Sikander Hashmi – Bless Your Gaze KMA Friday Message
AI: Summary ©
The importance of not restraining one's gaze, avoiding privacy and privacy in public settings, and not allowing people to see things that are meant to be listened to is crucial to achieving spiritual benefits. The speaker gives instructions on how to avoid these harms and offers insight into the process of achieving spiritual benefits by protecting oneself from many harms and increasing their spiritual potential through control and obeying commands. The importance of restraining one's gaze is also emphasized.
AI: Summary ©
Respected elders,
dear brothers and sisters, my young friends,
We begin by praising and thanking Allah
our creator, our designer,
the designer and creator of the entire universe,
the sustainer, the nourisher, the brothers
and sisters,
last
My brothers and
sisters, last week
we discussed
the harms
and the consequences
of not restraining
one's gaze,
not restraining one's look
from that which is prohibited
and which is undesirable
and has been determined to be so by
Allah and his messenger sallallahu alaihi wasallam,
and
that which is harmful.
So clearly, my brothers and sisters, we know
that we are instructed
to refrain
from looking at a few types of things.
So first of all,
to look
at the opposite gender unnecessarily,
and especially if it is done with desire.
This is something which has categorically been
prohibited.
Along with that, we are instructed
to refrain from looking
at that which is considered to be private
from an Islamic point of view. Right? And
this is very important to understand
that what Allah and his messenger sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam have taught us and the norms
that are the true norms that Allah
has set,
the boundaries that Allah
has set and that the prophet
has explained
may not
necessarily match with the boundaries
and what is considered to be acceptable and
acceptable in today's times or in any society.
Right. So we have to be clear on
what is acceptable
and what the boundaries are
from Allah
and his messenger
So we are instructed to refrain from looking
at that which is considered to be private
from an Islamic point of view.
Whether it is
body parts that are supposed to be kept
private and that are supposed to be covered,
whether it is the opposite gender or the
same gender for that matter,
or whether it is what one's,
or or whether it has to do with
one's private life in their homes.
This is also something which we are instructed
to keep away from,
not to look at, not to eavesdrop, not
to be nosy,
not to peek in
and look
in areas or places, particularly people's homes,
where privacy is expected,
where they are
conducting themselves
with the impression and the understanding that they
are in a private space.
And I mentioned eavesdropping. That's also related. So
just listening to discussions
that are not meant to be listened to,
listening to private meetings, private discussions, private gatherings,
or if someone is telling someone a secret
and is doing or or even if they
don't say that it's a secret, but they're
doing it in a way that you can
tell that they don't want people to know.
All of those things are to be respected.
And we are also instructed to refrain
from looking at what people have
of worldly pleasures and things. Allah
tells us in the Quran
in Surah Al Hajjr.
Do not let your eyes crave
the fleeting pleasures we have provided
for some of them, meaning for some of
the disbelievers
nor grieve for them and be gracious to
the believers. Alright. The instruction was to the
prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam by extension to all
believers
that do not let your eyes crave.
Do not let your eyes
crave
that which is
desired,
or the, you know, the fleeting pleasures which
have been provided.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
gives to people in different ways. Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala blesses people. Allah's by giving, Allah
tests people by giving.
And many people, you know, sometimes we wonder,
people children especially ask this question, you know,
that,
you know, oh, there's people who have, you
know, who don't believe in Allah, who don't
believe in the messenger sallallahu alaihi wasallam but
they have done good. They have good character.
They do good actions.
You know. So what about them? So what
we find in this dunya that many such
people are actually blessed by Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
Allah gives them the reward of their good
deeds, but he gives it in this duniya
because they don't believe in the akhirah.
If you haven't opt into that system, you
don't deserve the reward in the hereafter. Right?
But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala doesn't let any
good deeds go to waste. Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala does not neglect any good that anyone
does.
So if someone has done good and they
have some goodness in them, Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala gives them the reward and he gives
them that reward in this dunya. But
then in the akhirah,
there's nothing there. Allah knows best. Right?
So when we see that people have been
blessed and people have things, Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala tells us, do not let your eyes
crave those pleasures
that have been provided
to some.
Now
in in tafsir,
Saadi,
regarding this ayah,
it's mentioned that do not be impressed
and do not look repeatedly
admiringly
or admiring worldly pleasures and those who are
enjoying them such as delicious
food and drink and fine clothing and beautiful
houses and adored women for all of that
is the of this world
in which those who are deceived rejoice.
