Facebook:The Hidden Danger

[FeLiX zoe]

Facebook: The Hidden Danger

We live in an iWorld. Surrounded by iPhones, iPads, MYspace, YOUtube, the focus is clear: Me, my, I. One need not look far to see this obsession with the self. In order to sell, advertisers must appeal to the ego. For example, many ads appeal to the part of us that loves power and being in charge. DirectTV tells you: “Don’t watch TV, direct TV!” Yogurtland says: “You rule! Welcome to the land of endless yogurt possibilities, where you rule the portions, the choices and the scene.”
But advertisers aren’t the only ones who appeal to our ego. There is a global phenomenon that provides a breeding ground and platform for that ego. And it’s called Facebook. Now, I’ll be the first to assert that Facebook can be a powerful tool for good. It is, like many other things, what you make of it. A knife can be used to cut food which feeds the hungry, or it can be used to kill someone. Facebook can be used for great good—after all it was Facebook that helped facilitate the toppling of a dictator. Facebook can be used as a powerful tool to organize, call, remind, and unite. Facebook can also be used to strengthen our connection to God and to each other… Or Facebook can be used to strengthen the hold of our nafs(lower self or ego).
The Facebook phenomenon is an interesting one. In each and every one of us is an ego. It is the part of ourselves that must be suppressed (if we are to avoid Anakin’s fate of turning to the dark side, that is). The danger of feeding the ego is that, as the ego is fed, it becomes strong. When it becomes strong, it begins to rule us. Soon we are no longer slaves to God; we become slaves to ourselves.
The ego is the part of us that loves power. It is the part that loves to be seen, recognized, praised, and adored. Facebook provides a powerful platform for this. It provides a platform by which every word, picture, or thought I have can be seen, praised, ‘liked’. As a result, I begin to seek this. But then it doesn’t just stay in the cyber world. I begin even to live my life with this visibility in mind. Suddenly, I live every experience, every photo, every thought, as if it’s being watched, because in the back of my mind I’m thinking, “I’ll put it on Facebook.” This creates a very interesting state of being, almost a constant sense that I am living my life on display. I become ever conscious of being watched, because everything can be put up on Facebook for others to see and comment on.
More importantly, it creates a false sense of self-importance, where every insignificant move I make is of international importance. Soon I become the focus, the one on display. The message is: I am so important. My life is so important. Every move I make is so important. The result becomes an even stronger me-focused world, where I am at the center.
As it turns out, this result is diametrically opposed to the Reality of existence. The goal of this life is to realize the Truth of God’s greatness and my own insignificance and need before Him. The goal is to take myself out of the center and put Him there instead. But Facebook perpetuates the illusion of the exact opposite. It strengthens my belief that because of my own importance, every inconsequential move or thought should be on display. Suddenly what I ate for breakfast or bought at the grocery store is news important enough to publish. When I put up a picture, I wait for compliments; I wait for acknowledgement and recognition. With the number of likes or comments, physical beauty becomes something that can now be quantified. When I put up a post, I wait for it to be ‘liked’. And I am ever conscience of—and even compete in—the number of “friends” I have. (Friends, here, is in quotation marks because no one knows 80% of their “friends” on Facebook.)
This preoccupation and rivalry to acquire more, is mentioned in the Quran. God says:

“The mutual rivalry for piling up (of worldly things) has preoccupied you.”(102:1)
Whether that rivalry is in piling up wealth, or friends and ‘likes’ on Facebook, the result is the same: We have become preoccupied by it.
Facebook also strengthens another dangerous focus: the focus on other people, what they’re doing, what they like. What they think of me. Facebook feeds the preoccupation with others’ assessment of me. Soon, I enter the orbit of the creation. Inside that orbit, my definitions, my pain, my happiness, my self-worth, my success and my failure is determined by the creation. When I live in that orbit, I rise and fall with the creation. When the people are happy with me, I’m up. When they’re not, I fall. Where I stand is defined by people. I’m like a prisoner because I have given up the keys to my happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and disappointment to the people to hold.
Once I enter and live in the orbit of the creation—rather than the orbit of God—I begin to use that currency. See, the currency of God’s orbit is: His pleasure or His displeasure, His reward or His punishment. But, the currency of the orbit of creation is: the praise and criticism of people. So, as I enter deeper and deeper into that orbit, I covet more and more of its currency, and I fear more and more of its loss. While I’m playing Monopoly, for example, I covet more and more of its currency. And it feels great to be ‘rich’ for a moment. But when the game is over, what can I buy in the Real world with Monopoly money?
The human currency of praise is Monopoly money. It feels great for a moment to collect, but when the game is over, it’s worthless. In the Reality of this life and the next, it’s worthless. And yet, I even covet this false currency in my worship. In this way, I fall victim to the hidden shirk: Riyaa (showing off in worship). Riyaa is a consequence of living in the orbit of the creation. The deeper and deeper I enter into that orbit, the more I become consumed with gaining human praise, approval and recognition. The more I enter that orbit, the more I fear loss—loss of face, loss of status, loss of praise, loss of approval.
But the more I fear the people, the more I become enslaved. True freedom only comes when I let go of the fear of anything and anyone other than God.
In a profound hadith (Prophetic teaching), a man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: “O Messenger of God, direct me to an act, which if I do, God will love me and people will love me.” He ﷺ said: “Detach yourself from the world, and God will love you. Detach yourself from what is with the people, and the people will love you.” [Ibn Majah]
Ironically, the less we chase after the approval and love of the people, the more we gain it. The less needy we are of others, the more people are drawn to us and seek our company. This hadith teaches us a profound Truth. Only by breaking out of the orbit of the creation, can we succeed with both God and people.
So while Facebook is indeed a powerful tool, let it be a tool of your freedom—not a tool of your servitude to yourself and the assessment of others.

