Entering Chat Rooms On the Internet For Fun - Rulings On The Social Networks
Islamic Rulings -
Living Shariah Verdicts
Islamic Questions & Answers
I hope you
can advise me on the ruling on entering chat rooms and
discussion boards. I only go there for fun and to see
some of the topics under discussion, and you can well
imagine the kind of bad talk that goes on in those
places.
Please advise me about this, may Allaah preserve you.
Praise be to Allah.
One of the things that the Muslim should do is
discipline himself and seek to adopt the best of
attitudes and etiquette. This requires a great deal of
striving against bad inclinations and it needs a lot
of patience. The most important thing that can help
him to do this is avoiding places of evil and places
that could lead to his doom. The scholars of personal
development are unanimously agreed that man is
inherently weak and inclined towards evil, and that it
is the mind (or reason) that controls his attitudes
and inclinations, and guides his energies. So if
reason does not restrain one's inclinations towards
following whims and desires, then he will soon find no
means to turn back to the path of salvation.
The same applies to gatherings of leisure and
entertainment. They have always been – and still are,
as they appear on the internet – a waste of energy and
talent, where followers of falsehood who have no
mission to work or succeed in their lives gather, and
they waste their time and their lives which are the
most precious things they own, and they spend their
days exchanging gossip, and they waste a lot of time
and do not achieve anything for their worldly or
religious interests.
When the Muslim has the blessing of free time with
which Allah has honoured him, he can do no more than
look for the best deeds with which to fill his time,
not just any good deed. Hence you see that the Sahabah/Companions
(may Allah be pleased with them) asked the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in many
hadeeths (prophetic narrations) about the best actions
by means of which they could attain a higher status
before Allah, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) answered their questions.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
said: "There are two blessings which many people do
not make the best use of: good health and free time."
Narrated by al-Bukhari (6412).
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
speaking of regret about time:
Regret for wasted time should be deep, for time passes
quickly and it is difficult to make up what you have
missed.
Time for the worshipper is a time for worship and
reciting awrad (portions of Quran and words of
remembrance), and for the devoted Muslim it is time
for turning to Allah and focusing on Him with all his
heart.
Time is the dearest thing to him and he would feel
very sad if time passes without him doing what he is
meant to do. If he misses time, he can never make it
up, because a second time has its own duties. So if he
misses time, there is no way he can bring it back.
Madarij al-Salikeen (3/49).
The most important things that will help you make the
most of your time is to avoid futile gatherings and
refrain from talking too much and keep away from lazy
and idle people, and to keep company with those who
are striving hard, clever, smart and aware of time,
and those who immerse themselves in reading for the
purpose of increasing their knowledge.
The wise man is the one who is guided to fill his time
with useful, beneficial and good deeds; thus he will
advance and rise in status. So you will find him
always seeking knowledge, or writing lessons, or
learning a skill, or visiting relatives or a sick
person, or advising one who has gone astray, or
earning a living so that he can spend on his
dependents and save them from having to ask of people.
'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him)
said:
I would hate to see any one of you idle and not doing
anything to help himself in this world or in the
Hereafter.
Quoted by Abu 'Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam in al-Amthal
(48).
The Muslim has no time to listen to or look at sinful
things. You know that these conversations include
things that go against sharee'ah (Islamic teachings)
such as immoral talk and bad attitudes, so is entering
these foul swamps something that will benefit a
Muslim, or is it anything that he should seek in his
life?
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be
pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Strive to
do that which will benefit you and seek the help of
Allah." Narrated by Muslim (2664).
When Allah asks you on the Day of Resurrection about
this time that you wasted in idle talk and writing and
conversing about things that are of no benefit, rather
they will harm you, what will your answer be? It was
narrated that Abu Barzah al-Aslami said: The Messenger
of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
said: "A person's feet will not move on the Day of
Resurrection until he is asked about his life and how
he spent it, his knowledge and what he did with it,
his wealth and how he acquired it and spent it, and
his body (health) and how he used it." Narrated by al-Tirmidhi
(2417), classed as saheeh (authentic) by al-Shaykh al-Albani
in Saheeh al-Targheeb wa'l-Tarheeb (126).
Finally, you should note:
That these chat rooms have corrupted the morals of
many people; they have caused rifts between loved
ones, men have divorced their wives because of them,
women have lost their honour because of them, and
those who are weak in faith and lacking in knowledge
have been deceived by the specious arguments and myths
in them, and have thus been misled. If the Muslim
hears of an environment that is filled with fitnah
(temptations) and sin, he should denounce the people
involved and strive to set them straight – if he is
one of those who are able to do that – otherwise he
should keep away from such environments and not be
deceived by thinking that his faith is strong or that
he knows what they really are, and that he is just
having fun.
Beware of indulging in chat rooms on the internet, and
protect yourself from the immorality and evil that is
in them, for they are gatherings that bring little
benefit but cause a great deal of harm; they are of no
benefit in this world and do not bring salvation in
the Hereafter.
If you find that you are getting drawn into fitnah and
sin, such as speaking to women unnecessarily and
speaking too much to this one and that one, then you
should realize that you are in grave danger, and we
hope that you will save yourself from it and resist
falling into the trap of the shaytan.
We have discussed the danger of chat rooms in many
answers on this site, such as 34841 and 78375.
And Allah knows best.
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