If you do this then Allah will…

I tend to visit Youtube from time to time and sometimes notice video clips with titles that make claims like… “Say or do this so and so many times every day and whatever you ask for, Allah will give you”, or similar statements like it. I decided to analyze such a video to see if the claim was explained. It was a beautiful clip with some valuable things to consider, but the speaker of the video never spoke directly about the claim itself. And it was a video published on a different channel than the speaker’s own, and I found it on more than one channel, (using the same title/claim). I looked through even the speaker’s own channel, but couldn’t find this specific video, (as it’s probably a part taken from one of his lessons, or maybe a video he named differently from the start, because no videos with such claims were published on his channel as far as I could see)…

Of course, as many of you probably already know, titles (and/or thumbnail images attached to a video) are usually meant to attract attention, in order to encourage visitors to click on that link. This is also very obvious with titles that make claims like… “if you do this then Allah will do that and that”. It makes people curious to click the link. But whatever a title claims that Allah will do… it somehow also implies that the one who wrote the title has knowledge of Allah’s intentions. “Do this every day and Allah will do this or that… ” It may work to attract attention, but the question that should be asked is… has the person naming the link heard Allah’s command directly and can rightfully make that claim?

سورة الطور ٣٨
أَمۡ لَهُمۡ سُلَّمٞ يَسۡتَمِعُونَ فِيهِۖ فَلۡيَأۡتِ مُسۡتَمِعُهُم بِسُلۡطَٰنٖ مُّبِينٍ

Surah At-Tur 52:38
Or have they a ladder, by which they can (climb up to heaven and) listen (to its secrets)? Then let (such a) listener of theirs produce a manifest proof.

The danger in using a strategy of that kind to attract attention, no matter how good intentions may be, (and the video may contain a beautiful lesson), is that there may be people who blindly follow the advise, and it might be counted as bida’ah (بدعة), innovation. In the case that I analyzed, a beautiful statement was shown in the video itself… (but not discussed in the way the title claimed), maybe some viewers will interpret that as the thing that needs to be said 3 times daily and by doing so, they may believe that they will be given anything they ask for.
What does Allah say?

سورة العنكبوت ٦٢
ٱللَّهُ يَبۡسُطُ ٱلرِّزۡقَ لِمَن يَشَآءُ مِنۡ عِبَادِهِۦ وَيَقۡدِرُ لَهُۥٓۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيۡءٍ عَلِيمٞ

Surah Al-Ankaboot 29:62
Allah enlarges the sustenance (which He gives) to whichever of His servants He pleases; and He (similarly) grants by (strict) measure, (as He pleases): for Allah has full knowledge of all things.

It is always very important to look at videos with an objective mind, especially when claims are being made. Analyze what you’re seeing. What is talked about and what is explained? In the case I looked at, the video was from a different speaker than the channels that published it, using their own title. The video may still be a good video with beautiful advise that is valuable to listen to, but… if it’s published under a claim, it is specifically important to consider one thing: The reliability of the claim. And if it’s a video that actually discusses that claim directly – is there a source provided at all? Are you given any pointers to verify what is said? This is always an important thing to consider when watching something. And yes, there may be good intentions behind an “attention grabbing” strategy in certain cases… what I saw was a good video, and no wrong on the speaker himself, but perhaps on the ones who reposted it with their own ideas on how to get people interested to click it… some claims can lead people to believe something that may not necessarily be true… and ideas, both right and wrong ones, are often passed on to others…

سورة يونس ٦٩
قُلۡ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَفۡتَرُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلۡكَذِبَ لَا يُفۡلِحُونَ

Surah Yunus 10:69
Say: “Those who invent a lie against Allah will never prosper.”