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السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

There is a powerful line from Imām al-Ghazālī in Ayyuhal Walad - a letter he writes to a student - that stops the heart for a moment:

“Riyā’ (showing off) is born from glorifying people.
Its cure is to see them as powerless—unable to bring you benefit or harm—
like lifeless objects.
If you see them as having power over you, then riyā’ will never be far.”

This is one of those truths that is simple to read but hard to swallow. Because most of us—even while praying, posting, teaching, or giving charity—feel the eyes of people heavier than the gaze of Allah.

Why does riyā’ grow inside us?

Ghazālī says it clearly: we think people can give us benefit or hurt us.
We think their praise lifts us.
We think their criticism destroys us.

And when the heart gives people this power, sincerity becomes almost impossible.

The Cure: See People as They Truly Are

Not worthless.
Not unimportant.
But powerless without Allah.

If every compliment, every insult, every “like,” every rejection, every opportunity, every relationship is written only by Allah… then the opinions of people fall to the floor like shadows. They cannot push your life forward or backward even one inch.

This vision shrinks riyā’ at the root.

Imagine This Shift

You pray, and you don’t care who watches.
You speak the truth, and you don’t fear who dislikes it.
You give charity quietly because only Allah replaces what you give.
You do good even when no one sees—because the One who matters sees everything.

This is the freedom of ikhlāṣ.

A Heart That Fears People Lives Exhausted

Running after their praise.
Hiding from their criticism.
Shaping every action for their approval.

But a heart that fears Allah alone…
lives steady, calm, sincere, and alive.

A Final Reminder

When your intention shakes, ask yourself:

Can this person give me anything Allah has not written?
Can they prevent anything Allah has already decreed?

If the answer is no—and it is always no—then let your heart return to its rightful place.

May Allah purify our intentions, protect us from riyā’, and make our actions purely for Him.
اللهم ارزقنا الإخلاص في القول والعمل.

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في امان الله.