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What is the ruling on abstaining from sin out of fear of scandal, not out of fear of Allah?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A person should abandon sin out of fear and shyness before Allah, to attain reward. For Allah is most worthy of being feared and shyed away from. As for abandoning sin for the sake of people, if it is for show (riya'), there is no reward for it, and one may even incur sin. If it is out of shyness from people, there is no sin in it, and one may be rewarded, especially if it is accompanied by a legitimate religious objective. Ibn al-Qayyim divided the abandonment of sin into three categories: The first is abandonment for the sake of Allah Almighty, despite having the ability to commit it, and this is rewarded. The second is abandonment for other than Allah, and this is punishable. The third is abandonment without intention or purpose, like the abandonment of a sleeping person or a child. A person is not punished for abandoning sin out of shyness or fear of creation; rather, they are punished for seeking nearness to them through this abandonment and showing off with it.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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