The Ethics of Social Media

Ali Albarghouthi

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Channel: Ali Albarghouthi

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In 100, Elijah Muhammad who want to say you know who wants to Pharaoh when I was with him in Cerulean fusina or CRP or Marina Mejia the healer who Fela mandala Why am I usually follow her the Ella? Wash Hello hola hola hola hola Cherie Kayla, Wanda Mohammed bin Abdullah who are pseudo sallallahu alayhi wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa salam. I'm about to fit in a higher Hadith Nikita of Allah hito

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wa Hey Ron, had you had you Mohamed Salah Allahu Allah, he was sitting them were short on morning and the third to Baku Lama deserting be there

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to think

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about

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is other than that social media has entered many aspects of our lives,

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that it started to change them.

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And it behooves us as Muslims, to take few steps back to reassess our relationship

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and engagement with that medium for us to recognize the beneficial and hold on to it, and the harmful so that we could discard it.

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So this is a very humble reminder for all of us, myself included, on what to do and what not to do

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about the beneficial and also the abundance of the harmful.

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And I'm gonna focus first on consumption, even Allah azza wa jal and then on production.

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As a consumer of social media, the first thing

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like with everything else that you want to keep in mind is the intention. What is your intention behind that involvement behind that engagement?

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He says, Salatu was Salam in Allah lupini

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actions are judged by their intentions.

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And you cannot and we cannot be so naive as to wander aimlessly into a medium that has a message and wants to change you.

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Because it's not even implicit. It's explicit, but this is really not free. Behind it our advertisers, corporations, people, influencers implicit in that are those who want to influence who wanna change you the way that you think and the way that you behave to their advantage. So when you enter without an intention, you are allowing yourself to be led,

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aimlessly. So when you go on social media and say I will just jump from one picture to the other from one video to the other from one column to the other. You are being led and you don't know where you're going. And in a medium that is predominantly toxic, predominantly haram, you're being led to what displeases Allah azza wa jal so you must come with an intention. Why am I here? What's the purpose of it because if you have an intention, it can guide you and it can lead you and it can help you stop when you need to stop. But when you're on it, without a purpose, you will find that you have wasted many hours without any fruitful outcome. So what is your intention?

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And included in that is

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to remember

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the hadith of Rasul Allah is Allah Allahu Allah He was in a more he says his other Nyan folk This is the second principle. Hold on to seek eagerly what benefits you is an MA in federal meaning chase after it if something is beneficial run after it. And the opposite is also true. If it's harmful, what are you supposed to do? Run away from it? How does Allah Allah invoke

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and he also says to sneeze lemme Margie Tahoma ARD of onesie slam on his Islam is good, he will leave what is not of his concern.

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does not benefit does not add anything to his dunya or the lira. So understand that. Allah azza wa jal will ask you about your life and how you spent it.

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A lot of us seem to have so many hours that we want to waste Yet Allah zoton had given you the slide. So precious because you can do in it what will earn you Jana, and save you from hellfire. What are the Zulu Dineo Malkia

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female that the fee of a servant of Allah every human being this hadith will not be moved from another spot until he will be asked about his life.

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So how did he spend it? Meaning there's a question coming this day Allah given you by free our sin free hours, how did you send that? Allah given you next week? Allah given you a month, ALLAH given you a year? How did you invest all of this? So don't think that you can waste it and go and answer. So it's important to have that intention to have this other lie info. So hold on dearly. If there's something online, or in real world that benefits you seek it, if it's not leave it.

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And that applies specially to social media.

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A place where it's abundant with extreme thoughts and ideas, unsubstantiated claims, fabrications,

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rude and unhealthy behavior and reactions. So the more time that you spend on that medium, the more that that will saturate your life and shape it.

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Is that beneficial? Take from it what you need.

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And take it a step further, which is a second hadith of recorded, what is not of concern to us. Leave that as well, if you find yourself being sucked into when you go online, political debates,

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sports, these fans shouting at each other economic analysis, so obscure conspiracy theories, whatever you get so sucked into it. And after an hour or two of reading, if you stop and ask yourself, What did I get from all of this? How does this actually benefit me in the app?

