HAVING A RAMADAN-FRIENDLY SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERIENCE

As Salam Alaykum wa Rahmatullah Wabarakatuhu. As we are about to begin this year's fasting in the Holy Month of Ramadan, we pray to Almighty Allah to grant us good health and give us the opportunity to reap from the immense benefits of the month and accept our acts as ibadah. Ameen.

I felt like writing this short post to give tips on some of the ways we could interact with our gadgets and social media during the Holy Month of Ramadan. The teaching about the Holy month of Ramadan is to abstain from things that may vitiate the fast, either by sight, words or even thoughts. We are supposed to keep not only our mouths, but our minds, ears and eyes as well away from impurities. The last aspect which deals with sightseeing is particularly discussed in this post. I believe it would have been easier to just abandon our various gadgets and social media for one month…. But some people (myself inclusive) may find it very hard to do. I need to keep up with news, updates on my field of work and emails! Therefore  I have made this post in order to have a more Ramadan friendly social media experience.

 I should however give the precaution that this does not in any way constitute any legal authority at all concerning Islamic teachings. The reader should take these as my opinion and my opinion alone. I do not claim any knowledge or authority for that matter and these tips do not constitute fatwa, and where any of these tips run contrary to the teachings of Islam, kindly point it out using the comment section below. Wa Allahu a'alam. One other thing is that these opinions may seem like sad Dharria (cutting it from the source) in a way of preventing a greater harm, it is best to abstain from some things as the Prophet SAW teaches us about the Shubuhaat and how it is best we refrain from grey areas.

I have given my opinions below in line with my own understanding of various apps on our phones and tablets and websites which are popular and which enjoy high ratings all over the world. The order of arrangement has nothing to do with priority.

1. Web browsers: I have decided to start with web browsers (either on your phone or tablet or laptop) as they are gateways to websites and where we get information at our grasp. It ranges from your favourite opera mini on your devices, google chrome, internet explorer, uc browser, Mozilla firefox….. you can go on.  The internet today is filled with the good, the bad and the ugly and the ways of avoiding seeing obscene images or videos are as follows;

i.                     Set your browser settings not to display images: this is available in all browsers. Scroll to the settings menu and deselect the option to load images. This will help you avoid seeing obscene  pictures which can pop up on your screen unknowingly

ii.                   Remove extensions which may pop up unwanted adds. This is applicable to browsers usually on laptops or tablets or where you have a malware on your phone. These extensions are installed sometimes without even you knowing that you have installed them and the next thing you know is that once you open a page, an image springs up on your screen. Going through the apps on your app list may help in removing suspected apps or installing an adblocker or antivirus. 

iii.                  Refrain from clicking links that you cant read…. This is pretty simple. If Mr. A shares a link to you via sms, whatsapp, telegram, bbm etc… and you cannot read the link, please don’t click on it. For instance a link like http://www.fake.com/nudity-see-this-unclad-pictures??? Will clearly tell you that the link is definitely taking you to doom. But the problem is that the same link can be shortened to http://dhe95458497gt and you are asked to click. Then you end up opening the bad page. So it is always good to avoid clicking any link you cant read. Safe zone is to disable images in browser as stated above. 

iv.                 Don’t follow articles, posts or write up that may have obscene contents. Several posts on the internet may prove innocuous by the title but with likelihood of displaying other obscene content. Don't fall for it.

v.                   Spend less time on the internet…. More time for Ibadah. An author once reminisced on how much time we waste on logging in, checking for update, grimace, refresh, log out, log in again.... And so on.... We can just schedule"refresh' to a couple of times. Time is of the essence during Ramadan.

