Sikander Hashmi – Treachery of the Eyes KMA Friday Message
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AI: Transcript ©
Respected elders,
your brothers and sisters, my young friends,
The brothers can please come forward and fill
in the gaps.
My brothers and sisters, we find ourselves
47 days out of the month of Ramadan
and about 13 days
away from the
10
best and blessed days of the year,
which are the 1st 10 days of the
month of Hajj, of the month of Dharmjah.
My brothers and sisters, that will be the
next stop for us
because as we are going through our daily
routines
and our activities and our responsibilities,
we get caught up in our daily tasks,
in our obligations,
in the distractions.
When these opportunities come, we get a chance
to stop
and reflect
and pay attention,
especially
we know we should be doing it more
often, but it gives us an opportunity to
reflect
on our spirituality,
on our relationship with Allah
And most importantly, when the value of the
deeds are increased, when there is
ex when there are extra incentives
for doing good deeds and extra forgiveness of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
it gives us an opportunity to fill or
refill
our buckets
that may be leaking since the month of
Ramadan. And we talked about this as Ramadan
was coming to an end. And one of
the biggest leaks in our bucket of good
deeds
because we have a bucket of good deeds
we came out with from Ramadan,
and then perhaps it started leaking naturally because
of the environment. You know, it's like your
meat or frozen food that's in the freezer
and the power goes out. And the first
few hours, it's fine, but then what happens?
Eventually,
the heat from the outside starts seeping into
the freezer. And because there is no cold
coming from the freezer because there's no power,
the food food inside starts to defrost.
So, similarly,
the good deeds, they also begin to
melt away. They also start to leak away
depending on
how which environment or what type of environment
we find ourselves in and the types of
activities that we engage in. So my brothers
and sisters, one of the biggest leaks in
our bucket of good deeds and one of
the lethal ways in which our spirituality
can be affected is by what we choose
to look at.
See, while we while our eyes
send a signal to our brain,
what we see,
if it is unhealthy,
can severely compromise our spiritual health and our
well-being.
So it's not just a matter of we
see and it goes away, but rather everything
that we see has an effect here
and has an effect here as well. And,
of course, if it is displeasing to Allah
it counts as
a sin.
Now many of us may be thinking, you
know, this doesn't really apply to me. I
have nothing really to worry about. You know,
this is not my I'm not that type
of person. This is not my character.
I'm not the, you know, the type of
person who looks at those who are who
are dressed indecently or, you know, who are
showing parts of their bodies that are meant
to be covered or things that shouldn't be
looked at. I'm not that type of person,
so I don't need to listen to this,
and I don't need to worry about this.
Let us be clear, my brothers and sisters,
that that is not the only thing that
we're talking about because the topic of what
we see with our eyes is much more
broad than that. It's much more broad than
only, you know,
purposely
staring at someone or something
because it has to do with what we
are consuming through our eyes at any given
moment. Now, of course, when the weather is
warm, summertime is here, it is more difficult
because,
you know, people are generally dressed very lightly
or barely so.
But it also applies to the type of
content that we take in, whether it's, the
movies that we watch or what we do
on the Internet,
TV shows that we watch, our families watch,
that our children watch. And, you know, we
may we may also think that this issue
doesn't affect us because, you know, we are
a refined community,
We are an educated community. We don't need
to you know, these things don't affect us.
But the reality is, my brothers and sisters,
that so many people are affected by this,
brothers as well as sisters, young as well
as old, knowingly or unknowingly. So it's a
widespread phenomena. It's a widespread problem and issue
that we have to be conscious about and
that we need to talk about. When we
look outside of our community, we find all
types of people who are falling into this
trap, who are falling into this pit of
being in a situation where they are looking
at and watching and perhaps even addicted to
looking at things which are displeasing to Allah
and which are harmful for them. From politicians
to older people with, you know, with very
high positions in society, nobody is immune. This
problem cuts across the board, unfortunate. Sadly, there
is a market
for
actually at the top globally
for
searches of this type of material. Now, you
know, you can have various theories as to
why that is the case, maybe because, you
know, people don't
look at things openly, so then they therefore
go and watch things, you know, when no
one else is watching. Whatever the reason may
be, the reality is that it is an
issue and it is a problem right across
the board. So for starters, my brothers and
sisters, let's try to understand the importance of
restraining our eyes. Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us in the
Quran and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala equally addresses
women as well.