 

[badrobot14]

hahaha.. link to that article was my first ever status here on XPC... I still remember that!

Great reminder, Jazakillah khair!

 

[FeLiX zoe]

hahaha.. link to that article was my first ever status here on XPC... I still remember that!

Great reminder, Jazakillah khair!

What a coincidence !
Barakallahu Feek

 

[FeLiX zoe]

THE FIQH OF FACEBOOK

Online pursuits are consuming an increasing amount of time of young people, and no less the Muslims. Those among the 500 million global users of Facebook (FB) know how it functions as a platform for many of these activities (such as news, entertainment, correspondence, campaigning, da`wah), going far beyond its description of a social networking site.
As an avid Facebook user of a few years, I have tasted its fruits but also experienced the sickness of excess and felt the danger of getting lost among the trees. Whenever Muslims are faced with a new environment, they enter it carrying their principles with them. We also need a sound understanding (fiqh) of the realities of this environment and how to handle some of its specifics.
If I dwell here on the potential and actual problems with Muslims’ use of Facebook, that is not to de-emphasize the great things that can be done with it. I say this just a week after a dictator fell from power in Egypt, with social media playing its role.
Fittingly, the genesis of this article was a series of short FB statuses I posted over 2010, each of which generated interesting discussion from friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances and contacts (all of whom are designated by FB as “Friends”). Here, I shall address a few of the most crucial aspects for the conscious user to consider, with a few quotes from the original “Facebook Fiqh” series.
A Question of Time
If time is life, then Facebook is many people’s favorite weapon of suicide. We struggle to find time to seek beneficial knowledge, yet trivial comments about trivial matters get more than their fair share. Someone remarked on Imam Suhaib Webb’s FB “wall” that we check out people’s latest FB updates more frequently than we check our Qur’an to take benefits from its verses. That remark inspired the following status update:

Sohaib Saeed wants a “Like” button in his mus-haf (written text of the Qu’ran) next to each ayah. “Like OMG that’s so true!”

In a recent discussion with some students of Islamic sciences, we wondered aloud how the great scholars of the past managed to be so prolific in their writings, and how they managed to utilize every moment of their – often quite short – lives. Someone raised the point that nowadays we do indeed manage to write a lot, but it is mostly spent on trivial discussions and debates. The angels are writing down all the useless things we say in our days and nights. What do you think if you gathered all the comments (other than social niceties) that you have left on Facebook and other such forums? For many of us, it would add up to at least a small book.
The technological aspects of Facebook, particularly with its ever-updating interface, can have an intoxicating effect. It is built upon the principle of maximal stimulation of the eyes and brain; it is not far from the imagination to compare it with hypnosis. All this has a long-term effect on the mind and on the spiritual heart. This is why our attitude to such time-consuming activities is to use them for a purpose (even if that purpose be recreation), and not allowing it to eat into time better spent on other things. For some, this may mean taking conscious note of how often they open the page, and how long is spent on each visit.
What are the signs of excess? Specialists in addiction can list a few, but let me point out one thing that I believe is frighteningly common. I noticed once that when Twitter went down for a few hours then resumed, someone commented on the experience, writing: “When Twitter went down, all I wanted to do was tweet about it!” Ridiculous, yet I would suggest that it is quite representative of a common urge to use these media as a natural outlet for all our thoughts, desires and emotions. As I once wrote:

“We express our thoughts in the form of a status update instead of turning to Allah with our fears and joys. The day of a believer should be a constant conversation with God.”​

Is this constant babble not a blatant distraction from the remembrance of Allah? Yes, even when we are reading and forwarding religious content, if we do so with hearts unaware. To quote from Shaykh Abdallah Adhami’s FB comment: “By all means: share, post, sms, blog, im, email, tweet… (though most importantly, internalize)”. This is the point! If you read a supplication with your eyes, it is no use if your tongue remains dry and your heart remains silent. Is reading a du`a’(supplication) anything like making du`a’? Many times, we write such things robotically in the same way we type “LOL” with a completely straight face. I won’t go so far as to call it lying, but it certainly is bizarre when you ponder on it!
Clicking “Like” is not a sign of commitment any more than saying “I love Allah.” The Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon him) was commanded to say, “If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful” (Qur’an 3:31). Our Islam is built on actions, not mere declarations.
Public and Private
Let’s be in no doubt that FB is a public space, though certain aspects (messaging) allow one-to-one communication. Even things you post on your own wall will come up on your friends’ homepages. Therefore, rather than merely decorating your home awaiting their arrival, you are actually dropping in on them every time you post something.

