Part One
Praise be to Allah. We praise Him and seek His help and forgiveness. We seek
refuge in Allah from the evil within ourselves and from our wrong deeds. He whom Allah
guides, none can misguide, and he whom Allah sends astray, none can guide. I bear
witness that there is no god but Allah alone, Who has no partners, and I bear witness that
our prophet, Muhammad, is His servant and messenger.
O you who believe! Fear Allah (by doing all that He has
ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden)
as He should be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him,
and remember Him always], and die not except in a state
of Islam [as Muslims (with complete submission to
Allah)]. (Al ‘Imran: 102)
O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from
a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) He created
his wife [Hawwa’ (Eve)], and from them both He created
many men and women; and fear Allah through Whom you
demand (your mutual rights), and (do not cut the relations
of) the wombs (kinship). Surely, Allah is Ever an All-
Watcher over you. (An-Nisa’: 1)
O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allah and fear Him,
and speak (always) the truth. He will direct you to do
righteous good deeds and will forgive you your sins. And
whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger (peace and
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blessings be upon him), he has indeed achieved a great
achievement (i.e. he will be saved from the Hell-fire and
will be admitted to Paradise). (Al-Ahzab: 70-71)
O Muslims!
In view of the current developments in the media as well as the social changes
and other transformations that the world is witnessing in various fields, a serious social
phenomenon has emerged, namely, the phenomenon of rumours, which means spreading
information among individuals and societies without having any clear or conclusive
evidence as to its truth. News is sometimes broadcast without verification in conditions of
uncertainty and confusion, thus causing fear, panic, and disturbance among people, which
has negative effects on individuals, societies, and nations.
No wonder this is the case, O Muslims, for there are different reasons and motives
behind the spread of rumours. The most serious of all these is that they are used by the
enemies to fight the Ummah’s religion and worldly life, security and safety, and
prosperity and stability in times of peace and in times of war. Such malicious rumours are
spread when there is a fertile soil for their growth, circulating in the appropriate
environment and under suitable circumstances, with a view to achieving evil goals and
realising unscrupulous ends, especially in this day and age of ours. Therefore, false
rumours are the weapon of hypocrites and alarmists, about whom Allah, Majesty and
Glory be to Him, says:
If the hypocrites, and those in whose hearts is a disease
(evil desire for illegal sex), and those who spread false
news among the people in Al-Madinah, stop not, We shall
certainly let you overpower them: then they will not be
able to stay in it as your neighbours but a little while.
Accursed ... (Al-Ahzab: 60-61)
Fellow Muslims!
Many are those rumours that have worn away the body of the Muslim Ummah
and damaged its activities, thus helping achieve the aims of the enemies of Islam and
serve their evil goals and malicious objectives. It is for this reason that Islamic law set
forth clear guidelines to protect society against whatever is bound to cause harm to it or
give rise to its corruption. These include fighting the various types of false rumours and
combating the broadcast of false news. To this end, Islam commands its followers to
avoid saying or writing anything without having evidence for its truth or authenticity.
Allah, Majesty and Glory be to Him, says:
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And follow not (O man i.e., say not, or do not or witness
not) that of which you have no knowledge. Verily! The
hearing, and the sight, and the heart, of each of those one
will be questioned (by Allah). (Al-Isra’: 36)
Religious texts have warned against all kinds of lies, including reporting rumours
while one knows they are false, and reporting information that is based on mere lies,
conjecture, and doubts. Allah, Exalted be He, says,
O you who believe! Be afraid of Allah, and be with those
who are true (in words and deeds). (At-Tawbah: 119)
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “… and telling lies leads to
wickedness, and wickedness leads to Hellfire.”
Brothers in Islam!
Spreading information without verifying its truth is forbidden in Islam and
abhorred by human nature and social norms. So many are those incidents where the
circulation of false news has given rise to serious damage and great evils; hence the
decisive Divine warning against circulating unfounded information for which there is no
evidence or proof:
Not a word does he (or she) utter, but there is a watcher
by him ready (to record it). (Qaf: 18)
Our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “He has committed enough sins
who relates all that he hears” (Reported by Muslim). Another version of the hadith
reads, “He has told enough lies who relates all that he hears.”
Fellow Muslims!
Beware of helping circulate any information whose truth has not been proved and
whose correctness has not been ascertained. Doing so is a type of spreading falsehood.
Describing the obedient servants of the Most Gracious, Allah, Majesty and Glory be to
Him, says:
And those who do not bear witness to falsehood ... (Al-
Furqan: 72)
Our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Shall I not inform you
about the gravest of all the major sins?” The companions replied, “Yes, O Allah’s
Messenger!” He said, “Associating partners with Allah and showing disobedience
to parents.” He was reclining, then he sat up and added, “And giving false testimony,
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and making false statements.” He kept repeating this so much so that the Companions
wished that he had stopped (out of compassion for the Prophet, peace and blessings be
upon him).
