Hangout 10 – Abdulbary Yahya – Social Media

Salam aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. This is brother Bowden Mohammed coming at you with another episode of hangout where we hang out. And we have with us another great guest who is hanging out chillin with us here in this beautiful balcony in Malaysia. We're still here in Malaysia, we have a yes, check.

How's everything? Look? Good morning. Good morning, you rested a little bit. So I know you're

we were talking about social media and the world of social media, obviously, it's a thing now that's kind of taken its own life. And it's something that, you know, I remember back in the day conferences, people used to ask, shad, can I use Facebook? Is Facebook personal as well? Is it allowed for me to use? And I think Come on, communities have kind of gone past that, and we don't look at it as black and white hell anymore. But still, there are some benefits and harms definitely to the world of social media. Can you give us some of your ideas? or thoughts? What are some of the benefits and harms that you know, people can come through to to interact with social media? Well,

first of all, it's a part of life nowadays, like meant in terms of the internet usage of the internet. And social social media, of course, is a major, a big part of it. And so

most people, nowadays growing up, especially the youth are on social media. And so is it haram? Is it halal? What are some benefits of it, of course, when it comes to using it for benefit, there's a lot of things you can do me a whole new world is opened up to you, you know, like you can communicate with with so many people. And so there are of course, a lot of benefits, but but what's the default in relation to socialization and you know, speaking to each other, we have to look back during the time of the Prophet sallallahu wasallam. Because during his time, of course, there was socialization also.

People used to speak to each other, communicate with each other, get together and that was the socialization during that time. And so the Prophet sallallahu wasallam said, he Acoma, Judah Tirupati, do not sit on the sidewalk. So next on the side of the road socializing, socializing with each other. And so the default was that stay away from that. And so the companions, they said, Melina, but didn't image Alison, Natasha, Sophia. He said, O Messenger of Allah, we have to have our social gatherings and we have to get together. I mean, that's sort of like a part of life. And so the Prophet sallallahu Sallam said, if that is the case, then give it give the road. It's right. In

other words, so that was the road those days. Now, what's the road? It's the information highway before they had the roads and the highways. Now you have the information highway. And so the prophet SAW the law, they said, if you have to, if you have to then give it its right and what it says right, first and foremost is read the Salam. Right, the Salah, which means that in social media, there are advocates. And so when you when you it's a means for communication, and it's a wonderful means for communication, because like for personally, for myself, I mean, I'm the other side of the world, yet I can still communicate with my family with my children. And so it also helps me to

communicate with my relatives, like, you know, I have relatives here also. And so I was actually able to communicate with some of them through social media, I was able to find them, actually, otherwise I wouldn't, it would have been very difficult for me to find them. And so as you know, it's a part of our Deen to enjoy relations. And so that's something that's good and communication with each other giving Salam so the etiquettes of communicating with each other,

and giving each other the, you know, the rights and so forth. And then the prophets of the legend said, Of course, he said about the bustle, rather bizarre about the Salah, got the buzzer, he's lowering your gaze, as you know, one of the biggest problems of social media or the internet in general

is, you know, looking at looking at things you shouldn't be looking at. A lot of people you know, they're by themselves and they don't think that, you know, nobody can see them. And some people get into things like pornography and so one of the first things that you have to be careful with is lowering your gaze meaning don't go to sites that

have inappropriate pictures and also you know, sites, maybe it's just an on Facebook. Sometimes you have a lot of pictures that people are posting, and some of these pictures are inappropriate. Might be on Instagram or a a brother is not wearing appropriate clothing. Well of course we always think about sisters but you know, brothers also

So we're looking for profit,

and things like that. And so you have to be very careful and lower your gaze. And so the Prophet sallallahu Sallam said, if you're going to stay in those circles, or those gatherings of social gatherings, then then lower your gaze, in the streets, lower your gaze and also give the slams. And after that, he said, and also careful other, meaning you do not use social media to harm others.