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No, nothing? Even the dunya? How does this benefit me in the dunya? Nothing, I just wasted my time. And you may think to yourself, well, that's entertainment, and that is what innocent, but it really it isn't. Because you're being shaped constantly, especially because we don't have a counter intention. We don't have a counter reaction will be in what consuming and allowing our consumption to guide us. So if that does not concern you a controversy I should know about it. Why ask yourself why is that going to help? No, leave it a scandal leave it somebody secrets, leave that sports teams. One last? How is this really going to help leave that and you will find that if you discard

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that you will discard a lot of the harmful things online and you will put between you and the Havana barrier. So seek what benefits you go online, seek it find it, then disengage when there's nothing left, nothing left.

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The third principle

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stay away from the Haram and that should be a given. But it's really not.

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Because in the physical world, the Haram is physical. We know we should avoid it. People are watching.

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But when you're simply by yourself, behind your screen, the barriers that seem to be up in the physical world collapse. And you find yourself easily engaged into images, videos, discussions, that displease Allah are unaware that Allah is as good as watching.

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And Subhan Allah Allah says in the Quran, yes. tahune Amina Nursey, what is the phone I mean Allah.

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He says they hide from people but they do not hide from Allah while he is with them.

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Right? That's true because you wouldn't really be watching these things. If someone is watching you. If your neighbor is looking at what you're listening to or watching, you would really not watch it. So you feel embarrassed because another human being may notice. But you don't notice or feel that Allah is watching you at this moment. He is with you. He is with you. Well, who am I?

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And another area? Allah says Allah in the homie of newness, Ozora homely, for me. And again, as

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a user who know you already know, he says, he says, talking here about that flood believed that some of the non believers had, which is that if we really bend and hide from Allah azza wa jal, he wouldn't know what we're doing yet no, not pseudo meaning that they will bend to hide their chests. So if we do this, Allah will not know about it. If we hide our thoughts, Allah will not know about it. If we hide inside our homes, you'll have no access to it.

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So Allah says, Allah Hina is still shown at the app when you put your clothes on top of you and hide under your clothes under your covers. Yeah. You says oh my god, he knows exactly what you're doing secret and public. So when you are alone,

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remember that

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law's origin is watching. In the sun, our boss our kulula, you can homeschool your heart, what you see and what you hear. Allah will ask you about all of it.

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And you don't know and you don't notice. But this Haram is slowly changing you

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that it starts very small online at once I just finished listening to this. That seems fascinating. And one haram leads to another until we stopped seeing the Haram is haram until you hear us saying, Well, what is wrong with this? And it's a major sin. What is wrong with this? And what is wrong with that until our entire societies change, and look at Western societies in particular, and rewind 50 years, and compare their ethics and their morality 50 years ago to today and ask yourself, how did that change happen? Such such a drastic change in 2030 years, how did that happen? Because since when it gets introduced, it can introduce small and it will listen to a reaction. But if you keep

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pushing the reaction decreases until it is

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banished. That's what happens with us. Every round that you watch, that's a black spot in your heart, and that's less Baraka in your life. And the more that you do this, the more that you get used to it until it fills your life and fills your heart and then you say to yourself, I'm so used to it, I can let go of it. And how did that start? Because we were what again, without an intention sitting behind the screen. So if there's something that is haram, stay away from it, and put a barrier between you and the Haram and don't say it's okay because I'm alone. Or it's okay, because it's just me and my phone. And we add to it. Stay away from harmful content. That may not seem

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haram, but it should be fabrications, lice, pranks, gossip scandals, you know that pranking?

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That's not really Heather, by the way. When you frightened someone who we rely on, that's not really hard. And when you watch it, two things happen. One, you're supporting that content. The Creator will say, Well, hey, this is popular enough, me do more of this.

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Because I'm getting paid for that. So one, you're helping that spread. The other thing is whether you know it or not, you are absorbing that foolishness into your life.

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Don't you see that the more profanity that you hear, the more likely that you will repeat it.

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Right.

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And the more foolishness that you see, the more likely that you replicate it in your life and behavior. How doesn't get us we'll come to

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escaping the company of the foolish breeds foolishness and stupidity. So if you keep the company of the wise what happens, your borrow their words, and the way you're thinking, and their manners, and their patience, all of that, you'll take their wisdom, you absorb it, you'll be wise, like the wise, because that's your company. If you're allowing the idiots you will become an idiot, you will not see it. But you will talk like an idiot, you will walk like an idiot and you will think like an idiot. And then you'll see what's wrong with it. It's fun and entertainment.

