Allah states:
“Those whom believe pay attention: Revere Allah & speak a Straight-Word.”
(Noble-Qur’ān: Chpt.33, V.70)
Muhammad (Peace be upon them) stated:
“Always speak Truth, even if it’s bitter (even if it rubs People the Wrong-Way).”
(ibn-Hibbān&al-Bayhaqī)
There’s literally a Social-Media Trend, which should’ve never caught any Traction, that evolved from al-Bashriyyah (Human-Nature/Behavior). That-Trend is Persons thinking/feeling they can say whatever they want and/or post whatever they want, without any Criticism, Opposition, Disagreement, etc. Social-Media has caused Many-People to place in their Minds/Hearts that they know everything. Not just that: the Mythos of “My Truth”, “I’m living in my Truth”, “I’m living my Truth”, etc. has emboldened Countless-People (via Fake-Wokeness) to think/feel that no one should dare challenge anything they say, post, etc. that they’ve publicly disclosed. Of course, Gareth Bryant being whom they are: I call “Bullshit” to such a Mindset/Mentality.
We’re all Humans, which by default/definition means that:
Number-1
None of us are going to be right/correct about everything.
Number-2
None of us are never going to know everything.
Number-3
None of us are entitled/justified to disclose anything publicly & expect to not get judged for it. However, inspite of the 3 Aforementioned-Things being 💯%-Truth/Honesty, naturally so many People face Lots of Problems. We face such Problems exclusively due to al-Istikbār/Apathy/Arrogance. And, this is because we fail to recognize the Ikhtilāf/Difference between al-`Ālim/the Learned-One & al-Jāhil/the Ignorant-One.
There’s 2-Differences between the `Ālim & the Jāhil:
a. An `Ālim is always willing to recognize/accept that they don’t know everything. A Jāhil always audaciously thinks/feels as though they know everything.
b. An `Ālim is always willing to recognize/accept that they can learn something from anyone, regardless of whether they’re Right or Wrong. A Jāhil always sudaciously thinks/feels they’re the “Only-One” whom can teach someone something.
Relative to the Social-Media Age: these 2-Differences are clearer than they’ve ever been at any other Era/Period via Human-History. Yet, pitifully, Certain-Persons refuse to admit the Obvious. They’d rather live their Best-Lies. Countless-Persons via Social-Media aim to do whatever they want, without Consequence. They view Consequence as for everyone except themselves. They want 0-Responsibility/Accountability imposed upon them. They actually expect to be allowed to judge Others for what they disclose, but think/feel no one can judge what they disclose.
I’ll use myself as a Mathl/Example
I’m known for getting under People’s-Skin, as per what I disclose publicly via Social-Media, Writing/Blogging, etc. And I literally comprehend fully the Consequences, Risks, Results, etc. for anything/everything I post. Yet, I post whatever I want anyway. I do this, exclusively, because I’ve mandated upon myself a Litmus for whether or not I choose/decide to post something. Anytime/everytime I post something, there’s literally a Deliberate Thought-Process which I consciously partake in. I literally conduct Intraspective-Convos with myself, weighing the Pros. vs. the Cons of any/all which I post before actually posting. There’s actually been Countless-Times where I’ve feared for my own Reputation, Safety, etc. regarding Things that I’ve disclosed. There’s been Countless-Times when I’ve known that posting Specific-Things would damage/end Human-Relationships with Certain-Persons.
My Necessary-Decisions
The Inquiries I always self-impose as per anything I decide to disclose via my Research, Writings, Blogging, Social-Media Posts, etc.:
1. Is what your disclosing Islāmically-Principled?!!!
2. Is there any Better-Way to convey what you want to disclose?!!!
3. Is what you want to disclose going to harm anyone?!!!
4. Is what you want to disclose going to harm you?!!!
5. Is what you want to disclose worth potentially damaging/destroying Friendships, Partnerships, Collaborations, Business, etc.?!!!
6. Is what you want to disclose worth having Others view you differently via Negative-Ways?!!!
The Dhāt/Essence of al-Ijtihād/Decision-Making
al-Ihtisāb (Personal-Responsibility/Accountability) is an Invaluable-Quality
Unbeknownst to Others (prior to mr authoring This-Article): there’s been Times where it’s literally taken me Days, Weeks, Months, Years, Decades, etc. to actually disclose Certain-Things. Most-Persons whom view/read what I’ve disclosed probably think/feel that I operate exclusively via Impulse. That’s 💯%-Untruth/Dishonesty. I’m very methodical, deliberate, motivational, calculative, intentional, etc.: a lot more than Most-Persons would ever give me Credit for. Most-People have 0-Idea how much Time/Energy I actually pour into everything I author. It doesn’t matter whether I write something that’s 4-Words long or whether it’s 40-Pages long: I put Equal-Importance to anything/everything I author.
I, personally, have never shyed away from Consequence-Of-Action. Particularly if/when it comes to what I write, blog, post, and so on. I understand fully, that every Action yields Reaction. I’ve always been willing to face any/all Opposition to anything/everything I’ve ever stated, authored publicly. I get the Point, that I don’t get to feels about anyone’s Stances for/against anything I’ve ever chosen/decided to consciously reveal for Public-Consumption. Anyone whom truly knows me knows that I’ve never dodged the Smoke: I’m always here for it.
To Close-Out, I’ll end here with this: Don’t disclose anything you’re unwilling to get judged for.
Gareth Bryant
Gareth Bryant 