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Shazia Ahmad

Spiritual Pitfalls for the Muslim Blogger

Islam and the Internet Series: Intro | Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII |Part IV

Blogs are gateways, that grant us access into the interiorworlds of other people. They of f er us glimpses into people’sexperiences, thoughts and f eelings, revealing their stronglyheld opinions and their innermost dreams. The relative ease ofblogging, especially with f ree hosting and user- f riendlyservices, has made it an extremely popular way f or many of usto share pieces of our lives and personalit ies with others on aglobal scale. Blogs have given a voice to many whose realit ieswould otherwise be unknown to the general public, and we nowf ind an ocean of Muslim writers contributing to the onlineblogosphere.

While there are many beautif ul, benef icial, and posit ive things we can share with others through our blogs,which can make blogging a spiritually uplif t ing experience, there are also certain types of writ ing that canactually be harmf ul to our spiritual state. Here are six blogging tendencies that may be spiritually detrimentalf or us, and that we should seek to avoid when we write and post.

1. Cathartic Sharing

We should be wary of using our blogs as outlets f or venting negative f eelings and f rustrations in our lives. Instead of channeling such f eelings into posit ive avenues, that would bring about benef it f or ourselves andothers, we may instead f eel a f alse sense of relief or satisf action in simply ‘lett ing it all out’. It would be f arbetter f or us to make constructive changes in our lives and seek out the proper support, guidance, andadvice needed to help address the dif f icult ies we may be experiencing.

Another harm of this type of blogging – especially when writ ing about situations in which we f eels that wehave been wronged – is the ease of f alling into certain prohibited types of speech, such as speaking ill ofothers, making accusations, and exposing people’s f aults to others’ scrutiny. One may f eel that they aresimply telling their side or lett ing the truth be known, however, when one is emotional and f eels that theyhave been oppressed it is dif f icult to be cautious in one’s speech and it is easy to trample on others’ rights.

Lastly, in lamenting on the personal dif f icult ies we may be going though via blog post, we may be missingout on the opportunity to show a beautif ul level of etiquette with Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is he),in not complaining about the Creator to others in creation. Instead of openly venting our negative f eelingsto others, we can instead turn to Allah (swt) and beseech Him f or His help, showing a level of patience,composure and dignity in the f ace of tribulation, and withholding ourselves f rom emotional rants orcomplaints.

2. Arm-Chair Crit iquing

Blogs are a means by which we can openly share our opinions on an array of issues, and it is common tof ind Muslim bloggers discussing their communities, masjids, Islamic organizations and institutions, andother Islamic projects they come into contact with. While it is easy to complain about the wrongs andnegatives that one may see in dif f erent settings, it is much harder to actually become involved andinvested, and work to make things better. We should be cautious of lett ing our blogs make us into arm-chair crit ics, who, while other are rolling up their sleeves and doing actual work, sit back as spectators,concerned more with commenting than constructing. We should be wary of becoming isolated f rom thecommunity, relegating ourselves to the role of observer and pundit rather than actual participant.

3. Using Words as Weapons

We should also be wary of attacking others, individually or as groups, and using words as a way tohumiliate and punish. There is nothing wrong with f eeling passionate about an issue, and respectf ullydisagreeing with others; however a passionate expression of ideas is very dif f erent f rom simple emotionalranting. We can f ind many examples of blog posts in which entire groups of people are targeted andcharged with the actions of a f ew – “Muslim men these days are all irresponsible and immature” – or wherecomplex ideas of Islamic law are emotionally debated and labels are tossed down on whoever disagrees –“That idea/scholar/group is Wahabi/Suf i/etc.” We should use our words to inspire, enlighten and educate,and not to insult or denigrate. In engaging in this type of rhetoric, we may f eel a sense of satisf action inone-upping the other party. However, the evident harms of such speech – in hurting and discouragingothers, and engendering resentment and hatred between people’s hearts – makes it something extremelydangerous. Passion and strong f eelings can exist, but must be reigned in by composure, level-headedness,and f ear of Allah in the words we write and share.

4. Loving One’s Own Opinion

Another issue we should be cognizant of is a f eeling of self - importance that may come f rom constantlysharing our opinions with others, and latent f eelings of arrogance, over-conf idence and condescensionthat may arise f rom this. One may begin to write desiring or expecting the admiration of others, seeking togain their approval, or to be talked about and discussed. This is very harmf ul to the sincerity of one’sintention, and leads one to a disproportionate perception of the importance of one’s opinions and writ ings.

