Arrows of the Eyes
In The Name of Allah the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
All praise be to Allah, The
Lord of all the worlds, and peace and blessings of Allah be upon
the most Honored of messengers our Prophet Muhammad and all his
family and companions…
One of the most dangerous
ordeals suffered by the believers, in general, and youth in
particular, most particularly unmarried ones; is the sight
affliction. It is found everywhere: in the market places, in the
hospital, in the plane, and even in the holy places. This
affliction is most obvious in the widespread papers and magazines -
found in markets and stores - which contain pictures of the
charming tempting women who are being used to promote some
merchandise.
This affliction has reached
alarming proportion after the emergence of the so-called live
broadcasting. Satellites receive the seducing pictures and the
low-level sex movies; which increased the attachment of weak hearts
to them, and the indulgence of the weak believers in watching
them.
The Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him, has said: "After me I have not left
any affliction more harmful to men than women." [Agreed
upon]
And he, peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him, has said: "Life is sweet, and Allah has made you
successors on the earth; so that He may see how you act. So, beware
of the worldly life and beware of women. The first affliction of
the children of Israel was in women." [Reported by
Muslim]
To your hands
blessed brother, I present some pieces of advice to help you
overcome this affliction.
1-
Remembering the reported texts
about ordering to lower the gaze and forbidding it from seeking the
prohibited. Allah Almighty has said: {Tell the believing men to
lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect
their private parts (from illegal sexual acts). That is purer for
them. Verily, Allâh is All-Aware of what they do.} [An-Noor
24:30]
Transliteration:
Qul lilmumineena yaghuddoo min
absarihum wayahfathoo furoojahum thalika azka lahum inna Allaha
khabeerun bima yasnaAAoona
And the Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him, has said: "Allah has written for
the son of Adam his share of adultery which he commits inevitably.
The adultery of the eyes is the sight (to gaze at a forbidden
thing), the adultery of the tongue is the talk, and the inner self
wishes and desires and the private parts testify all this or deny
it." [Agreed upon]
Jarîr ibn Abdullah said: I
asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him, about the sudden glance (that is cast) on the face (of a
non-Mahram); he said:" Turn your gaze away." [Reported by Muslim
and Abu Dawûd]
He, peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him, has said: "O Ali, do not give a second look,
(because) while you are not to blame for the first, you have no
right to the second." [Reported by At-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawûd, and
made good by At-Tirmidhi and Al-Albâni.]
What is meant by the first
look is the one which is cast unintentionally.
2-
Seeking the help of Allah
Almighty, and keeping on asking Him to protect you from this
turmoil and to guard you against it. In a Divine Hadith, reported
by Muslim: "O, my servants. All of you are straying except for
those I guide. So, seek my guidance and I will guide
you."
The Almighty has said: {And
when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad) concerning Me, then (answer
them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the
invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any
mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so
that they may be led aright.} [Al-Baqarah 2:186]
Transliteration:
Waitha saalaka AAibadee
AAannee fainnee qareebun ojeebu daAAwata alddaAAi itha daAAani
falyastajeeboo lee walyuminoo bee laAAallahum
yarshudoona
From the invocations of the
Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is: "O My Lord,
give us a share of your fear (piety) that comes in between us and
committing your disobediences." [Reported and made good by
At-Tirmidhi].
The Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him, has guided one of his companions to
say this invocation: "O My Lord I seek Your refuge from the evil of
my hearing, from the evil of my sight, from the evil of my tongue,
from the evil of my heart, and from the evil of my sperms" (meaning
his private parts). [Reported and made good by
At-Tirmidhi].
3-
To know that you have no
choice or option in this, no matter what the conditions and the
circumstances are. Gaze must be lowered off the prohibited in all
places, times, and circumstances. You should not give yourself the
excuse of the corrupted reality; nor should you justify your steps
by the existence of the affliction inducers. Allah Almighty has
said: {It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allâh and His
Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in
their decision. And whoever disobeys Allâh and His Messenger, he
has indeed strayed into a plain error.} [Al-Ahzaab
33:36]
Transliteration:
Wama kana limuminin wala
muminatin itha qada Allahu warasooluhu amran an yakoona lahumu
alkhiyaratu min amrihim waman yaAAsi Allaha warasoolahu faqad dalla
dalalan mubeenan
4-
Remember that Allah is
watching you, knows you; so that you may fear Him and feel ashamed
before Him. Allah Almighty has said: {And indeed We have created
man, and We know what his ownself whispers to him. And We are
nearer to him than his jugular vein (by Our Knowledge).} [Qaaf
50:16]
Transliteration:
Walaqad khalaqna alinsana
wanaAAlamu ma tuwaswisu bihi nafsuhu wanahnu aqrabu ilayhi min
habli alwareedi
And He has also said: {Allâh
knows the fraud of the eyes, and all that the breasts conceal.}
[Ghafir 40:19]
Transliteration:
YaAAlamu khainata alaAAyuni
wama tukhfee alssudooru
The Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him, has said: "I recommend you to be
ashamed from Allah, as you feel ashamed from the righteous man in
your people." [Reported by Al-Hassan ibn Sufiân and Ahmed in
Asceticism, made authentic by Al-Albâni]
So feel ashamed from Allah and
do not make Him the easiest of your watchers.
