Benefit:
The fourth matter is staying away from these new social media applications. The likes of WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, IMO and there likes. Be very wary of them. Because perhaps hours will pass and one is busy with these programs. These take from your (valuable) time oh student of knowledge. So it is a must that one be wary of these. And not to engage in them except for a need.
As for always being on these programs taking up long periods of ones time (this is not good). This is a waste of one’s time.
But for example, it’s ok, if one is memorizing, reviewing or writing and he gets tired, for him to contact his family, friends or companions here and there, this is ok.
As for constantly busying yourselves and wasting ones time and persisting on these media groups, then No.
So now one person may be apart of five or ten different group that he sends and receives messages from. And in these groups you have good (people) and bad (people). Because these group are free and open to all (righteous and wicked). Then after that everyone get to send whatever he wishes.
Let’s say you are apart of a group that has 100, or 200 or 300 people. How many messages will be sent in just that group in one day? And how many of those messages will you get to read? Let’s say there is a reply to one of these messages, you are going to want to follow along to see what the people are saying. So without a doubt this will busy you tremendously. Hours will go by and you are still following the latest reply.
Or this one sends a benefit from Ibn AlQayim and this one sends a benefit from Shaikh al-Islaam and this one sends a benefit from Ibn Hazm and this one from Imaam Ahmad. Benefit after benefit after benefit. I mean just merely mentioning benefits.
And some may say but I benefit from these. That is if what was posted as a benefit actually is from that scholar. How many times people post benefits then you go back to the source and that statement is nowhere to be found.
And for this reason these groups take your time and busy you. And for that reason if a student of knowledge has a need for the likes of these (social media applications like) WhatsApp in order to communicate with his family and relatives that are far away and perhaps if he had to call them on the phone it would be very expensive and this way is easier and more inexpensive then don’t busy yourselves with these groups. But if it’s a group for one of the scholars or callers to Allah that are firm in knowledge, and they place on there khutabahs and talks and classes and the likes of these that one wishes to listen to and benefit from then there is no harm in this.
But to busy oneself with listening to everything that is posted on all these groups that is not possible. There is no way one can seek knowledge while listening to everything on all these groups. It’s not possible. And even too many classes from this one and that one, it will busy you and distract one from his own talib Ilm.
However if one is busy away from seeking knowledge with work and other affairs then there is no problem for one to benefit from these classes.
So for this reason I see that these social media groups are busysome and are a source of distraction for the student of knowledge.
And Allah knows best.
Benefited from: Shaikh Abu Abdillah Muhammad Ba Jamaal (May Allah preserve him)
Source: https://t.me/OfficialChannelShaykhBaajammaal/154
Translated by: Abu Yusuf Bilal ibn Howard Robinson