The Rarity of Sincerity (4): Treating the Illness of fame-Craving & Understanding the Nature of Popularity

﷽

🔘 Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) said: And some of the Salaf said:

رُبَّ مُسْتَدْرَجٍ بِنِعَمِ اللَّهِ وَهُوَ لا يَعْلَمُ

"There may be someone who is led to destruction by the blessings of Allah while he does not know it.

وَرُبَّ مَغْرُورٍ بِسَتْرِ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ وَهُوَ لا يَعْلَمُ

And there may be someone who is deluded by Allah's concealment of his faults while he does not know it.

وَرُبَّ مَفْتُونٍ بِثَنَاءِ النَّاسِ عَلَيْهِ وَهُوَ لا يَعْلَمُ

And there may be someone who is deceived by the praise of people for him while he does not know it!"

[See: Al-Jawāb al-Kāfī (36)]

🔘 Najm al-Din Ahmad ibn Abdul Rahman ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi (died 689 AH رحمه الله) said,

"اعلم: أن أصل الجاه هو حب انتشار الصيت والاشتهار، وذلك خطر عظيم، والسلامة في الخمول. وأهل الخير لم يقصدوا  الشهرة،  ولم يتعرضوا لها ولا لأسبابها، فإن وقعت من قبل الله تعالى، فروا عنها، وكانوا يؤثرون الخمول".

"Know that the origin of status-seeking is the love of spreading one's fame and becoming renowned, which is a great danger. Safety lies in obscurity. The people of goodness did not aim for fame or expose themselves to it or its causes. If it occurred by the decree of Allah, they fled from it, preferring to remain obscure."

After mentioning many reports from the Sunnah and the lives of the Salaf (see previous article in this series), he continues:

…فإن قيل: هذا فيه فضيلة الخمول، وذم الشهرة  وأي شهرة أكثر من شهرة الأنبياء، وأئمة العلماء.

...So, if it is said: This includes the virtue of obscurity and condemns fame, but what fame is greater than that of the prophets and the leading scholars?

قلنا: المذموم طلب الإنسان الشهرة  ، وأما وجودها من جهة الله تعالى من غير طلب الإنسان فليس بمذموم،

We would say: What is reprehensible is seeking fame for oneself. However, when fame comes from Allah, the Most High, without a person's pursuit, it is not blameworthy.

غير أن في وجودها فتنة على الضعفاء، فإن مثل الضعيف كالغريق القليل الصنعة في السباحة، إذا تعلق به أحد غرق وغرقه،فأما السابح النحرير، فإن تعلق الغرقى به سبب لنجاتهم وخلاصهم.

Yet, its presence can be a trial for the weak, for the weak are like a drowning person who is not skilled in swimming; if someone clings to him, both will drown. But for a skilled swimmer, if the drowning cling to him, it becomes a means for their rescue and salvation.”

[The Cure for Status Seeking & Clout Chasing]

🔘 Ibn Qudamah (رحمه الله) continues:

اعلم: أن من غلب على قلبه حب الجاه، صار مقصور الهم على مراعاة الخلق، مشغوفاً بالتردد إليهم، والمرآة لهم، ولا يزالفي أقواله وأفعاله ملتفتاً إلى ما يعظم منزلته عندهم،

Know that when love for status overwhelms the heart, one becomes preoccupied with pleasing people, eager to engage with them, and always mindful in speech and action of what will elevate their status among them.

وذلك بذر النفاق، وأصل الفساد، لأن كل من طلب المنزلة في قلوب الناس اضطر أن ينافقهم بإظهار ما هو خال عنه، ويجرذلك إلى المراءاة بالعبادات واقتحام المحظورات، والتوصل إلى اقتناص القلوب.

This is the seed of hypocrisy and the root of corruption. For anyone who seeks a place in people's hearts is compelled to engage in hypocrisy by displaying qualities they do not possess, leading to ostentation in worship, venturing into prohibitions, and devising ways to capture hearts.

ولذلك شبه الرسول صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم حب المال والشرف وإفسادهما للدين بذئبين ضاريين أرسلا في غنم.

For this reason, the Messenger ﷺ likened the love of wealth and honor and their corrupting influence on religion to two ferocious wolves let loose among sheep.

فحب الجاه إذاً من المهلكات، يجب علاجه وعلاجه مركب من علم وعمل،

Therefore, the love of status is destructive and must be treated. The treatment consists of knowledge and action.

أما الأول، فهو أن يعلم أن السبب الذي لأجله أحب الجاه، هو كمال القدوة على أشخاص الناس وقلوبهم، وذلك إذا صفا وسلم يكون في آخره الموت

Firstly, one must recognize that the reason for loving status is the desire to be the ultimate example for people over peoples personalities and hearts, which even in its purest and most safest form ends with death.

فينبغي أن يتفكر في نفسه في الأخطار والآفات اللاحقة لأصحاب الجاه في الدنيا، من تطرق الحسد إليهم، وقصدهمبالإيذاء، فتراهم خائفين على الدوام من زوال جاههم، محترزين من تغيير منزلتهم في القلوب.

One should reflect on the risks and afflictions that befall those with status in this world, such as becoming targets of envy and harm, always fearing the loss of their status, and guarding against changes in their standing in people’s hearts.

والقلوب أشد تغيراً من القدرة في غليانها، فالاشتغال بمراعاة ذلك غموم عاجلة، مكدرة لحفظ الجاه، فلا يفي مرجو الدنيابمخوفها، فضلاً عما يفوت في الآخرة، فهذا من حيث العلم.

Hearts are more volatile than boiling water, so being preoccupied with maintaining status brings immediate worries and troubles, failing to deliver the hoped-for worldly benefits, not to mention what is lost in the hereafter. This is the knowledge aspect.

