Dear Brothers and Sisters!

In Today’s times we are constantly exposed to information overload. Especially with the development of social media, where the control is weak, people are caught in a surge of news that is questionable whether it is true or not. The news can quickly reach the masses and can lead to provocations. However, Allah (swt), who is Al-Khabir, that is, “the All-Aware’ says in the Quran; “O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful.”[1]. One of the most important features that distinguishes a conscious Muslim from an unconscious person is that they do not carry every news they hear to others. The following hadith draws our attention to this issue: “It is enough for a man to prove himself a liar when he goes on narrating whatever he hears.”[2]

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

We should show this sensitivity especially in the context of religious knowledge. It is in no way possible to underestimate our sensitivity regarding the hadiths, which is one of the two sources of our divine knowledge. For, Rasulullah (saw), who was sent as a mercy to the worlds, mentions two liars in one of his hadiths. The first of these is the one who mentions a false statement as a hadith and the other is the one who narrates it. Therefore, we should pay attention to the reliability of our sources while conveying religious information.
Dear Jama’ah!

The problem of fake news and misinformation also negatively affects health-related issues. Because misinformation in the field of health and medicine has begun to pose a danger to the health of the society and individuals. The issue of the pandemic, which has occupied us for more than one and a half years, is not an exclusion in this context. Therefore, it would not be right for us to praise inaccurate information and conspiracy theories about the source, vaccine and treatment of the disease on platforms such as social media.

As Muslims, we only speak in areas where we have sound knowledge. Our Prophet Muhammad (saw) even warned those who are not experts in the field of medicine with these words: “Anyone who practises medicine when he is not known as a practitioner will be held responsible.”[3]

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

We Muslims know the world as a place of testing. We believe that we will pass this test by spending the life bestowed on us by Allah (swt) in a way that complies with His will. The biggest reason for us to succeed in this test is that we are right in our words and actions and avoid mistakes.

May Allah (swt) make us one of his servants who are sensitive about fake news and avoid false information. Ameen.

[1] Surah Al-Hujarat, 49:6
[2] Müslim, Mukaddime, 3
[3] Ebû Dâvûd, Diyât, 25

Khutba-Fake News and Misinformation