In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
The story of Yusuf, peace be upon him, with the wife of al-Aziz.
“O Joseph! Turn away from this, and thou, (O woman), ask forgiveness for thy sin. Lo! thou art of the faulty.” (12:29)
After al-Aziz became certain that his wife had attempted to seduce Yusuf, peace be upon him,
he asked Yusuf to conceal the matter and not expose him,
saying to him: "Yusuf, disregard this."
Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"He was saying: Refrain from mentioning what she did toward you in trying to seduce you,
and do not speak of it to anyone."
Indeed, the principle of concealing the faults of the wrongdoer is a legitimate legal principle intended to reform both the individual and society.
For this reason, the Shariah has come urging the concealment of a Muslim's faults.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"And whoever conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allah will conceal his faults on the Day of Resurrection."
He, peace and blessings be upon him, also said:
"Whoever conceals the faults of a Muslim in this world, Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, will conceal his faults in this world and the Hereafter."
When the Prophet, peace be upon him, carried out the prescribed punishment of stoning upon Ma'iz after he had committed adultery,
and Ma'iz felt the pain of the stoning, he fled.
Hazzal then encountered him and struck him with an object he had, killing him.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, denounced his action.
Nu'aym ibn Hazzal al-Aslami relates
that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said regarding Ma'iz when he fled:
"Why did you not let him be? Perhaps he would have repented and Allah would have accepted his repentance."
And the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"O Hazzal, had you concealed him with your garment, it would have been better for you than what you did."
It was narrated by al-Bayhaqi in *al-Sunan al-Kubra*.
The Companions applied this principle practically during the lifetime of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
An example of this is what Abu al-Yusr narrated:
He said: "A woman came to me to purchase dates,
so I told her, 'Inside the house there are dates better than these.'
She entered the house with me,
and I leaned toward her and kissed her.
I then went to Abu Bakr and mentioned that to him.
He said, 'Conceal your fault, repent,
and tell no one.'
But I could not bear it,
so I went to 'Umar and mentioned it to him.
He said, 'Conceal your fault, repent,
and tell no one.'
But I could not bear it,
so I went to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and mentioned it to him.
He said, 'Is this how you treat the family of a warrior fighting in the cause of Allah in his absence?'
until the man wished he had not embraced Islam until that very hour,
and until he thought he was certainly among the people of the Fire.
He said: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, kept his head down for a long time,
until Allah revealed to him:
'And establish prayer at the two ends of the day and at the approach of the night...
“Establish worship at the two ends of the day and in some watches of the night. Lo! good deeds annul ill-deeds. This is reminder for the mindful.” (11:114)
That is a reminder for those who remember.'
Abu al-Yusr said:
'I came to him, and the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, recited it to me.'
His companions asked:
'O Messenger of Allah,
is this specifically for him, or for all people generally?'
He replied: 'Rather, it is for all people generally.'"
It was narrated by al-Tirmidhi.
Allah has forbidden Muslims from spreading immorality,
for the Exalted said:
“Lo! those who love that slander should be spread concerning those who believe, theirs will be a painful punishment in the world and the Hereafter. Allah knoweth. Ye know not.” (24:19)
“Lo! those who love that slander should be spread concerning those who believe, theirs will be a painful punishment in the world and the Hereafter. Allah knoweth. Ye know not.” (24:19)
"And Allah knows, while you do not know."
Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"This is a third discipline for whoever hears any foul speech,
and something of it settles in his mind and he speaks of it:
he should not repeat it excessively, nor should he circulate or publicize it."
Some people assume that merely mentioning an incident without naming the individuals involved is permissible,
but in reality, it falls under the scope of spreading immorality among people.
'Abd al-'Aziz al-Tarifi said:
"Spreading immorality is forbidden even if it is true,
such as someone speaking of an obscene incident among people even without naming the parties involved;
it is not lawful for him to do so, even if he is truthful.
For the Shariah did not forbid spreading immorality merely because it is a lie,
but rather forbade it so that souls do not grow lax regarding the gravity and hideousness of what is unlawful;
indeed, speaking of immorality incites desire toward it and trivializes it."
Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from 'Ata' that he said:
"Whoever spreads immorality will incur exemplary punishment, even if he is telling the truth."
The danger of circulating news of immoral acts among people, even when true,
is that it emboldens those who have not committed them to do so;
thus, spreading news of immoral deeds is a cause of societal corruption.
Al-Tahir ibn 'Ashur, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Among the disciplines taught by this verse is that the hallmark of a believer
is that he loves for his fellow believers only what he loves for himself;
just as he would hate for bad news about himself to be circulated,
he is likewise obligated not to love the spread of evil concerning his fellow believers.
Furthermore, the circulation of reports of immorality among the believers—
whether true or false—constitutes moral corruption.
For among the things that deter people from vile acts is their awe and dread of committing them,
and their aversion and distaste toward the bad reputation attached to them;
that is what deflects their minds from even contemplating them,
or gradually drawing near to them,
until they are forgotten and their images are erased from souls.
But when talk of immoral acts becomes widespread among the Ummah,
thoughts are drawn to them, and the impact of hearing about them diminishes;
complacency regarding their occurrence creeps into people's hearts,
and the reports lose their shocking weight upon the ears;
consequently, base souls soon dare to commit them.
