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This Hadith is a strong warning against excessive praise, not against genuine compliments.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“If you see those who praise (people excessively), then throw dust in their faces.” (Muslim)

Why Islam warns against excessive praising:

Scholars explain that excessive praise is harmful because it can:

Feed pride and arrogance: Too much praise makes the heart feel “I’m something special”, and pride destroys good deeds.

Create hypocrisy and fake personality: Many people praise not for truth, but to gain benefit, attention, money, or closeness.

Mislead the praised person: A person may start believing they’re perfect, stop improving, and become blind to their own faults.

Can become a type of fitnah (test): Even a righteous person may fall when praised repeatedly.

Does “throw dust” mean literally?

Scholars said this phrase can have two understandings, depending on the situation:

✅ 1) It can be literal in extreme cases

Meaning: when someone becomes a habitual flatterer who damages society with fake praise, he should be strongly stopped.

✅ 2) It is also understood as a figure of speech

Many scholars explain it as: