TASATTUR - تستر

 

Derived from the same root of satr (ستر ). One of the names of Allah, As-Sattar الستار , which means The Concealer or Veiler, One Who conceals the sins is also derived from the same root.

Literally: A being or becoming veiled. Curtained. Hidden. Shrouded; concealment. To cover. To veil. To drape. To conceal one's self. Veiling.

In Sharî’ah: For men and women, not showing the prohibited parts of their bodies to non-mahrams who are specified in the Qur’an.

(Please refer to The 24th Flash-The Risale on Tasattur and The Compilation of Tasattur)

 

“Seventh Subtle Point: The Sunnah as-Saniyyah is adab. There is no matter of it, beneath which a nûr and adab, is not to be found! Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm decreed اَدَّبَنِى رَبِّى فَاَحْسَنَ تَاْدِيبِى , that is: "My Rabb bestowed me adab beautifully and instructed me of the adab."

Yes, one who pays attention to the Prophet's biography and knows the Sunnah as-Saniyyah certainly understands that Janâb-i Haqq gathered together all the varieties of adab in His beloved (Habib). One who abandons his Sunnah as-Saniyyah abandons adab. He verifies the rule,1 بِى اَدَبْ مَحْرُومْ بَاشَدْ اَزْ لُطْفِ رَبْ and falls into a destructive situation without adab.

Question: How can there be adab in the face of Al-‘Allâm ul-Ghuyûb, Who sees and knows everything and from Whom nothing can be hidden? Situations that cause shame cannot be concealed from Him. One sort of adab is tasattur, it is veiling the states which are a cause to be loathed. There can be no tasattur before Al-‘Allâm ul-Ghuyûb.

The Answer:

Firstly: Just as As-Sâni’ Zuljalâl wants to show His art beautiful by giving it complete importance and He veils loathed things, and He attracts attention to His ni’mahs through adorning them. So too, He wants to show His creatures and ‘abds as beautiful to other conscious beings. Their appearing in ugly situations is a sort of rebellion against His Names like Jamîl, Muzayyin, Latîf and Hakîm, and is contrary to adab. Thus, the adab in the Sunnah as-Saniyyah is to assume a state of pure adab within the bounds of As-Sâni’ Zuljalâl's Names.

Secondly: Just as a doctor, in the point of being a doctor, examines the most private member of a non-mahram, and if there is a necessity, it is shown to him. It is not said to be contrary to adab. Rather, it is said that the adab of medicine requires this. But that doctor cannot look to those non-mahrams through the title of manhood, or under the name of the preacher or through the attribute of Hoja. Adab cannot issue a fatwa about its being shown. To show him in that aspect is the lack of hayâ.

In the same way, As-Sâni’ Zuljalâl has numerous Names. Each Name has a different manifestation. For example, just as the Name of Ghaffâr requires the existence of sins and the Name of Sattâr, the existence of faults, so too, the Name of Jamîl does not wish to see ugliness. Names pertaining to beauty (Jamâl) and perfection (Kamâl) like Latîf, Karîm, Hakîm and Rahîm require that beings be in the most beautiful form and best among the possible situations. And as for those Names pertaining to beauty (Jamâl) and perfection (Kamâl), they want to display their beauties in the view of Malâikah, rûh beings, jinn and man through the beautiful condition and fine adab of beings.

Thus, the âdâb in the Sunnah as-Saniyyah are the signs of this elevated âdâb, and its principles and samples.”  The Eleventh Flash - Seventh Subtle Point