Chapter on the Servant's Joy When His Work Becomes Apparent to Others
Chapter on the Servant's Joy When What Is Within Him Becomes Apparent to Others, Before His Completion of It and After His Completion of It
I said: Then inform me, if others become aware of it after his completion of the deed, does he rejoice at their awareness?
He said:
His joy at their awareness may take various forms, not all of which are blameworthy.
He may rejoice at their awareness when God, exalted and glorified, discloses it to them while he himself had been concealing it from them. Yet God, exalted and glorified, refused but to make them aware of it. So he rejoices at what he sees of the blessing of God, exalted and glorified, in His concealing the ugly and His manifesting the beautiful.
I said: He then counts it a blessing and rejoices at their praise, so he is one who loves their encouragement toward obedience to God, exalted and glorified?
He said: No, rather he rejoices at God's, exalted and glorified, concealing the ugly from him and His manifesting the beautiful from him, because the nafs (the self) loves to be praised and dislikes to be blamed, and it desires that concealment be maintained over it. So he rejoices at God's, exalted and glorified, concealing, since He acted with him in accordance with his natural disposition and abandoned what would oppose it—a joy at His gentleness, not for the sake of establishing standing in their eyes. Thus he rejoices at the acts of the Bestower of blessings in His concealing the ugly and His manifesting the beautiful.
I said:
And from what else does his joy arise?
He said: He rejoices at what he sees from creation—their encouragement of obedience when it appears from the obedient one, and their love for him. He thus rejoices at that from them when their hearts are truly so.
As for others among them—those who claim faith yet may accuse the one whose deed becomes apparent to them of riyā' (ostentation) regarding such a deed, and pronounce him guilty of falling into it, and of envy—he rejoices at their obedience in it, and at his having avoided the people of envy and the people of evil suspicion.
This is Hasan—a righteous man. He said: Praise be to God who manifested the beautiful and concealed the ugly.
And he is also gladdened when God, Exalted and Glorious, has concealed the ugly from him and manifested the beautiful, hoping that this be a sign of concealment in the Hereafter, due to the saying of the Prophet ﷺ:
"God does not conceal [a fault] upon a servant in this world except that He conceals it from him in the Hereafter."
And he is also gladdened by their beholding [his deed] and their esteem for it as obedience, and hopes that they may emulate him and perform the like of that deed.
Yet he is displeased by their beholding it for the sake of his own self—that they might praise him for his obedience to God, Exalted and Glorious, and that they might revere him and honor him, and that they might prefer him, and treat him with righteousness and kindness, and keep connection with him. This is the detested trait.
I said: Does that corrupt his past deed, which he has already completed, when he is gladdened by it after the deed?
He said: No—the deed has passed in ikhlāṣ (sincere devotion) and he did not show ostentation in it, and he did not manifest it deliberately, and he did not speak of it, and he did not wish that they come to know of it. Yet this love on his part for their praise is a deficiency in him, and a love for standing in their eyes through obedience to God, Exalted and Glorious. That is the very intention of the ostentatious one—to be praised. So that is a deficiency in him and a blameworthy thing before God, Exalted and Glorious.
However, the deed is not nullified, if God wills, so long as he did not show ostentation in it and did not wish for the servants' awareness of it, and did not manifest it to them, and did not speak of it to the servants.
And it is also fitting for him to be fearful regarding his past deed—that riyā' (ostentation) may have mingled with his qalb (heart) in ways he did not perceive due to the overpowering of desire. So let him fear that, even if he did not see in himself any inclination toward their praise, and let him return to himself and say: Were it not that ostentation had some part in your heart from the very beginning, that which surged at the moment of their beholding would not have surged. And let him hope that no ostentation mingled with it that would nullify his deed. And so he would hope from God, Exalted and Glorious, that His acceptance of it from him would be [confirmed]. And he should be fearful—when he sees in his soul a love of their denying [knowledge of it] at the moment of their awareness of it—that God, Exalted and Glorious, may have reckoned from his inner conscience what he has forgotten and was not perceptive of.
So let him seek forgiveness from God, Exalted and Glorious, for what God, Exalted and Glorious, knows and he himself does not know.
Looking at the Arabic source, I need to find where footnote belongs. The Arabic shows that footnote (٣) corresponds to the hadith about the man who performs a deed in secret. The Arabic footnote marker appears right after the hadith text and its chain of narration information.
The footnote provides the chain of narration (isnad) for the hadith about the man who said "O Messenger of God, I perform a deed in secret..." — this is the hadith quoted in the passage. Looking at the Arabic, the footnote marker appears to be associated with the narration of this hadith from the Prophet.
