Event review: Rasulullah (S) and Facebook
Who: Ustaz Zahid Muhammad Zin & Brother Fadzuli
Where: An-Nahdhah Mosque
By: SyababSG[/box_dark]
“Will you kill this man?”
“Why would I?”
“What if I told you this man killed your family. Would you kill him now?”
That was the question posed to the audience from brother Fadzuli Wahab, owner and creator of Islamicevents.sg in the session held at An Nahdhah Mosque’s auditorium on the 12th of May 2012 by Syabab.sg. The other speaker for this session was Ustaz Zahid Muhammad Zin. In case you were wondering why his name sounds familiar, it is because Ustaz Zahid, who completed his studies in Damascus, Syria, is from Madeehul Mustafa, the famous Qasidah ensemble.
Back to the questions asked. Brother Fadzuli had just shown the audience a picture of a man that had no captions. The point that he was trying to put across managed to hit home. The audience’s confusion cleared up and some had answers ready at their lips. The point is, a picture is just a picture.
Yes, a picture speaks a thousand words but how true do you think those words are when the possibility of the picture having been edited, cropped out and photoshopped are so great? This is especially true in recent times with so many applications that enable photo editing and posting in seconds. People should not be so quick to judge a person just based on a picture that was seen circulating online.
He also shared that the social media industry is expanding with Facebook generating about 7 billion dollars in revenue! The influence of social media networking sites in this day and time is great. Come on, own up, you, yes you, the person reading, you have a facebook account don’t you? Facebook has become increasingly popular because of the ease of use that it offers its users.
With just a click, you can share links to videos, pictures, and posts of everything that you find interesting. This can be both a benefit and a flaw. More often than not, people tend to misuse this easily accessible platform to spread negativity. We might think of it as a meaningless, harmless link or website but like a virus it corrupts the minds of the young and directly influences their akhlaq.
Check the authenticity of everything that you post
While on the topic of sharing harmful stuff in the cyber universe, Ustaz Zahid also had an advice to share. He quoted a Hadeeth that is essentially about the gravity of spreading false rumours. Although a person conveys what he hears, if a portion of what he heard is a lie, even though he is merely a conveyor, he is considered a liar.
Let’s think for a moment, forget about the stories that we might have spread about our fellow brothers/sisters and remember if we have ever shared religious quotes, hadeeths and Quranic verses. More than spreading rumours about others, if we have spread false and incorrect hadeeths and verses of the holy book, think how detrimental it can be, not just for us, but for those people who read it and have acted upon it?
How then do we have good etiquette when on Facebook?
[pullquote_left]What we post will affect others in one way or another.[/pullquote_left]
As Ustaz Zahid said simply “Post good things.” The world now thrives on controversy. That is how the magazines, newspapers and tabloids sell. They sensationalize the stories and make it out to be something more than what it actually is. It is sad to see that the world has stooped to such lengths for the sake of more subscriptions and readership. When posting, we have to understand, it is not all about us. What we post will affect others in one way or another.
Ask yourself: With all the publicity you can get from sensationalizing a story, do you really want to be responsible for a fellow human being’s misery?
Pokes
Now this, is a matter close to my heart. I have had numerous “pokes” from friends on Facebook. What in the world is the purpose of a poke? Why would you go around poking people that you barely know? If you really want your presence to be acknowledged is it not better to give salam or greetings to the particular friend in question?
Besides, poking is not the best of manners. Rasulullah (pbuh) had the best of akhlaq that no matter how fast he was walking, if someone were to say salam to him, he would stop, turn his whole body towards the person and reply.
So why do we still poke? Give salam! Say hello. Act like normal human beings.
How to be good Daa’iis on Facebook?
A daa’ii is someone who does da’wah. He tells others about Islam and tries to help their transition into Islam. With Facebook, a daa’ii’s job is made easier. He can reach so much more people in a single post online as opposed to him going around distributing flyers. In this aspect, yes, Facebook is a very useful tool when used properly.
But wait, being humans, we always have to look over our shoulders for the silent and ever-so-subtle feeling of arrogance or riya’. Make sure your intentions are purely for the sake of Allah and not to gain likes, followers and friends. If our intentions are already corrupted by dunya-centred results, the knowledge that we are posting on our walls are as if we are hanging our achievements up for the world to see and notice.
That, surely, will invite riya’. Also, Ustaz Zahid reminds us that, whatever good deed that we preach to people for them to do, if we do not do it, all will be questioned on the day of judgement.
Facebook vs Life
Has anyone ever wondered what would happen to our lives once Facebook is gone? Many of us would just go “Life goes on. Its only Facebook.” Yes. It is only Facebook, a social media networking site where we keep all our mementos: Pictures, notes, dates, birthdays and messages are all in Facebook. Ustaz reminds us that if we rely so heavily on Facebook, what else remains in our lives? When Facebook ceases to exist, do our lives then become meaningless?
A pleasant surprise!
When the session came to an end, the emcee asked that we remain in our spots for a bit. I honestly thought there was going to be an announcement on their Syabab.sg’s future events but I was surprised when emcee informed us that a Chinese brother wanted to convert to Islam that very moment. So, with Ustaz Zahid teaching him the shahadah, we witnessed the beautiful moment when we embraced another member into our Muslim family. Alhamdulillah! Welcome brother Andy!
Spot-On
The session conducted was one of the most enjoyable and insightful ones that I have been to. The choice of speakers were spot on as they could relate to the majority of the audience who were youths. Relating something like Facebook, which is close to many youngsters, together with Rasulullah (S) and Islam is a great way to capture the interest of the Muslim youths.
The response was so overwhelming that the organisers had a tiny bit of difficulty trying to accommodate everyone in the room. Despite the fact that it was crowded, I really enjoyed the session as I’m sure most of the audience did too, judging by the laughter and smiles that could be seen and heard throughout the session as the speakers joked with them. It was not your usual Islamic seminar where everyone sat prim and proper with serious speakers. Everyone was sitting cross legged on the floor. It was truly a “lepak” session with your resident Ustaz Zahid and brother Fadzuli.
Now, excuse me while I go and delete my Facebook account.
[divider]Radhiatul Mardhiyah Mustaffa
Mardhiyah graduated from Temasek Polytechnic with a Diploma in Applied Food Science and Nutrition. She’s an aspiring writer trying to find peace and serenity that comes solely from feeling Allah’s love.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: You can watch the videos of the sessions at the following links. Ironically, you’ll need a Facebook account to watch them. However, it comes highly recommended so do take time to watch them!
- Video 1: “Did social media exist in Rasulullah’s (S) time?” : http://on.fb.me/JOKQ5s
- Video 2: “2nd Question: What is your view on pokes and likes ? 3rd Question: How do you practice adab and akhlak on Facebook?” : http://on.fb.me/JOL1xL
- Video 3: “4th Question: How do we capatilize on Facebook to share about Rasulullah’s (S) love and how to be a good da’i on Facebook?” : http://on.fb.me/JOL5gZ
