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13 Responses to “Is Blogging Beneficial?”

1. Irisblue Says:
   May 13th, 2008 at 11:03 pm

   salaam alaikum,

   don’t bow out - i really think you have a duty to stay and fight the good fight. a few voices of reason exist and yours is one of them.
   not that you’re always right :)! but you are never rude or insulting and that is more important i think.

2. Marc Says:
   May 13th, 2008 at 11:49 pm

   not that you’re always right

   Excuse me? Umm…, yeah! Of course I’m not always right. Just take out the “always” and you’ve got it.

   

3. Adnan Zahid Says:
   May 14th, 2008 at 12:27 am

   Honestly, sometimes I have been very upset about the kinds of things people say on these blogs and the like. I decided a while back that I am not going to waste my time reading random blogs where such slandering takes place as a routine ritual. I would much rather spend my time reading an article or listening to a talk by our learned Shuyukh. There is infinitely more benefit in listening to their words and naseeha than listening to commentaries on our Shuyukh by people who lack the adab and the requisite knowledge.

4. Ilyas Says:
   May 14th, 2008 at 12:54 am

   Salaam ‘alaikum Marc,

   If this is helpful, I heard Sheikh Nuh Keller recently mention that in his estimation most blogs (and social networking sites) are exercises in self-promotion of one’s ego. (Look at how great I am and all the wonderful things I’m up to this week).

   Upon relfection I realized that this was probably the case for me. And I think it is for most people, though not so much in your case. Which explains why you don’t post often and when you do it’s to say something useful.

   Wallahu ‘alam

5. Marc Says:
   May 14th, 2008 at 8:40 am

   Ilyas - salaams and thank you. I imagine that Sh. Keller’s estimation hits close to the mark. In my case, I’m more concerned with the lack of manners in which people are engaging in dialog. Especially Muslims. I’m not sure if it’s the fact that people feel empowered by their anonymity and thus they can berate people without manners. I’m almost certain that these people would not speak like this in person [most likely due to the fact that they would be in fear of retaliation and not out of shame which is still a problem]. Thanks for the kind words.

6. Marc Says:
   May 14th, 2008 at 8:41 am

   Adnan,

   There is infinitely more benefit in listening to their words and naseeha than listening to commentaries on our Shuyukh by people who lack the adab and the requisite knowledge.

   Amin.

7. Musa Maguire Says:
   May 14th, 2008 at 11:44 am

   Unfortunately, the blogosphere, much like the discussion boards that preceded it, is filled with extremist rhetoric. It plagues every blog, especially those with more liberal censorship policies. That said, I still feel that there is a tremendous value in blogging.

   I’m not convinced that blogging and social networking are any more egocentric that other activities. The real danger is self-promotion in terms of piety and other religious qualities, which can occur in traditional as well as online formats, but Allah knows best.

8. Abu Noor Al-Irlandee Says:
   May 14th, 2008 at 11:54 am

   As salaamu ‘alaykum,

   In thinking about your comments over on Umar’s blog, I was just thinking (and I made a similar comment in response to what Musa had said over there) you know, there’s a lot of merit to what the brother is saying but it seems unfair to me because if followed to its conclusion it basically amounts to an argument that people shouldn’t be blogging or commenting on blogs. Now, this may be a perfectly true point, but as I said, it seems “unfair” to make it in a comment section in a blog. Then I happen to pop over here and read that that is basically the argument that you are advancing.

   I agree with Musa (and I think yourself) that there is benefit in these activities but it seems almost inevitable that the unbeneficial and even sinful aspects of the medium are extremely difficult to avoid. I guess I should just try harder to do so and if it doesn’t work, you are right, abandoning the enterprise altogether has a lot of hikmah in it.

   Allaah knows best.

9. Marc Says:
   May 14th, 2008 at 12:13 pm

   My comments over on Umar’s blog had to do with the whole conversation about Mother’s Day and how people go from having a personal take on it to advancing it to the “un-Islamic” category. My point was that this is dangerous and irresponsible. And further, the conversation quickly boiled down to the brother slandering Dr. Jackson. I am not being duplicious - I am simply saying that I seriously ponder the validity of blogging based on its merits. Are there any? And if so, do they out weigh the bad merits? And further more, it should be noted that I was not attacking Umar. I simply disagreed with what he said and cautioned people from jumping to conclusions based on either “what they like” or grasping at straws with things like “the Prophet never did…”. When I hear the latter in particular, that indicates to me that the person is not trained in qiyas, ijtihad, or even taqlid! Rather they’re mangling the Sunnah to meet the requirements of their own limited education and nafs.

   I hope you see my point. Good comments.

10. Abu Noor Al-Irlandee Says:
    May 14th, 2008 at 2:36 pm

    Marc,

    I have a post now up over at my blog about a lecture I heard and a conversation I had with Abdullahi Ahmed An-Naim. Do you know his work? If so, let me know what you think.

    I approach conversation with you the same way I approach it with Dr. Jackson. I always come prepared to be impressed and to benefit but at the same time prepared and expecting to disagree strongly. Actually, with both of you brothers I often find a lot of your analysis persuasive but when you come down to prescribing things for our situtation, I often disagree strongly. A lot of that may result from having different understandings of and taking a different approach to the U.S. as a society and government more so than differences about the Islamic tradition. So, as Dr. Jackson talks about with the fact/law distinction we could even have the same understanding of the Islamic tradition, but apply it differently to our reality based on a different understanding of our reality. And, while I yield to Dr. Jackson’s knowledge in terms of Islam, I do not feel a need to yield to anyone as necessarily having a more legitimate right to their understanding of our reality. I feel I’ve put in the work on that front.

    Allaah knows best.

11. Marc Says:
    May 14th, 2008 at 2:45 pm

    I do not feel a need to yield to anyone as necessarily having a more legitimate right to their understanding of our reality.

    Your point is certainly valid here. Rights come from God and no one can deny you a right to understanding this religion. And you are most certainly entitled to disagree with me, Dr. Jackson or anyone else. My point that I’ll try to underpin again is scope. When someone comes along and says x, y, or z is un-/Islamic then they are attaching its validity, application and possibily even obligation to all Muslims, in all times and in all spaces and places. This is where I assert that this is not only impractical or irresponsible but that it is not within the spirit of either the Muslim intellectual tradition nor the Sunnah. And only those who have taken the time to thoroughly learn this tradition and process can see so. In its absence, we are left with willy-nilly un-/Islamic renderings of everything.

    I will check out your piece.

12. DrM Says:
    May 25th, 2008 at 2:33 pm

    Excellent post!

13. thelegacymaker Says:
    July 18th, 2008 at 2:58 pm

    Very good post…I think their is more good than bad in blogging for those who keep the correct intentions and act accordingly. Keep up the good work. Your blog is an example of the good.

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