Musnad Shihab

Explanation
In these ahadith, it is stated that modesty (haya) is entirely good; a person only attains goodness from it. Modesty is, in fact, the name of that particular natural disposition in a person which becomes apparent and felt as a sense of constriction in the heart when performing certain well-known or lesser-known acts, whether religious or worldly. Modesty can be towards Allah Ta'ala, towards people, and even towards one's own self. Sometimes a person refrains from sin because he is aware that Allah Ta'ala is watching him; this is modesty towards Allah Ta'ala. At other times, he refrains from sin out of modesty towards people, thinking, "If they find out, what will they say?" And sometimes, it happens that there is no other human being watching, but he feels a sense of shame within himself, thinking, "What am I doing, and whom am I deceiving?" Thus, he refrains from sin; this is modesty of the self (nafs).

So, whether modesty is towards anyone, and in whatever form it may be, it brings only goodness to a person and saves him from sin. And if, due to modesty, some worldly loss does occur, the reward and recompense of the Hereafter will certainly be granted to him. Sometimes people refer to not displaying a good deed as modesty, whereas that is not the shari' (Islamic legal) modesty, but rather weakness and cowardice.