Q13: What are the religious rules in regards to protecting the believers and their webpages on the internet? For example, if I know that a believer is subjected to disclosure of his personal information and the like by the enemies of the sect of the Ahlulbait (peace be upon them) or subjected to disclose of his personal matters. When I have sure knowledge of this, do I have to inform him or not? Also, do I have to inform the website’s administrators or owners that someone is intending to destroy the website or steal the information of its visitors? Would the answer differ if the matter is personal or related to the prestige of the truth sect and similar cases?
Answer:
There is no doubt that this is religiously highly recommended, since it is related in some religious texts that the believer is a brother of a believer and he is his eyes, his mirror and his guide, and it is among his responsibilities to defend him if he is not present.
[i]. But this duty does not reach the level of obligation.
Of course, if the harm is greater, it might be necessary to warn him about it. This right should not be neglected if it was generally easy to fulfill, since it is a part of the brotherhood of faith.
If not doing this is considered neglecting the affairs of the believers and not paying attention to them, then it is prohibited, because the religious texts indicate the necessity of paying attention to the issues of Muslims and that whoever is not paying attention to their issues is not one of them
[ii].
This is more emphasized if the matter is related to the Shia sect in particular in such a way that it is considered as protecting it from a considerable harm.
[i]Wasaail Al-Shi'a, Vol. 8, p. 542.
[ii]Ibid., Vol. 11, p. 559.