5-
Remember that your eyes bear
witness against you. Allah Almighty has said: {Till, when they
reach it (Hell-fire), their hearing (ears) and their eyes, and
their skins will testify against them as to what they used to do.}
[Fussilat 41:20]
Transliteration:
Hatta itha ma jaooha shahida
AAalayhim samAAuhum waabsaruhum wajulooduhum bima kanoo
yaAAmaloona
In Sahih Muslim, from Anas, he
said: "We were in the company of Allah's Messenger, peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him, that he smiled and said: Do you
know why I laughed? We said: Allah and His Messenger know best.
Thereupon he said: It was because of the (fact that there came to
my mind the) talk which the slave of Allah would have with his Lord
(on the Day of Judgment). He would say: My Lord, have you not
guaranteed me protection against injustice? He would say: Yes. Then
the slave of Allah would say: I do not deem valid any witness
against me but my own self, and He would say: Well, enough would be
the witness of yourself against you and that of the two angels who
had been appointed to record your deeds. Then the seal would be set
upon his mouth and it would be said to his limbs (hands, feet,
eyes, ears…) to speak and they would speak of his deeds. Then the
mouth would be made free to talk, he would say (to the hands and
feet): Be away, let there be curse of Allah upon you. It was for
your safety that I was contending."
So recognize that your eye
that you wanted to give pleasure out of the forbidden will bear
witness against you on the Day of Resurrection. So, keep it off the
prohibited.
6-
Remember the angels that
record your deeds. Allah Almighty has said: {Not a word does he (or
she) utter but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it)}
[Qaaf 50:18],
Transliteration:
Ma yalfithu min qawlin illa
ladayhi raqeebun AAateedun
And He has also said: {But
verily, over you (are appointed angels in charge of mankind) to
watch you, (10) Kirâman (Honourable) Kâtibîn writing down (your
deeds), (11) They know all that you do}.
Transliteration:
Wainna AAalaykum lahafitheena
(10) Kiraman katibeena (11) YaAAlamoona ma tafAAaloona
7-
Remember the witness of the
earth on which you commit sins. Allah Almighty has said: {That Day
it will declare its information (about all that happened over it of
good or evil).} [Az-Zalzala 99:4]
Transliteration:
Yawmaithin tuhaddithu
akhbaraha
The Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him, has explained: "its information
means that it bears witness against every slave of Allah of what he
had done on its surface, as it says: he did so and so on the day of
so and so". [Reported by At-Tirmidhi and he said that it is good
and authentic].
8-
Performing a lot of the
optional worships. Performing more optional worships combined with
obligatory ones is a reason for the protection of Allah to the
senses of the slave, as in the Divine Hadith in which The Almighty
has said: "Whoever antagonize one of my Auliyâ' (i.e. those who
believe in the Oneness of Allâh and fear Allâh much (abstain from
all kinds of sins and evil deeds which he has forbidden), and love
Allâh much (perform all kinds of good deeds which He has
ordained)); then I will declare war against him. My slave will not
approach me by anything more favorable for me than that I have
enjoined on him. And my slave keeps approaching me by optional
worships till I love him. And if I love him I will be his hearing
with which he hears, and his sight with which he sees, and his hand
with which he fights, and his foot with which he walks. If he asks
me I will give him and if he asks my refuge I will give him
refuge." [Reported by Al-Bukhâri]
Ibn Rajab
wrote in "Gâmea El-'Ulûm Wal-Hikam (the Collection of Knowledge and
wisdom): this means
that who works hard in approaching Allah with obligatory and then
optional acts of worships, Allah makes him nearer, and promotes him
from the rank of believing to the rank of Al-Ihsân (i.e. to be
patient in performing your duties to Allah, totally for Allah's
sake and in accordance with the Sunnah (legal ways) of the Prophet
(peace be upon him) in a perfect manner). So, he worships Allah
feeling His presence and monitoring as if he sees Allah watching
him; which fills his heart with the knowledge of Allah, His love,
glory, fear, reverence and joviality and longing for Him till the
knowledge in his heart turns into seeing with the eye of insight.
