What has gone wrong? How can Muslims, called by Allah, our Creator the model community, the custodians of Truth and the upholders of morality behave this way? Why are we adopting the attitudes and routes of the kuffar? How can we rectify ourselves? What follows is a series of practical, though graphic advises which can work for us and set us free from Satan’s stronghold, Insha`Allah.
Prophet Muhamad (pbuh), by way of warning and as a reminder said, ** “There is nothing left after I go more dangerous to men than the temptations of women.” Being optimistic, a ray of hope was also wisely provided during the prophet’s Last Sermon “If the Ummah holds on to the Qur`an and Sunnah, it will never go astray.” **
We should realize that the fact the great sahabas were human beings also. Biologically there were no different from us. They had desires and temptations but yet, they controlled themselves in the best of ways. We can do the same, Insha`Allah. To possess sensual passions is human, to control them is Muslim.
When confronted with an alluring situation like passing by a non-mahram on the street, office or school, Satan is constantly tempting us to glare at her/him with evil thoughts. Satan is probably excitingly saying, with a big smile, ‘yes, yes, yes,’ when we steer into the bait he is setting. During these situations, immediately and consciously realize that when we give a second or following glances, we are obeying Satan. "O you who believe, follow not the footsteps of the devil " (24:21). By immediately averting our gazes and disobeying Satan, we are giving him a one-two punch in the face and leaving him frustrated and accursed.
Satan rebelled and was expelled by Allah, so let’s all rebel against Satan and expel him from our hearts. Satan intends to fight a war against Muslims, so let’s gather our forces behind the Qur`an and the Sunnah and defeat him. Remember that even if no human eye is watching us, the Ever-Watchful Allah is constantly monitoring the innermost regions of our hearts. Our eyes, limbs, tongue and private parts will be witnesses on the Judgment Day and not an atom’s worth of deed will remain unexamined.
Our minds are conditioned to associate thoughts of stealing clothes from a store to being in handcuffs and hauled into a police van. Likewise we should condition our minds to bring the verses of Surah Nur in front of our eyes during any tempting situations and imagine that Allah is speaking to us directly ** Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that is more purifying for them. Surely Allah is aware of what they do. [Surah an-Nur: Ayah 30] ** If the Qur`an contained only these two ayats, it would be enough to convince me that it is the book of Allah.
With practice, these associations and the remembrance of Allah during tempting situations will prevent us from getting stuck by devilish arrows. Successfully controlling our gazes also deadens our avoidance of sinful situations. An Islamic idiom says, “Anything that leads to haram is haram in itself.” To do a pious deed is a reward; to avoid a sin is a reward too.
One of the biggest culprits in this class is movies. In the name of entertainment, to please our peers and children and an excuse to do something together as a family, we astonishingly allow un-Islamic pictures and dialogues in front of our eyes and ears. Can we ever imagine (aozubillah) any sahaba renting the latest hit from Blockbuster Videos, or listening to music with alluring lyrics at high volume?
Likewise we watch news on TV and stare at the anchor men/women, adorned in heavy make-up, scanty clothing and seductive smile. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), was once approached by a woman with a proposal for marriage. He took a single glance at her face and turned his face away. ** Jabir bin Abdullah reported: “I asked Allah’s messenger about the sudden glance on the face of a non-mahram. He commanded me that I should turn away my eyes.” (Muslim) ** Thus, we are not supposed to stare at faces of non-mahrams, be they are our fellow students, our elders, saleswomen or someone on TV.
Pious ladies of the prophet’s household were ordered to observe purdah (separation) in front of a blind sahabah. Asking the curious questions as to why cover/separate when the blind sahabah could not see them, the prophet (pbuh) wisely answered, “But you could see him.”
In our wedding ceremonies and parties and even in many Islamic fundraising dinners, there is heavy free-mixing between brothers and sisters. Often the chairs of males and females are arranged facing each other, knowing that about 90 percent of our sisters do no wear hijab. It is often noticeable to see males and females peeking glances at each other from the opposite ends of the hall. A big curtain is not my intention, but a big iman and befitting Islamic manners is.
** * “A woman who applies perfumes and goes to a gathering is like an adulteress” the prophet said Muhammad (pbuh). * ** Compare this with our sisters who clad themselves with expensive perfume, one kilogram of makeup, and then come to mixed gatherings. Will this not attract the attention of males? Let’s be real. We have lowered our moral guards so low that a humble word of truth often seems so awfully strange.
Let us contemplate the above humble advices and constantly make the supplication, ** “O Allah help us control our sensual desires until we get married, and even after we marry, let our desires be only towards our spouses.” **
** The above was written by Mr. SABEEL AHMED. He is the Co-chairman of the Da’wa Committee and Board of Director at the Muslim Community Center Masjid (the largest mosque in the Illinois state). He is also a member of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) where he is actively involved in the ‘toll free da’wa hotline’ 1-800-662-islam, having first hand experience in handling calls by non-Muslim. He was a student of Shaykh Ahmed Deedat and his main field of interest is in comparative religion. **
The Jihad of the eyes - start today!
by Dr. Hesham Hassaballa
As temperatures soar and sweat pours down our faces this summer, it is essential to remember this: protect your eyes, and I am not talking about wearing sunglasses.
I’m talking about lowering our gazes.
In our culture today, as the temperature increases, so does the amount of exposed skin on people’s bodies. Although this is very distressing and disturbing, it has become a fact of life.
In fact, those of us, especially our sisters wearing Hijab, who cover to guard our modesty are seen as strange!
Yet, covering, not exposing the skin, is an advice currently being given by the United States Department of Health And Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
They have sponsored a campaign called “Choose Your Cover”, encouraging people to protect themselves from skin cancer.
One of the recommended methods is wearing clothing that covers skin and protects against the sun’s UV rays.
The campaign’s section on clothing notes that “a long-sleeved shirt and long pants with a thick weave provide the best protection.”
And lest we forget, before global warming and skin cancer warnings were ever issued, most of the Muslim and non-Muslim men and women living in the scorching deserts or cities and villages of Africa and Asia, which experience tremendous heat in the summers [if not most of the year] did NOT emerge from their homes virtually naked.
In fact, they covered themselves more to protect themselves from the sun.
The gaze is part of a Muslim’s character
A Muslim is decent and pure. This means all of his or her body must be decent and pure. A natural consequence of this is lowering the gaze.
Allah tells us:
** * “O you who believe! Do not follow Satan’s footsteps: if any will follow the footsteps of Satan, he will command what is shameful and wrong…” (Quran 24:21). * **
Looking at another man or woman in an indecent manner is following in Satan’s footsteps.
It all begins with a lustful glance. Such a glance leads to lustful talk and flirting, then meeting…and we are all aware of what comes next.
Let us stop Satan in his tracks and lower our gaze.
Let us start today, during these hot summer months. Yes, it is very difficult and it takes discipline and faith.
Yet, whenever we struggle to please Allah, He will reward us several times over in this life and the next.
It is truly a Jihad. But, it is a Jihad worth undertaking, and we will be all the better for it.
for such an informative and important post. May Allah protect us from evils.