Concealing Somebody's Shortcoming is Justified When The Effect is Confined to The Man Himself

Aqabah ibn Amir (ra) relates that the Prophet (saws) has said that , "The action of one who conceals the shortcomings of another is as if he saved a girl from being buried alive."

[Mustadrik Hakim]

Explanation : Concealing the shortcoming means not mentioning it to others and not broadcasting or announcing it before all. But ceratin points should be borne in mind in this connection. Concealing somebody's shortcoming is justified when the effect of that shortcoming is confined to the man himself , but if it might conceivably cause harm or injury to others, then it is justified to tell the person to be affected about the shortcoming. The latter action is not only justified but also meritorious provided there is no intent of harming anyone or insulting or degrading him.

For instance someone is in the habit of taking money of others by subterfuge and not returning it or someone is habitual borrower and does not redeem his loans. As in both cases, an unaware person may be taken by surprise and lose his money, he should be informed of the habit of the borrower.

Another instance is of a person who proposes to marry a girl, if the girl's parents wish to know about the prospective suitor, it is justified to tell the truth.

However, in all such cases, the intent should not be of harming anyone in any way. Another instance is of a person who has committed a crime which may harm the society or the community , this information should be made available to proper authorities as it is a meritorious act , if the intent is social reform & not persoanl revenge against the culprit.