as if they had experienced them
firsthand. By doing so, all they are trying to do is fabricate a
relationship between themselves and these sheikhs that does not
exist. This is a sickness of the heart that becomes only more horrendous
when it afflicts those who are supposed to be people of knowledge.
3.
Becoming a show off after having been sincere:
A
person begins doing something for the sake of Allah alone, like
offering prayer, spending in charity, or glorifying Allah in an
audible voice. Then he realizes that people can see him. This makes
him do even more. He prays a little longer, spends a little more,
or glorifies Allah with even greater eloquence. When a person finds
himself in this situation, he should fight against the urge to show
off. He should say what the Prophet (peace be upon him) taught Abû
Bakr to say to ward it off: “O Allah! I seek refuge with
you from associating partners with you knowingly and I seek your
forgiveness for what I do unknowingly.”21
If
the intention to show off establishes itself in his heart and he
continues to increase his efforts to impress the people, then his
works will fall under one of the two following outcomes:
If
his deeds were of a nature that they could be divided into separate
acts, then he will be rewarded for what he did for the sake of Allah
and will be sinful for what he did to show off to the people. For
example, a person gives two hundred pounds in charity. The first
hundred he gave sincerely for Allah’s sake. The second hundred
he gave to impress the people. He will be rewarded for the first
hundred and be sinful for the second.
If
his deed was of a kind that cannot be divided, like a single prayer,
then his showing off nullifies the deed in its entirety.
Some
people fall victim to the opposite affliction. They become so scared
of showing off that they avoid performing good deeds because of
it. They have jumped from the frying pan into the fire, so to speak.
True
sincerity is to be concerned with Allah and to disregard the people
altogether, neither performing deeds because of them nor abstaining
from deeds on their account.
This
brings us to the fourth way of showing off:
4.
Abandoning deeds because of the people:
Al-Fudayl
b. `Iyâd had harsh words for those who abandoned performing
good works because of the people. He said: “Abandoning deeds
because of the people is showing off. Performing deed for their
sake is polytheism. Sincerity is where Allah protects you from both.”
Some
people go to the mosque. Then when they get there and see the people
there, they become afraid of showing off. They start to come to
the mosque late because of this and sometimes might miss the prayer
altogether. This becomes their habit. Coming to the mosque early
becomes one of the most difficult things for them to do.
Some
people who read or memorize the Qur’ân, when they see
that others are listening to them, become afraid of showing off.
They stop reading the Qur’ân. This is tragic, especially
when the people who do so are among those who have memorized the
Qur’ân or who teach it to others.
Abandoning
one’s good deeds is a grave error. What the worshipper must
do is cease to worry about created beings altogether, neither performing
anything for their sake nor abstaining from anything for their sake.
One
of the reasons for this behavior is that the person who is supposed
to perform a given deed has an exaggerated view of his own importance
and the importance of what he is about to do. He may ha ve to give
the Friday sermon or give a small talk after prayer where he can
encourage what is right and discourage what is wrong. He begins
to imagine that what he is doing is some great deed and that people
will start quoting his words. Maybe he thinks that what he has to
say will become the talk of the town. He may become a bit impressed
with himself at this point, and here is where he starts to fear
showing off. He sees the only way to play it safe is not to talk
and not to act.
This
is one of the devil’s tricks. The only way for a person to
stay immune to it is to accustom himself to doing good deeds and
to see those deeds as small and insignificant when he does them.
He must at the same time accustom himself to not attaching any importance
to what people say. He must be able to recognize his own faults
and realize the shortcomings in his works. Then, when someone offers
him unwelcome praise, it will not harm him in any way. It will be
as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “…glad
tidings being presented to the believer early.”22
5.
Making worship noticeable in a subtle way:
A person
might conceal his worship, or at least seem to be doing so, while
making sure people know about it in a roundabout way. For example,
a man might be busy with praising Allah or seeking his forgiveness.
He keeps his remembrances quiet, but he moves his lips in a conspicuous
manner so that anyone who sees him will know that he is engaged
in the remembrance of his Lord. He might even raise his voice once
in a while ever so slightly to bring attention to himself. What
he desires is for people to praise him for what he is doing. Actions
are but by intentions, and every person will have only what he intended.
Therefore, if a person inadvertently draws attention to himself,
not meaning to show off, then there will be no harm. However, if
he does something ever so subtle with the intention of drawing attention
to himself, then he has not only showed off but made a pretense
of sincerity while doing so. And Allah says:
“Whether
you hide your words or make them known, He certainly has full knowledge
of what is in the hearts. Should He who created not know, and He
is the Subtle, the Aware?” [Sûrah al-Mulk: 13-14]
Footnotes:
18 Sahîh al-Bukhârî (731).
19 Sahîh al-Bukhârî (1).
20 Sahîh al-Bukhârî (5219). Sahîh
Muslim (2130).
21 Al-Bukhârî, Adab al-Mufrid (716).
Al-Hakîm al-Tirmidhî, Nawâdir al-`Usûl (4/142).
22 Sahîh Muslim (2642).
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