The Muslim Should Cover and Hide His Own Mistakes



If a Muslim falls into sin, then he is obliged to cover his sin and to refrain from announcing it. He is also obliged to repent to Allah. Zayd Ibn Aslam narrated, "At the time of the Messenger of Allah, a man admitted that he had committed fornication, so the Messenger of Allah asked for a whip. He was brought a broken whip, so he said, 'Better than this.' Then, he was brought a new whip…, he then said, 'Lesser than this.' So he was brought a whip that was used and had thus become soft, and the Messenger ordered that he be whipped with it (a hundred times).

He then said, 'O People! It is time for you to refrain from transgressing Allah 's limits. He who commits some of these filthy acts (such as fornication), let him hide under Allah 's cover for whoever admits what he has committed, we will establish Allah 's Book as regards him (by applying the warranted punishment for this sin)." [Musnad Ahmad]

Further, Abdullah Ibn Masoud related, "A man came to the Prophet and then said, 'O Messenger of Allah! I have mingled with a woman in the far side of al-Medina, and I fulfilled my desire short of actually having sexual intercourse with her. So, here I am, judge me according to what you decide.' Umar Ibn Al-Khattab then said, 'Allah has kept your secret, why did you not keep your secret?" [Sharah Muslim]