Note: The following transcript was generated using AI and may contain inaccuracies.
What's the difference between benefiting the people and wanting to be famous? As Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen, he said, رحمه الله تعالى مَنْ أَرَادَ النَّفَعَ فَلَا يُهِمُّهُ سَوَاءٌ ظَهَرَ أَوْ لَمْ يَظْهَرَ He said, a person who wants to benefit people, it doesn't concern him whether he becomes famous or not. In other words, he might become famous wanting to benefit people. And he might be unknown wanting to benefit people.
And it was said from the Aqwal of the Salaf, رحمه الله تعالى كَمْ مِنْ مَجْهُولٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَعْلُومٌ فِي السَّمَاءِ وَكَمْ مِنْ مَعْلُومٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَجْهُولٌ فِي السَّمَاءِ أو كَمَا قَالُوا Something close to that. They said, how many people are known on the earth and anonymous in the heavens? And how many people are known by the angels in the heavens, but no one on the earth knows who they are? What we want is نَفْعَ النَّسَ نَفْعُ خَلْقِ ذِي الْجَلَالِ We want to benefit the people who are the slaves of Allah. If you want to benefit people and through that you become famous, that's a side effect.
That's a side effect of wanting to benefit the people. But if you truly want to benefit the people, اسأل نفسك Ask yourself a question. Would I still do this action if nobody could see me except Allah? Would I still do this action if it didn't bring me any fame or any reward or recognition? إِنَّمَا نُطْعِمُكُمْ لِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ لَا نُرِيدُ مِنكُمْ جَزَاءً وَلَا شُكُورًا We only feed you for the sake of Allah.
We don't want any reward and we don't want any shukr from you. We don't want any appreciation from you. We don't want you to say thank you.
We don't want you to reward us. We don't want you to appreciate it. This is for Allah.
You have to ask yourself that question. You have to ask yourself. It's easy to say سَوَاءٌ ظَهَرًا أَمْ أَوْ لَمْ يَظْهَرْ It's easy to say whether you become famous or you don't.
But the question is would you still teach if instead of a thousand people watching your video there was only one? Would you still teach? Even if that person was just one of the kids who came in from the masjid and you know was just passing time to listen to something you had to say. Would you still teach if nobody knew that you were teaching? Or is it all about the numbers? Wallahi my brothers and sisters we are in a very difficult position. And especially in the English speaking world.
Because in the Arabic speaking world it might be the case that يظهور يتأخر كثيرا It takes a long time to become famous. Yes I'm not saying that people in the Arabic speaking world are not tested by fame. لكن in the English speaking world become famous overnight.
Without knowledge, without properly knowing what to do with it. You gave a lecture somewhere, someone took a video of you, you became on Instagram or TikTok or whatever. Of course you became famous, a fame that the great ulema of Islam perhaps few of them had.
And yet you have to ask yourself why am I doing this? Am I doing this for Allah? In which case I really don't mind whether someone knows about it or doesn't know. In fact I would prefer if people didn't know. Like in some things you cannot get away with it.
Like you can't pray salah in the masjid and people don't know about it. You can pray your sunnah at home but you can't pray your fard salah at home. Right? For the brothers anyway.
You can't pray your fard salah at home. So I would rather that I could benefit people and they don't know. But at the same time if I benefit people and it comes that they know about it, whether they know or they don't know shouldn't concern me.
But how many people, how many duaat became and got to the stage and the level where they started to say that if I don't get a certain number, I don't come. And there are masa'il or there are halat which are daqeeqa jiddan, very precisely, very difficult issues. For example a da'ia says I will not come to that masjid because I don't think that people will attend.
Is this falling into what Sheikh Muthaymeen said or not? It's difficult. The person has to really examine themselves. They could say no, it's not what I mean.
I don't mind if only one person comes but I feel like there are multiple options in front of me and I feel like this option is not the best one for me right now. And maybe I could come at a different time and it would be more beneficial. I feel like the benefit for the people would not be there.
For example someone asks you to come give a lecture on a Monday night or Tuesday night or something. You could say well I feel like the benefit for the people would not be there. It's not that I feel like I won't be famous.
I just feel like the people will not benefit on that night like they might benefit on a Friday or Saturday because the people are off work and more people can benefit. But you have to be careful because it is such a tiny thin hair between that and between saying that not enough people are going to attend, I'm not going to be famous enough. Not enough people are going to see what I do.
Is it when you record your lecture in a masjid or in a class, are you recording it to become famous or are you recording it to benefit the people? It's easy for you to say that I'm recording it to benefit the people. But it's also very easy for shaitan to pull you into this issue of dhuhr, being famous. And in reality, the way social media works is it works on the promise of fame.
Having more followers, more viewers, more likes. And so it's very easy to fall into that. And it's easy to kid yourself that I'm not doing it for followers and numbers and likes and everything.
It's very, very easy to claim that you want to benefit the people. But you have to be so careful to examine yourself. Am I really doing this to benefit the people? And one of the things that I would always advise is to try to be a better person in private than you are in public, if you can.
It's not always easy. But to try to keep your best and even better than what you show to people to be even better in private. And to try to do as many deeds as possible.
No one knows about them except Allah. Not even your family, if you can. Try and do things nobody knows about them except Allah.
And maybe that will somewhat offset this fear that you end up doing everything just min ajrid dhuhr. So that you can become prominent and known and famous to the people. And it ruins your deeds.
And the sheikhs already explained that. We spoke about it in the last lesson. That it destroys your deeds and it ruins them.
