Advice for Users of Social Media Platforms
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
May Allah keep you safe, Your Excellency the Shaykh. The questioner here asks you to offer advice to users of social media platforms.
Answer:
Yes, these media outlets that have emerged now contain both good and evil. If they are utilized for good, they become a source of good and benefit; if they are used for evil, they become a source of harm for all people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike. They are a double-edged sword: if used for good, they benefit, and if used for evil, they cause harm. Therefore, Muslim youth should be aware of this and take from these channels and sites what is beneficial and useful for their religion and their worldly affairs, and they should leave the trash and leave the misguided ideas, deviant opinions, and ignorance found in them.
Or the ignorance that is spread there by the ignorant or by those who cast shadows upon them. They should beware of that. Knowledge is not taken from sites or networks. Knowledge is only taken from scholars, from the Book and the Sunnah, through the hands of scholars. It is not taken from networks, from rumors, or from sites. That is misguidance. Knowledge is only taken directly from scholars without [intermediaries]. As for what is taken from networks and publishing media, its harm is greater than its benefit. If there is any benefit in it, it is misguidance. This is misguidance. And issues are not raised on networks and people are asked to answer them; rather, they are raised with scholars, sent directly to the scholars, and they are the ones who handle them.
[An-Nisa 4:83]. This is from broadcasting. From broadcasting matters to the common people and the ignorant, and they enter into them and interpret them without knowledge. If only [An-Nisa 4:83]. The Messenger, the response is referred to him in his lifetime and to his Sunnah after his death (peace and blessings be upon him). If only [An-Nisa 4:83].
And those in authority are two groups: those in authority in politics, who are the rulers, and those in authority in knowledge, who are the scholars. So the matter is referred to the people of knowledge in matters of religion and matters of the world, in jurisprudential issues and religious problems, and in matters of politics.
May Allah keep you safe, Your Excellency the Shaykh. The questioner here asks you to offer advice to users of social media platforms.
Answer:
Yes, these media outlets that have emerged now contain both good and evil. If they are utilized for good, they become a source of good and benefit; if they are used for evil, they become a source of harm for all people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike. They are a double-edged sword: if used for good, they benefit, and if used for evil, they cause harm. Therefore, Muslim youth should be aware of this and take from these channels and sites what is beneficial and useful for their religion and their worldly affairs, and they should leave the trash and leave the misguided ideas, deviant opinions, and ignorance found in them.
Or the ignorance that is spread there by the ignorant or by those who cast shadows upon them. They should beware of that. Knowledge is not taken from sites or networks. Knowledge is only taken from scholars, from the Book and the Sunnah, through the hands of scholars. It is not taken from networks, from rumors, or from sites. That is misguidance. Knowledge is only taken directly from scholars without [intermediaries]. As for what is taken from networks and publishing media, its harm is greater than its benefit. If there is any benefit in it, it is misguidance. This is misguidance. And issues are not raised on networks and people are asked to answer them; rather, they are raised with scholars, sent directly to the scholars, and they are the ones who handle them.
And when there comes to them information about [public] security or fear, they spread it around
وَإِذَا جَاءَهُمْ أَمْرٌ مِّنَ الْأَمْنِ أَوِ الْخَوْفِ أَذَاعُوا بِهِreferred it back to the Messenger
رَدُّوهُ إِلَى الرَّسُولِreferred it back to the Messenger or to those of authority among them
رَدُّوهُ إِلَى الرَّسُولِ وَإِلَىٰ أُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْهُمْAnd those in authority are two groups: those in authority in politics, who are the rulers, and those in authority in knowledge, who are the scholars. So the matter is referred to the people of knowledge in matters of religion and matters of the world, in jurisprudential issues and religious problems, and in matters of politics.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، نصيحة لرواد مواقع التواصل الإجتماعي - الشيخ صالح الفوزان - سلسلة الفتن والنوازل (73) — youtube.com (0:10)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.