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Admonition for Journalists and Writers
Shaykh Salih bin Humayyid [(Rabee'uth Thaanee 2, 1425 (May 21, 2004)]
All praise is due to Allaah, Lord of all the
worlds. Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon the Messenger, his household and
companions.
Fellow Muslims! Fear Allaah, do good deeds, beware of lustful desires and
heedlessness and be sincere in all your deeds.
Brethren in faith! Allaah created the heavens and the earth in truth. He sent
His Messengers and revealed to them the Book and the balance that men may stand
with justice. Mankind’s affairs cannot be upright except by the truth; and men’s
confusion and their misery are caused by their negligence of the truth, their
toying with justice, their indifference to falsehood and the spread of lies in
all their affairs.
Mankind’s salvation and success lie in maintaining the truth in all their
undertakings. If their share of truthfulness and justice is great they will
certainly achieve a great development, but if not they will fall into the abyss
of confusion. The righteous society is the one where suspicions and rumours are
fought relentlessly; where only realities are allowed to thrive.
 Dear brethren! We
are saying this because Allaah has facilitated for the people of this age
different means of communication; both audio and visual. They are means of good
for the good people. For they save their time and pass their messages across
within short period. Among their benefits is that they are used to seek for
religious counselling from qualified scholars as they are used for other kinds
of commendable deeds like listening to and reading the sermons, giving
admonitions and carrying out duties among others. Therefore, those who make a
good use of them cannot refute the benefits of these new technologies. All
praise is due to Allaah for this and other blessings.
However, some people do misuse these technologies and they therefore, become the
source of evil for them. For their misuse has brought about on them misery,
hatred and rancour and have become for them a means to spread falsehood and
fitnahs among different categories of people be they rulers, the common people,
scholars men or women.
Some of these means of communication has produced sites and channels for people
where they discuss and share views on different issues. A keen observer of the
contents of these communication means will however notice a great defect in them
in the sense that a lot of these amount to waste of time and idle talk. Allaah
says,
“There is no good in most of their secret talks save
(in) him who orders Sadaqah (charity in Allaah’s Cause), or Ma'rűf (Islaamic
Monotheism and all the good and righteous deeds which Allaah has ordained), or
conciliation between mankind; and he who does this, seeking the good Pleasure of
Allaah, We shall give him a great reward.”
(An-Nisaa 4:114)
Many are the dissentions and rumours in these web pages and TV channels that
have had woeful consequences. Where there is some truth, the undesirable people
add lies and falsehood to it in a way that renders the truth useless. A lot of
these discussions and talks are characterized with looking for other people’s
faults, exaggerating other’s mistakes and misjudgement. The matters have reached
an extent where some people do invent allegations against others, misinterpret
sayings and events and are never ashamed of spreading false rumours.
It is therefore required of the righteous among the owners of websites and their
visitors; the owners of satellite channels and their viewers; and the
journalists and the analysts to remember the saying of the Messenger of Allaah
in an authentic hadeeth that goes thus, “Two men came to me last night and told
me: ‘As to the one you saw who was tearing his jawbone, he used to fabricate a
lie that was then transmitted from him until it carried across the horizons.
That is how he will be treated on the Day of Resurrection.’”
The journalist who spread false news among millions of people, a politician who
gives people fake pictures about issues involving the ummah, and the thinker who
masters the art of propagating false allegations directly and indirectly; let
each of these know that the wider the false is spread the greater and more
severe its evil and danger on the ummah. The Prophet said, “There will appear
among my ummah at the end of the Hour some devilish liars who will tell you what
neither you nor your ancestors have ever heard of. So keep away from them that
they may not mislead you and tempt you.”
Fellow Muslims! These means of communication reflect the picture of the user;
they show his good manners or lack of that, the soundness or darkness of his
heart and the weakness or strength of his eemaan.
Brethren in Islaam! It must be clearly stated here that the common men must not
be given more than their rights. It is not for the common people – in disregard
to the scholars – to decide what is the truth or virtuous. The realities and
facts should rather be taken from their original sources and regardless of the
wishes of the opponents of the truth and the ignorant even if they are counted
in millions. The leaders are also urged to base their behaviours and stands on
truth, justice and eemaan. They should not be disturbed by criticism or worried
by a lot of attackers and detractors. They should not be too sensitive to what
people say by being deceived by their praising and discouraged by their
criticism. The wise man does not care about comments of a people whose habit is
passing their time in discussing other people’s affairs. Who is he that can
prevent people from speaking or writing falsehood? The great among men is one
who has both praisers and critics; the one who is happy whenever his faults are
shown to him. The wise is the one who weighs whatever is said about him, takes
that which the truth and beneficial and verifies that which is not clear to him.
Brethren in faith! We must make a distinction between a constructive criticism
and destructive one. Constructive criticism is a sincere advice that enjoins
good, forbids evil and helps in self-examination. A constructive criticism
rectifies mistakes, corrects the fault and aims at reforms so that the truth may
be actualised and falsehood eradicated. It guides to the right path and is far
from injury, looking for gaffes and exaggeration of mistakes.
Destructive criticism, on the other hand, aims at demeaning people through
falsehood and misinterpretation of people’s intentions with no valid reason and
tarnishing men’s reputation. This kind of criticism therefore destroys good
deeds, wastes the energy and distracts the society from pursuing its beneficial
goals.