Ibn Kasir Rahimahullah
explains this by saying that this is a
command from Allah
to his believing servants,
male and female, to lower their gaze from
looking at things that have been prohibited
for them, which means that they should only
look at what is permissible for them to
look at and lower their gaze from forbidden
things. Now if it so happens that a
person's gaze
unintentionally
falls upon something which is forbidden, because, you
know, it can happen and it does happen
very frequently, especially if, you know, if if
that which is forbidden to look at becomes
very common, then it is very much possible
that unintentionally
you end up, looking at something that you
don't wanna look at and you shouldn't be
looking at, and you don't have, you know,
much control over that
in in, you know, at the onset. So
at that point, he or she should look
away quickly. This is a command of Allah
and the prophet
has also explained
how different parts of the body can commit
fornication and adultery, including the eyes.
So when Allah
has prohibited the act of committing fornication,
zina, it is not only
in the
exact sense that it is understood but rather
it is broader than that because the prophet
sallallahu alaihi wasallam said
that
that the eyes, their zina is the lustful
look. So their various parts of the bodies
actually also are capable of
have the ability
to commit zina, to commit fornication,
however, each in their own way, and the
eyes, their zina is the lustful look. Now
in the Quran, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells
us clearly
not to come near fornication and adultery, not
to come near zina. So the prophet Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala does not say, do not
commit Zina but rather
do not even come near this action.
Now so thus we understand
that also means that do not come even
near the fornication
which is committed by the eyes. Now unfortunately,
you know, it is not only common in
the society in which we live in, but
even,
you know, perhaps more so in in Muslim
majority societies where we find that sisters, that
women are gawked at, are stared at, even
physically assaulted in the markets and the streets.
And this, my brothers and sisters, should be
clear that this is a disgraceful behavior. What
is this? This is shameful and
disgraceful
behavior because Allah
teaches us to respect the opposite gender even
with our eyes.
Even
with our eyes. So when someone asks me,
someone who's a Muslim asks me, okay. Well,
what about, you know, how are women treated
in Islam and what is, you know, what
do you learn about treating women? I say
that Allah
has commanded the believing believing men to even
respect women with their eyes.
Even with the way they look at them
and the way they think about them, we
are taught to even be respectful with that.
Now if by mistake it happens that you
end up looking at someone or something which
is is not permissible to look at, then
we are not to savor that moment.
We are not to savor that moment because
sometimes people feel that maybe the first glance
is forgiven.
So, you know, because, the prophet sallallahu alaihi
wasallam was told Sayna Ali radiAllahu an,
That o Ali, do not follow a glance
with another for you will be forgiven for
the first but not for the second. So
that does not mean that the first glance
because it is forgiven because it was unintentional
that you continue to prolong it for as
long as you want. It means that
that you continue to prolong it for as
long as you want. It means that as
soon as you realize that you're looking at
something that you're not supposed to look at,
you immediately turn away and you stop and
desist from that action and
because it was unintentional, because you had no
intention
of of of savoring,
you know, that look and to to enjoy
it and it was my mistake, then
will forgive it. Now my brothers and sisters,
know, we talk about
society and we say, you know, this is
what's happening and people are not just properly
and it's so hard for us. But if
you look at our own conduct, if you
look at our own behavior, for example, if
you look at our own parties and weddings,
especially, right, where there's so much unrestrained public
display of beauty, which is prohibited by itself.
It attracts people. Right? It attracts people who
feast off this, unfortunately.
Right? The diseased hearts,
their actions
are are actions which perhaps we we do
not understand or if someone who does not
have a disease or heart, they're not able
to comprehend that it actually or or realize
that it actually happens, but it does that
there are actually people who will go to
such events. They will go to gatherings
where people will be dressed up, where they
know that beauty will be displayed so that
they can feast off of that and they
can go check people out. So this is
a challenge, my brothers and sisters, to all
believers that when you come across someone or
something that you should not be looking at,
then turn away and challenge yourself not to
go back for the second look, and especially
especially if there is some desire to look
at it. Of course, there may be exceptions
for work reasons or other needs where you
have to communicate and you have to look
at someone or maybe it's disrespectful if you,
you know, if if you completely turn away.
