Fudayl Ibn ‘Iyaad (رحمه الله) used to say:

“If you see a scholar or a worshipper taking pleasure in their righteousness being mentioned before the rulers or the people of this world — then know that he is merely a show-off.”

🌿 Sincerity isn't about being seen — it's about being known by Allah.
It's to act and learn purely for His sake, seeking only what lies with Him — not praise, not recognition.

But beware...
One of the subtle signs of hidden showing-off (ar-riyaa’ ul-khaafee) is that silent joy you feel when someone praises your deed, or notices your effort.

The Salaf considered this hidden riyaa’ more dangerous than even major sins — because it's a veiled form of shirk, the gravest of all sins, even if minor in appearance.


💔 So, O dear brother...
Search your soul. Examine your heart.
If you find in yourself a craving to be seen (riyaa’) or heard (sam’aah), then weep over it.

For the one who loves to be noticed will be exposed with humiliation,
— in this world,
— and the next.

🛐 We ask Allaah to protect us from this disease,
and to grant us hearts that seek only His gaze — in both worlds.
Aameen.

Ibn al Qayyim (رَحِمَهُ ٱللَّٰهُ) said:

"The eye is the Mirror of the Heart, so if the servant lowers his gaze, the heart will lower it's desires and whims, and if He lets his gaze wander, the desire in his heart will be released."

[Rawdatul Mu'hibbeen, 109]

Malik bin Dinar ( رَحِمَهُ ٱللَّٰهُ) said :

"Since I have learned the reality of people, I don't care who praises or criticizes me; as they'll be excessive in both."

[ Az-Zuhd of al-Bayhaqi (154) ]

It was said to Imam Hasan al-Basri رَحِمَهُ ٱللَّٰهُ :

"A man sins,
then he repents,
then he sins,
then he repents,
then he sins,
then he repents,
until he dies."

He said: "I do not know this being anything but the characteristics of the believers."

[ Hilyah al-Awliyah, 2/315 ]

A photo taken for an Iraqi prisoner in an American prison in Najaf/Iraq. The father was allowed to meet his son and sit on his lap with the condition of wearing a bag on his head.

Never forget.

Only those of no value wants to advertise themselves.

- Grand Sheikh Abdullah Fai

Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله:

‎

"When the veil has been lifted on the day of judgement revealing the value of good deeds for the people they'll not see any action better in reward than the remembrance of Allāh (Dhikr).

At that time a group of people who'll sigh because they missed out and say:

There was nothing easier for us than dhikr and yet we did not do it.”

[al-Waabil al-Sayyib | 11]

The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said,

"THE HOUR WILL NOT COME TO PASS BEFORE THE RIVER EUPHRATES DRIES UP TO UNVEIL THE MOUNTAIN OF GOLD, FOR WHICH PEOPLE WILL FIGHT. NINETY-NINE OUT OF ONE HUNDRED WILL DIE (IN THE FIGHTING).

Riyad as-Salihin 1822

A photo from the Baptist Hospital showing an elderly Palestinian man standing for a long time, holding medicine for his daughter who was wounded by Israeli colonial forces fire.

Ibn Al Qayyim رحمه الله said:

"Get used to Privacy with your Lord (in Obedience to Him), because you will be alone with Him in the Grave for a long time."

[Al Fawa'id]

How will you know if someone’s intelligence is mature? Look at their ambitions. A person who has the ability to reach the peak of success but fails because of weak determination — there is no one more foolish than him.

- Ibn al-Jawzi (Rahimahullah)

Hasan al-Başrī(Rahimahullah) said:

"Son of Adam, love Allah and Allah will love you. And know, you will not (truly) love Allah until you love being obedient to Him."

[Istinshaq Nasim al-Uns pg. 31]

Ibn Sina (Avicenna) (rahimahullah) - The Healer's Heart

The young prince lay dying, and the greatest physicians in the kingdom had given up hope. His fever burned relentlessly, and no medicine could break it. The king summoned Ibn Sina as a last resort.

"Master physician," the king pleaded, "if you can save my son, I will give you half my treasury."

Ibn Sina examined the prince carefully, then did something that shocked everyone present - he began asking the young man about different neighborhoods in the city.

As he mentioned each area, Ibn Sina watched the prince's pulse. When he named one particular district, the pulse suddenly raced. Then he listed the streets in that area. Again, one street name made the pulse jump wildly.

Finally, he named the houses on that street. When he mentioned one specific address, the prince's pulse became so rapid that Ibn Sina had to smile.

"Your Majesty," he announced, "your son is not dying from disease. He's dying from love. There's a young woman living at that address who has captured his heart so completely that lovesickness has taken over his body."

The king was amazed. Within days, the prince was married to the woman, and his "incurable" illness vanished completely.

Ibn Sina refused the offered reward. "I became a physician to heal suffering," he said. "How can I take payment for understanding that the heart's pain can make the body sick? This is what Allah gave me knowledge for."

Throughout his life, Ibn Sina wrote over 450 works on medicine, philosophy, and science. But he always said his greatest discovery was understanding that healing the soul was often the key to healing the body.

The Prophet (صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) said:

"VERILY, MODESTY AND FAITH COME TOGETHER.

IF ONE OF THE TWO IS MISSING, SO IS THE OTHER."

[al-Adab al-Mufrad lil-Bukhārī 1313 ]