Home
Discover Islam
Quran Recitations
Lectures
Fatwa
Articles
Fiqh
E-Books
Women
Boys & Girls 
Enter Question
View By Subject
Fatwa Of The Week
Selected Fatwa
Fatwa CenterDifference between Praised Shyness and Dispraised Bashfulness
Question
I cannot find a suitable solution to end my bashfulness for it prevents me from going to the mosque.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
Shyness is a special trait in Islam, and the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:
· “Shyness is a branch of faith.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
· “All shyness is good.” [Muslim]
There is no contradiction between shyness and having a strong heart, for the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was the bravest of people and, in spite of this fact, he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was shyer than a virgin in seclusion.
Muslim scholars differentiated between the two forms of shyness. The first is praised which is the one in the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, who praised it. It is what prevents one from committing evil deeds and neglecting the rights of others. This type of shyness is one of the characteristics of human beings that prevent them from committing all what is desired of bad things so that they may not be comparable to beasts.
As for the second one, it is a dispraised shyness, which is not meant in the words of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. This type of shyness is Islamically dispraised because it prevents one from speaking the truth and doing good. It may prevent him from seeking obligatory knowledge and drive one to commit unlawful acts, lie, and neglect duties and obligatory acts. It is one of Satan’s deceptions and has nothing to do with real shyness.
Dispraised shyness is a disorder and a result of many causes, such as a bad upbringing of children. To avoid this dispraised shyness, there are medical means that specialists know of, so try to visit a trustworthy Muslim psychiatrist.
Allah knows best.
Search Fatwa
Fatwa Subject
