Sincerity in Deeds and the Showing Off That May Arise in Them
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Questions about showing off (riya') are frequent, Shaykh Salih. Is the default for a Muslim to be sincere, or might certain things affect him?
The Shaykh:
The default for a Muslim is to be sincere to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), but some doubts or whispers may arise. However, if something of that sort occurs to him, or if he becomes aware of it, he should repel it and abandon it, and it will not harm him, if Allah wills.
The questioner:
When one is inspired to do a deed, Shaykh Salih, naturally his intention is pure for the sake of Allah the Exalted. If he notices something during the course of his deed, how should he act?
The Shaykh:
As we mentioned, if the whisper of showing off (riya') occurs to him, yes, he should repel it and make his intention pure for Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and it will not harm him. However, if this state persists with him, it will harm his deed.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good and do you well.
Questions about showing off (riya') are frequent, Shaykh Salih. Is the default for a Muslim to be sincere, or might certain things affect him?
The Shaykh:
The default for a Muslim is to be sincere to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), but some doubts or whispers may arise. However, if something of that sort occurs to him, or if he becomes aware of it, he should repel it and abandon it, and it will not harm him, if Allah wills.
The questioner:
When one is inspired to do a deed, Shaykh Salih, naturally his intention is pure for the sake of Allah the Exalted. If he notices something during the course of his deed, how should he act?
The Shaykh:
As we mentioned, if the whisper of showing off (riya') occurs to him, yes, he should repel it and make his intention pure for Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and it will not harm him. However, if this state persists with him, it will harm his deed.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good and do you well.
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 02/066 — archive.org (9:53)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.