rea'a - hypocrisy?

[DanyalSAC]

Asalaamu alaikum...

My shaykh was talking about different forms of shirk and the many ways it can manifest itself. One way was this:

While at home your salaat is quick and sloppy, you pray like a chicken pecking in the dust. You go to the masjid, and your prayer is beautiful and graceful but you're doing it not for ALLAH subhanahu wa ta'ala but for the admiration of your brethren. I was discussing this with my friends in Kuwait (nothing like going to the other side of the world to discuss Islam with fellow Muslims!) and one said "that is also called rea'a". When I first became Muslim, I heard that word - the man who took my shahadah said that it means something like "showing off" or even "hypocrisy"

Though the dangers of this is obvious, I would like to know more about this word - the exact meaning and the Arabic spelling of it, if I may.

May Allah reward you for your replies.

D.

 

[BrotherInIslam7]

:salam2:

Riya (showing off) in worship constitutes minor shirk.

I found the following on IslamQA :

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:

Showing off may affect worship in three ways:

1 – When the basic motive for worship is to be seen by others, such as one who stands and prays so that people will see him, and so that they will praise him for his prayers. This invalidates the act of worship.

2 – When it is a factor that develops during the act of worship, i.e., if the worshipper is initially sincere in his intention towards Allaah, then the idea of showing off develops whilst he is doing it. In this case one of the following two scenarios must apply:

(i) There is no connection between the first part of his act of worship and the last part, so the first part is valid in all cases, and the last part is invalid.

For example: a man has one hundred riyals that he wants to give in charity, so he gives fifty of them in a sincere act of charity. Then the idea of showing off develops with regard to the remaining fifty. So the first was a sound and accepted act of charity, but the last fifty was an invalid act of charity because the sincerity was mixed with a desire to show off.

(ii) The first part of the act of worship is connected to the last part, in which case one of the following two scenarios must apply:

(a) He wards off the idea of showing off and does not give in to it, rather he turns away from it and hates it. This does not have any effect on him, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah has forgiven my ummah for what crosses their minds, so long as they do not act upon it or speak of it.”

(b) When he gives in to this idea of showing off and does not ward it off. In this case the entire act of worship becomes invalid, because the first part is connected to the last part. For example, he starts the prayer with a sincere intention towards Allaah, then the idea of showing off develops in the second rak’ah, so the entire prayer becomes invalid because the first part is connected to the last part.

3 – The idea of showing off develop after the act of worship has ended. This does not affect it or invalidate it, because it has been completed soundly, so if showing off occurs after that it does not affect it.

It is not showing off if a person feels happy that the people come to know about his worship, because this developed after he has finished the act of worship.

It is not showing off if a person feels happy because he has done an act of worship, because that is a sign of his faith. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever feels happy because of his good deeds and sad because of his bad deeds, that is the believer.”

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was asked about that and said: “That is the first glad tidings of the believer.”

Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 2/29, 30.

Islam Q&A

Link : http://islamqa.com/en/ref/9359/

 

[IHearIslam]

Dang brotherinIslam7 why you gotta be soo fast in replying??!! just kidding,
jazaka'Allaah khair.

I was going to post the same exact thing but oh well

 

[DanyalSAC]

wow yes that was fast indeed, JazakAllah khairyn!!

Can someone please write the word Riyah in Arabic for me? Thank you

 

[BrotherInIslam7]

:salam2:

Ar-riya - الرياء

 

[ximkoyra]

wow yes that was fast indeed, JazakAllah khairyn!!

Can someone please write the word Riyah in Arabic for me? Thank you

The stupid mac I'm on won't do it right. It's supposed to be

alif-laam-raa yaa-alif hamza

I'll post it later if no one else has when I get home.


Edit: Never Mind

 

[saima abdullah]

i have a question here ... m still not clear upon that ...whenever i went to musjid or any religious gathering my act get beautiful i feel the sweetnes of gathering and obviously it effects my acts as well but at home sometimes i feel i m dragging myself ..........is this show off? or its effect of others emman on me ...if this is soo then m i hollow from inside ?

 

[ximkoyra]

i have a question here ... m still not clear upon that ...whenever i went to musjid or any religious gathering my act get beautiful i feel the sweetnes of gathering and obviously it effects my acts as well but at home sometimes i feel i m dragging myself ..........is this show off? or its effect of others emman on me ...if this is soo then m i hollow from inside ?

