From our favorite Imam
Qn.... so a smiley face (as they are known) are concatenated to the sentence to show the writers mood.
As chatting on the Internet is becoming evermore popular for muslims when socialisng with friends and relatives instead of using the telephone, a trend has been emerging that people have been giving a blind eye to. Ask anybody who chats on the internet regularly and they will tell you that sometimes it is difficult to transfer your expression to your chatting buddy,
Answer
Chatting on the internet is similar to speaking on the telephone. It is not permissible for male or female to speak on the telephone to the opposite gender who is a Ghayr Mahram (not prohibited in marriage) freely and without necessity. If there is a genuine need which is valid in Shari’ah, then members of the opposite gender may speak through the telephone with modesty and confine the discussion to the need.
To speak freely and beyond necessity is a sin. The same rule applies for chatting on the internet. No person should decide him/herself what is a valid reason in Shari’ah to speak on the phone or chat on the internet. Many people have their own interpretations of genuine need which is not acceptable in Shari’ah. We are aware of many such people who have caused ruin to their lives especially by chatting on the internet with the opposite gender. The expression of smiley faces and sad faces through internet chatting falls in the category of drawing pictures of animate objects which is prohibited. As an alternative, one may express his/her happiness and sadness in words.
and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
|