TASATTUR - تستر
It is derived from the root word satr (ستر ). One of the names of Allah, As-Sattar الستار , which means the One Who veils and forgives man's faults, 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.
As a term of the Sharî’ah, it refers to men and women, not showing the prohibited parts of their bodies in the way described in the Sharî’ah to non-mahrams who are specified in the Qur’an.
(Please refer to The 24th Flash-The Risale on Tasattur and The Compilation on Tasattur)
Seventh Subtle Point: The Sunnah as-Saniyyah is good manners. There is no matter of it beneath which a nûr and a good manner are not to be found! Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm decreed اَدَّبَنِى رَبِّى فَاَحْسَنَ تَاْدِيبِى , that is: "My Rabb bestowed me good manners (adab) beautifully and instructed me of them."
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 good manners in His beloved (Habib). One, who abandons his Sunnah as-Saniyyah, abandons good manners. He verifies the rule 14 بِى اَدَبْ مَحْرُومْ بَاشَدْ اَزْ لُطْفِ رَبْ and falls into destructive ill manners.
Question: How can there be adab before 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 to veil the states which are a cause of being loathed. There cannot be tasattur before Al-‘Allâm ul-Ghuyûb.
The Answer:
Firstly: Just as, giving it the greatest importance, As-Sâni’ Zuljalâl wants to show His art as beautiful, veils loathsome things and attracts attention to His ni’mahs by 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 kind 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 perfect manners (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 part of a non-mahram, and if there is a necessity, it is shown to him. It is not said that it is contrary to adab. Rather, it is said that the adab of the medicine requires it. But that doctor cannot look to those non-mahrams with the title of being a man, or under the name of the preacher, or the attribute of the hoja. Adab cannot issue a fatwa about its being shown. To show him in that aspect is 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 Ghaffâr requires the existence of sins and the Name Sattâr, the existence of faults, so too, the Name Jamîl does not wish to see ugliness. Names pertaining to His beauty (Jamâl) and perfection (Kamâl) like Latîf, Karîm, Hakîm and Rahîm require beings to be in the most beautiful form and best situation among the possible ones. And as for those Names pertaining to His beauty (Jamâl) and perfection (Kamâl), they want to display their beauty in the view of malâikah, rûh beings, jinn and man through the beautiful conditions and fine manners of beings.
Thus, the âdâb in the Sunnah as-Saniyyah are the signs of this elevated adab and its principles and samples.
The Eleventh Flash - Seventh Subtle Point