“If Facebook is like a public street, doesn’t it have rights? The first is lowering the gaze: not just from unseemly images, but from everything that doesn’t concern you. Think about it as hundreds of conversations are presented before you.”​

 

[FeLiX zoe]

continuation...

The above FB Fiqh advice was based on a hadith (report concerning the Prophet ﷺ) reported in Sahih Muslim, in which Allah’s Messenger ﷺ questioned some people sitting in the road and instructed them to avoid doing so. When these Companions explained their purpose, the Prophet ﷺ said: “If you must sit, then fulfill the rights of the road: lower your gaze, respond to greetings and talk in a good manner.”
Not only does Facebook make it all too easy to look at pictures of members of the opposite sex and personal details we have no business knowing, but it makes it tempting to pore through threads of comments that at best, are a complete waste our time, and at worst, involve a level of prying. Just as we take responsibility for what we post, we should also be ethical in what we access. Ask yourself: if that group of friends were chatting amongstthemselves, would I feel right standing nearby and listening in?
Many of the problems with people’s Facebook usage stem from the confusion between public and private spaces. Consider a few such cases:
1. Saying aloud what ought to have been silent, or sharing with everyone what belongs to a certain group.
Such a public forum is not the ideal place for potentially confusing ideas – such as controversial questions of theology – to be shared, as people without the relevant background knowledge may get the wrong idea.
Moreover, Facebook is not the place to develop your thoughts, wondering aloud with things that could cause others to doubt. If you have a question, direct it to someone who knows. If you’re working on an idea, try keeping a private journal.
Most importantly, beware of spreading unsubstantiated rumors. If in doubt, clarify and make certain of the reality, as the Qur’an (49:6) instructs. The following is also a thinking point:

The Prophet ﷺ said: “It is enough of a lie for a person to narrate everything he hears.” (Sahih Muslim) So how about one who narrates every fleeting thought he hears from his self?​

In short: before posting anything, ask yourself “Why?” – is it something that will be of interest or benefit to those who will read it?
2. Doing things shamelessly in front of respected people and near-strangers.
Examples of this include using bad language, or writing flirtatious things in plain sight of people who could make hasty – possibly unfair – judgments. Perhaps someone would suggest that writing on the FB wall of someone of the opposite gender is more appropriate than a private message, but that is only true if the public nature of the communication does not become an excuse for a lack of etiquette.
People are clicking “Like” for the craziest things, associating themselves sometimes with immoral and unethical people and ideas, and promoting this on the newsfeeds of all their friends. It would be wise to slow down and think, if only for the following reason:

Be careful whom you love and “Like” – do you want them by your side on Judgment Day? The Prophet ﷺ said: “You are with whomever you love.” (Bukhari & Muslim)​

Another common sight is photos of sinful activities, with Muslim friends pictured in compromising positions. Rather than uploading and tagging photos of these lapses, the right course of action is immediate repentance, as in the hadith: “All my nation are safe except those who publicise their sins. A servant does an evil deed by night, and wakes up having Allah’s cover upon him. Then he tells someone, ‘I did such-and-such last night!’ – He went to bed with Allah providing him cover, and woke up to throw off Allah’s cover.” (Bukhari & Muslim)
Privacy in general is a major and widely discussed issue of concern regarding Facebook, so a Muslim should be even more aware of the issue. Both sisters and brothers need to beware of broadcasting details that could be misused, and especially pictures in which they are more exposed than they ought to be in public. Even a “private” FB album is never truly private, when you think about it.
These few thoughts on Facebook Fiqh are by no means exhaustive, but I hope they provide a starting point to a greater consciousness and care when using new technology and emerging media.

 

[Saiyan]

FeLiX zoe
Miss, I do appreciate your concern about the hidden dangers of using Facebook but before I go in talking about my views I do want to tell you something about myself:
You see, I am one of the few people who in fact have no Facebook account. When I tell this to people they all stare at me as if I am not a human. My friends call me “unsocial” for not opening an account in Facebook. But if they truly were truly friends they would have never said this. I come from a poor family who is always suffering from financial crisis and to be honest I have lost my fun side of life as I am always into more and more hardship. But even after all my sufferings I do appreciate Allah for the things I have. I also don’t have any IPod, IPhone, IPad nor any XBox-360 PS2 nor 3 specifically because my parents can’t afford it and I too am not sad as I don’t feel like having them. I actually pray to Allah everyday so that I can make my parents happy when I grow up. I used to be a visitor here since 2009 for the past O Level CIE exam papers. Four days after my Pure Maths-3 exam I wanted to discuss about the exam with other members so I joined in. I used to help people here with their confusions regarding their exams. That’s how I earned my popularity. I earned most of my likes by helping people in threads and they all respected me. I don’t post crazy things to get more likes. If you see my profile, I rarely get likes for my statuses and my statuses too are not aimed to attract members to enter my profile. They are all about our teaching of life.

