SOCIAL MEDIA – WOULD IT EASE YOUR ENTRANCE TO PARADISE OR HELLFIRE?
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE MOST MERCIFUL
INTRODUCTION
Almost everyone is active on social media in 2020. Allah has Provided us with a new platform to communicate with everyone from across the globe alhamdulillah, which may help us to please Allah on many aspects. It is a very powerful tool for:
However, the very same social media can also be a leading factor to earn Allah’s Wrath:
The onus is on each individual to direct the use of social media that will enhance our purpose in life – which is to worship Allah. That should be our very essence of directions on how to use the social media. It is however extremely sad, that regardless of how Islamic the social media looks like, many have forgotten how dangerous the social media is and how easy it is to lead one to hellfire.
AN ISLAMIC GUIDE FOR USING THE SOCIAL MEDIA
Before one even starts using the social media, one must have the following principles:
- Seek Allah’s Guidance
- Have Taqwa to Allah
- Seek Knowledge
- Seek protection from shaytan
- Correct your intention
- Know that people will judge you
- Not everyone will be pleased with you
- Remind yourself of your purpose in life
- Choose your social media friends wisely
- Check the facts wisely – Do not just share things without investigating it the facts are correct – Beware of fake news
QUR’ANIC VERSES AND HADITH WHICH THE SOCIAL MEDIA USERS SHOULD TAKE INTO ACCOUNT
- Intention
إنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ، وَإِنَّمَا لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى، فَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ فَهِجْرَتُهُ إلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ، وَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ لِدُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا أَوْ امْرَأَةٍ يَنْكِحُهَا فَهِجْرَتُهُ إلَى مَا هَاجَرَ إلَيْهِ”.
It is narrated on the authority of Amir al-Mu’minin (Leader of the Believers), Abu Hafs ‘Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), say
“Actions are according to intentions, and everyone will get what was intended. Whoever migrates with an intention for Allah and His messenger, the migration will be for the sake of Allah and his Messenger. And whoever migrates for worldly gain or to marry a woman, then his migration will be for the sake of whatever he migrated for.”
Related by Bukhari & Muslim
- On Exposing your sins and other people’s sins
Speaking about your sin and flaunting it openly in front of your friends is haraam, and is a major sin. It is one of the ways of spreading immorality among the Muslims, encouraging evil and tempting others to do similar things. It also means that one does not take sin seriously and regards it as insignificant, and that the sinner is damaging his own reputation and exposing his honour to the slander of others. Islam seeks to put people off from doing such things in the strongest possible terms, as in the following hadeeth:
Abu Hurayrah said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “All of my ummah will be forgiven except those who sin openly. It is a part of sinning openly when a man does something at night, then the following morning when Allaah has concealed his sin, he says, ‘O So and so, I did such and such last night,’ when all night his Lord has concealed him and the next morning he uncovers what Allaah had concealed.”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5721; Muslim, 2990).
‘Abd Allah reported that the Prophet of Allah, upon him be peace, said, “A believer is not a fault-finder and is not abusive, obscene, or course.”
(Hadith – Bukhari’s Book of Manners 313, Ahmad, Ibn Hibban, and Hakim)
… Ibn ‘Abbas said, “If you wish to mention the faults of your friend, mention your own faults first.”
(Hadith – Bukhari’s Book of Manners 329)
… Ibn ‘Abbas said on the following verse of the Qur’an, “Nor defame one another” (49:11), “Do not spend your time finding fault with one another.”
(Hadith – Bukhari’s Book of Manners #330)
Jubayr ibn Nufayr reported that Mu’adh ibn Jabal said, “If you love someone, do not quarrel with him and do not annoy him. Do not ask others about him, for the one you ask might be his enemy and thus tell you things about him that are not true and thus break you apart.”
(Hadith – Bukhari’s Book of Manners 545)
‘Amr ibn al ‘As said, “…I am amazed at one who spots an impurity in the eye of another but is unable to detect it in his/her own eye, or who attempts to remove a grudge from another’s heart while making no attempt to remove grudges from his/her own heart. I have never blamed anyone for the confidences of mine that they have betrayed. How could I, when already they have given me reason for pause?”
