Salaam.
The scene in this hadith is a close one.
سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُدْنِي الْمُؤْمِنَ فَيَضَعُ عَلَيْهِ كَنَفَهُ، وَيَسْتُرُهُ فَيَقُولُ أَتَعْرِفُ ذَنْبَ كَذَا أَتَعْرِفُ ذَنْبَ كَذَا فَيَقُولُ نَعَمْ أَىْ رَبِّ. حَتَّى إِذَا قَرَّرَهُ بِذُنُوبِهِ وَرَأَى فِي نَفْسِهِ أَنَّهُ هَلَكَ قَالَ سَتَرْتُهَا عَلَيْكَ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَأَنَا أَغْفِرُهَا لَكَ الْيَوْمَ
Samiʿtu rasūla Allāhi ﷺ yaqūlu: Inna Allāha yudnī al-muʾmina fa-yaḍaʿu ʿalayhi kanafahu wa yasturuhu, fa-yaqūlu: a-taʿrifu dhanba kadhā? A-taʿrifu dhanba kadhā? Fa-yaqūlu: naʿam, ay rabbi. Ḥattā idhā qarrarahu bi-dhunūbihi wa raʾā fī nafsihi annahu halaka, qāla: satartuhā ʿalayka fī ad-dunyā, wa anā aghfiruhā laka al-yawm.
Ibn ʿUmar said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: "Allah will bring the believer near, place His cover over him and screen him, and say: 'Do you recognize such-and-such sin? Do you recognize such-and-such sin?' He will say: 'Yes, my Lord.' When He has made him acknowledge his sins, and he sees within himself that he is ruined, He will say: 'I concealed them for you in the world, and I forgive them for you today.'"
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 2441 · narrated by Ibn ʿUmar RA · Sahih · from a longer narration
In the scene, nothing is hidden from Him. Each sin is named, and the believer recognizes each one.
He sees within himself that he is ruined. That is the moment the next words are spoken.
And the word for what Allah had done with those sins is concealed.
The covering here comes after everything is known.
Known, and still covered.
O Allah, You know us fully. Cover us, and forgive us on the Day we meet You.
