Question:
Is there a Wazeefah to protect my eyes from sin?
Answer:
A Wazeefah alone is not sufficient to control lustful glances. If a person is hungry, any amount of Wazeefah will not satiate him. He has to make an effort to get food and eat it. It is human nature to be attracted to the opposite gender. When one has the feeling to see the opposite gender, bring up the courage and go against the Nafs and do not cast one’s gaze on the opposite gender. Allah says:
{???? ??????????????? ????????? ???? ????????????? ???????????? ??????????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ????? ??????? ??????? ????? ???????????} [?????: 30]
Translation: Say to the believers they should lower their gaze and guard their private parts, that is purer for them. Allah is Aware of the things they do. (An-Noor: 30)
{ ?????? ??????????????? ?????????? ???? ?????????????? ???????????? ???????????? ????? ????????? ???????????? ?????? ??? ?????? ??????? ?????????????? ????????????? ????? ????????????} [?????: 31]
Translation: And tell the believing women that they must lower their gazes and guard their private parts, and must not expose their adornment, except that which appears thereof. (An-Noor: 31)
The first step to go against one’s Nafs is understanding. If one understands the negative consequences of casting lustful glances on the opposite gender, he will do whatever it takes to safeguard himself from that. This is similar to when one understands the harm of poison, he will never ingest it. The consequences of lustful glances are worse than ingesting poison. It is death to one’s spirituality. Rasullullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wassalam) advised:
????? ??????????? ?????? ???? ??????? ????????? ?????????? ???? ????????? ?????????? ???????????? ????????? ?????? ??????????? ??? ????????
(?????? ?????? ????????: 10362)
Translation: Indeed, lustful glances is a poisonous arrow form the arrow of Shaytaan. The person who avoids it out of fear of me, I will reward him with such Iman, the sweetness of which he will perceive in his heart. (Tabraani: 10362)
Once you train your eyes to exercise restraint, it will become easy for you to control your eyes. The Nafs will not have an urge to see and satiate itself. Never feed the Nafs with its desires. The Nafs will never be satiated. The Nafs is like a big eater who never gets satiated with eating any amount of food. The only way to discipline the Nafs is to go against the Nafs and its desires.
• • • • •
‘Alamah busayri (Rahimahullah) mentions in his treatise, Qasidah Burdah:
????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ?????????
????? ???????? ?????? ?????????? ??????????? ???? ?????? ???????? ??????? ????????
????????? ????????? ???? ???????? ?????? ?????
????? ????? ??? ????????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????? ??????? ?????? ??? ???????????
Translation:
• Do not intend breaking the desires of the Nafs through committing sins. Verily food strengthens the desires of a big eater.
• The Nafs is like a child, if you leave it, it will become a youth, while enjoying breastfeeding, and if you wean it, it will be weaned.
• So, desist/discard the desires of the Nafs and beware that the desires do not overpower the Nafs. Verily when carnal desires overpower, it will either kill or it will create a defect.
• Remember, we are slaves of our desires. If we want to be the slaves of Allah, make our Nafs our slaves. We should control our Nafs like how a master controls his slave.
• • • • •
The following Du’a is beneficial to read to assist us in the process of controlling the Nafs:
??? ????? ??? ???????? ???????????? ??????????? ???????? ??? ??????? ???????? ????? ????????? ????? ??????? ???????? ??????
??????? ???? ????????? ????? ??????? ????????? ????? ?????? ?????????? ???????? ???????????
Translation: O Ever Living One, O Eternal One, by Your mercy I call on You to set right all my affairs. Do not place me in charge of my Nafs even for the blinking of an eye (i.e. a moment). O Allah, if You hand me over to my Nafs, then You will be handing me over to weakness, sin, exposure and error. (Shu’bul Iman: 746)
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One effective way of controlling one’s gaze is Allah consciousness. Allah is As-Samee’ (The All hearing) and Al-Baseer (The All Seeing).
See the following verses:
{?????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ?????} [?????: 14]
Translation: Does he not know that Allah is watching? (Al-‘Alaq:14)
{???????? ????????? ??????????? ????? ??????? ??????????} [????: 19]
Translation: Allah knows the fraud of the eyes (the secret lustful glances that people make) and what the hearts conceal. (Ghaafir: 19)
When you are conscious that Allah is seeing you, how can you engage in the Zina of the eyes in front of Allah, especially when Allah created the eyes as a bounty for you? How can we use the bounties of Allah against Allah? That is most ungrateful.
In order to understand the above, imagine there is a person all alone in a room. There is no one with him. However, there is a camera in front of him. In another room, there are people watching him on a large screen. A good-looking male/female walks by. Would the person cast a lustful glance on her knowing that every move of his is being caught on camera and relayed? In the same way, Allah is aware of every move. How shameful is it for one to openly commit Zina of the eyes in the presence of Allah?
One should try his best to control the gaze. Avoid places where one finds it difficult to control one’s gaze, for example, shopping malls, mixed gatherings. Also, avoiding reading and seeing immoral content. Remember, prevention is better than cure. There is a famous saying that ‘true prevention is not waiting for bad things to happen, rather it is preventing things from happening in the first place.’
And Allah Ta’?la Knows Best
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Mahmood | darulmahmood.net