Always check first and the value of silence 'Believers, if a troublemaker brings you news, check it first, in case you wrong others unwittingly and later regret what you have done,' [Qur'an, 49:6] News spreads like wildfire - and at the click of a button, you could be responsible for spreading awareness about an event or a cause, or for spreading outright lies and 'fake news'. Allah reminds us in this verse to check first. It does not matter how many people are saying it - we do not believe that 'where there is smoke there fire' - or how tantalizing the news is. We check first, to preserve the truth, to respect others and to protect their honor. Perhaps this is why, in our faith

Seek Clarification

Have you ever come across a news or report so sensational that you felt compelled to share it? Maybe it was on a group chat, or from a social media post. In a world of push button notifications, and fast forwarding features on our messenger apps, let us recall the following verse:

O believers, if an evildoer brings you any news, verify ˹it˺ so you do not harm people unknowingly, becoming regretful for what you have done-(49:6)

I remember receiving a message on Whatsapp about the sad news of the death of a great well-known scholar. Of course, this was heartbreaking, but before being swept up by grief, I decided to verify this by speaking to some students of the scholar

Today's Quranic Maxim made me think about cancel culture. Once someone is 'cancelled', everything they say is 'cancelled' as well. In this ayah, Allah is referring to an 'evildoer' (sometimes people are 'cancelled' for things that are less than evil. For example, mistakes or misunderstandings.) But even in the case of an evildoer who is bringing us news, Allah doesn't just tell us to cancel or outright ignore everything that person has to say. He asks us to verify it so we don't harm anyone unknowingly.