RIYAKARI (SHOWING OFF IN WORSHIP)
CONTENT :-
1) RIYAKARI (SHOWING OFF IN WORSHIP) IS MINOR SHIRK.
2) PUNISHMENT IN HEREAFTER FOR SHOWING OFF.
3) PUNISHMENT IN THIS WORLD FOR SHOWING OFF.
4) DEALING WITH THE TEMPTATION TO SHOW OFF ?
5) REFRAINING FROM DOING GOOD DEEDS FOR FEAR OF SHOWING OFF.
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1) RIYAKARI (SHOWING OFF IN WORSHIP) IS MINOR SHIRK. :-
It should be noted that the Shaytaan is keen to make the Muslim fall into things to make him do a good deed in order to show off and for the sake of his reputation, and not sincerely for the sake of Allaah,
Mahmud ibn Labeed reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, “Verily, what I fear most for you is the lesser idolatry.” They said, “What is the lesser idolatry, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “It is showing off. Allah the Exalted will say to them on the Day of Resurrection when the people are being rewarded for their deeds: Go to those whom you wished would see you in the world and look, do you find any reward with them?”
MUSNAD AHMAD (HADITH 23119)
SOURCE OF MUSNAD AHMAD :-
Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, entered upon us while we were discussing the False Messiah. He said, “Shall I not tell you about what I fear for you more than the presence of the False Messiah?” We said, “Of course!” He said, “Hidden idolatry; that a man stands for prayer and beautifies his prayer because he sees another man looking at him.”
IBN MAJAH (HADITH 4202)
SOURCE OF IBN MAJAH :-
http://www.islamweb.net/hadith/display_hbook.php?bk_no=173&hid=4202&pid=42391
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2) PUNISHMENT IN HEREAFTER FOR SHOWING OFF. :-
Knowing the effects of showing off and how it will be judged in the Hereafter.Not knowing this leads to one falling into this sin or persisting in it. One should realize that showing off destroys all one’s actions (i.e., cancels out the reward), and that it brings the wrath of Allaah. The wise person does not waste his energy in doing things that do not bring any reward, let alone deeds that bring the wrath and anger of Allaah.One of the greatest haadeeth (prophetic narrations)concerning the punishment in the Hereafter of those who show off is the following,
Al-Walid bin Abi Al-Wald abu ‘Utthman Al-Mada’ini narrated that ‘Uqbah bin Muslim narrated to him, that shufaiy Al-Asbahi narrated that he entered Al-Madinah and saw a man around whom the people had gathered. He asked:” Who is this?” They said: “Abu Hurairah.” (He said):So I got close to him until I was sitting in front of him as he was narrating to the people. When he was silent and alone, I said to him: ” I ask youabsolute truth if you would narrate to me a Hadith which you heard from the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w), That you understand and know.” So Abu Hurairah said: “You want me to narrate a Hadith to you which the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) narrated to me that I understand and know.” Then Abu Hurairah began sobbing profusely. We sat for a while, then he recovered and said: “I shall narrate to you a Hadith which the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) narrated in this House, while there was no one with us other than he and I.” Then, again, Abu Hurairah began sobbing severely. Then he recovered, and wiped his face, and said: “you want me to narrate to you a Hadith which the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) narrated while he and I were sitting in this House, and no one was with us but he and I.” Then Abu Hurairah began sobbing severely. Then he bent, falling on his face, so I supported him for a long time. Then he recovered and said: “The Messenger of Allah narrated to me that on the Day of Judgement, Allah, Most High, will descend to His slaves t judge between them. Every nation shall be kneeling. The first of those who will be called before him will be a man who memorized the Qur’an, and a man who was killed in Allah’s cause, and a wealthy man. Allah will say to the reciter: ‘Did I not teach you what I revealed to My Messenger?” He says: ‘Of course O Lord!’ He says: ‘Then what did you do with what you learned?’ He said: ‘I would stand (in prayer reciting) with it during all hours of the night and all hours of the day.’ Then Allah would say to him: ‘You have lied.’ And the angels will say: ‘You have lied.’Allah will say to him: ‘Rather, you wanted it to be said that so-and-so is a reciter. And that was said.’ The person with the wealth will be brought, and Allah will say to him: ‘Was I not so generous with you, such that I did not leave you having any need from anyone?’ He will say: ‘Of course O Lord!’ He says: ‘Then what did you do with what I gave to you?’ He says: ‘I would nurture the ties of kinship and give charity.’ Then Allah will say to him: ‘You have lied.’ And the angels will say to him: ‘You have lied.’ Allah, Most High, will say: ‘Rather, you wanted it to be said that so-and-so is so generous, and that was said.’ Then the one who was killed in Allah’s cause shall be brought, and Allah will say to him : ‘For what were you killed?’ So he says: ‘I was commanded to fight in Your cause ,so I fought until I was killed.’ Allah [Most High] will say to him: ‘You have lied.’ And the angels will say to him: ‘You have lied.’ Allah [Most High] will say: ‘Rather, you wanted it be said that so-and-so is brave, and that was said.’ “Then the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w)hit me on my knees and said: ‘O Abu Hurairah! These first three are the creatures of Allah with whom the fire will be enflamed on the Day of Judgement.’
