The Difference Between Riya' and Sum'ah
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
May Allah reward you. Sa'id al-Zahrani from Jeddah asks: What is riya' (showing off in worship)? I am afraid that the charitable deeds I perform might be riya'. What is your guidance?
Answer:
If you love for people to praise you for your good deeds, that is riya'. Or if you put on a show of doing a deed in front of people so that they will praise you, that is riya'. Riya' concerns what is seen, while sum'ah (seeking fame) concerns what is heard in words. For example, if you recite so that people hear you and praise you, or if you improve your voice so that people hear you and praise you, that is sum'ah. Yes.
May Allah reward you. Sa'id al-Zahrani from Jeddah asks: What is riya' (showing off in worship)? I am afraid that the charitable deeds I perform might be riya'. What is your guidance?
Answer:
If you love for people to praise you for your good deeds, that is riya'. Or if you put on a show of doing a deed in front of people so that they will praise you, that is riya'. Riya' concerns what is seen, while sum'ah (seeking fame) concerns what is heard in words. For example, if you recite so that people hear you and praise you, or if you improve your voice so that people hear you and praise you, that is sum'ah. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، الفرق بين الرياء والسمعة - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.