If, if it's hard for you to speak to someone in an in a certain way, it's also hard on for you to send those messages and anything that you post, you have to realize the angels are also writing just as you would

say, just as you would say, in with with your tongue or your mouth, not normally. So the angels the mic, and they would still write down when we type in the same way that our needs will be recorded. If we sit and wait, it's actually even more more harmful, it could be more harmful. Why? Because if I'm sitting next to you, and I'm saying something to you, after I finished saying it to you, it's gone. But with social media, it's there. And it remains there. And people will be influenced by that may be influenced by the words that you're saying. And if it's harmful, then that harm is going to be continuous. I mean, even after you go in the grave, your posts are still going to be there your

comments about this person or that person, this thing and that thing, it's going to still be there. So it's it's even worse. Believe it or not, it's even worse because it stays and because of the broad effects of it. Some of the common questions that I hear about from people, especially young people who are using social media is along the lines of gender relations. Okay, so dealing and interacting with the opposite gender, you spoke a little bit about pictures will kind of maybe delve into a little bit more. But my question is for brothers or sisters that you know, maybe add the opposite gender to their account. So you have a Facebook account, and you know, you just add a

sister.

What do you what are your feelings and thoughts rather than just adding the opposite gender having them in your social circle online? Yeah. Well, first, let me let me just finish the Hadith of the prophets on the law. As I mentioned, the learner will get to the point that you just mentioned insha Allah, the Prophet sallallahu Sallam said, about the bustle. And then of course, capitalism is the avoiding harm. And then a memorable narrow finale. And this is what you're there on social media for, you should be using it to order that which is good and forbid that which is evil. In other words, anything that's related to that, when reminding others of Allah Subhana Allah or teaching

others, the deen of Allah subhanho wa Taala, that's should be the purpose of a Muslim

getting involved in social media. And that's one of the main purposes. And, of course, some of the other aspects of maybe MOBA. But to get back to your speaking about when it comes to gender relations,

when it comes to gender relations,

especially in with the ease of communication.

Nowadays, I remember in the old days, a person can be on the phone with another person. And really, you couldn't stay on the phone for that long at home, maybe you only had one phone, you know, and there was there weren't any cell phones, I remember. And you know, in the old days, if someone were on the phone, and your mother wanted to call, that's it. And also,

you know, the the means in which you can communicate, has opened up so much that everyone has their own computer, they have their own cell phones. And so with that, it opens up a whole new world. And it also opens up a very, you know, sometimes if you're not careful, you start doing things that maybe maybe harm so I mean, communicating with the sister or for for purposes, like, let's say you're trying to get things done.

And in the project and the sisters involved in

involved in it, also helping out with this and with that, but the thing is, it should be it shouldn't be just, you know, two way communication, if you really want to be careful with it. Like if you're going to send something, send something also that others can see also, let's say for example, you can send email to a sister, maybe cc to her father, cc to her brother. Also, you might say, well, that's a little bit serious. Yeah. But the thing is, you don't want the sheath on to creep in and sometimes take the Shetland takes you one step at a time. And next thing you know, you know, it's not an email anymore. It's not, you know, it's text messages and then then you got

FaceTime. And then you move on to the next one, they meet each other face to face now, you know, this is real face to

face,

face to face time, it's not like forget about FaceTime now. What about this idea of like, for instance, okay, there's one aspect which is people maybe in school or in work that you No need to communicate with one another. What about the idea of just socially, you know, just socially there's a sister who I know or my friend or my cousin's friend or someone who I kind of informally

have heard about or no, and, and I just, you know, add them online, just see what they're up to just to keep tabs on them, maybe check out their profile, see their pictures, is this something I should be weary of? Definitely This is something that you should not be trying to communicate with them in certain aspects. Because why? Because just as we're not supposed to be alone with each other, when in communication, also you should be cute, be careful with that also. And so when a person is on, let's say,

on Facebook, and you're on Facebook, also when you're adding that person, now, when you're adding, it's like you're opening a window to your life, and you're also open, they're opening a window, to their life, their lives also. So

this is this, this means of interaction, especially between, you know, between between genders is not something that generally will lead to a lot of positive things. And the shape one is very tricky when he takes you step by step. And so it's always, you know, if it's not necessary, if you don't need to do it, if it's not relate to your work, and whatever is done should only be done because of an asset of necessity, not just a means of communication, and socialization. That's why the Prophet sallallahu Sallam said, stay away from these,

these gatherings, in other words, in a monotone, stay away from social gatherings. And the first thing that he mentioned was love the boss have to lower your gaze, which means that and forget about talking to each other. You know, if the sister walks by, you know, you lower your gaze of a woman walks by you lower your gaze. And so now you're opening up that window for that person and you're looking into that person's life.

That's not something that's going to lead to anything good.

