Satr

All praise and thanks be to Almighty Allah and peace and blessings be upon His Apostle Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets.

How many houses are ruined because of unveiling their private matters and concerns! How many problems are caused due to revealing a word or secret that should have been kept! How many wounds are in the hearts because some people have not kept their entrusted secrets! How many miseries happened to people after their privacy is uncovered!

Covering up the shortcomings and faults of people is an excellent manner. It means to cover people’s sins and private matters as long as it leads to goodness and not to unveil them to ruin their lives. That is why this quality is very much praised by Almighty Allah. On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will give a matching reward to that man who has such a quality, which means that Allah will forgive his sins and will not call him to account for his sins. If at all He will do so, He will not do it publicly so that he is not embarrassed before others.

The Meaning of Satr:

Satr in Arabic means to cover, veil and shelter people’s faults and disgraces.

The Status of Satr:

Satr is an attribute of Almighty Allah:

Allah loves covering and sheltering people’s faults and shortcomings and He is the Shelterer, Protector and Coverer. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him) said: “Allah is modest and covering. He loves modesty and privacy.” [Abu Daawood, An-Nasaa’i, Al-Bayhaqi, Ahmad]

On the other hand, Allah does not love those who flaunts with their sins. Whoever deliberately flaunts his sin angers his Lord, Who will not then cover him. Whoever deliberately conceals his sin out of shame before his Lord and before people, Allah will bless him by concealing it. The Prophet (Peace Be upon Him) said: “The believer will come near (his Lord) till his Lord covers him with His screen and makes him confess his sins. (Allah will ask him), ‘Do you know (that you did) ‘such-and-such sin?” He will say twice, ‘Yes, I do.’ Then Allah will say, ‘I concealed it in the world and I forgive it for you today.’ Then the record of his good deeds will be folded up. As for the others, or the disbelievers, it will be announced publicly before the witnesses: ‘These are ones who lied against their Lord.” [Reported by Bukhari]

The Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him) said: “All of my Ummah will be fine except for those who commit sin openly (al-mujahiroon). Part of committing sin openly is when a man does something at night and Allah conceals it, but in the morning he says, ‘O So-and-so, last night I did such and such.’ His Lord had covered his sin all night, but in the morning he removed the cover of Allah.” (Narrated by al-Bukhari, 5721; Muslim, 2990)

Satr is a Trait in the Prophets and the Righteous People:

Almighty Allah loves the quality of satr in humans. It is a trait in the characters of prophets, apostles, and their followers to the Day of Judgment. Narrated Abu Huraira that the Prophet (Peace Be upon Him) said: “(The Prophet) Moses was a shy person and used to cover his body completely because of his extensive shyness.” [Reported by Bukhari]

The Reward of Satr in the Hereafter is Great:

The reward of the believer who conceals the faults or mistakes of his fellow Muslim is far greater than the reward in the present life. Almighty Allah will shelter him in the most difficult situation in the Hereafter, the Muslim will need shelter, covering and mercy from his Lord on the Day of Judgment when all creatures face Allah to be rewarded or punished based on their record of deeds.

It was related on the authority of Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (Peace Be upon Him) said: “Whosoever relieves from a believer some grief pertaining to this world, Allah will relieve from him some grief pertaining to the Hereafter. Whosoever alleviates the difficulties of a needy person who cannot pay his debt, Allah will alleviate his difficulties in both this world and the Hereafter. Whosoever conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allah will conceal his faults in this world and the Hereafter. Allah will aid a servant (of His) so long as the servant aids his brother. Whosoever follows a path to seek knowledge therein, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise. No people gather together in one of the houses of Allah, reciting the Book of Allah and studying it among themselves, except that tranquility descends upon them, mercy covers them, the angels surround them, and Allah makes mention of them amongst those who are in His presence. Whosoever is slowed down by his deeds will not be hastened forward by his lineage.” [Reported by Bukhari]