How can a servant avoid showing off without abandoning a prescribed deed?
2026-09-21
T65 · Ibn Taymiyyah
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah
شيخ الإسلام أحمد بن تيمية
Selected explanation · Selected source passage(s) — fully translated
Selected continuous passage; light punctuation normalization has been applied for reading. The English translates every displayed Arabic paragraph; this selection is not the complete surrounding work. Square brackets identify translator-supplied clarification.
النص العربي
المقتطف
وَمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ وِرْدٌ مَشْرُوعٌ مِنْ صَلَاةِ الضُّحَى أَوْ قِيَامِ لَيْلٍ أَوْ غَيْرِ ذَلِكَ فَإِنَّهُ يُصَلِّيهِ حَيْثُ كَانَ وَلَا يَنْبَغِي لَهُ أَنْ يَدَعَ وِرْدَهُ الْمَشْرُوعَ لِأَجْلِ كَوْنِهِ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ إذَا عَلِمَ اللَّهُ مِنْ قَلْبِهِ أَنَّهُ يَفْعَلُهُ سِرًّا لِلَّهِ مَعَ اجْتِهَادِهِ فِي سَلَامَتِهِ مِنْ الرِّيَاءِ وَمُفْسِدَاتِ الْإِخْلَاصِ؛ وَلِهَذَا قَالَ الْفُضَيْل بْنُ عِيَاضٍ: تَرْكُ الْعَمَلِ لِأَجْلِ النَّاسِ رِيَاءٌ وَالْعَمَلُ لِأَجْلِ النَّاسِ شِرْكٌ.
English translation
English translation reviewed against the displayed Arabic by SalafAlSalih editorial preparation (AI-assisted); explanatory additions appear in square brackets or separate notes.
Selected explanation
Whoever has a regular, prescribed practice, such as the Duḥā prayer, night prayer, or another such practice, should perform it wherever he is. He should not abandon his prescribed practice because he is among people, if Allah knows from his heart that he would perform it privately for Allah, while striving to keep it free of showing off and whatever corrupts sincerity. For this reason, al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ said: “Abandoning a deed because of people is showing off, and doing a deed for people is associating partners [with Allah].”
Source and editorial notes
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 23/174
مجموع الفتاوى
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā
Arabic passage checked against the cited volume and printed page. English reviewed against every displayed Arabic paragraph on 14 October 2026.