Truthfulness – Age of Internet and The Islam

With the development of internet, which is considered as the most defining technology of our age, the commonness of all types and sources of information have become handy and accessible at the farthest corners. This is further supported by newer technologies in computers and smartphones. The most common used sources of information include the social media and blogs written by millions of people. There are over 1.75 billion websites currently on internet and 4.18 billion mobile Internet users as of 2020. Truthfulness in this age of internet with growing channels of information and declining moral virtues is getting obscured. Islam provides a pathway, specifically pointing to speak truth in our lives.

Internet, provides a remarkable advantage for students, scholars, researchers and everyone else to get there required information in no time. This ease has led to the development of information channels, being used for political warfare, with misinformation and disinformation being used commonly to create anarchy. The most important factor involved, is the lack of proper knowledge in users, who are supporting them, with spread of these false information’s, without checking the credibility.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن جَاءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا أَن تُصِيبُوا قَوْمًا بِجَهَالَةٍ فَتُصْبِحُوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَادِمِين

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, over what you have done, regretful. (Al Quran, Al-Hujrat 49:6)

Islam has a very clear and distinct point of view, regarding our relationships with each other. Speaking truth is a pivot in our communication, which is greatly stressed in Quran as well as Hadith narrated and practiced by Prophet Mohammad ﷺ. Truthfulness in Islam envisages being truthful to yourself first, along with being truthful to each and every person around.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدً

O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allah and speak straight, true words. (Al Quran, Al-Ahzab, 33:70)

طَاعَةٌ وَقَوْلٌ مَّعْرُوفٌ فَإِذَا عَزَمَ الْأَمْرُ فَلَوْ صَدَقُوا اللَّهَ لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَّهُم

If they had been true to Allah, it would have been better for them. (Al Quran, Muhammad 47:21)

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَكُونُوا مَعَ الصَّادِقِين

O you who believe, keep your duty to Allah, and be with the truthful people. (Al Quran, At-Taubah 9:119)

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاءَ لِلَّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوِ الْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالْأَقْرَبِينَ إِن يَكُنْ غَنِيًّا أَوْ فَقِيرًا فَاللَّهُ أَوْلَىٰ بِهِمَا فَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا الْهَوَىٰ أَن تَعْدِلُوا وَإِن تَلْوُوا أَوْ تُعْرِضُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرً

Be maintainers of justice and bearers of true witness for Allah, even if it (the truth) goes against your own selves or parents or relatives or someone who is rich or poor. (Al Quran, An-Nisa 4:135)

وَمَن يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فَأُولَٰئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ وَالصَّالِحِينَ وَحَسُنَ أُولَٰئِكَ رَفِيقً

And whosoever obeys God and His Messenger, such will be in the company of those whom God has blessed: the Prophets, the truthful ones, the martyrs, and the righteous. And how excellent a company are such people! (Al Quran, An-Nisa 4:69)

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ نُمَيْرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ، وَوَكِيعٌ، قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا الأَعْمَشُ، ح وَحَدَّثَنَا أَبُو كُرَيْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا الأَعْمَشُ، عَنْ شَقِيقٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ “‏ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالصِّدْقِ فَإِنَّ الصِّدْقَ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْبِرِّ وَإِنَّ الْبِرَّ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ وَمَا يَزَالُ الرَّجُلُ يَصْدُقُ وَيَتَحَرَّى الصِّدْقَ حَتَّى يُكْتَبَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ صِدِّيقًا وَإِيَّاكُمْ وَالْكَذِبَ فَإِنَّ الْكَذِبَ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْفُجُورِ وَإِنَّ الْفُجُورَ يَهْدِي إِلَى النَّارِ وَمَا يَزَالُ الرَّجُلُ يَكْذِبُ وَيَتَحَرَّى الْكَذِبَ حَتَّى يُكْتَبَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ كَذَّابًا ‏

Abdullah reported Allah’s Messengerﷺ as saying: It is obligatory for you to tell the truth, for truth leads to virtue and virtue leads to Paradise, and the man who continues to speak the truth and endeavors to tell the truth is eventually recorded as truthful with Allah, and beware of telling of a lie for telling of a lie leads to obscenity and obscenity leads to Hell-Fire, and the person who keeps telling lies and endeavors to tell a lie is recorded as a liar with Allah. (Sahih Muslim: 2607c)

حَدَّثَنَا زُهَيْرُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، وَعُثْمَانُ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، وَإِسْحَاقُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، قَالَ إِسْحَاقُ أَخْبَرَنَا وَقَالَ الآخَرَانِ، حَدَّثَنَا جَرِيرٌ، عَنْ مَنْصُورٍ، عَنْ أَبِي وَائِلٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ “‏ إِنَّ الصِّدْقَ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْبِرِّ وَإِنَّ الْبِرَّ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ وَإِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَصْدُقُ حَتَّى يُكْتَبَ صِدِّيقًا وَإِنَّ الْكَذِبَ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْفُجُورِ وَإِنَّ الْفُجُورَ يَهْدِي إِلَى النَّارِ وَإِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَكْذِبُ حَتَّى يُكْتَبَ كَذَّابًا ‏”‏ ‏.‏

Abdullah reported Allah’s Messengerﷺ as saying: Truth leads one to Paradise and virtue leads one to Paradise and the person tells the truth until he is recorded as truthful, and lie leads to obscenity and obscenity leads to Hell, and the person tells a lie until he is recorded as a liar. (Sahih al-Bukhari 6094, Sahih Muslim 2607 a)

The teachings of Islam requires us, to develop the ability to scrutinize through mountains of information and to distinguish between right and wrong. It teaches us to check every information coming to us before sharing it with our friends and family.

The political use of social media for spreading rumors is spreading. The long debated accusations on Facebook, twitter, TikTok and other such platforms is suggestive of tactical usage of these platforms for developing negatives in society. This is further worsened on individual level, there is a whole lot of people, who are faking information just for their own benefits, and sometimes out of neglect, without realizing the negative impact they are contributing towards the society.

Disinformation and misinformation on the internet, have their roots developing in the core of our society. Every day, we witness government leaders and chief executives of major corporations misinforming the public in ways that have colossal consequences, further aggravated, unknowingly by people who do not verify the information or its source. This is not confined to the top level, today, our moral and business ethics are declining, and at every level we experience the lack of trust and truth.

As a Muslim, the verification of information, its source, and the proper management of knowledge are key factors in development of a true Islamic society. We have to be vigilant in analyzing the news coming to us on different media platforms, verify the authenticity and then share.