Tuesday, 26 May 2026 (10 Dhuʻl-Hijjah 1447 AH)
Question: is it considered showing off for a person to conceal from others his own lapses, heedlessness, and shortcomings, and the like—without doing anything that would suggest their absence—when all that he has done is merely concealment?
The answer: is that concealing one’s own faults is not showing off; rather, it is a recommended practice, even if it leads people to believe that the person is righteous. Much encouragement for concealment has come in the Qurʾān and the Sunnah. If one who conceals himself becomes aware that people think well of him, let him thank Allah Almighty and praise Him for having concealed him, and let him desist from his shortcomings and negligence. For if he persists without thanking and praising Allah, and does not desist from his negligence and shortcomings, Allah Almighty will remove His covering from him and reveal to people the reality of his state. Allah Almighty says: “If you are grateful, I will surely increase you; but if you are ungrateful, indeed My punishment is severe” [Ibrāhīm:7]. The impulses toward showing off and the inclination toward it weaken through continual striving against them and persistent resistance, and they grow stronger through neglect of that struggle. Thus, these impulses are weakest in the prophets and messengers—may Allah’s blessings be upon them—and in the righteous friends of Allah, due to the strength of their striving against the desires of their souls.
Source: Min Thimār al-ʿIlm wa al-Ḥikmah vol.3