Ever since the start of the popularity of podcasts back in 2014, it seems everyone and their mothers have taken it upon themselves to start one. Equipped with a Rode® mic, some headphones and a neon light in the background, an influx of topics all of which are interesting, bizarre, outrageous, and downright pointless have emerged into the podcast sphere. Endless words being exchanged between hosts, debates on taboo topics, and also healthy discourse has been all the rave and become the new norm. Of course, when things start to gain popularity one can only count on fitnah becoming a part of the situation.
The initial reception of the Internet within the Muslim community was characterized by skepticism, a sentiment rooted in valid concerns. We can take a look at the story of how coffee created an intense topic of discussion and legal Islamic rulings between the Ottoman ‘ulema when it was introduced. However, global communication and the emergence of Wifi have made the internet inescapable and a part of our daily lives. As a matter of fact, there would be no way for me to communicate this to you without the use of internet. So, we must embrace it. But where do we draw the line?
“Of course, when things start to gain popularity one can only count on fitnah becoming a part of the situation.“
This week, an intense conversation stirred up on Twitter in regards to a shared clip from a Muslim based podcast. The outrage stemmed from the topic that was being discussed amongst the panel of Muslim men and women. An intimate and private discussion in regards to the bedroom. Outrageous! Men were seated on one side, and the women on the opposite side. All were in direct view of each other (there were no partitions drawn in the middle) and were able to communicate face to face (as shown below).
The backlash was well warranted. (ThinkingMuslima.com reached out to one of the panelists who had initially uploaded the clip to Instagram to ask if any of the panelists were married, only to receive no response. The panelist seemed to vehemently defend the permissibility of the discussion in responses to other Instagram users who questioned the topic.)
The question that immediately comes to my mind is: would they allow their mothers or sisters or wives to sit on this panel? Where is Ali Dawah’s (the host of the show) wife to give her input in it as well? These questions and inconsistencies raise alarm bells and questioning that beg one to ask, who the hell allowed this?! How have we allowed these podcasts and discussions to get to this point? How have we allowed our sisters to sit with men who are not their mahram and discuss issues of and in the bedroom? Where is the adhab or the hyaa? The fact that this needs to be discussed, and some are even defending it show that there is a root cause to this problem, and we must address it. So where do we begin?
It becomes obvious that this is imitating the “roundtable” discussions and raunchy topics held by the kuffar. Clearly these videos are raking in views in the tens of millions altogether, which becomes a source of revenue for the channel owner. The driving force behind these videos are all monetary. Oh Muslim! Where do you place your honor in the face of the dollar?!
Some have stated via Twitter that Ali Dawah has been advised, and his response has been that he received permission from “scholars” (we have not been able to verify this claim). Regardless, he obviously has some ammo to continue these outrageous YouTube episodes without the fear of repercussions.
So the question remains, what do we do from here? We continue to advise as stated in Hadith an-Nawawi:
On the authority of Abu Sa`eed al-Khudree (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:
I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say, “Whosoever of you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then [let him change it] with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith.” [Muslim] [1]
May Allah ﷻ guide us and keep us away from the fitan of this dunya and imitating the kuffar, amin!
Anything wrong is from myself, and anything correct is from Allah ﷻ May Allah ﷻ forgive me for any mistakes in this article, amin.
References:
The Thinking Muslimah 
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