This is the final part of an extract of an article by Sheikh Salman b. Fahd al-Oadah General Supervisor of the IslamToday Website
16. Conspicuously neglecting one’s outward appearance:
This is one of the most subtle ways of falling into the sin of showing off. Satan might inspire an individual to go about with disheveled hair and humble attire and make an ostentatious display of asceticism and humility. The Sunnah, on the other hand, encourages a person to care about his appearance. The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to take good care of his hair. He would comb it and apply scent to it. It is , however,related that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to forbid people from oiling their hair excessively. It is also related that he said: “Whoever has hair should honor it.” It is befitting for an Islamic worker to dress nicely, be tidy, take care of his hair, stay presentable, and smell nice. He should keep his hair combed and nicely arranged. He should take care of his appearance without going overboard and wasting his time on it.
17. Making a display of lowering one’s gaze:
A person can make turning away from something into a conspicuous act. When a man sees a pretty woman or some other sight that a Muslim should divert his eyes from, he not only diverts his eyes but lowers his head or turns away. Now, this is not necessary. All that is required from him is to divert his gaze. He does not have to make a big show of it. Such behavior is pretentious. It may be that Satan causes this same individual to continue to sneak discreet glances. Allah says: “Allah knows the treachery of the eyes and all that the hearts conceal.” [Sûrah Ghâfir : 19]
18. Abandoning one’s worship from fear of falling into hypocrisy:
Among the most serious of problems is when Satan fools somebody into abandoning his worship of Allah to avoid being a hypocrite or being called one. Take, for example, a reciter of the Qur’ân, a teacher, or an Islamic worker who falls into some unseen sinful acts on some occasions, like looking at someone unlawfully. Such a person should repent to Allah and try to avoid falling into the sin again. Satan, though, does not give up that easy. He suggests to that person that he is a hypocrite, since he presents an image of piety to the people but commits sins in secret.Now, Satan is not going to suggest as a solution that the person should strive to overcome his sins and rectify himself. Instead, Satan encourages him to give up the good works that he is doing and to forsake the company of righteous people. He encourages him to give up teaching others and leading prayers. His argument is that it is not fitting for that individual to do such outwardly good deeds while sinning inwardly. Satan may say to him something like : “If the people know what you do when you are alone, they would spit in your face and avoid you like the plague.” Satan keeps at him like this until he gives up doing any good deeds. Allah says: “And establish regular prayers at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of the night. Indeed, good works remove evil deeds. This is a reminder for those who are mindful.” [Sûrah Hûd: 114]
19. Withdrawing from the company of others and going into seclusion:
A person may turn away from the company of his fellow men and eschew their company because he thinks he is better than they are. If he had, on the other hand, decided to avoid others so they could be safe from his harm and abuse, he may have had a point. This is what Imam Ahmad did when he limited his interactions with others at the end of his life. People said to him: “O Imam! It is being said that you are renouncing the company of others.” Imam Ahmad replied: “Who am I to renounce other people? Quite the contrary, it is the people who are renouncing my company.” It is wrong to renounce the company of people out of a sense of superiority to them. This is nothing but pride and arrogance. It is a way of praising oneself. In a hadîth it is related: “Whoever says: ‘The people are in ruination!’ is the most ruined of the lot."
20. Being deceived by some fleeting act of devotion:
Satan can trick a person into thinking that some singular act of devotion, like shedding pious tears, is good enough to suffice him. Some people bring themselves to weep during prayer in the nights of Ramadân – and maybe only one night out of the year – or maybe they will attend the Tarâwîh prayer, then Satan convinces them that this made up for everything wrong that they have so far committed. In this way, he encourages them to keep up their sinful ways.
We ask Allah to protect us all from the wiles of Satan and from this special type of polytheism that he likes to cultivate in our hearts. We seek refuge with Allah from the evils of ourselves and our deeds.
CONCLUSION
We hope that we have made plain some of the ways the sin of showing off can sneak up on a person and make his deeds bereft of blessings. We hope from Allah that he blesses us with true sincerity and protects us from polytheism and from showing off, whether we do it consciously or unconsciously. Allah is the only one who can help us.
We conclude by saying: Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. And may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his family and Companions and upon those who follow their good way until the Day of Judgment.
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