The Key To Paradise in Islam - Why Forwarding Islamic Text Messages Is Wrong

I was sitting down on my couch watching tv one night, when a good friend of mine sent me a text message. I read it and replied back to him straight away. The subject of the text was about 1,000 Hajis (people who have been to Mecca for a pilgrimage), who dreamt of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him), and they were all given a message to pass on.

All night i was bombarded with Islamic related text messages, which frankly, got on my nerves. You will understand the reason why after you read what i have to say about this forwarding texts business.

A while ago my good friend gave me a lift to work in his taxi, and he is a great man who does his prayers five times a day, always talks about the Deen (Islam), and is loved by everyone in the Muslim community. He tries his best to stay on the Seerat Al-Mustakim (Straight Path), and i pray he succeeds.

As we were in the car on my way to work, the subject of dying as a Muslim and acquiring the Key to Jannat (Paradise) was discussed. He said he once had a customer who, as he left the car and went to his front door to open it, had left his key in the taxi. My friend said to him, as he gave the key that was left on the car seat, "You won't be able to get in without the key."

We as Muslims have to acquire the key to open the doors of Jannat for us, like that customer who couldn't get into his house without his key. He had to come back to the taxi to find his key, because he could come back. After we die we can't come back to find our key to Jannat, because we only live once, and we have to take that one chance. The only way to get the key is by remembering Allah (God), praying five times a day and live a life based on the teachings of our Prophet Mohammed (pbuh). I agreed with my friend.

This is how the text conversation ensued.

My friend

"Out of all the Medina's Hajis, one thousand Haji's dreamt of our Prophet Mohammed (pbuh), who said to them, "Tell my Nation to go and recite the Qur'an. Whoever, after hearing this, tell eleven other people, they will receive good news within the next nine days. Whoever does not pass on this message after hearing it, will not receive any good news for the next fifteen years." Please forward this message onto eleven other people to receive good news."

My reply

"Did our Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) say to forward this message via texts to eleven people, so you can receive good news within nine days?"

My friend

"No."

My reply

"Sorry, I don't believe in receiving good news, bad news or prayers answered by forwarding Islamic messages via texts. I believe we should pray directly to Allah, seek his forgiveness and be patient. We shouldn't depend on and hope by forwarding texts we will receive good news within a certain time.

It is ok to forward information to other Muslims via any medium, but telling people to forward certain number of texts for good news is wrong. This is because people will be misled into pinning their hopes of receiving good news, or their prayers being answered if they forward these kinds of texts to other people. Of course some people aren't religious, and this makes it easier to believe and follow, which is the work of satan.

You told me once, the only way to Paradise is to acquire the KEY, by praying five times a day and by living a life based on the teachings of our Prophet Mohammed (pbuh). Please try to understand what i have written, and i hope inshallah (God willing), you will not take offence."

My friend

"No problem brother, Inshallah we'll meet up soon."

The text conversation ended and i went to sleep.

The message i am trying to convey to the Muslim Nation is that it is wrong to put your hopes on receiving good news, having your prayers answered or anything else for that matter via texts, emails and any other medium.

We should believe only in Allah alone. No one else, nothing else.

If you do receive these kinds of texts, then don't forward them but teach the sender, whoever it may be, that it is wrong. You will sin if you believe in such things.

Would you really believe me if i sent you a Dua (prayer), and then wrote "If you send this to 10 other people, you will receive good news within the next 24 hours, and if you don't, you will receive bad news for the next one year. Trust me, it works"?

What if that 24 hour passed and you didn't receive the good news you were promised? Would you be angry at the sender or that the forwarding of the text was unsuccessful? You would be confused, for sure!

Read the two paragraphs above again and try to understand where you may have rested your hopes on. The text message? Or Allah? I would say the text message, because that is the thing that is saying if i do so and so i will be rewarded with good news. Do you understand what i mean?

May Allah forgive us, and give us Tawfeeq to stay on the Right Path.