Print: 28 Oct 2025
To me, the Malaysian legendary politician Mahathir Mohamad is the one who has died many times, especially on social media. Recently, I found that a few university teachers have also shared the news on Facebook, where many others also commented, although he is still alive. This type of act does not only make us cheap but also distrusted by others. Hence, we should be careful about this type of act.
None can defeat that we, nowadays, live in an information-based society. Each of our activities depends upon the information and knowledge that we have. Naturally, those people who have more information are powerful. However, due to the availability of media, false information has been spreading very rapidly. It has now become a concern for all conscious people.
Spreading false information has been a trend in the contemporary world. Most dishearteningly, young people are getting involved in this trend consciously or unconsciously, which is now creating another problem in society. Therefore, the concerned people are eagerly trying to find ways to overcome the situation and promote stability in society. It has now become a dire demand of time to manage and control the situation by any means. Although technology has been developed, some sources of spreading false and fake news are still out of control, especially social media, e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp, Telegram, Twitter, blogs etc.
Islam provides guidelines to manage and control any harmful and unwanted situation for mankind. It is surprising for many of us to learn that Islam started to talk about misinformation or disinformation management about 1400 years ago. It prohibited spreading false news by any means. In that sense, a verse can be mentioned here that Allah says: “Believers, if a troublemaker brings you news, check it first, in case you wrong others unwittingly and later regret what you have done, and be aware that it is God’s Messenger who is among you: in many matters, you would certainly suffer if he were to follow your wishes….” (Surah al-Hujurat: Ayat 6). The ayat clearly states that spreading false news is prohibited. Nobody is allowed to do so for any purpose or by any means.
In that case, the first responsibility goes to the content creator. He/she should not do that as it is a sinful act. Secondly, the receiver is responsible for verifying all news to acquire knowledge or information. Moreover, the authorities should fulfil their roles against the content creator, spreaders, and the media (source) once it is proven as false and fake. The action should not be purposively for gaining any goal but to control false information, which is harmful for all of us.
In Islam, creating false news and spreading it is considered sinful work. Therefore, people involved in this type of act must be under the state law and punished. In this regard, a principle that has been developed by Muslim jurists is called “the law of evidence.” Therefore, the evidence of a corrupt person and questionable character is not acceptable in judgment. This theory has also been applied in the science of Hadith in order to determine the value and worth of it.
To control the present situation of spreading false information and fake news, the following could be taken into consideration: (i) Knowledge and awareness about not only false news and misinformation but also the views and position of Islam in this regard, (ii) whenever a news comes to us, verify it carefully before we spread it among others, (iii) an unauthentic source of any news should not be spread in any means and if it is proved the source (person/media) as false they should be punished and (iv) the authorities should be in their duty and role in true sense. All these are possible, once we can practice the teachings of this verse: “You who believe, uphold justice and bear witness to God, even if it is against yourselves, your parents, or your close relatives. Whether the person is rich or poor, God can best take care of both. Refrain from following your own desire, so that you can act justly–if you distort or neglect justice, God is fully aware of what you do.” (Surah an-Nisa: Ayat 4:135).
In the conclusion, we can refer to another Qur’anic ayat that states: “O you who believe! Keep your duty to God and fear Him, and speak (always) the truth.”(Surah al-Ahzab: Ayat: 70).
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The writer is a scholar of Islamic views on contemporary issues
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Dealing with misinformation: An Islamic approach
To me, the Malaysian legendary politician Mahathir Mohamad is the one who has died many times, especially on social media. Recently, I found that a few university teachers have also shared the news on Facebook, where many others also commented, although he is still alive. This type of act does not only make us cheap but also distrusted by others. Hence, we should be careful about this type of act.
None can defeat that we, nowadays, live in an information-based society. Each of our activities depends upon the information and knowledge that we have. Naturally, those people who have more information are powerful. However, due to the availability of media, false information has been spreading very rapidly. It has now become a concern for all conscious people.
Spreading false information has been a trend in the contemporary world. Most dishearteningly, young people are getting involved in this trend consciously or unconsciously, which is now creating another problem in society. Therefore, the concerned people are eagerly trying to find ways to overcome the situation and promote stability in society. It has now become a dire demand of time to manage and control the situation by any means. Although technology has been developed, some sources of spreading false and fake news are still out of control, especially social media, e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp, Telegram, Twitter, blogs etc.
Islam provides guidelines to manage and control any harmful and unwanted situation for mankind. It is surprising for many of us to learn that Islam started to talk about misinformation or disinformation management about 1400 years ago. It prohibited spreading false news by any means. In that sense, a verse can be mentioned here that Allah says: “Believers, if a troublemaker brings you news, check it first, in case you wrong others unwittingly and later regret what you have done, and be aware that it is God’s Messenger who is among you: in many matters, you would certainly suffer if he were to follow your wishes….” (Surah al-Hujurat: Ayat 6). The ayat clearly states that spreading false news is prohibited. Nobody is allowed to do so for any purpose or by any means.
In that case, the first responsibility goes to the content creator. He/she should not do that as it is a sinful act. Secondly, the receiver is responsible for verifying all news to acquire knowledge or information. Moreover, the authorities should fulfil their roles against the content creator, spreaders, and the media (source) once it is proven as false and fake. The action should not be purposively for gaining any goal but to control false information, which is harmful for all of us.
In Islam, creating false news and spreading it is considered sinful work. Therefore, people involved in this type of act must be under the state law and punished. In this regard, a principle that has been developed by Muslim jurists is called “the law of evidence.” Therefore, the evidence of a corrupt person and questionable character is not acceptable in judgment. This theory has also been applied in the science of Hadith in order to determine the value and worth of it.
To control the present situation of spreading false information and fake news, the following could be taken into consideration: (i) Knowledge and awareness about not only false news and misinformation but also the views and position of Islam in this regard, (ii) whenever a news comes to us, verify it carefully before we spread it among others, (iii) an unauthentic source of any news should not be spread in any means and if it is proved the source (person/media) as false they should be punished and (iv) the authorities should be in their duty and role in true sense. All these are possible, once we can practice the teachings of this verse: “You who believe, uphold justice and bear witness to God, even if it is against yourselves, your parents, or your close relatives. Whether the person is rich or poor, God can best take care of both. Refrain from following your own desire, so that you can act justly–if you distort or neglect justice, God is fully aware of what you do.” (Surah an-Nisa: Ayat 4:135).
In the conclusion, we can refer to another Qur’anic ayat that states: “O you who believe! Keep your duty to God and fear Him, and speak (always) the truth.”(Surah al-Ahzab: Ayat: 70).
_________________________________________
The writer is a scholar of Islamic views on contemporary issues