Are these actions considered hypocrisy (riya'): donating to a poor person with the intention that people see you, or when admiration enters your heart while donating after a sincere intention, or when you resist hypocrisy after it has entered your heart?

Hypocrisy (Riyaa') is seeking status in people's hearts by displaying acts of worship. So, whoever gives charity for people to see has committed hypocrisy. If hypocrisy occurs to a sincere person, he must repel it, correct his intention, and not abandon the charity for fear of it.

Scholars differed concerning one who succumbs to hypocrisy. Al-Hafiz Ibn Rajab preferred the view that the action is not invalidated, and the person will be rewarded according to his initial intention. This is narrated from Al-Hasan Al-Basri and others. As for the sincere person who resisted hypocrisy, his action is sound.

Hypocrisy is a polytheism more subtle than the creeping of an ant. One must be wary of it by saying: "O Allah, we seek refuge in You from associating anything with You knowingly, and we seek Your forgiveness for what we do not know."