Allah's Concealment and Seeking People's Approval
Concealment is from Allah, and seeking people's approval is bankruptcy.
Occasion: Transcription of a Fajr khatira delivered on 9 September 2025 Source: A transcription of a video khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — [Watch the original video on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBgEbBKv2ko)
O Allah, make life an increase for us in every good, and make death a relief for us from every evil. O Allah, do not let us taste the taste of our own selves; keep us firm upon guidance, and mend our brokenness, O Most Merciful of the merciful. O Allah, You are the Subtle, the Loving, the Benevolent, the Merciful; envelop us in Your grace and mercy, and draw Your covering over us in both abodes, O Lord, O Bestower, O Possessor of Majesty and Honour.
The meaning of concealment
We are speaking about the meaning of concealment (al-sitr) from Allah, glorified and exalted be He. It has been said: if people were to see our sins, not a single person would greet us at all. Glory be to Allah, the All-Powerful.
Human nature speaks of itself from time to time. So we ask Allah, blessed and exalted, to draw a covering over us, not to disgrace us either in this world or in the Hereafter, and to keep our feet firm upon guidance.
Seeking approval from people
One of them used to say: glory be to Allah, seeking approval from people is bankruptcy. Sometimes Allah, Mighty and Majestic, lets certain tongues loose upon you, from your relatives and the people around you; this one turns towards you and that one turns away, so that He keeps you with Him alone. And naturally, the human soul becomes attached to people; that is only natural.
Then, in one situation or another, the Lord of the worlds brings you back to Him once more, to set you in the exact place where you ought to be, so that your heart is attached to none but Him, Mighty and Majestic, your aspiration is directed to none but Him, glorified be He, your heart stays upright only upon His path, and your mind is occupied only with His remembrance. That is the state of the chosen ones. Your state is set right only by this, so that you truly become one of the chosen, sincere to Him, glorified and exalted be He.
I ask Allah, the Most High, the All-Powerful, to bring us good, to keep our hearts attached to Him, to draw His covering over us, and not to disgrace us in this world or in the Hereafter. May Allah the Exalted be pleased with you, and may Allah reward you with good.