Garden Of Islam

(Ar riyyah)

The Arabic term riya' is roughly translated as "showing off," which means doing something to please others or to gain their approval and admiration, instead of focusing on receiving God's approval, satisfaction, and pleasure. Riya' is the opposite of the Arabic term ikhlas [purity of intention].

According to Islam, riya' could make a pure act of worship, such as prayer, void of any reward and could even result in God's punishment.

Satisfaction When Seen Doing Good

When people are seen performing a good deed, they often cannot but feel good if they are praised for it. Islam does not consider this to be riya', as long as the person originally intended the deed for the sake of God, without wanting to be praised by people. A person must also have the feeling of humbleness and thankfulness to God that He helped him or her perform this good deed.

This means that if a person intends to secretly do a good deed without anybody knowing and by chance somebody sees him or her, then he or she gets a double reward: one for doing a good deed and another for not feeling vain.

Good and Evil Intentions

Sometimes people may have a sincere intention to do good, but due to uncontrollable or unexpected circumstances, they may not be able to fulfill this act. According to Islam, although this action was not actually done, they are still rewarded for it due to their sincere intention.

Improving the Quality of Ikhlas

The first step to improve the quality of ikhlas is to make sure that your action is not prohibited by God.

Second is being conscious of God by realizing that God is present at all times and that He is aware of all your inner thoughts and motives.

Third is to develop the habit of giving some thought to any action before actually doing it.

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