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If it is harmful, It's haram. So don't support it and don't become an idiot. We have enough of that, please. And the spread of idiocy in society is in no small part to that. People thinking that they can be popular when they are done immediately.

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So avoid that content as well.

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The other thing also is avoid engagement with the opposite sex.

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And that's really important.

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In real life, we understand in the physical world, we understand we need to maintain that distance. Why? Because it's better for my heart and their heart. So it's better that we do this keeping conversation to a minimum keeping decorum avoiding the Haram unwanted classes, all of that we're supposed to do this online, some of these walls start collapsing.

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And you understand that the Shavon is involved in all of these interactions. You will notice it if someone from the opposite sex likes your comment or your content, what will you say the liking?

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They may not because you find is there to say what she must like me or he must like me. And if that continues, you start developing feelings with that other person that you've never met. And if you start a conversation that could lead to haram or can lead could lead to a scam. People get scammed online they can they can be preyed on because they are so naive because we are so vulnerable. So

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If you are going to engage with the opposite sex, keep it to a minimum only when it is necessary. And once that is done in disengage completely, and keep your heart and keep your mind pure as it is in the physical world, don't open up path for the Shavon. And don't be a temptation for other people engage with members of the same sex but not the opposite one.

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Also attached to this social media, and the online world in general, but in particular, let's just focus on social media that's really not a place to find love.

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If you're looking, that's not the place to find someone that you can trust, you don't know who's online, you don't know who the real person is. So don't be deceived. Don't let them use your emotions against you and deceive you into thinking that they were love with you. And they want this and that for you. And if it happens, if it happens innocently, that this force is interested in you, you move that attraction immediately from the virtual world, into the physical world through the proper channels, you're interested, here's my family.

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And I'm talking to you whether you are male or female, because you can be preyed on even if you are male. If you're interested, if we're going to pursue this family's needs to be involved, so they can protect you male or female, from your own self and vulnerability and those who want to prey on.

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So stay away from the Haram there are proper channels for it. And finally, in terms of consumption,

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notice how consumption of social media may have changed or is changing you if you find yourself becoming more depressed. If you find yourself becoming more anxious, more worldly, more interested in the brands, in the cars in the houses more superficial, more trivial, more discontented with your life. More focused on the Haram more obsessed with the body shape, so displeased with how you look with your color with your hair with how fat or thin or tall or short you are. If you find yourself becoming so obsessed with all of these things, then realize that social media is really detrimental for you. It's not really helpful if you find yourself holding comparisons all the time. Why is it

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male or female? Why is it that they have this but we don't and you find yourself fighting with your parents or fighting with yourself because of it understand that you're not really losing it the right way.

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Suzanne are those are some advice insha Allah for consumption and continue insha Allah for advice for production. Apolo Holyhead was tested OLALIA

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and hamdulillah Arabic Rabbil Alameen Hamza Gettier on Theoden fee between even Mubarak and fee also he was also the Mohammed early he or Sahaba he was sitting them.

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When you want to produce something, if you're gonna have to do something for social media or anything online, keep in mind the following First of all, like the first an intention, what is this form? Is this helping or harming beneficial or not? So intention will help you Insha Allah, whether you are doing it for the athlete, or even you're doing it for the dunya will help you filter out what is needed from what is not needed. Every word that you get. He's saying, Allah as though did will be asking you about it.

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So watch what you say what writing as you watch what you are saying. And your intention should always be governing that production. Remind yourself of why, why am I responding? Why am I posting? Why am I sharing? Ask yourself? And if you find it to be helpful, yes, Montana, you'll be learning when you're fully up, we'll say you're only a small. He says Whoever believes in Allah and then the last day Let them say what is good, or be quiet?

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And if you're in doubt, what do you do? You don't say anything until you know that it's beneficial. So that applies to social media as well. And add to it what Be kind. Be kind on social media. It's so easy to be so cool and dismissive. To be so angry and offensive. And you don't realize how this can be devastating to the other person who's receiving it, how bad to ruin their day, or send them down a spiral of depression and what have you. You don't know how it's gonna affect them because they're not in front of you, but you're still responsible for it. So Allah says we're coolly nurses listeners say the best to people. If you can be saved the best to people. You have no place

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commenting and responding.

