What Is The Ruling On Signing Up For And Participating In Facebook?: Forums May Lead To Fitnah
Islamic Rulings -
Living Shariah Verdicts
Islamic Questions & AnswersWhat is the ruling on
Facebook?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
The website Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, a
student at Harvard University in America, at the
beginning of 2004 CE. Use of the website was initially
limited to students of the University, then the
network expanded to include other universities in
Boston, and eventually to include the entire world at
the end of 2006 CE.
The aim behind the founding of this site was to enable
people to get to know one another and build social
relationships. This site is regarded as the most
important virtual community on the Internet. The
number of users runs to tens of millions and is
constantly increasing. It is widely accepted in the
Arab and Muslim world and is available in more than
forty languages; the people in charge of the site are
planning to add further languages.
Secondly:
The world of Facebook is a world in which one may
communicate in writing or verbally (chat), in which
there are both major sins and benefits for people, but
this site is distinct from others in many ways,
including the following:
1. Availability of detailed personal information about
users, which has already resulted in negative
consequences such as:
(a) It has led to reviving old relationships between
lovers which led to a resumption of those (illicit)
relationships, leading to betrayal and divorce.
A team from the National Centre for Social and
Criminal Research in Egypt prepared a study on
Facebook which took several weeks, from which it noted
serious consequences (of using this site). Among other
things it noted: "many visitors to the website
succeeded in finding their first love and former
relationships, and rebuilt destructive relationships
outside the family, which is threatening marriages and
Muslim family life."
(b) Some foreign spy services have recruited some
Facebook members by looking at their details, their
economic situation and standard of living, and they
have exploited that to recruit them to spy for them.
A foreign newspaper discovered a Jewish spy network
that was working to recruit Arab and Muslim youth to
spy for them.
On the Muheet website – dated 25 Jumaada al-Oola 1431
AH – they quoted from a French newspaper the story of
Jewish exploitation of Facebook to recruit agents:
Gerald Nero, a professor in the college of psychology
in the French University of Provence and the author of
the book Dangers of the Internet, says: "This network
was discovered in May 2001 CE; it was a group of
networks run by Israeli specialists in psychology who
were recruited to work on youth in the Third World,
especially those living in Arab states that are
hostile towards Israel, as well as South America."
In fact, this recruitment began before the founding of
the Facebook site, which offered more opportunities
for this network – and others like it – to find youth
who were suitable for recruitment by looking at their
details and by chatting with them.
(c) Hacking into bank accounts and stealing the
identity of a Facebook member by looking at his
personal information.
2. The spread of this website has made it a global
chat site which brings together people from all parts
of the world; they made matters worse by giving the
users of their site a program that makes it easy for
these conversations to take place without entering the
site, such as that which was produced by Hotmail and
Messenger. Chatting results in negative consequences
that are known to everyone who has any experience of
that on the Internet, especially if the program takes
it possible for people to see one another as well as
writing. Among the negative consequences of chat and
sinful relationships are the following:
(a) Wasting valuable time in trivial talk and getting
to know people.
The wise Muslim should realise that his lifespan is
limited and that he will not live on earth for ever;
he is going to meet his Lord, may He be exalted, Who
will ask him about his youth and how he spent it, and
about his life and what he did. So let the wise one
look at the early generations of this ummah and its
scholars, and think about how they thought about time
and their lifespan.
Ibn ‘Aqeel al-Hanbali (may Allah have mercy on him)
said of himself: It is not permissible for me to waste
an hour of my life. When I stop discussing issues of
knowledge and debating them (with others) and when I
stop reading in a book, I would start pondering and
thinking when I am resting and lying down, and before
I get up, I will have already an idea that I should
write down and I am very keen to increase my knowledge
now I am in my eighties and more keen than when I was
twenty years old.
Quoted from him by Ibn al-Jawzi in al-Muntazam, 9/214
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: A
man's time is in fact his life, and his eternal life,
whether it is eternal bliss or eternal suffering, is
based on how he spent it. Time is passing quickly;
whatever time he spends for the sake of Allah and by
the help of Allah, this is his true life; any other
time is not counted as part of his life, even if he
spends it doing what animals do. So if he spends his
time in heedlessness, idle entertainment and false
wishes, and the best of what he spends his time in is
sleep and idleness, then his death is better than his
life.
Al-Jawaab al-Kaafi, p. 109
(b) Establishing sinful relationships between men and
women, which may cause the destruction of a stable
family.
In a study by the National Centre – mentioned above –
it says:
One in every five cases of divorce came about when one
partner discovered that the other was having a
relationship through the Internet, and through
Facebook.
We have discussed the ruling on correspondence and
chat between the sexes in a number of fatwas. Please
see the answer to questions no. 78375, 34841, 23349,
20949, 26890 and 82702.
