Standing in Prayer at the End of the Night with Fear of Showing Off

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. We live together as a group and we want to stand in prayer during the last part of the night, but we fear showing off (riya'). What should we do?

Answer:
Stand in prayer, stand in prayer. This is from Shaytan. Shaytan comes to you and says, "Do not stand in prayer, because there is showing off (riya') in it." He holds you back. No, stand in prayer. May Allah keep you safe, you have nothing to worry about, and you will be rewarded, if Allah wills. Yes, many people have Shaytan come to them and say, "Do not pray in congregation, because if you pray in congregation, it will become showing off (riya')," and then he prays in his house. This is from Shaytan. He says, "Do not strive in the path of Allah lest it be said of you that you are brave and so on, and you are praised, and then you become arrogant with yourself, and this becomes showing off (riya')." All of this is Shaytan’s discouragement of a person. A person should proceed with righteous deeds, be sincere to Allah the Exalted, leave the whispers, stand for the night prayer, and fast voluntarily. And if Allah wills, he is upon much good.