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Shah Hakeem Muhammed Akthar Saheb Rahmatullahi Alaihi mentions 14 harms of casting evil glances,
Harm No.1
Casting evil glances is forbidden by the clear and explicit command of the Quraan. Allah Ta’laa says :
قُلْ لِّـلۡمُؤۡمِنِيۡنَ يَغُـضُّوۡا مِنۡ اَبۡصَارِهِمۡ وَيَحۡفَظُوۡا فُرُوۡجَهُمۡ
“O Nabi (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), tell the believing men that they must lower their gazes and protect their private parts” (Surah Nur; Verse 30; Juz 18)
وَقُلْ لِّـلۡمُؤۡمِنٰتِ يَغۡضُضۡنَ مِنۡ اَبۡصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحۡفَظۡنَ فُرُوۡجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبۡدِيۡنَ زِيۡنَتَهُنَّ
“And say to the believing women that they must lower their gazes and guard their private parts and must not expose their adornment” (Surah Nur; Verse 31 ; Juz 18)
Therefore, he (or she) casts evil glances opposing the clear and explicit command of the Qur’an, and one who opposes the clear and explicit command of Qur’an is guilty of committing a Haraam act. 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 Qur’an. In other words, he is disobeying Allah Ta’laa.
Harm No.2
The one who casts evil glances is breaching the trust of Allah Ta’laa.
Allah Ta’laa says:
“He knows the deception of the eyes and that which the hearts conceal.” (Surah Mu’min; Verse 18. Juz 24)
Allah Ta’laa uses the word Khiyanah, which means to commit mistrust. This indicates that we are not the owners of our eyes rather we have been entrusted with them. This is the reason why suicide is forbidden, because we are not the owners of our bodies. Allah Ta’laa has entrusted us with our bodies. Since they are a trust from Allah Ta’laa, to use it against His displeasure, to harm it or to put an end to it is forbidden. If we were owners of our bodies then perhaps we would have the right to use them the way we desire.
By not giving us the choice and freedom to utilize our bodies the way we desire, is the proof that this is a trust from Allah Ta’laa. To embezzle this trust of Allah Ta’laa is a great crime.
The one who casts evil glances is breaching and embezzling the trust of the sight which Allah Ta’laa has granted him. The breacher of this trust cannot become the friend of Allah Ta’laa. How beautifully the poet has said:
نظر کے چور کے سر پر نہیں ہے تاج ولایت جو متقی نہیں ہوتا اسے ولی نہیں کھتے
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
Harm No.3
Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) curses the one who casts evil glances. Rasullullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) says in a Hadith mentioned in Mishkaat Sharif:
“May the curse of Allah be upon the one who casts evil glances and the one who presents him/herself to be looked at.”
If casting evil glances was a minor sin then Rasulullah Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Sallam being a mercy to mankind would not have cursed its perpetrator. The curse of Nabi Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Sallam is a clear proof that this is a very despicable crime. The meaning of curse is to become distant from the mercy of Allah Ta’laa. Imam Raghib Isfahani (Rahmatullahi Alaihi) mentions in Mufradaatul Quraan that the definition of لعنة (curse) is:
البعد عن الرحمة
“To become distant from the mercy“
Thus, he who has become distant from the mercy of Allah Ta’laa 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.
Allah Ta’laa says:
“The Nafs abundantly commands evil” (Surah Yusuf; Verse 53, Juz 13)
So how is it possible to be saved from the evils of Nafs? Qur’an further says:
“Except by the mercy of my Sustainer“
From this, we understand that the only way to be saved from the evils of the Nafs is to come under the shade of Allah’s mercy. Allah Ta’laa who is the Creator of this Nafs Himself has proclaimed that those who are in His mercy will be saved. Therefore, the one who has come under the shade of,الا ما رحم ربي
, his Nafs did not remain امارة بالسوء (excessively commanding evil) rather became امارة بالخير (abundantly commanding good), This is why after the command of guarding the eyes, Allah Ta’laa mentions,
“Guard the private parts“
Because through the blessings of fulfilling the divine of command of Allah Ta’laa and saving oneself from the curse of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam one comes under the shade of Allah’s mercy. Now his private parts will be safeguarded .
From this, we conclude that the reward of guarding the eyes is that the private parts become safeguarded. On the contrary, if a person doe not guard his eyes then he cannot guard his private parts either and curses which descends upon him is a separate punishment on its own.
