In today’s time and age, due to the shamelessness and immodesty, which has spread through pornography, television, videos, internet, cell phones, cinema, novels, etc., so many people’s lives have been destroyed.
The young ones have ruined their youth in illicit sexual intercourse and masturbation. Life-long marriages have been broken, caused by unlawful love affairs. On a social level, society is plagued with problems such as rape, prostitution, child molestation and paedophile, homosexuality, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
The question arises as to what is the root of all these problems. And a convincing answer to this important question is the eyes. The root of all these problems is the SIN OF THE EYES, casting evil glances, looking at the opposite or same sex with lustful gazes.
Unfortunately, today, people do not even consider casting evil glances to be a sin, when in actuality it is the root of innumerable vices and sins.
You can peruse this guide on how to Lower your gaze.
Another reality which people are totally unaware of is that by protecting one’s eyes from lustful glances, one is promised the taste of the sweetness of Iman. Once the sweetness of Iman enters the heart, it will never be taken back. Thus by protecting the eyes, one is given glad tidings of a good death.
Rasulullah said:
“Verily the evil glance is a poisonous arrow from the arrows of Iblees. He who abstains from casting evil glances will be granted with such Iman that he will feel the sweetness of it in his heart”. (Narrated by Ibn Mas’ud in Tabarani and Kanzul-Ummaal)
What about the heedless ones who pay no attention to protecting their eyes from evil glances? Listed below are 14 solid harms for those who fail to lower their gaze.
- Disobedience of Allah
Casting evil glances is clearly forbidden by the clear and explicit text of the Holy Quran that says: “O Nabi, Tell the believing men to lower some of their gazes.” (Quran 30:18)
(Meaning, do not look at women and handsome boys). Therefore, he who casts evil glances is opposing the clear and explicit command of the Qur’an, and one who opposes the clear and explicit command of the Holy Quran is guilty of disobeying Allah’s commands.
Thus, to save oneself from this sin, it is sufficient to meditate upon the fact that the one who casts evil glances is opposing a commandment of the Holy Qur’an. In other words, he is disobeying Allah Ta’ala.
- Breach of Trust
The one who casts evil glances is breaching the trust between him and Allah. Allah says: “He knows the mistrust of the eyes and that which the hearts conceal.” (Quran 18:24)
This indicates that we are not the owners of our eyes rather we have been entrusted with them. This is the same reason why suicide is forbidden because we are not owners of our bodies.
If we were owners of our bodies then perhaps we would have the right to use them the way we desire. Allah trusts me and you, and he gave us free will to either obey or disobey his commands. To embezzle this trust of Allah is a great offence. The one who casts evil glances is breaching and embezzling the trust of sight which Allah has granted him. This person cannot become the friend of Allah.
To embezzle this trust of Allah is a great offence. The one who casts evil glances is breaching and embezzling the trust of sight which Allah has granted him. This person cannot become the friend of Allah.
How beautifully a poet has said:
The “thief of sight” can never have the crown of friendship placed upon his head He who is not a Muttaqi, is not a Wali.
- Curses From Nabi
The one who casts evil glances is cursed by the Holy Prophet. Hadith Reports have stated that the messenger of Allah said; “May the curse of Allah be upon the one who casts evil glances and upon the one who presents him/herself to be looked at.” (Mishkaat; Pg. 270)
If casting evil glances was a minor sin, then the Holy Prophet is a mercy to mankind would not have cursed its perpetrator. The curse of Nabi is clear proof that this is a very despicable crime.
The meaning of curse is to become distant from the mercy of Allah. And he who has become distant from the mercy of Allah, cannot gain salvation from the evils of his Nafs. Only he who is under the shade of Allah’s mercy can attain salvation from the evils of the Nafs.
- Causes Pain to the Heart
If someone says that we accept that the heart experiences grief and sorrow when looking at beauties, but grief and sorrow are also felt when protecting the eyes.
A person feels regret in his heart saying, “O how pretty that face may have been.” So what is the difference? One will be causing pain to the heart either way, by looking and not looking.
The answer to this is that the pain experienced by looking at the beauty is more severe than the pain felt when guarding the eyes.
When a person does not look, then the regret, pain, and grief will also be light and minimal. The effect of this pain and grief will fade away quickly. The sweetness of faith which one attains from the regret of not attaining the “unknown and unrecognized beauty” will be so enjoyable that it will surpass all the combined enjoyments of the world.
