Sharing information should not lead to 'ghibah'

The pervasive influence of social media among millennials, driven by an 'everything at your fingertips' mentality, is causing deep concern as the spread of unverified information and slander becomes increasingly normalized. Imam Muda of Masjid Mukim Pintu Geng, Ustaz Mohammad Saifullah Yusoff, highlights that modern society's extreme dependence on the internet and social media has reached a critical point where a single click can trigger widespread calamity and damage.

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Imagine with just one button, we can cause damage, enmity, public unrest, and regret for many people.

Mohammad Saifullah Yusoff, an instructor at Maahad Tahfiz Darul Ansar, warns that with just one button press, individuals can instigate damage, foster animosity, incite public unrest, and cause regret for many. This stems from a laziness in checking and verifying the authenticity of news before sharing it. Consequently, people disseminate fake or unreliable news, unknowingly accumulating layers of sin and disrupting the lives of individuals and family institutions.

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It all stems from the attitude of laziness in checking and verifying the authenticity of a news item before pressing the share button.

He stresses that society should be educated in 'tabayyun' from an early age, as it is a religious obligation. This principle is rooted in the Quranic verse from Surah Al-Hujurat (49:6): "O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become regretful over what you have done."

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Finally, we spread fake news or unreliable news. We feel it's okay, but without realizing it, we are committing layered sins and disrupting the lives of many individuals and family institutions.

Furthermore, the widespread dissemination of false news, fake news, and slander, especially when it incites damage and animosity, can escalate to 'ghibah' (backbiting), a major sin in Islam. This is reinforced by Surah Al-Hujurat, verse 12: "O you who have believed, avoid much [negative] assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin. And do not spy or backbite each other. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother when dead? You would detest it. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is accepting of repentance and Merciful."

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O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become regretful over what you have done.