The modern era has witnessed innovations and changes that humanity has never experienced before. With the advancement of science and technology, modern life has undergone a fundamental transformation. Particularly, the internet and the social media that came with it have radically altered how people spend their time, interact with one another, form relationships and communication patterns, and acquire knowledge. While this transformation has its positive aspects, it also has negative consequences.
Initially, people enthusiastically embraced the opportunities that the internet and social media offered, such as quick access to information, making friends easily, entertainment, staying informed about global events, influencing large audiences, and earning money effortlessly. However, it was not long before experts began to highlight the potentially destructive and harmful effects of social media on human life if used without caution. Through experiments and research, they have demonstrated that excessive, unconscious, or aimless use of social media has numerous adverse effects on human psychology.
Let’s leave the aspects related to human relationships, psychology, social life, and media ethics to experts. The main focus of this discussion is the religious and moral dimensions of the issue. Social media is a platform where intensive sharing takes place, information spreads rapidly, and tight-knit communication networks exist. If used wisely, it can serve as a means to spread goodness and beauty, raise awareness about injustices, and enhance knowledge and skills. In this way, social media can contribute to a person’s record of good deeds and enable them to perform righteous actions that please God. However, if not used properly, these platforms can also lead to sins and violations of human rights, ultimately resulting in spiritual loss. Therefore, those with religious sensitivity and a cautious approach toward sin must adhere to specific ethical guidelines when sharing content, producing material, consuming information, and interacting with others on social media.
It must be remembered that every individual is undergoing their own test in this world and will be held accountable for all their words and actions in the hereafter. Social media is also part of this test—perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of it. The responsibilities that come with servitude to God remain valid in social media settings. The religious prohibitions concerning privacy, human rights, and interpersonal relations apply just as much in the digital world as they do in real life. Consequently, every action taken on social media—time spent, posts shared, likes given, accounts followed, and subscriptions made—will be subject to divine scrutiny.
Furthermore, the likelihood of crossing religious boundaries is much higher in social media environments. Since identities are often concealed in these virtual spaces, and there is a perception of unrestricted freedom, people may more easily succumb to their desires and impulses. Additionally, the craving for attention, recognition, fame, approval, and admiration is one of humanity’s greatest weaknesses. Social media exploits these vulnerabilities and often drives individuals toward excessive and reckless behavior.
Our aim here is to highlight some of the religious dangers that social media poses for those who take the test of life seriously and wish to ensure an easier reckoning in the afterlife.
Respecting the Rights of Others
Respecting the rights of others is one of the most crucial principles emphasized in Islam. In a hadith, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) describes the fate of a person who has performed many acts of worship but has also violated the rights of others. The rewards for their acts of worship are distributed to the rightful claimants. If these rewards are insufficient to compensate for the harm caused, the sins of the claimants are transferred to this person, ultimately leading them to Hell. For this reason, the Prophet refers to such a person as a “bankrupt” individual (Muslim, Birr 59).
In another hadith, it is stated that all sins of a martyr who dies in the path of God are forgiven, except for violations of human rights (Muslim, Imarah 112).
Due to the significance of human rights in Islam, the Prophet advised: “If anyone has wronged his brother in honor or property, let him seek reconciliation before the Day of Judgment, when gold and silver will be of no avail” (Bukhari, Mazalim 10).
These narrations emphasize that one of the greatest obstacles on the path to Paradise and one of the toughest trials for a believer is the issue of violating the rights of others. When people think of such violations, they usually consider theft, corruption, fraud, oppression, physical harm, and murder. However, other transgressions such as slander, lying, backbiting, spying, gossiping, cursing, insulting, mocking, demeaning, unjust accusations, and character assassination are also violations of human rights. In short, human rights violations encompass any form of harm inflicted upon another person, whether material or moral. Islam prioritizes the elimination of such harm as one of its primary objectives.
Summary of Other Ethical Issues
- Unfair Judgments and Trials: Social media often turns into a space for virtual trials where individuals are judged, sentenced, and sometimes even socially executed without any fair process. Insults and harsh words are easily exchanged, something that people would hesitate to say in face-to-face interactions.
- Spying on Others’ Private Lives: Some individuals take on the role of social media prosecutors, investigating and exposing others’ faults and sins. However, the Qur’an explicitly forbids spying (Surah Al-Hujurat, 49:12) and encourages believers to conceal others’ faults rather than publicize them.
- Lying and Slander: Some people fabricate lies about others, engage in defamation, or contribute to the spread of falsehoods. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) strongly condemned lying, stating that only those who lack faith fabricate falsehoods (Kanz al-Ummal, Hadith no: 8994). The Qur’an also warns against following unverified information (Surah Al-Isra, 17:36).
- Backbiting and Defamation: The Qur’an likens backbiting to eating the flesh of one’s dead brother (Surah Al-Hujurat, 49:12). The Prophet defines backbiting as mentioning something about a person that they would dislike, and if the accusation is false, it becomes slander—an even greater sin.
- Accountability for Spreading Evil: The Prophet (pbuh) stated, “Whoever initiates a good practice in Islam will receive the reward of those who follow it. Likewise, whoever initiates an evil practice will bear the burden of those who follow it” (Muslim, Zakat 69). This means that those who contribute to spreading sin on social media will bear a share of its consequences.
- The Principle of Presumed Innocence: Islam upholds the presumption of innocence, urging believers to maintain a positive opinion of others unless there is clear evidence of wrongdoing (Surah An-Nur, 24:12).
Social Media Ethics
Given the risks associated with social media, it is essential for believers to adhere to ethical guidelines. Every action taken online has consequences, both in this world and in the hereafter. Before liking, sharing, or commenting on a post, one should reflect on whether it serves truth and justice or contributes to falsehood and injustice. The Qur’an and Hadith emphasize caution, truthfulness, and the avoidance of harm to others—principles that should guide all social media interactions.
Thus, social media is not merely a tool for entertainment or communication; it is also a test of morality and responsibility. Those who use it with ethical awareness can turn it into a means of spreading goodness, while those who act recklessly may accumulate sins that will burden them in the hereafter.
