Public displays of "Generosity" and their status in the sight of Allah?
As salaamu alaykum.
I understand that in Islam all of a person's actions should only be done for Allah''s sake but, nonetheless, since we are humans and have shortcomings, there are times when one does a thing for some worldly purpose. What is the status of such actions in the sight of Allah? I know that such actions are not accepted by Allah, or are only accepted as much as they were done for his sake, but are we also punished for not doing those actions for Allah''s sake?
The questions that I asked above are general, but there is a specific action whose status I would like to inquire about.
In my culture, similar to Arabian culture, public displays of generosity (e.g. insisting on paying a restaurant bill, feeding large numbers of people on Eid, entertaining large numbers of guests on certain occassions, etc.) are seen as opportunities to display one''s "manliness" and/or chivarly; to not do so is, many times, looked down upon. Despite knowing that all of my actions should be for Allah, I really cannot stop making such "public" displays of "generosity" due to cultural mores and family/societal pressures. Now although I do not expect those actions to be rewarded since I am clearly doing them for a worldly motive, will I be punished for doing so if I am making no claim to piety or religiosity through those actions? I mean, my understanding of the famous hadith about a Martyr, Scholar, and "Generous" (Sakhi) man is that each did those things while making it seem as though they were doing it for Allah''s sake and thus, they were hypocrites and were punished for their hypocrisy. If I have no such intention, i.e. to have someone look upon my "generosity" as a sign of my piety, even if I am not rewarded for the act, will I be punished for it?
I hope that some of my more knowledgeable brothers/sisters can respond to this question soon insha''allah.
Jazakallahu Khair.
Wa''salaam.
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