The Ruling on a Person Being Pleased with Himself and the Cure for It

Question:
This is a female questioner. We reviewed some of her questions in a previous episode, and she has a set of questions remaining. She says: Honorable Shaykh, what is the ruling on a person being pleased with his voice in reciting the Qur'an without intending to? Is that disliked? Does he commit a sin?

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows, a person being pleased with his deed is considered a prohibited matter, and this may affect the deed or mix it up; because it falls under showing off (riya'), and it falls under seeking fame, and it contains delusion that befalls a person regarding himself and his deed. So it is not permissible for a person to be pleased with his deed, or with his voice in recitation, or with any of his righteous deeds. Rather, he must consider himself deficient, and he must consider himself below others always and forever. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) urged, he urged, racing to do good. And in His saying, the Exalted: And in the other verse: A person always considers himself deficient in his deed. So how can he be pleased with himself if he feels this feeling and that he is deficient? Then he does not become pleased with himself. Rather, the one who becomes pleased with himself is the one who sees that he has perfected the deed required of him. Yes.