Fiqh of Social Media #05 – Echo Chambers Naseehah Two Facedness

Bismillah R Rahman r Rahim and then hamdulillah Ramadan is there in who understood

when I was a bIllahi min. Surely unfussy now women say yeah Dr. Molina Maria de la HuFa la medulla who Wilma you will who follow her the Allah or Chateau La ilaha illallah who had the hola Sharika was shadow Ana Mohammed Abdullah Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa ala early he was so happy he was selling them at the Sleeman Kathira oh my god, my dear brothers and sisters Salaam Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

In Sharla this week we'll be covering three topics which will be the echo chamber, giving merci ha and then to face sadness. These are the topics for this week Bismillahi Tada but let's start off this week with talking about what's something interesting that's been happening on social media this week. What's something interesting that's been happening on social media this week? The World Cup Exactly.

Come on, bro. He literally just missed that. You got a message mentioned something else. What else happened

against Croatia.

Inshallah, okay,

inshallah Morocco wins. I appreciate that

great, Mashallah. I love the statistics from the sister side. What's something interesting that's been happening on the internet?

Internet's boring. Yeah, we will still spend hours and hours a day on it.

You have something to share?

Yeah.

Recently, there's been something that's been like I'm

trying to come up with something where people can

inject.

Yeah.

Many people's intuition for it.

Yeah, so in 2022 alone in Canada, there were 10,000 Medical assisted suicides within senior citizens 10,000 Canada's power law. So the issue of medical assisted suicide among senior citizens is a is becoming a huge issue. Its power law guide most

social media scams and crypto investments

right.

Yeah, the crypto world is is a mess right now. And you feel bad that people that bought in during the hype Subhanallah they've lost like 80% of the of their investments power law. And he shows you that you know, regulations are there for a reason. And when you have something that's unregulated, people will try to free will not try people will find a way to manipulate it. And, and scam people out of their their wealth is Pamela. May Allah protect us?

Yeah, I heard about that. Well, why was that a big deal?

And he committed suicide. Yeah. Oh, there.

And then her.

She finished so

much.

But they're very sensitive.

Of course, I mean, just as a general rule, you're not supposed to announce someone dying by suicide. That is the general rule, because it empowers people to do it. Right. And it enables people to do it. So that's why the general rule they don't do that. It's only when it's like a big celebrity or someone famous. They announced it because, again, you know, it'll generate views for them.

Yeah, but I mean, you can see that about so many people's panela that, you know, end up dying by suicide. I always keep thinking Robin Williams, like his whole life. He's focused on making people happy. That was like his thing. But internally, he was he was miserable, Paola. I think that ties into our two faces next, that's coming up. lol make it easy. Okay, so let's start off with chapter number 10 echo chambers. So he starts off by saying, in 2008, a social media controversy erupted that Barack Obama was a Muslim, the number of Americans who believed this doubled after the election, and this increase happened mostly amongst college educated people. So when you talk about

this concept of conspiracy theories, we often think it's like the degenerate uneducated, you know, redneck people that are going to believe these conspiracy theories. But the reality is that even

educated people with college degrees will believe into conspiracy theories. How does that happen? The main theory is echo chambers. What does an echo chamber look like? And what does it mean? Well, let's find out within Lehi, tada, people tend to consume content from people they identify with. So conservatives will follow the same channels, and liberals, another. So the way that we identify are the people that we are more likely to follow. And you can see this even in ideological spectrum within the Muslim faith. So those that you know, adhere more to a quote unquote, Salafi understanding, will listen to certain speakers, those that adhere more to a Sufi understanding will

adhere to a different set of speakers. And this is how you continue to build and develop your identity till it's cement until it's cemented till it's cemented. So now, if you take this on a political spectrum, and you keep hearing, that your identity is under attack, you know, you have immigrants that are coming to steal your lands, people that are here to take your jobs. This is how right wing extremism has exponentially increased in our day and age. Because of this echo chamber that exists, where you click on one video, you click on another an algorithm is developed. And then all of the articles you see all of the videos you see are all about how your identity is under

threat. How about all about how your identity is under threat? After all of this a person will legitimate legitimately feel that the conclusion they have reached is an informed opinion. So you're like, Yeah, I've watched 100 videos on this topic. I have an informed opinion and educated opinion on this matter. But the fallacy over here is yes, you may have watched 100 videos. But if they're all repeating the exact same message, what did you learn besides that exact same message? Not much. So when we're looking at learning, we want to look at critical thinking. We want to look at critical thinking, How are our horizons expanding? How do we learn something new. So in order to learn

something new, you have to identify a gap in your knowledge, by identifying a gap in your knowledge that requires sincerity. So be sincere in your knowledge, identify what the gaps are, this is what I know, this is what I don't know. And then you actually pursue the path of knowledge, then you actually pursue the path of knowledge. When you pursue this path of knowledge. What are you looking for? Exactly, and I want to speak about a religious education process. So I want to have a small group discussion right now.

When you're listening, when you're looking to listen to an Islamic lecture, what are the characteristics that you're looking for in the speaker? When you're looking to listen to an Islamic lecture? What are the characteristics you're looking for in the speaker?

You can understand the language okay, they have to be fluent in the language that you speak excellent.

Go ahead

Excellent, so whatever they're saying they're providing evidence.

practical and easy relatable

historical

stories buddy tries to believe

this boy, so it's relevant. So they tried to make it relevant and they contextualize it. Okay. What else? Go ahead.

So what does that mean? Research the speaker

of course.

So what are you looking for? So what is something that if you see you feel credibility, and what does credibility look like to you?

One is usually I'll ask you to like, Okay.

Sometimes if you're not,

if you're not wise enough, you might not be able to decipher.

Of course, there's some speakers that are very eloquent.

And

some people are not

authentic. Of course, I

gave them excellent, excellent, good. I saw someone else's hand up. I can't remember where I saw it though. Or is there someone else's hand up? Go ahead.

So what I'm saying is, when you look for a speaker, what are you looking for?

Excellent. Okay, so credibility and Asuna vague terms, vague terms, we need to know what these terms mean. He's Sunny, as opposed to being Shia.

Okay.

Right.

Right.

I love where we're going to have right wing studies and left wing studies.

Okay.

So if you already did okay, you know, and I try to pick the ones that I find.

Okay. Balanced.

Gotcha.

That's fine. Yeah. So I'm there to St. Last summer to

extremes, of course, trying to find balance from the sisters Bismillah.

Okay, his level of knowledge

right.

You don't want to beginner level

more advanced. Okay, excellent. So level of knowledge. And then who he is addressing in that in that lecture?

Yeah

of course.