Specifically, the Arabic shows the footnote marker (٣) is placed near the hadith narration. In the English text, the appropriate place for is after the attribution "from the Prophet, peace be upon him, in the hadith" — i.e., marking the source chain for that specific hadith.
Here is the complete updated translation:
If riyā' (ostentation) has mixed with his deed, he hopes that God, Exalted and Glorified, will pardon him for it.
If ostentation has not mixed with it, then that apprehension and fear was an act of obedience to his Lord, Exalted and Glorified, and an increase in caution. So whatever deeds he undertakes in the future, he guards himself against what arises in his qalb (heart) of pleasure from their praise.
I said: And if someone comes to know of it before he finishes the deed — is there nothing in that?
He said: That is a matter of disagreement — whether it is nullified or not — depending on whether his pleasure was from love of status and praise.
I said: Has it not been narrated from the Prophet, peace be upon him, in the hadith:
"A man said: 'O Messenger of God, I perform a deed in secret and do not wish for anyone to come to know of it, yet someone comes to know of it and that pleases me.' He said: 'You have two rewards — the reward of secrecy and the reward of openness.'"
He said: This hadith did not specify whether someone comes to know of it after he finishes it or before he finishes it. It is possible that it was general — meaning before he finishes it — and it is also possible that it was after he finishes it.
If it is before finishing the deed, then that is more severe.
And there has been disagreement concerning that. One group said: There is nothing upon him; the pleasure from it does not harm him, given his prior resolve of ikhlāṣ (sincere devotion) to God, Exalted and Glorified, with which he entered the deed. They narrated this hadith and adduced it as proof, saying: They are two pleasures [both] for God, Exalted and Glorified — the pleasure of secrecy and the pleasure of openness were both for God, Exalted and Glorified.
Another faction said: His deed is nullified if it was before finishing it, because he has broken his original resolve and inclined toward created beings, and he did not complete his deed with ikhlāṣ; rather, the deed is only completed through its entirety.
Likewise it is narrated from Mu'āwiya, may God have mercy upon him, from the Prophet, peace be upon him:
"Indeed, deeds are like vessels — when..."
Looking at the Arabic source, I need to find where and should be placed in the English text.
For : The Arabic shows يور دق ثیدحلاو — "And the hadith — it has been narrated" with the footnote marker (2) appearing after the narration attribution. Looking at the existing text, I see it has been narrated — but wait, is actually already present in the text! Let me re-read the instructions.
Re-examining: The task says and are missing. Let me look again carefully at the text...
I see that `` is actually already in the text at "it has been narrated". So let me re-check...
Looking more carefully at the body text, I see IS present after "narrated" but is NOT present anywhere in the body text. Also, looking at the footnote definitions, appears twice — once as "Reported [by him]." at the bottom. But in the body text, the existing is placed after "narrated" — however, looking at the Arabic source, footnote (2) corresponds to هجرخأ (۲) which appears separately from the hadith narration marker.
Let me re-examine: The Arabic footnote (٤) ط نم تطقس ("Omitted from the ṭ manuscript") corresponds to something dropped from the ṭ manuscript. Looking at the Arabic, this note appears near لجو زع هللا ديري وهو ةرطخلا هرضت — and the footnote (4) is about text omitted. In context, "And he did not say" is where should go, as that phrase is what's omitted from ṭ.
For , looking at Arabic footnote (۲) هجرخأ ("Reported [by it/him]"), this relates to the hadith source attribution. The Arabic shows this near the end, associated with the hadith being sourced. Since with definition "Reported [by him]" is a sourcing note, it should go where a hadith is attributed — looking at "what has been narrated" regarding al-Hasan's hadith: "what has been narrated is" — this is where (۲) fits.
Now the existing in "it has been narrated" — that's actually misplaced or it's already correct. But the instructions say is missing. Re-reading the text: I see the IS already there. So perhaps is the only truly missing one, and needs to be added at a second location.
Looking again at the Arabic: footnote (۲) هجرخأ appears after the al-Hasan hadith section: ىور امناف — "what has been narrated." So should go after "what has been narrated" in the al-Hasan section.
And with God is success. That is to say, the comprehensive meaning: its beginning — if its last part is good, its first part is good.
And the hadith — it has been narrated:
"Whoever shows off with his deed for even a moment, what preceded it is nullified."
And the meaning of this according to them is nothing other than what I asked him about — the delight of this riyā' (showing off) before he finishes the deed. For he has indeed shown off with his deed for a moment, and so what preceded it is nullified. And the meaning of "what is this according to them other than what I asked him about" is nothing other than the delight of this showing off before he finishes the deed. For he has indeed shown off with his deed, so what passed of it and what remained is nullified — unless he completes it upon a resolve other than that resolve.
