Intention: The Forgotten Emergency II

In the Name of Allaah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. 

"There's nothing that corrupts a righteous action more than being amazed by oneself and one's self image." Ibn Al-Qayyim 

The greatest fear a believer should have when he finds himself doing righteous deeds, is the fear of Riya (show off). One loses everything when Riya (show off) sets in.

A great battle between us and our intention being constantly fought in our hearts is one of the most difficult battles we can ever encounter.

If Satan can't get you to stop doing righteous deeds, he comes to you either during the act or afterwards to corrupt it with Riya (show off) hankering for fame or fortune.

It's scary how we can lose our righteous deeds to being amazed by ourselves and our self image. Intention is a forgotten emergency. 

Nothing deserves to be monitored constantly more than our hearts especially when we find ourselves doing seemingly righteous deeds. 

A true believer is he or she who is privileged by Allaah to carry out righteous deeds on a constant basis but does not take effect from the praises of people nor from the blames.

‎At each moment in our lives, we must pause and re-examine our hearts for a legitimate intention otherwise our righteous deeds will be a means of our destruction.

Riya (show off) is most likely to creep into the heart of someone giving Da'awah through words or writing than it is for the listeners. May Allah save us all.

To maintain a balance between doing deeds for the sake of Allaah and shunning Satanic whispering towards Riya (show off) is a noble endeavor that every Muslim must embark on.

The moment we realize that our righteous deeds add nothing to Allah rather it benefits only ourselves, then our intention will be legitimate.

When we find ourselves doing righteous deeds, we must remind ourselves that it is not our favor upon Islam but rather Allaah has conferred His favor on us. 

Never allow your efforts in the cause of Allaah to get into your head thereby twisting your mentality into thinking that you are an asset to Islam. If you do, you will lose your deeds to self importance.

May Allaah give us the strength and the ability to do righteous deeds. May He preserve our righteous deeds by aiding us in purifying our intentions for His sake Alone.‎