Reporting false news and spreading unfounded stories only serve to delude
Muslims and deceive the believers. Our Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him,
said in an agreed upon hadith, “A Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hands
the Muslims are safe.”
O Muslims!
Passing on news by way of hearsay is a practice that is totally rejected in Islam,
no matter under which circumstances or in what manner it is done. It is reported in Sahih
Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade
useless talk based on hearsay. One version of the hadith reads, “... He [Allah, Glorified
be He] disapproves for you useless talk based on hearsay ...” (Reported by
Muslim).
Therefore, O Muslims, beware of saying or writing anything that is bound to
spread unfounded information so that you may be safe and earn reward; otherwise, you
will be committing an obvious sin and telling a great lie, which will not benefit you in
your worldly life and will negatively affect your religion.
It is reported in Sunan Abi-Dawud with an authenticated chain of transmission
that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “How bad it is for a man to
keep saying, ‘They claim…’!” It is also reported in Sahih Muslim that the Prophet,
peace and blessings be upon him, said, “He who attributes a hadith to me which he
deems false [i.e. which he believes to be false] is one of the liars.”
Brothers in Islam!
A Muslim should adopt a firm stance on rumours which are passed on without
evidence and should take the right course of action in this regard. He must take care not
to circulate the various statements whose truth he cannot verify. The stance he ought to
take is to follow the way that Allah, Exalted be He, has shown us and abide by the
guidance of the Chosen Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in this respect. Allah,
Majesty and Glory be to Him, says:
Had it not been for the Grace of Allah and His Mercy to
you in this world and in the Hereafter, a great torment
would have touched you for that whereof you had spoken.
When you were propagating it with your tongues, and
uttering with your mouths that whereof you had no
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knowledge, you counted it a little thing, while with Allah it
was very great. (An-Nur: 14-15)
Allah, Majesty and Glory be to Him, also says:
When there comes to them some matter touching (public)
safety or fear, they make it known (among the people); if
only they had referred it to the Messenger (peace and
blessings be upon him) or to those charged with authority
among them, the proper investigators would have
understood it from them (directly). Had it not been for the
Grace and Mercy of Allah upon you, you would have
followed Shaitan (Satan), save a few of you. (An-Nisa’: 83)
O Muslims!
Your stance should be based upon the principle of ascertainment and verification
and you must not hasten to disseminate any information for which there is no evidence.
Allah, Majesty and Glory be to Him, says:
O you who believe! If a Fasiq (liar – evil person) comes to
you with any news, verify it, lest you should harm people
in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful for
what you have done. (Al-Hujurat: 6)
It is authenticated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said,
“Deliberation is from Allah, and haste is from Satan.” Al-Hasan Al-Basri, may Allah
have mercy upon him, said, “A believer reserves judgment until he verifies things.”
For a Muslim to achieve full safety and security, he should avoid indulging in
spreading lies and passing on false information. As for the rumours that are spread about
fellow Muslims, particularly those who are known for their integrity, the Muslim
community is required to act upon the teachings of the Qur’an and adhere to its prudent
instructions in this regard.
Why then, did not the believers, men and women, when
you heard it (the slander) think good of their own people
and say: “This (charge) is an obvious lie?” (An-Nur: 12)
Allah, Majesty and Glory be to Him, also says:
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And why did you not, when you heard it, say: “It is not
right for us to speak of this. Glorified are You (O Allah)!
This is a great lie. (An-Nur: 16)
A Muslim must avoid all the means of spreading evil statements or passing on
scandalous news, especially nowadays, when almost every Muslim has access to these
devices that have spread among people, and when Satan may tempt him into abusing
such devices to the detriment of his religion and worldly affairs.
Therefore, O Muslims, fear Allah, for you have only been created to obey Allah,
Majesty and Glory be to Him. A Muslim can only be safe from committing great sins
and perpetrating grave errors when all his body parts, including the tongue, are watchful
and fearful of Allah, Majesty and Glory be to Him, and when he realizes that every word
he utters is recorded in his book of deeds. Allah, Majesty and Glory be to Him, says:
Verily, those who like that (the crime of) illegal sexual
intercourse should be propagated among those who
believe, they will have a painful torment in this world and
in the Hereafter. ... (An-Nur: 19)
Scholars say, “This verse is one of the fundamentals whereby all types of evil can be
blocked and prevented from spreading so that no eye may see them, no ear may hear
them, and no tongue may utter them.” This is the kind of community that Allah, Glorified
and exalted be He, likes Muslims to live in.
Therefore, O Muslims, fear Allah, Majesty and Glory be to Him, and adhere to
the rules of His Words (the Qur’an) and the guidance of His Messenger, peace and
blessings be upon him, and you will attain happiness in this world and in the hereafter.
May Allah bless you and me with the Qur’an and make us benefit from its verses
and clear guidance. I have said what you have heard, and I ask forgiveness of Allah for
myself, for you, and for all Muslims, for any sin we have committed. Ask Allah for
forgiveness. He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
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Part Two
Praise be to Allah alone. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, Who
has no partners in this life or in the afterlife, and I bear witness that our prophet,
Muhammad, is His servant and messenger, through whom Allah has opened closed
hearts, blind eyes, and deaf ears. O Allah! Bestow Your prayers, peace, and blessings
upon him and upon his family and faithful, pious Companions.
O Muslims!
Fear Allah as He should be feared. Fear Allah, for Allah protects those who fear
Him, grants them happiness, and never makes them miserable.
O Muslims!
The phenomenon of rumours is in fact a disease that threatens the life of society.
The creation of rumours has now become an organized activity that is based on wellcalculated
foundations and that has well-defined goals, using modern media to make
rumours spread like wildfire. The duty of the Muslim community, to which the Prophet,
peace and blessings be upon him, showed the way of salvation and success, is to combat
all types of rumours and nip them in the bud according to the above-mentioned Islamic
instructions.
Those in charge of the Muslim media should also fear Allah, Majesty and Glory
be to Him, and adhere to the right standards by reporting only accurate news and by
verifying it before it is broadcast. Media men are answerable to Allah, Majesty and Glory
be to Him, for this Ummah and are entrusted with the thoughts, minds, safety, and
security of Muslims, and whoever neglects the trust placed in him will certainly fail and
lose everything:
O you who believe! Betray not Allah and His Messenger,
nor betray knowingly your Amanat (things entrusted to
you, and all the duties which Allah has ordained for you).
(Al-Anfal: 27)
Allah, Majesty and Glory be to Him, has commanded us to do a glorious deed,
namely, to invoke His peace and blessings upon the Noble Prophet.
O Allah! Bestow Your peace and blessings upon our beloved prophet and the joy
of our eyes, Muhammad. O Allah! Be pleased with the Rightly-Guided Caliphs and
Imams, Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, along with Your Prophet’s family and all his
Companions, the Muslim contemporaries of the Companions after the death of the
Prophet (Tabi‘un), and those who follow them in righteousness until the Day of
Judgment.
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O Allah! Guide all Muslims to what You love and accept. O Allah! Guide all
Muslims to what You love and accept. O Allah! Keep all Muslim societies firm on the
Sunnah of Your Chosen Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.
O Allah! Make whoever harbours evil intentions towards us and towards Islam
and Muslims preoccupied with his own problems. O Allah! Make whoever harbours evil
intentions towards us and towards Islam and Muslims preoccupied with his own
problems.
O Allah! Grant safety and security to all Muslims. O Allah! Grant safety and
security to all Muslims. O Allah! Grant safety and security to all Muslims, O Most
Merciful! O Most Gracious! O Allah! Guide them to do what serves their religion as well
as their worldly affairs, O Ever-Living! O Self-Subsisting! O Allah! Gather them around
the word of truth. O Allah! Gather them around the word of truth. O Allah! Help those
who have gone astray among them return to the Qur’an and the Sunnah. O Allah! Help
those who have gone astray among them return to the Qur’an and the Sunnah. O Allah! O
Ever-Living! O Self-Subsisting!
O Allah! Forgive the sins all believers, men and women, and the sins of all
Muslims, men and women, living and dead.
O Allah! Make the best among Muslims the ones who rule them. O Allah! Make
the best among Muslims the ones who rule them. O Allah! Make the best among Muslims
the ones who rule them.
O Allah! Guide our ruler to what You love and accept. O Allah! Guide him and
guide his two Deputies to what You love and accept.
O Allah! Protect this country. O Allah! Protect this country. O Allah! Protect this
country and all Muslim Countries. O Allah! Protect it and all Muslim countries from the
enemy’s plots. O Allah! Protect it from the enemy’s plots. O Allah! Protect all Muslim
countries from the enemy’s plots.
O Allah! Protect Muslims. O Allah! Spare their blood and protect their property
and honour. O Allah! Confer Your favour upon us by sparing the blood and protecting
the safety of all Muslims. O Allah! Confer Your favour upon Muslims by sparing their
blood and protecting their property and safety, O Ever-Living! O Self-Subsisting! O
Owner of Majesty and Honour!
O Allah! Muslims have been inflicted by harm in some countries. O Allah! relieve
their distress. O Allah! You know that better than we do, so relieve their distress. O
Allah! Relieve their distress. O Allah! Remove their afflictions. O Allah! Remove their
afflictions, O Owner of Majesty and Honour!
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O Allah! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which
is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire.
O Allah! Send down rain upon us. O Allah! Send down rain upon us. O Allah!
Send down rain upon all Muslims. O Allah! Send down rain upon all Muslim lands. O
Allah! Grant us rain. O Allah! Grant us rain. O Allah! Grant us rain. O Allah! Let the rain
bring forth mercy with it. O Allah! Let the rain bring forth mercy with it. O Allah! Let the
rain bring forth mercy with it, O Ever-Living! O Self-Subsisting! O Owner of Majesty
and Honour! O Free from all wants! O All-Praiseworthy!
Servants of Allah!
Remember Allah much and glorify Him morning and evening.
