IN the present world, we are connected to each other 24/7 courtesy Facebook, Android Phones, Blackberry and endless variety of tablets and iPads. People we think, we would never meet again show up on FB with an add-request, which is fine if the person is really worthwhile. Ideas are being exchanged every minute by people from around the world. Communication has undergone a revolution, impacting our lives in every manner. On one hand, we can connect with like-minded people and on other hand, it gives our enemies a chance to keep a tab on our activities, thus leading to stalking and hatred.

Has technology affected our lives for good?

Often I hear people having a grouse about the ill-effects of this technology overdrive and rightly so, their pleas are legitimate. Not long ago, when the only communication device we had was the telephone, life was easier and simpler. There was less to do. We ventured out of our homes and explored the world outside for real. We sought to discover more by actually getting up and going somewhere. We did not keep tabs on world news through hourly updates. We did not even know what was happening in most parts of the world. Actors seemed like people from out of this world. That was a simple, nice life. Some of us miss that. We were able to give a lot more time & sincerity to worship for sure. And, many of us remained unknown.

We could also get away with a lot. We could steal easily and take off, never to be seen again. We could make prank calls without being traced easily. We were not registered in many databases. And add to it, many databases could just be destroyed quickly too, by just lighting a match stick. Crimes happened but remained undetected. Secrets were kept as long as one lived and died with them.

This verse came to my mind from Surat Az-Zalzalah. And an explanation through Hadith of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam):

“On that Day it will relate all her news.” (99:4)

* According to Hadrat Abu Hurairah, the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) recited this verse and asked: "Do you know what annals it will relate ?" The people said: "Allah and His Messenger have the best knowledge." Thereupon the Holy Prophet said: "The annals are that the earth will testify to the deeds which every man and woman has done on its back." She will say: "He or she had done such and such a thing on such and such a day." (Tirmidhi, Ahmad, An-Nisa'i)

I am no religious scholar. But, this rings a very loud bell. All deeds are made public now. It is so common to see private videos on Youtube showing people engaged in a wrong act being filmed without their knowledge. Commonly known as “caught on tape". Famous people being unveiled, their dark secret made public. Oh my GOD!

One person swore to me that even if your smartphone is switched off, your voice can be recorded remotely and your location can be determined. I understand the location part,but voice being relayed over a phone which is off? Possible. Any one component within the object may serve that function. I am assuming of course.

Now, you see, all these realizations and the recent FB scandals of information being stored and accessible forever to agencies and even people, has caused paranoia. People want their privacy. They do not want to make certain things public and now they are realizing that anything they put on the net is indeed (or can be) public. Any video relayed from home maybe recorded at some other location by someone else and kept or even made public somewhere. Sounds scary, right? But, Why?

We all know that nothing can exist on earth without the consent of Allah. Why does He allow such innovations and technology? To help us grow to the level where we have NOTHING to hide? Maybe.

I also look at the GREAT benefits of all these technologies to mankind. You travel 2,000 miles for work, yet you can look at and talk to your family each night. You are updated about everything. In an emergency, you can call help instantly. You are fingerprinted and you are in a database and you can be located. That can secure you in many ways and from many things. You can address ALL your relatives and loved ones in a single post and let them know what is happening in your life and see what is happening to them. You can actually DO something for someone ONLY because you KNOW. Is that not a blessing?

You can type in a word on Google search and get total and complete information about anything. You can read the whole Qur'an on your Smartphone. You can learn to read it properly from recordings. You can do SO MUCH that you could not have done before. Everyone can type now. And, everyone is learning every minute. Believe it or not, but you are receiving new information and intelligence ALL the time now. Loneliness does not exist in its true sense anymore. Everyone is talking to someone all the times, good or bad :)

I can sit here and manage a network of 50 people spread across the globe without having to move an inch and as I sip on my coffee. What a great gift I say!

So you see, we experience everything in ‘extreme’- be it joy, sorrow, anger, disgust or frustration. We are moving towards the end of time, (if not in it already) but that is part of the big plan which we must accept.

We are given greater choice now to decide our fate. We can use these tools for greater benefit or greater loss, depending on where our heart is and who we worship.

We can use these digital tools for our ease but we ought to make optimum use out of them and not just wile away our precious time. Throughout the ages, with whatever was available, it was the goodness or the wretchedness of the human being that was the cause of destruction or positive change - not the tools. It is HOW we use them that matters. There’s no use defining how good or bad they are. They just are mere tools of technology. Allah allowed them to be to TEST YOU.