Discussion of showing off in worship and that it is a form of associating partners with Allah
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : One of the types of shirk (associating partners with Allah) is showing off in worship (riya').
Showing off in worship is when a person stands to pray, for example, and he beautifies his prayer because he sees people watching him, so he wants to adorn himself in their eyes. He prays a prayer in which he feels at ease, but if he prayed alone in his house, he would not feel at ease. We say: this is a person who shows off in worship. And if he is one who shows off, he has associated partners with Allah in this act. So will that be accepted or not? Answer, everyone?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : No, it is not accepted, because Allah says:Sahih Muslim 2985.
Likewise, a man gives charity with the intention that people will say, "How generous this man is, and how beneficial he is to the poor." Will this charity be accepted? No. Why? Because it contains shirk (associating partners with Allah), and Allah is the most free of partners from shirk.
A man strives and fights the disbelievers for the sake of being said, "How brave this man is, how upright he is in jihad." We say that his jihad is rejected and he has no share in it, because he associated others with Allah in it.
A man performs Hajj (the major pilgrimage) for the sake of people saying, "So-and-so performed Hajj." Does he have any reward? No, because he associated others with Allah.
So the matter is extremely serious. Shirk is something from which few people are free. Some of the Salaf (the earliest generations) even said, "I have not struggled my soul over anything as I have struggled it over sincerity (ikhlas), because sincerity is the work of the heart and it is difficult for souls, unlike the outward work, which is easy for a person to beautify. But the inward work is the important thing."
Showing off in worship is when a person stands to pray, for example, and he beautifies his prayer because he sees people watching him, so he wants to adorn himself in their eyes. He prays a prayer in which he feels at ease, but if he prayed alone in his house, he would not feel at ease. We say: this is a person who shows off in worship. And if he is one who shows off, he has associated partners with Allah in this act. So will that be accepted or not? Answer, everyone?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : No, it is not accepted, because Allah says:
If anyone does anything in which he associates anyone else with Me, I shall abandon him with one whom he associates with Allah.
من عمل عملا أشرك فيه معي غيري تركته وشركهLikewise, a man gives charity with the intention that people will say, "How generous this man is, and how beneficial he is to the poor." Will this charity be accepted? No. Why? Because it contains shirk (associating partners with Allah), and Allah is the most free of partners from shirk.
A man strives and fights the disbelievers for the sake of being said, "How brave this man is, how upright he is in jihad." We say that his jihad is rejected and he has no share in it, because he associated others with Allah in it.
A man performs Hajj (the major pilgrimage) for the sake of people saying, "So-and-so performed Hajj." Does he have any reward? No, because he associated others with Allah.
So the matter is extremely serious. Shirk is something from which few people are free. Some of the Salaf (the earliest generations) even said, "I have not struggled my soul over anything as I have struggled it over sincerity (ikhlas), because sincerity is the work of the heart and it is difficult for souls, unlike the outward work, which is easy for a person to beautify. But the inward work is the important thing."