If I Posted an Unlawful Message, Should the Whole Group Be Deleted?

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question

If I have posted haram in a family group chat or someone else and the evil was not forbidden, and it does not delete after thirty minutes, and the participants can see it after. Must the group chat be deleted? What if I am not the admin and doubt the admin will delete if I tell him to?

Answer

Thank you for your question. May Allah reward you for your repentance and for wanting to rectify your actions.

You won’t need to delete a whole group for something you posted. You’ll have to repent and intend not to repeat the behavior. It is better to delete the message if you can or ask the administrator to delete it. Generally speaking, technology is a dangerous place to post your thoughts and ideas until you have thought them through. You can just get in the habit of waiting a day or two before posting something; never post out of emotion.

May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria, for two years, where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin and completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan, where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.