THE GREAT VIRTUE OF LOWERING THE GAZE
By Imaam ibn al-Qayyim
Taken from ‘al-Muntaqaa min Ighaathatul Lufhaan fee Masaayid ash-Shaytaan’ [pp.’s 102-105] of ibn al-Qayyim, summarised by Alee Hasan
Allaah, the Exalted said,
“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]
So Allaah made purification and spiritual growth to be the outcome of
lowering the gaze and guarding the private parts. It is for this reason that
lowrering ones gaze from (seeing) the prohibited things necessarily leads to
three benefits that carry tremendous value and are of great significance.
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,
“So do not lose heart nor fall into
despair; for you must gain mastery if you are true in faith.” [Aali
Imraan(3): 139]
“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}
{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]