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Social networking is very easy form of making friends, groups, business, etc. The dark side is that you can find people flirting with each other, verbally abusing each other, etc. Some get addicted to it and lose touch with their personal lives.
How does Islam permit and deny the outcomes of social networking?
References from Qur'an and Hadith are appreciated.
Jazaakallah...
In Islamic law, there is a maxim which states that "Everything is permissible unless it's forbidden explicitly". So for example, when it comes to food, everything is permissible to eat except for some specific things: pork, dead meat, animals slaughtered in the name of other than Allah, etc. Same with clothing; we can wear whatever we want with some exceptions. One of the proofs for this maxim comes from the Quran:
"It is He who created for you all of that which is on the earth." [2:29]
Everything has been created for us to use in general, and we have specific prohibitions. Another proof:
"He has only forbidden to you dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah " [2:173]
This means he only forbidden the above, which means that everything else is allowed for us to eat (keep in mind there are more exceptions than what is in this verse, but I hope you get the point)
So based on this maxim, when it comes anything in our life which doesn't have a specific prohibition for it, the general rule is that is permissible. Then we look closer at the harms and benefits of that matter. When it comes to something permissible, you will always find people abusing it. Question: is using the internet allowed? People use and abuse it for various forbidden actions (too many to list!), but that does not change the general ruling that it is permissible. However, for a specific person, it may be impermissible for them specifically if they cannot control themselves from doing impermissible actions and it outweighs the benefits for them.
Same for social networking. It is permissible in general, and people abuse it (flirting, fornication, etc.), while other people use it to call people to Allah and learn Islamic knowledge (which is good)! So it depends on the person and their usage of it.
Is socialization of any means prohibited in Islam in the first place (unless it is done for the reason of finding partner for adultery, doing some other evil things)?
There is one important detail about social networking. It is prohibited to create secret groups in which plans against Allah and messenger of Allah.
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ نُهُوا عَنِ النَّجْوَى ثُمَّ يَعُودُونَ لِمَا نُهُوا عَنْهُ وَيَتَنَاجَوْنَ بِالْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ وَمَعْصِيَتِ الرَّسُولِ وَإِذَا جَاؤُوكَ حَيَّوْكَ بِمَا لَمْ يُحَيِّكَ بِهِ اللَّهُ وَيَقُولُونَ فِي أَنفُسِهِمْ لَوْلَا يُعَذِّبُنَا اللَّهُ بِمَا نَقُولُ حَسْبُهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ يَصْلَوْنَهَا فَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ
Have you not considered those who were forbidden from private conversation, then they return to that which they were forbidden and converse among themselves about sin and aggression and disobedience to the Messenger? And when they come to you, they greet you with that [word] by which Allah does not greet you and say among themselves, "Why does Allah not punish us for what we say?" Sufficient for them is Hell, which they will [enter to] burn, and wretched is the destination.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا تَنَاجَيْتُمْ فَلَا تَتَنَاجَوْا بِالْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ وَمَعْصِيَتِ الرَّسُولِ وَتَنَاجَوْا بِالْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ
O you who have believed, when you converse privately, do not converse about sin and aggression and disobedience to the Messenger but converse about righteousness and piety. And fear Allah , to whom you will be gathered.
Mucadele 8-9 (58 / 8-9)
(Note: The phrase "converse privately" in the translation is actually "necva" in Arabic, and it means "whispering".)
Creating secret/closed groups and not inviting the other friends can make them sad about it.
As long as you don't do private things that is against Islam, against messenger of Allah, or things that will make other Mumins sad, you are well allowed to do social networking. There is nothing prohibiting it.
It depends on your view-point.
Social networking is another method of communication. It is used to keep in touch with others, and to share pictures (in many cases).
Now, if you look at it in that basic form, my cellphone can do that same thing. I can call/text other people to keep in touch, and I can send pictures.
Both of these things can be used in haram ways of course, but if you do not use it for these ways, I do not see anything wrong with it.
Note: I could not find any Quran/Hadith citations on this.
Technically, the social networking is not prohibited. But anything that contains prohibited stuff is prohibited. Can you name any (famous) social network site that practically does not contains images of living things? And even worse social network site contain nude images too. Every now and then there is a spam spread across the site and shows some nude pics. For a true believer it is good to save his eyes from such things. A social network site without any prohibited stuff is always a welcome thing.
I always like Dr. Zakir Naik's thought about Islamic things. Hope the following video will help, Insha Allah:
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