The Prophets Guidance Against Openly Committing Sin

1) Abdul-Azeez Ibn Abdullah reported that Ibraheem Ibn Saad from Ibn Akhee Ibn Shihaab from Saalim Ibn Abdullah stated: I heard Abu Hurairah (radiallahu 'anhu) say: I heard Allah's Messenger saying: All the sins of my followers will be forgiven except those of the Mujaahireen (those who commit a sin openly or disclose their sins to the people). An example of such disclosure is that a person commits a sin at night and though Allah screens it from the public, then he comes in the morning and says, 'O so and so, I did such-and-such (evil) deed yesterday, though he spent his night screened by his Lord (none knowing about his sin) and in the morning he removes Allahs screen from himself. [Al-Bukhaari # 95 Vol. 8 The Book Of Adab (Good Manners) or #2037 in Summarized Saheeh Al-Bukhaari] 2) Musaddad reported that Abu Awaanah said from Qataadah from Safwaan Ibn Muhriz A man asked Ibn 'Umar what he heard the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) say about An-Najwaa (when a person speaks to himself or to someone else when no others can hear. In this instance it refers to the moment on the Day of Resurrection when each person stand before Allah and his deeds are exposed). He said: One of you comes near to his Rabb until He covers him and asks Did you do such and such? He will reply: Yes. He (Allah) will then ask, You did such-and-such? and he (the person) will reply, Yes and he will admit it and then He (Allah) will say, Verily I covered you in the world and I forgive you now. [Al-Bukhaari] This writer recently had the privilege of hearing a Friday sermon where the Imaam mentioned that he was asked to address the issue of smoking and its ruling in Islam. This Imaam quickly ascertained that although smoking is a great and widespread evil, the greater issue was that of people openly sinning in public. Due to this evil, other sins even greater than public smoking have become commonplace. He then went on to cite the above two hadeeth that we shall also use to highlight this clear and ever present evil. We see in the first hadeeth that Allahs Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) informs us that forgiveness is to be had for the Muslims in general except in the instance of the one who openly announces his or her sin or bidah (religious innovation). This, after Allah had actually kept the sin concealed from the knowledge and vision of others. Such an individual for one thing, demonstrates total ingratitude for Allahs favor either because they have absolutely no consciousness that what they did was a sin, or they have become insensitive to it as an evil due to their committing many sins. This type of person has exposed themselves to having their sin remembered and mentioned by others. For another thing, they may have been seeking to boast and show how bold they are and thus they in effect challenge Allah taaala and disrespect His right of obedience and the rights of the believers whose well being is affected. Finally, it may also be that such a person is attempting to get others to mention their secret sins as well thus encouraging the spread of evil. Such people bring not only blame on themselves but are also deserving of punishment from Allah. Keep in mind that this is regarding the one who merely announced what was done in secret that was previously known only to them and Allah. How about the one who openly commits the sin for all to see? How much more impact does openly committing sin have upon the weak of faith and understanding than the mere mention of a sin that may or may not have really taken place? It is a common ritual for youth to brag about the wrongs they do that they can appear cool in the sight of schoolmates. The worse, or more daring the tale, the better. The same thing actually continues throughout life but on different levels. It may only grow
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worse as they get older because the things which were often merely fantasies of youth, became the realities of adulthood largely because they were made to seem so appealing to them when younger. The Consequences Of Committing Sin Openly Islam considers such public actions or statements as serious evils because of the consequences that stem therefrom. It is the common error of many to consider that their sin affects none but them. This is true however, only when the sin is committed by an individual against themselves and therefore the only one affected is them and the only one to know it is them and Allah the All-Knowing. However, when the person commits a sin against another person or makes their private sin public, the situation is altogether changed. What comes immediately to mind is another statement of the best of men (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam): Whoever initiates in Islam a good practice will reap the reward of that as well as the reward of those who follow him in it afterward without any decrease in the reward of any of them. And whosoever initiates in Islam an evil practice shall bear its burden and that of all those who follow him in it afterward without any decrease in the burden to any of them. [Muslim] The first person who committed a particular evil has that evil to answer for before Allah regarding his self and all those who are affected by it or imitate it in times to come. This is a recurring and accumulative process because the one who later commits that sin due to following someone elses lead will in turn be responsible for misleading those who follow, and so on. So, for example, public smokers put themselves in this degrading position as well as do Muslim women who go out without hijaab, perfumed or beautified, as do those who speak without knowledge, and so many others. They