Now don’t think I am posting this to brag about myself. The reason why I am posting this is that not all members here are not like this the way you think. There are in fact members who are kind and also post crazy things so that they can hide their true self. I do know some members here who actually have showed their true self to me and they admitted that they present themselves like this as they have lost trust in this world... It is a sad truth people are now in fear of being deceived. I am considered a social outcast just because I don’t act crazy or say something funny. I do have a good sense of humour which only teachers can understand. So you can see why majority of people have become like this simply in the fear that they get rejected by the society. It is true that some Facebook users aim for popularity but you must also consider of the people who are forced to be a bit crazy and free only for being accepted by the society. I admit I have a few number of friends here but believe me they all trust me more than I ever anticipated and the feeling it truly marvelous as I never aimed for doing so. On several occasions I have tried to leave xpc but my friends would do anything to make me stay here and they all like me for the way I am. I simply don’t know but my friends all call me different from all the others and they all support me when I need them. I did badly in my A Levels even after a good preparation my parents are disappointed with me and my teachers say that my result is just impossible for a student like me. I know it my test of patience from Allah and all my friends do try to console from time to time making me hope for a better future. So miss, you can see we can have true friends in Facebook or here even after by not aiming to be popular and my methods are quite simple- “Just be yourself”. If you find members posting photos of one don’t conclude that it is aimed for buying in more likes, comments and followers. It can also mean that the member wants to represent himself to his friends. I too had my photo here a month back as my friends wanted to see me so I believe photos are not aimed to appeal to the opposite gender but to show you. And believe it or not I trust each and every member here in this forum and I am not afraid of sharing my personal details to anyone as I trust the world and in return the world trust me. That’s because I trust Allah. I know no members will be able to harm me as I trust and care for them immensely. I don’t discourage people to hide their personal information as I too reveal it to them. My real name is the same as my user name and I am not afraid of revealing it to anyone as I trust the One – The Al-Mighty Allah! My concept is that if you can’t trust someone you can see how you can trust someone you can’t see? Yes, even the ones who betrayed me in my real life by taking advantage of my kindness came back to me and said to me that I was in fact the right one and they too say apologise to me and I forgive them and continue to help them. Likewise although I am done with my A Levels I am still here in xpc only because to help some friends here. Learn to trust the world and the world will never betray you because that is the time you truly trust Allah!

 

[Myste Rious]

hahaha.. link to that article was my first ever status here on XPC... I still remember that!
Great reminder, Jazakillah khair!

No wonder I felt like I read this article before!
I was thinking who had posted it.

 

[Saiyan]

No wonder I felt like I read this article before!
I was thinking who had posted it.

My one is actually written by me a few minutes back!

 

[Myste Rious]

My one is actually written by me a few minutes back!

I meant the Article posted by FeLix zoe.

 

[badrobot14]

FeLiX zoe
Miss, I do appreciate your concern about the hidden dangers of using Facebook but before I go in talking about my views I do want to tell you something about myself:
You see, I am one of the few people who in fact have no Facebook account. When I tell this to people they all stare at me as if I am not a human. My friends call me “unsocial” for not opening an account in Facebook. But if they truly were truly friends they would have never said this. I come from a poor family who is always suffering from financial crisis and to be honest I have lost my fun side of life as I am always into more and more hardship. But even after all my sufferings I do appreciate Allah for the things I have. I also don’t have any IPod, IPhone, IPad nor any XBox-360 PS2 nor 3 specifically because my parents can’t afford it and I too am not sad as I don’t feel like having them. I actually pray to Allah everyday so that I can make my parents happy when I grow up. I used to be a visitor here since 2009 for the past O Level CIE exam papers. Four days after my Pure Maths-3 exam I wanted to discuss about the exam with other members so I joined in. I used to help people here with their confusions regarding their exams. That’s how I earned my popularity. I earned most of my likes by helping people in threads and they all respected me. I don’t post crazy things to get more likes. If you see my profile, I rarely get likes for my statuses and my statuses too are not aimed to attract members to enter my profile. They are all about our teaching of life.

