GREAT VIRTUE OF LOWERING THE GAZE
Taken from ‘al-Muntaqaa
min Ighaathatul Lufhaan fee Masaayid ash-Shaytaan’ [pp.’s
102-105] of ibn al-Qayyim |
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“Say to the believing
men that they should lower their gaze and guard their private parts;
that will make for greater purity for them. Indeed Allaah is well
acquainted with all that they do.” [an-Nur (24):30]
The First: experiencing
the delight and sweetness of faith.
This delight and sweetness
is far greater and more desirable that which might have been attained
from the object that one lowered his gaze from for the sake of Allaah.
Indeed, “whosoever leaves something for the
sake of Allaah then Allaah, the Mighty and Magnificent, will replace
it with something better than it.” {1}
The soul is a temptress and
loves to look at beautiful forms and the eye is the guide of the heart.
The heart commissions its guide to go and look to see what is there
and when the eye informs it of a beautiful image it shudders out of
love and desire for it. Frequently such inter-relations tire and wear
down both the heart and the eye as is said:
When you sent your eye as
a guide
For your heart one day, the
object of sight fatigued you
For you saw one over whom
you had no power
Neither a portion or in totality,
instead you had to be patient.
Therefore when the sight
is prevented from looking and investigating the heart finds relief
from having to go through the arduous task of (vainly) seeking and
desiring.
Whosoever lets his sight
roam free will find that he is in a perpetual state of loss and anguish
for sight gives birth to love (mahabbah)
the starting point of which is the heart being devoted and dependant
upon that which it beholds. This then intensifies to become fervent
longing (sabaabah) whereby the heart becomes totally
dependant and devoted to the (object of its desire). Then this further
intensifies and becomes infatuation (gharaamah) which clings to the heart
like the one seeking repayment of a debt clings firmly to the one who
has to pay the debt. Then this intensifies and becomes passionate love
(ishk) and this is a love that transgresses
all bounds. Then this further intensifies and becomes crazed passion
(shaghafa) and this a love
that encompasses every tiny part of the heart. Then this intensifies
and becomes worshipful love (tatayyuma). Tatayyum means worship and it is said: tayyama
Allaah i.e. he worshipped Allaah.
Hence the heart begins to
worship that which is not correct for it to worship and the reason
behind all of this was an illegal glance. The heart is now bound in
chains whereas before it used to be the master, it is now imprisoned
whereas before it was free. It has been oppressed by the eye and it
complains to it upon which the eye replies: I am your guide and messenger
and it was you who sent me in the first place!
All that has been mentioned
applies to the heart that has relinquished the love of Allaah and being
sincere to Him for indeed the heart must have an object of love that
it devotes itself to. Therefore when the heart does not love Allaah
Alone and does not take Him as its God then it must worship something
else.
Allaah said concerning Yusuf
as-Siddeeq (AS),
“Thus (did We order)
so that We might turn away from him all evil and indecent actions
for he was one of Our sincere servants.” [Yusuf (12): 24]
It was because the wife of
al-Azeez was a polytheist that (the passionate love) entered her heart
despite her being married. It was because Yusuf (AS) was sincere to
Allaah that he was saved from it despite his being a young man, unamarried
and a servant.
The Second: the illumination
of the heart, clear perception and penetrating insight.
Ibn Shujaa` al-Kirmaanee
said, “whosoever builds his outward form upon following the Sunnah,
his internal form upon perpetual contemplation and awareness of Allaah,
he restrains his soul from following desires, he lowers his gaze from
the forbidden things and he always eats the lawful things then his
perception and insight shall never be wrong.”
Allaah mentioned the people
of Lut and what they were afflicted with and then He went on to say,
“Indeed in this are
signs for the Mutawassimeen.” [al-Hijr (15):
75]
The Mutwassimeen are those who have clear
perception and penetrating insight, those who are secure from looking
at the unlawful and performing indecent acts.
Allaah said after mentioning
the verse concerning lowering the gaze,
“Allaah is the Light
of the heavens and the earth.” [an-Nur (24): 35]
The reason behind this is
that the reward is of the same type as the action. So whosoever lowers
his gaze from the unlawful for the sake of Allaah, the Mighty and Magnificent,
He will replace it with something better than it of the same type.
So just as the servant restrained the light of his eye from falling
upon the unlawful, Allaah blesses the light of his sight and heart
thereby making him perceive what he would not have seen and understood
had he not lowered his gaze.
This is a matter that the
person can physically sense in himself for the heart is like a mirror
and the base desires are like rust upon it. When the mirror is polished
and cleaned of the rust then it will reflect the realities (haqaa`iq) as they actually are. However
if it remains rusty then it will not reflect properly and therefore
its knowledge and speech will arise from conjecture and doubt.
The Third: the heart becoming
strong, firm and courageous.
Allaah will give it the might
of aid for its strength just as He gave it the might of clear proofs
for its light. Hence the heart shall combine both of these factors
and as a result, Shaytaan shall flee from it. It is mentioned in the
narration, “whosoever opposes his base desires,
the Shaytaan shall flee in terror from his shade.” {2}
This is why the one who follows
his base desires shall find in himself the ignominy of the soul, its
being weak, feeble and contemptible. Indeed Allaah places nobilty for
the one who obeys Him and disgrace for the one who disobeys Him,
“If any do seek for
nobilty and power then to Allaah belongs all nobility and power.” [Faatir(35):
10]
Meaning that whosoever seeks
after disobedience and sin then Allaah, the Might and Magnificent,
will humiliate the one who disobeys Him.
Some of the salaf said, “the
people seek nobilty and power at the door of the Kings and they will
not find it except through the obedience of Allaah.”
This is because the one who
who obeys Allaah has taken Allaah as his friend and protector and Allaah
will never humiliate the one who takes his Lord as friend and patron.
In the Du`aa Qunut their occurs, “the one who You take as a friend is
not humiliated and the one who You take as an enemy is not ennobled.” {3}
FOOTNOTES
{1} Reported by Ahmad [5/363],
al-Marwazee in ‘Zawaa`id az-Zuhd’ [no. 412], an-Nasaa`ee
in ‘al-Kubraa’
as mentioned in ‘Tuhfah al-Ashraaf’ [11/199] from one of
the Companions that the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) said, “indeed
you will not leave anything for the sake of Allaah except that Allaah
will replace it with something better than it.” The isnaad
is saheeh.
{2} This is not established
as a hadeeth of the Prophet (SAW)
{3} Reported by Abu Daawood
[Eng. Trans. 1/374 no. 1420], an-Nasaa`ee [3/248], at-Tirmidhee [no.
464], ibn Maajah [no. 1178], ad-Daarimee [1/311], Ahmad [1/199], ibn
Khuzaymah [2/151] from al-Hasan from Alee (RA).
The hadeeth is saheeh.
The isnaad has been critcised
by many, however none of the critcisms hold. Refer to: ‘Nasb
ar-Raayah’ [2/125] and ‘Talkhees al-Habeer’
[1/247]
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