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When I was in college, I had a colleague who was known for her eloquence. I knew she was into charity work. Once, we were invited to attend an event that she would be the keynote speaker. She recommended someone else. I was surprised why she didn’t recommend herself. She told me, I’m not sure if I did it, it would be sincere. I asked her why she thought so. She told me that “showing off or bragging” damages someone’s heart and an absolute good deeds thawab killer “thawab means God's reward.” She explained that showing off is something that creeps into the doer’s heart, and it eventually distracts him from doing the deed for the sake of God, then someone would start to do the good only to enhance his public image.
She said that showing off or “Reyaa” is really hard to detect in someone’s self. Reyaa is like a black ant that walks on a dark rock in a gloomy night. ( Hadith)
I was always concerned about this thought, and I once found this story that I wanted to share with you all. It's about Sultana Zubeida Bint-Jaafar, the wife of Sultan Haroun-Arasheed.
“The photo is not actually hers, and so added some details to spice things up a bit.😉”
Sultana Zubeida was known for her eloquence and extravagant attire. She was beautiful, eloquent, wise, and healthy. All women envied her for her high sense of wisdom and fashionable taste. She was well-spoken, intelligent, and generous. Her name was Zubeida, the wife of Caliph Haroun Arrashid. She was so concerned with people’s satisfaction. Once, she thought about the long distance, the pilgrims to Mekka had to go through and how overwhelming their journey was. She decided to build a channel with multiple tubes and tunnels to cater to this area and provide water to the pilgrims coming to the desert to perform Hajj “pilgrimage.”
She donated all her jewelry, her money and asked for donations from all the wealthy people she knew, and she never checked after anyone working on this project. She spent generously on this project. She made sure that the water channel project was for god’s sake, and she made sure to spend and do whatever it takes to get it done as well and fast as possible. The work would stop due to a shortage in budget or lack of workers sometimes, but she made sure to keep going.
Finally, after eleven years of working on this project, it was ready for use. The fountains were fancy, the place was well equipped, and the pilgrims were well served, and everyone was satisfied. People kept talking about Sultana Zubeida and how successful and beneficial her project was.
Years after she died, her son dreamed of her. He was thrilled seeing her indulging her green silk dress with the most charming fragrance someone could ever smell.
He hugged her and said, “You look stunning! I bet you are at the highest level of Janna/ beaver. because of the water channel, you built of course!”
“Son, it was almost the reason why I was about to be thrown in the fire!” She said in full despair.
“What? Why?” He asked in shock.
“Showing off is what destroys our sincerity. It creeps into your intentions, ruins the heart, and urges you to do the good deeds only to please your ego and not your God. Make sure not to fall into this trap. Do some good and keep it in the hush. Make sure not all of your deeds are visible to people. Make sure that some of your deeds are witnessed by God and God only. Make sure to hide some of the good you’re doing to keep your heart sincere, your soul high, and hence, your deeds would be accepted. God accepts deeds that are done with sincerity, and He loves those who are sincere.”
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