are victims of the spread of evil and immorality as well as its promoters whether they think so or not. Such people are in open defiance of Allah and the sensibilities of the pious believers and striking a terrible example for the impressionable. Of course it is not Muslims who always initiate the sin, but they are not exempt and have less excuse since they have declared faith and recognized Islam as the true way of life. Those people who began the calls to sexual immorality and deviance, open vulgarity, public profanity, pornography, secularism or atheism or any other immoral philosophies or practices, and those who permit, spread or facilitate un-Islamic ideas and practices amongst the Muslims have a heavy burden to bear before Allah as do all their followers, whether Muslims or kuffaar. Covering Sin In order to understand the second hadeeth, we should remember that we are ordered to cover faults, our own as well as others. It is also narrated in Saheeh Al-Bukhaari: Stay far away from the filthy things that Allah has forbidden, but if any commits any of them let him cover it with the covering of Allah. This makes clear that by covering ones sins it is not a license to then go ahead and commit them as one wishes as long as they are secret! On the contrary, we are ordered not to commit sins and to stay away from them and what leads to them. In so many places in the Quraan are we told to avoid evils of all types [See this months Fataawa on Major Sins]. Rather, covering of sins protects the society from bad influences and the spread of evil. The open sinner is subject to punishment in this world and in the Hereafter. Whatever sin Allah covers in this world will not be exposed in the Hereafter but the open sinner has thrown that aside. People become emboldened to commit sin openly when they have lost the sensitivity to sin. This occurs only when one has repeatedly committed sins until they become part of their habits and character. They no longer feel ashamed of the sins nor recognize them as such.
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When they commit them publicly, they openly encourage others to follow. If few are strong enough to stop or directly admonish or chastise the evil doers, societal pressure upon them to conform to good conduct becomes weak, and the rebellious or sinful become emboldened and increasingly more open until after a time their evil becomes accepted and commonplace. The best society of all time was that of Medina in the era of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam). One great difference between then and now is that although people committed sins, they dared not do so openly because such behavior was still not socially acceptable. People actively practiced Islam and it was imbued in their hearts. Even the hypocrites dared not neglect standing with the Muslims in the salaah lest they be uncovered as open hypocrites. How many Muslims today dont even go to the masaajid (mosques) and instead work or play right through the five prayers even when there is nothing to prevent them from attending! What a tremendous evil they perpetuate and encourage and what a sad sight it is to witness even in Muslim lands! Just as bad is that the lack of public consequences for such deeds as well as the silence of those who know better has only worsened this situation. Evil has become acceptable. What The Open Sinner Faces It is confirmed in the authentic hadeeth that the sinful believer who dies upon tawheed will be extracted from the Hellfire after being punished to the extent deserved and purified and then entered into Al-Jannah. [See the Book of Eemaan in Saheeh al-Bukhaari] Of course, Allah may totally forgive the sins of his slave and this is His right. However, one should bear in mind the types of people deserving punishment and are promised to undergo Allahs wrath. At the top of the list is of course the disbeliever (kaafir) who has no hope of salvation. Second is the hypocrite who only feigned belief in this world and is then consigned to the lowest depths of Hellfire. Then there are the sinful believers who are of two main categories. The first main category is the one whose sin is between him and his Rabb and this type is further divided into two sub-categories. First, the ones whose sins were covered in the world and so Allah covers them on Yaum Al-Qiyaamah. Second is the one who makes his sin known thus removing the cover. The second main category is those whose sins are between them and another of the slaves of Allah and these people are divided into two sub-categories as well. First, those whose evil deeds outweigh their good ones and thus they enter the Hellfire and may ultimately be extracted through intercession. The second are those whose good and evil deeds are equal so that they will not enter Al-Jannah until they are justly recompensed. This is all substantiated with evidence from the authentic ahadeeth. Again, Allah ultimately does as he pleases and there are none to obligate Allah except Himself so He does what He wills to His slaves. We ask Allah to protect us from the evils of ourselves, the wickedness of our deeds and the whispers of the Shaitaan. We ask that He cover our sins and forgive us. We ask that He make us sincere and true to Islam and instill in us the determination to reform ourselves and shun wrongdoing. Finally, we pray that the Ummah of Islam awakens as a whole and works hard to become as the best of them are described in the Quraan: You are the best of peoples raised up from among mankind, you order the good and forbid the evil and you believe in Allah. [Aali-Imraan (3) 110]
Reference: Fathul-Baari An Explanation of Saheeh Al-Bukhaari by Al-Imaam Al-Haafidh Ali Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalaani d. 773 A.H.