TO SIN IN public is not the same as to sin in private.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘All of my ummah will be forgiven except those who sin openly. It is a part of sinning openly when a man does something at night, then the following morning when Allah has concealed his sin, he says: ‘O So and so, I did such and such last night,’ when all night his Lord has concealed him and the next morning, he uncovers what Allah had concealed.’ (al-Bukhari).
Speaking about your sins, flaunting them, and joking about them openly in front of your friends and family is forbidden and is a major sin.
Why?
Because the sin of the individual done in private is oppression on that person alone and is between Allah and him. But to sin publicly is one of the means to spread immorality among the Muslims and in society at large, encouraging evil and tempting others to do similar things. This harms more than just the individual. It harms everyone by making evil acceptable. We just have to contrast people’s behaviours in liberal societies versus the Muslim world, and the decay of our own Islamic values when liberalism is allowed into our societies to see the corruption that it leads to.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever institutes a good practice in Islam will have its reward and the reward of whoever acts upon it without diminishing their rewards at all. Whoever institutes an evil practice in Islam will have its sin and the sin of those who act upon it without diminishing their sins at all.” (Muslim)
Openly sinning or publicising one’s sins implies that one does not take sin seriously, considers sin as insignificant and is shameless. Indeed, the sinner only damages his own reputation and opens his honour to the disparagement of others.
So each person should be vigilant of what he commits and turn to Allah who is ever forgiving.
۞ قُلْ يَـٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
Say: ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.’ (az-Zumar 53)
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