Thirdly:
It cannot be denied that there are a number of
benefits in this site, which are attained by wise
people who are keen to guide people to goodness. These
people have done well by using modern means of
communication – such as the Internet, mobile phones
and satellite channels; they have entered the world of
those people to serve their religion and call people
to their Lord, especially activities that are done
collectively, because that makes it less likely that
the one who does this type of work collectively will
fall into the temptations of that world. Among the
benefits of that website are the following:
1. Personal pages for some shaykhs and daa‘iyahs, in
which they offer advice to the people and answer their
questions, especially those who have groups. The
leader or founder of the group benefits when a number
of people who are part of that group get together and
send out messages to the group, open up topics for
discussion, and post a large number of high-quality
video clips.
2. Global campaigns to alert users of that site to
global Islamic events that are suppressed and ignored
by the kaafir media, or to support oppressed peoples,
or to close a website or personal page.
3. Spreading useful and beneficial books, articles and
websites among visitors to that site.
4. Communication between friends and relatives,
especially those who live far apart from one another.
Communication has a good impact in maintaining bonds
and encouraging one another to remain steadfast in
Islam.
Fourthly:
With regard to the shar‘i ruling on signing up for
Facebook, it depends on the intention of the one who
wants to sign up. If he is a man of knowledge or a
seeker thereof or a member of a da‘wah group, then it
is permissible and good, because of the benefits they
have to offer to the people. But for the one who joins
it for evil purposes or for whom there is no guarantee
that he will be safe from temptation and may easily
slip, especially young men and women, it is not
permissible for them to sign up for it.
The one who knows the reality of our times and the
temptation and turmoil that is knocking at the door of
all of our houses will not object to any faqeeh or
mufti who disallows anything in which there is harm,
whether it is totally or mostly harmful. The fact that
there is some small benefit does not encourage one to
say that it is permissible because there is still fear
for the one who embarks upon it. If what is good and
beneficial is great and the evil and harm is small or
non-existent, then we may with a clear conscience say
that it is permissible. Hence some of our scholars
were very strict about satellite channels at first,
because of the pure harm and evil in them; but when
there started to be some great good in them and
completely Islamic channels were founded, and
receivers that only accepted those channels became
available, the view that they are permissible became
valid; indeed we see that many scholars have
contributed to these channels and have useful programs
on them.
The one who cannot control himself on Facebook and
similar sites should refrain from joining them.
Joining them is permissible for the one who acts in
accordance with the shar‘i guidelines by controlling
himself and not following his whims and desires, and
who joins them so that he can benefit himself and
others others.
We ask Allah to keep us safe from temptations both
visible and invisible, for He is the Guide to the
straight path.
And Allah knows best.
Some forums may
lead to fitnah between the sexes
In some Islamic forums
there is a section for amusement. It normally contains
funny and rare issues. Its aim is to amuse the
members. It is run by good brothers and sisters, we
think they are good and Allah knows best.
We noticed in some forums, especially in this section,
that men and women started to mix together and use
expressions like "ha ha ha" and "may Allah please
you". In addition to some funny pictures that does not
oppose Islam like children in funny situations or
pictures of the nature that contain some funny aspect,
and using the expressional faces (emotions) in titles
and replies. Also the kind of subjects they discuss
together, we think that it can open a door of fitnah.
We suggest some limits to be ruled on forums,
especially this amusing section. We suggest that it
should be only for brothers, not sisters, although the
sisters will be able to read all was typed on this
section, but will not be able to share or reply.
Knowing that there is no ways we can know if the
participant is a brother or a sister, as we do not
have but the name.
Is there any way by which we can control this section
in forums? Whether by allowing only specific subjects,
or specific replies on these subjects, or by making it
for only one sex? Knowing that everyone will be able
to read what is written in this section even the
unregistered guests.
Is there any specific subjects you suggest that are
Islamic and at the same time achieving the aim of this
section which is amusing these good brothers and
sisters. Or it is better if we just block this section
if it is a door of fitnah? What do you advise us to
do?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Most of what happens in so called amusement forums is
carelessness and a lack of control over posts and
comments, because both men and women participate in
these forums. This is undoubtedly a door to fitnah, so
people may be impressed or attracted, then try to get
in touch via e-mail and the like. Hence we think that
this door should be closed, and the amusement forum
should be restricted to men, and another forum should
be set up for women only for the same purpose, if
there is a need for that.
If a man tricks the participants in the forum and
enters as if he is a woman (or vice versa), then the
sin of that lie is borne by him alone. There is no sin
on you, in sha Allaah, so long as you have announced
clearly that it is not allowed for women to take part
in the men's forums or for men to take part in the
women's forums.
And Allaah knows best.
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