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khaufnaak's review
4.0
This book is a very easy read! Each chapter is about 5-10 pages and the entire book is less than 90 pages long. I was initially disappointed by this book because I was expecting (and hoping for) it to be an academically rigorous text. However, the book turns out to mostly be some pretty well-known and common-sense reminders, and some neat little actionable steps. At first I was pretty frustrated that the things I was reading weren’t that different from typical social media and mental health videos, articles, and sound-bites, but as I read on I began to feel more satisfied by the book, as the topic started to become more specific (such as spiritually and activism on the internet) and talk about things a little less talked about in the public sphere. Each chapter had a list of actionable steps to pursue on the theme of the chapter.
rustedpages's review
5.0
‘The Fiqh of Social Media’ is a practical guide to help govern our relationship with social media in a healthy way. Omar Usman dedicates each chapter to a different topic, some examples including Intention, Envy, Optimism and Family.
Although social media is not something that existed at the time of the Revelation, the teachings of Islam are timeless and can be extended to all situations and circumstances. Thus, each argument is supplemented by a Hadith or verses from the Quran.
A really important point he states is that who we follow is the company we keep, while encouraging us to unfollow ruthlessly to curate our feeds. It is a reminder to maintain the same values and manners in our online interactions as we do in our offline in-person ones. The book is short, each chapter is only a couple of pages, the writing is very easy to understand, and each topic ends with questions to ask ourselves in order to keep ourselves accountable. Why do we post what we post? What do we hope to achieve when we engage in arguments in comment sections? Does our phone usage affect our real-life relationships? Do we supplement our ‘online activism’ with offline prayer? If not, then that may be a symptom of it being performative.
Sometimes I feel the hardest part is simply recognising and admitting that you lack self control. It’s easy to say that I’ll limit my time on social media but five minutes turns into fifteen and fifteen into thirty without even realising it. Sometimes a reminder is not enough to change our habits, and we may need actual tangible limits in place for ourselves. If you’re like me and frequently fall victim to the endless scroll, I’d suggest to make use of the app limits/website restrictions in the settings of your phone, or have accountability with a family member.
A must read.
Although social media is not something that existed at the time of the Revelation, the teachings of Islam are timeless and can be extended to all situations and circumstances. Thus, each argument is supplemented by a Hadith or verses from the Quran.
A really important point he states is that who we follow is the company we keep, while encouraging us to unfollow ruthlessly to curate our feeds. It is a reminder to maintain the same values and manners in our online interactions as we do in our offline in-person ones. The book is short, each chapter is only a couple of pages, the writing is very easy to understand, and each topic ends with questions to ask ourselves in order to keep ourselves accountable. Why do we post what we post? What do we hope to achieve when we engage in arguments in comment sections? Does our phone usage affect our real-life relationships? Do we supplement our ‘online activism’ with offline prayer? If not, then that may be a symptom of it being performative.
Sometimes I feel the hardest part is simply recognising and admitting that you lack self control. It’s easy to say that I’ll limit my time on social media but five minutes turns into fifteen and fifteen into thirty without even realising it. Sometimes a reminder is not enough to change our habits, and we may need actual tangible limits in place for ourselves. If you’re like me and frequently fall victim to the endless scroll, I’d suggest to make use of the app limits/website restrictions in the settings of your phone, or have accountability with a family member.
A must read.
4m1r4's review
4.0
I went into this book without many high expectations, thinking it would be an easy, light-hearted read about a topic — the relationship between social media and individuals — I usually find interesting.
It was indeed an easy read, but a very insightful and pertinent one too.
The author makes numerous great points on social media, Muslims presence on them, and the relation between the two, all while keeping a very benevolent, positive, hopeful, and empowering voice, and giving practical advice for those who might want to change but might not know where to start.
I however have two small quibbles:
— While the author references everything, I found the referencing not to be thorough enough (‘Muslim’ ; ‘Bukhari’ ; ‘Musnad Ahmad’… What’s the number of the hadith? What’s its grade? Common it’s not that difficult, we can do better!)
— The fact that free-mixing is not mentioned at all is very regrettable, especially when we know how common it is online
It was overall an enjoyable and beneficial book that I will definitely re-read, annotate, and of which fawā’id I will share the around
It was indeed an easy read, but a very insightful and pertinent one too.
The author makes numerous great points on social media, Muslims presence on them, and the relation between the two, all while keeping a very benevolent, positive, hopeful, and empowering voice, and giving practical advice for those who might want to change but might not know where to start.
I however have two small quibbles:
— While the author references everything, I found the referencing not to be thorough enough (‘Muslim’ ; ‘Bukhari’ ; ‘Musnad Ahmad’… What’s the number of the hadith? What’s its grade? Common it’s not that difficult, we can do better!)
— The fact that free-mixing is not mentioned at all is very regrettable, especially when we know how common it is online
It was overall an enjoyable and beneficial book that I will definitely re-read, annotate, and of which fawā’id I will share the around
bookishconnections's review
2.0
For such a hyped book, I found the content pretty basic.
Unfollow, block, delete…this is all common sense that you can find in any non-Islamic book about social media.
While it raises some good points, I felt a lot of the book was just filler.
This would be a good book to introduce teenagers to social media from an Islamic perspective but for adults who are sensible…it might lead you wanting something with more substance.
Unfollow, block, delete…this is all common sense that you can find in any non-Islamic book about social media.
While it raises some good points, I felt a lot of the book was just filler.
This would be a good book to introduce teenagers to social media from an Islamic perspective but for adults who are sensible…it might lead you wanting something with more substance.
tarannum's review
3.0
I definitely liked the second half of the book better than the first, as I felt in some parts it lacked a certain depth which I was hoping for. A lot of these points were obvious to me, and I think would be to others in their young 20s in 2021 - so maybe this book would be more insightful to older audiences. I really liked the logical flow and the surface level points were great, but when I say they lack depth I mean that I feel these points had so much more room to be unpacked further, and still keep the book short and simple, but they weren't. However, the consistent connections to Hadith and Quran verses was definitely wonderful and added a lot of value to the frame through which the information was being presented. Also, especially in the second half of the book, there were unique insights on the environment of social media and it provided great reflection points.