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It is from the Sunnah
of the Prophet that we take the light of guidance regarding this
crucial issue, which is one that requires urgent attention due to it
being one of the most important matters that will assist in
preserving the Muslim community with regards to its religion and
chastity.
 Abu
Hurayrah reported: “The Messenger of Allah said: “Every member of my
nation will be forgiven, except those who expose their wrongdoings.
An example of this is that of a man who commits a sin at night which
Allah then conceals, but, the next morning, he goes and says (to
people): ‘I committed such and such a sin last night’ - while Allah
had kept it secret. During the night Allah had concealed it, but in
the morning he tore up the cover provided by Allaah Himself.” [Al-Bukhari
& Muslim]
Those who openly expose their sins to others will be deprived from
the forgiveness of Allah. Imam An-Nawawi said: “It is permissible to
speak openly about those who openly expose the sins that they
commit, or innovations they propagate.”
Such a person would sit in a gathering and say: “I committed such
and such a sin last night” and then give details, whilst the
Messenger of Allah said: “Refrain from these filthy matters (i.e.
sins) that Allah has forbidden, and if one of you is tried by
committing any of them, then let him conceal them as Allah has
concealed them for him.” [Al-Hakim]
Why is this? It is because openly exposing one’s sins is a way of
slighting the rank of Allah; it is Allah who forbade such sins to be
committed and who informed us of this through His Messenger e one
who openly exposes his disobedience is expressing indifference
regarding the legislation of Allah, the rank of His Messenger and
the feelings of the righteous within the Muslim community. To do
this is therefore nothing except dogged arrogance.
Openly exposing sins and bragging about them is a common practice
amongst people nowadays, and has replaced repenting from them and
concealing them from others. If one sins, he should not even inform
a single person, and must repent and resolve never to commit the
same sin again. One may, however, inform a scholar or a wise friend
in order to seek his help and receive advice on how to refrain from
and resist such sins, as well as to receive guidance on matters that
would protect him from being tempted again and to inform him of
deterrents that would prevent him from falling into the same mistake
again.
Another specific permissible reason for one exposing his sin is to
do so in order to seek the Islamic ruling regarding what he has
committed; the proof for this is the story of the man who had sexual
intercourse with his wife during the daytime one Ramadhan during the
lifetime of the Messenger of Allah . The man then went and informed
the Prophet of what he had done so that he would know what the
ruling was and what he should therefore do regarding this sin. The
Prophet did not condemn him for telling him what he had done and
instructed him as to what to do for expiation.
Exposing sins and bragging about them encourages others to commit
them and imitate the sinners. The prohibition of openly committing
sins is a great wisdom, because Allah knows that such acts move
others and motivate them to indulge in the same evil; it also makes
sinning more attractive to people, decorating it in their eyes. This
is why openly exposing one’s sins is so perilous.
The Islamic scholars mentioned many rulings related to those who
openly expose their sins to others, such as the prayer behind such
people to be disliked (i.e., such people may not lead congregational
prayers). Some scholars even went as far as to state that one must
repeat his prayer if he prays behind such a person. Ibn Abu Zayd was
asked whether or not a sinner can lead people during congregational
prayers, to which he answered: “If he is one who openly and
persistently exposes his sins to others, then he may not.” This
means that he should not be given the opportunity to lead to begin
with, and if he is already leading, then people must strive to
remove and replace him, because this person is unfit for leadership.
On the other hand, if one openly exposes a sin of his
unintentionally then he is pardoned due to it occurring
accidentally. Imam Malik as asked about this and answered: “This is
something that anyone could (accidentally) do … (but) nothing is
similar to the evil of he who persistently and openly exposes his
sins.”
An issue related to this is that of visiting such a person when he
is sick; visiting a sick Muslim is highly rewardable by Allah, and
it is a right that a Muslim has over other Muslims, but the Islamic
scholars said regarding the one who openly exposes his sins: “He is
not to be visited, so that this (shunning) acts as a means of making
him repent from such evil, and in order for others to refrain from
such an act when they see how badly he is treated; but, (one may
visit him) if the intention is to admonish and advise him.”
Another ruling regarding such a person is concerning praying the
funeral prayer over him; the Islamic scholars stated that he is not
to be prayed over as a deterrent for others, so that they will not
follow in his footsteps. In this regard, Imam Ibn Taymiyyah said:
“People should refrain from praying over the dead person who was
known to openly expose his sins to others as a means to prevent
others from acting like him.” Only the common people should pray
over such a person, because he was still a Muslim, but people of
piety and knowledge should be absent.
What is the ruling of backbiting such people and revealing their
sins? Generally, it is recommended to conceal the sins of others
because the Prophet said: “Whoever covers up the fault of a Muslim,
Allah will cover up his fault(s) on the Day of Resurrection.” [Al-Bukhari
& Muslim]
The exception to this narration applies only for the one who openly
exposes his sins, as the scholars stated; this is because it becomes
recommended for others to expose him to people so that they can
avoid dealing with him. Concealing the faults of such a person could
encourage him to commit more evil.
As for backbiting such people, Imam Ahmad said: “He who openly
exposes his sins to others has no protection against backbiting
(i.e. it is not prohibited to backbite him).” On the other hand,
Imam An-Nawawi stated that it is permitted, but only regarding the
sins he exposed to others and nothing else, so that people can be
warned against him.
Additionally, if he is likely to take heed as a result of people
boycotting him, then people should boycott him by not talking to
him, not visiting him, not responding to him when he salutes with
Salam and so on. This is because exposition of sins is a matter
taken very seriously in Islam.