On the other hand, by casting evil glances and making oneself go through regret and grief the anger and wrath of Allah descend. As a result of this, the heart becomes restless and uneasy. One does not have a moment of contentment in the heart and life also becomes bitter. May Allah save us!
- Weakness of the Heart
By casting evil glances, the thought of that beauty continuously comes into the heart and mind. Through this, the heart is in a continuous struggle and conflict which causes the heart to become weak and sickly.
- Medical Harm
One physical harm of casting evil glances is that the urinary bladder becomes swollen due to which a person is compelled to repeatedly urinate.
- Premature Ejaculation
By casting evil glances the sexual desires increase due to which the heat and temperature of the body rise. This, in turn, makes the semen thin and watery by which a person gets the sickness of premature ejaculation. Such a person is unable to properly fulfil the rights of his wife due to which their marital relations and eventually, their family life is destroyed.
- Ungratefulness
Casting evil glances bring about ingratitude within the heart. When a person is looking at so many faces and features then his own wife does not remain attractive to him or vice versa in the case of a woman. Hence, he becomes ungrateful thinking to himself that he did not get a good-looking wife. And if she is good-looking, then he thinks to himself that she could have been more beautiful.
That woman which appears more attractive to him than his own wife, then even if his own wife is beautiful, she is still not as attractive as the other woman. In this way, he is becoming ungrateful of Allah’s favours.
As for the one who guards his eyes out of Allah’s fear, and does not look at other women, then even if his wife is not so beautiful, she is still attractive to him and in this manner, he remains grateful to Allah for his favours.
- Weakness of Eyesight
By casting evil glances, a person’s eyesight becomes weak. This is because by guarding one’s gaze, one is fulfilling gratitude for the blessing of sight and the reward of gratefulness is the increase of blessings as it is mentioned in the Qur’an:
“If you are grateful then We will most definitely increase you in blessings.” (Quran 13:7)
Casting evil glances, on the other hand, is ingratitude and the punishment of ingratitude is severe.
- Distance from Allah
The greatest reward one attains by guarding the eyes is the special closeness of Allah. Guarding the eyes is a means of attaining Barakah. This is because guarding the eyes makes the evil desires of the heart to bleed and when all four corners of the heart become red by shedding the blood of regret, then from every horizon of the heart the sun of the closeness of Allah will rise.
- Heart Attack
Casting evil glances could eventually lead to a heart attack. This is because the heart becomes occupied in a continuous struggle. The beauty pulls the heart to him/her and Allah’s fear pulls the heart in its direction. Through this struggle and pain, a person eventually gets a heart attack because this internal conflict causes the heart to increase in size. If he would have protected his gaze then he would not have been caught up in this internal struggle and he would not have had a heart attack.
- Sexual Desires are Aroused
By casting evil glances, the sexual desires are inflamed and incited. If a person does not attain the beauty whom he was casting evil glances at, then he will fulfil his inflamed desires by committing illicit sexual intercourse with anyone he gets a hold of.
He inflamed his desires by looking at a beautiful face and satisfies this desire by having illicit sexual intercourse with someone with an ugly face. He cast evil glances out of greed for beauty and ended up degrading himself with such a person.
Casting evil glances is such an evil act that does not leave you until it takes you to the final stage of sin wherein a person does not even see beauty anymore. Guarding one’s private parts after casting evil becomes impossible.
- Leads to Masturbation
Casting evil glancing causes the seminal fluid to come out of its place. And once the semen leaves its place then it cannot go back. The semen cannot reverse like a car. Just as in the case of a goat or cow’s udder it cannot go back because the udder is a place of discharge not intake.
Similarly, semen cannot go back into its place after being released. It has to be discharged one way or the other, whether it be lawful or forbidden. The curse of casting evil glances is such that a person does not remain conscious of lawful or unlawful. He will either fulfill his lust by having illicit sexual Intercourse with some women or degrade himself by committing sodomy with some man or young lad.
If he does not get any man or woman then he will fulfil his lust by masturbating. Just as it is unlawful and forbidden to commit sexual intercourse with a strange man or woman, it is likewise forbidden to masturbate.
If you haven’t had the chance to read this, see it now on why masturbation is haram for you.
Unfortunately, this sin has become widespread in this day and age. In some narrations of Hadith, there are severe warnings against this sin. It has been mentioned that the person who masturbates shall be resurrected on the Day of Judgment with a pregnant hand.
It has also been mentioned that one who masturbates is under the curse of Allah. Fulfilling one’s sexual desires in an unlawful manner is obviously impermissible.
May Allah Ta’ala grant us the ability to practice upon what has been said.
Amen