Question
Nowadays in social media we sometimes receive messages in which the sender tells that you have to send it to a particular amount of people, you will get some virtue. Sometimes we receive messages that a particular person is sick, and the message should be sent to a certain amount of people to make dua for him otherwise we will be questioned on the day of Qiyamah. What is the Islamic viewpoint?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
As the world of the internet reaches new heights, it has given birth to a new generation where communication and social interaction has become the norm of society and has radically altered our daily lives. Nevertheless, with each new advancement in technology, we face new questions and new challenges. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and the list goes on. It is an apparent truth that no one can deny; each second of our life is slowly being engulfed into this virtual world. Whether it is at home, at school or at work, countless hours are spent daily on these social networks.
One should always keep a track of oneself to save one from the many harms of social media and the tricks of shaytan.
The messages on social media which encourage people to broadcast messages for a particular amount of virtue are completely baseless. One should avoid and abstain from broadcasting such messages.