What about this idea of a lot of times, we find that people get involved in heated discussions or debates online, where you'll find somebody will post a status has happened to me a couple times I post a status, and then people want to basically, you know, give me their thoughts or feedback and it becomes a very, you know, heated discussion is, Do you find that social media could be a platform for serious Islamic discussion? Is it a place where we can have like, you know, because what I see sometimes people become they start giving their own fatalis, you know, people start getting online and refuting you and saying no, this is right, this is wrong. And you know, there is some knowledge

maybe there but is that the proper forum for us to be either advising one another or to be even learning about the deen just in kind of like a loosey goosey? You know, Facebook status, Twitter retweet type of world? Well, you know, there are some people who read articles.

And maybe it's an Islamic article. And you know, they might not even read the whole art, they might not have even read the whole article. Maybe the article is maybe a page or two or three or four pages, they'll just skip and go straight to the comment section. Because that's where the action is. That's where the action and so people are talking about this and talking about that. And you have to be careful, just when it comes to speaking about the deen of Allah Subhana Allah you that you do not speak based on this based on just your whims and desires and your own logic and reasoning. No, it has to be based on knowledge, sound knowledge, and based on the Quran and Sunnah. And a lot of

people, when it comes to social media, they just read articles here and there. And then they get emails, are they saying that this is bad, this is hot, um, and so forth, who is writing all of this? Who is the person who says harm and so far, there's no, no source. And sometimes it's just one person, you might you might call, whether you call it a word warrior. And he's like, who knows who he is, you know, he's like, he's cut and pasting this and that and

a PR person who learns online,

I mean, can can can get some knowledge, but in order for you to really have true knowledge, it has to be something that's structured that you're learning with a scholar that you can speak to and also communicate with when you have problems or you have

maybe things that you're confused about. And so you have to have that because if you don't have that, then what ends up happening is a person might listen to a lecture here and there, read an article here and there and then they think that you know, they, they know a lot about Islam, but it was not Mashallah, Mashallah and giving fatwa saying, This is how wrong this is Allah don't buy from this store, don't buy this product and that product. I mean, who is actually saying this, who's writing all of this? I mean, they don't people don't know the principles of Islam, people don't know the collide, and they don't know the soul, you know, effect and Islam. And so you, you have a lot of

people going astray as a result

Have this also. And that's why learning from the internet, it might quench your thirst, and it might fill you up. But it might not be good for you. It's like junk food. You know, it's like junk food, it's not healthy for you. But you know, it might quench your thirst here and there. And once in a while you can, you know, you can nibble on this a little bit, but it's not going to build make a student of knowledge or someone who is going to be strong. It's you use it for benefit, but you it has to be structured. It has to be structured. And so what about people who I've seen this before, I'm sure this exists, maybe some people watching are like this. People who use fake names online,

okay, people who use this or own that, and may not even really be there, Kenya, you know, it's just people who maybe they want to remain anonymous online. And that gives them access to then say things about people or postings about people that they know there's no repercussions for, right? Because you don't need theoretical, you don't really know who they are, yes. Is that okay? for somebody to just, you know, start a fake account and just start, you know, actively talking to people or engaging people without properly identifying who they actually are? Well, you have different types of people, sometimes you have what we call it what you know, in social media controls, right. But

people who are just trying to cause problems, remember, we said that, one of the things that you don't get into social media,

in or getting involved in is, is harming other people because of profit, some said couple other. So the intention also should be here. And so if you're looking for when it comes to seeking knowledge, and discussing matters, and so for some people, they just want to discuss those those types of like, certain topics that are heated topics.

And they get involved in that, and only those types of things yet, they don't know, the simplest aspects of prayer, or will do. And some of the other things that are very important for when it comes to being a true Muslim being a good Muslim, like, good Muslim. So that's why with with with social media, when a person sometimes gets behind that, that screen name, or they might feel like, okay, they're protected, people don't know. But you know, this is a test of your toccoa test of your talk, well, what are you writing what you're doing, even if nobody knows, Allah Subhana, Allah still knows. Allah subhanho wa Taala still knows, and so that's why

it opens up to this.

The point where a person might say things that are wrong or wrong, or harmful, especially when people don't recognize you, it's just like a person who is in a foreign land.