In addition, we may begin to f eel that we should have a f ixed and strong opinion on everything, even thosematters about which we are ill inf ormed or unqualif ied to discuss. The grave seriousness of discussingreligious issues may be disregarded in our constant desire to philosophize, debate, and have our opinionsbe heard. This is in complete contradiction to the tradit ion of our scholars, who were extremely hesitant tostate their opinions on religious issues unless they were conf ident about their understanding of them. Thegreat 14th century scholar Ibn Rajab al Hanbali1 describes them in the f ollowing way:

“The early imams were cautious about speaking about [the lawf ul and unlawf ul] because one who speaksabout such matters is relating inf ormation f rom Allah, enunciating His commandments and prohibit ions, andpassing on His sacred law. It was said about Ibn Sirin, ‘If he was asked about something regarding thelawf ul or the unlawf ul, his color would change. He would be transf ormed until he no longer seemed thesame person.’ Ata’ ibn al-Saib said, ‘I met people who, when asked f or a religious verdict, would tremble asthey spoke.’ It is related that when Imam Malik was asked about a legal matter, it was as if he weresuspended between Heaven and Hell. Imam Ahmad was extremely hesitant to speak on the lawf ul andunlawf ul, to claim that something was abrogated, or related matters which others would too readilyexpound. He f requently pref aced his answers with phrases such as, ‘I hope that…’ ‘I f ear…’, or ‘It is morebeloved to me…’ Imam Malik and others would f requently say, ‘I do not know.’ Imam Ahmad would of ten sayon an issue with which righteous f orbears had various opinions, ‘The most likely answer is, ‘I do not know.’’”

5. Excessiveness in Speech

A wise person once said that the more one speaks, the more one is likely to f all into mistakes. Bloggers areof ten prolif ic writers, sharing their thoughts on a daily or weekly basis and producing volumes worth ofmaterial f or others to read. We should make sure that we are not writ ing simply to f ill the page, but with theintention of bringing about some type of benef it. This is a very practical manif estation of the Prophetictradit ion which says, “Speak khayr – that which is good and benef icial, or remain silent.”2 In the same vein,we should blog well, or instead keep our thoughts and writ ings to ourselves.

Another point to consider is that in constantly sharing and writ ing about religious experiences andknowledge, we may not be giving ourselves enough time to suf f iciently absorb and digest what we havelearned. While it is commendable to share benef icial knowledge with others, our f irst consideration whenlearning should be to understand and implement that knowledge in ourselves and our own lives. We mayneed time to ref lect deeply, ruminate and ‘f eel’ what we have learned, moving it f rom intellectual data tosomething f elt and understood with the heart, and acted upon with our limbs. This is not something thatcan be easily done if we are constantly in the mode of ‘transf erring’ knowledge to others.

6. Sharing that which has No Benefit

The Prophet � (peace be upon him) would pray f or Allah’s ref uge f rom “knowledge that does not benef it.”There are many types of knowledge that exist, the most noble being knowledge of God Most High. Thereare also types of knowledge or inf ormation that bring about harm, or are meaningless and actually donothing but waste one’s t ime. Becoming immersed in discussions about these types of knowledge isspiritually harmf ul, distracting one f rom more important matters and taking up important spiritual andpsychological ‘space’ that should be f illed with other, better things. We should avoid trivial or meaninglessdiscussions and debates. We should also be wary of sharing personal matters, that should be kept withinthe sanctity of one’s f amily and loved ones, or in some cases, solely between a person and their Lord.

Conclusion

An Arabic expression states that there are three things that cannot return; a spent arrow, a missedopportunity, and a spoken word. May Allah Most High make us conscious of every word we speak, write, orblog. May He make our words something that we are rewarded f or, that draw us closer to Paradise and toHis pleasure, and that once expressed, do not become a source of regret. I ask Allah Most High to makeour writ ing and blogging a means of elevating our spiritual state, and to protect us f rom f alling into theprohibited, disliked and detrimental. Ameen.

Conclusion to the Islam & the Internet Series

This series was not intended to be comprehensive, but to explore and highlight some of the major trendsand issues related to Muslims and their use of the internet. We pray that it has been a means ofencouraging deep-thinking and discussion on these issues, and the start of a higher level discourse aboutways we can use the internet in posit ive ways. May Allah bless you f or reading and contributing, and ourauthors and editors f or their contributions. We would like to give special thanks to our guest writers in theseries, Sr. Jannah (Da’wah in the Age of iPhones ) and Ustadh Sohaib Saeed (The Fiqh of Facebook).

1. The Heirs of the Prophet by Ibn Rajab al Hanbali, translated by Imam Zaid Shakir ↩2. In Riyad as Saliheen and Agreed upon ↩