BENEFIT: Keeping Secrets

Shaykh Fayṣal Al-Ḥāshidī ḥafidhahullāh mentioned: A secret is something a person is entrusted with, hidden and concealed. It is a trust that must not be betrayed by revealing or spreading it. Whoever has a secret disclosed to him has been entrusted. How excellent is the one who conceals, and how great the loss of the one who exposes a secret entrusted to him! Al-Jāḥidh said: “A secret is made up of dignity and fulfilling the trust. Revealing a secret is from unnecessary speech, and one who speaks unnecessarily is not dignified. Just as someone who is entrusted with money and gives it to someone other than its owner has betrayed the trust, so too is the one entrusted with a secret and discloses it to someone else — he has betrayed the trust.” (Tahdhīb al-Akhlāq, al-Jāḥiẓ, p. 25) In the hadith: «المجالس بالأمانة.» “Gatherings are based on trust.” [Reported by Ahmad in al-Musnad 2/342, graded hasan by al-Albānī in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmi‘, no. 6678] A truly noble person conceals the secret of his companion, even if their closeness fades. A vile person discloses secrets whether in times of satisfaction or anger, love or estrangement. Al-Ghazzī said: “The noble is the one whose affection remains, and who keeps secrets whether connected or cut off. Not noble is he who, if his companion slips, spreads what was entrusted to him.” (Ādāb al-‘Ishrah, al-Ghazzī, p. 23) Experience has shown and days have testified that the noble never tears away a covering nor reveals a secret, even if his friend stumbles or their path changes. The vile one watches for mistakes; if his friend falls, he exposes him; if absent, he mentions him with evil; and if he meets him, he confronts him with his secret. Whoever keeps his inner self pure, fulfills the covenant, guards his tongue, Allah preserves his secrets and conceals him in this world and the Hereafter. Source: https://t.me/faysalalhashidi/125