WILL YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION

DISCONNECT YOU FROM ALLAH MOST HIGH ?

by Mufti Zubair Bayat, South Africa

Is it sheer coincidence that the Internet and WWW (WorldWideWeb)
contain the words ‘NET’ and ‘WEB’? Read on and work it out for
yourself. Now picture a person trapped in a net, battling to get out.
Also try to imagine a fly caught in a web, struggling to escape. Since
the crisis is visible and tangible in the above cases, sympathy is
felt and help may be rendered if required. But there is another NET, a
WEB, much stronger and highly invisible, which traps its hapless
‘victim’ in such an enchanting way, the poor ‘victim’, far from
wanting to escape, actually begins to enjoy and relish this
‘captivity’. Yes, this sticky WEB, this unseen NET is none other than
what is called the INTERNET, its WWW and its ‘chatrooms’.

WHAT IS THE CURE FOR THE ‘ADDICTION VIRUS’?
Such is the terrible addiction and attraction to the NET and the WEB,
it is difficult to say whether the ‘surfer’ has been bit by a ‘bug’ or
is just on some kind of heavy ‘drug’. Many are concerned about
‘viruses’ infecting their beloved PC’s but what cure is there for the
user who maybe infected by the ‘addiction virus’? Once ‘on-line’ and
‘into cyber space’ the user seems to have forgotten everything in the
real world and enters into a kind of trance that is described as being
in a state of ‘virtual reality’ where everything is really unreal but
appears to be so real! For many, once they enter this ‘cyber world’ it
is as if they are on another planet. Then gone is the concern for
Salaah, good deeds, work, studies and other important chores in life.
Now it is the sheer thrill of being ‘connected’ and ‘on line’. A
Muslim must be concerned that being ‘connected’ to the ‘Net must not
‘disconnect’ him from Allah and being ‘on-line’ should not take him
‘off-track’ from the ‘Straight Path’.

SHARI’AH PRINCIPLES GOVERNING THE USE OF INTERNET
Unlike medieval Christianity, Islam has never been opposed to
technology and modern inventions - in fact it has encouraged the study
of ‘natural’ phenomena for the purposes of subjugating the forces of
the universe for the benefit of mankind. Such inventions and
technology are deemed beneficial so long as they enhance the purpose
of man’s creation on earth. If however, they obstruct and distract
from this purpose, then Islam does not take a favourable view of such
inventions.

The Internet and its use may be evaluated on the basis of the above
principle. If it proves to be beneficial to its user, its use is
permissible and in some instances, meritorious, especially for Da’wah
and educational uses. But if it provides the opposite effect, that of
distracting its user from the purpose of his creation, then not only
is its use frowned upon but may even be deemed unlawful in certain
instances. As with every matter in life, the Internet comes with its
collection of plusses and minuses. In the case of some users, the
plusses weigh heavily. In the case of others, there are only minuses.
For such people, the Internet is a bane and a curse. And unfortunately
the majority of users fall in this category.

PARENTS BLISSFULLY IGNORANT OF INHERENT DANGERS
With the quantum leaps the IT industry has recently been witnessing,
many parents and guardians of children and youth, the prime users of
Internet, are in a total ‘time-warp’. They are groping in the dark
with regard to the reality and nature of the Internet and what it is
all about. They appear quite pleased and proud that their dear
off-spring are such ‘wizards of the web’, little realising the
potential dangers that the Internet holds within itself. It is with a
view to enlighten parents and elders about this dark aspect of the
Internet that this article is being presented.

Which decent Muslim parent would allow his child, especially a pretty,
young daughter out in the streets, into dubious dimly-lit smoke-filled
billiards’ rooms to meet and chat to complete strangers for hours on
end, with a possibility of such unknown entities even being considered
as prospective marriage partners by their innocent daughters? Any
respectable Muslim parent would recoil in horror and shrink at the
very thought. My daughter in such a horrible place? IMPOSSIBLE!

