بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

People say time is money. But in our Deen, time is more valuable than gold. Because unlike wealth, time will never return, nor will it increase. We can’t make up for our lost time.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala takes time as an oath in several aayat, signifying its importance:

❛Wal-asr | By the ˹passage of˺ time.❜ [Surah al-Asr]

❜Wad-duha | By the time of Duha.❜ [Surah ad-Duha]

❛Wal-fajr | By the time of Fajr.❜ [Surah al-Fajr]

❛Wal-layl… | By night time…❜ [Surah al-Layl]  

Time is a precious commodity, for it allows us to do khayr (goodness) in this dunya so that we may attain everlasting bliss in the akhirah by the Mercy of Allah.

But today we’re faced with a multitude of distractions in the form of social media — Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, Twitter, etc. On one hand, social media is a ni’mah (blessing) from Allah. Through it, many tasks are easier to accomplish — buying and selling, connecting with kinship and friends, gaining knowledge, doing da’wah, and so many more examples.

On the other hand, social media is a musibah (calamity), for it consumes so much of our time, and sometimes even without us gaining any benefit out of it. It causes a person to be addicted to it, until the first thing a person does when he wakes up in the morning is reaching for his phone, and scrolling through his social feeds. 

And how many husbands, wives, and children, who are gathered under the same roof, but are busy with their phones and social media? How many Muslims have neglected their salaah and other obligatory duties because of it? How many have overlooked the responsibilities towards their family because they were engrossed with their social feeds, viewing and reading one content after another? And how many are addicted to sharing every single khayr, every single act of worship that they did, for a few ‘likes’ and ‘shares’?

Whereas the best of mankind, Rasulullah salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ❛Whoever among you is able to have a hidden good deed, let him do it.❜ [Al-Silsilah al-Saheehah No. 2313 | Graded Sahih by Sh. al-Albani rahimahullah]

And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala also praises the one who hides his good deeds. Rasulullah ﷺ said: ❛Seven people will be shaded by Allah under His Shade on the Day when there will be no shade except His, [and two of them are]: a person who gives charity so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand has given (i.e. nobody knows how much he has given in charity), and a person who remembers Allah in seclusion, and his eyes are flooded with tears (that he does not tell anyone).❜ [Sahih al-Bukhari 1423]

When we open a social media account, we’ve actually opened the door of hisaab (accountability) for ourselves. So do not get caught in the fitnah (test) of social media, when its musibah exceeds its benefits.

May Allah forgive us, and make us people who utilise His blessings in a way that He is pleased with. 

Your sister in Deen,

Aida Msr