Showing off

“Once Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) said to ‘Abbad ibn Kathir al-Basri in the Mosque, ‘Woe upon you, O ‘Abbad, you must never show off; whoever works for someone other than Allah, He will assign him to that for which he has worked.’”

“I heard Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) saying, ‘Allow your cause (Shi’a belief) to be just for the sake of Allah and do not assign it to people; whatever is for the sake of Allah is for Allah, and what is for people is unable to rise to Allah (will not be accepted).”’

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) has said, ‘Showing off is considering things as partners of Allah. Whoever works for people, his rewards are upon the people and whoever works for Allah, his reward is before Allah.’”

the Imam about the words of the Almighty that ‘whosoever is desirous of meeting his Creator, he should perform virtuous deeds and should not ascribe any partner to God in his worship,’ (18:110) seeking an explanation. Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘A person who performs good deeds but not for the sake of being blessed with the vision of his God, his acts are aimed at being considered as pious by the people, and he wishes that people should know about his deeds; such a person is counted among polytheists, who have ascribed partners to God.’ The Imam (AS) continued: ‘There is none in the world, who has concealed his good deeds and after passage of time God has not revealed them. And there is none in the world who could conceal his wicked deeds for ever, for they were exposed by God before he passed away from the world.’

“Once al-Rida (a.s.) said to me, ‘Woe upon you, O ibn ‘Arafah, you must work without showing off and publicity; those who work for anyone other than Allah, He assigns him to whomever he has worked. Woe upon you, whatever one does, Allah returns it back, good (result) if it is good and evil (results) if it is bad.’”

“Once I was having dinner with Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) and he read this verse of the Holy Quran: ‘In fact, people are well-aware of their own soul (75:14) even though they make excuses.’ (75:15) The Imam said, ‘O abu Hafs, why should a human being seek closeness (by the form of the deed) to Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, while it is against the knowledge of Allah (in one’s intention being to show off)? The Messenger of Allah has said, ‘Whoever does a deed secretly, Allah returns it in a certain dress, as good rewards, were it a good deed, and in an evil form, were it an evil deed.’”

“The Holy Prophet has said, ‘The angel ascends with the good deeds of a servant (of Allah) with happiness and joy and Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, will say, ‘Keep them along with the records of evil people; he has not done them for Me.’”

A showoff has three signs: he is very active when people are present, very lazy when he is alone and he loves to be praised in all matters.’”

“I heard Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) saying, ‘Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, has said, “I am the best associate (in a deal). Whoever associates others with Me in a deed that he has done, I will not accept it; I accept only what is purely for Me.’”

“Whoever shows off to people an act that Allah loves and opposes Allah with what He dislikes (showoff), he will find Allah at war with him.”

“Why should one of you publicize a good deed and hide an evil one? Can he not find in his own-self that it is not right? Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, has said, ‘In fact, human beings are well aware of their souls.’ (75:14) When the private side is correct, the public side becomes strong.’” Al-Husayn ibn Muhammad has narrated from Mu’alla ibn Muhammad from Muhammad ibn Jumhur from Fadalah from Mu’awiyah from al-Fudayl from Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) a similar Hadith.

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) said, ‘Whenever a servant (of Allah) does a good deed secretly, not very long thereafter Allah uncovers for him good rewards. Whenever a servant (of Allah) does an evil deed secretly, very shortly thereafter Allah uncovers for him an evil return and misfortune.’”

“Whoever wants Allah, the Majestic, the Glorious, with a small deed Allah uncovers for him a reward bigger than what he wanted. Whoever wants people with a great deal of deeds, physical effort, and with, nightly vigil, Allah, the Majestic, the Glorious, deems it necessary to belittle it (his effort) in the eyes of those for whom they (the deeds) were meant to be.”

“The Messenger of Allah has said, ‘There will come a time when people will be filthy from the inside but good looking from the outside due to worldly greed. They will not have any intention of seeking the rewards with Allah. Their religion will be a showoff and not for fear (from the hereafter). Allah will punish them universally, even though they may pray like a drowning person (in desperation) but it will not be accepted.’”

“Once I was having dinner with Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) and he read this verse of the Holy Quran: ‘In fact, people are well aware of their own soul (75:14) even though they make excuses.’ (75:15) The Imam said, ‘O abu Hafs, why should a human being make excuses before the people, opposing what Allah knows about him (his intention being to show off)? The Messenger of Allah has said, “Whoever does a deed secretly Allah will make him wear its (the deed’s) garment as good rewards were it a good deed, and in an evil form were it an evil deed.’”

"Maintaining the deed is more difficult than performing it." It was asked, "What is maintaining the deed?" He replied: "A man maintains a connection or spends an expenditure for the sake of Allah alone, with no partners. It is recorded for him in secret. Then he mentions it and it is erased; then it is recorded for him publicly. Then he mentions it again and it is erased, and it is recorded for him as showing off."

“Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali ibn abu Talib (a.s.) has said, ‘Be concerned and worried about (your relation with) Allah, a worry in which there are no excuses. Perform good deeds without showing off or publicity; Allah assigns one who performs a deed for something other than Him, to his own deed (and no reward from Allah).”’

“Once I asked abu Ja’far (a.s.) ‘What do you say about a man who does a good deed while a human being sees him and it makes him happy?’ The Imam said, ‘There is no offense in it. There is no one who does not love people seeing something good come from him even though he may not have done it for such purposes (people see him doing good).”’