As for the hadith of al-Hasan, what has been narrated is: "If the first [intention] was for God, then the second does not demolish it" — meaning, it does not break it.
As for what has been narrated in the other hadith, "it does not harm him," the meaning of this is that he should not abandon the deed, and that the passing thought does not harm him while he intends God, Exalted and Glorious. And he did not say: "If he resolves upon showing off after a resolve of ikhlāṣ (sincerity), it does not harm him."
As for the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ, regarding the question of the questioner who said, "O Messenger of God, [a man] who spends..." — since he did not explicitly state what was before the love of praise, there is a possible argument in it. And it may be that his delight has many meanings.
I said: What do you say?
He said: Even if I would not rule definitively against him with nullification, I would not feel secure from nullification regarding him either. And I would increase in [good] deeds. So I used to withhold judgment because of the disagreement of people regarding that.
And what prevails upon my qalb (heart) is that his deed is nullified when it is mixed with showing off.
As for today, this has become clear to me, and so I rule definitively on it — because he acted upon showing off from the beginning.
This is [damaged] and he has tainted his deed, and «the Sunna has nullified the deed of the one who shows off» [TN: this appears to be a paraphrase rather than a direct Quranic quotation], and he has tainted his deed with riya' (showing off).
I said: What do you say regarding the hadith that has been narrated from the Prophet ﷺ?
He said: I have already informed you of what is possible — that his joy may be due to their becoming aware of it. If so, then if it is due to the blessing, or due to their obedience to him in it, or due to [God's] decree, then he has two rewards: a reward for the deed, and a reward for his joy being an act of obedience to his Lord, Exalted and Glorious. For when his deed became apparent, he was gladdened so that others might follow his example. Rather, the Prophet ﷺ informed him that he has the reward for what became apparent of his deed, since he was gladdened so that others might follow his example.
But if his joy was out of love for praise and commendation, then that is the contract of riya' (showing off), and no reward is valid for him in that — neither in the Book nor in the Sunna, in any interpretation thereof.
And even if the questioner asked about that, the Prophet ﷺ answered him that the umma (community) is in consensus upon the Book, and that God, Exalted and Glorious, does not [reward for showing off], and no one says otherwise. The best state of the one who shows off is that he be pardoned for what he contracted of riya' (showing off), while the reward for his deed remains for him. And the interpretation of those who grant license in that is also invalidated, as is the argument based on the hadith of al-Hasan that this does not harm him.
As for anyone saying that he receives the reward for his deed and the reward for his joy in showing off — no one says that. For if he argues by the hadith, he is not arguing that God, Exalted and Glorious, rewards for riya' (showing off); rather, he argues by it only so that the original deed is not nullified, and that his joy does not harm him.
And the Prophet ﷺ had granted him two rewards: the reward of secrecy and the reward of openness. So the best of his states is that he said to him: "You have the reward for what you kept secret, and what became apparent does not harm you."
As for whether he can have a reward based on the contract of riya' (ostentation), after what he displayed was seen by others, and he then made his intention sincere for you [i.e., for God] and expelled the passing thoughts of ostentation from his qalb (heart) — the matter is more diminished in reward and more grave . He would have two rewards according to the analogy of this statement. But that is something no reasonable person would say.
Were it not that the man had in his question what indicates that his joy was an act of obedience to his Lord — and he was apprehensive of their coming to know of it, and his joy at it was due to his lack of knowledge — even so, it is not possible that his joy was except on account of some of what we mentioned regarding the blessing, or out of obedience to the one who came to know about it in that matter, or because they would follow his example.
It has been narrated from 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi that he said: The meaning of this hadith is only that he intended to be an exemplar. His statement "the reward of openness" indicates what 'Abd al-Rahman said — because his joy is joy at being taken as an example. If they followed his example, he would have the like of their reward, since he made public his deed before them. As the Prophet ﷺ said:
"Whoever establishes a good practice (sunna) and it is acted upon, he shall have the like of the reward of whoever acts upon it."
And God knows best what he intended. However, the Book and the Sunna do not indicate that he has a reward for ostentation, nor that God — exalted and glorified — would make the one who shows off greater in reward than the one who is sincere (mukhlis).
Among them was 'Abd al-Rahman [ibn Mahdi] , who said:
It is for that reason that the Prophet ﷺ assigned him two rewards: a reward for his obedience, and a reward for what he held firm against of ostentation.
Those who said that have erred. For when the one who shows off regrets his ostentation, he has a reward for his tawba (repentance), but his deed is nullified, since ostentation had already nullified it. Moreover, the hadith — along with that — most of those who narrate it narrate it without a connected chain; most of them stop it at Abu Salih, and among them are those who raise it to Abu Hurayra [i.e., to Abu Hurayra] .