One of the most dangerous diseases of the heart is not always visible to other people. A person can be praying, giving charity, reading Qur’an, helping others and doing many good deeds, while quietly struggling with a question that only Allah truly knows: Who am I doing this for?
This is the danger of riya.
Riya means doing an act of worship or displaying religious behaviour in order to be seen, praised or admired by people. Instead of seeking Allah’s pleasure alone, a person begins to care about how others perceive their worship.
It is a serious matter because Islam is built upon sincerity. Allah does not simply look at what we do; our intentions matter.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, “Actions are judged by intentions.” (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)
This means that two people can perform the same outward action while having completely different intentions before Allah.
One may give charity because they genuinely want Allah’s reward. Another may give the same amount because they want people to call them generous. Outwardly, the action looks identical. But the hearts behind the actions are different.
RIYA CAN ENTER GOOD DEEDS
The frightening thing about riya is that it does not necessarily appear in obviously sinful behaviour. It can enter acts that are already good.
A person may lengthen their prayer because someone is watching. Someone may give a larger donation because they know their name will be announced. Someone may post their religious activities online because they want people to see how devoted they are.
Sometimes it is even more subtle.
A person may feel disappointed when nobody notices something good they did. They may become upset because their religious effort did not receive enough praise. They may enjoy being regarded as the most knowledgeable, most generous or most religious person in the room.
These feelings require honest self-examination.
Not every public good deed is riya. Muslims can openly encourage charity, teach Islam, share beneficial knowledge or participate in good works. The issue is not simply whether people see the deed. The deeper question is why is the deed being done, and whose approval matters most to the person?
THE QUR’AN WARNS ABOUT SHOWING OFF
Allah warns believers about worship that is performed for people’s attention.
In Surah Al-Ma’un, Allah describes those who pray but are careless about the reality of their worship and says they are those “who make show [of their deeds].” (Qur’an 107:4–6)
This warning shows that outward religious behaviour by itself does not guarantee sincerity.
A person can be physically present in worship while the heart is seeking something other than Allah.
That is why Muslims need to constantly examine their intentions.
RIYA AND SOCIAL MEDIA
The modern world has created new opportunities for riya.
A Muslim can now show thousands of people what they are doing with a single post.
A Qur’an beside a cup of coffee. A picture from the mosque. A video of charity. A recording of a beautiful recitation. A public announcement about a donation. A post about waking up for Tahajjud.
None of these things is automatically wrong.
The problem begins when religious activity becomes dependent on an audience.
If nobody likes the post, does the motivation disappear?
If nobody praises the charity, does the person feel that it was not worth doing?
If nobody knows about the worship, does the person still want to continue?
These questions can be uncomfortable, but they are useful because sincerity requires us to look beyond appearances.
Social media has made it easier to perform goodness publicly, but it has also made it more important to protect private acts of worship.
KEEP SOME DEEDS BETWEEN YOU AND ALLAH
One practical way to protect yourself from riya is to have acts of worship that nobody else knows about.
Give a small amount of charity privately.
Make dua when nobody knows you are doing it.
Pray extra Salah without announcing it.
Help someone without telling others.
Wake up at night and worship Allah without turning it into a public achievement.
These private deeds can become deeply valuable because there is no audience to impress.
They remind the heart that worship is ultimately about Allah.
WHAT IF PEOPLE PRAISE YOU?
Another important point is that receiving praise does not automatically mean you committed riya.
A person may sincerely do something for Allah and then receive praise from people afterward. The praise itself is not necessarily the problem.
What matters is the intention behind the deed.
The Prophet ﷺ was asked about a person who does a good deed and people praise him for it. He described such praise as an indication of the believer’s reward being hastened in this world. (Sahih Muslim)
So the goal is not to become paranoid about every compliment or to refuse every public good deed.
The goal is to make Allah’s approval more important than people’s approval.
RIYA CAN DESTROY THE SPIRIT OF WORSHIP
When a person becomes too concerned about being seen, worship can slowly become performance.
The person starts thinking about how their Salah looks rather than how their heart stands before Allah.
They think about how their Qur’an recitation sounds to others rather than what the verses are doing to their heart.
They think about how generous they appear rather than whether Allah accepts their charity.
This is why sincerity is so important.
Worship is supposed to bring us closer to Allah, not turn us into performers seeking an audience.
HOW DO WE FIGHT RIYA?
The first step is to become conscious of our intentions.
Before doing something good, ask yourself: Why am I doing this?
While doing it, remain conscious of Allah.
After doing it, do not become obsessed with whether people noticed.
And when you recognise a struggle with showing off, do not simply abandon good deeds because you are afraid of riya. Instead, correct your intention and continue doing the good.
This is important because Shaytan can attack a person from both directions. He can encourage riya by making them seek people’s praise, and he can also make them abandon good deeds completely by whispering, “If people might think you are showing off, don’t do it.”
The answer is to continue doing good while constantly renewing the intention.
SINCERITY IS A LIFELONG STRUGGLE
Ikhlas is not something a Muslim achieves once and never has to think about again.
Our intentions can change.
We may begin a deed sincerely and later become conscious of people’s attention. We may start seeking Allah’s pleasure and then become attracted to praise.
That is why the heart needs constant attention.
The believer keeps returning to Allah and asking Him to purify the intention.
One of the most important questions we can ask ourselves is not simply, “Did I do something good?”
It is:
“Who did I do it for?”
Because the deed that receives applause from people is not necessarily the deed that is most valuable before Allah.
And sometimes the most precious deed in a person’s life is the one nobody else ever knew they did.
