Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Showing Off (Pride and Arrogance Pt. 1)
In the Name of Allah; Most-Merciful, Most-Compassionate.
The Prophetic traditions explain that to do deeds for the purpose of showing off, or to please people, it is a form of lesser polytheism (shirk). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The thing I fear most for you is lesser polytheism.” They said: “What is lesser polytheism, O Messenger of Allah?” He said: “Showing off. Allah will say on the day of resurrection, when He will reward the people for their deeds: ‘Go to those whom you used to show off in the world, and see whether you find any reward with them’” (recorded in Ahmed).
Leader of the Believers Ali ibn abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Do not do any good deed to show off, and do not refrain from doing it out of shyness.” In order to help us understand what exactly showing off means, Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) defined it in saying: “There are three signs of the show-off: he is lazy when he is alone and active when he is with other people; he does more if he is praised because of it; and he does less if he is criticized because of it.”
The forms of showing off can take numerous types. It may be in actions, including acts of worship such as prayer. It may occur in speech. Or, it may involve appearance and the way one dresses. What separates showing off from worship in these cases is the intention. Ali ibn abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said regarding this: “No words are good unless accompanied by action, and no action is good unless accompanied by intention, and no intention is good unless it is in accordance with the Sunnah.”
And Allah knows best.
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