The more I read about riyaa, the 'hidden shirk'..the more scared I get. The Prophet pbuh once said, "Shall I not inform you of what I fear for you more than the maseeh ud-dajjal? It is the hidden shirk. It is when a man stands up for prayer, then beautifies his prayer for another to look at." In a lengthy hadith, it is said that on the Day of Judgment, three people will be brought to Allah swt, a knowledgeable person (aalim), a generous person, and a mujaahid. These three will present their respective deeds to Allah swt who will say to them: "You have rendered these deeds for riyaa and acclaim. You rendered these acts so that people may say: 'You are a great 'aalim, a generous person, and a great mujahid. You have already obtained what you had sought. People have already praised you on earth. You have therefore no right here. Enter the Fire."
Obviously good deeds are done for Allah swt only...but do we pray a little better and work a little harder when people are looking? Whose pleasure are we ultimately seeking?
I ask myself these questions before I ask anyone else. The more involved I get in community work, the more I raise these questions. Do I care if my efforts go unnoticed by others? Do I expect praise? Do I reject criticism? Am I too good for some tasks? I hope my answers are "definitely not"...but in the end, it is the humbling moments when the work isn't so glamorous that speak for themselves- doing the "dirty work" that no one wants to do, and doing them privately for no one's sake but His. Being sincere requires effort- constant renewal of intentions, istighfar, and reminders. Yes, it is easier to pray qiyam with a group at a masjid- but do we try to pray a few extra rakaas at home? Do we seek more visibility in the work we do? Would we rather speak at a mic than do the behind-the-scenes work? These are some of the questions anyone active in daawa work should ask themselves, whether at the masjid or in the MSA. We are all at risk of this hidden shirk- which Ibn Abbas reports is 'more hidden than a black ant on a black stone in a dark night'. SubhanAllah- what could be more hidden than that! Sheikh al-Shaarawi, one of the greatest scholars of Quran interpretation of our time, may Allah be pleased with him feared this shirk. He had millions of fans, millions of followers who learned at his feet. Once he was found alone scrubbing the toilets of a masjid in his Azhari clothes- yes, a man who was on national tv every week! He wanted to rid his heart of any arrogance and riyaa, by humbling himself to clean toilets that many of us wouldn't dare to go near. May Allah swt purify our hearts from hypocrisy and our actions from riyaa, and make us steadfast on the Straight Path, ameen.
Obviously good deeds are done for Allah swt only...but do we pray a little better and work a little harder when people are looking? Whose pleasure are we ultimately seeking?
I ask myself these questions before I ask anyone else. The more involved I get in community work, the more I raise these questions. Do I care if my efforts go unnoticed by others? Do I expect praise? Do I reject criticism? Am I too good for some tasks? I hope my answers are "definitely not"...but in the end, it is the humbling moments when the work isn't so glamorous that speak for themselves- doing the "dirty work" that no one wants to do, and doing them privately for no one's sake but His. Being sincere requires effort- constant renewal of intentions, istighfar, and reminders. Yes, it is easier to pray qiyam with a group at a masjid- but do we try to pray a few extra rakaas at home? Do we seek more visibility in the work we do? Would we rather speak at a mic than do the behind-the-scenes work? These are some of the questions anyone active in daawa work should ask themselves, whether at the masjid or in the MSA. We are all at risk of this hidden shirk- which Ibn Abbas reports is 'more hidden than a black ant on a black stone in a dark night'. SubhanAllah- what could be more hidden than that! Sheikh al-Shaarawi, one of the greatest scholars of Quran interpretation of our time, may Allah be pleased with him feared this shirk. He had millions of fans, millions of followers who learned at his feet. Once he was found alone scrubbing the toilets of a masjid in his Azhari clothes- yes, a man who was on national tv every week! He wanted to rid his heart of any arrogance and riyaa, by humbling himself to clean toilets that many of us wouldn't dare to go near. May Allah swt purify our hearts from hypocrisy and our actions from riyaa, and make us steadfast on the Straight Path, ameen.
