The modern inventions, innovations and the new technology have really brought this whole world towards a higher level of competence and have created a new platform of recognition and understanding of everything. This new technology has globally upgraded all human beings regarding the aspect of lifestyle, culture, traditions, manners and ethical behaviour.
The Internet is one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century, because it has completely changed the way we think. We are connected to everyone and every country on the planet thanks to the Internet. These days, everyone is excited about using the Internet. Humans no longer function properly without it. It takes up a significant amount of our time. Nowadays, we use the Internet for practically all small and large tasks. Thid includes everything from looking for a job to enjoying music.
We can’t deny the reality that the Internet is a constant necessity, but being Muslims, the usage of the Internet in Muslim Ummah seems like a grave concern to me because it is frequently utilized for objectionable or harmful ends. Being Muslims, we are allowed to make progress and move on with the world by our religion, but we aren’t allowed to break certain boundaries to which we are restricted by our religion. According to a report, there were 87.35 million internet users in Pakistan in January 2023. Pakistan’s Internet penetration rate stood at 36.7 percent of the total population at the start of 2023. A study by [Rooh-e-Aslam; Ali, Shahzad; Shabir, Ghulam. (2009, October 1). A critical study about the impact of internet on its users in Pakistan. THE FREE LIBRARY BY FARLEX. It suggested that, from (Section II Qualitative Analysis) in response to the question, “What is the role of internet in Pakistani society? Seventy percent of users said it had a negative impact on their society and 30 percent said it had both positive and negative impacts.
The users also added that in Pakistan it has adverse effects, and the users, especially teenagers, used it for killing time and chatting. People also use it for negative purposes like satisfying their wrong intentions by visiting immoral websites. It also damages moral and cultural values. Moreover, by focusing primarily on the hypothesis which authors have developed after reviewing the relevant literature, named H1: The Internet would create negative effects upon the moral values of users. It can be seen that results of the survey indicate that H1 predicts: the Internet will create negative effects upon the moral values of Pakistani society. This predication is proved as 79.4 percent (397) users said Internet affected the moral values and just 26.6 percent (103) disagreed.”
Parental vigilance and awareness of our children’s online activities are essential. Instead of sitting around and engaging in negative activities on the Internet, we should urge our kids to pray, follow Islamic teachings, and work hard. We may create a sound, illustrious, and successful Islamic community by abstaining from this illegal use of the Internet
I have drawn this conclusion from readings and critical analysis of the literature, as well as from personal observation in the localities and institutions around me that, not only youngsters but also the aged men and women are the part of this. In an indecent manner, people who belong to reputed status, position, and noble families are also part of this. This ugly usage of the Internet has really become a significant source of distraction for our Islamic society. We are currently unable to focus on important issues. From teenagers to seniors, we all waste precious time on social media applications connecting with illicit friends, forming false relationships, sending inappropriate movies related to pornography, sharing inappropriate photos, and so on.
As a result of this negative Internet usage, Our Muslim Ummah has strayed from our religion and lost the purity that was once found among the followers of Our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in earlier times. Because of our wrongdoing, we have also forgotten our manners, ethical principles, and traditions. We have created a lifestyle that is unhealthy and highly harmful to all of us as a result of its harmful usage. Here, I would say that although we often use the Internet inappropriately, it wasn’t intended for such uses. The Internet may also be utilized for beneficial and constructive purposes.
Finally, I would advise and implore the entire Muslim Ummah that we should refrain from using the Internet while keeping in mind its negative impacts. We should be conscious of good and bad, legal and illegal behaviour and activities as mature and elderly individuals. Parental vigilance and awareness of our children’s online activities are essential. Instead of sitting around and engaging in negative activities on the Internet, we should urge our kids to pray, follow Islamic teachings, and work hard. We may create a sound, illustrious, and successful Islamic community by abstaining from this illegal use of the Internet.
