:sl:
I hope none of you came to this thread hoping to learn how to show off!
This is an article by Shaykh Salmaan ibn Fahd al-'Awdah..
I'll list the 20 ways and add descriptions for some, and give the link for the full article:
1. Publicizing one’s good deeds
Some people go around intentionally taking about the things they have done, boasting about their virtues. They cannot sit with others without saying:
“I did this and I did that… I spent so much in charity.” Sometimes they can be a bit more subtle, like saying:
“Actually, I cannot stay up in prayer at night more than two hours…” or: “Unfortunately, I cannot cope with fasting every day, so I must suffice with fasting on Mondays and Thursdays…” In this way, they want to show others just how much they are praying and fasting.
2. Making false claims
3. Becoming a show off after having been sincere
4. Abandoning deeds because of the people
5. Making worship noticeable in a subtle way
6. Conspicuous humility: A person might make a show of deprecating himself, stating all the time how deficient he is. He says how he does no good works and how his deeds are not enough. All he means by all this is to make a display of his humility.
7. Bringing attention to the faults of others
8. Safeguarding one’s status and reputation
9. Speaking about matters in a way that alludes to the idea that one is engaged in them
10. Putting oneself on a pedestal
11. Refuting the people of knowledge
12. Seeking knowledge to acquire fame
A person may be incited by Satan to seek religious knowledge and to study it extensively with the sole purpose of becoming a muftî who people will come to with their questions, or a scholar whose name will go down in history, or maybe an Islamic activist who people will rally around.
13. Feigning humility
Satan may incite a person to make a pretentious show of modesty and humbleness. He will clasp his hands together, raise his shoulders, and lower his head in an insincere and inordinate display of submissiveness. Often the behaviors exhibited in these displays go against the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him). `Abd Allah al-Qurashî relates that `Umar b. al-Khattâb once saw a young man lowering his head in prayer. `Umar said to him:
“Raise your head. Humbleness does not increase on what is actually in the heart. Whenever people make their humbleness visible, they are just making a visible display of hypocrisy. (Al-Daynûrî, al-Majâlisah (1692, 3434).)
14. Overemphasizing certain conspicuous works, even to the point of going against the Sunnah
15. Making a show of religious zeal
16. Conspicuously neglecting one’s outward appearance
17. Making a display of lowering one’s gaze
18. Abandoning one’s worship from fear of falling into hypocrisy
19. Withdrawing from the company of others and going into seclusion
20. Being deceived by some fleeting act of devotion
You can read the full article
here.
So... Are you a show off?! (You don't have to answer that).