Harm No.4
An Action Of Stupidity
Hazrat Hakeemul Ummah Moulana Thanwi Rahmatullahi Alaihi has said: ” Every sin is a sign of stupidity and foolishness. Anyone who commits sin, then this is a sign that there is some deficiency in his intellect. He is disobeying such a Being in whose control is our life and death, our health and sickness, peace and comfort, good and evil end. If his intellect was sound, he would never commit sin. As for the one who casts evil glances, Hazrat says that he is extremely foolish. By casting glances, he attains nothing other than restlessness in his heart. By looking at a beauty, one never attains him/her, rather gets uneasiness and the heart becomes restless when one remembers him/her. Allah Ta’laa has granted me a new aspect of knowledge. To cause inconvenience to any Muslim or to bother him in any way is HARAAM. Now that person who is casting evil glances, is he not a Muslim? Is he not causing pain to himself? Is he not causing pain to himself and making his own heart restless? Therefore, the same way it is forbidden to cause pain and harm to any Muslim, it is likewise forbidden to cause pain to one’s own heart by making it restless and uneasy.
Harm No.5
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 is also felt when protecting the eyes. A person feels regret in his 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 casts evil glances at any beauty then one comes to know her shapes and features. “Her eyes are like this, her nose is like that and she has a model face..”
This grief is termed as “grief of known and recognized beauty” which is more severe and causes more restlessness and uneasiness in the heart. However, if one guards his eyes then this will be “regret of unknown and unrecognized beauty.” 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 glance and making oneself go through regret and grief of “known and recognized beauty,” the anger and wrath of Allah Ta’laa descends. As a result of this, the heart becomes restless and uneasy. One does not have a moment of contentment in the heart and life becomes bitter.
Therefore, there is a world of difference between two pains. One is a world of mercy and the other is world of curses and wrath. The difference between two grieves and pains is like the difference between Paradise and Hell-fire. Hence, the command of lowering the gaze is a great favour of Allah Ta’laa upon the believers. By making us go through the pain of “unknown and unrecognized beauty”, He saved us from the pain of “known and recognized beauty”
Just like the example of a person who gets stung by a mosquito and another gets bitten by a snake. The one who was stung by a mosquito thanks Allah Ta’laa that he was not bitten by the snake. Similarly, the pain and regret of guarding the eyes from unrecognized beauty” is like the stinging of a mosquito, and the pain and regret of “known and recognized beauty” is like the biting of a snake.”
Harm No.6
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 it to become weak and sickly. The curse of casting evil glances is that along with the eyes, the five senses and the entire body becomes agitated.
In the commentary of the verse:
“Indeed Allah Ta’laa is fully aware of what they do”
Allamah Aaloosi (Rahmatullahi Alaihi) in his Tafseer, Ruhul Ma’ni, has mentioned four commentaries of the above mentioned verse:
- باجالة النظر – Allah Ta’laa is aware of how you turn your eyes around to cast evil glances.
- باستعمال ساءر الحواس-The one who casts evil glances uses all five senses. By using the sight, he tries to look at the unlawful beauty; he uses hearing to listen to her unlawful voice; he uses his lips to try to get an unlawful kiss; through his touch, he desires to caress the beloved; through his sense of smell, he wishes to smell the beloved’s fragrance.
- بتحريك الجوارح – Allah is fully aware of the movements of all the limbs. Allah is watching how he uses his hands, legs and other limbs in order to obtain his beloved. Whereas the perpetrator is totally unaware that Allah Ta’laa is watching his every move.
- بما يقصدون بذالك- Allah Ta’laa is fully aware of his final aim and that is fornication. This is actually an informative sentence that has a warning concealed in it, that is: “I AM FULLY AWARE OF YOUR EVERY MOVE. IF YOU DO NOT ABSTAIN, THEN THERE WILL BE A SEVERE PUNISHMENT!” Thus, in this verse, there is an indication that he will be punished if he does not repent. Casting evil glances is the first stage towards fornication and illicit sexual intercourse, in which a person becomes shameless, makes himself naked and then humiliates and degrades himself in both worlds. This is why Allah Ta’laa forbade the very beginning stage of casting evil glances. The example of this sin is like an escalator that automatically takes a person to the final stage as soon as he puts on the first step. That action whose beginning is evil, what can be expected of the end result? Due to the fact that all the limbs and five senses of the one committing evil glances becomes agitated, and the heart becomes involved in a continuous struggle filthy and evil motives, the body and heart of such a person becomes weak and sickly.
Harm No.7
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
To be continued inshaa-Allah….
