المعنى الاصطلاحي

The concealment of Allah, the Almighty, from the people in this world and from the disbelievers in the Hereafter.

الشرح المختصر

"Ihtijāb" (concealment): It is reported in the texts of the Shariah that Allah, the Exalted, has a "hijāb" (veil), and "hujub" (veils) that are separate from the slaves. He may lift them whenever He wishes, so He appears, or may not lift them if He so wishes, so he remains hidden from His creation by His power and dominion. His veil is light; if He removes it, the light of the Lord and His appearance will burn whatever His sight reaches. Allah Almighty has veiled Himself from the eyes of the beholders in the worldly life out of His mercy to them. If He appears in the worldly life before those perishable created eyes, they will be destroyed just as the mount of Moosa (Moses), peace be upon him, collapsed to dust and will in no way withstand looking at Allah Almighty. Indeed, sights have been created to perish, so they cannot stand firm before the light of immortality. As far as the Hereafter is concerned, the Hadiths that prove that the believers will see their Lord were contiguously reported from the Messenger of Allah, sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and were received by his followers with approval and submission. They all plead to their Lord and ask Him to be among those who will see Him in the Paradise of Eden on the day they will meet Him. As for the disbelievers, Allah will screen Himself from them, so they will not see Him in the Hereafter. This is one of the severest forms of torment that they will go through, we ask Allah for safety and wellness. Another opinion suggests that they will see Him, yet in a way that features His anger and punishment. The apparent meaning of the verse, however, indicates that they will not see Allah, as He says (what means): {Nay! Surely, they (evil-doers) will be veiled from seeing their Lord that Day} [Al-Mutaffifeen :15] The hypocrites will see Allah, the Exalted, on the spacious lands where people will be gathered on the Day of Judgment, then He will be veiled, and they will not see Him ever after. The veil will be a source of regret for them, in order for their torment to increase and their punishment to intensify.

التعريف اللغوي المختصر

"Ihtijāb": concealment. Derived from "hajb", which means concealing.