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to either be a positive influence that replaces Allah or disengage and find something else to do, but don't be angry with something else and then go for your anger on somebody else just because you're angry, just because you're safe from repercussions. Allah azza wa jal is not going to save you from those repercussions from you know,

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part of the intention as well is don't go on social media to be famous or rich.

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Which really kind of negates the reason to go on it for many people.

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Why it's not a healthy or actually permissible objective to want to be famous.

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I don't know if you're hearing this for the first time or not, I hope not.

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But it's not a legitimate goal to the famous

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products on the audio system sits in Allah.

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Allah loves his servant, who has, who is rich on the inside, who's anonymous.

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He doesn't want to be known. He doesn't want to be praised. He wants Allah Zota to know Him. When you seek fame, it will mess and distort your religion will distort your mind and distort your personality. When you become hostile to what people like and dislike. They are the influencers. You're not, you're following them, they're not following you. Because they are dictating we like this. So like a monkey will do that. We're being conditioned by the way to do it. It's very gradual, very subtle, you don't notice it. Even when you're involved in Islamic content, you don't notice it, but you got to stop posting it because it gets more engagement. And then that will teach you say

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these words, say these phrases move this way. So you're being conditioned. So if you want to be famous, it will destroy your religions. And we have today Subhan Allah kidszone You want to ask them? What do you want to be when you grow up? What do they say I want to be famous. This is empty campaigners for what? Just famous. There's nothing positive about it, nothing productive in it. I just want to be known. And that is our fault. Because we presented those models and we say these everybody is watching everybody celebrating. So fame on its own is very destructive, and you will reap its curse sooner or later.

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And you shouldn't also be online just to be rich, because where is this money coming from? Because it's not free? Where is this money coming from? Advertisers and these things that are being advertised? Is this halal or haram? What they're selling? Is it halal? Most of it is

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the thing that is being sold, and the advertisement itself. So when you're taking money that is coming from halal, or haram income, what do you think is gonna happen to your life? That money is not halal money. So if you're not online to be famous or not online to be rich, what are you online doing and producing? It has to be needed to please Allah azza wa jal or to do something beneficial in the worldly sense, and both are loved, but not feeling

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so when you post posts and forget about how many people liked it or not, how can people watch this or not do a thing and give it to Allah has voted and if there's Baraka in it, if there's good intention behind it, Allah azza wa jal will habit rich people, but don't agonize over on producing but people are not watching. Maybe I should change and become dumber, so that people will appreciate what I'm doing. Don't do that. elevate yourself and elevate society as a whole.

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Also, don't live online. Don't share all your private life shouldn't be public online. Don't show people your house. Don't show people what you ate for dinner and lunch. Don't fool people. This is solely the pictures of your family and your children. Don't take your private life, your secrets, intimate details and share them online and then maybe complain later on of why people are attacking you or why people are discrediting you on why and why go online for instance, physical reason.

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But keep the private private. Keep the family away from it. Keep your secrets to yourself. Social media is not a safe, it's not a healthy place for you to find love and reception and support.

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Those who you say our friends and who will like you will easily turn against you.

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There's no fidelity online.

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So keep it private. And when you're posting these things, Subhan Allah I'm going to travel overseas. He looked at me what I bought, look at me how much I spent. You realized that there are a lot of people in the world including people in your community that cannot afford these things. And so first of all, you're breaking their hearts when they

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See how much you have and how little they have? Comparison is inevitable. So look how much he has a look at my lot in life. Look at how little I have. That's one second. How are you going to protect yourself from envy? And you have hundreds of eyes watching this and saying, I don't have it? How come? He does? And then you say, Why am I sick? Why do I have trouble at home? Why do I have trouble at my work? Why and why? And why? Because you're producing all of this and telling people what to look at it. Look at how much I haven't, please come in and

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keep it to yourself. Share it with friends, share it with family, but don't go public with that.