Now don’t think I am posting this to brag about myself. The reason why I am posting this is that not all members here are not like this the way you think. There are in fact members who are kind and also post crazy things so that they can hide their true self. I do know some members here who actually have showed their true self to me and they admitted that they present themselves like this as they have lost trust in this world... It is a sad truth people are now in fear of being deceived. I am considered a social outcast just because I don’t act crazy or say something funny. I do have a good sense of humour which only teachers can understand. So you can see why majority of people have become like this simply in the fear that they get rejected by the society. It is true that some Facebook users aim for popularity but you must also consider of the people who are forced to be a bit crazy and free only for being accepted by the society. I admit I have a few number of friends here but believe me they all trust me more than I ever anticipated and the feeling it truly marvelous as I never aimed for doing so. On several occasions I have tried to leave xpc but my friends would do anything to make me stay here and they all like me for the way I am. I simply don’t know but my friends all call me different from all the others and they all support me when I need them. I did badly in my A Levels even after a good preparation my parents are disappointed with me and my teachers say that my result is just impossible for a student like me. I know it my test of patience from Allah and all my friends do try to console from time to time making me hope for a better future. So miss, you can see we can have true friends in Facebook or here even after by not aiming to be popular and my methods are quite simple- “Just be yourself”. If you find members posting photos of one don’t conclude that it is aimed for buying in more likes, comments and followers. It can also mean that the member wants to represent himself to his friends. I too had my photo here a month back as my friends wanted to see me so I believe photos are not aimed to appeal to the opposite gender but to show you. And believe it or not I trust each and every member here in this forum and I am not afraid of sharing my personal details to anyone as I trust the world and in return the world trust me. That’s because I trust Allah. I know no members will be able to harm me as I trust and care for them immensely. I don’t discourage people to hide their personal information as I too reveal it to them. My real name is the same as my user name and I am not afraid of revealing it to anyone as I trust the One – The Al-Mighty Allah! My concept is that if you can’t trust someone you can see how you can trust someone you can’t see? Yes, even the ones who betrayed me in my real life by taking advantage of my kindness came back to me and said to me that I was in fact the right one and they too say apologise to me and I forgive them and continue to help them. Likewise although I am done with my A Levels I am still here in xpc only because to help some friends here. Learn to trust the world and the world will never betray you because that is the time you truly trust Allah!

my friend, there is no need to get so worked up over it... I'm sure the article was not meant to paint everyone with the same brush... rather it was aimed at ppl like me.... since for some reason I get insane amount of likes... it's possible that I can get the diesease of trying to get more and more likes... that my aim is not to help others for the sake of Allah but it is to gain the praise from people.... it's possible for someone to have arrogance and he might say stuff like "I've got so many more followers than you" etc... wheras the truth of the matter is that a muslim is supposed to be humble.... Messenger of
Allah (s.a.w) said one day in his khutbah: “Allah has revealed to me that you should be humble so that no one will boast to anyone else and no one will transgress against anyone else.” (Muslim)
What use will a person's likes or his 'followers' be on the day of jjudgement...?

May Allah grant you good in this world and good in hereafter, Aameen..

 

[FeLiX zoe]

FeLiX zoe
Miss, I do appreciate your concern about the hidden dangers of using Facebook but before I go in talking about my views I do want to tell you something about myself:
You see, I am one of the few people who in fact have no Facebook account. When I tell this to people they all stare at me as if I am not a human. My friends call me “unsocial” for not opening an account in Facebook. But if they truly were truly friends they would have never said this. I come from a poor family who is always suffering from financial crisis and to be honest I have lost my fun side of life as I am always into more and more hardship. But even after all my sufferings I do appreciate Allah for the things I have. I also don’t have any IPod, IPhone, IPad nor any XBox-360 PS2 nor 3 specifically because my parents can’t afford it and I too am not sad as I don’t feel like having them. I actually pray to Allah everyday so that I can make my parents happy when I grow up. I used to be a visitor here since 2009 for the past O Level CIE exam papers. Four days after my Pure Maths-3 exam I wanted to discuss about the exam with other members so I joined in. I used to help people here with their confusions regarding their exams. That’s how I earned my popularity. I earned most of my likes by helping people in threads and they all respected me. I don’t post crazy things to get more likes. If you see my profile, I rarely get likes for my statuses and my statuses too are not aimed to attract members to enter my profile. They are all about our teaching of life.

Now don’t think I am posting this to brag about myself. The reason why I am posting this is that not all members here are not like this the way you think. There are in fact members who are kind and also post crazy things so that they can hide their true self. I do know some members here who actually have showed their true self to me and they admitted that they present themselves like this as they have lost trust in this world... It is a sad truth people are now in fear of being deceived. I am considered a social outcast just because I don’t act crazy or say something funny. I do have a good sense of humour which only teachers can understand. So you can see why majority of people have become like this simply in the fear that they get rejected by the society. It is true that some Facebook users aim for popularity but you must also consider of the people who are forced to be a bit crazy and free only for being accepted by the society. I admit I have a few number of friends here but believe me they all trust me more than I ever anticipated and the feeling it truly marvelous as I never aimed for doing so. On several occasions I have tried to leave xpc but my friends would do anything to make me stay here and they all like me for the way I am. I simply don’t know but my friends all call me different from all the others and they all support me when I need them. I did badly in my A Levels even after a good preparation my parents are disappointed with me and my teachers say that my result is just impossible for a student like me. I know it my test of patience from Allah and all my friends do try to console from time to time making me hope for a better future. So miss, you can see we can have true friends in Facebook or here even after by not aiming to be popular and my methods are quite simple- “Just be yourself”. If you find members posting photos of one don’t conclude that it is aimed for buying in more likes, comments and followers. It can also mean that the member wants to represent himself to his friends. I too had my photo here a month back as my friends wanted to see me so I believe photos are not aimed to appeal to the opposite gender but to show you. And believe it or not I trust each and every member here in this forum and I am not afraid of sharing my personal details to anyone as I trust the world and in return the world trust me. That’s because I trust Allah. I know no members will be able to harm me as I trust and care for them immensely. I don’t discourage people to hide their personal information as I too reveal it to them. My real name is the same as my user name and I am not afraid of revealing it to anyone as I trust the One – The Al-Mighty Allah! My concept is that if you can’t trust someone you can see how you can trust someone you can’t see? Yes, even the ones who betrayed me in my real life by taking advantage of my kindness came back to me and said to me that I was in fact the right one and they too say apologise to me and I forgive them and continue to help them. Likewise although I am done with my A Levels I am still here in xpc only because to help some friends here. Learn to trust the world and the world will never betray you because that is the time you truly trust Allah!