SUNAN TIRMIDHI (Vol. 4, Book 10, Hadith 2382)
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3) PUNISHMENT IN THIS WORLD FOR SHOWING OFF. :-
Just as there will be a punishment in the Hereafter for showing off, so too there is a punishment for it in this world, which is that Allaah will expose him and make his bad intentions known to others. This is one of the interpretations of the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
Ibn Abbas reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying:If anyone wants to have his deeds widely publicised, Allah will publicise (his humiliation). And if anyone makes a hypocritical display (of his deeds) Allah will make a display of him.
SAHIH MUSLIM (Book 42, Hadith 7115)
Abu Sa’eed narrated that the Messenger of Allah (S.a.w)said:”Whoever wants to be seen, Allah will show him, And whoever wants to be heard of, Allah will make him heard off.” And he narrated that the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) said: “He who shows no mercy to the people, Allah shows him no mercy.” (Sahih)
SUNAN TIRMIDHI (Vol. 4, Book 10, Hadith 2381)
Narrated Jundub:The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, “He who lets the people hear of his good deeds intentionally, to win their praise, Allah 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, Allah will disclose his real intention (and humiliate him).
SAHIH BUKHARI (Vol. 8, Book 76, Hadith 506)
IBN HAJAR SAID :-
قال الخطابي : معناه من عمل عملا على غير إخلاص وإنما يريد أن يراه الناس ويسمعوه جوزي على ذلك بأن يشهره الله ويفضحه ويظهر ما كان يبطنه وقيل من قصد بعمله الجاه والمنزلة عند الناس ولم يرد به وجه الله فإن الله يجعله حديثا عند الناس الذين أراد نيل المنزلة عندهم ولا ثواب له في الآخرة
al-Khattaabi said, this means: whoever does something that is not sincerely for the sake of Allaah, merely wanting people to see him and hear him, will be punished for that – Allaah will expose him and make known what he is concealing.It was said that whoever does something with the intention of gaining status and prestige among people, and does not seek the Face of Allaah by doing it, Allaah will make him the subject of bad speech among the people in whose eyes he wanted to gain status, and he will have no reward for it in the Hereafter.
(FATH AL-BAARI, 11/336)
SOURCE OF FATH AL-BAARI :-
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4) DEALING WITH THE TEMPTATION TO SHOW OFF ? :-
The one who wants to stop himself showing off has to do the following things to rid himself of this problem:He should remember that Allaah is always watching His slave.This is the status of “ihsaan (perfection in worship)
Narrated Abu Huraira
The man again asked, “O Allah’s Apostle What is Ihsan (i.e. perfection or Benevolence)?” The Prophet said, “Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you do not achieve this state of devotion, then (take it for granted that) Allah sees you.”
SAHIH BUKHARI (Vol. 6, Book 60, Hadith 300)
It is narrated on the authority of Abu Hurairaa man asked prophet muhammed (p.b.u.h) what al-Ihsan is? Upon this he (the Holy Prophet) said: (Al-Ihsan implies) that you fear Allah as if you are seeing Him, and though you see Him not, verily He is seeing you.
SAHIH MUSLIM (Book 1, Hadith 6)
COMMENT :-
When a person feels that Allaah is always watching him, what other people think will become insignificant, and this will make him respect and fear only Allaah.