That those may be exceptions.
But the point is that when you have
no need to look and especially when there's
a desire to look,
challenge yourself not to look challenge yourself to
turn away and not to look again. And
similarly, if you are online and you come
across content that you should not be looking
at, challenge yourself not to click at it
click on it and to not to continue
looking at it. And if you think you're
a man and you are strong,
then show your strength in restraining yourself.
Show your strength in restraining your and restraining
yourself from looking at that
which is haram and which is actually harmful
for you because this is the true strength
and true willpower.
And this not only applies to men, but
also applies to women as well because there
are women,
young women, perhaps even old, who enjoy looking
at other men who are not related to
them. And perhaps they start idolizing them,
you know, especially famous figures
or or,
singers. And, subhanAllah,
sometimes even shuyu.
Sometimes even
shuyuh. You know, there's a thing called shayhi
crushes. Okay. So this is a reality. May
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us all. This
is a reality,
a fitna, that can affect anyone and everyone.
So this is something we have to be
mindful about and we must be careful about
because this is part of the test of
this dunya. This is part of the temptations
that we have to face. And just because,
you know, you you have these temptations or
challenges doesn't necessarily mean that you're a bad
person, but rather what dictates
our status in front of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala is how we channel these feelings and
these thoughts, whether we are able to restrain
them or not. And even if we're not
able to restrain ourselves, we are weak because
Allah has created us weak. It's not an
excuse to act upon it. But let's say
we fall and we slip, then the feeling
we get after that, if we are repentant
and return to Allah
seeking forgiveness and seeking his assistance and having
a feeling that we have done something that
we shouldn't have done and being humble about
it and and and being repentant about it,
feeling guilty about it, then
will forgive us.
Allah
warns us that he knows what we are
watching.
Allah tells us that he knows the fraud,
the treachery of the eyes, and all that
the chest conceal.
So the treachery of the eyes. Right? Every
single look that you steal, that you enjoy,
but, you you know, that you enjoy looking
at something that you're not supposed to look
at, no one else may know, but Allah
knows.
Allah knows and Allah knows of this fraud,
of this treachery that is committed with the
eyes.
Why? Because
by looking at you, perhaps no one could
imagine or would imagine that you would do
such a thing. But because no one can
read your mind and no one can read
your eyes, most of the time, sometimes you
can tell, But because most of the time
people cannot read our eyes, then you end
up taking advantage of that. So know that
all of that is noticed is being watched
by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and is being
recorded by the angels.
There's 2 things here. 1 is Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala is always watching us. So having
that realization
but also that there are witnesses that Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala has appointed who are recording
everything which will be a proof and testimony
against us. One thing is somebody does an
action and somebody sees them but nobody recorded
it. There's no dashcam footage. There's no video
footage. There was no security footage. So it's
only the word of 1 person. Of course,
in the case of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is a decider. So
even him knowing is more than enough for
any decision. But furthermore, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
Allah has established that there is going to
be a proof, a record of every single
action.
So it's double now. It's Allah watching us
and the angels recording us which will be
brought to us on the day of judgment.
Every single sight, every single glance is recorded,
and we will be held accountable for that
to the point that perhaps our eyes even
may be willing to testify
against us as Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala tells
us about his enemies.
Till when they reach it meaning the hellfire,
they're hearing their ears and their eyes, and
their skins
will testify
against them
as to what they used to do.
So the truth comes out. There is no
control over it. Right? Even in this life,
sometimes the tools the truth comes out. We're
not able to control it. Maybe we probably
saw the video of former president Bush trying
to talk about Ukraine, but the truth came
out about Iraq.
So the truth is gonna come out.
In this dunya, perhaps,
you lose control. Right? It's a lapse. It
comes out. So if a person, a human
being, can lose control of the truth in
this world,
how is anyone gonna control the truth in
the hereafter in front of Allah
You can't.
As the tongue speaks the truth today when
a person loses control, on the day of
judgment, Allah will allow the skin and the
eyes and the tongue and the various parts
of the bodies to speak as well. How
is the truth going to be controlled then?