Look brother i dont mean it for anyone specifically here just tried giving a special advice coz i have experienced the pain these sites like fb cause ...well infact in our school v have had campaigns to stop these fb addicts ...to tell u the truth i am completely like u ! i have no fb acc, i have no mobile, no i pad no i phone nothing! infact i never ask my parents to get me anything ... well even joining XPC was my frndz request otherwise i did not have any plans of even coming here !!
i have seen this ...girls want to put up pics and pose for the world, boys and girls also like having useless chit chat with non mahrams!!??listening to music and watching movie clips???? well dont u think all this is a waste of time ???? I mean u have to think before u wreck ! i dont mean that u have to avoid it completely ! i mean if it is for seeking knowledge and spreading Islam, etc then fine !
i am the weirdo in my class!! unlike the other kids i am completely diff! people call me mad they tell me i have to go to the asylum but i just dont care abt it anymore infact it makes me laugh nowadays wen they tell that to me!! i just think to myself well they care abt me thats the reason they call me all this
And not having an fb id or iphone, ipad, etc is not a big deal!! wats the big deal in that!!??? umm tell u wat! i did have an fb id but due to some prblm our school made us deactivate all our acc's and Alhamdulilah i feel happier and safe now! but u kno still my little sisters (my school mates) at school they don't understand it's harmful effect !! no one realizes how fb breaks family lives!!

 

[Adzy1794]

FeLiX zoe
Miss, I do appreciate your concern about the hidden dangers of using Facebook but before I go in talking about my views I do want to tell you something about myself:
You see, I am one of the few people who in fact have no Facebook account. When I tell this to people they all stare at me as if I am not a human. My friends call me “unsocial” for not opening an account in Facebook. But if they truly were truly friends they would have never said this. I come from a poor family who is always suffering from financial crisis and to be honest I have lost my fun side of life as I am always into more and more hardship. But even after all my sufferings I do appreciate Allah for the things I have. I also don’t have any IPod, IPhone, IPad nor any XBox-360 PS2 nor 3 specifically because my parents can’t afford it and I too am not sad as I don’t feel like having them. I actually pray to Allah everyday so that I can make my parents happy when I grow up. I used to be a visitor here since 2009 for the past O Level CIE exam papers. Four days after my Pure Maths-3 exam I wanted to discuss about the exam with other members so I joined in. I used to help people here with their confusions regarding their exams. That’s how I earned my popularity. I earned most of my likes by helping people in threads and they all respected me. I don’t post crazy things to get more likes. If you see my profile, I rarely get likes for my statuses and my statuses too are not aimed to attract members to enter my profile. They are all about our teaching of life.

Now don’t think I am posting this to brag about myself. The reason why I am posting this is that not all members here are not like this the way you think. There are in fact members who are kind and also post crazy things so that they can hide their true self. I do know some members here who actually have showed their true self to me and they admitted that they present themselves like this as they have lost trust in this world... It is a sad truth people are now in fear of being deceived. I am considered a social outcast just because I don’t act crazy or say something funny. I do have a good sense of humour which only teachers can understand. So you can see why majority of people have become like this simply in the fear that they get rejected by the society. It is true that some Facebook users aim for popularity but you must also consider of the people who are forced to be a bit crazy and free only for being accepted by the society. I admit I have a few number of friends here but believe me they all trust me more than I ever anticipated and the feeling it truly marvelous as I never aimed for doing so. On several occasions I have tried to leave xpc but my friends would do anything to make me stay here and they all like me for the way I am. I simply don’t know but my friends all call me different from all the others and they all support me when I need them. I did badly in my A Levels even after a good preparation my parents are disappointed with me and my teachers say that my result is just impossible for a student like me. I know it my test of patience from Allah and all my friends do try to console from time to time making me hope for a better future. So miss, you can see we can have true friends in Facebook or here even after by not aiming to be popular and my methods are quite simple- “Just be yourself”. If you find members posting photos of one don’t conclude that it is aimed for buying in more likes, comments and followers. It can also mean that the member wants to represent himself to his friends. I too had my photo here a month back as my friends wanted to see me so I believe photos are not aimed to appeal to the opposite gender but to show you. And believe it or not I trust each and every member here in this forum and I am not afraid of sharing my personal details to anyone as I trust the world and in return the world trust me. That’s because I trust Allah. I know no members will be able to harm me as I trust and care for them immensely. I don’t discourage people to hide their personal information as I too reveal it to them. My real name is the same as my user name and I am not afraid of revealing it to anyone as I trust the One – The Al-Mighty Allah! My concept is that if you can’t trust someone you can see how you can trust someone you can’t see? Yes, even the ones who betrayed me in my real life by taking advantage of my kindness came back to me and said to me that I was in fact the right one and they too say apologise to me and I forgive them and continue to help them. Likewise although I am done with my A Levels I am still here in xpc only because to help some friends here. Learn to trust the world and the world will never betray you because that is the time you truly trust Allah!

