A Word on Reaching Two Million Followers on Facebook and Half a Million on YouTube

Dear friends, this is a word on the occasion of the official page reaching two million followers on Facebook. And also reaching half a million followers on the YouTube channel. First, I thank Allah Almighty who guided, helped, and spread these words. Allah loved us, His speech, His religion, and His Prophet, so we called to Him, and we faced obstacles, but Allah turned them in favor of this call...(What Allah opens for people of mercy, there is no one to hold it back). O Lord, to You belongs the praise as befits the glory of Your face and the greatness of Your sovereignty. Secondly: I welcome you all, O those who follow the poor servant, and know that I see you as my large family whom I am honored by, you are my brothers and sisters and my support...(Verily, the believers are but brothers)...and you are my supporters (The believers, men and women, are protectors of one another). Thirdly: (He who does not thank people does not thank Allah) as our Prophet (peace be upon him) taught us. So I thank my brothers who helped me without wanting their names to appear because they are sincere and hidden in my estimation. And by Allah, I see the kindness of Allah in providing me with these brothers who help me scientifically and technically, and I do not dispense with their continuous advice and support. Therefore, O noble ones, do not think that this effort is the effort of (Iyad), for by Allah, if Allah had not blessed me with these brothers, you would not have seen the lectures and articles at this level. And man is little by himself but great with his brothers...(And cooperate in righteousness and piety). And this is not humility at all, but rather so that Allah may preserve the blessing of the knowledge we spread and increase us from His bounty. So whoever benefits from something we spread and wants to pray for the poor servant, let him say: Iyad and those with him. And I thank my family, my parents, my brothers who supported me continuously, my noble wife who bore my many preoccupations, and every brother and sister who stood by me in difficult circumstances I went through. Indeed, you, O noble ones, have a favor upon me by Allah, with your continuous moral support, by sharing this material, and by praying for me in secret, for by Allah, I see blessing and protection, and I consider that your supplications have a great share in that. Fourthly: It is very important to remember, O noble ones, that numbers are not the measure of a person's merit. Two million followers do not mean that the value of so-and-so is two million points, and the one who has a thousand followers is worth a thousand points! It is dangerous, O noble ones, to evaluate ourselves through platforms that are not in our hands as Muslims. It is possible that one has followers who speaks a word of truth contrary to the standards of the owners of Facebook, YouTube, and others, and their standards are false, so they do not like the truth he said and delete his account. See the disaster if our view of ourselves as Muslims is dependent on numbers that are not in our hands, as if we evaluate ourselves with the glasses of others! A complex problem: First, that the numbers become the measure, and second, that the standards that threaten to reduce these numbers are false in the first place. Do you see, O brothers, that fame is a trial...a trial! Because you walk among people pointing at you with their fingers that this one has so many thousand, or so many million followers. And they treat you with admiration on this basis. So if the servant does not watch himself and make the pleasure of Allah his only compass, the matter turns into slavery to these numbers, and the top becomes a slave to the followers, saying what pleases his followers lest they turn away from him, saying what increases the number of followers, and avoiding much of the truth for fear of closing his account. Yes, it may be good sometimes to say all that you know is right to preserve your da'wah platform, but the disaster is when the number becomes the guide and the compass. Fame and many followers do not mean that I am better than others whose followers are fewer. But it is a responsibility. And our Prophet (peace be upon him) said: (The most are the least on the Day of Judgment)..He said it about wealth because it is a responsibility, and so is fame and many followers, a responsibility, whoever does not fulfill it will be the least on the Day of Judgment, the least share of Allah's mercy and the least chance of salvation. It is not necessary that the multitude indicates Allah's love for the servant leading to his acceptance on earth, but rather it is so if it is accompanied by righteous deeds, following the Sunnah, and good intentions. And the living will not be safe from trials. So we ask Allah to end for us and for you with goodness. O noble ones, by Allah, I see that among the owners of the neglected accounts or those who do not care about social media, there are those who are better than the poor servant who speaks. And we do not want to evaluate each other with numbers that are not in our hands at all, as I affirm and repeat. It is dangerous that good deeds in our view turn into "digitized": one of us publishes a post, then I look at the number of interactions, shares, likes, comments...and the morale rises and falls with these numbers, and by Allah, at that time it is slavery and humiliation to people instead of the Lord of people who revealed the good and concealed the faults. How many hadiths of our Prophet (peace be upon him) indicate that there are great deeds that the servant does not pay attention to, and they pass without sharing, liking, or commenting, and yet Allah grants the doer His pleasure until the day he meets Him and raises him with them degrees he could not imagine. It is possible at the time you write a post and it becomes a trend, a talk of thousands and millions, it is possible that one is sitting at his mother's feet, washing them or entertaining her, or going to fulfill her needs, and this action is not taken into account, nor is it shared, liked, or commented on, and yet his work with Allah is much greater than the owner of the trending post or video. Therefore, O noble ones, our value is not with these numbers, and the pride of servitude and sincerity to Allah protects you from the humiliation of servitude to the masses and social media platforms. Fifthly: I ask you to excuse me for not being able to respond to all the comments, for by Allah, the preoccupations are many. And as you notice, I have been delayed in the series we started. And according to the nature of the series, I give you good news... And once again I say: May Allah keep you, and may He reward you with good on my behalf, and may He reward my brothers who help me with good, and I ask Allah to gather us in the shade of His Throne on a day when there is no shade but His, and peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.