One who is in a foreign land is more likely to commit, or it's easier for that person to commit sins. Why? Because nobody can see them. Nobody can see them. Because if you're in your home in your hometown, and you're coming on a bar, you're afraid that people might see you so you're not going to go to that bar maybe behavior and like say Las Vegas, you know, that's a that's not your hometown. And, and you you do whatever you want to do you dress like non, you know, non Muslims, you act like, you know, non Muslims. And you don't have that that shyness. And so that's why with the internet, you have to be very careful. So and one way to maybe to combat that is,

of course, you know, those those screen names that you fake? What's the purpose behind it? Are you

you know, trying to hide, because you want to say this, and you want to say that, so you don't want others to know you? Because you want to get involved? What's the reason why you want to get involved? I mean, if you're doing good, then you don't have no, you have no reason to hide by the hide behind those screen names. And so far, I lost my handles mess.

I also know that with new technology like Snapchat, you're on Snapchat, I've recently been trying to learn what it is like.

I still am not convinced about Snapchat, okay, still, I'm on the board. I haven't really signed up as of yet. I think I have an account, but I've never really used it. But there's this whole question about not taking images of people, video of people, I won't get into the whole, you know, controversy that exists, maybe on pictures, and so on and so forth. But people now are just, you know, even in public places, they're at an event or at a conference, they see people on the streets, you know, they want to take a picture. And they might not even ask, they might not even, you know, wonder if you're giving them permission, but they just feel as though because they're in a public

space, then you know, everything's kind of again, is that is that islamically permissible? Can we say that it's okay to take pictures without people without their permission? Or do we need to seek permission before we engage in photos or videos with them? No, of course, you have to understand and as Muslims, we we should uphold the highest standard of morals and manners and etiquettes. And so if if someone were to take a picture of you, and they were to post it without your permission, without knowing that, you know, that, you know, without telling the other person, how would you feel especially, you might be in a situation where maybe you don't want people to

See you in or you're not wearing appropriate clothing, maybe someone is just, you know, swimming. And that's nothing wrong with swimming, but you don't want that to be posted up.

Like, you know, they're putting it all over the place. And so that's why they are advocates, and you just you just have to realize that put yourself in the other person's shoes, how you How would you react in such a way and also as Muslims, you know, it's inappropriate for someone to take someone's picture. And then, you know, to post it really without their permission, unless it's like in a public event where, where there's something that something is expected, but if it's like something like, let's say, for example, person is, you know,

in a place, you might say, okay, it might be inappropriate to be in such and such and such place, if you see something like that, we are also ordered to stay away from assumptions, I say from stay away from assumptions and causing people to assume such things also. And so maybe the other person might not feel comfortable with it. And some people don't want to be on social media, like, you know, we have some

amongst us, they never, you know, they don't want anyone to take pictures and so forth, you have to respect that. So you don't go around, especially with now with with, with, with, with the sisters and brothers who are in certain gatherings where it might be a wedding, and it's all sisters, and that they're not dressed appropriately, and everyone's taking pictures. And maybe that person was in the club and that picture, they don't wear in the club, or sometimes they're not wearing hijab, because they're all about Muslim sisters, and you're taking pictures and so forth, there has to be a level of respect, when it comes to that. And so if I didn't think about doing weddings is a huge

issue. Yeah, and a lot of sisters get really upset, we're posting this and that. And so, you know, in such gatherings, there shouldn't Yeah, we have so many phones, and everyone is taking it. And everyone is different. You don't know where these people are from, you know, and and who they are. Some of them you don't know who they are, you know how they are. And so, next thing, you know, it might be all over the place. And that's why it's something very dangerous, even for Muslim sisters and brothers in certain situations, where, you know, you're in a gathering, you're in a situation where, you know, you're relaxed, and so forth. And you're not expecting someone to take pictures.

And that's why nowadays, you have to really be careful with that, like dressed appropriately, no matter where you are, especially if there are others who you don't trust you don't know, or you and public gatherings or maybe just a wedding and things like that.

Just looking for your time. I really appreciate it. This was a very fruitful discussion. And we're hopefully going to continue discussion offline or online, I should say on social media. You have a hashtag for the show hangout show. You can check it out. Give us your thoughts and feedback on this topic. This has been my guest check it better. Yeah, I've been your host Brother Mohammed. Join us again for another great episode of hangout inshallah. We'll see you again very soon. Does that collect for watching Salaam Alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. And this is one way to use social media positively.

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