This thing you wrote really moved me

 

[Adzy1794]

Look brother i dont mean it for anyone specially here just tried giving a special advice coz i have experienced the pain these sites like fb cause ...well infact in our school v have had campaigns to stop these fb addicts ...to tell u the truth i am completely like u ! i have no fb acc, i have no mobile, no i pad no i phone nothing! infact i never ask my parents to get me anything ... well even joining XPC was my frndz request otherwise i did not have any plans of even coming here !!
i have seen this ...girls want to put up pics and pose for the world, boys and girls also like having useless chit chat with non mahrams!!??listening to music and watching movie clips???? well dont u think all this is a waste of time ???? I mean u have to think before u wreck ! i dont mean that u have to avoid it completely ! i mean if it is for seeking knowledge and preading Islam, etc then fine !
i am the weirdo in my class!! unlike the other kids i am completely diff! people call me mad they tell me i have to go to the asylum but i just dont care abt it anymore infact it makes me laugh nowadays wen they tell that to me!! i just think to myself well they care abt me thats the reason they call me all this
And not having an fb id or iphone, ipad, etc is not a big deal!! wats the big deal in that!!??? umm tell u wat! i did have an fb id but due to some prblm our school made us deactivate all our acc's and Alhamdulilah i feel happier and safe now! but u kno still my little sisters (my school mates) at school they don't understand it's harmful effect !! no one realizes how fb breaks family lives!!

Bro, I second with each and every word you said. I have a fb account,an ipod, a tablet, and a phone and seometimes true people like you guys seriously provoke me onto thinking that if I didn't have these "assets" my life wouldn't be much different you see sometimes I feel I have too much than I need and hence, whatever I have,I'm thankful for it

As for the fb discussion, I agree about the current....trend of you know,posting pictures with weird, duck face poses and girls making constipated and demented faces in the camera, the obscene pictures sometimes, songs and stuff. The thing is I made an account on fb simply to fit in and because it's the trend nowadays. I do post pictures with my friends,post my covers and stuff,etc. But sometimes I do think about the detrimental effects of this site. Facebook has very cleverly, somewhat put this lock on people's minds of sharing every thought they have collected in their minds, every photo they click, every video they capture, almost everything. It's a sad thing but nowadays our thoughts aren't confined to ourselves and we post everything on fb for people to comment on.

I would salute you guys to raise this topic and to take the first step to awareness here in this awesome forum. Salute FeLiX zoe Saiyan

 

[FeLiX zoe]

Bro, I second with each and every word you said. I have a fb account,an ipod, a tablet, and a phone and seometimes true people like you guys seriously provoke me onto thinking that if I didn't have these "assets" my life wouldn't be much different you see sometimes I feel I have too much than I need and hence, whatever I have,I'm thankful for it

As for the fb discussion, I agree about the current....trend of you know,posting pictures with weird, duck face poses and girls making constipated and demented faces in the camera, the obscene pictures sometimes, songs and stuff. The thing is I made an account on fb simply to fit in and because it's the trend nowadays. I do post pictures with my friends,post my covers and stuff,etc. But sometimes I do think about the detrimental effects of this site. Facebook has very cleverly, somewhat put this lock on people's minds of sharing every thought they have collected in their minds, every photo they click, every video they capture, almost everything. It's a sad thing but nowadays our thoughts aren't confined to ourselves and we post everything on fb for people to comment on.

I would salute you guys to raise this topic and to take the first step to awareness here in this awesome forum. Salute FeLiX zoe Saiyan

umm me sister
and yeah soo true well u kno fb is just a waste of time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the time wen i was der on fb ...me getting into trbl every time ...i was like scared every min ...
this showed that i was doing sth wrong ...Finally Allah (S.W.T) helped me brought my problems into light and guided me ...
for watever reason it may be !! maybe scared of school or watever! i am happy i am no more on fb
well previouly i felt soo bad that i could not send my time on fb like my cousins, etc but now i no more care ! coz i have experienced once already!!
and trust me its really paining
the time my cousins spend on fb and i did not ...i learnt a lot more that them!

thanxx adzy that was really motivating

 