What questionable

Of course, 100% under percent. So now, let's establish some guidelines. Number one, this issue of credibility? What does credibility actually mean? So what you're looking for, is with regards to his like his his or her Islamic education. Where did they study, they've either gone a university route, where they have a university degree, like the Islamic University of Medina, and as her Islamic University, Malaysia is going to receive some of it, something like that, or they've gone the traditional route, where they have ijazah, where they have ijazat. Number two, you can go to a university, and you can take the traditional route. But that does not mean that one of itself makes

you qualified. So how do your peers view you How do your teachers view you have other people that we recognize as credible, given this person, a recommendation or say, Yes, listen to this person, and so on and so forth. And I'd like to give this example from Imam Malik Rahim Allah, that Imam Malik Rahim Allah, He didn't start issuing fatwa to literally 10s of his teachers gave him permission to do so. Right. Some versions mentioned that 70 of his teachers allow him to give fatwa. So similarly, in our day and age, when we talk about credibility, look at where they've sourced their knowledge from, and then number two, who has recommended them or their teachers recommending them or their

peers recommending them. And where's that recommendation coming from? That is always number one. And this is why if you look at the introduction to sahih, Muslim, and you know, who do you narrate Hadith from? There is this famous quote by even Syrian or him Allah in the head that Dena Elman found Zulu Amantha, who Dinoco that indeed, this knowledge, this deen or this religion is knowledge. So be very, very careful as to regards to who you take your knowledge from. Number two, the person's character, you have to look at the person's character, this person could have an encyclopedia of knowledge. But if they're not acting upon the knowledge that they have, there will be no book and

the knowledge that you take from them, and you don't want to drink from it. You don't want to drink from that fountain that has no barakah in it. So this person should be a person of tequila. And this person should be a person of character that the implement the knowledge that they have. And then number three, is the way that they impart that knowledge. What does that mean exactly? Not all knowledge should be taught to all people. It has to be a gradual progress and a gradual progression. Right? In the Quran, Allah subhanho wa Taala gives this term of the ILM Urbani, the scholar that is nurturing is in their process that is nurturing in their process. So they teach the people what they

need to know. So for example, you have someone that just accepted Islam, you're not going to start talking to them about the flick of inheritance laws, that's not going to be relevant to them, teach them how to build their email and teach them about the fate of the hara, teach them about difficult Salah and you gradually build them up. And you're only going to teach about inheritance laws in Islam, to someone that needs it, or to a student of knowledge that's learning Islam from a beginning to end process, right. So the way that the import of that knowledge is very, very important. Why do I start with this? Because you do not want to give your ear to every Tom, Dick and Harry, you don't

want to do that. I know

You go online, and you find that this person has 1000s of followers, and their videos have 1000s of likes, let me listen to it. But if you don't follow this methodological process, it's very easy to go astray as well. It's very easy to go astray. The process of going astray, doesn't happen overnight. It does not happen that one day you're guided, and the next day you wake up and you're misguided. No, it's a process of decisions and choices that are made, that eventually lead us down that path that eventually lead us down that path. So we want to be very, very careful with regards to who we are taking our knowledge from. So from the Islamic round, it's very, very important to

understand that, that you only want to take knowledge from people that are credible from those individuals that know how to impart that knowledge and from individuals that have taqwa and embody the characteristics of the knowledge that they are importing. So now, what ends up happening is, how do people become more extreme interviews? Well, it becomes a very vicious cycle, that you start looking at something. So you have an identity, and then you start looking at something that you feel identifies with you. And then it comes back to you cementing your identity even further. So now, what are the topics and this is another thing that we can look at, that we should allow for other

opinions within our lives? Right? So we're talking about this whole concept of expanding your horizons and looking at, you know, contrary views, what are the things we should be looking at control reviews at? And what are the things we should not be looking at country reviews at?

What does that mean to you guys?

Okay, so there are certain times where you want your ideas challenged, and you should have your ideas challenged. And there's certain times you don't want your ideas challenged, and you shouldn't have them challenged. What are the things you should have challenged? What are the things you shouldn't have challenged?

Right.

No, but I think that's a misunderstanding of Islam. Like if someone again, coming back to this issue of suicide, if someone dies by suicide, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did refuse, but their companions were commanded to preach on him, right? The verses on himself didn't lead the janazah. But the other companions, you know what? So similarly, how do you implement that in our day and age that if someone dies by suicide, perhaps a religious leader can take a stance to so desperate to show disapproval, that they won't lead it, but someone in the community has to be there? As long as they were Muslim? You have to be that person is Janessa. Right. But I appreciate

what you're saying. Go ahead.

Of course.

Right.

Okay, that was a very complicated webinar read, that was a very complicated type. Let's get down to this. And I want to explain where I'm coming from as well. So with regards to having your opinions challenged, anything with regards to what you are meant to be certain about analysts explain what these terms mean. So anything that is meant to be known out of necessity, about your faith, you shouldn't be challenging those things, right? Ma Hua alone, minute, Dean bedarra. That which is by necessity, you have to know it, the existence of Allah subhanaw taala, Islam being the truth, the process other than being a prophet, the finality of the Prophet, Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa

sallam as a prophet, the pillars of Islam, like all of these things are known by necessity. And those things, you don't want to have challenge, nor should you challenge them. Now, with regards to everything else, there is room for hearing contrary views and dissenting voices, but how and what, how, and what. So with regards to how you need to have your own framework for implementation, how do you decide as an individual, what Islam I'm going to practice? What Islam I'm not going to practice? I'll give you two easy issues, actually three issues to think about that keep coming up. Taking a mortgage to buy your house, eating the meat in Western countries, like going to McDonald's and

superstore and all that stuff. And the issue of music. You as a layman, what is the framework you're going to develop? When you are going to decide I'm going to take this opinion as opposed to taking this opinion. So you need to have your own framework in place as you decide what you're going to do. So your framework and I'll explain this very quickly. You will need to have a person of knowledge that you are able to contact on a regular basis to get your fatawa and your rulings from this is your Mufti and for all of your issues,

You will go to this Mufti. If they say something wrong, and you're still following it, but you don't know that it's wrong, there is with them and Allah subhana wa Tada. As soon as you find out that it's wrong, you don't listen to them, obviously, you don't listen to them, obviously. So consistency is key. For all of us, we do not get to pick and choose. This scholar said, this is halal. And it's easy for me. So I'll take that. That scholar said, this is halal. And it's easy for me. And I'll take that. And we take all of the easy opinions of all of the scholars, you're not left with the religion anymore. You're left with your own desires, you're left with your own desires. And that's

what we want you to avoid. So you have to have a framework in place with regards to how you follow and your Islam. Now, once you have this framework in place, then you hear contrary views to develop your own depth in Islam. So how people think help people formulate answers, the evidence is that they use how they understood such evidences. That is what you want to develop. And this will expand your own horizons. Now, just because you're listening to a contrary view, it doesn't mean you end up following it. You're doing it because it is a valid difference of opinion, and you're building your own depth. But you're still following your mufti, you're still following your Mufti because you

trust them for their credibility for their taqwa and for the wisdom that they know what is your circumstance in your situation, and they will guide you through it and they will guide you through it. Number three, as you're listening to these contrary voices, just like we had credibility, implementation of knowledge and Taqwa for Islamic scholars, even when it comes to these sorts of issues, we want to make sure that we're listening to people that are credible. You know, what's the guy's name from? The doctor in The Simpsons? Is Dr. Kevorkian? Is it Dr. Coworking, who remembers anyone remember the doctor's name in The Simpsons? Anyway, he's not a real doctor, he has like this,

this certificate of like being a doctor, but it's fake. It's not real, right. And a lot of times, like this still happens in this day and age. Like, I'll share a story from our own Calgary police service, they had hired a trainer that they thought had all of these, you know, credentials, and the old turned out to be fake. They weren't real credentials. And he's charging and building like $150,000. And this is like our own police service Subhanallah being duped in this situation. So what are their credentials? Like in this sort of situation? Are they real? Are they recognized? Number two, how are they viewed? Are they viewed as fringe? Or are they viewed as mainstream, anyone can

come up and say anything in this day and age and get notoriety and credibility, and this happens Subhanallah, you will find people that will come and argue with you that you know, the sky is green. And they're like, I will prove to you that the sky is green. But the mistake is not theirs, that they're trying to prove it, the mistake is yours, that you're giving them time of day, you have to, you know, suck the oxygen out of the room from these people. So that don't that they don't even have a platform that they don't even have a platform. So look at their credibility, look at are they mainstream? And then also look at, you know, what are the things that they're actually propagating?

