The Ethics of Reading, Receiving, and Sharing Information

Verification and Confirmation

The Internet is a community full of information, where anyone can add whatever they wish in any field. Therefore, one must be cautious and verify when reading or taking information from it, for it contains both truth and falsehood. Allah Almighty says: “O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance” (Al-Ḥujurāt 49:6). In the recitation of Ḥamzah and al-Kisāʾī it is read as “verify” (fatathabbatū), meaning carefulness and avoidance of haste. The meaning of ‘investigate’ (fatabayyanū) is to examine and discern; and of ‘verify’ (tatathabbatū) is to act with patience and insight until the matter is clear.

Qur'an “O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance.” (Al-Ḥujurāt 49:6)

A Muslim should verify news before believing or spreading it. By hastily sharing, they may open a door to harm someone or a group of people, or cause the spread of subtle falsehood. Verification is therefore essential.

We find a clear example of verification in the story of Sulaymān (peace be upon him) with the hoopoe, when Allah says: “[Solomon] said, ‘We will see whether you were truthful or were of the liars’” (Al-Naml 27:27).

Qur'an “[Solomon] said, ‘We will see whether you were truthful or were of the liars.’” (Al-Naml 27:27)

How many rumors and messages circulate on social media, often sent by people you trust and love—only to later prove false! In such cases, it is proper to alert them to the error so they do not continue spreading it, and so they may delete it or warn others not to share it further. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “It is enough of a lie for a man that he relates everything he hears.” (Sahih Muslim).

Hadith The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “It is enough of a lie for a man that he relates everything he hears.” (Sahih Muslim)

Researching Fatwas and Religious Matters

One of the important matters for Muslims to pay attention to is seeking fatwas or researching religious rulings. As mentioned, the Internet is full of both accurate and inaccurate information, and anyone can say whatever they wish. At times, Muslims may encounter new issues or events that require a fatwa or legal ruling, so some resort to search engines, typing a few words from their question. Many different results appear, some containing answers to their exact question or to similar ones. At this point, one must ensure the reliability of the source, and only take rulings from recognized, trustworthy scholars or reliable fatwa websites. It is also wise to compare more than one trusted fatwa. The Internet hosts major Islamic sites dedicated to fatwa, may Allah reward those who maintain them, such as IslamWeb and Islam Question & Answer, which even provides translated fatwas in several languages.

Another mistake is posting religious questions on social media platforms or forums, where errors are widespread. Caution must therefore be exercised when browsing such spaces for fatwas and rulings. One should make sure that the person being asked is truly qualified to issue fatwas and that the account genuinely belongs to them.

Imām al-Ghazālī said in *al-Mustaṣfā*: “A mufti who is unknown, and it is not known whether he has reached the rank of ijtihād or not, it is not permissible for a layman to accept his statement. Likewise, if it is not known whether he is a scholar at all...”

Hadith Imām al-Ghazālī said in *al-Mustaṣfā*: “A mufti who is unknown, whose level of ijtihād is not known, it is not permissible for the layman to accept his opinion. Likewise, if it is not known whether he is a scholar or not...”