WhatsApp: A Necessity or a Cause of Anxiety?
✍️Rushahat Qalam: Mufti Muhammad Tasleemuddin Al-Mahmoodi
When WhatsApp was initially introduced, it felt like just a fun toy that everyone had in their hands, but gradually it transformed into an important necessity of human society. Undoubtedly, this app is an easy, friendly, and positive means of mutual connection, message transmission, and information exchange in the vast field of social media, but unfortunately, spending this God-given blessing on aimless and futile pursuits is making it a cause of mental distress and psychological confusion instead of a convenience.
It is a well-established principle of human life that if everything is kept within moderate limits, it proves to be a blessing and a mercy, but when the same thing comes into unnecessary and excessive use, the same blessing becomes a burden and a calamity.
WhatsApp is rightly an effective and useful tool in the world of communication, which is also an important need of the present era, but some people's engagement in frivolities, sending unnecessary reminders, useless posts, pointless videos, and meaningless audios is becoming a painful practice. The style of use of some friends has become so uncontrolled that the writings, audio messages, and visual material received from them become merely a source of wasted time and a burden on the mind.
This is not only a waste of time but also a waste of data and resources.
Then, a considerable amount of time is required to delete these useless messages, videos, and pictures, which is in itself a laborious task. Therefore, it is necessary to promote the positive, constructive, and purposeful use of this application.
Alhamdulillah! There are also responsible individuals who perform religious services through this medium, publish scholarly material, and organize their business affairs, which benefits them in this world and gives them hope for reward in the hereafter, and does not cause any kind of distress to others.
WhatsApp is a useful and comprehensive app through which a person becomes connected to every corner of the world, but its unnecessary and futile use swallows up a person's precious moments in the same way that fire turns dry wood to ashes.
It is often seen that some people send videos, audios, and pictures of various kinds in private messages without any prior introduction or need, or even if there is an introduction, they still send material that is impossible to watch or listen to. If auto-download is turned off in the mobile, one has to make a separate effort, and if it is activated, a flood of useless material enters the mobile daily, which causes not only physical fatigue but also mental distress while deleting it.
Therefore, it is humbly requested that you refrain as much as possible from sending unnecessary congratulatory messages of various kinds, TV news videos, humorous content, purely funny clips, and unnecessary posts circulating on social media.
However, if there is a very important piece of information, or something related to a religious or Sharia aspect, or a truly useful and serious news item related to current affairs, then a brief explanation should also be included stating what topic it relates to, so that the recipient can understand its importance and benefit from it.
I also request those friends with whom I am included in a group to send such general posts in the group instead of sending them in a private message, so that repetition can be avoided and precious time can be saved from being wasted.
May Allah Almighty grant us the ability to recognize the value of time and make us those who use the blessings of social media in a purposeful, dignified, and moderate manner.
Aameen, Ya Rabb Al-Aalameen.