وأما العلاج من حيث العمل، فهو إسقاط الجاه من قلوب الخلق بأفعال توجب ذلك

As for the treatment in terms of action, it involves removing the desire for status from people’s hearts through deeds that necessitate this change…”

[Remind Yourself that the Religion Doesn’t Need You]

🔘 Hamdun Al-Qassar (رحمه الله) said:

التَّوَاضُعُ أَنْ لَا تَرَى لِأَحَدٍ إِلَى نَفْسِكَ حَاجَةً، لَا فِي الدِّينِ وَلَا فِي الدُّنْيَا.

"Humility is not seeing anyone as needing you, neither in religion nor in the world." [Al Madarij]

🔘 Ibn Qudamah (رحمه الله) said:

ومن أحس من نفسه هذه الصفات، فالواجب عليه الانفراد والعزلة، وطلب الخمول والمدافعة للفتاوى، فقد كان الصحابةيتدافعون الفتاوى، وكل منهم يود لو أن أخاه كفاه.

Whoever recognizes these traits in themselves, it is obligatory upon them to seek solitude and isolation, to pursue obscurity, and to avoid issuing religious decrees, as the Companions of the Prophet used to defer giving fatwas to each other, each hoping another would suffice him.

وعند هذا ينبغي أن يتقى شياطين الإنس، فإنهم قد يقولون: هذا سبب لاندراس العلم،

In this situation, it is also necessary to beware of the devils among humans, for they might claim that such withdrawal could lead to the obscurity of knowledge.

فليقل لهم: دين الإسلام مستغن عنى، ولو مت لم ينهدم الإسلام، وأنا غير مستغن عن إصلاح قلبى،

To them, one should respond: "The religion of Islam does not depend on me; if I died, Islam would not collapse, and I am in need of rectifying my own heart."

فليكن فكر العالم في التفطن لخفايا هذه الصفات من قلبه، نسأل الله أن يصلح فساد قلوبنا وأن يوفقنا لما يرضاه عنا.

Therefore, let the scholar focus on discerning these subtle traits in their heart. We ask Allah to correct our hearts’ corruption and guide us to what pleases Him.”

[The Meaninglessness of Most Fame]

The Tābi'ī Mālik ibn Dīnār (d. 127 AH رحمه الله) said:

مُنْذُ عَرَفْتُ النَّاسَ لَمْ أَفْرَحْ بِمَدْحِهِمْ وَلَمْ أَكْرَهْ مَذَمَّتَهُمْ

"Since I came to know people, I have neither rejoiced in their praise nor disliked their blame."

قِيلَ وَلِمَ ذَاكَ؟

It was asked, "And why is that?"

قَالَ لِأَنَّ حَامِدَهُمْ مُفْرِطٌ وَذَامَّهُمْ مُفْرِطٌ

He said, "Because their praiser exaggerates and their critic exaggerates."

[See: Al-‘Uzlah by Al-Khattābī (61); Az-Zuhd al-Kabīr by Al-Bayhaqī (154); Az-Zuhd by Al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī (62); Tārīkh Dimashq (418/56)]

🔘 Ibn Khaldun (رحمه الله) said,

"فقلّ أن تصادف (الشهرة) موضعها في أحد من طبقات النّاس من الملوك والعلماء والصّالحين والمنتحلين للفضائل على العموم

“Fame seldom finds its rightful place among people in various strata, including kings, scholars, the righteous, and those who claim virtues generally.

وكثير ممّن اشتهر بالشّرّ وهو بخلافه وكثير ممّن تجاوزت عنه الشّهرة وهو أحقّ بها وأهلها

Many who are known for evil are the opposite of that, and many who are more deserving of fame are overlooked, even though they truly deserve it.

وقد تصادف موضعها وتكون طبقا على صاحبها

Sometimes, fame does find its rightful place and fits its bearer accurately.

والسّبب في ذلك أنّ الشّهرة والصّيت إنّما هما بالإخبار والإخبار

This is because fame and reputation are spread through reports, and reporting involves forgetting the original intentions when transmitted.

يدخلها الذّهول عن المقاصد عند التّناقل ويدخلها التّعصّب والتّشييع ويدخلها الأوهام ويدخلها الجهل بمطابقة الحكاياتللأحوال لخفائها بالتّلبيس والتّصنّع أو لجهل النّاقل

It also involves bias, partisanship, illusions, and ignorance about whether the stories match actual circumstances due to their obscurity, deliberate misrepresentation, or simply the ignorance of the report’s narrator.

ويدخلها التّقرّب لأصحاب التّجلّة والمراتب الدّنيويّة بالثّناء والمدح وتحسين الأحوال وإشاعة الذّكر بذلك

It also involves people trying to ingratiate themselves with those of high status and worldly ranks through praise and flattery, improving appearances, and spreading their name in this manner.

والنّفوس مولعة بحبّ الثّناء والنّاس متطاولون إلى الدّنيا وأسبابها من جاه أو ثروة وليسوا من الأكثر براغبين في الفضائل ولامنافسين في أهلها

People are naturally inclined to love praise, and humans are drawn towards the worldly and its means, whether status or wealth and are not generally inclined towards virtues nor compete for them.

وأين مطابقة الحقّ مع هذه كلّها

Where is the alignment of truth with all this?

فتختلّ الشّهرة عن أسباب خفيّة من هذه وتكون غير مطابقة

Thus, fame deviates from its true reasons due to these hidden causes and does not match reality.

وكلّ ما حصل بسبب خفيّ فهو الّذي يعبّر عنه بالبخت كما تقرّر والله سبحانه وتعالى أعلم وبه التّوفيق

Everything that occurs due to hidden reasons is what is referred to as happenstance, as has been established, and Allah, Glorious and Exalted is He, knows best and grants success.”