What is the advice for one who is lax in sins, citing the hadith: “All my Ummah is forgiven except those who commit sins openly” - Salih

Question:
May Allah reward you. Your Eminence, father, the questioner says: Some people, when you advise them to repent from a sin, argue with the hadith in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: They say, "As long as I do not commit the sin openly, there is no harm on me." Is their argument valid?

Answer:
His argument is invalid, because Allah has commanded you to obey Him in secret and in public, and to abandon sin in secret and in public. But the hadith means that the one who commits sins openly is not left alone; rather, he is taken to account, his sin is denounced, and he is disciplined. As for the one who keeps it to himself and conceals it, he is not investigated.
He is not investigated. Yes, we have not been commanded to investigate people regarding what they do in secret, except if they are overflowing with evil and plotting evil. In that case, it is necessary to expose them and expose their plots, and it is necessary to destroy their means. But if a person has no habit or prior record, and he merely fell into some minor mistakes and did not display his sin, then he is not pursued. Rather, he is advised, admonished, and his matter is kept secret; he is not made a public spectacle among the people.