Mishkat al-Masabih

Takhrij al-Hadith:
[صحيح مسلم 4923]

Fiqh al-Hadith:
➊ Showing off (riya) is such a grave sin that it destroys all good deeds; therefore, every person should avoid it, whether he is a scholar, a mujahid, or a generous person. Otherwise, every act of worship and every deed will become wasted and invalid.
◄ Mawlana Muhammad Sulaiman Kilani rahimahullah has written in the explanation of this hadith:
“No matter how good a deed may be, as long as there is no sincerity of intention in it, it is not accepted in the court of Allah Ta’ala. Deeds are wasted by ostentation and display. Understand it with this example: if a person goes to Zaid’s house and does some work for him, then he should take his wages from Zaid. It cannot be that he does the work for Zaid but asks for payment from Amr. Similarly, whoever does work for Allah Ta’ala is entitled to reward from Allah Ta’ala, and whoever does the work to please the world and to gain praise, but expects reward from Allah Ta’ala, then this is absolutely invalid...” [حواشي مشكوٰة ج1 ص245، 246 ح196]

➋ There are two necessary conditions for righteous deeds to be accepted:
First:
The deed should be done solely for the pleasure of Allah, with complete sincerity.
Second:
The deed should be in accordance with the Book and the Sunnah, and every kind of innovation (bid‘ah) should be avoided.

➌ In some narrations, it is mentioned that among the people, the first cases to be decided will be those of blood (i.e., murder). See: [صحيح بخاري : 6533، صحيح مسلم : 1678]
◄ The reconciliation between these narrations is as follows: among those who show off and display, the first to be judged will be the slain person, the scholar, and the wealthy generous person; among injustices, the first to be judged will be cases of murder; and among acts of worship, the first to be accounted for will be the prayer. «والله اعلم»

Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:
Al-Natil:
The one who advances forward.
By this is meant Natil bin Qais al-Jazami,
who was from Palestine.

Benefits and Issues:
The deeds that are performed for fame and display,
among them, the first to be judged will be the martyr,
the scholar, and the wealthy person; and among the pillars of religion,
from the acts of worship, the first to be judged will be the prayer (salah); and among the acts of oppression and injustice, the first to be judged will be blood (murder).
In this way, in every place, additional precedence is intended,
because the precedence of everything is according to its types, and all three of these have been called lies,
because these matters were contrary to reality.
Whether this is a sin or not,
it has no connection to that, and in this hadith, the three deeds that are mentioned,
that is, sacrificing life and wealth in the way of Allah, acquiring and teaching religious knowledge, and reciting the Noble Qur’an,
these three are the highest level of deeds,
but the spirit and essence of deeds is sincerity of intention (ikhlas),
if these deeds are performed with sincerity of intention, then without doubt their reward is the highest ranks of Paradise and the pleasure and approval of Allah,
but when these same deeds are performed for show and to gain fame and renown,
then they become grave sins and become the cause for being thrown into Hellfire first of all.
However, if a person performs a righteous deed with sincerity of intention, seeking only the pleasure and approval of Allah, and that righteous deed becomes well-known and people praise and commend him for it, and express love and devotion towards him,
then this too is, before the real reward and honor that will be given in the Hereafter by Allah, a tangible reward in this world and a sign of that servant’s acceptance and belovedness in the sight of Allah, and a glad tiding for him,
as is mentioned further ahead in a narration in Sahih Muslim,
that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was asked,
“Tell us,
a man does a good deed and people praise him for it,”
he replied:
“This is the glad tiding for the believer that comes to him quickly (in this world).” And from Abu Hurairah radi Allahu anhu, in Sunan al-Tirmidhi, there is a narration,
that a man said,
“O Messenger of Allah! A person does a good deed and is pleased by it, and when people come to know of his good deed,
he is happy about it
(that people have come to know of my good deed),”
so the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:
“He will have two rewards,
one for doing it secretly and privately, and the other for doing it openly and publicly.”