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.