RUMOUR SPREADING

RUMOUR SPREADING

By: A.A. Wahab

When the members of the Banu al Mustalaq embraced Islam, the holy Prophet (pbuh) delegated Waleed bin Uqbah to collect zakat from them. However, after reaching their village, some kind of fear gripped Waleed due to some reasons and so he returned to Madinah without meeting the people there. Upon his arrival in Madinah he told the Prophet that the people of Banu Mustalaq tribe refused to pay zakat, some of them tried to kill him and they were amassing men and weapons to launch a war against the Prophet after dumping their newfound faith.

Khalid and his men reached Banu al Mustalaq tribe by the nightfall. After camping at a place not very far from the village, Khalid sent a few secret observers to the tribe. They returned and told Khalid that the people of the tribe were still holding fast to Islam and they could hear the calls to prayers (Azaan) and they could see people performing prayers (salaat). At the dawn break, Khalid went to the people of the tribe and he could see by himself that the findings of the secret observers were fully true. He returned to the Prophet and conveyed him what he found.

At this crucial juncture - when a major catastrophe was avoided which could otherwise have happened if actions were taken based on a false news - Allah guided the Prophet and the believers on this very important subject. “O you who believe! if an evil-doer comes to you with a report, look carefully into it, lest you harm a people in ignorance, then be sorry for what you have done.” (Quran 49:5)

Quoting this incident, the Prophet used to say that “Deliberation is among Allah’s attributes and haste is of the Satan.” Here, the holy Quran is teaching the rules to be followed in the conveying and spreading of news and reports among the members of a civilized society that upholds moral values and justice.

Before spreading a report as received and taking action based on such reports, one should verify its origin and correctness. This is essential for the smooth functioning of a society. The personal qualities of the news carrier are very important. An immoral person will not show any hesitation in fabricating and spreading baseless and suspicious news and lies. When such news are circulated and actions taken based on them from various corners, the integrity and solidarity of a society and often its law and order situation could be in peril. Examples for this are plenty in the contemporary period.

News collection, distribution and broadcasting have become a very lucrative and highly competitive industry now. Those who fabricate news aimed at keeping the public enslaved in the clutches of vested interests and making money out of it, are not a rare species in this arena. And the contemporary society is bearing the consequences of such unscrupulous acts. Only when one has undiluted conviction that every act is accountable and will be accordingly either rewarded or punished by the Almighty in the hereafter, a person can muster the courage to call a spade a spade.