Asalamu alaikum friends The Dangers of Riya’ are so many in number, just to point out a few: 1) Hidden Shirk: The Prophet Muhammed (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam), out of his love and concern for the Ummah (nation), feared this calamity more than any other. Abu Sa’eed reported that Allah’s Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) came to us while we were discussing about Dajjaal and said: “Should I inform you of that which I fear for you even more than the dangers of Dajjaal? It is hidden Shirk: A person stands to pray, and he beautifies his prayer because he sees the people looking at him.” [Sahih Sunan ibn Maajah, vol.2, p.410, no.3389] 2) Weakens Iman and Tawheed: By committing ‘riya’, a person destroys the very purpose of his creation, since instead of truly worshipping Allah, he pretends to worship Allah while seeking to achieve the pleasure and praise of the creation of Allah. “And I created not the Jinn and mankind except they should worship me” [Surah Az-Zariyat (51):56] Allah describes the true believers as those who perform their acts of worship solely for the sake of Allah, not desiring reward nor thanks from others for their deeds “And they (the believers) give food, despite their love for it, to the poor, the orphan, and the captive, (saying), ‘We feed you seeking only the Blessings of Allah’s, We neither wish for reward, nor thanks from you.” [Surah Insan (76):8-9] In direct contrast to this, Allah says about the hypocrites: “So woe unto those who perform their prayers (hypocrites), who delay their prayer from its stated time, those who do good deeds only to be seen (of men), and refuse even the smallest kindness.” [Surah Al-Maun: (107):4-7] 3) Increases Misguidance: There is no doubt that the person who commits riya’ has a disease in his heart, and if this disease is not cured, it will lead to further problems. In this regard, Allah says, “They (try to) deceive Allah and those who believe, but they only deceive themselves and do not even realise it! In their hearts is a disease (of doubt and hypocrisy), and Allah has increased their disease….” [Surah Baqarah (2): 9-10] 4) Deprives Deeds of Blessings: The Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) has informed in a number of his statements that Allah will not accept actions done for the sake of others. Mahmood ibn Labeed related that the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) said, “Allah the Exalted, will say (to those who practised riyaa’) when He is taking account of people’s deeds (on the Day of Judgement). ‘Go to those whom you used to show off your deeds to, and see if you will find any reward with them!’” [Sahih at Targheeb wat-Tarheeb, no.29] 5) Prohibits Entrance to Paradise: Performing righteous acts for human praise can also lead to being barred from entering Paradise. Abu Hurayrah quoted the Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) as saying, “Whoever gains any knowledge that should be learnt for the sake of Allah, (with) the intention of (benefit in) this world will not even smell the fragrance of Paradise on the Day of Judgement.” [Sunan Abu-Dawud, vol.3, p.1039, no.3656 and Sunan ibn-Majah, vol.1, p.144, no.252] The Cure – Ways to Avoid Riya’ 1) Increasing Knowledge: One of the cures for the vast majority of the problems Muslims face, is to increase their knowledge of the Religion. As Allah says in the Final Revelation: “Indeed, only those who have knowledge among His slaves truly fear Allah.” [Surah Fatir (35):28] We must realize that attaining correct knowledge is the duty of every God-fearing Muslim, and not merely the administrators of the religion (i.e. Imams, Shaykhs, Scholars, etc). 2) Invocations (du’a): Among the strongest repellents of riya’ and one of the easiest is du’a. Abu Baker related that the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Shirk amongst you is more hidden than the crawling of an ant, and I shall tell you of something which, if you do it, will remove from you both the minor and the major Shirk. Say: Allaahumma innee a’oothu bika an ushrika bika wa ana a’lamu wa astagh-firuka limma laa a’lam (O Allah, surely I seek refuge in you from knowingly worshipping others besides you and I seek your forgiveness for what I don’t know).” [Sahih al-Jaami, no. 3731] Allah, the Most High says in regards to the above: “Verily, those who are pious, when an evil thought comes to them from Satan, they remember (Allah), and they see (aright).” [Surah Al-A’raf (7): 201] 3) Reflection Upon Heaven and Hell: Reflection on the Hereafter helps one develop more fear of Allah, and increases one’s desire to stay away from sins. If a person realises that his purpose in life is not to gain
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 04:49:08 +0000
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