Note: When To Have Shyness

💐 In The Name Of Allah The Most Gracious The Most Merciful
💌 The kind of shyness which is praiseworthy or commendable in Islam is not the type of timidity where a shy person is generally afraid of approaching people, but it is to have enough self-respect to avoid revealing TMI (too much information), behaving indecently and disclosing secrets that could lead to trouble. A lot of introverted individuals may hesitate to approach strangers for casual conversations yet ironically when they're around close friends they become very chatty, able to spend long periods rambling, joking and obnoxiously gossiping about other people.
Being too bashful to open up to those whom you're not familiar with yet you're not ashamed at all to backbite in front of Allah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala is not an admirable quality.
Extreme shyness can be dangerously debilitating if:
1] It causes you to fear human beings more than our Creator Allah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala, worrying more about people's opinions of you rather than being concerned with how Allah the Almighty sees you 24/7.
2] It prevents you from learning more about Islam, not having the courage to ask questions to remove doubts or find solutions, or being too fearful of befriending those who appear more pious due to wrongly assuming they'll judge you or label you as not good enough.
3] It stops you from obeying Allah's Commands, such as wearing the proper hijaab if you're an adult female or taking breaks at work to pray in a corner if you're employed in a workplace where most of the employees are non-Muslims.
Describing yourself as an introvert, whose energy levels decrease when exposed to excessive socializing so you require seclusion at times, shouldn't keep you from being the best version of yourself and the kind of Muslim whom Allah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala wants you to be.
If you're attending an Islamic lecture where the speakers are welcoming questions and you yourself have something that urgently needs to be clarified, don't hesitate to bring forth your queries and concerns even if they are presented in written form. If you're in a class or group where an important discussion is taking place, and somebody asks a question which you know how to correctly answer, do not withhold yourself from speaking up as your immediate response may be helpful to many of those who eagerly seek the truth. Also if you happen to be in a crowded area where you notice injustice occurring, a Muslim of the same gender requiring assistance while nobody else seems to bother about them, or another human being bullied or unfairly mistreated, sincerely attempt to do what you can to ease their situation. Have the guts to walk up to them, check if they're okay and inquire if they need anything.
The more you practice being assertive, unafraid of conflict and criticism, the more your level of self-confidence increases, while ensuring your confidence doesn't lead to being arrogant. When you're confident, you are capable of bravely making the first move to ask in order to learn and discover, you can readily express your needs without missing out on opportunities to thrive and improve, and you can obey Allah's Orders without being worried about how His servants perceive you.
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📖 Safiyyah Bint Shaybah RadhiAllahu 'anha narrated: Aisha RadhiAllahu 'anha said, "How excellent are the women of the Ansaar! They do not allow shyness to prevent them from understanding the religion."
In another narration, Aisha RadhiAllahu 'anha said, "They do not allow shyness to prevent them from asking questions about the religion and seeking to understand it."
Source: Sahih Muslim 332
Grade: Sahih (Authentic) according to Muslim
📖 Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri RadhiAllahu 'anhu narrated: Allah's noble Messenger Muhammad SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam said, "Let not fear of the people prevent one of you from saying the truth, if he knows it."
Source: Musnad Ahmed 11459
Grade: Sahih (Authentic) according to Ibn Hajar
📖 Ibn 'Umar RadhiAllahu 'anhuma narrated: 'We were with the Prophet SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam and fresh dates of a palm tree were brought to him. On that he SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam said, "Amongst the trees, there is a tree which resembles a Muslim." I wanted to say that it was the date palm tree but as I was the youngest of all (of them) I kept quiet. And then the Prophet SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam said, "It is the date palm tree."
Sahih al-Bukhari 72
Book 3, Hadith 14
USC-MSA web (English) reference: Vol. 1, Book 3, Hadith 72
📖 Abu Huraira RadhiAllahu 'anhu narrated: Allah's noble Messenger Muhammad SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam said, "Faith has sixty to seventy branches, the best of which is to declare there is no God but Allah, the least of which is to remove something harmful from the road, and modesty is a branch of faith."
Source: Sahih Al-Bukhari 9, Sahih Muslim 35
Grade: Muttafaqun Alayhi (Authenticity agreed upon) according to Al-Bukhari and Muslim