SHAH ALAM: The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, has reminded all Muslims to refrain from engaging in the practice of spreading false accusations.
In line with today's Friday sermon delivered in the Selangor's mosques, the Sultan decreed the people to filter and cross-check every piece of information or news they encounter before accepting and sharing it.
"Prevent from becoming individuals who contribute to the spread of slander. Instead, be someone who always bears accurate information while refraining from slander.
"This goes against the principles of Islam to accept the news with a heart filled with hatred, resentment, anger, and blind judgment," he said in a statement through the Royal Selangor Office today.
Today's Friday sermon emphasised slander practices, which led to disunity within the Muslim community and touched on the civilisation concept through Islamic standards.
"Such slanders that happen these days are known as Syubhat, which refers to ambiguous or unclear slander.
"Syubhat is also considered the most perilous form of slander, where it corrupts an individual's knowledge and faith to the extent that good and evil become blurred, and evil is not avoided."
Muslims are urged to adopt an Islamic stance when receiving news, which includes avoiding and rejecting biased accusations, as prejudice can attract the interest of both opponents and allies.
"Do not accept any news without substantial evidence or solid support. All information and news must have proof and a strong argument (dalil). Otherwise, Muslims must reject it.
"As practising Muslims, do not follow your desire by spreading false news that can cause the ummah to fall into destruction. We should also not respond to lies with more lies."