Ibn Ghanm says: When I and Sayyiduna Abu Darda entered the mosque of Jabiyah, we met Sayyiduna Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him). He took my right hand with his left hand and Sayyiduna Abu Darda’s left hand with his right hand and began to walk between us. We began to whisper, and Allah knows best what we were whispering about. Sayyiduna Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) said: If one or both of you live long, it is possible that you will see a man belonging to the middle class of Muslims, who will recite the Holy Qur’an according to the tongue of Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Then he will recite it repeatedly and display it, and he will consider its lawful as lawful and its unlawful as unlawful, and he will adhere to its commands, but still he will bring to you as much good as the head of a dead donkey brings (i.e., that man will not bring even the slightest good or virtue). While we were in this state, Sayyiduna Shaddad bin Aws and Sayyiduna Awf bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with them both) came and sat with us. Sayyiduna Shaddad (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O people! What I fear most for you is what I heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It is hidden desire and shirk (associating partners with Allah). Sayyiduna Ubadah bin Samit and Sayyiduna Abu Darda (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: O Allah, forgive! Did not the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say that Satan has despaired of being worshipped in the Arabian Peninsula? As for hidden desire, we know that it is the desires of the world, related to women and their desires, but Shaddad! What is this shirk about which you are warning us? Sayyiduna Shaddad (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Well, tell me about this: if a man prays for the sake of another man, or fasts, or gives charity, do you not think that he has committed shirk? They said: Yes, by Allah! Whoever prays to show someone, or fasts, or gives charity, he has committed shirk. Sayyiduna Shaddad (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Then I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: Whoever prays showing off, he has committed shirk; whoever fasts showing off, he has committed shirk; whoever gives charity showing off, he has committed shirk. Sayyiduna Awf bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Will it not be that those deeds which he did purely for Allah will be considered and accepted, and the deeds of shirk will be left aside? Sayyiduna Shaddad (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever associates anyone with Me, I am the best of partners and associates; whoever associates anything with Me, all his accumulated deeds, whether little or much, will be for the one with whom he associated, and I (Allah) am free from him.