All of these things are fake.
They are temporary.
So do not
be impressed.
Do not be touched by the glimmer and
the glamour of this dunian.
And those who do wrong enjoy it by
ignoring the hereafter,
but it will all soon end and cease
to be, and those who love it will
die, and then they will regret when when
regret will be of no avail.
That regret will come too late when people
realize
the reality of what they were enjoying and
actually that it was a type of delusion.
And they will realize the state they are
in when the resurrection begins.
Allah has made it a test and a
trial so that it may be known
who will be deceived by it and who
will be better in deeds.
So when we talk about the gaze and
we go a little bit deeper regarding our
look and with the things we look at,
we also don't want to be looking at
the worldly pleasures, especially that have been given
to others
with a sense of desire, with a size
a sense of
craving
and and wanting those things. Now, of course,
it's natural desire that you may look at
something nice and you feel like having it,
but Allah
is telling us that that is something we
want to avoid. We don't want to be
those who are focused
on the temporary
on the temporary,
glimmer and and and and, or glitter and
glamour of this dunya.
We don't want to be people who are,
you know, shocked and awed or who are
awed by it looking at the bright lights
and the fancy things of this dunya because
we know that these things are temporary. Doesn't
mean that you can't use them if you
need them. If Allah has blessed you and
you can afford it and you need to
buy something that's nice, it doesn't mean you
can't do that. But don't allow it to
mesmerize you. Don't allow it to find a
place in your heart so that you are
constantly looking at at it and craving it
and spending your time
desiring it. My brothers and sisters, just as
staring at the sun
for a minute or 2 or even less
can cause serious damage to the to our
eyes. Looking
at what is haram and what is undesirable
causes much more spiritual damage
that goes straight to the heart.
You see, they say when there is a
an eclipse
or when there's a solar eclipse,
don't look at the sun. Right? Generally, don't
look at the sun. Don't stare at the
sun, especially if there's an eclipse
because, subhanallah,
it is so
damaging.
I find this mind boggling. Right? Just as
a side note. When you look at the
distance of the sun from the earth.
Right? When you look at the distance of
the sun from the earth
and the fact
that a human being
being so far away on this tiny little
earth looks at the sun at from such
a distance
and stares at it, it can end up
damaging their eyesight
even permanently in some cases.
And this is how weak Allah
has created us,
and this is how small we are in
relation
and how insignificant we are in relation to
the vastness of the universe
and of the creation of Allah Subhanahu wa
ta'ala. And our sun, by the way, is
probably the smaller of the other suns and
stars that exist.
There are even larger ones
and stronger ones,
ones with more fire and more heat. SubhanAllah.
Right? So here we are on this little
dunya, this little human being with this little
eye who we've stares at the sun for
a few seconds, for a minute or 2,
his eyes are gonna be damaged. Right? And
then
we think that we are something,
and we can do this and we can
do that, and we challenge Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala.
May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala forgive us and
guide us.
So my brothers and sisters, when we look
at that which is undesirable,
it causes spiritual damage. It goes straight to
the heart.
But along the way, it also leaves imprints
in our memories.
It also leaves
imprints in our memories because when it gets
to our heart when it goes to our
heart, it goes through here.
It goes through here. So we look, it
goes here, and then it goes to the
heart.
So it leaves an imprint in our memories,
in our minds that can keep distracting us,
that can keep tempting us, and in some
cases, keep horrifying us.
We see something which is tempting,
and it can
be an imprint on the person's mind. It
can become imprinted. And now they can't lose
that thought.
It constantly is distracting them. It's constantly tempting
them.
Or if it was something horrific, it's constantly
horrifying them. Right? And people have trauma associated
with things that they have seen, especially when
it's things that they are not in their
control. And we ask Allah
to grant them healing because it is not
easy. When someone has seen something which is
horrific, and there are many instances like this
in the world, many of our brothers and
sisters, you know, who
are oppressed, who are tortured, and they are
made to see many things that nobody
would ever want to see. Right? And those
things are there. You can't forget them. They're
imprinted inside your mind.
Make it easy for them. But why would
we willingly look at things that are gonna
do this to us, my brothers and sisters?