(Hadith – Bukhari’s Book of Manners #889 and Ibn Hibban)
- Concealing other people’s faults
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever removes a worldly hardship from a believer, Allah will remove one of the hardships of the Day of Resurrection from him. Whoever grants respite to (a debtor) who is in difficulty, Allah will grant him relief in this world and in the Hereafter. Whoever conceals (the fault of) a Muslim in this world, Allah will conceal him (his faults) in this world and in the Hereafter. Allah will help a person so long as he is helping his brother.”
Narrated by Muslim (2699).
The believers, men and women, are Auliyâ’ (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another, they enjoin Al-Ma’rûf (i.e. Islâmic Monotheism and all that Islâm orders one to do), and they forbid (people) from Al-Munkar (i.e. polytheism and disbelief of all kinds, and all that Islâm has forbidden). (Quran, 71:9)
The only exception to this is if we find out that someone has committed a crime that has left someone injured or killed, or in which something was stolen or someone was denied something to which they were entitled to. In these cases, we MUST make the information public so that the person is brought to justice.
- Back biting and slander
Abu Barzah Al-Aslami (RA) narrated that the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon him) said, “O those who are Muslims by tongue whereas faith has not entered their hearts! Do not backbite Muslims or pursue their faults, for whoever pursues the faults of his Muslim brother, Allaah will pursue his faults, and whoever of whom Allaah pursues his faults, He will disgrace him even if he hides himself in his own home.” [Abu Daawood]
“O you who believe! Let not a group scoff at another group, it may be that the latter are better than the former; nor let (some) women scoff at other women, it may be that the latter are better than the former, nor defame one another, nor insult one another by nicknames. How bad is it, to insult one’s brother after having Faith [i.e. to call your Muslim brother (a faithful believer) as: “O sinner”, or “O wicked”, etc.]. And whosoever does not repent, then such are indeed Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.).
O you who believe! Avoid much suspicions, indeed some suspicions are sins. And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting) . And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is the One Who accepts repentance, Most Merciful.”
49: 11-12
SOCIAL MEDIA USE WHICH MAY LEAD TO PARADISE INSHAALLAH
- Enjoining ties of kinship
The merit of uniting the ties of kinship:
- Uniting the ties of kinship is the slogan of believing in Allah and the final day. It is narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “And he who believes in Allah and the Last Day should unite his ties of kinship.” [Reported by Al-Bukhari 6138]
- Uniting the ties of kinship is a reason for prolonging life and gaining more sustenance. It is narrated on the authority of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever loves that he would be granted more sustenance and that his life span would be prolonged, then he should unite his ties of kinship” [Reported by Al-Bukhari 5986 and Muslim 2557]. Prolonging the life here means either having the life blessed or actually prolonged. Sheikh Al-Islam, ibn Taimiyah said: “Provision is two kinds; one Allah knew that He will provide it to him (this provision is not changeable), and another Allah recorded it and informed the angels about it (this provision gets increased or decreased according to the reasons).”
- 3- Uniting the ties of kinship leads to gaining relationship with Allah. It is narrated that the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Verily Allah created the universe and when He was done with the creation, ties of kinship came forward and said ‘this is the place for him who seeks refuge from severing (of blood-relationship).’ He said: ‘yes. Are you not satisfied that I should keep relationship with one who unites your ties of kinship and sever it with one who severs your (ties of kinship)?’ They (the ties of blood) said: ‘certainly so.’ Thereupon He said: ‘Then you got what you asked for’.” [Reported by Al-Bukhari 5987 and Muslim 2554
- Uniting the ties of kinship is one of the great reasons for entering Paradise. It is narrated on the authority of Abu Ayub Al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man said: o Messenger of Allah, tell me about a deed that gets me in Paradise. Whereupon the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “worship Allah alone with no partner, observe prayer, give Zakat, and unite the ties of kinship.” [Reported by Al-Bukhari 5983 and Muslim 13]
- Uniting the ties of kinship is obedience to Allah (the Exalted the Glorious); it is joining to what Allah has commanded to be joined. Allah Almighty said as praise to those who join what He has commanded to be joined: {And those who join that which Allâh has commanded to be joined (i.e. they are good to their relatives and do not sever the bond of kinship), and fear their Lord, and dread the terrible reckoning (i.e. abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which Allâh has forbidden and perform all kinds of good deeds which Allâh has ordained).} [Surat Ar-Ra’d 13:21]
- 6- Spreading love among relatives. By uniting the ties of kinship, love is spread and the good times are a lot.