SEEKING THE HELP OF ALLAAH TO RID HIMSELF OF THE HABIT OF SHOWING OFF :-
Allaah says that the believers should say (interpretation of the meaning):
“You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything)”
(SURAH AL-FAATIHAH 1 VERSE 5)
One of the things that will be of benefit in this matter is seeking the help of Allaah and calling upon Him.
Narrated abu musa ashari Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “O people, beware of this shirk (form of polytheism), for it is more subtle than the footsteps of an ant. The one whom Allaah willed should speak said to him, “How can we beware of it when it is more subtle than the footsteps of an ant, O Messenger of Allaah?” He said, “Say,
اللهم إنا نعوذ بك من أن نشرك بك شيئا نعلمه ونستغفرك لما لا نعلم
Allaahumma innaa na’oodhu bika min an nushrika bika shay’an na’lamuhu wa nastaghfiruka limaa laa na’lam
(O Allaah, we seek refuge with You from knowingly associating anything with You, and we seek Your forgiveness for that which we do unknowingly).”
MUSANNAF IBN ABI SHAYBAH (HADITH 28966)
MUSNAD AHMAD (HADITH 19171)
SOURCE OF MUSANNAF IBN ABI SHAYBAH :-
http://www.islamweb.net/hadith/display_hbook.php?bk_no=96&pid=363397&hid=28966
SOURCE OF MUSNAD AHMAD :-
http://www.islamweb.net/hadith/display_hbook.php?bk_no=121&pid=673081&hid=19171
CONCEALING WORSHIP AND NOT MAKING A DISPLAY OF IT :-
A person gets away from places where his worship can be seen, the safer he is from showing off. Whoever looks for places where people gather, the Shaytaan makes him keen to show off his worship so that they will praise him for it.The acts of worship which should be hidden are those which are not obligatory or those in which it is not the Sunnah to do them openly, such as Qiyaam al-Layl (night prayer), and giving charity, and the like. This does not apply to calling the Adhaan (call to prayer),praying in congregation and other things which cannot and should not – according to sharee’ah – (Islamic law) be hidden.
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5) REFRAINING FROM DOING GOOD DEEDS FOR FEAR OF SHOWING OFF. :-
The Muslim who is sincere in his intention will not pay any attention to the whispers that the Shaytaan tries to impart to him concerning his action, or his suggestion that it is not for the sake of Allaah. He will not pay attention to the whispers of the Shaytaan suggesting that he should refrain from doing the good deed for fear of showing off. The sincere heart is equally at ease both when doing good deeds in secret and when doing good deeds openly.
Just as the Shaytaan comes to the Muslim to make him admire his actions and show off to people, sometimes too he uses the opposite trick and makes a person think that he is showing off, so that he will not do it. In order to avoid both problems, we have to make sure that our intention is sound and make it sincerely and purely for the sake of Allaah, and not worry after that about anything that the Shaytaan may come up with.
IBRAAHEEM AL-NAKHA’I SAID :-
If the Shaytaan comes to you when you are praying and says, “you are showing off,” then you should make it even longer. With regard to the reports narrated from one of the salaf, that he stopped worshipping for fear of showing off, this is to be understood as meaning that they felt that they were showing off, so they stopped it. And that is indeed the case. For example, al-A’mash said: I was with Ibraaheem al-Nakha’i when he was reading Qur’aan, and a man asked for permission to enter, so he covered the Mus-haf. He said: So that he will not think that I read it all the time. So if you should not stop doing an act of worship for fear of showing off, it is more appropriate that you should not stop it for fear of self admiration that may occur later on.
(AL-ADAAB AL-SHARA’IYYAH, 1/266-267)
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: When a person thinks of doing a good deed, the Shaytaan comes and whispers to him: “You want to do that to show off and have a good reputation,” so he backs off from doing that good deed. How can we avoid this?
He replied: That can be avoided by seeking refuge with Allaah from the accursed Shaytaan, and going ahead with the good deed. You should not pay attention to this waswaas (whisper from the Shaytaan) that puts you off doing good. If you turn away from this and seek refuge with Allaah from the accursed Shaytaan, the problem will disappear, by Allaah’s leave.
(MAJMOO’ FATAAWA AL-SHAYKH IBN ‘UTHAYMEEN, QUESTION NO. 277)
We ask Allaah to make our words and deeds sincere, and to forgive us for what we commit of showing off. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Islaah 
JAZAK ALLAHU KHAIRAN