Many Muslims wonder how the Prophet ﷺ would use modern technology. Would he post Islamic reminders? Share hadith? Create beneficial content online? A simple classroom discussion with Year 6 students revealed a surprising answer that challenges how we think about social media, intention, and what truly deserves our attention.

If The Prophet ﷺ Had Instagram, Would He Even Use It?

A few years ago, I asked my Year 6 students a simple question:

“If the Prophet ﷺ had an Instagram account, what would he post?”

The answers came quickly.

Students suggested:

• Qur’an verses

• Hadith reminders

• Islamic videos

• beneficial advice

All good answers.

All reasonable answers.

Then one student raised his hand and said:

“He wouldn’t post anything, Mister.”

I paused.

“Why not?”

He replied:

“Because he’d be too busy doing ibadah.”

I was dumbfounded.

Not because social media is wrong.

Not because sharing beneficial reminders is wrong.

But because a twelve-year-old had accidentally exposed something profound about modern life.

The Assumption We All Make

Most of us assumed the Prophet ﷺ would use Instagram.

Why?

Because we live in a culture where visibility feels valuable.

We assume:

• if something is beneficial, it should be posted

• if something is important, it should be shared

• if something is meaningful, it should be documented

The student questioned that assumption entirely.

Understanding The Answer Through The Pyramid

The DigitalDeen Pyramid helps explain why his answer felt so powerful.

1️⃣ Desire: We Want To Be Seen

At the bottom of the pyramid is desire.

Human beings naturally desire:

• recognition

• attention

• affirmation

• visibility

Social media amplifies these desires.

It constantly asks:

“What can you share next?”

“What can you post next?”

“What will people think?”

There is nothing inherently wrong with being seen.

But desire alone is a weak foundation.

2️⃣ Emotion: We Want To Feel Significant

Soon emotions enter.

Many people post because it creates feelings of:

• connection

• relevance

• belonging

• importance

Again, these feelings are not inherently bad.

But they can quietly shape our behaviour without us realising it.

3️⃣ Reason: Sharing Beneficial Content Is Good

Reason then enters the conversation.

And reason is correct.

Sharing beneficial reminders online can:

• educate

• inspire

• encourage good

This is why most of my students gave answers involving Islamic content.

Their logic was sound.

4️⃣ Intention: What Is Most Pleasing To Allah?

Then comes the top of the pyramid.

Intention.

The boy wasn’t asking:

“What content would the Prophet ﷺ create?”

He was asking:

“What would matter most to him?”

And his answer was:

worship.

Connection with Allah.

Serving people.

Living the message.

Not necessarily broadcasting it.

The Hidden Lesson

The student’s answer does not mean Muslims should delete social media.

Nor does it mean sharing beneficial content is wrong.

The lesson is deeper.

Sometimes we become so focused on sharing good things that we forget to do them.

Sometimes we become so focused on documenting moments that we forget to live them.

Sometimes we become so focused on being seen doing good that we neglect private acts of worship known only to Allah.

Digital Ihsan: Flipping The Pyramid

The digital world often encourages us to start from the bottom:

Desire.
Emotion.
Visibility.

Digital Ihsan asks us to start from the top:

Intention.

Before posting, ask:

Why am I sharing this?

Is this pleasing to Allah?

Would I still do this if nobody ever saw it?

That simple shift changes everything.

The DigitalDeen Reflection

Perhaps the most powerful part of that classroom discussion was not the student’s answer.

It was the silence afterwards.

Because every adult in the room knew he had touched on something important.

The question is not:

“Would the Prophet ﷺ have Instagram?”

The question is:

“What in our lives has become so important that it competes with the things that mattered most to him?”

In a world obsessed with posting, perhaps one of the most radical acts is to quietly do something good and tell nobody.

Reflection Question

What is one act of worship you can do this week that nobody online will ever know about?

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Keywords

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