Year Nineteen
Issue No. 968 - 17/Muharram/1433 AH
Corresponding to January 13, 2011 AD
Contents:
* Mihrab Platform:
Satellite and Internet: Sweet and Bitter Fruits
Mihrab Platform
Satellite and Internet: Sweet and Bitter Fruits
The main axes of the subject:
1- Do not spoil the roses of the house
2- How do we harvest good fruits?
a- In presence of the satellite TV
b- In presence of the internet
Purpose:
We will explain the rules that can help parents build a command and control
unit, addressing the relationship of the children with the satellite and
internet.
Exporting the Subject:
The prophet (a.s.) was quoted as saying: “A good child is a rose from Allah
that he divided among his servants.”1
Do not spoil the roses of the house:
The parents are happy as long as they see their children stick to the road of
honesty and righteousness, avoiding corruption, diversion and forfeiture.
However, when investigating the methods of corruption – or substances that
introduce corruption with enhancement – we can find them available for use by
the children. These methods have become necessities of the modern life, which
are indispensable and must be available for everyone. Parents are aware of the
great potentials that can lead to damage despite the fact that they both know
that the righteousness of the child, which helps in both worlds, is a cause for
the happiness of the parents. For example, in the accounts, Imam Ali Bin al
Husayn (a.s.) was quoted as saying: “Part of man’s happiness is having a
child that he can use for assistance.”2
Although man knows that a good child is a rose that emanates its perfume all
around the region, as quoted by the prophet (a.s.): “A good child is a rose
from Allah that he divided among his servants,”3 however, several
parents make these methods available for their children without regarding the
rules of safety by exploiting the correct methods. Therefore, they can hurt
their children by doing so. We all know the great size of damage that can reach
the children from these methods. We all know the level of gravity that surrounds
them in their privacy or while utilizing these methods. For example, in the
context of explaining the rights towards a child, Imam Ali Bin al Husayn (a.s.)
was quoted as saying: “… Work with him the job of someone who knows he will
be rewarded for being good to him, punished for being bad to him.”4
How do we harvest good fruits?
Modern methods have been invented in order to communicate with the world as
being a small cosmic village, including different kinds of knowledge, cultures,
customs and educations, including ways to secure money and needs as well as gain
time, including ways of righteousness and diversion with investment or waist of
energies as well as tightening or disengaging the bonds with others. The
goodness or badness of all these issues is contingent upon the use of the
command and control panel by the parents. Therefore, how can we deal with the
existence of these methods inside our homes and environment? How can we enable
ourselves and children from exploiting them correctly without causing great
damage or falling into great gravities?
a- In presence of the satellite TV:
The satellite is the method that renders the TV unit receives all the channels
of the world via the industrial satellites. This level of benefits and gravities
cannot be ignored when bringing the entire world inside the room. We collected a
number of researches and studies that were conducted by specialized researchers
and summarized the rules that can minimize the harms of this unit to the family
and the soul of the audience physically and spiritually. Hence, these are some
of the rules:
1- The period of watching must not be long: whether impartially or
partially during the day, this unit must not act as a motive or guide for the
members of the family or a standard upon which the daily program of the family
and members is being regulated. The continuous observation must not exceed two
hours at the most. This is because the physical contractions on one hand and the
damage that can inflict the eyes on the other can greatly influence the
efficiency of the body and safety of the eyes.
2- Providing different alternative sources of knowledge: in a way that
the sources of attractive knowledge must not be confined with TV. Alternative
sources provide the ability of concentrating the thoughts on one hand, giving
the ability of controlling the matter and choosing the subjects on the other
hand.
3- TV should not become a substance of reward or punishment for children:
in a way that it becomes a value within itself apart of its constructive or
destructive role. Hence, the possibility of saving the children from being
attached to this unit becomes difficult.
4- Blocking the channels that circulate substances of extreme violence,
and materials that can tarnish chasteness. This can be done by ciphering these
channels or by other methods available with the experts.
5- Providing methods of play, fun and self entertainment: by tying the
children with the boy scouts’ associations or organizations of voluntary
activities; by taking the children out of home, visiting relatives, friends and
neighbors; and by going on journeys that provide the aforementioned issues of
fun and self entertainment by using available and permissible means.
6- Parents must be a paradigm while dealing with this unit: in a way that
they apply the aforementioned rules and be honest and transparent in a way that
will not make their children suspect what their parents are watching, which
could incite their curiosity and thus go into privacy to watch or try to watch
the programs that they think their parents are watching, hence, they fall into
the predicaments of the dangerous and prohibited substances.
b- In presence of the internet:
With respect to the internet, there are common rules between the satellite and
the internet. These rules must be adjusted by the command and control unit. One
can say that all the rules that we mentioned in dealing with the satellite and
TV can be beneficial and utilized with the internet also. But since the internet
is an interactive method, this is why we added some other rules, such as:
1- Desire to know the children’s interests in the internet and the level of
knowledge with the computer and this simulative world. Parents must not act with
the mentality of a judge and must be prepared to answer all the questions of the
children.
2- Obtaining a good knowledge in the computer and internet: so that the children
will not be able to deceit, lie or hide things.
3- Placing the computer in an open area so that the parents can see what the
children are watching.
4- Using methods of advanced filtration and observation of websites in order to
block the perverted websites.
5- Enhancing the language of constructive dialogue and mutual trust with the
children. This perhaps is one of the most important rules required for this
issue.
6- Have acquaintance with the favorite websites of the children as well as
browse their visited sites during their absence and discover the identity of the
parties or people with whom their children communicate. And there are other
rules.
1- Al Kafi, Vol. 6,
P. 2.
2- Bihar al Anwar, by scholar Muhammad al Majlisi, Vol. 104, P. 100.
3- Al Kafi, Vol. 6, P. 2.
4- Book al A’mali, by scholar al Saddouq, P. 451.