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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon the noblest of prophets and messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and companions.
We spoke yesterday about what happens when we insist on disobeying Allahﷻ. There is a saying in Arabic:
لَا كَبِيرَةَ مَعَ الِاسْتِغْفَارِ، وَلَا صَغِيرَةَ مَعَ الْإِصْرَارِ
“There is no major sin combined with istighfar, and no minor sin combined with persistence.”
Meaning, if you make istighfar, Allah will forgive it. You cannot have a major sin (*kabirah*) and istighfar together, just as you cannot have darkness and light simultaneously in the same place—as soon as light comes, darkness departs. And la saghirata ma’a al-israr: if you insist upon a minor sin (*sagheerah*) and repeat it persistently, it becomes a major sin. This is an important principle to remember.
Connecting to that, we mentioned yesterday among the hikam (words of wisdom) of Faqih Abu al-Layth al-Samarqandi (rahmatullah alayhi) that when people persist in that way, Allah deprives them and punishes them in three ways—may Allah Ta’ala forgive us and protect us from His punishment:
1. Knowledge without practice: Allah grants a person knowledge without the inspiration to practice it. He possesses knowledge, but because he does not act upon it, that knowledge becomes a proof (hujjah) against him.
2. Company of the righteous without adab: Allah grants him the companionship of the righteous—the Salihin, the Ulama, the Awliya—yet he fails to recognize their status. He does not appreciate who they are, so there is no reverence, no regard, and no adab.
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala emphasized this adab in the Qur’an with regard to Rasulullah ﷺ himself:
وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ فِيكُمْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ
(Surah Al-Hujurat, 49:7)
“Know that among you is the Messenger of Allah.” The Sahaba already knew he was the Messenger of Allah, but Allah reiterated this so that no one would view him merely through kinship or familiarity—as an uncle, a nephew, a relative, or a friend. He is the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), and he possesses a distinct station and right of adab. That is why Sayyidatina Aisha and her father Sayyidina Abu Bakr (radiyallahu anhuma)—the two people dearest to him—never addressed him by his personal name. They never said “Ya Muhammad”; throughout the Hadith and Sirah, it was always “Ya Rasool Allah.”
Similarly, in his final khutbah before passing away, the Prophet ﷺ stated that he had repaid the rights and favors of everyone, except for Abu Bakr, whose favors upon him are such that Allah alone will reward him on the Day of Resurrection. When Abu Bakr heard this, he wept. When Allah deprives someone of adab and appreciation for the righteous, it is a sign of His displeasure.
3. Deeds without sincerity (Ikhlas): Allah allows a person to perform good actions, but strips them of sincerity. A person may perform noble deeds—feeding the poor, praying, fasting, performing i’tikaf, Hajj, or Umrah—yet the intention behind them is corrupted by the desire for praise and worldly recognition. Consequently, the reward (ajr) of the deed is nullified. We ask Allah to protect us from that.
Abu al-Layth al-Samarqandi relates that someone asked Rasulullah ﷺ: “Which deeds guarantee salvation and the forgiveness of Allah in the Hereafter?” The Prophet ﷺ replied: “Do not deceive Allah.”
They asked: “Ya Rasool Allah, how can one deceive Allah?” He ﷺ explained: “That you perform an action that Allah commanded, but you intend by it other than Allah.”
Of course, no one can truly deceive Allah; Allah knows what lies hidden in every chest and intention. Rather, it means attempting through one’s deeds to project false devotion. Allah describes this trait among the hypocrites in Surah Al-Baqarah:
يُخَادِعُونَ اللَّهَ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَمَا يَخْدَعُونَ إِلَّا أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ فَزَادَهُمُ اللَّهُ مَرَضًا وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْذِبُونَ
(Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:9–10)
“They think to deceive Allah and those who believe, but they deceive not except themselves and perceive it not. In their hearts is disease, so Allah has increased their disease; and for them is a painful punishment because they used to lie.”
Acting for anyone other than Allah is deceiving Allah. Guard strictly against ostentation (riya), for ostentation is minor shirk. The ostentatious person on the Day of Judgment will be summoned before all creation by four humiliating titles:
يَا كَافِرُ، يَا فَاجِرُ، يَا غَادِرُ، يَا خَاسِرُ
“O disbeliever, O evildoer, O deceiver, O loser! Your deed is wasted and your reward is spent. You have no share today; go and take your reward from those for whom you acted!” The Sahabi who narrated this hadith took an oath by Allah that he heard it directly from the lips of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Our righteous predecessors noted: “Safeguarding a good deed is more difficult than performing it.” Just as preserving wealth requires far greater vigilance than earning it—lest it be stolen, mismanaged, or squandered—safeguarding a good deed from pride and vanity is immensely challenging. Abu Bakr al-Wasiti (rahmatullah alayhi) said that a good action is like delicate, fine crystal: a single moment of heedlessness causes it to shatter into irreparable pieces. Good deeds are shattered by ostentation and boastfulness.
What should you do if you sense ostentation creeping into your heart while performing a good deed? Strive to eradicate it immediately through istighfar and renewal of intention. But critically: do not abandon the good deed!
Someone asked Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen (rahmatullah alayhi): “I recite the Qur’an well. When I lead Salah, I intend to recite thirty ayahs. But while reciting, the thought enters my mind that people are admiring my voice, so out of fear of riya, I cut my recitation short to five or six ayahs and make ruku’. What should I do?”
Shaykh al-Uthaymeen advised: “When that thought comes, make istighfar internally in your heart. And then recite more than you originally intended! That whispering is from Shaitan. Shaitan sees that you are reciting well, that people are gaining khushu’ in their prayer, and he wants to halt the good work by accusing you of showing off. Do not obey him—defeat Shaitan!”
Allah Ta’ala declared:
إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ فَاتَّخِذُوهُ عَدُوًّا
(Surah Fatir, 35:6)
“Indeed, Satan is an enemy to you; so take him as an enemy.” You fight Shaitan by doing the exact opposite of what he prompts. If you intend to give one dollar in charity, pull out ten dollars, and Shaitan whispers to withhold it—give the ten dollars! And if he continues whispering, give ten more until Shaitan flees!
We ask Allah Ta’ala to grant us complete sincerity in our deeds, to grant us purity of intention (ikhlas an-niyyah)—for actions are judged solely by intentions—to accept our worship, and to protect us from every form of riya and ostentation. Wa sallallahu ala nabiyyina al-kareem wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma’in.