If you take a look at the definition of social media, you will find that it is the

interaction amongst people in which they create, share or exchange information and
ideas in virtual communities and networks. And if you take a look at Islam, Islam
appreciates and welcomes all forms of advancement for as long as it does not go
against the teachings of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and what Allah Subhana Watala
has revealed.
So in a nutshell we as Muslimeen, our mission is to learn, to put into practice and
to convey and as for the medium of conveying we need to use whatever is at our
disposal to convey the beautiful message so that the whole world can taste the
peace that we are enjoying. And, we thank Allah for granting us the beautiful
example of Muhammad, (may peace be upon him) when it comes to this. And this is why
my brothers and sisters if you take a look at the time of Muhammad (peace be upon
him), most of the people were unlettered.
Allah says in the Quran:
It is He who sent an unlettered a Messenger who was unlettered amongst the
unlettered … Surat Al-Jumu`ah, Qu’ran 62:2
Which means the bulk of these people were unlettered. They used to rely on memory.
So much so that they knew the lineage of their camels, going back seven
generations. So this is the type of technology they had.
They relied on their own minds. They had powerful memories. But at that time when
the message was to be delivered to the leaders of the globe, Muhammad (peace be
upon him) chose to write the message to get those who will write it on his behalf
because he was unlettered.
So from the few who were educated he told them what to write. So this shows us that
he used something that was not the norm in his own area because he had to get the
message across. So much so that when this message was to be delivered to the
Romans, they are not going to read what you have sent because it doesn’t have a
seal. It needs an official seal. Immediately he said, ok. Let us get the seal. Let
us make sure that we seal that letter.
He did not say, Oh this is their style. It is their method. Let’s not use it
because what was at stake was guidance. What was at stake was the message itself.
It had to be sent.
And the reason why I start this way is to demonstrate that today we find ourselves
with technology advancing in leaps and bounds and if I’m not going to use that
technology and you are not going to use it positively then it will be used in a
destructive manner in order to promote that which is incorrect. That which is
invalid and that which will earn the wrath of Allah Subhana Watala perhaps snatch
away the peace from our lives.
So, we have all come to the agreement that it is permissible and in fact it is
necessary for us to make use of whatever the latest technology is, in order to beam
the message of peace across the globe.
The problem is if you are to read statistics, you will find that these social
networking sites and the social media is the cause of the snatching away of the
peace of a lot of people. You find wives complaining. You find husbands
complaining. Children complain. They are orphans…orphans of what?
Social media orphans. It means mum is busy with her phone. Dad is busy with his.
May Allah Subhana Watala grant us understanding of the power of this technology so
it has spread the whole globe. Remember, Islam governs how to use it. Social media
can be used to spread the beautiful message of islam and it can also be used to
spread false information to tarnish the image of islam. It depends how the person
uses it
If you take a look at the word ‘social’, Islam has indeed given a very great
importance to social interaction but within limits and for the right reasons. If
you look at the salah we read, the congregational prayer, the hadith says salatul
jamaatee afdhalu min salati fardi sabeena wa ishreena daraja … that Salah in
congregation is better than Salah read individually 27 times. One narration says 25
times. It means so many fold more.
The reason is that interaction. You meet the people. You smile at them. The
physical meeting is far more important than anything else. And the social
networking if we were to take internet out of it, and make it physical then Islam
has promoted it from the very beginning.
You have for example the Jumuah that is compulsory upon us as Muslimeen. We need to
know that that is a gathering. The Eid is a gathering. It is something important.
To go out to visit the sick is highly rewarding.
Today you can just send a WhatsApp message and say you know what, I heard you are
unwell. I’m praying for you. And so on. And do you know that you will get a similar
reward? If the person is far away, you would have visited them had they been
nearer. But because of your busy schedule or whatever else it is, you were only
able to message them so you have a beautiful reward.
Allah has made it easy for you to earn reward packed as many rewards as possible
before you meet with Allah Subhana Watala. But we are quick to use all that when it
comes to wrong sometimes because the devil is also powerful.
Remember, pornography is something that would destroy your peace. It is something
that might soothe your lusts that is inside but as a result the cactus that grows
around your heart is so huge because it snatches away peace. So therefore, stay
away from it. And worse than actually engaging in perhaps looking at something
derogatory is to forward it to others just as a joke. And this is where Islam comes
in.
