How to Cure Riya (Pretending Virtuousness)?

… when they stand up to prayer they stand up sluggishly; they do it only to be seen of men and do not remember Allah except a little.(Qur’an, 4: 142)

Riya’ means to falsely make oneself appear to be virtuous, good natured or a true believer before people for the sake of earning their respect and admiration, or for the purpose of gaining a good reputation among them.

The Prophet (s) said: “One who performs an act that is liked by God in order to show off to people, and in secret manifests qualities that are not liked by God, he shall encounter the anger and wrath of God.”

But how can we get rid of this ugly characteristic? There are some advice to diognoze this fatal desease from its devestative signs, and some recommendations to cure it in the following:

1. If you are suffering from riya’ you will probably fail to realise that even if you earn worldly fame among people, scholars or the elite, you will be disgraced in the eyes of the King of kings, and his actions will lead you to Sijjin (the lowest level of hell).

2. Riya’ is often accompanied with other serious moral vices. One of these vices is sum`ah, which means to orally transmit your good qualities to the ears of people for the purpose of attracting them and publicizing yourself. If you are suffering from riya’ you usually like to humiliate others, and injures the feelings of brothers and sisters-in-faith. You are often rude to a pious person and behave proudly with him in order to project yourself to be more virtuous.

3. If the tree of riya’ grows for a long time in a your heart, it leads you to become a hypocrite. Each one of the vices mentioned above is enough to land you in hell.

4. You should know that it is stated in the traditions that the person used to riya’ i.e. the person who displays his devotion, high religious status, knowledge, preaching, leading of prayers, fasts and other pious deeds for the sake of gaining respect in the hearts of people instead of truly seeking reward from God is a polytheist (mushrik). His idolatry (shirk) is confirmed by the Qur’an and the traditions narrated through the Holy Household of the Prophet (s) and therefore his sin is unpardonable.

5. You should know that once Imam al-Sadiq (a) was asked about the words of the Almighty that `whosoever is desirous of meeting his Creator, he should perform virtuous deeds and should not ascribe any partner to God in his worship,’ (18:110) seeking an explanation. Imam al‑Sadiq (a) replied, `The acts of a person who performs good deeds not for the sake of being blessed with the vision of his God, but rather aiming to be considered as pious by the people, and so that people should know about his deeds [will cause that person to be] counted among polytheists who have ascribed partners to God.’

The Imam (a) continued: `There is no one in the world who has concealed his good deeds and after a passage of time God has not revealed them. And there is no one in the world who could conceal his wicked deeds for ever, for they will be exposed by God before he passes away from the world.

6. If you are suffering from this grave disease you shoud know that it has penetrated your personality and thus made your deeds worthless. The lures of the devil and the self are so subtle and the path of humanity is so delicate that unless you are very self-vigilant, you cannot understand this inherent evil. you imagine that your actions are for pleasing God, but in reality they are serving your own interests.

7. Be your own physician and regularly scrutinize yourself for the real aims behind your good actions, words, and acts of worships. Do you feel the same fervour in doing good acts, offering prayers or fasts when you are alone or when these deeds are not known to anyone? Are you really performing good only for the sake of earning the pleasure of God? Do you feel a desire for your friends to praise you for your good deeds, intellectual endeavours, long prayers and piety? How do you feel when you are not praised for a certain good action? Compare your feelings when performing an action in public and then doing the same act when the chance of it being seen by others is least. If, God forbid, your eagerness to do an act of goodness or worship is more when you are in the company of your friends or in public or when there is a greater chance of it getting seen or praised, then consider yourself to be a victim of riya’.

8. If you are acquiring knowledge, falling prey to riya’ will make you desire to gain an important position in the eyes of scholars or men of honour by solving an important problem or presenting a topic in a unique way and to make you the focus of their attention in order to receive applause from them and the praise of the public at a gathering. Ask yourself: If a friend of mine or some one else had done the same feat in front of others or done it in a better way, would I have felt the same way? Was this action of mine only for God?

9. Take a firm step to get rid of riya’ for it is leading you to hell. Eradicate the desire of getting praised by creatures for the actions that are done for the sake of God. Do all your acts as a duty to God. Fight your inclination of performing virtuousness and worship in public or where there is a chance of getting praised, until this inclination is totally eliminated from your heart. Pray frequently to God Almighty to purify your heart of the stains of polytheism and hypocrisy and to clean it of the rust of the love of the world, which is the source of all vices.