hassana elkoussi
Junior Member
HIDDEN SHIRK ( Riya'a)
Bismillah-Ir-Rahman-Ir-Raheem,
AsalaamuALaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh,
Allah's Messenger said, "The thing that I fear most for you is the minor Shirk; Riyaa" (Ahmad in his Musnad)
Aboo Sa`eed reported that the Messenger of Allah (Salallahu Alayhi Wassalam) came to us while we were discussing about Dajjaal and said, "Should I not inform you of that which I fear for you even more than the dangers of Dajjaal? It is the hidden Shirk; A person stands to pray, and he beautifies his prayer because he see s the people looking at him." (Sunan Ibn Majah vol. 2, #3389)
Aboo Moosaa al-Ash`aree reported that Allah's Messenger delivered a sermon to them one day and said,
"O People! Fear this Shirk (meaning riyaa), for it is more inconspicous than the crawling of an ant." (Authenticated in Saheeh al Targheeb wat-Tarheeb, no. 33)
The causes of Riyaa
The primary cause of riyaa is a weakness in faith ( Iman) When a person does not have strong faith in Allaah, he will prefer the admiration of people over the pleasure of Allah.
1] The love of Praise---as mentioned in a hadeeth of the first three people being thrown into the hellfire; the scholar (who taught for fame), the martyr (who faught for fame), and the person who gave his money in charity (so people would say he is generous).
Aboo Hurayrah quoted Allah's Messenger (saaw) as saying: "Allaah, Most Great and Glorious said: Pride is My cloak, and greatness is My robe, so whoever competes with Me, with respect to either of them, I shall cast him into Hell" (Saheeh Muslim, vol. 4 #6349, Sunan Aboo Dawood, vol. 3 #4079)
May Allah (Subhana Wa Ta'ala) save us from this, Ameen
2] Fear Of Criticism
No one likes to be criticised. The dislike of criticism regarding religious practices may be divided into two catagories:
a] The first catagory is that of a person who neglects a commandment of Allah in order to avoid the criticism of his peers. However, the true believers are described in the Qur`an as follows: "...They do not fear the criticism of those who criticize. And this is the blessing of Allah; He gives it to whomsoever He wishes. Verily, Allaah is Self-Sufficient, All Knowing. " (Al-Maa`idah : 54)
b] The second catagory is that of a person who obeys certain commandments of Islaam, not for the sake of Allaah, but because he fears people will look down on him and criticise him if he does not do it. For example, a man may make his formal prayers in the mosque because he does not want people to crticise him for praying at home, or to think that he is not praying at all.
3] Worldly intentions
Abu Musaa related that a person came to the Prophet (Salallahu Alayhi Wassalam) and asked: "A person fights to defend his honor (i.e. to avoid criticism), another to prove his bravery (i.e. to be praised for it), and a third to show off (i.e. so that his position can be seen); of these three, which one fights in the way of Allah? " He (Salallahu ALayhi Wassalam) answered:
"Whoever fights to make the word of Allaah prevalent [i.e. to bring honor to Islaam, and to establish it in the land], he is the one who fights in the way of Allaah" (Saheeh al-Bukhari vol. 4 #65),
O Allaah (Subhana Wa Ta'ala) , we seek refuge in you from committing shirk knowingly, and ask for your forgiveness from the shirk that we may commit unknowingly". Ameen,
Edited extracts from: www.Islaam.com
:salam2:
