O Allah Hide my Sins ..!

It was narrated that in the days that Prophet Musa (as) wandered with Bani Israeel in the desert, an intense drought befell them. Together, they raised their hands towards the heavens praying for the blessed rain to come. Then, to the astonishment of Prophet Musa (as) and all those watching, the few scattered clouds that were in the sky vanished, the heat poured down, and the drought intensified.

It was revealed to Prophet Musa that there was a sinner amongst the tribe of Bani Israeel who had disobeyed Allah (swt) for more than forty years of his life.
“Let him separate himself from the congregation,” Allah (swt) told Musa (as). “Only then shall I shower you all with rain.”

Nabi Musa (as) then called out to the throngs of humanity, “There is a person amongst us who has disobeyed Allah for forty years. Let him separate himself from the congregation and only then shall we be rescued from the drought.”

That man waited, looking left and right, hoping that someone else would step forward, but no one did. Sweat poured forth from his brow and he knew that he was the one. The man knew that if he stayed amongst the congregation all would die of thirst and that if he stepped forward he would be humiliated for all eternity.

He raised his hands with a sincerity he had never known before, with humility he had never tasted, and as tears poured down on both cheeks he said, “O Allah, have mercy on me! O Allah, hide my sins! O Allah, forgive me!”

As Nabi Musa (as) and the people of Bani Israeel waited for the sinner to step forward, the clouds hugged the sky and the rain poured. Musa (as) asked Allah (swt), “O Allah, you blessed us with rain even though the sinner did not come forward.”

And Allah (swt) replied, “O Musa, it is for the repentance of that very person that I blessed all of Bani Israeel with water.”

Prophet Musa (as), wanting to know who this blessed man was, asked, “Show him to me O Allah!”

Allah (swt) replied, “O Musa, I hid his sins for forty years, do you think that after his repentance I shall expose him?”

“O God, cause me to fear You as if I were seeing You; give me felicity through piety toward You; make me not wretched by disobedience toward You; choose the best for me by Your decree and bless me by Your determination, that I may love not the hastening of what You have delayed, nor the delaying of what You have hastened.  O God, appoint for me sufficiency in my soul, certainty in my heart, sincerity in my action, light in my eyes, and insight in my religion.” (From Dua of Arafaat by Imam Hussein (as)