‘CYBERFRIENDS’ MEET EACH OTHER IN ‘CHATROOMS’
No, in fact it is very well possible. The decent and respectable
Muslim parents of our time may well be in for a pretty rude shock!
That innocent little girl (or boy), locked away safely in her bedroom
for nights and weekends on end, may ‘virtually’ be ‘MEETING’,
‘TALKING’ to and ‘BEFRIENDING’ all kinds of weird strangers for hours
on end, under the very noses of their parents, without them ever
suspecting a thing! How is this possible? Well the answer is clear and
straight; thanks to Internet, this is not only possible but a REALITY
in thousands of good Muslim homes all over the world! So when you find
that teenager, uncannily quiet and seemingly busy don’t be fooled and
deceived. They could possibly be in intimate conversation with some
stranger in one of thousands of ‘chatrooms’ available on the ‘Net!

Forget the days of ‘penpals’. That was rather innocent stuff. Nowadays
boys (and girls) are known to have travelled (physically) around the
globe, just to meet their cyber ‘boy/girl-friends’. Many
‘cyber-friends’, known to each other only by their ‘nicks’, arrange to
meet each other in shopping malls, cinemas, rave clubs, bhangra bashes
and so on. The ‘Net has made possible the meeting of strangers on a
scale that was unimaginable in the past. It may surprise people to
learn that many prospective Muslim couples have had their first
‘meeting’ and intimate ‘chat’ on the ‘Net. This could have lead to
physical meetings in ‘real time’ and after a short romance on (and
off) the ‘Net, ‘the knot was tied’. Alas! The possibility of that
‘knot’ being untied before long, is not just a matter of ‘virtual
reality’. It is reality itself as proven by real-life cases.

VICTIMS OF SHAYTAAN’S ‘WEB’
But the young and innocent are not the only victims as age is of no
consequence on the ‘Net. If this is how easy and ‘cool’ it is to hop
onto the cyber-highway and ‘disappear’ into ‘virtual reality’, it is
not too surprising to hear of many married men who enjoy a very
friendly ‘chat’ with some exciting female (supposedly; it is difficult
to make out male from female on the ‘Net), without the poor wife
suspecting a thing. The reverse of this could also be true. Well,
Shaitaan is known to have many NETS and WEBS in his possession, and if
this is one, then the final outcome of these ‘chats’ is not difficult
to imagine.

Even if the ‘chat’ itself is clean and straight, this kind of ‘chat’
with a strange (ghair-mahram) person is forbidden in Islam, whether it
be by phone, mobile, CB, pen or electronic, it is simply not allowed.
Then consider the filthy and rude language used by most persons in
‘chatrooms’ - this cannot be evaded and one is bound to be affected by
this rude language sooner or later.

GROSS WASTAGE OF ALLAH’S FAVOURS
Hours and hours of good, useful and constructive time - the most
valuable entity on earth - is squandered uselessly on the ‘Net and in
chatrooms. If only that time - and Almighty Allah swears an oath on
the value of Time - was used to do some virtuous deeds, how beneficial
and profitable it would have been! If only the hundreds of wasted
rands in connection fees and phone bills could have been used to feed
a hungry family in Ethiopia or elsewhere; if only it could have been
contributed towards a needy and deserving Masjid or Madrasah project,
how useful it would have proved? This is yet another serious drawback
of the Internet for a good practising Muslim.

DANGERS TO AQEEDAH AND MORALITY
Then there is the deluge of Kufr sites, masquerading as good and
informative Muslim sites and a plethora of sites by the myriads of
deviated sects, all crouching like hungry lions at the water hole,
hoping to pounce upon, savage and devour the unwary ‘prey’ that may
come out their way. How can one whose knowledge of Islam is nominal
hope to come out unscathed in his Imaan after such ‘encounters’? Then
the uncensored flood of the filthiest pornography and sleaze
imaginable, that permeates every area of the ‘Net, is yet another
total ‘no-go zone’ for any Muslim. The temptations to just ‘take a
peek’ are very compelling and once this slippery path is walked upon,
it is very difficult for most people to turn back.

So before you or your innocent little ones connect (or reconnect) to
the ‘Net, think, think carefully! Is it for a pious or worthy purpose
or is it just for fun and entertainment, to pass time! If this is so,
you may have easily ‘connected’ to the ‘Net but you could end up,
Allah forbid, ‘disconnecting’ your Imaan, your Islam and your morality
in the process! Is it worth it?