He who basks in the various graces Allah has bestowed upon him should only show what manifests on him and not show all that he has. Truly this is one of the greatest pleasures of this life (i.e. showing what you have to the public) that the trait of being resolute dictates to abstain from, because the evil eye is real.[1]
When I looked into the blessings and graces, I realised that showing them to people is something that the nature of mankind is apt to do as it makes people feel good. Yet when a person shows them to a friend, it cannot be guaranteed that his heart may not become covetously frustrated, and if he shows them to an enemy then he is most likely to be envied and given an evil eye.
Nonetheless, I found out that the evil of the enviers (hasid) is always there because when you are in a trial he is gloating and when you are provided with grace, he envies and gives you the evil eye.
Though the one who has been blessed by Allah longs to frustrate those who envy him, he does not wish to risk losing what he has since he will most likely suffer the evil eye. The joy attained from frustrating the envier by showing what grace one has is not worth ruining the very grace he has been granted.
That being said, hiding the graces you are endowed with all the time is a resolute decision. If a man discloses his age he will be either looked upon as feeble if he was old or looked down on if he was young.
And if a man shares with others his beliefs, his opponents will manifest their enmity, and if he discloses the size of his wealth, he will be either disrespected if it was too little or envied if it was abundant.
The same applies to everything else that I have not mentioned. So be not a reckless ignorant who informs people of all that they have and their secrets do not settle within them unless they disclose them to the wrong people.
Indeed, a little word you utter may cause your destruction.
[Captured Thoughts by Ibn Al-Jawzi, P. 323-324]
Notes:
[1] See Bukhari, #5740 and Muslim. #2187