What are the things that they're actually propagating? So you want to be very careful as to how you approach you know, dissenting voices and dissenting voices, and contrary views as well, you have to have a methodology to it, and why you're doing it as well. If you're a person that's easily shaken, and easily trodden by doubts, obviously, you don't want to listen to those things. It'll shake up your faith. And you don't want that to happen. And this can be about I'm talking about, like physical shoes, and non religious issues. So when it comes to hockey, their shoes, you know, we've drawn the line there clearly. But even in those issues, don't bring yourself extra stress, don't

bring yourself extra attention. And then the last thing I'll mention is the law of attraction of, you know, controversy. Everyone wants to know the latest controversy. Everyone wants to see the greatest debate. Everyone wants to see who's fighting amongst yourselves. And then we want to know, how do we respond to these arguments? And I think this brother's example was absolutely spot on. We have people that are debating the age of Aisha Radi Allahu taala, unheard of when she married the process Saddam, but you don't know how to pray properly. You have to get your act together. That can't be the case, like upon until you've solidified your basics, don't move on to the other issues,

don't move on to the other issues.

Now, when you're consuming information, make sure that the information that you're consuming is not just inciting emotions, is not just in setting emotions. So there's something sensitive that's happening in the world, and all it's doing is getting you riled up without providing a practical solution as to what you should do. You just gets really, really angry, but doesn't tell you what to do with your anger. It gets you really, really frustrated, but it doesn't tell you what to do with your frustration. Make sure that there's

practical value in the information that you're consuming and listening to, so that you have a way to channel out any residual emotions that are there. The concept of consuming content under the illusion of staying informed. So we listen to things that we genuinely may not have an interest in. But we know that everyone is talking about it, and everyone will talk about it tomorrow. So let me go and look it up. Let me read up about it and consume this information. So we can discuss it by the watercooler tomorrow, then we can discuss it amongst our friends tomorrow, then we can discuss it in our WhatsApp groups tomorrow, right? So you consume it for the sake of discussion. So it's not for

the sake of beneficial knowledge. It's not for the sake of getting closer to Allah subhanaw taala. It's not for the sake of improving the world. But it's for the sake of you know, what people are going to be talking about it. So let me see what's actually happening. And that is a trap. Because people will talk about anything and everything. So this illusion of being informed, will actually, you know, end up wasting a lot of your time will end up wasting a lot of your time.

And I think that's pretty much

I've covered this concept, as he mentioned, and I that I want to quickly discuss with you and then a quote, as well.

So now,

let's talk about media for a second. And he has a quote here from Ellie Pariser, it says if traffic ends up guiding coverage, The Washington Post ombudsman writes, will the post choose not to pursue some important stories, because they're dull? Will an article about say child poverty ever seem hugely personally relevant to many of us? So for example, what they're trying to say over here is, if you're consuming content just off of media, and you can add social media to that, as well understand that you're going to get things that are sensationalized. You're not going to get things that are important, truly important, or things that are extremely relevant to you that will benefit

you. But they will say send you sensationalized news. There's a statement within Media, if it bleeds, it leads, right. And that is why news reports always start off with terrorist attacks happening murders happening, major catastrophes happening, that is what they start off with, because they know that sensationalized news will keep you attracted and will keep you pulled in. But are they going to talk about the crisis of education? No, they're not going to speak about it. Because they know people aren't going to be glued to that content, they're going to look for something that they will get glued to? Are they going to talk about poverty? No, they won't. They're not going to

speak about the things that truly matter. So you have to have a logical understanding of the content that you're consuming than the idea that he shares over here and this is a very important point. This is in sort of majority verse number six, where Allah subhana wa Tada He says, Yeah, you hit livina Am I know, in general Confessio can be never in furtiva, you know, that Oh, you who believe if he troublemaker brings you news, check it first, in case you are wrong, others unwittingly and later regret what you have done. So now,

if this person is not credible with you, and they relay some sort of information to you, you should not just accept it at face value. Even though it may sound credible, it may sound reputable, it may sound logical, but if you do not know this person, you have to reject that information till it is verified, till it is verified. And this is why when you look at Hadith sciences, the default state is that a person is matured, that they are unknown, and open until you can verify their trustworthiness. You don't take knowledge from them. If you cannot verify their trustworthiness, you do not take knowledge from them. And similarly, in this day and age, someone could be speaking about

Islam 24 hours a day, seven days a week, what if they don't have that credibility? They don't have that reputation. They don't have you know, the character and the flag that's meant to come with knowledge, you shouldn't be accepting that knowledge from them. Now let's look at his action points. action points. Number one, seek out conversations with people who differ from you different upbringings, backgrounds, ethnicities, and so on. Those conversations need to be with sincere intention of getting to know someone else and where they are coming from. So this is with regards to political issues, social issues, try to interact with people and his emphasis is on in real life.

Not online, right? In real life. People are a lot more mellow, a lot more calm down a lot more structured, and a lot less impulsive. Online. Everyone is impulsive, the first thing that comes to their mind, you know, they'll type it in the first thing that they can do to you know, degrade you and debase you, they will see it. There's no you know, tact involved in that number to diversify your content consumption. Identify the areas of interests most pertinent to you and go deeper into them. work on developing a radar of sorts

to identify when people are simply being partisan, and unfollow them, even if they reinforce what you already believe. So you have certain ideologues that are just out there to promote their own ideology, they do not care for the truth. All they care about is their own ideology. If you follow Fox News, there's this person called Tucker Carlson, I'm not sure if you guys have come across this stuff. But that's exactly what he is. Truth is irrelevant. Whatever is right wing, conservative, you know, almost pro white, that is what he's going to stand for day and night. And this is what you will see, you have other examples like Bill Maher, similar things. So you have these ideologues that

are not concerned for truth, but are concerned, are concerned about their ideology. We as Muslims, we're concerned about the truth. So listen to different voices, but make sure that they're not ideologues, trying to preserve their own ideology, but they're ideologues that are trying to reach the truth as well. Number three, stop and reflect. Sometimes we are more in need of cutting consumption altogether, than we are diversifying. When you feel like you are being taken on a ride, unfollow, and mute relentlessly. So understand that sometimes going down a black hole on the internet is not in your best interest. In fact, I would say nine out of 10 times, if you're going

down a black hole on the internet, it's not a good thing for you to step back and focus on something more beneficial and more important. And again, if you find people wasting your time, you know, there's no harm in blocking them and stop following them. So I want you to think about YouTube subscriptions, YouTube subscriptions, you have a YouTube account, you subscribe to channels. And then you have so many choices of the things that you can listen to. How are you going to decide what you're going to listen to? What ends up happening is when you have too many choices, making a choice actually becomes very, very difficult. So your brain tells you choose the path of least resistance,

choose something that will make you laugh to something that will be funny, even if it's not educational, just for the sake of passing the time. Whereas if the only choices you have are very, very few and you don't have to you know, think about the choice that you need to make, you'll actually end up listening to something more beneficial. Last but not least, become regular and making the prophetic supplication. Oh Allah Lord of Gibreel Maciel and Seraphin, creator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the unseen and the seen, you judge between your slaves concerning wherein they differ, oh Allah guide me to the disputed matters of truth for you are the one who