Vi.       Disable pop up notifications

2. Facebook( no bad blood please) : Well,  the best way to get round this one is to delete the facebook app on your phone/tablet and use the web version instead. It will do you much good…. Trust me. It saves battery to delete the facebook app and you don’t get notifications! On a more serious note, one can unfollow or leave groups that have obscene contents, unfollow or unfriend people that post nudity, set your browser not to display images and also go to your privacy settings to avoid a lot of anomalies that may come. Most people do not go to the privacy settings…. Please do so today. You can disable a lot of content related issues as pictures, posts you do not want to see, etc.
3. Whatsapp: This should perhaps come as number one in priority.

i.                     You can start by blocking some friends who share obscene contents, and remove yourself  from groups that you know deep down will either take your time or end up sharing information which may probably lead you to obscenity or time wasting chats

ii.                   Go to settings and disable media autoload on both wifi and mobile data. Unfortunately, you cannot disable audio messages… but please just exercise restraint before you open it. If you are not sure of the video or picture that is being shared, please don’t download. It's never a crime to ask for what a video or photo contains before you download.

iii.                  Don’t share Islamic teachings which you have not verified as true, accurate and correct by yourself. If you are not learned in Islamic studies or Islamic Law, please do not forward any message to people. There are wrong teachings out there and  non muslims putting non Islamic content in Islamic content and this is very bad. There are verses of the Bible for instance attributed to the prophet… how would you know? The best idea is simply to avoid forwarding messages which you cannot tell the source. Spreading lies is not simple in the sight of Allah, spreading religious ignorance is even worse! Don't be a cleric overnight.

iv.                 Refrain from sharing jokes, un-educative videos and pictures. You many not know how much of time people spend watching a clip. Save them data and time for worship.

4. BBM: The same issues under whatsapp above apply. However, here are some peculiarities:

i.                     Disable "show display pictures in chats"

ii.                   Delete Channels that propagate obscene contents

iii.                  As you are aware that your BBM feeds contain adds, updates from groups and channels, be careful when you scroll… some of the BBM adds click to links automatically.

iv.                 You can disable notifications if you cant afford to see the blackberry logo with red dot without checking

5. Twitter: Go to settings under the twitter app, check under Display and Sound to disable images and sound and also check Privacy and Contents tab to disable "Show me sensitive Media". You can also turn off "Who can tag me in photos" and more importantly, under the Data tab in Settings, disable "images preview in timeline". This will not allow your followers or people you follow display contents that are not Ramadan compliant on your Timeline.
6. Instagram…. Here is a tough one…. Instagram is mainly for short videos and pictures…. I wonder the work through for this one… perhaps choosing who to follow is the key. but hey, privacy options are there under settings… plus, you can always unfollow anyone!
7. Snapchat, IMO, 2go etc… All these apps have privacy settings, just go in and change or you can delete the app and reinstall.
8. Phone: Generally, we are very attached to our phones…. But…

i.                     We should give more time to ibadaah and recitation of the Quran.

ii.                    If you read your quran on your phone or listen to the audio on it, I suggest you get rid of the music on your phone. This suggestion is not passing a fatwa on music, please don’t get me wrong. But it would be very absurd after listening to a surah of the quran and your next track is a hip hop song! A tech savvy person may create playlists… but these devices can play up anytime.

iii.                  Your gallery may contain images and pictures you've downloaded long time ago without remembering or things that automatically downloaded from whatsapp or bbm etc…. if you can go through it, then please do and delete the not so good content.

iv.                 Games take time and some of them are very very addictive…. If you play FIFA mobile like I do, tell your league members its Ramadan and delete the app, and if it is Candy Crush, please delete the app for now… Remember, you can always reinstall it after and continue.... Or intend to say goodbye as I want to in Sha Allah.

V.        Install apps that can improve your ibadah. Apps like tafsir (in kathir for instance is in virtually all stores), Hadith, hisnul Muslim, memorize Quran, adhan, and others come very handy. If you find it hard looking for some, I can recommend.

Overall, I did not intend this post to be this bulky, Just wanted my opinions to be out there. Again, please do not take my opinions as high as a ruling on the use of your devices, they are just simple tips that you might not have noticed. May Allah SWT accept our fasting as act of Ibadah. Ameen. Feel free to drop your suggestions and advice in the comment below.