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.

Assalamu Alaikum

Prophet Mohammad (SAWS) said this 1400 years ago!
Give due attention . . .

this was said 1400 yrs ago!!!!

* Camels will no longer be used as a means of transport;
* People will ride on saddles that aren't saddles (cars?);
* The distance on earth will become short;
* Horses will not be used in wars;
* Muslims will defeat the Byzantines which will end with the conquest of Constantinople (Istanbul);
* The Jews will gather again to live in Bilad Canaan;
* Very tall buildings will be built;
* The disappearance of knowledge and the appearance of ignorance, with much killing;
* Adultery will become widespread, and the drinking of wine will become common;
* The number of men will decrease and the number of women will increase, until there are 50 women to be looked after by one man;
* Islam will become worn out like clothes are, until no one will know what fasting, prayer, charity and rituals are;
* Allah will send a disease to fornicators that will have no cure (Aids?);
* People will begin to believe in the stars and reject

AL QADAR (THE DIVINE DECREE OF DESTINY);
* Men will pass by peoples graves and say: 'Would that I were in his place' (large amount of suicidal deaths?);
* The Euphrates will uncover a mountain of gold for which people will fight over (the river of Alfurat that lies near Syria );
* Two large groups of people will fight one another, and there will be many casualties, they will both be following the same religion World War II?);
* Approximately 30 DAJJALS will appear, each one claiming to be the messenger of ALLAH;
* Earthquakes will increase;

* Time will pass quickly;
* Afflictions will appear;
* Killing will increase;
* Wealth will increase;
* Women will be wearing clothes but not wearing clothes







* THE PROPHET (s.a.w.) SAID: 'IF MY UMMAH BEARS 15 TRAITS (QUALITIES), TRIBULATION WILL FOLLOW IT' (DAY OF JUDGEMENT). SOMEONE ASKED,'WHAT ARE THEY O MESSENGER OF ALLAH?' HE (s.a.w.) SAID:



* When any gain is shared out only among the rich, with no benefit to the poor;
* When a trust becomes a means of making profit;
* When paying ZAKAAT becomes a burden;
* When voices are raised in the mosque;
* When the leader of a people is the worst of them, when people treat a man with respect because what he may do;
* When much wine is drunk; red wind or the earth swallow them, or to be transformed into animals.'
* 'IMRAN IBN HUSAYN SAID: 'THE PROPHET (AS) SAID, 'SOME PEOPLE OF THIS UMMAH WILL BE SWALLOWED BY THE EARTH, TRANSFORMED INTO ANIMALS, AND SOME WILL BE BOMBARDED WITH STONES'. ONE OF THE MUSLIMS ASKED, WHEN WILL THAT BE O MESSENGER Of ALLAH?' HE SAID, 'WHEN SINGERS AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS WILL BECOME POPULAR, AND MUCH
WINE IS DRUNK.' THE GREATER SIGNS OF THE HOUR The Quran will disappear in one night, even from the peoples hearts, and no Ayah will be left on earth. (Some groups of old people will be left who will say: 'We heard of fathers' saying 'LA ILAHA ILLA ALLAH' so we repeat it;



* The appearance of the MAHDI;
* The appearance of the DAJJAL (Anti Christ);

* The appearance of Ya'juj and Ma'juj (biblical Gog and Magog);
* Isa (Jesus) will come during the time of Dajjal;
* The rising of the sun from the west;
* The destruction of the Ka'ba and the recovery of its treasures;
* The smoke.



Just remember-

Allah is watching you.

Prayer Wheel, Let's see the devil stop this one!

Here's what the wheel is all about.

When you receive this, say a prayer for the person that sent it to you.

There are no costs, but wonderful rewards. Let's continue praying for one another.
As we look at this article we realize how true the Messenger (SAWS) was. These signs were prophesized 1400 years ago!!!

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