Is it better for one who has committed a sin to cover it up and repent, or to disclose it to the ruler?

Question : Honorable Shaykh, a questioner says: If a Muslim commits one of the major sins for which a fixed punishment (hadd) is prescribed, in a land where the limits of Allah are not applied, and he wants the hadd to be carried out against him, what should he do? Is carrying out the hadd a condition for the acceptance of repentance, or is it a worldly punishment? He has repented to Allah and feels remorse, and he wants the hadd to be applied to him?

Answer : What a person should do when he commits a sin and Allah covers it for him is to remain under Allah’s cover and not try to bring the matter to the attention of the authorities in order to have the hadd carried out. Indeed, if a person repents to Allah with sincere repentance, his state may be better than it was before. However, if he brings his matter to the one in authority, there is no blame on him, because Ma‘iz ibn Malik brought his matter to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and confessed that he had committed unlawful sexual intercourse (zina), until the hadd was carried out against him.