(Please don’t forward any religious message using social
media without ascertaining its trustworthiness)
Safar al-Muzaffar is the second month the Hijri (Lunar) calendar succeeding
Muharram and preceding Rabi I. Muslims should perform their worships as usual
like they do in any other months, because no specific type of prayer, whether
obligatory or supererogatory, has been specifically prescribed in this month. It
is just like other months. Accordingly, to believe that disasters and calamities
befall in this month is erroneous. During the time of ignorance, people believed
it to be an ill-fated month. They would not set out on a journey in this month.
It is a matter of grief that the erroneous and unsound belief of the time of
ignorance has been into the social media which is widely shared by our own
brethren. Besides many merits of social media, it has numerous demerits as well.
One such demerit is that a considerable number of people without reading or
ascertaining the truthfulness of the messages forward them to others. These
messages contain matters believed to have been said by Allah’s messenger (ﷺ)
which he actually never said in his life. This is despite the fact that severe
warnings have been reported in ahadith for such act. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said:
“Whoever tells lies about me deliberately, let him take his place in Hell.” (Bukhari).
This saying of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) has been narrated in various books of
hadith. This means Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) has prohibited from this act many
times. Therefore, one should never forward anything reported to have been said
by Allah’s messenger (ﷺ) without ascertaining its trustworthiness. Likewise,
Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: “It is enough for a man to prove himself a liar when
he goes on narrating whatever he hears.” (Muslim). In another hadith, Allah’s
messenger (ﷺ) said: “Whoever narrates a Hadith from me and it is false, then he
is one of the liars.” (Muslim)
Allah’s messenger (ﷺ) refuted such false belief before 1400 years. The most
authentic book of hadith has narrated a saying of Allah’s messenger (ﷺ) in these
words: Translation of Meaning: “Nor is there any bad omen in the month of
Safar”. In fact, the omen is in the deed of a human being that he disobeys the
Creator of the universe, despite the fact that he needs the order of Allah, the
almighty for his very existence. There will surely come a day when he will taste
the death following which he shall have to give the account of each and every
moment to Allah, the Almighty. Accordingly, whatever time spent in a way
contrary to the commandments of Allah, the Almighty is, in fact, ominous, and
not a specific month or day. Therefore, anybody doing good deeds in the month of
Safar it will be the reason behind this Safar’s being the month of bliss and
blessing. Likewise, the times and months in which he does bad deeds will be
ominous for him. For example, some people perform prayer of Fajr at the time
prescribed for it while some people remain sleeping without any justifiable
reason skipping the prayer, then the same moment is a source of success and
bliss for some while it is ominous for some others. This means there is no bad
omen that lies in a specific moment or month, rather it depends upon our deeds.
In a Qudsi hadith Allah, the Almighty says: “The offspring of Adam abuse the
Dahr (Time), and I am the Dahr; in My Hands are the night and the day.” (Bukhari)
Some people influenced by the events of time, prompt to curse the time, while
the time does nothing, but it is by the order and consent of Allah, the Almighty
that the events of the time occur.
No single verse of the Holy Quran or a hadith of Allah’s messenger (ﷺ) says
there is bad omen in the month of Safar or disasters or misfortunes befall in
this month. Therefore, the whole Muslim nation is unanimous that the month of
Safar is similar to other months having no bad omen. A number of events in the
Prophet’s biography in addition to marriages of a number of the Prophet’s
companions as well as entry into the fold of Islam have been reported to have
occurred in this month. We should also apply our mind and think how can a month
or time be ominous? Rather the month of Safar has been named as “Safar Al-Muzaffar”
means the month of success. Then how a month having the meaning of goodness and
success can be ominous? Some people, thinking that Allah’s messenger (ﷺ) fell
sick in the first thirteen days of Safar, do not arrange a marriage party during
this month. This is erroneous, for there is no such teaching in the Quran and
hadith. In addition, research proves that Allah’s messenger (ﷺ) did not fall
sick in the starting days of Safar rather at the end of Safar and in the early
days of the Month of Rabi I he had fallen sick and subsequently died on 12th of
Rabi I.
Some ignorant people celebrate joyfully on the last Wednesday of Safar and
distribute sweets. Such celebration has no place in the Islamic Shariah. This
has got currency among the people erroneously believing Allah’s messenger (ﷺ)
was cured that day, which is totally wrong. On the contrary, some narrations
mention the worsening health condition of Allah’s messenger (ﷺ). Therefore, the
last Wednesday cannot be a day of joyful celebration for the Muslims. This may
be the case with the Jews and Christians and it may likely have been rumoured by
them. Like the Muslims of the whole world, the stand of the Muslims of all
schools of thought in the subcontinent is that there is no bad omen in the month
of Safar. One can contract marriage etc in this month, and celebrating joyfully
on the last Wednesday of Safar is not a religious act rather it is contrary to
the teachings of Allah’s messenger (ﷺ).