Why are we willingly going to look at
things that are going to distract us? So
today, actually, what I like to do is
flip it around and talk about some of
the benefits
of controlling the gaze
in the brief time that I have. Now
our eyes
that work,
they are
delicate
and they are weak
in one way, as I just discussed the
sun and the UV rays. But on the
other hand, they're actually powerful instruments as well.
Powerful in the sense of the benefit that
they bring to us.
Right? And indeed a great blessing from Allah
Right? And to imagine what it will be
like without this blessing, it's not difficult. All
you have to do is close your eyes.
Close your eyes and keep your eyes closed,
and you can feel
for some moments how it would be if
Allah
had not granted you this blessing.
So it's a great blessing from Allah
And if it's used properly,
the way they're designed to be used, how
they're intended to be used, they can actually
bring great spiritual blessings
on top of the obvious benefits.
K. So we get the benefit from our
eyesight from looking and all the benefits we
get from from our sight, of course. But
on top of that, there's spiritual blessings as
well. Now, ibn Qayyim, Imam ibn Qayyim
he wrote a book on spiritual sicknesses and
cures.
Spiritual sicknesses and their cures
called
Adha iwid Dawawi,
and it's also known as Al Jawab Al
Kafi.
And he mentions a number of benefits of
controlling
one's gaze, and I can't go through all
of them, but briefly, I'll touch upon some
of them and you can read further,
on what he has written because it is
indeed very beneficial. It is food for the
soul, for the spirit.
He says that the lowering of the gaze
is obedience the command of Allah Subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
Obedience to the command of Allah Subhanahu wa
ta'ala. What does it do? It brings true
happiness to a human being in this world
and the next.
Obeying the command of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala
brings true happiness
to a human being in this world and
the next. There is nothing more
beneficial, he writes, to a person in this
world and the next
than obeying the commands of their Lord
And those who are truly happy in this
world and in the next
can only attain that happiness by obeying his
commands. And those who are miserable in this
world and in the next are only miserable
because they ignore his commands.
Alright. If a a a human being, especially
a Muslim can understand this,
that the command of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
is for my own benefit.
And if you do if I do not
follow the guidance of Allah and his messenger
wasalam, I am the one who's going to
get hurt first and foremost.
I am going to lose out
spiritually but also
in terms of real world effects.
Right? And subhanAllah, we look at so many
problems in the world.
Right? Social issues, social problems, family problems,
societal problems, and we trace the root
of those problems.
And where does it lead to?
This would be insubulAllah and his messages
Because this deen of Allah is a deen
of fitra. Because he's our designer. He's our
creator.
So he's telling us how to use this
life and how to use our bodies and
how to live with one another. If you
don't follow it,
we lose
and we struggle.
So it says, it is obedience to the
command, and it brings happiness.
Secondly, it prevents the poisoned arrows of the
shaitan which may lead to his ruin to
the human being's ruin from reaching his heart.
See the wording, the poisoned arrows of shaitan,
and we talked about this last time as
well.
These are poisoned arrows. Every single glance
that is prohibited,
especially those that are prohibited. It's a poisoned
arrow of shaitan
which may lead to his ruin. A person
may be going along his way, her way,
but things to do.
And one gaze, one look
at something
which they should not have looked at,
could permeate into their minds and into their
souls, their hearts in such a way that
it leads that person to ruin.
It has happened. It happens to people.
So protect yourself from
that. He says lowering the gaze creates a
heart that is devoted to and focused on
Allah.
Letting the gaze wander.
Letting the gaze wander from here to there,
taking in anything that we see, whether it
is permissible, whether it's impermissible, whether it is
undesirable.
Letting the gaze wander distracts the heart and
keeps it far from Allah. And he goes
on to say there is nothing more harmful
to a person than letting his gaze wander
as it creates alienation
between a person and his lord or her
lord.
What does it do? It creates alienation
between a person in their relationship with Allah
So restraining and controlling the gaze
creates a heart that is devoted to and
focused on Allah
It create it strengthens the heart and brings
it peace
just as letting the gaze wander weakens it
and makes it sad.
It strengthens the heart. So if a person
is able to restrain their gaze, control their
gaze,
it will end up strengthening their heart and
bringing them peace.
And if they let it wander,
it will make them weak and will lead
to sadness.
