He says: If a person commits a sin in the early part of his life, and Allah has concealed it, and no one has become aware of it except Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and then Allah grants him repentance
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The questioner : He says: If a person commits a sin in the early part of his life, and Allah has concealed it, and no one has become aware of it except Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and then Allah grants him repentance and he repents, is it permissible for him to inform people of that sin which he committed in the early part of his life, or not? Knowing that some people say, "By Allah, teach me what sins you have committed in your life," and they also say, "Whoever informs about his sin, Allah forgives him." Is this statement correct or not?
The Shaykh : This question actually contains three questions.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The first question is: Is it permissible for one who has committed a sin and Allah has concealed it to inform others about it?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The answer is: No, it is not permissible for one who has committed a sin and repented from it to inform others about it, because this is uncovering the concealment of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and it is contrary to well-being. It has come in the hadith:Sahih al-Bukhari 6069 and they are those who sin and then tell... what they have not sinned. Yes, if the sin carries a fixed punishment (hadd) and a penalty, and the person wants to inform the one in authority to purify himself from this sin or from this penalty, then there is no harm in that, although it is better that he remain concealed by the concealment of Allah. But if the sin is not of this kind, it is not permissible for a person to talk about it in front of people, because of the injustice he does to himself and the opening of the door to negligence regarding it in the eyes of others.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : As for the second question, it is when someone asks him to inform him about what he did of sin, saying, "By Allah, tell me what you did." This is not permissible for a person to put anyone in a difficult position with such a question.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And to say, "You must tell me about such and such," this is contrary to the beauty of Islam. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Ibn Majah 3976Da’if (Darussalam).
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : In this case, you are not obligated to answer him, even if he asks you by Allah (Mighty and Majestic), you are not obligated to answer him in this, because of the harm it brings to you and because of the injustice he does to you. And Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, does not love the wrongdoers and does not love injustice, so it is not permissible for him to ask you this question. And as for the third question.
The questioner : Which.
The Shaykh : Which says in it.
The Shaykh : This question actually contains three questions.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The first question is: Is it permissible for one who has committed a sin and Allah has concealed it to inform others about it?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The answer is: No, it is not permissible for one who has committed a sin and repented from it to inform others about it, because this is uncovering the concealment of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and it is contrary to well-being. It has come in the hadith:
All the sins of my followers will be forgiven except those of the Mujahirin
كل أمتي معافى إلا المجاهرونThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : As for the second question, it is when someone asks him to inform him about what he did of sin, saying, "By Allah, tell me what you did." This is not permissible for a person to put anyone in a difficult position with such a question.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And to say, "You must tell me about such and such," this is contrary to the beauty of Islam. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Part of a person’s goodness in Islam is his leaving alone that which does not concern him.
من حسن إسلام المرء تركه ما لا يعنيهThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : In this case, you are not obligated to answer him, even if he asks you by Allah (Mighty and Majestic), you are not obligated to answer him in this, because of the harm it brings to you and because of the injustice he does to you. And Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, does not love the wrongdoers and does not love injustice, so it is not permissible for him to ask you this question. And as for the third question.
The questioner : Which.
The Shaykh : Which says in it.