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Is it permissible to share a bad clip on WhatsApp to report its owner with the aim of informing the authorities about him, and does keeping silent about that encourage immorality and immoral people?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The general rule is to conceal the sins of a Muslim who commits a forbidden act, and to admonish him privately if he is not openly defiant. This is based on the story of Ma'iz and the Prophet's (peace be upon him) statement to Hazzal: "O Hazzal, had you covered him with your cloak, it would have been better for you." It is also recommended not to bear witness to hudud punishments (fixed punishments) that do not involve the rights of a human being, such as the hadd for adultery or theft, due to the command to conceal a Muslim's sins. However, for someone who openly commits disobedience, it is not recommended to conceal his sin. Rather, it is legislated to inform those in authority who can deter him, and this is not considered backbiting because the one who openly commits فسق (transgression) does not mind being mentioned in connection with it.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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