We live in a time where visibility is rewarded, exposure is normalized, and attention is treated as currency.
Social media, fashion culture, beauty industries, and online validation all push one message relentlessly: be seen, be admired, be noticed.
In this environment, avoiding tabarruj feels difficult, misunderstood, and at times even isolating.
Yet Islam did not command modesty for an easier world than ours.
It commanded modesty precisely because the human heart is vulnerable to attention, comparison, and desire.
Avoiding tabarruj is not about disappearing from the world. It is about remaining visible to Allah while resisting the pressure to perform for people.
How to Avoid Tabarruj in a Hyper-Visible World?
1. Understand What Tabarruj Actually Means
Allah says:
وَلَا تَبَرَّجْنَ تَبَرُّجَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ الْأُولَىٰ
“And do not display yourselves as the display of the former times of ignorance.” [Qur’an 33:33]
Tabarruj is not simply beauty. It is deliberate outward display meant to attract attention, admiration, and desire. It is turning oneself into a visual object rather than preserving oneself as a servant of Allah. When this definition becomes clear, many habits that feel “normal” begin to reveal their spiritual weight.
2. Recognize That Hyper-Visibility Is Not Neutral
Constant self-display reshapes intention. It trains the heart to seek validation from people instead of contentment with Allah. The more a person curates themselves for public consumption, the harder it becomes to worship quietly, sincerely, and privately.
3. Separate Cleanliness and Beauty From Display
Islam encourages beauty within limits. The Prophet ﷺ said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ جَمِيلٌ يُحِبُّ الْجَمَالَ
“Indeed Allah is Beautiful and loves beauty.” [Sahih Muslim 91]
Cleanliness, neatness, and dignity are not tabarruj. Display meant to provoke attention, desire, and admiration is. The line is crossed when beautification is for the gaze of others rather than for self-respect and obedience to Allah.
4. Anchor Modesty to Faith, Not to Culture
Tabarruj rises when modesty becomes tied to trends instead of revelation.
Modesty is purification of the heart before it is fabric on the body. When modesty becomes a spiritual value instead of a social aesthetic, it becomes harder to abandon.
5. Guard the Private Self From Becoming Public Property
The internet blurs the boundary between private and public. Islam places protection around privacy, dignity, and concealment. What once belonged only to the self is now easily given to strangers. Avoiding tabarruj means learning that not everything needs an audience.
6. Remember That Attention Is a Spiritual Test
Admiration feeds the ego even when the tongue denies it. The heart subtly begins to crave being seen, praised, and noticed.
Seeking admiration can quietly compete with sincerity without a person realizing it.
7. Lower the Gaze in Both Directions
Allah says:
قُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِمْ [Qur’an 24:30]
وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ [Qur’an 24:31]
Lowering the gaze is not only about what you look at. It also changes how you present yourself to be looked at. A society that is trained to look less will also feel less pressure to display.
8. Replace the Desire to Be Admired With the Desire to Be Accepted by Allah
The human soul cannot live without approval. If it does not receive it from Allah, it will hunt for it in people. The Prophet ﷺ said:
مَنْ الْتَمَسَ رِضَا اللَّهِ بِسَخَطِ النَّاسِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ
“Whoever seeks the pleasure of Allah even if it displeases people, Allah will be pleased with him.”
[Musnad Ahmad 23074 | Sahih]
When Allah’s pleasure becomes the goal, the hunger for public admiration weakens.
9. Protect the Heart From Constant Comparison
Tabarruj thrives on comparison. Who looks better. Who is admired more. Who is more visible. Comparison gradually erodes gratitude and self-respect. Allah says:
وَلَا تَتَمَنَّوْا مَا فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ بِهِ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ
“Do not wish for that by which Allah has made some of you exceed others.” [Qur’an 4:32]
A heart busy with comparison loses the ability to be content.
10. Understand That Modesty Protects Psychological Safety
Tabarruj does not only expose the body. It exposes the soul. When a person places themselves constantly under evaluation, judgment, and public reaction, emotional stability weakens. Modesty protects the nervous system as much as it protects the soul.
11. Remember That the Standard of Beauty Is Temporary
Allah says:
كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ
“Everyone upon it will perish.” [Qur’an 55:26]
Beauty fades. Trends shift. Attention moves on. The only beauty that remains honored is the one carried into the Hereafter through obedience and chastity.
12. Keep Hayā’ Alive Despite Normalization
The Prophet ﷺ said:
الْحَيَاءُ شُعْبَةٌ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ
“Modesty is a branch of faith.” [Sahih al-Bukhari 9 | Sahih Muslim 35]
When tabarruj becomes normalized, hayā’ becomes framed as weakness. In truth, hayā’ is strength anchored in faith.
13. Limit Platforms That Encourage Display
Not every space is spiritually safe. Some environments are built on constant exposure, performance, and image. Protecting the heart sometimes requires stepping away from spaces that normalize tabarruj as identity.
Avoiding tabarruj in a hyper-visible world is not about rejecting beauty.
It is about refusing to turn beauty into a public performance.
It is choosing dignity over display.
Sincerity over spectacle.
Submission to Allah over craving for attention.
In a world that sells visibility as freedom, modesty becomes one of the greatest acts of quiet resistance and one of the deepest forms of worship.
