حياة السلف بين القول والعمل

Sincerity and the condemnation of hypocrisy and showing off: Al-Fudayl ibn 'Iyad, may God have mercy on him, said: “Abandoning good deeds for the sake of people is showing off, and performing good deeds for the sake of people is associating partners with God. Sincerity is when God protects you from both.” [Al-Siyar (its abridgment) 2/774]

Sincerity and the condemnation of hypocrisy and showing off: Al-Fudayl ibn 'Iyad, may God have mercy on him, said: If you were told: O show-off, you would be angry and it would be difficult for you, and perhaps what was said to you is true. You would adorn yourself for the world and pretend, and shorten your clothes, and improve your appearance, and refrain from harming others until it is said: So-and-so is a worshipper, how good his appearance is, so they would honor you and look at you, and seek you out and give you gifts, like a counterfeit dirham (which is a bad, counterfeit coin that has no good in it) that not everyone recognizes, and when it is peeled, it is peeled off to reveal copper. [Al-Siyar (its abridgment) 2/778].

Sincerity and the condemnation of hypocrisy and showing off: Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad, may God have mercy on him, said: Beware lest you be showing off without realizing it. You pretend and prepare yourself until people recognize you and say: He is a righteous man, so they honor you, fulfill your needs, and make room for you in the gathering. They only recognize you for God’s sake. If it weren’t for that, you would be insignificant to them, just as the wicked man is insignificant to them, so they do not honor him, do not fulfill his needs, and do not make room for him in the gathering. [Al-Hilya (its abridgment) 3/13].

Sincerity and condemnation of hypocrisy and showing off: Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad, may God have mercy on him, said: The believer speaks little and does much, while the hypocrite speaks much and does little. [Al-Hilya (its abridgment) 3/16].

Sincerity and the condemnation of hypocrisy and showing off: On the authority of Ibrahim bin Al-Ash’ath, he said: I heard Al-Fudayl bin ‘Iyad, may God have mercy on him, say: It used to be said that a servant remains in a good state as long as when he says: he says for God, and when he does something, he does something for God. I heard him say regarding His saying: “That He may test you [as to] which of you is best in deed” [Al-Mulk: 2]: He said: The most sincere and the most correct, for if it is sincere but not correct, it will not be accepted, and if it is correct but not sincere, it will not be accepted until it is sincere. Sincerity is when it is for God, and correctness is when it is in accordance with the Sunnah. [Al-Hilya (its abridgment) 3/14].