So imagine speaking in front of Allah
and your eyes are speaking, detailing every single
little indecent thing that you used to look
at.
Whether it was outside publicly, whether it was
on the television screen, whether it was on
your device
alone in the dark, All details in front
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So my brothers
and sisters, what face are we going to
show Allah
when he asks us about every single one
of those glances?
So let us not deceive ourselves thinking that
it has no effect on us and our
faith because as it is said, al nazratul
sahamu min siham iblis, the furtive glance is
one of the poisoned arrows of shaitan. What
is it? One of the poisoned arrows of
shaitan
which goes straight to the heart and spills
and spreads throughout the body can leave parts
of the body dead. In the same way,
just like poison can do that to a
body, in the same way these blanches are
like poison poison that go into a person's
spirituality
causing spiritual weakness or even spiritual death.
Right? The iman becomes weak. It cultivates
or or or faults and hopes and desires
and fantasies are cultivated,
distorting our perception of reality. Thus, you find
men and women who have shallow expectations of
one another.
And when they are not realized in marriage,
it causes problems.
Right? This is a serial mental problem as
well because it affects the person's thinking, their
psychology. It's almost the addictions are almost like
a drug. It literally rewires your brain.
And you say marriage is a solution, and
a person gets married and they have unrealistic
expectations. And then they have problems, and then
they end up in my office as an
example. Right? So my brothers and sisters, if
you fall into it once, it leads into
doing it twice and leads to doing
doing it 3 times, and the cycle continues
to the per point where a person becomes
desensitized.
And
the the, the there's an effect of cumulative
exposure even if it doesn't seem so bad,
even if it's something that you consider minor.
Right?
A bad scene becomes not so bad. It
becomes normal.
And that type of behavior becomes normalized as
well, making it easier for that person to
go down the path of sin. So be
extremely careful, my brothers and sisters. Pay attention
to what your children are watching. Pay attention
to what you are watching, what messages they
are getting and you are getting, and what
you are all picking up. Now how to
push back and how to resist these temptations
can be very, very challenging, so a few
pointers, Insha'Allah. First of all, increase the remembrance
of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. The remembrance of
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is literally the best
defense. Do not under underestimate its power
and the power of of reciting and making
dua and the dhikr of Allah The more
you do that, the stronger your defenses will
be. The less dhikr you have in your
life, the weaker your defenses will be. It's
as simple as that. Remember accountability,
that you are responsible for your actions and
you will be taken to account by Allah
so is it really worth it?
Spend time with those of of noble character
and modesty.
Good people are a good influence. They can
remind you that such behavior is unacceptable, and
you can have positive peer pressure.
Avoid friends that are into bad and immoral
jokes and bad and immoral movies and videos
because this is how a person gets sucked
in and trapped in this artificial world of
fantasies and desires and false hopes. Avoid watching
television
or surfing the Internet alone
or visiting malls and parks alone because shaitan
tries to catch you when you are alone
because you have your assurance that no one
is watching over you.
So try to have good company around you,
and especially when it comes to using the
Internet. I know it's hard because everyone has
access on their phones and on their devices,
but try to take away every opportunity to
be on your device alone because that is
the door that leads to this problem. Increase
your good actions because you try to follow
the advice of the prophet
who
said remain conscious of Allah and fear him
wherever wherever you are. Follow a bad deed
with a good deed, which will wipe it
out and behave well towards people. So if
you do find yourselves with this problem and
then with this addiction, of course, you make
dua, try to seek professional help, but also
every time you end up committing the sin,
try to follow it up with a good
deed. Right? Try to follow it up with
a good deed. Make a pact, a promise
to Allah that you will always follow it
up with a better deed, and
hopefully, you will be able to overcome this
problem with the help of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala. May Allah protect us all. May Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to exert control
over our gazes and to avoid that which
has a negative impact
on our souls and our faith. Amin
My brothers and sisters, we have, sad news.
So the, mother of brother Adnan Shahid passed
away in Pakistan.
The,
father of sister, Wafaa, and brother father-in-law of
brother Ahmed Ahmed passed away in Egypt.
And, the mother of brothers, Eiman Ahmed and
Muhammad Amar, passed away here in Ottawa.
So we may dwell for all of them
and everyone who has passed away.