Salam everyone,
Sorry for not posting recently, been really busy.
Anyways, I was asked to share my thoughts on this topic so away we go.
Wait hold up, why are we so quick to say something is haraam or halal? Recently I’ve been hearing people say Facebook is Haraam, in other words it’s not permissible to use.
Well it all depends on how you use it right? This reminds me of a statement from one of the great scholars of the past who said “a glass can be used to drink alcohol or water”.
So the issue here is not the website, but rather how you use it. Similar to a T.V., if you want to dumb it down further.
Obviously we aren’t talking about no 100% haraam website otherwise there would be no point in having this discussion.
Some websites are just flat out haraam, we all know what category’s they fall under.
Some Muslims have this understanding that whenever Muslims and Non-Muslims use something together it automatically becomes haraam.
I personally don’t think that’s true, there is good and bad in everything. Another way to look at it is if something has good and bad, then we should avoid using it. But in this case, your in complete control, you can network with whoever you want to network with, you can share any type of content you want, photos, etc.
For those who are on facebook, we all know the primary purpose of using it is to stay in touch with family, friends and network for beneficial purposes. Now when we define “friend” on facebook, it all depends on your interpretation and what kind of relationship you are engaged in and for what intention with whatever “friend” your referring too.
Besides that, you can share articles, invite people to events, construct polls, open up a fan page if you have a business, so on and so fourth.
Yes I’ll admit I became a fan of “walking up the down escalator”, haha.
Now we go to the other side where people are being invited to fitna filled events, sharing negative forms of entertainment, dating, creating and spreading hate groups against other religions.
Facebook can be an ultimate dawah tool for positive purposes or it can be the complete opposite and change people for the worse. On the bright side, you can use your status update to share a hadith, an ayah from the Qur’an or any wisdom from anyone really.
You never know how the slightest reminder may motivate or influence a person to come closer to the deen.
Facebook definitely can distract people from being productive and trigger jealousy, the flow of information which is constantly being poured out within the network might be over-exposure for some people. This was discovered in a recent study.
Of course with all the privacy issues and the level of control you now have on your facebook account, it’s in your hands for the most part to determine what and how much information you want to share.
I’ve heard stories of kids rejecting their parents as “friends” on facebook to hide their secret lifestyle. Honestly, Allah swt is watching, so rethink who your ultimately accountable to.
This is not no legal ruling, so don’t get hyped up, it’s just my two sense on the discussion. It was quoted in the Telegraph.co.uk that Digital media may direct users away from traditional avenues for learning about humanity such as literature or face-to-face social interactions.
In other words, it can effect your daily level of productivity if you don’t use it in moderation.
In conclusion brothers and sisters, everyone should discipline themselves properly with anything that is taking up their time, as a Muslim you should remember that anything you put your energy’s and time towards in this life will either help you or cause more harm to you on the day of judgment. It’s as simple as that, so use your time and resources wisely!
May Allah swt guide us all and give us the ability to use anything we have access to only for beneficial purposes to help us in the Akhirah, Ameen.
