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Fatwa CenterSeeking people's praise is not always a sign of insincerity
Question
as-salamu aleykum, i'm a revert alhamdulIllah, living with my husband and children in my husbands country (we made hijra), where i feel very lonely and often depressed as even after years of patience social relations are very few and entertainment for women nearly inexistant. So i'm all times at home except when my husband takes us out somewhere (which he doesn't mind masha'a Allah). I have often low selfesteem because of this lack of friends and loving family (my family is not only not muslim but also thousands of kms away from me) AlhamdulIllah Allah has blessed me with creativity, and there are a few internetsites where sisters show what they do ( only female forums and pictures which are not haram) I would like to participate (or even open my own site) with pictures of my work, i want to have the right intention like inspiring others to sew islamic items for example, but i must admit that i'm really in the need to get some recognition, i would like to get comments from people who like my work. In fact i fear my main intention is to get compliments. Is this in opposition of having Ikhlaas? Will this be a deed which is baatil? I psycholgogically really need those compliments: my hijra feels sometimes like a heavy burden on me, even if i know deeply that Allah ta'ala will biidhniLlah give me reward for each second i suffer in this country. I have no doubt about this, but i would like a part form this Dunia also, some joy, love from sisters and recognition for my work. I must say that life in this country among muslims is so dissapointing,sad and depressing that my imaan suffered a lot subhanAllah to the point that there were moments where it was only the fear from Allah that hold me not to give up, and not the love and hope may Allah forgive me, ameen. BarakAllahu fikum for reading and giving me advice.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
You have been granted a great blessing by embracing Islam, so you should express your gratitude to Allaah day and night and thank Him for His grace with your heart, hand and tongue. Expressing gratitude to Allaah for His blessings is one of the means for increasing and preserving those blessings. Allaah The Exalted says (what means): {And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, 'If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.'"} [Quran 14:7]
One of the most important manifestations of expressing gratitude to Allaah for the grace of embracing Islam is taking the proper means to help oneself remain steadfast on the straight path, such as by seeking useful knowledge, performing righteous deeds and being keen on keeping good righteous company. If you are able to find a righteous Muslim woman – even if through social media – then hold on to such a woman so that she would remind you when you forget and support you when you remember. We advise you to take it easy on yourself and to fill your time with what is of benefit instead of letting yourself fall victim to thoughts about being alone and away from your family thus allowing the devil to fuel your sadness and cause trouble in your life.
There is nothing wrong with posting your creative works on those websites as long as they do not involve anything that contravenes the religion. The Muslim is enjoined to devote all his good deeds sincerely to Allaah. Seeking people's admiration and praise is part of human nature; it is not entirely blameworthy or entirely praiseworthy. Rather, it may be praiseworthy if the person's purpose is to rejoice at people's praise as a sign that Allaah has accepted his deeds and is pleased with him. Ibn ‘Abbaas 
narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "The people of Paradise are those whose ears Allaah fills with the praise of people when they are listening, and the people of Hellfire are those whose ears Allaah fills with condemnation when they are listening." [Ibn Maajah]
Hence, when the person rejoices at people's praise for this purpose, this is commendable, so we advise you to correct your intention concerning this.
However, the isolated act of seeking to win people's praise and desiring it out of the belief that it is a virtue in itself, this is undoubtedly blameworthy. Ibn Al-Qayyim 
wrote, "Seeking to win people's praise or preoccupying oneself with their criticism and dispraise is a sign of the corruption of the heart and its spiritual voidness of Allaah. Such a heart is void of the love and knowledge of Allaah and fails to relish the sweetness of being close to Him and savoring serenity in His company."
Allaah Knows best.
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