Are Good Actions Done in Ostentation Erased?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
The proper understanding of the hadith is about those who simply show off their good actions in front of others while persisting in their evil actions unrepentantly in private. Not someone who does show off as a one-off or occasionally but repents, as you mention in your case. One just needs to follow up with repentance, forgiveness, and good actions.
The Prophet Fears Lesser Idolatry With Ostentation
Mahmud ibn Labid (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Verily, my greater fear for you is the lesser idolatry.” They said, “What is the lesser idolatry, O Messenger of Allah?” The Prophet said, “It is ostentation. Allah Most High will say to them on the Day of Judgement when people are being recompensed for their deeds: Go to those for whom you made a show in the world and look, do you find any reward with them?” [Musnad Ahmad]
Fakes Outward Good Actions
The hadith is about someone who fakes outward good actions and conceals evil ways.
It was narrated from Thawban (Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “I certainly know people of my nation who will come on the Day of Judgement with good deeds like the mountains of Tihama, but Allah Most High will make them like scattered dust.”
Thawban said, “O Messenger of Allah, describe them to us and tell us more so that we will not become of them unknowingly.”
He said: “They are your brothers and from your race, worshipping at night as you do, but they will be people who, when they are alone, transgress the sacred limits of Allah.” [Ibn Majah]
Ibn Hajar al-Haythami explains that this hadith is about those people who pretend to be righteous outwardly and transgress the sacred limits; even committing minor sins when alone is regarded as something major. He further explains the one whose habit is to make a show of being good and concealing his evil ways causes more harm and misguidance to the Muslims because he has no piety and no fear of Allah. [Haythami, Al-Zawajir An Iqtiraf al-Kaba’ir]
Conclusion – Good Actions Remove Evil Actions from the Record
Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ud (Allah be pleased with him) reported: A man kissed a woman, and he came to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and mentioned it to him. The verse was revealed, “Perform prayer at the two ends of the day and in the first hours of the night. Verily, good deeds remove evil deeds.” [Quran, 11:114] The man said, “O Messenger of Allah, is it for me only?” The Prophet said, “It is for all who act upon it from my nation.” [Bukhari;Muslim]
I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction, in sha’ Allah.
Related:
- How Showing Off Is Expressed – Birgivi’s Manual of Taqwa Explained. [Video]
- The Path of Muhammad: Birgivi’s Manual of Taqwa Explained. [Lecture Series]
- Purification of the Heart by Hamza Yusuf.
- Istikhara, The Prayer of Seeking Guidance: The Ultimate Guide – A Reader.
- Prayer of Repentance: Salat al-Tawba.
Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersGuidance?
I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
