A Fiqh of Social Media Poem
Last Updated September 18, 2021
This is a poem written by poet Ash Shawwa. Check out his books on Amazon. This poem is based off the Fiqh of Social Media presentation that has now been turned into a book - Please visit Amazon to purchase.
Fiqh of Social Media by Ash Shawwa
From twitter, to Snapchat, to Instagram, to Facebook. Fact is, social media has us hooked. In the year of 1985, The essence of life… Took a leap in time.
As we have progressed through time, times has truly changed; As if the time before 1985 was something strange. There was once a time where one visited a friend and food was offered, But now the time has arrived where when we don't receive the wifi password we feel a bother.
With the internet, a stranger is merely a gaming console away, A PC away, With no doorbell and screening in any way.
We must remember that technology is a tool… To use it, does not make you a fool. And on the other hand it doesn’t always make you cool. What it is, is a choice like a never ending swimming pool.
You can choose to swim on the right side, Or you can choose to swim on the left side.
Our faith teaches us, we are on the religion of our friends. And to many the World Wide Web defines our trend. The sad reality is, you may have thousands of Facebook friends but no real friend.
Social media is a window allowing others to look at your life and peak in. Little do we know, of the fact, that others are opening this window and allowing judgment and analysis to begin. Sins disclosed… And deeds, I suppose.
Islam is a a faith sent down, not only to guide those who came before; But for all of us until time is no more; And this, must make us excel in every subject and shine. We should be the forerunners of our present time.
Our prophet ﷺ never had a Facebook, And yet we read his revelations 1400 years later in our holy book. He ﷺ never made a single tweet, But his words will be felt until the end of time even by the elite. He never posted a picture on Instagram, but his beauty can be felt, Every time we read his story and reflect.
Social media can dilute the mind. Quieting it in time. Social media can drain our mental energy, And has a big influence in our destiny.
Give a child an imagination and then give him a phone. He forgets Allah and thinks to himself if no one replies to my comment I'm nothing but alone. We need to teach ourselves that it's normal to be bored, And that it's okay to be alone.
Because when you’re alone your mind wonders, And with the right direction you begin to ponder; Not realizing this act, makes your very own intellect stronger.
Facebook has a currency, and that currency is not money. That currency is, attention, in forms of comments and likes; And bad decisions sometimes receive more attention. And this makes us feel we need to produce more negative decisions.
But let’s state the facts, social media is a tool, and that tool can be used for good; And like all things in life, every situation we go through can produce good. But, there must be structure; Because whether we like it or not social media is a part of our culture.
Now technology can also be a form of charity. In the form of a FaceTime to family, With a smile, because we all know as prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: a smile is charity. And, with thousands of miles between two people a simple video chat on Facebook can allow you to see them clearly.
But when we see a stranger’s profile we have to realize, this is their public profile. It doesn’t always show their true lifestyle. So, we see a stranger post a picture of their new car; And think to ourselves, "that's what it feels like to be a star," I need that car.
Jealousy is a real thing, and so is envy. So whenever you post something on social media I have advice in the form of three…
Ask yourself these question with honesty.
Is it for attention, or is it beneficial?
Is it important, or is it artificial?
Is there a reward, or is the outcome superficial?
I will end this with five statements of advice
Do not deactivate your social media but ask yourself would I benefit if I delete the simple app
If you don’t want to delete the app stop the notifications and take a step back
Set a time where you can check the updates you lack
Dedicate a certain time where no technology would be used without having to crack
And finally look in your own mirror and ask yourself, when a man from Google switched to Facebook, got a team together including psychologist, and made scrolling down an addiction like being hooked to smack, like any drug, ask yourself, without social media for a few hours, will there be anything in life that will lack