One is obliged Islamically to respond to invitations to wedding
feasts because the Prophet said: “He who does not respond to and
honour the dinner invitation of a wedding has disobeyed Allah and
His Messenger.” Nonetheless, this obligation does not apply to the
invitations of those who openly expose their sins.
Allah likes bashfulness and likes to conceal people’s faults. He
also likes those who conceal their faults. According to the
consensus of the Islamic scholars, it is impermissible to expose
those whose sins become exposed unintentionally. Why is this the
case? It is because the Prophet commanded us to conceal the faults
of other Muslims saying: “Whoever covers up the fault of a Muslim,
Allah will cover up his fault(s) on the Day of Resurrection, and
whoever exposes the fault of a Muslim, Allah will expose his
faults.” [Ibn Maajah] This is because such acts spread evil within
the community.
It is, however, recommended to expose those who are known to be
indifferent and who openly expose their sins, because concealing
their matter could make them dare to do more and transgress other
people’s rights.
This of course is regarding sins that have been committed in the
past, but if one is to witness a sin being committed in front of
him, then he must do his utmost to prevent it from taking place,
because the Prophet said, as reported by Abu Sa‘eed Al-Khudri :
“Whoever amongst you sees an evil must change it with his hand; if
he is unable to do so, then with his tongue; and if he is unable to
do so, then with his heart - and that is the weakest form of faith.”
[Muslim]
As stated earlier, it is recommended to cover the faults of others,
but the Islamic scholars have exempted from this recommendation the
following categories of people: Those who are within the chain of
narrators in Prophetic narrations; those who bear witness in front
of judges in order to preserve or uphold the rights of others; those
who are candidates for being in charge of charities, endowments, the
property of orphans, and things of the sort. This is because nobody
is allowed to conceal the faults and sins of such people due to
their sins being detrimental to people’s rights. However, one should
limit the exposure to the relevant authorities.
The Prophet once asked his companions: “Is there any one of you who,
when wishing to have sexual intercourse with his wife, goes into the
room, closes the door, and envelops himself?” They replied: “Yes.”
Then, he asked: “Is there any one of you who later sits with his
friends and informs them about what occurred between him and his
wife?” His Companions remained silent. After this, he turned towards
his female companions and asked the same questions, and so one of
them stood up and said: “O Messenger of Allah! I swear by Allah that
both the men and the women disclose what takes place in their
bedrooms to others.” Upon hearing this, the Prophet said: “The
similitude of those who do this is like that of a male and female
devil who meet on the road and have sexual intercourse publicly,
while others are watching them.” [Ahmad]
Allah hates those who talk about this matter, even if done lawfully
between a man and his wife. It is because it is something that
entices people to immorality and moves their desires that it was
ruled as prohibited by Allah. Even if one was only to mention that
he slept with his wife, it is still prohibited and considered lack
of dignity.
A look around us will reveal how widespread the phenomenon of openly
exposing sins has become, and how common it is amongst people.
Anyone who puts a sticker or picture that contains any type of
immorality or debauchery, of any kind, on his car or elsewhere,
while knowing that it is prohibited and while people can see it, is
included in the category of people who openly expose sin.
Many people have fallen into this, openly exposing sins despite the
dangerous warning in the prophetic narration with which we started,
where the Prophet said: “Every member of my nation will be forgiven,
except those who expose their wrongdoings.” How would the case of
the one who is not forgiven be? We ask Allah to protect us.
Some people play music and raise the volume so that the speakers
bellow out the sound, then they roll down the car window, thus
spreading this sin among people. Some people dance in front of
everyone, openly, in the streets and on beaches. Women go to the
markets without Hijab so that everyone can see their legs, arms and
hair, and they walk in front of men exposing their immorality and
dissolute behaviour. Advertisements for parties that contain
dancing, music and immorality are everywhere. All these things and
other grave matters are being openly propagated, and it is our
responsibility to fight this phenomenon.
Doctors and other professions are exposed to certain secrets that
people have, and thus it is prohibited for them to expose these
unless what is exposed has a general benefit for the Muslim
community, or if there is a harm that could afflict it. One could
use general terms and not mention a specific name in order to warn
others, unless it is not possible except by declaring the name, in
which case one is obliged to disclose it.
One of the most important things to conceal is what takes place
between a man and his wife during sexual intercourse. Abu Sa‘eed Al-Khudri
reported: “The Messenger of Allah said: “The most evil of people to
Allah on the Day of Resurrection will be the man who consorts with
his wife and then publicises her secret.”” [Muslim]
Once, a man came to the Prophet and said: “I have committed a sin,
so apply its penal law to me” but the Prophet ignored him and turned
the other way, as an indication that one should not request that
penal laws be applied to him when he sins secretly, and that
repentance would suffice him.
Concealing sins is necessary to prevent immorality from spreading
within the community, because its spread attracts more of it;
therefore, those who spread immorality through the news, media,
parties, magazines and the like will face a grievous punishment.
It is not recommended that one exposes himself to the authorities if
he commits a sin that results from his natural weakness, rather, he
should repent and conceal his matter and not inform anyone about it,
unless it is to receive advice or an Islamic ruling, as mentioned
above.
Allah likes bashfulness and likes to conceal people’s faults. He
also likes those who conceal their faults. According to the
consensus of the Islamic scholars, it is impermissible to expose
those whose sins become exposed unintentionally. Why is this the
case? It is because the Prophet commanded us to conceal the faults
of other Muslims saying: “Whoever covers up the fault of a Muslim,
Allah will cover up his fault(s) on the Day of Resurrection, and
whoever exposes the fault of a Muslim, Allah will expose his
faults.” [Ibn Majah] This is because such acts spread evil within
the community.
Courtesy: Islamweb
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