Danish Hameed

The current state of social media is saddening. Although the actual battle between India and Pakistan never happened but there has been many losses of relationships, many losses of friendship, many losses of dignity and so
on.
The Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW) is to be gentle. And, we are the Ummati of our dear Prophet(SAW)
What do we do under fraught and charged conditions?
When debates and discussions erupt, it is easy for the conversation to devolve into name-calling, insults, and harshness. Since there is no body language, you cannot see if you have hurt someone. You need to accept the fact
that there is no clear end-point of a social media discussion but rather it contributes to anxiety. You may respond to someone, and receive rebuttals throughout the night. Not only is this bad for the individual, but when
people are regularly checking their phones for updates, it disrupts accomplishing more meaningful tasks or spending quality time with family. Digital exchanges bring out our impulsive nature and we give our statements less
deliberation, but know that the accountability is equal. As we are reminded in the Quran:
“He does not utter any word except that with him is a watcher prepared [to record]” (Quran 50:18)
In the heat of discussion, we may utter words that are rude. In a hadith, the Prophet(SAW) described a believer as kind and not harsh, stating that “the believer does not insult, he does not curse, he is not profane, and he
is not crude” (Tirmidhi, 1977). If we need to put forth our opinion, we should take care of the words we use.
Giving advice is one potential beneficial use of social media, but we must follow the Sunnah of giving advice online as we would in person. This Sunnah is to not belittle or embarrass the one being advised. For most people,
this requires being indirect and not singling out the individual. In cyberspace, we communicate very impersonally. It is easy to misunderstand and to be misunderstood. That alone renders digital media a bad medium for giving
advice or correcting others.
The Prophet(SAW) defined the true Muslim as one who avoids harming other Muslims with his tongue (words) and hand (actions).It is stated in Bukhari Sharif, “The Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hand the Muslims are
safe. Protect others from harm caused by you by not saying something you shouldn’t have said because the consequences are indeed serious. The Prophet (SAW) said: “Indeed a servant will utter a word thoughtlessly, and by it
will he will fall into the fire deeper than the distance between the east and the west.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]; and “Are people dragged to hell on their faces on account of other than their tongues?” (Tirmidhi).
You will find people online who will enjoy taking contrarian positions for the sake of it, arguing for enjoyment, and who relish in insulting you. These people are termed trolls. ‘Don’t feed the trolls.’ As we are reminded
in the Quran: “And the servants of the Most-Merciful tread on earth with humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say ‘peace’” (Quran 25:63). We are also told to “turn away from the ignorant” (Quran 17:199). It is
best to ignore such people and not give them the attention they are seeking.
Sadly, people are very judgmental about Islam. Our Prophet (SAW) has said , If someone kills so much as a sparrow or anything larger without a just cause, then Allah the Exalted will ask him about it on the Day of
Resurrection.( Sunan al-Nasa¯’i¯ ) . Islam doesn’t promote violence at all. If Other do not understand this, let us show them with our manners and conduct .If they still don’t leave them to their haal(condition) .Allah is
the best judge!
—The author can be reached at: [email protected]

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