A Muslim who falls into a sin is not told to announce it. He is told to keep it covered, to repent quietly, and to cover the faults of his brother the same way. Concealment, called as-satr [concealment, covering a fault so it is not spread], runs through the books as a duty and as a hope: the one who covers others is promised that Allah will cover him. This page gathers that teaching from the chapter the scholars gave it, the chapter on covering the faults of the Muslims in Imam an-Nawawi’s Riyad as-Salihin and Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen’s explanation of it, with the two tafsirs on the verse that heads the chapter.
Two fences stand around everything that follows, and both are the books’ own. Concealment is never taught as a cover for harming people: the same chapter that commands covering a brother’s fault refuses covering to the one whose wrong harms others, and sends his matter to the authorities instead. And concealment never means leaving a wrong alone: the one who sees a fault counsels the one who did it, privately first. This page states the teaching in general, exactly as the books state it. It names no person and judges no one. The other side of the subject, the one who sins openly and boasts about it, is treated on the page Leaving Islam and Taking Pride in Disbelief, linked below; this page does not repeat it.
Cover Your Brother’s Faults
Imam an-Nawawi gave one of the chapters of Riyad as-Salihin to this subject alone, the chapter on covering the secrets of the Muslims and forbidding their spread, and he headed it with Allah’s words:
“Verily, those who like that (the crime of) illegal sexual intercourse should be propagated among those who believe, they will have a painful torment in this world and in the Hereafter” [An-Noor: 19]
Allah’s words in Surah an-Noor (24), verse 19, as printed at the head of the chapter in Riyad as-Salihin (Explanation of Riyad as-Salihin, Vol. 3, printed p. 19).
Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen explains that the secrets of the chapter heading are the hidden ones: “The implied secrets are faults, bad characters and deeds.” Faults belong to being human, and that is where the duty starts:
“If inadequacy, deficiency and flaws are parts of the innate nature of man, then a Muslim’s obligation to his brother is to cover his faults and not spread them except it becomes inevitable. However, there is no blame on him if necessity calls for disclosure; otherwise, the utmost priority is for him to conceal the errors of his brother.”
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen, Explanation of Riyad as-Salihin, Vol. 3, on the chapter “Covering faults of the muslims” (printed p. 20).
Covering does not mean silence toward the one who sinned. The Shaykh gives the shape of it with a case from trade. Counsel comes first, and telling people comes only when counsel has failed and others would be harmed:
“If you notice someone lying and engaging in deception in his business transactions, do not spread that among the populace; rather, counsel him and cover him. If you achieve success and he is guided, and he forsakes his previous ways, of course this is the desired result. Otherwise, it becomes a duty on you to explain his affairs to people that he may not beguile them.”
Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen, Explanation of Riyad as-Salihin, Vol. 3 (printed p. 20).
And where there is no need and no greater good on the other side, the ruling of the chapter is not a close call:
“So, in as much as concealment is plausible, and there is no pressing need or greater benefit in exposing your brother, you should shield him and not disclose his faults.”
Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen, Explanation of Riyad as-Salihin, Vol. 3 (printed pp. 20-21).
Allah Covers the One Who Covers Others
The chapter’s first hadeeth [a report of what the Prophet ﷺ said or did] states the return that covering earns:
“Allah will cover up on the Day of Resurrection the defects (faults) of the one who covers up the faults of the others in this world.”
The Prophet ﷺ, reported by Abu Hurairah and recorded by Muslim; Hadeeth 240 of Riyad as-Salihin, as printed in the Explanation of Riyad as-Salihin, Vol. 3 (printed p. 30).
Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen then sets out the measure of the duty. Concealing is weighed by what it protects and what it would allow, and it is not one ruling for every case:
“As-Satru means concealment. We have earlier stated that concealing fault is neither praiseworthy nor blameworthy in every circumstances. There are two forms of concealment: The First form: Covering up a man in need of concealment; he is not known with evil and transgression. It is necessary to cover up such person, counsel him and explain his mistake to him. This is the praiseworthy concealment. The Second form: Covering up a reckless and heedless person in matters involving grave transgression against the slaves of Allah. He should not be protected; rather, the appropriate step is to give details of his dealings to the authorities so they may prevent his evil ways and serve as an exemplary punishment to others.”
Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen, Explanation of Riyad as-Salihin, Vol. 3, on Hadeeth 240 (printed p. 30).
So the covering that Allah rewards is the covering of a man who is not known for evil, joined to private counsel. The man whose wrongs run against people is not covered at all. And between the two, the Shaykh leaves the balance stated plainly:
“Hence, concealment is considered with its attendant benefits; it is appropriate if there is any benefit in it, but disclosure is better if there is a greater benefit in that. However, concealment is a better option if one cannot decide between the two.”
Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen, Explanation of Riyad as-Salihin, Vol. 3, on Hadeeth 240 (printed p. 30).
Conceal Your Own Sin, and Repent Quietly
What a Muslim owes his brother, he owes himself first. The chapter’s second hadeeth, Hadeeth 241, teaches that everyone of this nation will be forgiven except the one who exposes his own wrongdoing: the man who sins at night, while Allah has covered him, then wakes and tells people what he did, tearing away the cover Allah gave him. That hadeeth and its explanation are carried in full on the page Leaving Islam and Taking Pride in Disbelief, and are not repeated here. What belongs to this page is how Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen closes that explanation, with the duty of the one who has sinned and kept it covered:
“The summary is that one should conceal himself with the shield of Allah – the Mighty and Sublime – and be grateful to Him for the pardon. Likewise, he should secretly turn in repentance to his Lord for the sins he has committed.”
Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen, Explanation of Riyad as-Salihin, Vol. 3, closing his explanation of Hadeeth 241 (printed p. 33).
Concealing your own sin, then, is not hiding while carrying on. In the Shaykh’s summary it stands between two things: gratitude to Allah for the cover, and secret repentance to Him for the sin. The cover is kept, and the sin is left.
Hating That Sin Be Spread
The verse at the head of the chapter cuts deeper than the act of spreading. It warns the one who merely loves that indecency be spread. Ibn Kathir, in his tafsir on the verse, treats the warning as discipline aimed at the tongue that passes evil on:
“This is a third instance of discipline directed at those who hear evil talk, believe it to some extent, and start to spread it; they should not spread such talk or pass it on to others.”
Ibn Kathir, Tafsir Ibn Kathir, on Surah an-Noor (24), verse 19.
He explains the liking itself: the ones warned are “those who like to see evil talk about them (the believers) appear”. And he records from Thawban that the Prophet ﷺ joined the warning to the one who goes looking for what Allah has kept hidden:
“Do not annoy the servants of Allah, nor abuse them, nor seek their hidden shortcomings. Whoever seeks out the faults of his Muslim brother, Allah will expose his faults and degrade him, even if he is hiding in his house.”
The Prophet ﷺ, from Thawban, recorded by Imam Ahmad and quoted by Ibn Kathir in his Tafsir on Surah an-Noor (24), verse 19.
Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen, on the same verse at the head of the chapter, separates the love of spreading into its two forms. The first is loving the sin itself spread through the community:
“The First Meaning: That it is desired that the crime of illegal sexual intercourse be propagated within the Muslim community. An example of that are those who spread destructive movies and lewd and salacious tabloids.”
Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen, Explanation of Riyad as-Salihin, Vol. 3 (printed p. 21).
The second is smaller, and closer to everyday talk: loving that a fault be spread about one person:
“The Second Meaning: That it is loved that an evil be spread about a specific person, not the entire Muslim community. This also leads to a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter.”
Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen, Explanation of Riyad as-Salihin, Vol. 3 (printed p. 21).
As-Sa’di, on the same verse, points out that the warning lands on the liking even where nothing was done: “It is the same whether the immoral act is actually committed or not.” And he gives the reason the door is shut so firmly. It is protection, not harshness:
“All of this is by the mercy of Allah towards His believing slaves, and in order to protect their honour, as He protected their lives and wealth. Allah enjoined them to have a sincere relationship with one another, and instructed them that one of them should love for his brother what he loves for himself, and hate for his brother what he hates for himself.”