When the heart is full with the glory of Allah, this heart deletes
everything else, and the slave of Allah has no will or desire but
what his Lord wants. By then, he only speaks of His remembrance,
and moves with His orders. If he speaks; he speaks with Allah. If
he hears; he hears with Him, if he sees; he sees with Him, and if
he ravages; he ravages with Him."
9-
Remember the benefits and the
fruits of lowering the gaze. Ibn
Al-Qayyim mentioned a number of benefits in Al-Jawâb Al-Kâfi (the Sufficient
Answer). Here are some of them in brief:
· It is submission to the orders of
Allah almighty, which is the ultimate happiness for the slave of
Allah in this life and the Hereafter.
· It prevents the impact of the
poisoned arrow (the gaze) - which could destroy him - to his
heart.
· It leaves joviality with Allah in
the heart, and ties it; as letting it go distracts the
heart.
· It blocks the Devil's entrance to
the heart. The Devil enters with sight faster than air in a
space.
· There is a path between the eye and
the heart, which makes one reformed by the reform of the other and
destroyed by the destruction of the other.
· It opens the ways of knowledge and
facilitates its means, because of the light of the heart. If the
heart is illuminated the facts of knowledge are uncovered to him
and he moves from one to another. Whoever raises his gaze, his
heart grieves and darkens, and the gate and paths of knowledge are
blocked before him.
· It relieves the pain of regret from
the heart. He who raises his gaze, his regret lasts. The most
noxious thing to the heart is raising the gaze, as man desires what
he sees; which he cannot be patient about getting it nor can he
obtain it, and this is the ultimate pain.
· It implants joy, happiness and ease,
more than the joy and happiness of gazing, in his heart. This is
due to his overcoming his enemy by disobeying his own lusts and
wishes, and when he stops his desires for Allah - including the
desires of the wrong-ordering soul- Allah will compensate him with
a more perfect joy.
· It frees the heart from the
captivity of lustrous desire. The prisoner is captured by his
desire, as it was told: he is a prisoner; however he seems to the
eyes as if he were free.
· It frees the heart from the
intoxication of lust and the slumber of heedlessness. Raising the
gaze leads to the heedlessness from Allah and the Hereafter, it
leads to the intoxication of ardent passion which is more
intoxicating than liquor.
· It leads to safety from Al-Fâhishah
(evil, great sin, every kind of unlawful sexual intercourse,
adultery, sodomy) because gazing is the way to it.
· It leads to the safety from
punishment in the hereafter as a consequence of prohibited gazing.
As was mentioned before, the adultery of the eyes is gazing (to
prohibited things).
10-
Striving with one's soul and
making it accustomed to lowering the gaze, doing this with
patience, and staying off despair. Allah Almighty has said: {As for
those who strive hard in Us (Our Cause), We will surely guide them
to Our Paths (i.e. Allâh's religion - Islâmic Monotheism)}
[Al-Ankaboot 29:69]
Transliteration:
Waallatheena jahadoo feena
lanahdiyannahum subulana
The Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him, has said: "Whoever bears patience,
Allah will bestow patience upon him." [Reported by Al-Bukhâri,
under a section named: Patience on Allah's Prohibited
Things]
Another Hadith reported and
authenticated by Al-Albani that the Prophet, peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him, has said: "victory comes from
patience."
If your soul gets used to
lowering the gaze, it becomes easier for it; man is overcome by
habit and is tamed by persistence.
11-
Trying some physical means,
such as:
• Avoiding places where the affliction
of gazing is feared, if it is not indispensable; even if you lose
some benefits that are not comparable to the benefits of safety
from the affliction of gazing. For example, if there is a place
located between your house and your place of work or school, in
which you fear affliction, leave it and take another route even if
it is longer so that your heart may be safe from the sedition.
Also, stop watching series and movies for entertainment and
spending leisure time, and do not find excuses for getting near the
places of sedition on the pretext of keeping up with news and being
informed of the facts. Information is the head of the nail, as
mentioned by one of our Sheikhs - May Allah protect him. Also,
beware of traveling to infidel countries or places of depravity so
that you will not expose yourself to affliction.
• Stay away from irrelevant curious
looks, by looking where you walk and stop turning around: right and
left or behind. If one is curious he will certainly find something
prohibited to gaze at, if he is accustomed not to get curious then
he gets safe.