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Let's add to that. Also Cha Allah before we leave, don't go public with any haram pictures, any haram pictures. And want to add to that as well. Don't put pictures if you're a female, don't you put your picture online?

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period, period, even if you were in danger.

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Some sisters May Allah Annie gave us all they have full makeup on with the hijab. And she takes her picture and she puts it online, and you don't understand or maybe you don't know that this is absolutely 100% Haram.

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Under personnel, you can't do this with makeup on 100 person you can't leave the house like that. And you definitely can't take a picture and posters like that. So we have a sister as I don't have any makeup on I have the footage of on my face is uncovered. Take a picture of me or my body and I post it online. Is that a lot? Absolutely. Now.

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Why is that?

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What is the picture supposed to do? When you take a picture what you're asking people to do, to stare at it, right?

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And that's why we take it. And that's why before we take the picture, why we fix our hair, we fix our clothes, we make sure that we smile. Why? Because people are going to be looking. So when you take it and you post it online, what are you asking people to do to stay

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in the sweet a casual casual class can be averted.

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Why because it's a casual plants, a sister was wearing hijab, of course efforts, it accidentally takes a glimpse of her looks the other way. A fixture on the other hand doesn't do that. It's online, you don't have the physical world to remind you. And you have this lady and the beauty is concentrated in the face. Right? The essence of beauty is in the face. So you have this sister who's smiling. And the third picture is there how many people are going to look the other way? To be honest.

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The non Muslims are not going to look away. And even Muslims, what's the percentage of Muslims in fact, who will look at that picture and say I'm gonna look up majority. So if you want to be honest and realistic, what you're posting is causing a fitna

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even your profile pic, remove your pictures. If you're a female, put something else.

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And that could you know, sharks and people. But again, think about it. That act of posting your picture as a female or sales panel takes a picture with his wife posted online. You know that people will Google your wife, you know, what are you doing this? Keep it to yourself, give it to your parents, keep it to your children, don't let strangers look at your wife or look at your daughters. They don't need to. If you tell me no, no, it is permissible. Thank you fine.

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But some of the doubts that I've expressed are the real and justified or not like a person could take a picture of a female today with Africa and with AI or Photoshop or what have you do whatever he wants with that picture right or wrong? And that picture can certainly and no one may or maybe not a lot of people will believe that was you? Do you want that to happen to your hurry to a woman

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so if that's the concern, that should even stop you for even considering that stop it there is no need for it. As we say go online and do what is necessary what is beneficial otherwise suck.

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So as Allah Allah Allah Allah, Allah hamara honey to make our presence on those platforms who care for us now the hood Jenkins this was a symbol of Bill Allah need to make use of those who concentrate on what benefits them and run away from what harms them whereas the other bill Allah need to make us of those who do what pleases you and stay away from a displeases you whilst you're planning to make the truth clear for us to to help us to follow it and make falsehoods clear for us and help us to avoid it. Worse we have an alchemy to help us avoid the Haram when we are in public and in private worship Allah need to make us of those who repent from there since immediately

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whatsoever but Allah mean to make us of those who sees the wrong that they are doing and replace it with what pleases you your bill Alamy make us of those who remember you often elevate us in the dunya

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And yes you know you're up in Ireland you fill our hearts with your love and lovely your profit it has sold out to us sit down, fill our hearts with iman and Taco Bell Alamy so it's easy for us to leave the Haram and easy for us to do what pleases you. We asked me to make us of the people agenda and out of the people of hellfire restaurant, but I need to forgive us and our spouses and their families. And they'll know Muhammad Ali who Salatu was Salam ala Martinez dunya has an opener karate Hassan Okina other than a lot of my younger Oliver Kulu Ruben Allah de la Mer Yama sublethal follow besides the Fluvanna Allah, Allah Allah.

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Allah ministerial content network throw Makarova in a cold environment when oh the becoming an Yamakawa by Ed Herman COVID in one and when you can include him as a cab to come handle SOS Allahu Allah He was in them when I only became Michelle Remus. That can be one to come home the doses Allahu Allah he will send them somewhere before I leave because I forgot to mention it to reminders insha Allah about the weekly automated donation system to the listed please remember to support the message and also Dr. Field is having a bake sale there on my right to your left and shall live he will take the domestic please help them with whatever you can but a lot of people think