Tabligh e Deen – Harms of the Tongue. | Hazrat Moulana Dawood Seedat Saheb

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The Spiritual Harms of Flattery and Excessive Praise

Flattery is a grave disease of the tongue that carries six major spiritual harms: four for the person giving flattery and two for the person being flattered.
The flatterer risks lying, expressing insincere love (hypocrisy/nifaq), making claims about unseen spiritual states without knowledge, and earning Allah's displeasure by praising a sinner or oppressor.
The person being flattered risks falling into pride, vanity, self-satisfaction (ujub), and spiritual complacency, which ruins their Akhirah.
Proper introductions (ta'aruf) for scholars and pious individuals should be factual and concise, aimed at helping the audience benefit rather than delivering exaggerated praises.
Encouragement (himmat afzai) for children and family members is necessary, but it must be paired with directing their hearts to Allah rather than feeding their egos with excessive flattery.

Hadith: Allah Ta'ala becomes angry when an open sinner is praised.
Hadith: When a Sahabi praised another in front of the Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasallam, he remarked: "You have cut the neck of your companion."
Hadith: "It is better for a person to slaughter his brother with a blunt knife than to praise him in person."
Hadith: If one must praise someone, say: "I think so-and-so is like this," because Allah alone knows the heart.
Dua of Hz. Ali Radiallahu anhu when praised: "Allahummaghfir li ma la ya'lamun, wa la tu'akhidhni bi ma yaqulun, waj'alni khayram mimma yazunnun" (O Allah, forgive me for what they do not know, do not take me to task for what they say, and make me better than what they think of me).

When someone praises you, immediately reflect on your internal spiritual faults, sins, and deficiencies that people cannot see.
Always attribute success, good deeds, and achievements to Allah Ta'ala by saying Alhamdulillah rather than taking personal pride.
Avoid making over-the-top public praise or exaggerated introductions; keep introductions simple and informative.
When people ask you for dua, readily make dua for them and ask for their duas in return, rather than refusing out of false humility.