The 365 · Tazkiyah · Day 340 · Heart
Ḥubb al-Madḥ · The Hunger for Praise
The disease
حُبُّ الْمَدْحِ
Ḥubb al-Madḥ
The story
When someone praised ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib effusively, he said: 'I am less than what you say, and greater than what they think.' He had calibrated his heart away from the praise-disease.
Why it's named first
The Prophet ﷺ warned us about the praise-lover and the criticism-averse. The disease shapes behavior: we speak what wins applause, withhold what costs popularity, post for likes, write for approval. The heart's compass drifts from Allah's pleasure to people's pleasure.
In the Qur'an
لا تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ يَفْرَحُونَ بِمَا أَتَوا وَيُحِبُّونَ أَن يُحْمَدُوا بِمَا لَمْ يَفْعَلُوا فَلا تَحْسَبَنَّهُم بِمَفَازَةٍ مِّنَ العَذَابِ (آل عمران 188). 'Do not think that those who rejoice in what they have done and love to be praised for what they have not done, are safe from punishment.' (Āl ʿImrān 3:188)
In the Sunnah
«إِذَا رَأَيتُمُ المَدّاحِينَ فَاحْثُوا فِي وُجُوهِهِمُ التُّرَابَ». 'When you see those who praise [to a person's face], throw dust in their faces.' (Muslim 3002)
The cure
Distrust praise. When complimented, immediately turn the heart to Allah: 'this is from You, not from me.' Never repeat the praise you received. Don't seek validation through posts. Refuse to speak only for applause.
What is at stake
The praise-lover acts for the audience. The Day will reveal that the audience was the wrong court.
A du'a for this day
«اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْنِي خَيْرًا مِمَّا يَظُنُّونَ، وَاغْفِرْ لِي مَا لdeا يَعْلَمُونَ». 'O Allah, make me better than what they think, and forgive me what they do not know.'
The door of mercy
Al-Ḥamīd (the All-Praised). Allah is the only One worthy of unqualified praise; the believer's hand should point to Him.
A reflection to carry
Allah named the praise-lovers in a verse of severe warning. Calibrate the heart away from this disease before it calibrates your behavior.
Read the longer reflection
Ḥubb al-madḥ is the disease that converted countless good deeds into hollow performances. The believer who craves praise will eventually speak for praise, write for praise, give for praise. The audience becomes Allah's substitute. The verse of Āl ʿImrān 188 is one of the Qur'an's sharpest warnings: it pairs the praise-lover with the doer of false claims. Both are in the same sentence; both face the same punishment. The cure is internal: distrust praise; turn it to Allah; never repeat it; never structure life to attract more. May Allah make us indifferent to praise and dependent only on His pleasure.
A verse, a healing, and a Sunnah, every morning.
Subscribe, free