The Youtubian Influencers Impact on Dawah

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: ” مِنْ أَشْرَاطِ السَّاعَةِ، أَنْ يُرْفَعَ الْعِلْمُ، وَيَثْبُتَ الْجَهْلُ

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “From among the signs of the Hour are Religious knowledge will be taken away (by the death of Religious learned men) and (Religious) ignorance will prevail.[1]

This hadith teaches us that the hour of reckoning is near when this sign appears. It’s a sign that will continue until the major signs appear and the trumpet is blown. The dying of true Islamic scholarship has left an opportunity for the ignorant to establish themselves pretending to be knowledgeable people. The Prophet (ﷺ) said

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَقْبِضُ الْعِلْمَ انْتِزَاعًا، يَنْتَزِعُهُ مِنَ الْعِبَادِ، وَلَكِنْ يَقْبِضُ الْعِلْمَ بِقَبْضِ الْعُلَمَاءِ، حَتَّى إِذَا لَمْ يُبْقِ عَالِمًا، اتَّخَذَ النَّاسُ رُءُوسًا جُهَّالاً فَسُئِلُوا، فَأَفْتَوْا بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ، فَضَلُّوا وَأَضَلُّوا ‏”‏‏.

“Allah does not take away the knowledge, by taking it away from (the hearts of) the people, but takes it away by the death of the religious learned men till when none of the (religious learned men) remains, people will take as their leaders ignorant persons who when consulted will give their verdict without knowledge. So they will go astray and will lead the people astray.”[2]

Within the last few years the Ummah of Muhammad suffered a serious blow with the death of several scholars from various parts of the world. The minute this happened the ignoramus’s social media platforms grew rapidly. The average person takes the ignorant one as his sheikh, his judge, and his imam from social media. Many if not most of those who have appeared on social media haven’t a solid foundation in Islamic knowledge, which would allow them to talk about the general rulings in issues of belief and Fiqh. To add insult to injury, some these Youtubian Dawah callers have acquired Islamic knowledge from the people of innovation and misguidance at western universities.

These western universities have a history of preparing orientalists to study Arabic to learn Islam; and then to try and destroy it from within. Hence, this reminds us of a quote said by our brother Malcom X, “ Only a fool would let his enemy teach his children.”

Social media allows two type of ignoramuses to have platforms to spread their misguidance. One of negligible ignorance, whereas he has zero awareness of what he’s talking about. The other is one who has compound ignorance. Hence, he doesn’t know that he lacks knowledge. Thus, he thinks that he is learned. At any rate, both of these kinds of people with followings on their platforms are a grave danger to our youth and the Ummah at large. They are influenced by Satan. Allah said:

إِنَّما يَأْمُرُكُمْ بِالسُّوءِ وَالْفَحْشاءِ وَأَنْ تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ ما لا تَعْلَمُونَ

(Satan)] commands you only what is evil and Fahsha (sinful), and that you should say against Allah what you know not” [3]

Speaking about Allah’s religion must only be derived from the Quran, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the scholars. When one of these are absent then there is no harm to rely on the speech of the companions. Talking about Islam and the Sunnah from one’s opinion is prohibited. This results in a person saying something is allowed which is prohibited, or saying something is prohibited which is allowed. To have a sound understanding of Halal or Haraam requires a footing in Usul al-Fiqh(foundations in Jurisprudence) and Qawa’idul Fiqheeyah (principles of Jurisprudence).

