⚠️ Public Service Announcement ⚠️ Fake Religiosity Is Real

Let’s be honest. Living in the West, especially in secular, capitalist societies, many Muslims have unknowingly absorbed a version of Islam shaped by public validation, not divine accountability.

Islam has become content, not character.

Influencers have become authorities, even without proper study.

The platform has replaced the pulpit.

We’re seeing:

> Deen reduced to aesthetics and algorithms

> Piety replaced by performance

> Fame mistaken for knowledge

> Influencers treated like scholars

> Marketing taking priority over sincerity

> And people are falling for it.

📌 Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي الله عنه said:

"Don’t be deceived by how much someone prays or fasts. Look at their honesty when they speak, their trust when entrusted, and their piety when close to the haram."

[Hilyat al-Awliya]

This was said in a time before Instagram reels, before self-styled da’wah “brands,” before online personalities had a million followers but no teacher.

🎯 So what is real religiosity?

It’s found in:

> Quiet consistency, not online noise

> Character in private, not charisma in public

> Fear of Allah when no one is watching

> Truthfulness, even when it costs followers

> Loyalty to the sunnah over the trends

🎭 The Prophet ﷺ warned us:

"Every nation has a fitnah. The fitnah of my ummah is wealth."

[Sunan al-Tirmidhi]

He also said:

"Two hungry wolves let loose among sheep are not more destructive than a man's desire for wealth and status."

[Sunan al-Tirmidhi]

So ask yourself:

🔍 Who are you really following?

A person of knowledge?

Or just someone who knows how to speak?

Do they:

> Reference scholars — or rely on their own opinion?

> Point you to Allah — or back to their channel?

> Speak with humility — or act like they’re untouchable?

🎤 Many today are one person in front of the camera and another behind it.

They cry for the algorithm, not out of fear of Allah.

They wear the clothes, quote a hadith, throw around Arabic terms, and behind the scenes it’s all sponsorships, egos, and clout.

And the worst part? People excuse it.

“Oh, they’re doing good.”

“No one’s perfect.”

“He means well.”

⛔ Stop.

> Good intentions don’t excuse misguidance.

> Fame doesn’t cancel the need for sincerity.

> Having followers doesn’t make someone a faqih.

🛑 Don’t rely on online personalities for your deen.

> Even those of us who speak publicly, we are not a source of truth by default.

> Take it back to real scholars.

> Verify everything.

> Ask the people of knowledge.

> Sit with the people of Allah, even if no one knows them.

🧠 Ask yourself:

> Does this person have a known chain of study?

> Have they sat with teachers, or just read Google?

> Do they call to the masjid — or to their brand?

🤲 We are living in times where the truth is filtered, cropped, and monetised.

Where Islamic reminders are drowned in cinematic background music and TikTok effects.

Where people cry online but mock scholars in private.

Where da’wah is a career path, not a sacred trust.

🌱 You need to protect your heart.

> Learn Islam from those who live it.

> Build your deen with sincerity, not spectacle.

> Follow those who remind you of Allah, not of themself.

Fake religiosity is real.

And if you’re not careful, it will shape your Islam.

✍️ What are your thoughts after reading this?

Have you experienced this realisation online?

Sheikh Ramy Najmeddine