Is Showing A Good Deed To Someone Else To Surprise Them Permissible?
Question: Salam wa alakium, I know you’re not supposed to show off your good deeds or remind people of your favours but what if you buy a water fountain in someone else’s name can I show them as a surprise or is it better I leave it a secret.
Summary:
If you purchased a water dispenser or ongoing charity and made its reward for another person, then there is no harm in informing him of that or showing him the project by way of bringing happiness to him or surprising him, so long as you do not intend showing off nor seeking praise and commendation. Nevertheless, concealing the righteous deed is farther from showing off and greater for sincerity in general.
Answer:
The basic principle is that the Muslim is commanded with sincerity to Allah, the Most High, in all his deeds. Allah, the Most High, said:
From the Qur'an:
- [Al-Bayyinah: 5]
"And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, being sincere to Him in religion."
- [Al-Baqarah: 271]
"If you disclose the charities, then excellent is it; and if you conceal them and give them to the poor, then it is better for you."
Meaning: showing charity is permissible in principle, but concealing it is closer to sincerity and farther from showing off.
So if you made an ongoing charity or a water dispenser in the name of your father, your mother, your spouse, or your friend, then informed him of that in order to bring happiness to him, or to be dutiful to him, or to encourage him upon good, then there is no harm in that, Allah willing, because the intended purpose is not boasting nor seeking praise from people. As for if the motive is that people be impressed by you, or that they increase in praising you, or that you show your generosity and kindness, then this is from the doors of blameworthy showing off from which it is obligatory to be cautious. The Salaf, may Allah have mercy on them, used to hide many of their deeds out of fear for sincerity, because the heart turns, and Satan is keen on corrupting the deed after its completion just as he is keen on corrupting it before doing it. So the Muslim should always inspect his intention and ask himself: If no one knew of this deed, would I have done it? If the answer is yes, then this is a sign of good.
It is permissible that you show the person the ongoing charity or the water dispenser that you made in his name, or that you inform him of it by way of surprise and bringing happiness to him, if the intention is safe from showing off and seeking praise. But if you hide that seeking the Face of Allah alone, then it is closer to sincerity and greater in reward in general. And Allah knows best.
And Allah knows best.
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