بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Guiding your chastity | importance of  lowering the gaze an islamic perspective | purification of eyes

Table of contents:

1. The order of Allah 

2. Importance of lowering the gaze for muslims

3. Consequences if we don't lower the gaze

4. Why it's soo hard ?and What impact it has on our society?

5. Conclusion

The Order of Allah 

“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their chastity. That is purer for them. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what they do.”

 Quran, Surah An-Nur (24:30).

Beginning with the words of Allah, which clearly commands us especially men, to lower their gazes. For a believer, words of Allah are more than enough to start or stop an action. But in this blog, I will be discussing on importance & benefits, consequences if we don't, why it's so difficult to actually lower the gaze especially in the modern world, and how it's shaping our lives and society.

 Importance of lowering the gaze for Muslims

Ibn al-Qayyim: “Lowering the gaze frees the heart from distractions and makes one sincerely devoted to Allah.”

Source: Al-Fawaid.

This statement is packed with insightful details, even if we just focus on the last two phrases, "freeing from distraction" and" sincere devotion to Allah." We can realize how important it is to practice this in our daily lives. When the heart is free from distraction, it is at peace. A peaceful heart, allows the servant to dive deeper into his spirit.

as the Japanese proverb says

"still water runs deep".

Ibn Taymiyyah:

 “Lowering the gaze is one of the greatest acts of worship. It creates a heart focused on the Hereafter.”

Source: Majmoo' al-Fatawa.

My argument is backed up by this strong fatwa by Ibn Tayyima, correlating lowering the gaze as one of the greatest acts of worship.

Servant not just gets swaab from following this order of Quran, but also he has better self-control, willpower, and also it becomes easier for him to tackle various sins and addictions he faces in the day to day life.

Consequences if we don't lower our gaze

"Modesty and faith are intertwined. If one is lost, the other will also be lost."

Source: Al-Adab al-Mufrad, Hadith 1313 by Imam al-Bukhari.

Modesty and faith are interconnected. Lowering the gaze is an act of modesty. Losing modesty is losing faith, and losing faith makes a person end up in hell,(unless he repents). And it's not just that not lowering the gaze is just one's self, but a precursor for many others. And in extreme cases, major sins like adultery, fornication, rape etc which can be seen increasing in our modern society...

“The eyes also commit zina, and their zina is the lustful look.”

Source: Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6612; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2658.

The action which may seem so simple to do is classified as one of the major sin linked to the eyes, and this is not the end. The servant don't just stop after the gaze, he then indulges into greater sinful practices, which drags him away from Allah. And he falls into some sort of addiction eventually.

Why its so hard ? And what impact it has on our society?

"Do not follow a glance with another, for you will be forgiven for the first, but not for the second."

Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2777.

This hadith gives us ruling on lowering the gazes. The first look is the one servant unintentionally does, in order to recognize who is the individual, but that does not mean he keeps on looking like that. After he came to know that the individual is a non-mehram woman, it's necessary for man to lower his gaze, in order to keep himself chaste and free from sin. (It's equally important for Muslim women to cover their beauty too). But in this modern world, where shaitan has spammed and normalized the disgusting, lustic, and pathetic images/videos or even individuals to such a degree that keeping one's gaze low has become a major challenge in it's ownself .

From movies, advertisements, posters, to even schools, colleges, and other educational institutions, immodesty has become a norm, to such a degree that even if  one of our muslim sister tries to be modest and cover herself properly she is  faced by a mass opposition from everyone in the form of insults, alienation , jokes and in some cases harassments.

"If you want to destroy a nation then make nudity common"

~Quote attributed to Salahuddin ayyubi

The ill consequences of these actions have reached to such an extent that even soul existence has become a nightmare for believers.

• Rape Cases in India have increased by 20% as per 2021 report with over 31,000 reported cases to approximately 90 rapes per day. 
• Haram relationships are at peak with almost everyone indulged in it, especially the youth. 
• Average age for pornography exposure has decreased to 12 years as per 2021 report(means almost every 12 year old is exposed to this filth and most probably they get addicted to it eventually). 

All these and even more...

When will you wake up?

Conclusion

Lowering the gaze is an order from Allah clearly mentioned in Quran and its positive effects and importance is backed up by the hadith and teaching of Prophet ﷺ. Although it's not that easy in this modern world hence our society is suffering due to major issues like increased rape cases, haram relationships, etc.

 اللهم مُصَرِّفَ الْقُلُوْبِ صَرِّفْ قُلُوْبَنَا عَلَى طَاعتِكَ

O Allah! Controller of the hearts, direct our hearts to Your obedience

Comment down any question or dought you have regarding islam and its doctrines. Future blogs will inshallah include the solution to them ☺️

Fiqh & hadith related doughts will be explained by ulema of the specific fields inshallah 

Ameen.