Question: How do I protect myself from falling into Riya' on social media

Answer: I think this is something we all have to covertly deal with, the lines between showing off, humble bragging, promoting and flexing are blurry so here's a thread of a few pointers I've put together

Definitions:

Riya' translates to ostentation/showing off - 'to perform an act to seek some worldly benefit, praise or admiration' [Handbook of spiritual medicine, Ibn Daud].
In the context of social media: in order to gain likes, followers, social media popularity, praise etc.

The opposite of Riyaa', is Ikhlaas (sincerity) - to perform an act with one intention: solely for the pleasure of Allah.

I have written a thread detailed on Ikhlaas here https://twitter.com/sadiyahrawat/status/1310901904579481600?s=20

Riyaa' is unlawful, condemnable in Islam, it is classed as Minor Shirk

"What I fear for you the most is the minor shirk that is Riyaa..." [Musnad Ahmad]

We must understand that when the basic motive of an act is to be seen by others or to acquire praise from them, this invalidates the act, it will become void if we do not correct our intentions

There are many types and categories of Riya', here we will focus on showing off on social media, through good deeds, materialistic items etc and how we can tackle this...

1) Constantly checking our intentions for what we post. Why am I posting this? What benefit will it have?

"Actions are according to intentions..." [Bukhari]

The entitlement of reward for an action depends on a person's intention for performing that action. If the action is carried out with sincerity it is rewarded by Allah, otherwise, it is done in vain [Provisions for the Seekers]

2) Self Accountability - Muhasabah

We should reflect on what we have posted and how we spend our time on social media.

We should ask ourselves if not a single person liked, RT that post would we still have posted it? Apply the same aspect of our actions...

if not a single person knew I was studying __ or that I have accomplished __ would I still have done it? That will allow us to clear up our intentions and purposes

Introspecting one's own behaviour allows a person to recognise their mistakes and change / improve themselves

Umar Ibn Al Khattab r.a mentioned "Take account of your action before accounts are taken from you and weigh you action before they are weighed upon"

[Ihya' Ulum Id Din, Imam Ghazali]

We all slip up, it's important we realise our mistakes and renew our intentions constantly.

3) Remembering Death

If I was to die at this moment what is the last thing I have posted? On the Day of Judgment when I will be accountable to my Lord how will I answer for this deed?

Remembering that Allah is always watching us.
We should have Haya' min Allah (see image)

The Prophet s.a.w said "What I fear for you is the minor shirk that is Ar - Riya'. Allah will say on the Day of Judgment when He is rewarding the people for their actions. Go to those for whom you did Riya for in the world and see if you find reward with them" [Musnad Ahmad]

4) Occupy Humbleness

Looking at people that have less than us will allow us to humble ourselves.

We must remember that not everyone on social media is as privileged as us. Flaunting ourselves can lead to jealousy and evil thoughts, therefore we must protect ourselves.

We should humble ourselves in front of our creator.

"For whoever knows him (Allah) would make all his actions sincerely for him and would not see anyone besides Him. He would locate himself in the position of the worshipper, who is humble to his worshipped God...

...not in the position of the praised worshipped God. He would know that reward is given only for sincere deeds, therefore he should be aware of the wasted exhaustion (of performing acts for other than the sake of Allah)"

[Disciplining the Soul, Ibn Al Jawzi]

Avoid following accounts that inspire us to act with ostentation / constantly showing off.
Shaytan deceives us and inspires us to act in immoral ways slowly. Firstly just a thought, then we make an intention to post such things and before we know it, it's out there.

5) Dua
- Ask Allah to protect us from Riya'
- to save us from the deception on Shaytan and all evils of social media.
- Recite the Muawwidhatayn for general protection (Surah Naas & Surah Falaq)

6) Seeking forgiveness (Tawbah) and constantly doing Istighfaar for any sins we may have committed knowingly and unknowingly. Seeking forgiveness for any acts we many have started with the wrong intention or any acts that we completed with the wrong intentions.

7) Self control and time management. Social media has brought many closer to Islam whilst leading many astray. It's very easy to fall into he traps of Shaytan therefore we should always be weary of the content we are posting and consuming on social media.

For more detailed information and guidance on navigating through social media, I would highly recommend joining the course: Fiqh of Social Media by @SiblingsOfIlm

The course has already started but recordings of previous lessons are provided