The Youtubian Influencers in Dawah have found that gaining likes, followers and shares is quite a lucrative line of work. Thus, they often indulge in the trending topics to remain relevant and appear informed. When in reality, they aren’t! Rather instead they do an extensive Google search engine find and then summarize it to share on their podcasts. The Prophet (ﷺ)

 سَيَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ سَنَوَاتٌ خَدَّاعَاتٌ يُصَدَّقُ فِيهَا الْكَاذِبُ وَيُكَذَّبُ فِيهَا الصَّادِقُ وَيُؤْتَمَنُ فِيهَا الْخَائِنُ وَيُخَوَّنُ فِيهَا الأَمِينُ وَيَنْطِقُ فِيهَا الرُّوَيْبِضَةُ قِيلَ وَمَا الرُّوَيْبِضَةُ قَالَ الرَّجُلُ التَّافِهُ فِي أَمْرِ الْعَامَّةِ ‏”‏ ‏.‏

“There will come to the people years of treachery, when the liar will be regarded as honest, and the honest man will be regarded as a liar; the traitor will be regarded as faithful, and the faithful man will be regarded as a traitor; and the Ruwaibidah will decide matters.’ It was said: ‘Who are the Ruwaibidah?’ He said: ‘Vile and base men who control the affairs of the people.’”

It is safe to say the some of these Youtubian Influencers involved in Dawah fit the description of the Ruwaibidah. The Ruwaibidah is a fool or and evil natured person talking about the affairs of the people while being unqualified to do so. So long as it appeals to the people by sounding good then so what.; as long as it gains likes and subscriptions. The sincerity in their call is clear by the amount times they say, “click the like button below” , “like and share” and so forth. The likes and shares is how they earn. The Prophet (ﷺ) said

يَبِيعُ أَحَدُهُمْ دِينَهُ بِعَرَضٍ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا 

One of them will sell his religion for goods of the world.[4]

The goods of this world includes money, fame, leadership, and women. Allah says:

تَبْتَغُونَ عَرَضَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا فَعِنْدَ اللَّهِ مَغَانِمُ كَثِيرَةٌ

seeking the perishable goods of the worldly life.[5]

The Youtubian  Dawah Influencers have mastery in how Social Media Algorithms Work. This is another reason why their platforms grow and how they earn. A Youtubian Dawah Influencer makes $3 to $5 per every 1,000 views their videos get. You can use the AdSense revenue calculator to get a rough estimate of how much they can make each year from YouTube. Allah warn us from letting money divert us from His remembrance in Al-Munafiqoon. He says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُلْهِكُمْ أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُكُمْ عَنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ

O you who believe! Let not your properties or your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah[6]

The Youtubian Dawah Influencers are responsible for the spread of ignorance by distancing our youth from the scholars. They need to make themselves appear knowledgeable before their audiences in order to gain support and followers. The Prophet (ﷺ) said

الْمُتَشَبِّعُ بِمَا لَمْ يُعْطَ كَلاَبِسِ ثَوْبَىْ زُورٍ

The one who creates such a (false impression) of receiving what one has not been given is like one who wears the garment of falsehood.[7]

The garment of falsehood these Youtubian Dawah Influencers clothe themselves with is they appear as educated men when in fact they aren’t. They appear as those who want good for the Ummah when in fact they bring harm. At other times, they attack our scholars by name calling, attack their service to Islam, or even attack their judgements. Allah’s refuge is sought.

To safeguard ourselves and our families from this calamity then we must totally rely on the Youtube channels run, or moderated by students of knowledge who are known to have a sound Islamic academic background. Visit sites that share translations of the scholars. This will help you learn your religion properly instead of keeping up with the drama of the Tates and other trending subjects. Don’t just think because a site or video has a large following that it is the truth. Allah said:

وَإِن تُطِعْ أَكْثَرَ مَن فِي الْأَرْضِ يُضِلُّوكَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ۚ

And if you obey most of those on earth, they will mislead you far away from Allah’s Path.

Prepared by

Abu Aaliyah Abdullah ibn Dwight Battle

Doha, Qatar 1444©

[1] Muslim 2671

[2] Al-Bukhari 100

[3] 2:169

[4] Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2195

[5] 4:94 refer to the explanation of Riyadus Salaheen by Shaykh ibn Al-Uthaymeen Vol 2/pg 20

[6] 63:9

[7] Sahih Muslim 2130