• Also, if one needs a certain
magazine, he should not go to stores where anything and everything
is being shown. Instead he should go to specialized stores, or -if
necessary- ask the storekeeper and does not look for what he needs
by himself so as not to expose himself to looking at prohibited
pictures.
• And, if one sees the shadow of a
woman or what seems like that he fears of temptation; he should
turn his gaze away from it and does not stare in order not to fall
into sedition.
12-
Marriage is one of the best
medicines in healing this disease. The Prophet, peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him, has said: "O young men, those among you who
can support a wife should marry, for it restrains eyes from casting
(evil glances) and protects the private parts from adultery; but
those who cannot should keep on fasting for it is a means of
controlling sexual desire." [Agreed upon]
Marriage has
many benefits
• It is submitting to the
decree. In submission there is happiness in this worldly life and
in the Hereafter.
• It restrains the eyes from
casting (evil glances) and protects the private parts from
adultery, as mentioned in the previous Hadith.
• It supplements one half of
the religion, as the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him, has said: "when the slave of Allah marries, half of his
religion is supplemented; so let him fear Allah in the remaining
half." [Reported by Al-Baihaqi from the Hadith of Anas, and
considered good by Al-Albâni].
• It is repose and stability,
as Allah Almighty has said: {And among His Signs is this, that He
created for you wives from among yourselves, that you may find
repose in them, and He has put between you affection and mercy.}
[Ar-Room 30:21]
Transliteration:
Wamin ayatihi an khalaqa lakum
min anfusikum azwajan litaskunoo ilayha wajaAAala baynakum
mawaddatan warahmatan
This repose and stability
helps one to perform his acts of worship and practice his worldly
and religious activities with comfort and dedication, so that he
performs better and more than others (unmarried
persons).
13-
To remember that every bounty
from Allah must be praised by what is due thanks. The bounty of
sight is praised by using one's eyes in what is legitimate and to
keep it off the prohibited. If one lets it in the prohibited, then
one did not give the praise for this bounty and denied
it.
14-
Increasing remembering Allah.
It is a protection and shield from the Devil. In the Hadith
narrated by Al-Hârith Al-Ash'ari: "And I command you to remember
Allah, for it is like a man whom the enemy has followed
consistently till he has come to a fortress where he has protected
himself from them. This is the condition of the slave of Allah; he
only protects himself from the Devil by remembering Allah."
[Reported by At-Tirmidhi, and said: it is good and
authentic].
So, keep remembering Allah's
praises all the time. Persist on the praises of day and evening,
and all the praises related to certain times and places. Do it more
in times of affliction to drive the devil away and protect yourself
against him. Also, the soul gets busy with remembrance so it does
not raise the gaze. On the same line, remembering Allah reminds the
slave of Allah of His Lord and he becomes ashamed and afraid of his
Lord to cast the gaze.
15-
To help lower the gaze, one
must know that persisting on gazing will keep him off his
legitimate wives. The Devil adorns the prohibited and arouses one's
dislike for the legitimate, and changes the image in the eyes of
the viewer to make it look better.
16-
Remember the Hûr (fair
females) with wide, lovely eyes (as wives for the pious), to help
you become patient in not asking for the prohibited; to get their
reunion. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has
said: "if a woman from paradise appeared to the people of the
earth, she would fill the space between Heaven and the earth with
light and pleasant scent and her head cover is better than the
world and whatever is in it." [Reported by Al-Bukhâri]
Abu Huraira narrated that the
Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has said: "Every
man in paradise will have two wives of the Hûr (fair females) with
wide, lovely eyes; the marrow of the bones of the wives' legs will
be seen through the flesh out of excessive beauty." [Reported by
Ahmed, and its origin is in the two Sahih books]
So, he who is patient not to
cast his gazie will be compensated by Allah with much better than
what he has turned his gaze from. Also, the Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him, has said: "Whosoever gives up
something for the sake of Allah, but that He will compensate him
with that which is better than it". [Reported by Ahmed, and the
transmission is authenticated by Al-Albâni]
We ask Allah Almighty to make
us see the right as it is, and guide us to follow it; and make us
see the evil as it is, and guide us to stay away from it; and to
guide us to the Right Path for He is the Most Generous. And peace
and blessings of Allah be upon His Prophet, his family and
companions.
Prepared by:
Abdullah ibn Ali Al-Ju'aythîn
Ibn Khuzayma
House
Translated by Wathakker Website
en.wathakker.net
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