Abdur Rahman as-Sa’di, Tafsir as-Sa’di, on Surah an-Noor (24), verse 19 (Vol. 6, printed p. 393).
So, Why Does a Muslim Conceal His Sins?
Gathering the page together:
- Because covering a brother’s faults is a duty laid on him: flaws are part of being human, and the utmost priority is to conceal his brother’s errors, not spread them (Ibn Uthaymeen, on the chapter).
- Because covering is joined to counsel, not to silence: he advises the one who sinned in private, and only speaks openly when counsel has failed and people would be harmed (Ibn Uthaymeen, printed p. 20).
- Because Allah has promised the return: the one who covers the faults of others in this world, Allah will cover his faults on the Day of Resurrection (the Prophet ﷺ, Hadeeth 240; Muslim).
- Because the covering has limits the books themselves set: a man not known for evil is covered and counselled; the reckless one whose wrongs harm people is not protected, and his matter goes to the authorities (Ibn Uthaymeen, on Hadeeth 240).
- Because his own sin calls for the same cover, kept with gratitude and left with quiet repentance, not torn open by his own tongue (Ibn Uthaymeen, closing Hadeeth 241).
- Because loving that indecency be spread, about the community or about one person, carries a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter, whether the act was committed or not (24:19; Ibn Uthaymeen; as-Sa’di).
- Because seeking out a brother’s hidden faults reverses the promise: Allah exposes the faults of the one who hunts for them (the Prophet ﷺ, from Thawban, in Tafsir Ibn Kathir).
- And because the whole command is mercy: Allah protects the honour of His believing slaves as He protected their lives and their wealth, and teaches each of them to love for his brother what he loves for himself (as-Sa’di, on 24:19).
So concealment is not shame hiding in a corner. It is a duty toward a brother, a hope toward Allah, and a guard over one’s own tongue, and it stands next to repentance, not instead of it. I ask Allah to cover my faults and the reader’s, in this world and the Hereafter, and to make us among those who cover others. Whoever wants the fuller treatment will find it in the chapter on covering the faults of the Muslims in Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen’s Explanation of Riyad as-Salihin, Vol. 3, and in the tafsirs of as-Sa’di and Ibn Kathir on Surah an-Noor, verse 19.
Further Reading
- Leaving Islam and Taking Pride in Disbelief: the other side of this subject: the one who sins openly and boasts about it, and the one who leaves the religion and glories in it.
- Does Allah Forgive Every Sin?: whether Allah forgives every sin, including the major sins and shirk, for the one who turns back.
- Repentance (Tawbah): what repentance is, its five conditions, and when it is no longer accepted, from Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen’s explanation of Riyad as-Salihin.
- What Is Istighfar? Seeking Allah’s Forgiveness and Its Virtue: what seeking forgiveness is, and what Allah has promised the one who holds fast to it.
- What Do Sins Do to a Person?: what sins work on the heart, on provision and blessing, and on a person’s standing, in the books’ own words.
References
- Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen, Explanation of Riyad as-Salihin (Sharh Riyaad as-Saaliheen), Vol. 3. Dar-us-Salam, 2018; ISBN 978-603-500-417-6; translated by Abu Naasir Ibrahim Abdur-Rauf and Abu Abdil-Barr Muhammad Yaqeen. Used for: the chapter “Covering faults of the muslims”: the verse at its head and the opening commentary (printed pp. 19-21), Hadeeth 240 and its commentary (printed p. 30), and the close of the commentary on Hadeeth 241 (printed p. 33).
- Abdur Rahman as-Sa’di, Tafsir as-Sa’di, Vol. 6. International Islamic Publishing House, English Edition 1, 2018; translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab. Used for: an-Noor (24), verse 19 (printed p. 393).
- Ibn Kathir, Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged), the ten-volume set. Used for: an-Noor (24), verse 19. The held copy prints no page folios for this passage; the location is by surah and verse.
✓ Verified 2026-10-24 against the sources named in References above: every quotation on this page was checked against Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen’s Explanation of Riyad as-Salihin, Vol. 3, Tafsir as-Sa’di, Vol. 6, and the Abridged Tafsir Ibn Kathir set.