Question
As salamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu Brother we all know about the minor shirk of showing off and how it could diminish your sins. Brother could you please identify the types of showing off? Is doing an action in secret without wanting other people to know that you are doing that action, or certain qualities that you have that you hide from people, is that showing off? Wasalama alaikum jazakhumullahu khaire may Allah shower you with his mercy and blessing and raise your station in the hereafter.
Fatwa
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.
You mentioned in your question that showing off diminishes the sins, and it might be that you intended to say that it diminishes the reward. You should know that there are many forms of showing off and it is difficult to mention them all. As-San'aani said: 'You should know that showing off could be in one's physical appearance by showing slimness and paleness in order to reflect that one is striving his utmost and is concerned about the matter of his religion and that he fears the Hereafter[…] Showing off could also be in one's words, like preaching people and mentioning the stories of the pious people in order to show that he is very concerned about the stories of the righteous predecessors and is deeply learned[…] So, showing off by words is incalculable[…] Showing off could also be in one's keeping company, friends, followers and students, so that it would be said that people are the followers of so and so, and he is a good example to follow that people should imitate him….'
As regards whether or not hiding one's actions from people is a form of showing off, then the answer is that this may and may not be considered as showing off. Al-Jawzi clarified this very well as he said: 'In regard to abandoning acts of obedience out of fear of showing off, then if the incentive is not religious, then this act of worship should not be performed as this is an act of disobedience. However, if the incentive is religious and that it is only done for the sake of Allah Alone, then one should not refrain from performing these acts of worship as the incentive is religion. Similarly, if one avoids performing acts of worship out of fear that it will be said about him that he is showing off, then one should not do this because this is the lures of the devil.'
Ibraaheem An-Nakha'i said: 'If the devil whispers to you while you are performing the prayer and says to you that you are showing off, then prolong your prayer. Concerning what was reported that some righteous predecessors abandoned acts of worship out of fear of showing off, then this could be understood that they felt that the devil is beautifying their acts of worship for them, so they stopped doing them.' For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 89852.
However, if you mean that you do not abandon acts of worship but rather only perform them in secret so that it is only Allah Alone Who knows about them, then there is no doubt that this is not showing off, rather this is being sincere to Allah. This is indeed what our righteous and pious predecessors used to do. As-Safaareeni said: 'Indeed our righteous predecessors used to endeavour to keep their worship secret.' Moreover, Al-Hassan said: 'A man used to have guests and during the night he would wake up to perform night prayers without his guests feeling it. They used to earnestly supplicate to Allah without anyone hearing their voice, and a man would sleep next to his wife in the same bed and he would cry the whole night without her knowing it.'
As a matter of fact, Allah encouraged us to give charity in secret as He Says (what means): {If you disclose your Sadaqat (alms-giving), it is well, but if you conceal it, and give it to the poor, that is better for you. (Allah) will forgive you some of your sins. And Allah is Well-Acquainted with what you do.}[Quran 2:271]. Furthermore, the Prophet informed us that there are seven kinds of people whom Allah would give shade on the Day when there will be no Shade but His…. (among whom) is a man who gives in charity so secretly that nobody would notice how much he has given in charity.
What we mentioned about keeping one's actions secret applies also to keeping one's characteristics secret if one intends them for the sake of Allah Alone. A man is required to be humble and not to pretend to possess characteristics which do not really exist in him. The Prophet said: "A person who pretends to be what he really is not, is like a person who wears two garments of falsehood (i.e. disguises himself as pious in order to give people a false impression about him)." Al-Munaawi in his interpretation of this narration, said: "This is a person who cheats people; he wears ascetic and shabby clothes while he is not truly ascetic.'
Allah Knows best.