Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh

Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim

1. Introduction

Scientifically, in the psychology of mass behavior on social media, there is a phenomenon called the _Illusory Truth Effect_—the human tendency to believe information is true simply because it keeps appearing on their feed (goes viral), regardless of whether it’s fact or a hoax.Islam, 14 centuries ago, already gave us a powerful scientific formula to protect our mental and social health from the poison of fake news: the system of _Tabayyun_—verification

.Allah SWT says in the Qur’an :

أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن جَاءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا أَن تُصِيبُوا قَوْمًا يَا بِجَهَالَةٍ فَتُصْبِحُوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَادِمِينَ

“O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, verify it, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become regretful over what you have done.” (QS. Al-Ḥujurāt: 6)

Verifying the source of knowledge is not just an academic formality—it’s a shield for the soul, so that our hearts don’t become clouded with hatred born from false news.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ also gave a very stern warning in a hadith:

كَفَى بِالْمَرْءِ كَذِبًا أَنْ يُحَدِّثَ بِكُلِّ مَا سَمِعَ

“It is enough for a person to be considered a liar if he narrates everything he hears without filtering it. ( HR : Muslim )

2. Lessons and Message

An Illustrative Analogy: Consuming information without verifying its source is like drinking water straight from a puddle on the side of a highway. It may look clear at first glance, but you have no idea what germs, bacteria, or toxins are settling in it. A wise person only drinks water from a known spring—clean, hygienic, and tested. Likewise with knowledge and information; don’t let your mind become a dumping ground for “digital trash” with an unclear origin.Think about the struggle of one of the greatest hadith scholars, Imām al-Bukhārī. To verify the authenticity of just one hadith, he was willing to travel for months, crossing scorching deserts from Bukhara to Madinah, Egypt, and Baghdad. He sacrificed his wealth, tears, and physical strength just to confirm: “Is the one narrating this hadith truthful and trustworthy?”The sacrifice and tears of the scholars of the past stand in stark contrast to how easy it is for us today. They walked thousands of kilometers for a single authentic statement; we today only need one second to spread news that may not be authentic at all. It’s truly a slap to our literacy etiquette.And here’s the funny part today, friends. Someone forwards a message in a family WhatsApp group with the opening line: “Please spread this, from a trusted source!” But when you ask, “Who is this trusted source, Uncle?” the answer is, “Oh, it’s from the group next door!” Our chain of transmission—sanad_—has now become: from _Grup Sebelah, down to Grup Alumni, then into Grup Keluarga, and finally ending up on an Instagram Story. If we’re asked on the Day of Judgment, “Where did you get this knowledge from?” are we really going to say, “From an anonymous TikTok account with a sad background song, Ya Allah”? That’s not funny at all! The internet is vast, but remember—having internet data doesn’t automatically buy you the truth.

3. Conclusion and Closing

Brothers and sisters, true digital intelligence isn’t measured by how fast our thumbs can share breaking news, but by how wisely we hold back to check the credibility of the source. Before hitting the Share button, ask yourself: “Is this true? Does it come from an expert? And does it bring benefit?”If the source is unclear, make your smartphone the final “graveyard” for that hoax. Let it stop with you—don’t forward it.Verifying the authenticity of knowledge sources is evidence of faith, while hastily spreading unverified news is a gateway to regret.

والله أعلم بالصواب

الحمد لله رب العالمين

Wassalamu’alaikum Warahmaullahi Wabarakatuh.

ِAbu Sultan Al-Qadrie