[Adzy1794]

umm me sister
and yeah soo true well u kno fb is just a waste of time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the time wen i was der on fb ...me getting into trbl every time ...i was like scared every min ...
this showed that i was doing sth wrong ...Finally Allah (S.W.T) helped me brought my problems into light and guided me ...
for watever reason it may be !! maybe scared of school or watever! i am happy i am no more on fb
well previouly i felt soo bad that i could not send my time on fb like my cousins, etc but now i no more care ! coz i have experienced once already!!
and trust me its really paining
the time my cousins spend on fb and i did not ...i learnt a lot more that them!

thanxx adzy that was really motivating

Hey,no problem I thought you were a 'bro' like Saiyan too,sorry
Yeah! Chalo,it's good you're not on facebook. Yeah,I knowww,whenever I post anything on facebook I think about it 10 times! It's good you and other people like you are very well aware of these effects this horrible site has. I mean,it helps in many ways but if you use it the right way, but nowadays the problem is,we are using it a bit too excessively and our world hardly revolves around better things there are than facebook. My cousins,dad,ALL my friends are on facebook and I am too, simply to fit in! Even when I post photos or am tagged in some I make sure none of the photos are obscene or whatever you may call it. Being a GUY I take precaution but it's really sad to see girls posing,making dum faces (saying it again,yeah!) and posting pictures, not 10,not 20 but like 100,200! that's just insane,really. Well,saying anything here won't make such a big difference or naa,bilkul bhi nahi, I,not only am a motivation but people like you and others are too Thaaankks to you too sis

 

[Saiyan]

badrobot14 Sir, I thank thee for supporting me! It has been a while since I last wrote something in a thread. I am a quite member here and usually don't talk much. But I have influenced a lot of members here with my words which I simply take it as a blessing of Allah. You are right that sometimes we help others to get praises but I never did that. I joined xpc mainly due to the fact that I saw members being ignored when they ask questions. You see, I had a friend named 2pac (now gone) who used to post questions in the threads but no one used to give any importance to him. People helped the members who were more regarded to be "popular" and I took it as my charge to help these ignored ones an answer them. Then popular ones recognised me and praised me but I was never influenced by their words, I took it as my duty as to help everyone... not value someone with popularity or followers or likes. As you can see I have a few followers and I never even value them over other members... everyone is same to me and everyone deserves my assistance. That's what I believe. You see when my father used to do his MPH program abroad he used to help his fellow Pakistani classmates, they used to be jealous of him and always used to make fun of him and used to call him inferior because of him coming from Bangladesh but that never backed him down from helping them. They also used to come to him at the end of the day for help. At the end, my father achieved the first division first at his University with him being the only Bangladeshi there. And he too said that all he wanted to prove that Bangladeshis are not inferior and he wanted to show all the other students from other parts of the world that one day we will rise... That inspired me to be the person I am today. I know I don't possess the brains of my father but I do have the ability of helping others no matter what even after that person being my friend or foe. But I must confess my father is an unreligious man and that's why I want to correct the mistakes of my father and also too do something good for this world.

FeLiX zoe I do appreciate the person you are miss, I am glad our personalities do match a lot!!! People like me are very very rare and that's why I am more regarded as an outcast by my friends and abnormal by my parents. But I will remember that there is another person like me in this world which will influence me to make a difference! And do remember it is the different people who actually comes up with something new so never lose hope, my father said to stop dreaming big as I got no caliber... he is really disappointed with me as I let him down but I am a person who knows no limitations. Thank you all I am currently suffering from depression after my poor result even after being a good student so I need the blessings of my friends here as you all are currently the only ones who can understand what I am going through. I lost all my confidence and it will take some time getting it back! So thank you once more...

 

[..sacrifice4Revenge..]

hahaha.. link to that article was my first ever status here on XPC... I still remember that!

Great reminder, Jazakillah khair!

yeee, memories <3..


great thread

 

[frozen sunlight]

Inspiring and funny.....take the tym out to watch

 

[frozen sunlight]

heres the second part

 

[FeLiX zoe]

Hey,no problem I thought you were a 'bro' like Saiyan too,sorry
Yeah! Chalo,it's good you're not on facebook. Yeah,I knowww,whenever I post anything on facebook I think about it 10 times! It's good you and other people like you are very well aware of these effects this horrible site has. I mean,it helps in many ways but if you use it the right way, but nowadays the problem is,we are using it a bit too excessively and our world hardly revolves around better things there are than facebook. My cousins,dad,ALL my friends are on facebook and I am too, simply to fit in! Even when I post photos or am tagged in some I make sure none of the photos are obscene or whatever you may call it. Being a GUY I take precaution but it's really sad to see girls posing,making dum faces (saying it again,yeah!) and posting pictures, not 10,not 20 but like 100,200! that's just insane,really. Well,saying anything here won't make such a big difference or naa,bilkul bhi nahi, I,not only am a motivation but people like you and others are too Thaaankks to you too sis

Thank you soo much but dont keep praising me too much coz i actually dont deserve them
La Hawla wala Quwata illa billah