SHAH ALAM - Looking at the horrid posts, comments and communication on social media in these current times is heartbreaking, especially during the post-election period.
Although such actions were made by a small portion of the public, it gave a clear message that the crisis of morals and manners was deteriorating, as reflected in the statistics released by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
A total of 48 charges were filed in courts throughout the period from January to September 2020 due to misuse of social media.
It included 34 charges that involved offences under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 such as sharing and disseminating obscene and fake content.
Social media was best as a medium of communication to bring useful information for the community's progress and the same was for morals which were indicators of a civilisation's development.
Unfortunately, for some reason, the language interactions that were present on social media were 'hurtful' and sometimes biased towards certain parties, which was not a true reflection of Islam.
What approach was taught by Islam to communicate on such platforms? How did Rasulullah SAW interact with others?
Religious Preacher Mohd Hassan Adli Yahaya or also known as Imam Muda Hassan explained the moral crisis when interacting on social media now was a phenomenon sometimes used as a joke or entertainment.
He explained that users had no knowledge of each other on the platform making people less afraid to add 'flavours' towards a matter discussed through it.
Hassan explained that Islam had placed the shame of other Muslims as on oneself.
Rasulullah SAW in a narration said 'Believing servants are not included, i.e., those who always reveals shame, like to curse, behave badly and like to hurt.' (Hadith at-Tirmizi).
The preacher said our society, including Muslims seemed to be entangled with social media to such an extent that comments and posts were humiliating, hurtful and involved sensitive issues such as religion and race.
"Some people may see it as a non-trivial matter but that's not the point. The question is whether is it truly Islamic morality?
"If anyone thought so, it meant we had prepared to stray from Rasulullah's SAW morality. This was what should be focused on," he said
Hassan urged all to follow Rasulullah SAW in terms of communicating because he was great at caring for the hearts of people.
"Whenever Rasulullah SAW spoke to a person, he would not turn his body away from the individual.
"Whoever met the Prophet would leave happy, whether he is a Muslim or not, be it a child or an elderly.
"Although during his time there were no social media, the moral principles the prophet held could be imitated and carried when interacting on social media.
"Think about it, what would a person benefit from our post or comment? Would it cause them to like or hate us?" he said while reminding Muslims to keep quiet when there was nothing good to be said.
He mentioned before the end of his speech that the words that came out from an individual reflected the speaker’s personality
"When speaking about the evil from others, it mirrors our own, individuals who like to embarrass or find faults in others had their own ego and pride within them. This was written in the al-Wafi book.
"Another was that usually people would mention how 'a person does an evil act due to the devil'.
"The fact is a human could become evil without any temptation or the devil's whispers if the person was already sick with the feeling of pride. The devil performs the actions because of its nature. Be careful because that attitude is very dangerous," he advised.
The statement was affirmed by the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Islamic Centre Deputy Director Dr Mohd Nasir Masroom.
He explained a person's speech, actions or writings are a manifestation of our own hearts, if our conscience was filled with praiseworthy qualities, it would be reflected in our conversations, our behaviour, our writings and vice versa.
He replied to a question and answered the characteristics of a good mukmin were those who istiqamah with a moral that was praised including their intentions, actions, speech and writings. This was due to each part of our bodies being accountable for what it does as stated in verse 36 of Surah al-Isra.