What is the ruling on "Facebook"?

Facebook is a social networking site founded in 2004, aiming to facilitate acquaintance and build social relationships. The site combines positives and negatives. Among its negatives are: rekindling old relationships, recruiting spies, stealing bank accounts, wasting valuable time, and building forbidden relationships that lead to family disintegration. Among its positives are: the presence of pages for preachers and sheikhs to spread good, launching global campaigns to support Muslim causes, publishing beneficial books, articles, and fatwas, and communication between friends and relatives.

The ruling on registering on Facebook depends on the user's intention; it is permissible for scholars and preachers to spread benefit, but it is not permissible for those who enter it for corruption or who fear temptation for themselves. Whoever cannot control themselves in this virtual world must refrain from it, and it is permissible for those who adhere to Sharia (definition) controls and enter it for benefit and utilization.