four witnesses brought by the accuser—even if the act did occur—for he has exposed what Allah loves to keep concealed. As Allah Most High says:

“Indeed, those who love to see immorality spread among the believers will have a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter.” [Surah al-Nūr 19]

In an authentic hadith, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “All of my ummah will be pardoned except those who publicize their sins. One form of publicizing sin is for a man to do something at night, then, when morning comes and Allah has concealed it for him, say, ‘So-and-so, I did such-and-such last night.’ His Lord concealed him through the night, yet in the morning he removes that concealment.”

He also said, “Whoever falls into any of these foul deeds should keep it concealed as Allah has concealed it. For whoever exposes his wrongdoing to us, we shall enforce the Book of Allah upon him.”

In the two Sahīhs, Safwān ibn Muhriz reports that a man asked Ibn ʿUmar, “What did you hear the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, say about the private conversation with Allah?” He replied, “One of you will draw near to his Lord until He covers him with His concealment. He will say, ‘You did such-and-such,’ and he will reply, ‘Yes.’