It brings light to the heart just as
letting the gaze
wander brings darkness to it.
So if you want to get closer to
Allah
if you want to gain the spiritual benefits
of the closeness to Allah
the happiness and the peace that comes from
his obedience,
then restraining the gaze is a major part
of that. Says it generates true insight which
can distinguish between truth and falsehood,
between sincerity and lies.
Allah
rewards his servants for his good deeds, for
their good deeds with something similar. And if
they give up something for the sake of
Allah,
Allah will compensate them with something better than
it.
So if
he lowers his gaze and refrains from looking
at things that Allah
has forbidden,
Allah will compensate him with enlightenment.
He will compensate him for restraining his gaze
for the sake of Allah and will open
to him
for him or open to him the doors
of knowledge, faith, and true insight, which he
only attained by means of this light in
his heart.
And the opposite of that is spiritual blindness,
which is the opposite of insight.
Right? So all of this is connected. What
we do with the various parts of our
bodies, the little choices that we make, they
are all connected
to the state of our heart. They are
connected to our spirituality. They are connected to
our connection with Allah
He says it blocks the shaydhan from a
means of entering his heart, for he may
enter with looking
and penetrate the heart faster than the wind
blowing through an empty space.
And he may present to him the image
that he looked at and make it attractive
like an idol to which his heart becomes
devoted.
Then he encourages him and gives him hopes
and fans the flames of desires in his
heart, adding the fuel of sin which could
not have reached his heart without looking at
that image. So it started with that look.
It started with that look. The thought entered
the mind, so it was a it was
a gateway into a person's heart and person's
mind. The waswas, the the the the waswas
through shaitan, they start, the,
the the evil temptations start,
and
what he looked at becomes attractive,
and
it becomes like an idol to which his
heart becomes devoted.
And then there are hopes and fantasies
and flaming
the desires of the heart. And then he's
gone,
meaning his his devotion his focus is gone.
He just focused on that God and that
temptation.
So his heart becomes inflamed and surrounded with
fire on all sides resulting in infatuation and
frustration, and he's in the midst of it
like a lamb in the oven. He's stuck
surrounded
just because of allowing
shaitan to use that pathway into the heart.
Finally, he says between the eyes and the
heart, there is a connection, which means
that the one is affected by the other.
If one of them becomes good, meaning the
heart and the eyes,
then the other will also become good.
And if one becomes corrupt, the other will
become corrupt as well. If the heart becomes
corrupt, the gaze will become corrupt. And if
the gaze becomes corrupt, then the heart will
become corrupt. And, similarly, if one is sound,
then the other will also be sound.
So, brothers and sisters, these eyes, these ability
this ability to see is a great blessing
of Allah
If we train ourselves to control it,
we cannot only protect ourselves from many spiritual
and psychological and emotional harms, but we also
gain many spiritual benefits and blessings
as well. Messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam
said as related by Abu Muhammad radiAllahu an,
The prophet said, assure 6 deeds for me
and I will assure for you Jannah.
Assure for me 6 deeds
and I will assure for you Jannah.
When you speak,
do not lie.
When you speak, do not lie.
When you
promise, do not break it.
When you are trusted, do not betray it.
Lower your gaze.
Guard your chastity.
Restrain your hands from harming others.
If you could do these 6 things, the
prophet
said, I assure for you, Jannah.
Six things. And among them,
lowering your case.
So this, my brothers and sisters, is something
which is extremely important. And the reason why
I'm emphasizing
this, because this is one of the ills,
the spiritual ills that we cannot see,
but it's an epidemic.
It's an epidemic.
It's going right across the board, but we
can't tell. We can't see,
And it makes a person hollow on the
inside.
And there's traps that are set, by the
way,
in this dunya
for people, especially who who appear to be
religious, who claim to be religious, but they
can't control their gaze, and they fall into
that trap,
and then they're blackmailed.
Because they think nobody knows what they're looking
at and what they're watching on their devices,
but actually somebody does apart from Allah.
Allah obviously knows the angels
know. Right? But there's others who also know.
And there's so much embarrassment associated with that,
they get blackmailed,
and then they do whatever they're asked to
do. Allah
protect us all. Allah
grant us strength. May
Allah make our gaze blessed.
My brothers and sisters, as you know, there's
a very,