Author: Dr. Abd-ul-Kareem Bakkar
O my sons and daughters, the greatness of a person lies in the greatness of what they believe in, sacrifice for, and defend. Our upright religion, which we are proud to follow, guides us to love the truth, respect reality, and deal with it as it is, without any beautification or uglification. Al-Haq is one of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah the Almighty, the Prophet () came with the truth, and the heavens and the earth were created in truth.
Verifying the news we hear and read is the starting point from which we determine our stance towards it and according to which we support and advocate the truth. Today, you listen to a lot of common news and read a lot of information on the internet, noticing that much of it is of unknown source. In addition, the names of the writers of some of this news are pseudonyms, and the reporters of a lot of the narrations we hear are unknown.
This requires us not to hasten to believe, convey, and post what we hear in order not to take part in disseminating malicious and baseless news. Allah the Almighty says in this regard: “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.” (Quran 49: 6) Allah the Almighty also says: “O you who have believed, when you go forth [to fight] in the cause of Allah, investigate; and do not say to one who gives you [a greeting of] peace, ‘You are not a believer,’ aspiring for the goods of worldly life...” (Quran 4: 94)
It is a noble instruction for the believers in a battle not to hasten to kill a person without investigating whether he is a believer or a disbeliever.
What does this mean for my sons and daughters?
This means the following:
1.
Train yourself to avoid believing all what you hear by raising questions and thinking about the matter. Train yourself also to minimize the amount of what you narrate and report. The Prophet () said, “It is sufficient for a man to prove himself to be a liar that he reports whatever he hears.”
2. Always find the source of the news you hear, try to know its reporters, and check whether they are trustworthy or not.
3. What you see is likely to be more trustworthy than what you hear; and the longer the chain of narrators and reporters is, the greater the possibility of committing mistakes and falling into illusion.
4. There are uncountable experiences and incidents that prove that oral transmission is inaccurate, as people may add details to oral narrations according to their understanding, moods, and tendencies. Therefore, do not consider what you hear as absolutely true, and do not trust all its content.5. When the news includes strange and unfamiliar matters, we should examine them, as many narrations are untrue and exaggerated.
6. The real size of a matter and whether it is true or false can be known only once it ends. Therefore, you should take your time when passing judgments and wait until the speaker finishes what he says and the writer finishes his topic, which may be published in several parts.
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Book: (50 Sham‘ah Li-Idaa’it Duroubakum)