- Increase in rank. When a person unites his ties of kinship and cares for honouring his relatives, they in turn will honour him and make him master to them and support him.
- Enjoining good, forbidding evil
Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good (Islam), enjoining Al-Ma’ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do) and forbidding Al-Munkar (polytheism and disbelief and all that Islam has forbidden). And it is they who are the successful. 3: 104
The believers, men and women, are Auliya’ (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another, they enjoin (on the people) Al-Ma’ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do), and forbid (people) from Al-Munkar (i.e. polytheism and disbelief of all kinds, and all that Islam has forbidden); they perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat) and give the Zakat, and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah will have His Mercy on them. Surely Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise. 9: 71
Abu Sa`eed Al-Khudri (RA) reported: The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever amongst you sees an evil, he must change it with his hand; if he is unable to do so, then with his tongue; and if he is yet unable to do so, then with his heart; and that is the weakest form of Faith”. [Muslim]
This Hadeeth (narration) contains a very important prescription to prevent the Muslim society from all things which are forbidden in Islam. So long as Muslims adhered to it and ceaselessly and fearlessly performed their obligation of enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong, their society was largely safe from many evils and sins.
Nu`aman Ibn Basheer (RA) reported: The Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon him) said: “The likeness of the man who observes the limits prescribed by Allah and that of the man who transgresses them is like a group of people who get on board a ship after casting lots. Some of them are in its lower deck and some of them in its upper (deck). Those who are in its lower (deck), when they require water, go to the occupants of the upper deck, and say to them: `If we make a hole in the bottom of the ship, we shall not harm you.’ If they (the occupants of the upper deck) leave them to carry out their design they all will be drowned. But if they do not let them go ahead (with their plan), all of them will remain safe”. [Al-Bukhari]
We learn from this Hadeeth that the consequences of committing acts which are forbidden in Islam are not confined only to those persons who commit them, but the whole society has to suffer the consequences. It is, therefore, essential that the people who are in the habit of committing sinful acts and violate Divine injunctions, should be checked to save the whole society from destruction. If this is not done, the entire society will have to face the Divine punishment.
The Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon him) said, “Beware of sitting on roads (paths).” The audience said: “We have them as sitting places.” The Messenger (Peace and Blessings be upon him) said, “If you have to sit there, then observe the rights of the way”. They asked, “What are the rights of the way?” He (Peace and Blessings be upon him) said, “To lower your gaze (on seeing what is illegal to look at), removal of harmful objects from the way, returning greetings, and enjoining good and forbidding wrong”. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Huthaifah (RA) reported: The Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon him) said, “By Him in Whose Hand my life is, you either enjoin good and forbid evil, or Allah will certainly soon send His punishment to you. Then you will make supplication and it will not be accepted”. [Al-Tirmithi]
- Seeking knowledge
“It is only those who have knowledge among His servants that fear Allah.” (Qur’an 35:28)
The Prophet (PBUH) said: “Whoever follows a path in pursuit of knowledge, Allah makes his way easy to paradise.” (Bukhari)
Teaching others is one of the good deeds that will get us great rewards even after death. Whoever leaves behind beneficial knowledge will get rewards as long as people are still getting benefits from his knowledge. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “When a man dies all his deeds comes to an end except for three: an ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge and a righteous son who prays for him.” (Bukhari)
SOCIAL MEDIA USE WHICH MAY LEAD TO HELLFIRE
- Exposing your sins
- Exposing other people’s sins
- Spreading evil
- Backbiting and slandering