guides to the street path. This is reported by NSA and I'll share this inshallah on on Facebook when we shared it with the Arabic dua as well with Allah He Tada. Last but not least his action points. verify what you read and verify what you share. Sometimes a quick internet search of the source is enough to alert you to potentially incorrect information, pause and double check your information before hitting the Send and forward but into your friends and family. Remember that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam warned us, it is enough for a person to be guilty of lying, if he relates everything that he hears. And subhanAllah I gotta remember, this was a disaster, before

social media became a thing where someone would get an email that such and such person had a dream. And if you don't forward it to 10 people, you will die, your ancestors will die, you will be deprived of all the risk and you're guaranteed to go to the hellfire. And people were sharing this and I'm like, What happened to people's common sense and logic? Subhan Allah, just sharing these things senselessly, like what happened to this hadith of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, that it is sufficient for a person to relieve things without verifying them, to label them Allah Subhana Allah, so verify all of that information, even in this day and age, like deep fake is such a

big thing. Now, like I was watching this video this morning, a white guy that was speaking and giving some sort of talk about what reality is. And right above him, it looks exactly like Morgan Freeman. And it has Morgan Freeman's voice, and Morgan Freeman is giving that talk, when it's not really him, it's not his content, and has nothing to do with him. Like deep fake is becoming something very, very real Subhanallah and I think as deep fake, you know, becomes I guess uncontrolled or not supervised or not monitored, like this concept of what is real and not real, what is authentic, what is fake, what is truth? What is not, is going to completely, you know, mess

with a lot of our lives. Subhanallah is going to be a really, really strange world. If that is not controlled if that is not controlled. So yes, chapter number 10 Go Yes. Yeah.

I do. I do. Have you guys you know what we failed to talk about a new upcoming social media, the new AI, church, man, that is crazy.

Okay, so she there's a shift shift shift Asim Khan out of the UK, he has the AI chatbox prepare a 10 minute Courtois for me on the topic of Taqwa That was insane. Like it has a, it has a hadith, it has structure to it, you would think that an actual chef wrote this fourth book, like it is absolutely wild. So now all of that to come back to your point. My question is, when from we're speaking with Islamic knowledge right now, why are we going to Google for Islamic knowledge? Right? Why are we going to Google for Islamic knowledge? So I'm speaking about Islamic knowledge. And that's what I want to focus on. So with regards to Islamic knowledge, if you've identified who are the people that

you trust, go directly to their pages itself, either their YouTube channel, their Facebook page, their Instagram page, and consume their content from that place itself. And that's where you want to be consuming that Islamic content from when you're going through the process. You have an Islamic question, Do not go into Google, hey, Google, what's the ruling on getting a mortgage in Islam, right? That's not how you you you get knowledge in Islam, you have to go to a sheikh to learn that person. Explain your circumstance, they'll give you a fatwa. If you want to learn deeper than attend a class on Islamic finance, right? There's a process as a way to going about it, this concept of

wanting immediate gratification, that it's easier and simpler to go to Google is more destructive than it is productive. So that's with regards to Islamic content. With regards to non Islamic content, always try to identify an expert in that field that you're trying to research. And then as you're going through this content, verify that information with that expert. That's the best thing that I can say with regards to that Allah knows best. Okay, let's move on to chapter 11, which is on and they'll see her. And it's also the Hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam have been on Naziha, that the religion is Naziha mercy, however, here can be translated as sincerity. It can

be translated as advice. But what it's trying to get at, at the end of the day, is what a person deserves what a person needs, and beyond. Right, and that is the process element and he breaks down this hadith, he mentions that it is for Allah for the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and for all of the believers, and for the leaders and the layman amongst them. So all of these categories will have different rights and different things that the deserve it is to fulfill those rights and what they deserve. And beyond that, to the best of your ability. So now, this translation of sincerity, is this, this sincerely fulfill what they deserve, and to be honest, sincerely fulfill

what they deserve, and beyond. So now you see someone online, make a mistake, how do you approach that? So for example, we've spoken about the concept of posting sins. So let's not speak about posting sins. Let's speak about someone types up a post or shares a tweet about an Islamic ruling, that is actually factually wrong. How are you going to approach that situation?

Go ahead

and just comment with this photo.

And so you've just shared that link. Okay, that's good to look at Go ahead.

Mashallah, that's great. So you want to make sure that you're not publicly humiliating them, and making them feel embarrassed? Excellent. What else are you doing? Go ahead.

Right.

You want to be gentle with them? Excellent. Yeah.

Excellent.

Excellent, of course, so recognizing your relationship with them. And I think that's paramount. One of the biggest things in correcting people's mistakes is the relationship that you have with people. You can bring as much evidence as you want. But if there is no trust, and there's no open communication, they're not going to want to hear what you have to say. So the truth is only as good as the one that is carrying it. The truth is only as good as the one that is carrying it objectively. The truth will always remain the truth. But people will not always accept the truth because they don't have any

trust or credibility with the one that is carrying it. And perhaps as the brother message mentioned, as well, that there's no gentleness there's no wisdom in conveying that message. So you want to be very, very careful as to how you how you do it. Now let's towards the start off with, if a person gives the see how to properly it can guide someone and make things a lot better for them. They're preventing themselves from a bigger mistake. When you give them a see how the wrong way, think of the consequences of that as well. That it not only will create a hindrance between you and them and the relationship that you have, but perhaps can push a person, you know, away altogether and push a

person away, all together. So let's see how particularly when the pickled person makes a mistake, is paramount. I always think of this example. The man that urinated in the masjid of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, at the end of this hadith, what is this man say? He says, May Allah forgive me, and you and no one else. Right? Why did he say that? Because of the way the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam corrected him versus everyone else's reaction. This man when he made a mistake, he wasn't malicious in doing it. He didn't want to desecrate the machine. He didn't want to offend anyone, but he literally did not know any better. He literally did not know any better. And

if you look at the wisdom of the Prophet sallallahu, alayhi wasallam over here, why did the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam commanded the Companions let him finish? He didn't command the man, hey, stop urinating in the masjid, you can't urinate in the masjid. He said, Let him finish. And when he finished, he commanded someone to bring sand and, you know, pour sand over it.

The wisdom behind the Prophet SAW Selim commanding and let him finish. Because if you like people go and try to physically stop him. He's going to spread his urine everywhere, people are going to get, you know harmed with that. And then number two, even the bodily harm that can take place that in the process of urination, if you like, Stop, you know, when you're not done, you can actually harm the body you can actually on the body. So there's a wisdom behind that. Even though physically the machine is becoming more desecrated than it already is. The promises serve them to avoid a greater harm, said Let him finish. And there's so much wisdom behind that, that when you communicate with

people and you're correcting people's mistakes, is your Naseeha going to lead to a greater harm? Is it going to lead to greater harm? Or is it going to improve the situation? And then adding to this point on gentleness? Because the prophets of Allah who lives in them was so gentle, you see the response may Allah forgive me and you and no one else. Gentleness will always win the hearts gentleness with always win heart hearts. So what is a rule that you can establish that give people advice, the way you would want to be advised? give people advice, the way that you would want to be advised. And this applies in normal circumstances situations, because I know someone may raise their

hand. What if I like aggressive in the car? Or you know, that's the way I like to receive minus Yeah. Okay, brother, May Allah help you. But that's not the way it should be. That's an odd way it should be. You know, the prophets. I said them he tells us that gentleness is not instilled in anything, except that it beautifies it. And gentleness is not extracted from anything, except that it makes it ugly, except that it makes it ugly.

