Entering Chat Rooms on the Internet for Fun
Question

                I hope you can advise me on the ruling on entering chat rooms and discussion boards. I only go there for fun and to see some of the topics under discussion, and you can well imagine the kind of bad talk that goes on in those places.
Please advise me about this, may Allaah preserve you.
Praise be to Allah.
    One of the things that the Muslim should do 
    is discipline himself and seek to adopt the best of attitudes and etiquette. 
    This requires a great deal of striving against bad inclinations and it needs 
    a lot of patience. The most important thing that can help him to do this is 
    avoiding places of evil and places that could lead to his doom. The scholars 
    of personal development are unanimously agreed that man is inherently weak 
    and inclined towards evil, and that it is the mind (or reason) that controls 
    his attitudes and inclinations, and guides his energies. So if reason does 
    not restrain one’s inclinations towards following whims and desires, then he 
    will soon find no means to turn back to the path of salvation. 

    The same applies to gatherings of leisure 
    and entertainment. They have always been – and still are, as they appear on 
    the internet – a waste of energy and talent, where followers of falsehood 
    who have no mission to work or succeed in their lives gather, and they waste 
    their time and their lives which are the most precious things they own, and 
    they spend their days exchanging gossip, and they waste a lot of time and do 
    not achieve anything for their worldly or religious interests.  

    When the Muslim has the blessing of free 
    time with which Allah has honoured him, he can do no more than look for the 
    best deeds with which to fill his time, not just any good deed. Hence you 
    see that the Sahabah/Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) asked the 
    Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in many hadeeths 
    (prophetic narrations) about the best actions by means of which they could 
    attain a higher status before Allah, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of 
    Allah be upon him) answered their questions. 

    The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be 
    upon him) said: “There are two blessings which many people do not make the 
    best use of: good health and free time.” Narrated by al-Bukhari (6412). 

    Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) 
    said, speaking of regret about time: 

    Regret for wasted time should be deep, for 
    time passes quickly and it is difficult to make up what you have missed.  

    Time for the worshipper is a time for 
    worship and reciting awrad (portions of Quran and words of remembrance), and 
    for the devoted Muslim it is time for turning to Allah and focusing on Him 
    with all his heart. 

    Time is the dearest thing to him and he 
    would feel very sad if time passes without him doing what he is meant to do. 
    If he misses time, he can never make it up, because a second time has its 
    own duties. So if he misses time, there is no way he can bring it back. 

    Madarij al-Salikeen 
    (3/49). 

    The most important things that will help you 
    make the most of your time is to avoid futile gatherings and refrain from 
    talking too much and keep away from lazy and idle people, and to keep 
    company with those who are striving hard, clever, smart and aware of time, 
    and those who immerse themselves in reading for the purpose of increasing 
    their knowledge. 

    The wise man is the one who is guided to 
    fill his time with useful, beneficial and good deeds; thus he will advance 
    and rise in status. So you will find him always seeking knowledge, or 
    writing lessons, or learning a skill, or visiting relatives or a sick 
    person, or advising one who has gone astray, or earning a living so that he 
    can spend on his dependents and save them from having to ask of people.  

    ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased 
    with him) said:  

    I would hate to see any one of you idle and 
    not doing anything to help himself in this world or in the Hereafter. 

    Quoted by Abu ‘Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam in
    al-Amthal (48). 

    The Muslim has no time to listen to or look 
    at sinful things. You know that these conversations include things that go 
    against sharee’ah (Islamic teachings) such as immoral talk and bad 
    attitudes, so is entering these foul swamps something that will benefit a 
    Muslim, or is it anything that he should seek in his life? 

    It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah 
    be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of 
    Allah be upon him) said: “Strive to do that which will benefit you and seek 
    the help of Allah.” Narrated by Muslim (2664). 

    When Allah asks you on the Day of 
    Resurrection about this time that you wasted in idle talk and writing and 
    conversing about things that are of no benefit, rather they will harm you, 
    what will your answer be? It was narrated that Abu Barzah al-Aslami said: 
    The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “A 
    person’s feet will not move on the Day of Resurrection until he is asked 
    about his life and how he spent it, his knowledge and what he did with it, 
    his wealth and how he acquired it and spent it, and his body (health) and 
    how he used it.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2417), classed as saheeh 
    (authentic) by al-Shaykh al-Albani in Saheeh al-Targheeb wa’l-Tarheeb 
    (126). 

    Finally, you should note: 

    That these chat rooms have corrupted the 
    morals of many people; they have caused rifts between loved ones, men have 
    divorced their wives because of them, women have lost their honour because 
    of them, and those who are weak in faith and lacking in knowledge have been 
    deceived by the specious arguments and myths in them, and have thus been 
    misled. If the Muslim hears of an environment that is filled with fitnah 
    (temptations) and sin, he should denounce the people involved and strive to 
    set them straight – if he is one of those who are able to do that – 
    otherwise he should keep away from such environments and not be deceived by 
    thinking that his faith is strong or that he knows what they really are, and 
    that he is just having fun. 

    Beware of indulging in chat rooms on the 
    internet, and protect yourself from the immorality and evil that is in them, 
    for they are gatherings that bring little benefit but cause a great deal of 
    harm; they are of no benefit in this world and do not bring salvation in the 
    Hereafter. 

    If you find that you are getting drawn into 
    fitnah and sin, such as speaking to women unnecessarily and speaking too 
    much to this one and that one, then you should realize that you are in grave 
    danger, and we hope that you will save yourself from it and resist falling 
    into the trap of the shaytan. 

    We have discussed the danger of chat rooms 
    in many answers on this site, such as 
    34841 
    and 
    78375. 

    And Allah knows best.