Ya Bunayya: #12 – How to Avoid Being a Ruwaybidah By All Means

Welcome Back!

Ya Bunayya!

You were warned against falling in the traps of the devil and ending up being a Ruwaybidah… and hence “Don’t be a Ruwaybidah.” You were also advised about what is and who is a Ruwaybidah.  What’s left to be discussed, at this juncture is how to avoid being a Ruwaybidah at all costs.

Again, Avoid Being a Ruwaybidah… At All Costs!

Ya Bunayya,

You must avoid Being a Ruwaybidah… No matter how much that will cost you.

You can’t avoid being a Ruwaybidah if your thoughts are influenced and manipulated by Ruwaybidāṭ. You can’t avoid being a Ruwaybidah if Ruwaybidāt are your source of information.

And your thoughts are influenced by Ruwaybidāt if you follow every Tom, Dick, and Harry on social media. The majority of whom are Ruwaybidāt! When Ruwaybidāt become your source of information, you can only look at the world the way they want you to. And that is it!

How to Avoid Being a Ruwaybidah

Ya Bunayya,

To avoid being a Ruwaybidah, you must first avoid listening to Ruwaybidāt. And to avoid listening to Ruwaybidāt, make sure you listen to people who add value to your life as a Muslim. Listen to those who remind you of Allah and care about your actions. Listen to those who are concerned about what will happen to you after death. For that’s where real life lies.

One of the ways you can reduce your chances of listening to Ruwaybidāt is to minimise the time you spend on social media. To do that, bookmark pages and friends who add value to your life as Muslim, so that when you log in to your social media, you are most likely greeted by them. I mean you’ll be greeted by their sharing’s.

Alternatively, you may want to unfollow people who share useless content. As for those who cast doubts in your faith, you must unfriend them, and block them if the need be. These are the ones who will pollute your thoughts. Remember, when you don clean clothes, you’re mindful of where you sit.

If a certain social media platform has more harm than benefits, then I’m sure, you’re wise enough to know that it is wise to avoid such a platform. Unless you really have to. Unless you really have no choice. And I wonder, how would you have to. I wonder who will force you to be on a certain social media platform against your will!

In other words, you’re not obliged to try every single social media platform out there. While something like WhatsApp and Telegram might have emerged to be essential in our daily life, TikTok, in my opinion, is an absolute waste of your time more than it will add value to your life. That’s if it’s not damaging your shame and sense of modesty. Between these two sides (WhatsApp and Telegram on one side and TikTok on the other) are YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Clubhouse, with YouTube being closer to essential than the others.

Here I must add, for the record, that WhatsApp groups can be another waste of time. So, be mindful. Be warned.

Beware of the Lizard’s Hole

Ya Bunayya,

Mind you! The Ruwaybidah out there are mostly made, groomed and presented to the masses as entertainers and lifestyle role models.

Who makes and grooms them? It doesn’t matter who does so. What’s worth knowing is that the agenda is to keep you in the footsteps of Shayṭān (Satan).

The Qur’an explicitly warns us against following or walking in the footsteps of Shayṭān. Why? Because he only enjoins to immoralities and evildoings. (See verse #21 of Sūrah al-Nūr).

Besides enjoining to immoralities and evil, following the footsteps of Shayṭān, and for that matter basing your choices in life on the lifestyle of influencers and celebrities will lead you to the hole of the lizard. When that happens, you end up looking at the world with their lenses and hardly with yours.

In a hadith reported by Imām al-Bukhārī (7320) from the narration of Sayyidunā Abū Sa’īd al-Khudrī, raḍiya Allāhu ‘anhu, the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ’alayhi wa sallam says:

لَتَتْبَعُنَّ سَنَنَ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ شِبْرًا شِبْرًا وَذِرَاعًا بِذِرَاعٍ، حَتَّى لَوْ دَخَلُوا جُحْرَ ضَبٍّ تَبِعْتُمُوهُمْ‏‏.‏ قُلْنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ: الْيَهُودُ وَالنَّصَارَى قَالَ: فَمَنْ.ـ

“You will follow the ways of those nations who were before you, span by span and cubit by cubit (read: step by step, inch by inch) so much so that even if they entered a hole of a lizard, you would follow them.” We said, “O Allah’s Messenger! The Jews and the Christians?” He said, “Whom else?”

And the truth is, when you reach the entrance of the lizard’s hole, the possibility of turning back is highly unlikely.

This will likely happen if your choices in life are determined by influencers, celebrities, comedians, and clowns. What’s the point of your education if someone else, who may not have proper knowledge of the purpose of his existence determines your fate?!

Ya Bunayya,

I think it’s enough, for today. I’ll see you soon, insha Allah. Until then…

Allāhu Ḥāfiẓ!