Now,

how about understanding are we the right person to advise them, you have to understand that at the end of the day, the goal is not for us to correct the mistake. But the goal is to fix the behavior. Right? So you can provide the evidences, but they may not be willing to accept it, because they don't have a relationship with you. Perhaps there's someone that they respect someone that they they're learning with, let that person communicate with them. Let that person communicate with them, and it will go a lot further. Now let's look at this quote, how well you take criticism depends less on the message, and more on your relationship with the messenger, it's surprisingly easy to hear a

hard truth when it comes from someone who believes in your potential and cares about your success. And I think these two last two characteristics are so important. Someone who believes in your potential and cares about your success, as you're giving the car to people, do you see the potential that they have for goodness, and you genuinely care for their success? And one of the things we identify is that before you approach them to give them this Naseeha and to correct them, did you actually make dua for them, that Allah helps them and Allah guides them? Or is your immediate reaction? Let me find the proof and share it with them so that I can prove this person wrong, and I

can show how much knowledge I have the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he warns us that when we mistreat people, we have helped shaytaan against our brothers and sisters. We have helped Satan against our brothers and sisters. So when we publicly humiliate people, we disgrace people we're helping shape ah,

against our brothers and sisters. So the methodology of giving advice is very, very important. So establish, have a prior established relationship before giving that advice.

When you're on the internet, it can make you forget that you're dealing with real with real people. And I think this is a very important point as well, that because we have avatars that we use now, because we see people's perfect lives, and advising people online, we forget that we're actually dealing with real people. So people will be unfiltered and unhinged, and speak with any tone that they choose. And like, well, that shouldn't be the case. Always be respectful and always recognize people's stances, particularly if it's a scholar that you feel is making a mistake. So for example, a scholar shares a fatwa that you disagree with, how do you respond to that? Do you go on to that

person's Twitter handle and say, Hey, Dumbo? This is the actual photo right here? It's wrong. Right? Or is there another way that you can frame it? You will be like, respected share? You know, I just want to ask about your opinion. I've heard that this other opinion has such and such evidence, can you please explain your view on this other evidence, you can do the exact same thing in a completely different way, where you respect people's positions and the knowledge that they have. So you want to be respectful of that.

Now, this is like a major thing in our day and age. When we see scholars and we feel that they're watering down the deen. They're watering down the deen, in fact, is actually become a derogatory term, where we refer to them as compassionate Imams. If you follow certain you know ideologues online, this term compassionate email is actually a pejorative, it's not a praiseworthy sentence and statement anymore. If you're considered a compassionate Imam, it means you're very left and you've watered down the deen. And something positive actually becomes very negative now. Now how do you deal with those situations and those statements is imperative. It's very imperative to look at,

because this concept of watering down the deen from experience, you will understand two things. The more knowledge you gain, the more flexible you become. In your understanding of the world. The less knowledge you have, the more rigid you become. The less knowledge you have, the more rigid you become. Number two, the older you become, with experience, it's not a matter of age, but a matter of experience in interacting with people and seeing the world and seeing different ethnicities and different backgrounds, and different things in the world. The more tolerant you become of people, the more tolerant you become of people. And that is why knowledge and experience need to go hand in

hand when we approach the deed. Because you learn a little bit of knowledge. And all of a sudden you see someone doing something else, you feel as if you have to correct them, and they're doing something wrong. And you could apply this to a variety of issues. Subhanallah So, a simple example. The Hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that whatever is below the ankles, is in the hellfire. The issue of is but this is a very clear Hadith. You have another clear Hadith that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says that whoever has their lower garments below their ankles out of pride, Allah subhanaw taala will not look at them on the Day of Judgment. Then you have the

hadith of Abu Bakr Radi Allahu anhu, that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam told him that because his garment was below his ankles, you're not someone that does this out of pride. You're not someone that does this out of Freud. So like, don't take it too seriously. And there's different explanations that perhaps Abu Bakr Radi Allahu Anhu was super thin. And that is why his garments continued to fell, or perhaps his back was arched, and it looked lower than it actually was. And then multiple explanations that the scholars bring over here. But a person that just knows these two Hadith at the beginning, he would look at someone that the likes of Abu Bakar, and he has a couple

books on his ankles and the Hellfire were able to Billa, right? Because that little bit of knowledge, makes you think you know the truth without knowing the whole picture. And in fact, when you look at this, from a holistic perspective, with regards to the form of the hip, the humble they must have the chef or he must have the Maliki must have the Hanafi madhhab. They all say that it is Mikuru to have the garments below the ankles, but it is not haram. It becomes haram if it's accompanied by pride if it's accompanied by pride, which in our day and age almost becomes irrelevant. Because unless you're like a king or a queen, or actually a king rather because this

applies to males over here, not females. If you're a king that's dragging his cloak behind him that they need, you know people to carry his cloak for him. That's pride and that's true.

Going off, but the average person right now that has their garments below their ankles is not doing so out of pride. So that little bit of knowledge becomes very, very harmful. So the way you approach this matter is very, very important. Now let's look at the exact opposite set aside of the same issue.

Oh, it's only mcru. So I don't need to be too worried about it. No, that's not the case. Allah subhanaw taala created this category of macros for you to avoid it. And only utilize it if you have to only utilize it if you have to. So that's just an example that I wanted to share with you. Now, to come to the conclusion of this chapter, and we'll take a short break thereafter is giving up argumentation, even if you're right. Even if you feel you're right. Do not dispute about the deal. Imam Malik Rahim Allah, he talks about the people that used to have light upon their faces, but because they disputed about the deen, Allah subhanaw taala took that light away from them took that

light away from them. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he says, a promise a house in paradise for the individual that gives up arguing, even when they are correct, even when they are corrupt. So give up argumentation, it is absolutely futile, it is absolutely futile. But rather learn to discuss, learn to educate instead, look at primary and secondary effects. So for example, and he uses examples here, he says you eat a bowl of ice cream, what is the primary effect of it, you will have a good taste in your mouth. And you will have a sense of pleasure, a sense of enjoyment. What is a secondary consequence of eating this ice cream, your blood sugar will go up,

you will possibly gain weight. Eventually you will feel lethargic, you're going to have a sugar crash. So you have primary and secondary. Now when it comes to giving data online giving in the car, understand what the primary and secondary motives are. The primary motive should not be your ego. The primary motive should not be about getting likes and shares and people talking about you. The primary motive should always be to want what is best for people to want what is best for people. Even if you're not the person that is coming from Imam Shafi Rahim, Allah when he used to debate with people used to make dua for his opponent, he used to make dua for his opponent, that the truth

is more beloved, than him being correct, that I wish that the truth would come out of the tongue of my opponent. So what are the primary and secondary effects of your interactions is your primary effect that you just feel good about yourself, you feel knowledgeable, and you feel that, you know, you've proven to people how mighty you are? Or is your primary motivation and your primary effect, that you built a relationship, you've helped this person get closer to Allah subhanaw taala and get guided. So always look at primary and secondary. So now in our day and age, when you look at online content, I'll share a real example with you. This concept of reaction videos, right reaction videos

are a big thing, even for Islamic content, even for Islamic content. When we do these reaction videos, why are we doing it? Is it merely just for the sake of clicks, and likes? Or do we actually have something valid to contribute to the discussion, if you don't have anything valid to contribute to the discussion, stay quiet, it's perfectly fine. There's nothing wrong with staying quiet, you have something valid to add to the contribution, then by all means, do so. But this concept of constantly having to comment constantly having to say something. That's not the attitude of the believer. It's not the attitude of this believer, and his whole culture of refuting and debating. We

go through it every couple of decades. There's a whole culture of refuting and debating, and people feel as if, you know, we're we're the Vanguard's of the truth. But what ends up happening is that these people end up burning out. And they eventually end up leaving this ideology or even end up leaving Islam altogether. So if there's no gentleness in that approach, then we're actually doing more harm than we are doing good.

