I am one of those who go on the Paltalk website to call people to Allaah. My question is, what is the ruling on entering these sites with a screen-name for the purpose of benefiting myself and others? Because we have heard someone say that this is not permissible, and that people – especially those who are calling others to Allaah – should use their real names, and because the image of the daa’iyahs and good people on Paltalk is spoiled when they use screen-names. Please note that most of those who go to the chat rooms, especially the Islamic ones, do so with screen-names to avoid problems and for fear of showing off, etc. Is what this man said correct?.
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12,48614/12/2006
Can he enter websites with a screen-name?
Question: 71417
Answer
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.
It seems that this action is permissible, and there is nothing wrong with it, for the following reasons:
1 – Most of the people who come to these sites know that this name is not a real one, rather it is just a nickname for the writer.
2 – This is not counted as lying, because the people who run these sites do not stipulate that people have to use their real names.
3 – There is no reason why a person should not give himself a nickname or kunyah, and use this nickname or kunyah instead of his real name, and this is not regarded as lying.
4 – Using one’s real name may cause problems for some people, so they may chose to use a screen-name or a kunyah etc.
5 – Hiding one’s real name may serve a purpose, such as if the daa’iyah is well known and if his name was disclosed the people of bid’ah would refuse to speak to him because they know how strong his arguments are, or he may be banned by the owners of the site and so on.
Hence there is nothing wrong with entering sites and chatrooms with a screen-name.
And Allaah knows best.
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