In proportion to their repeated occurrence and repeated discussion, they become commonplace.
This is in addition to the harm and distress inflicted upon people by spreading immorality—
harm varying in degree according to the varying truth or falsehood of the reports.
It is for this reason that this sublime discipline was concluded with His words:
'And Allah knows, while you do not know.'
That is, He knows the corrupting consequences inherent in that,
and thus admonishes you so that you may avoid them, while you do not know,
assuming that speaking of such matters entails no harm."
This is similar to His saying:
“When ye welcomed it with your tongues, and uttered with your mouths that whereof ye had no knowledge, ye counted it a trifle. In the sight of Allah it is very great.” (24:15)
A genuine concern for the purity and wholesomeness of society
requires us to spread the culture of concealing the faults of the sinner and the wrongdoer,
in order to block the path against Satan on the one hand,
and open the door of repentance for the sinner on the other.
However, this divine legislation regarding the concealment of the wrongdoer's fault
applies only to one whose sin is not habitual
and who is not accustomed to openly flaunting acts of disobedience.
As for the one notorious for public defiance in sin and spreading corruption on earth,
his actions must be denounced through legitimate legal channels,
and his matter should be brought before the judiciary—
if there is an Islamic judiciary that rules by the law of Allah in his land—
so that the judge may rule against him in accordance with what the pure divine Shariah dictates,
disciplining, reprimanding, or openly carrying out the prescribed legal punishment against him,
so that he may serve as a deterrent to whoever sees him,
causing them to stay far away from such heinous acts.
Ibn Rajab, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"Whoever is upright and not known for committing sins,
if an error or a slip should happen to occur from him,
it is not permissible to expose it, violate his privacy, or speak of it,
because that is prohibited backbiting.
And this is the category concerning which these texts were revealed."
In that regard, Allah Almighty has said:
“Lo! those who love that slander should be spread concerning those who believe, theirs will be a painful punishment in the world and the Hereafter. Allah knoweth. Ye know not.” (24:19)
“Lo! those who love that slander should be spread concerning those who believe, theirs will be a painful punishment in the world and the Hereafter. Allah knoweth. Ye know not.” (24:19)
What is meant is:
spreading immorality concerning the discreet believer regarding a slip he may have made,
or an accusation levied against him while he is innocent of it,
as occurred in the incident of the slander (al-Ifk).
A righteous vizier once said to someone enjoining good:
"Strive to conceal the sinners,
for the public manifestation of their sins brings shame upon the people of Islam,
and the foremost of matters is to conceal shortcomings."
Al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Maghribi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"As for the one notorious for corruption and persistent in it,
it is not recommended to conceal his faults;
rather, his case should be brought before the authorities, provided that no greater harm is feared from doing so.
This is because concealing his faults emboldens him to cause harm, spread corruption, violate sanctities,
and emboldens others to commit the like of his deeds."
All of this concerns concealing a sin that has occurred and concluded.
As for a sin that you witness someone in the very act of committing,
the obligation is to hasten to denounce it
and prevent it, for whoever has the capacity to do so;
it is not permissible to delay this.
If one is incapable, he must refer the matter to the authority,
provided that no greater corruption results from doing so.
Thus, scholars distinguished between one whose soul succumbed to weakness and led him into sin,
and one who is accustomed to it and repeats it habitually:
the former's fault is to be concealed,
whereas the latter's is not;
rather, his case is to be dealt with in accordance with the commands of the divine Shariah.
The request of al-Aziz for Yusuf, peace be upon him, to conceal the matter,
even if it aligns with what the prophets call to in their methodology of calling to Allah,
was flawed in terms of how al-Aziz handled the underlying problem.
The issue was far greater than merely having Yusuf remain silent and not leak the news;
the matter pertained to addressing a moral crime concerning honor.
Therefore, asking Yusuf to cover up what had happened
while leaving the status quo unchanged
is not considered a sound remedy;
rather, it borders on complacency with sin,
or a lack of protective jealousy over one's honor,
or perhaps even worse than that.
In this lies a lesson for us in how we address societal developments in our present day:
there are those who have gone beyond the stage of merely loving that immorality be spread,
to the stage of actively spreading immorality itself, facilitating it,
and calling to it through mixed gatherings
and licentious concerts
where young men and women mingle without modesty,
alongside explicit calls to wanton display and unveiling,
the abolition of every manifestation of chastity brought by the Shariah,
the forbidding of what is right,
and the punishing of those who forbid what is wrong.
Here, one does not say: "Yusuf, disregard this."
Here, one says what al-Tahir ibn 'Ashur, may Allah have mercy on him, stated:
He said: "He placed the threat upon merely loving the spread of immorality among the believers
to serve as a warning that loving such a thing warrants punishment,
because loving it indicates malicious intent toward the believers.
It is the nature of such an inner disposition that its bearer will not wait long
before committing what he loves,
or rejoicing when it is committed by others.
'Loving' here is a metonymy for being poised to bring about what one wishes to occur,
and the present-tense verb was used to indicate persistence."
Do we then recognize those with malicious intent and corrupt inner dispositions in our societies,
so that we may beware of them and beware of their deeds?
To be continued;
we shall resume in our next gathering, if Allah wills,
the story of Yusuf with the wife of al-Aziz.