He says long term data means doing the unglamorous things you're supposed to do, like visiting someone when they're sick, comforting a family on the loss of a loved one, and dropping off a meal, you know, to someone who's having a tough day. That is what unglamorous data looks like, but that is how those relationships are built and change actually takes place. The responsibility of this falls not only on the one making data, but those of us that are on the other side as well. So those that are giving data will have responsibility. And those that are consuming this data have a responsibility. If this person constantly is just, you know, spread spreading vitriol and, and

hatred and animosity. You can't give these people time of day. You can't give these people time of day. Action Points.

When you find yourself engaging in a debate online, hit the pause button, assess why you are getting involved, and what type of outcome you hope to achieve. Number two, what is your ratio of online dour to offline, though? Very, very important. How much data are you giving in person? How much data are you giving online? How many offline conversations do you engage in? What is your level of effort in volunteering in your local community? Number three, if you have broken off a relationship with someone, because of an online argument, reach out and attempts to sincerely reconcile, reach out and attempt to sincerely Rican sail? No, it's fine. I like again, I always keep coming back to this

point. People that create content online, need to check their intentions more than everyone else. Like if your intention is purely about clicks and likes, you're in the wrong field, because there's more accountability when you have an online presence, right? So you have to be providing content with deep understanding, wanting to improve people's states delivered in the best manner possible. Whereas a lot of these reaction videos, it's about humiliating the people that we disagree with. No dissing them as hard as you can laughing at them as much as you possibly can. And it's not about those Islamic principles that we're we're meant to, to abide by. Yeah, they, let's take a quick

three minute break inshallah. And then we'll have a final 10 minute session in sha Allah Huhtala about being too feast online. So take a quick three minute break, Inshallah, grab some tea, grab some water, stretch your legs, whatever you want. And we'll start up in exactly three minutes with Allahu taala.

They will hamdu Lillahi Rabbil Alameen wa sallahu wa sallam of article in the Vienna Muhammad. While early he was talking big man about

chapter number 12 two faces the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, Verily among the worst of people is one with two faces, he comes with one face to the to these and another face to those. So now, he goes on to say this is almost mind. The only the influencer culture is notorious for this. People will rent exotic cars, or staged photo shoots at studios made to mimic being on a private jet with the intent of selling and profiting off the image for a particular lifestyle. So now this concept of two phase cydnus There is a religious side to this and there's a worldly side to this, and both of them are evil. One is more evil than the other. So

the religious side of this is you put on this persona of religiosity and you pretend to be all pious and righteous and you're sharing videos of yourself reciting Quran and performing ombre and doing all sorts of good deeds, but then you're actually conning people. And subhanAllah. Within the past few years, we've seen this quite a few times. We had a quote unquote suppose it husband and wife out of the UK, the wife were wore niqab and the husband used to do rakia and recite Quran and give Dawa, you know, in public spaces. And this person, both of them were actually cons, the wife used to take her niqab off and go clubbing and the man, he would just con people. So they raised like 200,000

pounds, don't quote me on the number, but a couple of 100,000 pounds for charity, it never made it to the course they pocketed all the money themselves. So this is the two faces in this, you have to be very, very careful of that these people will show up on the day of judgment, and they will have some of the severest of punishment. And that is the religious side of this. The worldly side of this is people wanting to show that they are actually more than they are. So he's talking about these influencers that will literally go to a photo studio that has the image of a private jet. And there'll be you know, hashtag, you know, luxury lifestyle, hashtag I made it hashtag, you know,

being riches E is fun, or something along those lines, pay to rent that space. And they share that on their social media. And this builds clout. How does this build, quote, people will naturally be attracted to those that are more wealthy. People will naturally be attracted to those that are more wealthy, renting out these exotic and luxurious cars. And then at the end of the day, they don't actually own them. It's just for the sake of show just for the sake of show. And then we want to look at why do people actually do this? Why do people actually do this? Part of it is not being contented with the color of Allah. Part of it is feeling as if this dunya is the epitome and end of

all right that there's nothing waiting for us in the akhira so let me enjoy this world as much as I can, by any means necessary. This concept of fake it till you make it who's heard this before? Fake it till you make it. We've all heard

it. But this is not an Islamic concept. This is not an Islamic concept. build yourself up to it, get your credentials, build your networks, put in the work. And when it is destined for you, Allah subhanaw taala will give it to you, Allah subhanaw taala will give it to you.

Let's talk about some other negative things that end up happening. Parents may post online about all these amazing things that they do with their kids. But the kids themselves feel as if the parents are actually absent in their lives. So we go back to the topic of you know, families that are vlogging everything that they do, the impact that it has on their children is extremely negative. So you want to make sure that it's not for the sake of show. And this is where a very, very important principle that will lead to true happiness in your life better than Allah, He Tada. And I can't emphasize this enough, that if you perfect it, and it's a long journey, but if you perfect it, you

will truly be happy in this life before you're happy in the next. Make your private life better than your public life. Make your private life better than your public life. If you're seen in the public sphere, make sure you're doing even more in your practice in your private life. And that is where the true key to happiness is. You will find a comfort in your life, a

serenity, tranquility in your life that you won't experience anywhere else. Always make your private life to the best of your ability better than your public life. And this will require you keeping tabs. You know how many times it was I seen

praying in public? Am I praying more in private? Obviously the fourth salah they are meant to be prayed in congregation. So if you're praying in congregation think about okay. We've seen coming to the masjid several times people know that they come to the masjid regularly. Am I praying My tahajjud Am I praying I clear my lane. I will sing giving sadaqa I'm actually helping my family at home. Right. So all of these things you want to be doing more in your private life than you are doing in your public life. He has this quote he says blank spaces begging to be filled in with thoughts with photos with stories with what we are going to do with what things should or could be

like, almost universally, the kind of performance we give on social media is positive. It's more, let me tell you how well things are going look at how great I am. It's rarely the truth. I'm scared, I'm struggling. And I don't know. So people want to give off this persona that isn't real. And because they don't want to put in the work to get there in real life, it becomes so easy to put up that persona, and people actually believe it. And then you benefit off of that fake image benefit of that fake image. The ability to post only particular types of content, let's shape an online persona that may be drastically different from how we would operate in real life. This goes back to the

Robin Williams, this persona of let's make everyone laugh. Let's make everyone smile. But deep down inside, we're truly miserable. And we don't want to put in the hard work to look at why are we actually miserable? Why Am I Suffering in sight? So let me just focus on continuing this persona until a moment comes where you can't handle it anymore. And then it leads to a very drastic decision, as we saw in this case.

Then he goes on to say the ultimate question here, as always boils down to why do you want to be portrayed a certain way? Who are you hoping to show this version of yourself to? And what do you get from doing this? So when you are posting content online, this is a very good framework to follow. You know, why do you want to be portrayed in this fashion and manner? Who are you hoping to show this to? And what do you hope to get out of this. And then he concludes by saying that just like we focus on hiding our bad deeds, we want to also focus on hiding our good deeds. Just like we focus on hiding our bad deeds, you always you also want to focus on hiding your good deeds. Then he mentioned

some action points and I mentioned those number one delete fake profiles that you are using, especially if it is being used for a less than pure objective. Number two, share highlights of your life with a smaller circle of family and friends, instead of posting it on public social media. And number three, when going through your social feeds, view everything with a personal filter, realize that no one has a perfect life. And no one has a life as good as what they portray online. be regular and making dua for Allah to continue to bless the good people have and to make you better than the image you portray online. And I want to focus on this point over here to make you better

than the image that you portray online. So naturally, we're only going to be posting good stuff about ourselves online. We're not going to be posting bad stuff on about ourselves online.

