so that they would magnify his righteous deed, Allah will expose him—that is, He will lay bare his hidden motives before all of creation.

1620 – Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever acquires knowledge that is normally sought for the sake of Allah’s Face yet learns it only in order to obtain some worldly benefit will not smell the fragrance of Paradise on the Day of Resurrection.” Narrated by Abu Dawud with an authentic chain. Many well-known hadiths address this subject.

[Explanation]
The author—may Allah have mercy on him—continues with the remaining hadiths on ostentation. He cites the narration of Jundub ibn ʿAbd Allah, may Allah be pleased with him, in which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever makes his deeds heard of, Allah will make his scandal heard of; and whoever shows off, Allah will expose him.” In other words, someone raises his voice with an act of devotion—such as remembrance or recitation—so that people hear him and say, “So-and-so remembers Allah a great deal, so-and-so recites abundantly,” and the like. Such a person has caused Allah’s servants to hear him only to impress them—may Allah protect us. “Allah will make his scandal heard of” means that He will disgrace him, unveil his affair, and make his flaw evident to people so that they realize he is a pretender. The hadith does not specify whether this exposure is in this world or in the Hereafter; it may occur in this life, where Allah betrays his secret to people, or it may take place in the Hereafter—which is far more severe and humiliating, Allah’s refuge is sought—just as He, Exalted is He, says, “But the punishment of the Hereafter is more humiliating, and they will not be helped” (Q 41:16). Likewise, “whoever shows off, Allah will expose him” means that whoever performs a deed so that people may see it and praise him, Allah will in turn expose him, make his defect known, and disgrace him—Allah’s refuge is sought—until it becomes clear that he was merely showing off. This hadith, therefore, contains a grave warning against ostentation: no matter who the show-off is or how well he tries to hide, his reality will inevitably surface—Allah save us—because Allah, Exalted is He, has guaranteed: “Whoever makes his deeds heard of…”