These days, the trend of forwarding messages on social media has become a trend
which is becoming more prevalent at a very fast pace, seldom taking care to go
through them or ascertain as to the contents of these message are sound or based
on bundle of lies, prompting many of us to hasten to forward them to others.
This is despite the fact that messages are not meant for forwarding rather they
are sent for reading. We are not allowed to forward a message containing
erroneous information, especially when it is related to religious information.
This is because in this way we would have forwarded erroneous information to
others. For example, sometimes we receive a message advising us to forward five
names of Allah, the Almighty to any eleven Muslims in order to have our greatest
problems resolved. Likewise, if such and such message is forwarded to such and
such number of people we will be awarded paradise. Sometimes the message says
that only that person will not forward this message who does not love Allah, the
Almighty and His Messenger, etc. Such messages have no significance or relevance
in Islam, rather these are in general based on falsehood and fabrication.
Nowadays, we use social media for the cause of education and learning. This is a
blessing of Allah, the Almighty provided that we use it in a sound manner.
However, some people seeing the colourful look of a message hasten to forward it
to others without ascertaining its soundness. As such, if a message containing
erroneous information is forwarded, and it gets currency among the people, all
those facilitating it will earn a sin. Therefore, we should not forward any
religious material without ascertaining its soundness, as mentioned above in the
light of the ahadith of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ). Beware, whatever a person speaks
or writes is being continuously written in his record of deeds, as Allah, the
Almighty says: “Not a word does he (or she) utter, but there is a watcher by him
ready (to record it). (Surah Qaf: 18)
The Islamic history is witness to the fact that Islam and Muslims have incurred
heavy losses due to the dissemination of false news. For example, at the
occasion of the battle of Uhud, the news of the martyrdom of Allah’s Messenger
(ﷺ) was rumoured, sending a wave of shock among the ranks of Muslims, leading to
the repercussions detailed in history books. Likewise, at the occasion of the
battle of Banu Mustaliq, the hypocrites made a slander against Ayesha (May Allah
be pleased with her), that had an adverse effect even on Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ).
At the beginning, it was rumoured by the hypocrites which subsequently took a
toll on some righteous persons among the Muslims due to their ignorance. At last
Allah, the Almighty sent down a verse in the Holy Quran acquitting her of the
accusation levelled on her. In this verse Allah, the Almighty dispraised those
who spread the rumour trying to tarnish the respectful image of Ayesha (May
Allah be pleased with her). Allah, the Almighty says: “Verily! those who brought
forth the slander (against 'Aishah radhiallahu'anhu the wife of the Prophet SAW)
are a group among you. Consider it not a bad thing for you. Nay, it is good for
you. Unto every man among them will be paid that which he had earned of the sin,
and as for him among them who had the greater share therein, his will be a great
torment. (Surah An-Noor: 11)
Likewise, some websites conduct referendum polls (opinion survey) on some topics
relating to Islam. Some brothers get obsessed by their religious zeal and take
part exerting a handsome amount of their abilities in it. In general, almost all
such websites are used to propagate against Islam. We should not pay any
attention to such websites. Allah, the Almighty 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. (6). (Surah Al-Hujraat: 6). Likewise, Allah says: “Verily, those
who like that audacious (leading to illegal sexual activities) should be
propagated among those who believe, they will have a painful torment in this
world and in the Hereafter. And Allah knows, and you know not. (19) (Surah Al-Noor:
19).
In brief: Besides using the social media for the purpose of personal,
educational, social and commercial correspondence, we should use it excessively
for the purpose of propagation and dissemination of the message of Islam and
Prophetic sciences. This is because, at present, this is a media through which
we can deliver our message to others easily, otherwise the electronic, as well
as the print media, is in general in the hands of Anti-Muslim forces. If you
receive a message containing religious information from a reliable source, you
should go through it and forward it to others as much as you can so that the
message of Islam and its sciences are spread at a large scale. However, if you
receive any message from an unreliable source, you should not forward it without
ascertaining its soundness. No single hadith has been reported on the topic of
bad omen in the month of Safar, nor has a reliable Islamic scholar accepted it.
Therefore, do not forward such types of messages to others, rather delete them
promptly.