So now when people develop this image of you and who you truly are, they will naturally think good of you. And we talked about this when we're talking about the concept of sins. Right? If people some good of you, it is because they're not impressed with your deeds, but they're impressed that Allah subhanaw taala, concealing your sins, and be grateful that your sins do not have an odor because no one would want to sit with us if our sins actually did. But I want to bring another perspective to this is another Bulma flood, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he teaches the Companions what to say, when they are praised, he teaches the Companions what to say when they are praised. And he

taught him to say Allahu Allah to ask his name be Maya Kowloon, or Gianni Kira Minmei. Also known were fairly the manga and the moon, Oh Allah, do not hold me accountable for what people say about me, and make me better than what they think of me. And forgive me for what they do not know about me, forgive me for what they do not know about me. And as you explore the online space, you want to keep this at the forefront of your mind that as we only put up good about ourselves, people will develop an image about you. So if people praise you, make sure you ask Allah not to hold you accountable for that praise. Number two, you ask Allah to make you better than what they actually

think of you. So if people think you are righteous, or Allah make me better than the righteous that they actually think of me. And then forgive me for the sins that they do not know about me for the things that I've hidden from them, forgive me for those things, while you try to make a change for the better as well while you try to make a change for the better as well. And that is the end of that chapter. That is the end of that chapter. We can open up the floor for questions and discussion, inshallah. But I just want to make a couple of quick announcements inshallah. So this is the last week for the Holika in downtown, we will be moving the Halacha to the northeast, from here

on what's ended what's going to the schedule is going to be as follows.

Next week, the 23rd we have shamelessly Han in the northeast, he's going to be given a headlock on how to navigate through life's difficult choices. So like a guide on how to navigate through difficult choices. That will be on the 23rd. On December 30. We will be completing the book. So we have chapter 13, which is spirituality. And then chapter 14, which I believe

that may get the exact title.

Chapter 14 Is optimism. And then we have the conclusion and then we have the conclusion. So that will be on December 30 Bismillahi, Tala. And then on January sixth, we will be having a summary presentation that actually has some really funny slides and memes to summarize the whole entire book, so that'll be on January 16. in Lehi, Tala with regards to the Halacha series on Friday nights on Friday nights. Next Saturday, we have Chef mostly fun teaching a workshop. 10 is every Muslim I needs to know. As of this morning, I think there are about eight tickets left.

No, that was corrected. It's no longer unless that happened again, like in the afternoon.

Yeah, so as of this morning was reopened up to accommodate more seats in Sharla. Five more seats. So I will just check there, five more seats left. So whoever wants to sign up can sign up for that lunch is included within the heeta. So that's Saturday, the 24th Sunday the 25th. We have our icy winter conference happening in the northeast, all the local Imams along with

Sheikh Mustafa as well. Then we jump to December 31 December 31. In this location, after salata, Alicia, we will be having a workshop on proofs of prophethood. How do you believe how do you know that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was actually a prophet, that's going to be with Sheikh Hassan Shivani. And with brother Omar Khan, from Yaqeen Institute. So we have a series of events going on in next couple of weeks. So please do try to join them. If you forgot anything, just check out the ISC website and our social media feeds. And you can find it there'll be there later. And with that, we open up the floor for questions and discussions on what it does mean that you have two

questions.

One, what happen to the second? You forgot the other one?

Yeah,

it's only for growth. So yeah, I apologize. You won't be able to go. But you ask your sister what she learned and then she can teach you and show him.

Was that the only question? That couldn't have been because you came up here and you're like, I have two questions. And I didn't make that announcement till after you said that. You forgot both questions.

You only had one question. If you remember, you can ask inshallah. This one I'll go ahead. Excellent. So the serious question is with regards to you in a public gathering, someone says something that you believe is incorrect. What is your responsibility with regards

correcting them in that gathering? So, number one, I think sincerity is always key, we always check our own sincerity, why are we doing the things that we do? Number two, and I think this is where people make a mistake, what is my position in this gathering? So as a host, I have a different level of responsibility as opposed to another guest. So the host will have more rights and more responsibility, whereas the guests will not have those same rights and responsibility. Number three, is that what I'm doing isn't going to lead to something good or to greater harm, right? So we create an argument in the dispute and animosity amongst people that is a greater harm, it's better just to

remain silent at that point. But if it leads to, you know, what a fruitful discussion, and a misconception can be corrected?

You know, then that's perfectly fine. Number four, is understanding the fact that not everything needs to be dealt with right away. So something has to happen in front of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, and he wouldn't speak about it at that given time. But then he would be giving a talk, and he would say, my Balu acquirement, that what do you think about the people that do such and such, right? And that's how he would educate the masses. Now I understand this need for making sure that everyone is safe from evil and falsehood. But at the end of the day, if you take that mentality, is this person actively going and giving doubt to every person that they see on the

street? They're not right. So why is it now that we're within the space, we feel the adamant need for everyone to be corrected and rectified? So these are just some simple facts that I've shown that understood, but what I would we want to take away from this is that we also want to make sure that the knowledge that we're trying to impart is accepted by people and not pushing them away, right. So I always like to give the example of an Hassan Hussein, they see a man made will do incorrectly, they didn't go up to him and tell them that you will do is incorrect. They said, Hey, let's have a competition. Can you tell us who made will do better, right? So the way we give that to people is

also very, very important.

Everyone knows.

Oh, thank you.

So, again, I don't know the particular situation. But one of the approaches you can take is, you know, dear sister, where did you get this information from? What is your source? Which other item held this opinion? And please listen to me. And then if she's unable to provide it, say Okay, how about we discuss this next week with the evidences that not everything needs to be resolved right there and then

Allah subhanaw taala brought them to the first gathering Allah subhanaw taala. Can't bring them to the second gathering. Let's have a hospital done with Allah subhanaw taala. Just take a look at Xavier next. Yeah.

Yeah.

100% And you shouldn't do anything that will instill doubt in your heart. But you also have to draw a greater red line with things related to you know, things which are known by necessity in the dean, right. Those sort of things. There's no room for discussion. Right. You should not be

what's the word I'm looking for? Entertaining, dissenting voices in that at all. Yeah, so anything that you feel bring out you don't listen to it? And don't expose yourself to it?

