Showing Off Fatwa: Islamonline.net

Sincerity is the essence of worshipping Almighty Allah. However, it is easier said than done. Man is always tempted to be praised and commended. Gaining favor with people for being religious and pious, and thus, enjoying their trust and respect, drives many people to talk about their acts of worship and use them as means of publicity.

Answering this question, Sheikh M. S. Al-Munajjid, a prominent Saudi Muslim lecturer and author, said:

If a person wants to stop himself from showing off, he has to do the following things to be rid of this problem:

1. Be always mindful that Almighty Allah is ever watchful over His servants: This is the status of ihsan which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned to Jibreel (peace be upon him), defining it as “to worship Allah as if you can see Him, and even though you cannot see Him, He can see you.” (Muslim)

When a person feels that Almighty Allah is always watching him, what other people think will become insignificant, and this will make him respect and fear Almighty Allah alone.

2. Seeking the help of Allah to rid himself of the habit of showing off: Almighty Allah says that the believers should say: (You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help.) (Al-Fatihah 1:5) One of the things that will be of benefit in this matter is seeking the help of Almighty Allah and calling upon Him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “O people, beware of shirk, for it is more subtle than the footsteps of an ant." The one whom Almighty Allah willed should speak, said to him, “How can we beware of it when it is more subtle than the footsteps of an ant, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “Say, Allaahumma innaa na`oodhu bika min an nushrika bika shay’an na`lamuhu wa nastaghfiruka limaa laa na`lam (O Allah, we seek refuge with You from knowingly associating anything with You, and we seek Your forgiveness for that which we do unknowingly).” (Ahmad)

3. Knowing the consequences of showing off and how it will be judged in the Hereafter: Not knowing this leads a person to fall into this sin or persisting in it. The person should realize that showing off destroys all his actions (i.e., cancels out the reward), and that it incurs the wrath of Almighty Allah. The wise person does not waste his energy in doing things that do not bring any reward, let alone deeds that incur the wrath and anger of Almighty Allah.

One of the greatest hadiths concerning the punishment in the Hereafter of those who show off is the following, in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“When the Day of Resurrection comes, Allah, may He be blessed and exalted, will come to judge between His slaves, and every nation will be kneeling. The first ones to be called forth will be a man who learned the Qur’an by heart, a man who fought for the sake of Allah, and a man who had a lot of wealth. Allah will say to the Qur’an-reader, ‘Did I not teach you that which I revealed to My Messenger?’ He will say, ‘Yes, O Lord.’ He will say, ‘What did you do with that which I taught you?’ He will say, ‘I used to read it night and day.’ Allah will say to him, ‘You have lied,’ and the angels will say to him, ‘You have lied.’ Allah will say, ‘Rather you wanted it to be said that so and so is a reader of the Qur’an, and that is what was said.’ Then the wealthy man will be brought forth, and Allah will say to him, ‘Did I not give you ample provision so that I did not leave you in need of anybody?’ He will say, ‘Yes, O Lord.’ He will say, ‘What did you do with that which I gave you?’ He will say, ‘I used to keep the ties of kinship and give in charity.’ Allah will say to him, ‘You have lied,’ and the angels will say to him, ‘You have lied.’ Allah will say, ‘Rather you wanted it to be said that so and so is generous, and that is what was said.’ Then the one who was killed for the sake of Allah will be brought forth and Allah will say to him, ‘Why were you killed?’ He will say, ‘I was commanded to fight in Jihad for Your sake, so I fought until I was killed.’ Allah will say to him, ‘You have lied,’ and the angels will say to him, ‘You have lied.’ Allah will say, ‘You wanted it to be said that so and so was courageous, and that is what was said.’” Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) struck my knee, and said, “O Abu Hurairah, these three are the first of the creation of Allah who will be dragged into the Fire on the Day of Resurrection.” (Al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Hibban, and Ibn Khuzaymah)

4. Thinking about the punishment in this world for showing off: Just as there will be a punishment in the Hereafter for showing off, there is also a punishment for it in this world, which is that Allah will expose him and make his bad intentions known to others. This is one of the interpretations of the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “Whoever shows off, Allah will expose him.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Ibn Hajar said: Al-Khattabi said that this means: Whoever does something that is not sincerely for the sake of Allah, merely wanting people to see him and hear him, will be punished for that – Allah will expose him and make known what he is concealing.

5. Concealing worship and not making a display of it: The further away a person gets from places where his worship can be seen, the safer he is from showing off. Whoever looks for places where people gather, Satan makes him keen to show off his worship so that they will praise him for it.

The acts of worship which should be hidden are those which are not obligatory or those in which it is not the Sunnah to do them openly, such as Qiyam Al-Layl, and giving charity. This does not apply to giving the Adhan, praying in congregation and other things which cannot and should not – according to Shari`ah – be hidden.

