It is from the Sunnah of the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) 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, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: “The Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) 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 Allah Himself.” [Al-Bukhari & Muslim]


Those who openly expose their sins to others will be deprived from the forgiveness of Allah. Imaam An-Nawawi  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him 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  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) 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-Haakim]


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  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ). Thus, the one who openly exposes his disobedience is expressing indifference regarding the legislation of Allah, the rank of His Messenger  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) 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 Ramadan during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ). The man then went and informed the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) 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  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) 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  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  them 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  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him 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. Imaam Maalik  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him was 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  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  them 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  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  them 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, Imaam Ibn Taymiyyah  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him 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  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) 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, Imaam Ahmad  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him 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, Imaam An-Nawawi  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him 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 Salaam 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  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) 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  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) 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  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) said, as reported by Abu Sa`eed Al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him: “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  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) 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  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) 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  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) 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  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) 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  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) 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, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: “The Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) 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  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) and said: “I have committed a sin, so apply its penal law to me” but the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) 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  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) 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.