Credibility

personal shields were

a couple of years ago

and a YouTuber made a video

Excellent. So how do you deal with mistakes of scholars that are made in the public sphere? So one of the most important characteristics that any human being can have is humility. And that means that if they're advised, they will rectify their mistake. So for example, the issue of Sheikh Omar was this water ritual that was a paganistic water ritual, and he made Toba from that he said, I had no idea there was no paganistic water ritual. And had I known I never would have done it again. Right. So after he's made Toba, he's he's back to a clean slate. The problem arises when you're advised and the evidence is brought to you when you still refuse to rectify the mistake and even address it,

then at that point, I'd stopped taking knowledge from that person. And Allah knows best. Go ahead. So with regards to your first question, in terms of how do you share something that's happening in your life, and you know, what are the guidelines? So number one, anytime we share

Something in the public sphere, there has to be a greater purpose and benefit behind it, right? So when you share a loss, and I use the L over here, it's about for the sake of showing people that look, losses are part of life. Here's what I learned from it. These are the support systems that helped me out of it. So if you're experiencing something like this, you know, maybe this can apply to your situation. That is the way I would frame something negative that happens in our lives. What I'm talking about where you should definitely not, you know, expose yourself is doing something that is sinful, obviously, that's haram. And then number two, doing something that will make people think

less of you. So you don't want people to lose your sense of respect and sense of dignity. That's what you're trying to avoid. So you can share the difficulties that you go through, but not for the sake of sharing a difficulty. But for the sake of showing, this is what I learned. This is what I experienced. This is what helped if you're going through something like this as well, perhaps it'll help you as well. Number two,

as difficult as it is,

there are bad types of shyness. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam praised the women of the answer, because they didn't have shyness when it came to matters of the deen. So they openly asked about issues related to menstruation issues related to marital intimacy, they asked these questions. So in this sort of situation, if it's something with regards to your deen, and it's important to you, you have to establish a simple principle. Either I face the embarrassment now, or if it's the consequence on the Day of Judgment, right? And the consequence on the Day of Judgment is always greater than the embarrassment now, and even the concept of embarrassment 99.9% of the times it's

perceived it's not even real. That you're like someone's gonna laugh at me something someone's gonna think less of me but that's not the case they particularly if you're dealing with a credible reputable learned, you know Taqwa percent inshallah they should never make you feel bad for any of the questions that you ask

yeah

so if this is a person that you're learning from, ask them why do you feel I should wait? Like, why should I know this now and I'm just trying to understand where they're coming from, right? But again, this goes back to like the fear of inheritance laws. If you come up to me and say, hey, I want to learn the laws of inheritance. My natural reaction is going to be why because I don't know if you have the capacity to understand it yet. Or is it because hey, someone died in your family? I need a fatwa. Right? So you have to clarify that situation. And then you have to trust that scholars judgment as well. Allah knows best well yeah.

We're going to be about

doing whatever it is, with most

of

my questions

to fall to fit that criteria

but

unfortunately, toxic or

interpreted whatever.

Excellent.

I want to go back to the so the brothers question is only share your personal content with your close family and friends. How do you decipher who amongst your close family and friends you should be sharing that content with? I want to go back to the quote by Adam Grant. You want to share it with someone who believes in your potential and cares about your success? If you can identify these characteristics in them, share it with them if you can't identify these characteristics don't

brother in the back Go ahead. Yeah.

Sometimes you have knowledge about things, but it becomes hard for you to

use

what is an example?

So yeah, so what we discussed in today's halacha is you having a methodology and a framework for how you get your knowledge. So with regards to your own personal implementation, you are required to have one Mufti? Just one Mufti and you go to this one Murthy and ask your questions, and you listen to what they have to say and that is what you follow. So there on the Day of Judgment, you can say oh, Allah, this is Mufti. This is what he guided me to and we also established the credentials that this Mufti should have. So the concept of credibility and recommendations from other

yours, acting upon the knowledge that they have, and a person that knows how to impart knowledge properly. So those are the things you want to look for. Yeah, I was thinking that you were going to mention something else, like someone knows about the virtues of tahajjud. But they're not praying tahajjud right. That's like knowledge that's difficult to implement. Right. So this is something I think that's a lot more practical. We all know about the virtues of the 100 and priamo lane. Now, the objective over here is, am I making an intention to at least do it once in a while. Because if you've learned something, and you're not trying to implement it ever in your life, that knowledge

will be proof against you. But if you're at least trying to do it once in a while, then be the light Allah, you can ask for an excuse in front of Allah subhanaw taala. Considering that is not something mandatory, considering as a supplementary, but with regards to something haram, I want us to make sure that we don't take our knowledge from the internet, that we don't take our knowledge from any random person, but we take our knowledge from credible people that we can trust. Right? So just because someone's at a restaurant and they start giving me fatawa the chef is not qualified to be a Mufti. Your dentist is not qualified to be a mufti, your mechanic is not qualified to be your Mufti.

Even the Imam of the masjid may not be qualified to be your mufti, you have to go through the step by step process that I mentioned. So I know people love to get together at dinner gatherings and hear about the different opinions that they had. But at the end of the day, none of these people are going to stand in front of Allah. And, you know, it'd be an excuse for you. Only the qualified Mufti that you sought out will be an excuse for you on that today. Inshallah. Any other questions? Go ahead. Yeah.

This may Allah.

I heard this one.

Applying, but I applied it in a different way. So I never picked up this one of my things. I was okay. Let me make it.

So I would go to the messages and then meet people. I wouldn't actually be in the aisle. I wouldn't feel like I'd want as well. But I think what you can say big smile, but it got to a point where

that smile actually brought positivity hamdulillah

Allahu Akbar just like a lookout for sharing that story. And I think that may be like one of the few exceptions to the rule

he said, What do we do with no but that those are that's a one off incident. Right? He's talking about, like, faking something till it becomes real?

Yeah.

Yeah, but all those ahaadeeth are weak. There's a hadith about fake crying. None of those Hadith are authentic. Yeah, like the concept of tobacco is not real is not real at all. It's I don't understand the concept. Like why should you? No, no, I the serious story is stories. I'm not I'm not familiar with them. But I know the hadith of you know, if you're unable to cry when you hear the Quran, then you know, fake cry. There was a hadith unauthentic to the best of my knowledge. Yeah.

So that may be the one exception Allah knows best. But let me think about that. But I appreciate you sharing that.

Yeah, and that's the way I'm framing this, that you're not faking it, you're practicing it. So there's a lot to unpack over here. Allahu Allah.

Yeah,

that's why

Yeah, you're practicing it, right. Yeah.

Is that what they say? But basically, what they're saying is,

yeah, that's different, like faking it is like, you know, you there is like, you're literally lying. You're lying to yourself and lying to others. Like, I'm the world's greatest speaker, but you've never given a talk. Right? Or you pretend to be a doctor online. And you know, given the medical analysis, but you've never gone to med school. Right? That's what we're talking about.

100% 100% Yeah. Last question, Shawn. Okay, just look at so no, no, I actually just remembered a story that I want to share, you know, during exam times in Medina, these to share with us that shake up north, Amina Rahim, Allah was of the opinion that those people that cheat on their exams, and they get a result, they get a job as a result of their degree. Their income for the whole entire life will be hard on their income for the whole entire life will be haram. So in this sort of concept, where people that, you know, fake their CVs with their certifications and their degrees,

people that lie about their credentials, you know, there's a sense of

fear that their income becomes haram at that point.

We did a series a couple of months back called Leadership Lessons from the life of autosomal Isola while they were set up, and this discussion came up that in the workplace, should Muslims be seeking positions of leadership? And to summarize, the conclusion was, yes, Muslims should seek positions of leadership within the organization, if they are qualified to do so. And they are actually the best person for the job. If they're not qualified to do so. And they're not the best person for the job, then they shouldn't be seeking those positions of leadership. Now, to address your point, though, if you've been at a company for three years, and they've been overlooking you for leadership positions,

even though you have the credentials, perhaps there's a systemic institutional problem over there, right? Maybe they don't like Muslims. Maybe they don't like black people. Maybe they don't like X, Y, and Zed, and that's what needs to be addressed. Not the fact that I need to fudge my CV in order to you know, get up in the rat race. Right. That would be my take on that. Well, la vida is gone on quite a bit. Let's conclude. Anyone that has questions. I'll stick around to answer your questions. But let's conclude for tonight. Subhanak Aloma Byham, DECA shadowline. Highland stock Furukawa to buoy Lake Xochimilco and inshallah we will see you next week in the Northeast building in Lehi to

Allah wa Salam Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh