The Heart Softeners -, Ruling on entering chat rooms on the Internet for fun.Dought & clear - ,

I hope you can advise me on the ruling on entering chat rooms
anddiscussion boards. I only go there for fun and to see some of the
topics under discussion, and you can well imagine the kind of bad talk
that goes on in those places. Please advise me about this, may Allaah
preserveyou.
Praise be to Allaah.
One of the things that the Muslim should do is discipline himself and
seek to adopt the best ofattitudes and etiquette. This requires a
great deal of striving against bad inclinations and it needs a lot of
patience. The most important thing that can help him to do that is
avoiding places of evil and places that could lead to his doom. The
scholars of personal development are unanimously agreed that man is
inherently weak and inclined towards evil, and that it is the mind (or
reason) that could controls his attitude and inclinations, and guide
his energies. So if reasondoes not restrain one's inclinations towards
following whims and desires, then he will soon find no means to turn
back to the path of salvation.
The same applies to gatherings of leisure and entertainment. Theyhave
always been – and still are, as they appear on the internet – a
wasteof energy and talent, where followers of falsehood who have no
mission to work or succeed in their lives gather, and they waste their
time and their liveswhich are the most precious things they own, and
they spend their days exchanging gossip, and they waste a lot of time
and do not achieve anything for their worldly or religiousinterests.
When the Muslim has theblessing of free time with which Allaah has
honoured him, he can do no more than look for the best deeds with
which to fill his time, notjust any good deed. Hence you see that the
Sahaabah (may Allaah bepleased with them) asked the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) in many ahaadeeth about the best
actions by means of which they could attain a higher status before
Allaah, andthe Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
answered their questions.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "There
are two blessings which many people do not make the best of: good
health and free time." Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6412).
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, speaking of regret
about time:
Regret for wasted time should be deep, for time passes quickly and it
is difficult to make up what you have missed.
Time for the worshipper is a time for worship andreciting awraad, and
for the devoted Muslim it is time for turning to Allaah and focusing
on Him with all his heart.
Time is the dearest thingto him and he would feel very sad if time
passes without him doing what he is meant to do. If he misses time, he
can never make it up,because a second time has its own duties. So if
he misses time, there is no way he can bring it back.
Madaarij al-Saalikeen (3/49).
The most important things that will help you make the most of your
time is to avoid futile gatherings and refrain from talking too much
and keep away from lazyand idle people, and to keep company with those
who are striving hard, clever, smart and aware of time, and thoseho
immerse themselves in reading for the purpose of increasing their
knowledge.
The wise man is the one who is guided to fill his time with useful,
beneficial and good deeds; thus he will advance and rise in status. So
you will find him always seeking knowledge, or writing lessons, or
learning a skill, or visiting relatives or a sick person, or advising
one who has gone astray, or earning a living so that he can spend on
his dependentsand save them from having to ask of people.
'Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
I would hate to see any one of you idle and not doing anything to help
himself in this world or in the Hereafter.
Quoted by Abu 'Ubayd al-Qaasim ibn Sallaam in al-Amthaal (48).
The Muslim has no time to listen to or look at sinful things. You know
that these conversations include things that go against sharee'ah such
as immoral talk and bad attitudes, so is entering these foul swamps
something that will benefit a Muslim, or is it anything that he should
seek in his life?
It was narrated that AbuHurayrah said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Strive to do that which
will benefit you and seek the help of Allaah." Narrated by Muslim
(2664).
When Allaah asks you onthe Day of Resurrection about this time that
you wasted in idle talk and writing and conversing about things that
are of no benefit, rather they will harm you, what will your answer
be? It was narrated that Abu Barzah al-Aslami said: The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "A person's
feet willnot move on the Day of Resurrection until he is asked about
his life and how he spent it, his knowledge and what he did with it,
and his wealth, how he acquiredit and how he spent it, and his body
(health), and how he used it." Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2417), classed
as saheehby Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb wa'l-Tarheeb
(126).
Finally, you should note:
That these chat rooms have corrupted the morals of many people; they
have caused rifts between loved ones, men have divorced their wives
because of them, women have lost their honour because of them,and
those who are weakin faith and lacking in knowledge have been deceived
by the speciousarguments and myths in them, and have thus been misled.
If the Muslim hears of an environment that is filled with fitnah and
sin, he should denounce the people involved and strive to set them
straight – if he is one of those who are able for that – otherwise he
should keep away from such environments and not be deceived by
thinking that his faith is strong or that he knows what they really
are, andthat he is just having fun.
Beware of indulging in chat rooms on the internet, and protect
yourself from the immorality and evil that is in them, for they are
gatherings that bring little benefit but cause a great deal of harm;
they are of no benefit in this world and do not bring salvation in the
Hereafter.
If you find that you are getting drawn into fitnah and sin, such as
speaking to women unnecessarily and speaking too much to this one and
that one, then you should realize that you are in grave danger, and we
hope that you will save yourself from it and resist falling into the
trap of the shaytaan.