Heh, I'm guilty of this too although I've gotten better with it.

I don't think it's showing off at all, just a matter of concentration. At the masjid your entire purpose of being there is to pray. Naturally, you will be in a better mental stay and perform your prayers better.

At home, there are too many distractions and you'll just have to consciously train yourself to focus on praying and nothing else. Internet, TV, food, bathroom, phone, etc., might not pop into your head directly but because of the fact that you have so many things to do besides your prayer when you're at home gives you a "sluggish" feeling sometimes.

Even though I admit that a poor prayer with a congregation still feels a lot better than a poor prayer by yourself, I don't think that it has anything to do with the concept of ar-riya. I know people that would fit very well into the "show-off" category so I think that I have a decent grasp of the concept.

 

[DanyalSAC]

I don't know if this story has any backing to it, and I don't know really the whole thing just the gist...

A man was doing his prayer in public, and passers stopped to watch. They started saying to each other "See how pious and God-loving he is! He's doing his prayer on time!" The man heard and replied, "And I'm fasting, too!".

That is "showing off"!

 

[BrotherInIslam7]

I don't know if this story has any backing to it, and I don't know really the whole thing just the gist...

A man was doing his prayer in public, and passers stopped to watch. They started saying to each other "See how pious and God-loving he is! He's doing his prayer on time!" The man heard and replied, "And I'm fasting, too!".

That is "showing off"!

If you can control your laughter, this might be a good video to watch that story enacted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0XWD3fgPYk

 

[ahmed_indian]

i have a question here ... m still not clear upon that ...whenever i went to musjid or any religious gathering my act get beautiful i feel the sweetnes of gathering and obviously it effects my acts as well but at home sometimes i feel i m dragging myself ..........is this show off? or its effect of others emman on me ...if this is soo then m i hollow from inside ?

:salam2:,

of course, its not riya. its called *effect of the environment*. when we mix with not so religious people, our minds diverts on having money, villas, competition, opposite gender,etc.

but when we visit religious gatherings, our hearts and mind focuses o how to gain Allah's pleasure, hereafter, good deeds and the iman grows and we feel motivated to do more good deeds.

once AbuBakr (ra) and Hanzalah (ra) went to Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) and said to him: Allah's Apostle, when we are in your company, we are reminded of Hell-Fire and Paradise as if we are seeing them with our own eyes, but whenever we go away from you and attend to our wives, children and business, many of these things go out of our minds. Thereupon Allah's Apostle said: By Him in Whose Hand is my life, if your state of mind remains the same as it is in my presence and you are always busy in remembrance (of Allah), the angels will shake hands with you in your beds and on your paths. However, Hanzalah, time should be devoted (to the worldly affairs) and time (should be devoted to prayer and meditation). He (the holy Prophet) said this thrice. Sahih al-Bukhari 8.65,

 

[arzafar]

i have a question here ... m still not clear upon that ...whenever i went to musjid or any religious gathering my act get beautiful i feel the sweetnes of gathering and obviously it effects my acts as well but at home sometimes i feel i m dragging myself ..........is this show off? or its effect of others emman on me ...if this is soo then m i hollow from inside ?

then im your opposite.
congregation is just following the imam. i prefer 1 to 1 communication.

 

[Seeking Allah's Mercy]

:salam2:wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu...

Beneficial discussion.Jazakallah khair for your inputs.

A small question...

One sees someone doing a good deed and thinks great about him/her and admires his/hers piety.tries to be like him/her and in the process it keeps on coming to him/her that he/she would be admired like that some day,and get appreciated.though he/she fights it and overcomes it at times,and think over his/her stupidity and laugh about it.Astagfirullah!!All praise is due to Allah

the Question is when the evil thought comes what should one do??And how much will it affect the good deed.What can make the intentions pure and a person humble.get over this "be apprecaited" thing.

lots of hims/hers.sorry about that.and not a very small Question when you read it.tried to generalise my own state of mind....


jazakallah khair

 

[noor aldeen]

jazak allah kerin

 

[omahmed]

Salaam

I saw that cartoon - funny! Jazzak Allah Khairan, Brother In Islam.

I also read that hypocrites also find the Fajr and the Aisha prayers the hardest to attend in the masjid.

Jazzak Allah Khair, brother Danyal SAC - good topic to be mindful of.

Salaam.