We know the hadith wa man sanna sunatan sayeeata falahu wizruha. Wa wizru man amala
biha ila yawmil qiyamah. La yunqusu zalika min awzarehee shayaaa.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) says, whoever sets a bad example, whoever has
started a bad trend, they will bear the burden of it and the burden of everyone
else as a result who has been affected by it, or who drops into it up to the Last
Day. And that would be not decreasing the burden from anyone of them.
This is something very dangerous. So remember, do not just forward something that
is perhaps pornographic. Something that is bad. Something racist. Something of the
nature where we are earning the anger of Allah or it is something sinful because
click of the button could mean great detriment to us.
It could mean great destruction to us. We ask Allah Subhana Watala to save us. It
is something extremely important. Also what Islam has done is it has given us rules
and regulations regarding so many things
People are on social networks for different reasons. Some are there to spread
goodness. Others are there to have just fun. And some are there to con you and to
dupe you and others are there just to abuse you. So be careful.
Let us not be from amongst those who are doing wrong. Let us be from amongst those
who are there in order to maintain perhaps our family ties, perhaps to find out
what’s happening to our friends in a beautiful way and to spread the message of
goodness whenever we have a chance and in whatever way we can for as long as it
thought of quite clearly and it is the best chosen method. As Allah Subhana Watala
says,
When you call towards the path of the Almighty, choose the most wise of all
methods. Surat Nahl, Qu’ran 16:125
And when you engage people in discussion, make sure it is the most powerful or the
best of ways. So this would apply even when we are interacting with one another
when it comes to social networking and so on. The difficulty we have after we’ve
created a profile, we have friends. So we choose friends, we allow friends and
people befriend us. The type of friends you choose is extremely important. It will
shape your peace or it will break it. This is why those who have chosen bad
friends. SubhanAllah. May Allah protect us all from that.
So make sure even your online friends are those who are people reminding you of
goodness and turning you away from that which is bad for you. If they encourage you
to do something bad, you need to take a step back. And you need to ask yourself,
what am I doing to help them? May Allah Subhana Wataaala use us to help them.
Another very important aspect of speaking about the type of friends. Extremely
important for us to know the character, the language we use, the type of person we
portray ourselves, or we come across as, and the type of comments we make when it
comes to other people’s perhaps pages or twitter accounts, handles and so on. The
type of comments we make, we need to carefully think of them.
Remember one thing, these comments will last forever and ever. Not like a long time
ago, you make a mistake and you can just say I’m sorry to the person you made a
mistake towards, but now it will beam across the whole globe, being retweeted, and
shared and perhaps multiplied so many times before you know it the whole world has
been affected by your mischief or misdeed. We don’t want that to happen. We’d
rather be from amongst those who can use that for peace and that too InshAllah
encourage people to do that which is good.
Extremely important, the time and the limitations that I spend on these social
networks and the social media and so on. Allah Subhana Watala has taught us to be
mindful of time. Look at what Mohammad (peace be upon him) says,
There are two blessings which many people waste: health and free time. Sahih
Bukhari, 6049
There are two gifts of Allah that a lot of people have been duped about. A lot of
people are deceived about. What are those two? Health and your time. Your free
time. Many people you know you’re healthy and you end up doing all the wrong
things, not realising one day your health will go. It has to go! May Allah protect
us and make it easy for us on that day. And when we are free we just waste the
time.
Social media in Islam. Please, know the time limitations. Switch off your phone and
talk to your wife. Please. Switch off your phone and spend time with your husband.
That’s all it needs because we are Muslims. We want peace in the house.
there is so much to talk about on this beautiful topic. I’ve already touched on
pornography. I’ve touched on the disaster of the phone, yet it is a great gift of
Allah. I want to end because obviously we are restricted for time by reminding you,
my brothers and sisters, it is your duty that you’re not overtaken by technology in
a way that you become enslave but rather stay above it.
Make sure you use it in the best possible way so that your wife can be so happy
when you come back home after the day of work. You’ve sent her 20 messages with
flowers and roses and so on. And, your children know that dad loves them. And even
mums
Let us make sure we live as Muslimeen. We use it InshaAllah for the best, for the
best to spread goodness and peace, to earn rewards and to inquire about the sickly
and the others, to pray for the whole world and to make sure we reach out as best
as we can – not only to our family members, but to one and all. May Allah grant us
goodness.
Assalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh