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Some Flaws of Religious Discourse in Mass Media
Author : Dr. Hassan Abu_Arqoub
Date Added : 11-10-2022

Some Flaws of Religious Discourse in Mass Media

 

Religious discourse is one of the most widespread discourses in mass media and aims to acquaint believers and others with the teachings of Islam to be a methodology for the believers and an invitation for the non-believers.

The follower of religious discourse hardly fails to notice a number of flaws that limit its actual success. This I say because this discourse may have succeeded in the sense that it has spread widely, but it lacks the true fruits desired from it. Some key flaws are:

 

First /Takfir and Tafsiq:

 

The proponents of this discourse consider themselves on the truth and whoever disagrees with them is an evil sinner who had gone astray. The amazing thing, here, is that they apply this to their fellow Muslims and about controversial issues. For example, tagging the Muslim who visited the grave of a saint as an apostate who went astray and abandoned the sound doctrine. Rather, whoever doesn`t consider such person an apostate is an apostate himself. This is extremely exclusive since it isn`t correct to judge someone`s belief in such a haphazard manner. First, we have to make sure that their belief is valid through dialogue. If they have done something wrong, we should teach them how to right that wrong. If they haven`t, then we may not agree with their view or not favor it. However, it is wrong to accuse them with innovation, deviating from the right path since this leads to introducing this exclusive culture in society, causes division, and afterwards yields terrorism, and extremism since, from their perspective, people are considered either apostates or misguided innovators.

 

Second/Fanaticism:

 

It is normal to have Madhabs (Schools of Islamic thought) along with the foundation of the religion. As for fanaticism, it is denounced in every time and place since it causes one to deviate from justice and equity, becomes magnanimous with his Madhab to the extent of recognizing no other, and thus impairs his mind and thought leading to freezing his reasoning and rejecting the other. Instead of using his time studying and seeking knowledge, a bigot engages in tracking the lapses of others and refuting their views. This is an endless cycle that increases enmity and hatred on steady basis, so the victims of fanatic discourse remain in the same cycle spreading the culture of hatred and rejection of the other throughout society yielding extremism and terrorism. Historically speaking, bigots have been practicing this for so long.

 

Third: Failure to distinguish between divine text and human Ijtihad (Independent reasoning), which is a serious drawback. This is because the divine text has its sanctity and respect and it isn`t permissible for the religious person to disagree with or ignore it for doing so renders his/her religiosity meaningless. As for Ijtihad in understanding a text, it remains a human effort that doesn`t enjoy the same sanctity although it is respected and appreciated. This human effort is amenable to give and take and disagreement since people perform acts of worship based on the injunctions of their Lord not fellow humans. Here, the problem lies in elevating the status of Ijtihad to the sanctity of the divine text, which bans minds from coming near or examining human Ijtihad although some may have better Ijtihad. 

 

Fourth/Being out of touch with reality:

 

This is noticed in some topics presented through the media. While most people are having hard times trying to survive, some presenters dwell on issues like the ruling on shaving beard or the obligation of having a Sutrah (An object used by a person performing Salah as a barrier between himself and one passing in front of him). These are examples of controversial issues for which one episode or book will not contribute to the renaissance of the Muslim nation. Rather, there is room for disagreement since they aren`t doctrinal issues testing someone`s faith.

 

Fifth/Employing myths and stories:

 

The divine religion is founded on divine text and it has to be delivered to the people. However, it can`t be conveyed through stories, myths and lies although these are sweet on the ear, numb the mind, and incite tears. Some advocates tell stories that have no origin nor chain of narrators and spread them amongst the people as divine text. They, for instance, would say that girl was paralyzed because she disobeyed her mother; that person got mad because he disobeyed his father; that person became poor because he didn`t make a donation to a certain party; that woman caught cancer because she didn`t wear Hijab, in addition to many other examples. The problem, here, is that these reinforce only the idea that Allah is there to punish His slaves, He isn`t merciful and doesn`t forgive sins and slips.

The above stated is the tip of the iceberg, but I wanted to quickly go over them as a reminder for my brothers and myself to avoid them as much as possible.

 

The published article reflects the opinion of its author

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Summarized Fatawaa

What are the conditions governing the portion that must be distributed to the poor from a voluntary uḍḥiyyah (sacrificial offering)?

 
 
 
 
 
 

All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
The following conditions apply to the portion distributed to the poor from the sacrificial animal:
First: It must be meat — it isn`t valid to give the poor organs or offal such as the liver.
Second: It must be given raw — cooked meat does not fulfil the requirement.
Third: It must amount to no less than half a kilogram. And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the Du`a (supplication) of Istikhara (guidance prayer)?

O Allah, I consult You as You are All-Knowing and I appeal to You to give me power as You are Omnipotent, I ask You for Your great favor, for You have power and I do not, and You know all of the hidden matters. O Allah! If you know that this matter (then he should mention it) is good for me in my religion, my livelihood, and for my life in the Hereafter, or he said: "for my present and future life" then make it (easy) for me. And if you know that this matter is not good for me in my religion, my livelihood and my life in the Hereafter, or he said: "for my present and future life" then keep it away from me and take me away from it and choose what is good for me wherever it is and please me with it."

The Jurisprudential Significance of the Ḥadīth: "Whoever says, at the conclusion of the Fajr Prayer, while crossing his legs, before speaking..."
"Whoever says, at the conclusion of the Fajr prayer, while crossing his legs, before speaking: 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lah, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-ḥamdu yuḥyī wa yumītu wa huwa ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr' ten times — ten good deeds will be recorded for him, ten bad deeds will be erased from him, he will be raised ten levels, he will spend that day in protection from everything disliked and guarded from the devil, and no sin will be able to befall him on that day except associating partners with Allah" — does this noble ḥadīth apply to the imam, and what is meant by "extraneous speech"?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is recommended for both the imam and those praying behind him to recite, immediately after the final salām, the specific remembrance reported in the sunnah to be said before turning away from one's place of prayer. The imam then leaves his praying spot, and the act of "turning" is fulfilled when the imam faces the congregation — even without physically leaving his spot — by positioning his right side toward them and his left side toward the qiblah, and this applies even while he is engaged in supplication.
Al-ʿAllāmah Ibn Qāsim al-ʿAbbādī states in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā al-Tuḥfah (Vol.2/P.105): "It is most virtuous for the imam, once he has given the salām, to rise from his place of prayer immediately afterward." He adds that an exception must be made for the remembrances that are specifically required to be recited before he turns away. He then notes, citing Sharḥ al-ʿUbāb: "Yes, an exception to this rising immediately after the salām applies to the Fajr prayer, due to the authentic report that the Prophet ﷺ, when he prayed Fajr, would remain seated until the sun rose." He further cites, from al-Khādim, the ḥadīth concerning one who recites, at the conclusion of the Fajr prayer while still in the position of crossing his leg to rise: "Lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lah..." and the rest of the well-known ḥadīth. He comments that this makes explicit that this particular remembrance is to be recited before the worshipper turns his legs to leave, and the same applies to Maghrib and ʿAṣr, as reported in those contexts as well.
What is meant by "speech" in the relevant ḥadīth is extraneous worldly speech that is not called for after the prayer and for which there is no legitimate excuse. The remembrances reported to be recited upon concluding the prayer, however, do not fall under this category of extraneous speech, since they are themselves required by the sharīʿah.
Al-ʿAllāmah ʿAlī al-Shabrāmalsī states in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā al-Nihāyah (Vol.1/P.551): "If someone greets a person with salām while he is occupied with reciting this remembrance [i.e., 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh...'], should he return the greeting — without this causing him to forfeit the promised reward, since he is engaged in an obligatory matter — or should he delay returning the greeting until he finishes, this being a legitimate excuse for the delay?" He continues: "I say: the more likely view is the former, and the prohibition on speech is to be understood as applying to extraneous speech for which there is no legitimate excuse. Based on this, should the worshipper give precedence to this remembrance ('Lā ilāha illā Allāh...') or to reciting Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ ('Qul huwa Allāhu aḥad')? This requires consideration, though it is not unlikely that the remembrance takes precedence, given that the Lawgiver urged hastening to it through his words 'while crossing his leg.' This is not considered ordinary speech, since it is not extraneous to what is required after the prayer."
Accordingly, it is recommended for both the imam and those praying behind him to recite this remembrance and to give it precedence over the other remembrances of the prayer, ensuring it is said before they move from their place. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

 
What is the ruling on someone who eats or drinks while uncertain about the arrival of dawn, then later finds out that dawn had not yet broken?

If a person does this, their fast remains valid, as it is confirmed that they ate during the night. Similarly, if someone eats while uncertain and remains unsure whether they ate before or after dawn, their fast is still valid. This is based on the maxim of Sharia Law, which states: "Certainty is not removed by doubt." Certainty, here, is the presence of night, and the doubt concerns the arrival of dawn. Therefore, one relies on certainty and disregards doubt.

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