Dear brethren! The best thing that one can do in this tumultuous situation is to
be altruist, persevering, seeking the truth, abiding by the correct path and
keeping away from frivolities. A Muslim must also not fall into acts for which
he criticizes others and should endeavour to be sincere and eliminate elements
of jealousy, whims and suspicion from his heart. The Messenger of Allaah said,
“Do not envy one another, do not hate one another and do not plot against one
another and remain as servants of Allaah in brotherhood. A Muslim is the brother
of his fellow Muslim. He should not wrong him nor disgrace him or treat him with
contempt. It is forbidden for any Muslim to violate the blood, property and
dignity of his fellow Muslim.” This is the admonition of your Prophet and
Messenger Muhammad –peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him.
People however vary as far as proper behaviour is concerned. The fortunate is
therefore the one who when shown guidance, he follow it and when reminded of
Allaah he remembers Him. Do not therefore be ill mannered, insensitive or hard
natured.
Brethren in Islaam! Everybody talks about reform. But reform is not something
that is achieved through rumours or statements that are posted on the web pages
or newspaper pages or issues that are ignorantly discussed on TV channels.
Allaah says,
“Do they not then consider the Qur'ân carefully? Had it
been from other than Allaah, they would surely have found therein many a
contradiction. When there comes to them some matter touching (public) safety or
fear, they make it known (among the people); if only they had referred it to the
Messenger or to those charged with authority among them, the proper
investigators would have understood it from them (directly). Had it not been for
the Grace and Mercy of Allaah upon you, you would have followed (Satan), save a
few of you.”
(An-Nisaa 4:82-83)
He also says,
“And indeed We have created man, and We know what his
own self whispers to him. And We are nearer to him than his jugular vein (by Our
Knowledge). (Remember!) that the two receivers (recording angels) receive (each
human being), one sitting on the right and one on the left (to note his or her
actions). Not a word does he (or she) utter, but there is a watcher by him ready
(to record it).”
(Qaaf 50:16-18)
Dear journalists and writers! Of the things that the Ummah needs in order to
attain prosperity, felicity and unity is to be truthful in sayings. Any society
attains prosperity and orderliness if it adheres to truthfulness in sayings,
deeds and interactions. The liar may have a selfish friend, but he will
definitely not find a friend among the virtuous men. Words must be adequately
weighed and verified before releasing them and truth must always be adhered to.
For falsehood and lies harm people and break their ties as truthfulness in words
leads to truthfulness in deeds and subsequently to all that is good. The
Messenger of Allaah said, “Be truthful, for truthfulness leads to righteousness
and righteousness leads to Paradise; and if a man tells the truth and nothing
but the truth, he will continue doing that until he is written with Allaah as a
truthful one. Beware of lie, for lie leads to sinfulness and sinfulness leads to
Hell; and if a man tells lies and nothing but lies, he will continue to do so
until he is written with Allaah as a liar.”
Do not be of those who when they hear a news they hasten to spread it without
verification. For the one who does this is never deterred by piety or manliness.
The wise man does not talk before he verifies and with greater reason a believer
who fears his Lord. The Prophet said, “It is enough a sin for man to narrate all
that he hears.” A wise man said, “He who has power over his tongue puts it under
control, and it is only he who is despicable that hasten to talk without
verification. Whoever preoccupies himself with what he knows not, he will be
treated with suspicion in what he knows.” Allaah says,
“O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allaah and fear
Him, and speak (always) the truth. He will direct you to do righteous good deeds
and will forgive you your sins. And whosoever obeys Allaah and His Messenger
(peace be upon him), he has indeed achieved a great achievement (i.e. he will be
saved from the Hell-fire and will be admitted to Paradise).”
(Al-Ahzaab 33:70-71)
Dear brethren! Whenever we are writing, criticising, analysing or talking about
reform and development in Muslim societies, we should not sideline others even
if we do no agree with their views as long as we are all Muslims since there is
no compromise on the Muslim identity. The identity of the Muslim is Islaam,
Islaam is the reform and the reform is Islaam. The Muslim’s honour is only
through Islaam, his nation is Islaamic, his society Muslim, his Ummah is Muslim
and the slogan of every Muslim is the following verse,
Say (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) "Verily, my Salât
(prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allâh, the Lord of the 'Alamîn
(mankind, jinn and all that exists). He has no partner. And of this I have been
commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims."
(Al-An‘aam 6:162-163)
Proper reform rejects any foreign connection that negates Islaam. Islaamic
reform repudiates all alien slogans. Reform is a lively and continuous activity
unlimited by a time.
All societies have defects. But fairness demands that achievement should also be
considered when we are talking about a particular society. The need for reform
should not make us forget the innumerable blessings in which we are living, the
greatest of these blessings is that of eemaan. Allaah says,
“They regard as favor to you (O Muhammad (peace be upon
him)) that they have embraced Islaam. Say: "Count not your Islaam as a favor
upon me. Nay, but Allaah has conferred a favor upon you that He has guided you
to the Faith if you indeed are true.”
(Al-Hujuraat 49:17)
Fellow Muslims! Fear Allaah and adhere to the truth. Act upon it and follow the
path of moderation and justness. Allaah says,
“And do not do mischief on the earth, after it has been
set in order, and invoke Him with fear and hope. Surely, Allaah’s Mercy is
(ever) near unto the good-doers.”
(Al-A‘raaf 7:56)
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