Summary of an (audio) participation of mine on the Ahl al-Bayt (a) satellite channel in the live program on Islamic media
The interview was conducted on 28/10/2010 CE
Program host: In your opinion, are there foundations and controls for responsible Islamic media that can be considered the axis of religious discourse? Or is the door of propagating this religion left wide open without controls? That is, is there a legislative shortfall in this field?
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Answer: Islam, just as it is concerned with aims and ends, is concerned with means and mechanisms..
It is concerned with explaining the objectives and ends and defining them for man, and it sets controls for this path so that the march does not deviate, and so that they help him reach the goal.
Religion's concern that the means be sound and lawful does not mean that it coerces people into one method; rather, it sets the controls that protect from deviation.. and ensure uprightness.. and at the same time leaves room for the state of creativity to soar by itself, while maintaining the established legal limits.
In the field of Islamic media, we see that Islam has set a number of controls for propagating religion, the Qurʾan and the Ahl al-Bayt (a).. We can say that this idea is contained in the following rule: (That you propagate for the Ahl al-Bayt (a) in the manner of the Ahl al-Bayt (a)), not in your own manner..
Therefore we see that among the controls established in Islamic jurisprudence, and jurisprudence is the legal material that legislates for the individual, society and institutions the course that they follow, for example, we see:
1/ The forbiddance of false speech, calumny and false accusation.. which includes amusement singing, and includes false news..
2/ Refraining from foul language and obscenity in speech, which is called hujr in the Sharia, and from the Prophet (s): (Indeed among the worst of Allah's servants is the one whose company is disliked because of his obscenity)..
3/ Fairness and justice: “and ill feeling for a people should never lead you to be unfair. Be fair; that is nearer to Godwariness” (Qurʾan 5:8).
4/ Not exposing secrets.. or offending modesty, and others..
This is because of the sensitivity of the matter of media; and the media is the tongue of the nation and its message that it conveys to people.. and its sensitivity is greater than others because its influence is wider..
Here I relate a beautiful hadith on this meaning, as has been narrated from the Prophet (s):
(Allah will punish the tongue with a punishment with which He does not punish any of the limbs, so it will say: O Lord, You have punished me with a punishment with which You have not punished any of the limbs. So He will say:
A word came out from you and reached the easts and wests of the earth, and by it forbidden blood was shed, forbidden wealth was plundered, and forbidden private parts were violated)..
Program host: You spoke about creativity; how does Islam guarantee creativity in the field of media while you are speaking about controls..
Answer: We are speaking about controls and not articles that shackle man. The task of these controls is to preserve the spirit of truthfulness, the spirit of justice and the credibility of the culture that people receive, and so that no one transgresses against another in his rights.. Therefore the Law has legislated a set of rulings that ensure this, some of which we have mentioned..
It remains that the arena of creativity beyond that is very wide; thought can soar in its sky, in terms of technique, or performance, presentation, form and the like..
Program host: In your opinion, is our media that bears responsibility keeping pace with the rapid development of events? Or is it still behind
and falling short in the right of the Ahl al-Bayt (a)? And who bears the responsibility: the public or the preachers?
Answer: The responsibility is shared. The project of religion cannot soar with one wing. Allah the Exalted wants people to cooperate: “Cooperate in piety and Godwariness” (Qurʾan 5:2), and this is a rule that has comprehensiveness, indeed total comprehensiveness.. The preachers need the support of the public and society, and likewise the public need the efforts of the preachers.. And because each group needs the other, then the responsibility is shared..
When we speak of falling short, we do not belittle those working on this path; we only state that the merit of the Ahl al-Bayt, the status of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) and the right of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) are difficult for us to give their due..
They are the ones who spared no effort in the way of exalting the word of Allah, striving for the values of religion, and spreading human virtues, for the sake of human honor and dignity.. They fought oppression and sacrificed themselves in this way.. So however much we offer, we are falling short, without the slightest doubt..
