Hijab of the Eye:
Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (peace be upon him) has said, "The evil glance is fornication of the eyes, the kiss is fornication of the lips, and touching a non-Mahram woman is fornication of the hands." (Wasail al-Shia) In today's hypersexualized Western society, many of us would rather just ignore the concept of lowering the gaze and avoiding inappropriate glances at females all together. And there is no harm in "just looking", right? Yet one minor glance can have a spiritually disastrous effect on the human being. Prophet Isa (peace be upon him) once said to his disciples: "Beware of looking at forbidden things, for that is the seed of desire and leads to deviant behavior." (Lantern of the Path) Many of us might believe in "lowering the gaze", but this is an aspect of our Hijab that most of us still need to perfect. In addition to not looking at non-Mahrams, prudence dictates that we should avoid looking at pictures, billboards, magazines, as well as television programs and movies with images of non- Mahram women. Even a few inappropriate glances at non-Mahrams can over time cause one to abandon his modesty and openly start "checking out" girls. From a psychological point of view, the things we perceive with our eyes during the course of the day are stored in our memory. These images then subconsciously "accumulate" and slowly lead a person to physically manifest them. Hence the alarming rate of Muslim youth today who have become addicted to pornography and cannot help but satisfy their desires through unlawful means. The despicable act of masturbation, so widespread among Muslim youth today, can only be avoided by stopping such images and thoughts from accumulating in our minds in the first place – and that can only be achieved by lowering the gaze at any and all times. In addition to preventing us from committing vulgar and sinful behavior, the spiritual benefits one attains from observing proper Hijab of the eye are innumerable. In short, our beloved Prophet has said, "Lower your gaze, and you will see wonders!" For those who still find this obligation a bit cumbersome, let's get down to the core of the matter and recall the Golden Rule: how would you feel if someone entertained lewd thoughts or glanced inappropriately at your own mother, sister, wife, or daughter? Exactly.
Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (peace be upon him) has said, "The evil glance is fornication of the eyes, the kiss is fornication of the lips, and touching a non-Mahram woman is fornication of the hands." (Wasail al-Shia) In today's hypersexualized Western society, many of us would rather just ignore the concept of lowering the gaze and avoiding inappropriate glances at females all together. And there is no harm in "just looking", right? Yet one minor glance can have a spiritually disastrous effect on the human being. Prophet Isa (peace be upon him) once said to his disciples: "Beware of looking at forbidden things, for that is the seed of desire and leads to deviant behavior." (Lantern of the Path) Many of us might believe in "lowering the gaze", but this is an aspect of our Hijab that most of us still need to perfect. In addition to not looking at non-Mahrams, prudence dictates that we should avoid looking at pictures, billboards, magazines, as well as television programs and movies with images of non- Mahram women. Even a few inappropriate glances at non-Mahrams can over time cause one to abandon his modesty and openly start "checking out" girls. From a psychological point of view, the things we perceive with our eyes during the course of the day are stored in our memory. These images then subconsciously "accumulate" and slowly lead a person to physically manifest them. Hence the alarming rate of Muslim youth today who have become addicted to pornography and cannot help but satisfy their desires through unlawful means. The despicable act of masturbation, so widespread among Muslim youth today, can only be avoided by stopping such images and thoughts from accumulating in our minds in the first place – and that can only be achieved by lowering the gaze at any and all times. In addition to preventing us from committing vulgar and sinful behavior, the spiritual benefits one attains from observing proper Hijab of the eye are innumerable. In short, our beloved Prophet has said, "Lower your gaze, and you will see wonders!" For those who still find this obligation a bit cumbersome, let's get down to the core of the matter and recall the Golden Rule: how would you feel if someone entertained lewd thoughts or glanced inappropriately at your own mother, sister, wife, or daughter? Exactly.
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