Imaam ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah rahimahullah
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Taken from 'al-Muntaqaa min Ighaathatul Lufhaan fee Masaayid ash-Shaytaan'
[pp.'s 102-105] of ibn al-Qayyim, summarised by Alee Hasan |
Allaah, the Exalted said,
"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their private parts; that will make for greater purity for them. Indeed Allaah is well acquainted with all that they do." [an-Nur (24):30]
So
Allaah made purification and spiritual growth to be the outcome of
lowering the gaze and guarding the private parts. It is for this reason
that lowrering ones gaze from (seeing) the prohibited things necessarily
leads to three benefits that carry tremendous value and are of great
significance.
The First: experiencing the delight and sweetness of faith.
This
delight and sweetness is far greater and more desirable that which
might have been attained from the object that one lowered his gaze from
for the sake of Allaah. Indeed, "whosoever
leaves something for the sake of Allaah then Allaah, the Mighty and
Magnificent, will replace it with something better than it." [1]
The
soul is a temptress and loves to look at beautiful forms and the eye is
the guide of the heart. The heart commissions its guide to go and look
to see what is there and when the eye informs it of a beautiful image it
shudders out of love and desire for it. Frequently such inter-relations
tire and wear down both the heart and the eye as is said:
When
you sent your eye as a guide For your heart one day, the object of
sight fatigued you For you saw one over whom you had no power Neither a
portion or in totality, instead you had to be patient.
Therefore
when the sight is prevented from looking and investigating the heart
finds relief from having to go through the arduous task of (vainly)
seeking and desiring.
Whosoever
lets his sight roam free will find that he is in a perpetual state of
loss and anguish for sight gives birth to love (mahabbah) the starting
point of which is the heart being devoted and dependant upon that which
it beholds. This then intensifies to become fervent longing (sabaabah)
whereby the heart becomes totally dependant and devoted to the (object
of its desire). Then this further intensifies and becomes infatuation
(gharaamah) which clings to the heart like the one seeking repayment of a
debt clings firmly to the one who has to pay the debt. Then this
intensifies and becomes passionate love (ishk) and this is a love that
transgresses all bounds. Then this further intensifies and becomes
crazed passion (shaghafa) and this a love that encompasses every tiny
part of the heart. Then this intensifies and becomes worshipful love
(tatayyuma). Tatayyum means worship and it is said: tayyama Allaah i.e.
he worshipped Allaah.
Hence
the heart begins to worship that which is not correct for it to worship
and the reason behind all of this was an illegal glance. The heart is
now bound in chains whereas before it used to be the master, it is now
imprisoned whereas before it was free. It has been oppressed by the eye
and it complains to it upon which the eye replies: I am your guide and
messenger and it was you who sent me in the first place!
All
that has been mentioned applies to the heart that has relinquished the
love of Allaah and being sincere to Him for indeed the heart must have
an object of love that it devotes itself to. Therefore when the heart
does not love Allaah Alone and does not take Him as its God then it must
worship something else.
Allaah said concerning Yusuf as-Siddeeq 'alayhis salaam,
"Thus (did We order) so that We might turn away from him all evil and indecent actions for he was one of Our sincere servants." [Yusuf (12): 24]
It
was because the wife of al-Azeez was a polytheist that (the passionate
love) entered her heart despite her being married. It was because Yusuf
'alayhis salaam was sincere to Allaah that he was saved from it despite
his being a young man, unamarried and a servant.
The Second: the illumination of the heart, clear perception and penetrating insight.
Ibn
Shujaa` al-Kirmaanee said, "whosoever builds his outward form upon
following the Sunnah, his internal form upon perpetual contemplation and
awareness of Allaah, he restrains his soul from following desires, he
lowers his gaze from the forbidden things and he always eats the lawful
things then his perception and insight shall never be wrong."
Allaah mentioned the people of Lut and what they were afflicted with and then He went on to say,
"Indeed in this are signs for the Mutawassimeen." [al-Hijr (15): 75]
The
Mutwassimeen are those who have clear perception and penetrating
insight, those who are secure from looking at the unlawful and
performing indecent acts.
Allaah said after mentioning the verse concerning lowering the gaze,
"Allaah is the Light of the heavens and the earth." [an-Nur (24): 35]
The
reason behind this is that the reward is of the same type as the
action. So whosoever lowers his gaze from the unlawful for the sake of
Allaah, the Mighty and Magnificent, He will replace it with something
better than it of the same type. So just as the servant restrained the
light of his eye from falling upon the unlawful, Allaah blesses the
light of his sight and heart thereby making him perceive what he would
not have seen and understood had he not lowered his gaze.
This
is a matter that the person can physically sense in himself for the
heart is like a mirror and the base desires are like rust upon it. When
the mirror is polished and cleaned of the rust then it will reflect the
realities (haqaa`iq) as they actually are. However if it remains rusty
then it will not reflect properly and therefore its knowledge and speech
will arise from conjecture and doubt.
The Third: the heart becoming strong, firm and courageous.
Allaah
will give it the might of aid for its strength just as He gave it the
might of clear proofs for its light. Hence the heart shall combine both
of these factors and as a result, Shaytaan shall flee from it. It is
mentioned in the narration, "whosoever opposes his base desires, the Shaytaan shall flee in terror from his shade." [2]
This
is why the one who follows his base desires shall find in himself the
ignominy of the soul, its being weak, feeble and contemptible. Indeed
Allaah places nobilty for the one who obeys Him and disgrace for the one
who disobeys Him,
"So do not lose heart nor fall into despair; for you must gain mastery if you are true in faith." [Aali Imraan(3): 139]"If any do seek for nobilty and power then to Allaah belongs all nobility and power." [Faatir(35): 10]
Meaning
that whosoever seeks after disobedience and sin then Allaah, the Might
and Magnificent, will humiliate the one who disobeys Him.
Some
of the salaf said, "the people seek nobilty and power at the door of
the Kings and they will not find it except through the obedience of
Allaah."
This
is because the one who who obeys Allaah has taken Allaah as his friend
and protector and Allaah will never humiliate the one who takes his Lord
as friend and patron. In the Du`aa Qunut their occurs, "the one who You take as a friend is not humiliated and the one who You take as an enemy is not ennobled." [3]
FOOTNOTES:
- Reported by Ahmad [5/363], al-Marwazee in 'Zawaa`id az-Zuhd' [no. 412], an-Nasaa`ee in 'al-Kubraa' as mentioned in 'Tuhfah al-Ashraaf' [11/199] from one of the Companions that the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) said, "indeed you will not leave anything for the sake of Allaah except that Allaah will replace it with something better than it." The isnaad is saheeh.
- This is not established as a hadeeth of the Prophet (SAW)
- Reported by Abu Daawood [Eng. Trans. 1/374 no. 1420], an-Nasaa`ee [3/248], at-Tirmidhee [no. 464], ibn Maajah [no. 1178], ad-Daarimee [1/311], Ahmad [1/199], ibn Khuzaymah [2/151] from al-Hasan from Alee (RA). The hadeeth is saheeh. The isnaad has been critcised by many, however none of the critcisms hold. Refer to: 'Nasb ar-Raayah' [2/125] and 'Talkhees al-Habeer' [1/247]
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