Interestingly, Quraish Shihab ( 1996: 661) discusses riyā’ within the context of jihad which he defines as one of Allah’s ways to test human beings, since he understands jihad as associated with patience and perseverance. Furthermore, he underlined that those who commit riyā’ would not receive any rewards from Allah in the hereafter and they would even face severe punishment by being placed in hell. One could also speak here of the problem of directionality that accompanies one’s pious deeds that can only be counted as pious if they are directed towards God only and nothing else. He also identified riyā’ as a form of shirk (polytheism), since one is actually not worshipping God but others when performing prayers without exclusively having God in mind. – and Hadith, al-Ghāzalī put a heavy emphasis on the dangers of riyā’ that he perceived as destroying ‘ ibadah. Referring to the Qur’an – especially 107: 4–6, ‘So woe to the worshippers, who are neglectful of their prayers, those who (want but) to be seen (by men)’ Similar to al-Muḥāsibī, perhaps the most influential medieval Islamic scholar Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghāzalī (d.1111 CE, henceforth the Indonesian transliteration of his name will be used) clearly stated that riyā’ is unlawful ( haram) and that Allah hates those who have riyā’ in their heart when performing ‘ ibadah (al-Ghāzalī 2008: 360–6). Another sign is that people who commit riyā’ would also hate it to be criticised. According to al-Muḥāsibī ( 1991: 57, 73–4), a sign of riyā’ is being happy when one is praised so that one loves one’s physical ‘ ibadah more than its spiritual benefits. Moreover, Muslims who do something good in order to be praised by others would not only receive punishment later in the hereafter but would already feel discontent in this world. However, al-Muḥāsibī has warned that these good deeds could, on the contrary, lead them to hell if they are performed with riyā’ in their hearts. Many Muslims believe that their good deeds will be recognised by Allah as ‘ ibadah and that these deeds could save them on Judgment Day.
In his Adab an-Nufus he mentions important techniques for how to avoid riyā’, such as introspection ( muḥāsaba), evaluation of one’s deeds ( murāja’a), and taking caution ( murāqaba) (al-Muḥāsibī 1991: 42, 60, 95). The great Sufi master Abū ‘Abdullāh al-Muḥāsibī (d.857 CE) emphasised that Muslims should know riyā’ so that they can avoid it and Allah will accept their prayers. riyā') is a subject that frequently appears in classic Islamic literature, especially in Islamic mysticism ( tasawwuf). It is defined by the respected Indonesian Islamic scholar Quraish Shihab as ‘the act of showing off our ‘ ibadah with the hope to be praised by others before, during, or after conducting that activity’ (Shihab 1996: 677). It revisits a concept called riyā’ in Islamic thought, that is widely discussed today in the context of Indonesian online piety.
This article presents findings of a larger project that attempts to explore Islamic religiosities from the angle of everyday uses of social media in Indonesia.