We ask Almighty Allah to make our words and deeds sincere, and to forgive us if we ever show off.

What Nullifies Ones Faith? Fatwa: Islamonline.net

Image via Wikipedia

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear brother in Islam, thanks for your question. May Allah safeguard us against the nullifiers of faith.

Beliefs dwell in the heart, but undeniably appear in one's practices. Thus, Iman (the Islamic faith) manifests itself in the Muslim's practices which usually reveal the degree of his faith. There are many inward and outward factors that contribute to its increase or decrease. Certain beliefs and acts contradict Islamic faith and thus a Muslim has to be aware of and totally estrange himself from being involved in them.

Responding to this question, AMJA online Jurisprudence Section, stated:

The nullifiers of faith (nawaqid al-iman) are those things that invalidate, falsify and negate it. Apostasy nullifies faith just as ablution (wudu') is nullified by ritual impurity.

The most important nullifiers of faith are:

1 – Associating partners with Allah in Lordship

2 – Associating partners with Allah in worship

3 – Associating partners with Allah in His Divine Names & Attributes

4 – Objecting to, looking down to or denial, rejection or making mockery of the rules of Shari`ah.

A person who nullifies his faith exits the fold of Islam, if he insists on his attitude after being informed and after the proof has been made clear to him.

Consequently, his marriage contract becomes annulled, and therefore, his wife becomes no longer lawful for him after his apostasy. If he dies on disbelief, all his deeds will be in vain as Allah the Most High said, (And whosoever of you turns back from his religion and dies as a disbeliever, the deeds of these people will be lost in this life and in the Hereafter, and they will be the dwellers of the Fire; they will abide therein forever.)(Al-Baqarah 2:217)

Moreover, his repentance will not be accepted once death has approached him, as Allah the Most High said, (Verily, for those who disbelieved after their belief, and then went on increasing in their disbelief – never will their repentance be accepted [because they repent only with their tongues, not with their hearts]. And they are those who are astray.)(Aal-Imran 3:90)

Furthermore, there is no inheritance between such a person and his Muslim family and relatives as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said; "A Muslim does not inherit from a disbeliever, nor does a disbeliever inherit from a Muslim." (Bukhari and Muslim) He also deserves the Divinely-ordained punishment for the apostate if there is a Muslim state that applies such penalty.

The Prayer of the one who has nullified his faith is also invalid for the same reasons.

However, these aforementioned rules and consequences of nullifying the faith do not apply – as we have said – until the textual proofs has been made clear to the apostate, he has been asked to repent, the misconceptions which have driven him to nullify his faith have been removed, it has been checked that the conditions are applicable and there is absolutely nothing to prevent this specific person from being declared a disbeliever.

The factors preventing a specific Muslim from being declared a disbeliever are many. Among them are: ignorance, falling under compulsion, holding improper interpretation, error and lack of intent.

Furthermore, establishing the proof against him is quite relative. The proof may be established against one person but not against the other. It may be established by one person and not by the other. It is not necessary when the proof has been established against a particular person that it will automatically be established against each and every Muslim in the world.

The basic rule in terms of establishing the proof is that this should be done by someone in authority, such as a scholar qualified to make ijtihad, or an a Muslim ruler, such as a Shari`ah judge in Islamic societies, and the like.

It is necessary to be highly careful in this respect, for it is less serious for a Muslim to err in judging an apostate to be a Muslim than to err in expelling a Muslim from the fold of Islam.

Hob BiLaah SWT/ Love Of Allah SWT

Assalamu Alaikum All
I thought this was a nice poem. It didn't have a author's name, so I
don't know who wrote it. Inshallah ta'ala this reaches you in the
best way. and may Allah SWT reward you who spread knowledge of Islam,
love, and compassion for one another, and truly want for another as
you want for yourself

When I say, I am a Muslim,
I am not shouting "Down with the Christians and Jews."
I am whispering: I seek peace, and Islam is the path I choose.
When I say, I am a Muslim, I speak of this with pride.
And confess that sometimes I stumble, and need Allah to be my guide.

When I say, I am a Muslim, I know this makes me strong.
And in those times when I am weak, I pray to Allah for strength to
carry on.

When I say, I am a Muslim, I am not boasting of success.

I am acknowledging that Allah has rescued me and I can not ever repay
the dept. When I say, I am a Muslim, I am not claiming to be perfect.

My flaws are indeed visable, but Allah forgives, because His
followers are worth it.
When I say, I am a Muslim, it does not mean I'll never feel pain.
I still have my share of heartaches, which is why I invoke Allah's
name.
When I say, I am a Muslim, I do not wish to judge.
I have no such authority. My duty is to submit to Allah's all
encompassing love.