20 Tips for lowering the gaze

Shari `ah came to forbid the ways that lead
to immorality, one of which is looking at non-mahram women. (A mahram is a
close blood relative whom one may not marry.) Almighty Allah says:

 “Tell the believing men to lower their gaze
(from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from
illegal sexual acts)” (An-Nur 24:30).

 In his
commentary on this verse, Imam Ibn Kathir wrote

This is a command from Allah to His believing
slaves to lower their gaze and refrain from looking at that which is forbidden
to them. So they should not look at anything except that which they are
permitted to look at, and they should lower their gaze and refrain from looking
at forbidden things. If it so happens that a person’s gaze accidentally falls
upon something forbidden, he should quickly avert his gaze.

It was narrated that Jarir ibn `Abdullah
said, “I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings be upon him) about an accidental glance, and he commanded me to avert
my gaze”
(Muslim).

 Imam
An-Nawawi said

What is meant by an “accidental glance” is
when a person’s glance unintentionally falls upon a non-mahram woman. There is
no sin on him for the first glance, but he must avert his gaze immediately. If
he averts his gaze immediately there is no sin on him, but if he continues
looking, then he will be a sinner, because of this hadith, for the Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him) commanded him to avert his gaze, and Allah
says:

 “Tell the believing men to lower their gaze
(from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from
illegal sexual acts)” (An-Nur 24:
30).

Men must lower their gaze and refrain from
looking at forbidden things in all circumstances, unless there is a valid
reason, such as giving testimony, giving medical treatment, proposing marriage,
engaging in financial transactions such as buying and selling, and so on. In
all these cases it is permissible to look as much as is required, and no more.

There are measures to help you lower your
gaze, and we ask Allah to help you to take them:

1.Bear
in mind that Allah is watching you,  that
He sees you and is with you (by His knowledge) wherever you go. It may be a
secretive glance of which your closest neighbor is unaware, but Allah knows of
it:

“Allah knows the fraud of the
eyes, and all that the hearts conceal” (Ghafir 40:19).

2.Seek
the help of Allah, beseeching Him and calling upon Him. Almighty Allah says:

 “And your Lord said: Invoke Me [i.e. believe in My Oneness
(Islamic Monotheism) and ask Me for anything] I will respond to your
(invocation)” (Ghafir 40:60).

3.Know
that every blessing you enjoy comes from Allah and requires that you should
give thanks for it. Part of being grateful for the blessing of sight means that
you should protect it from looking at what Allah has forbidden. Is there any
reward for a good deed, other than good? Allah says:

“And whatever of blessings and
good things you have, it is from Allah” (An-Nahl
16:53).

4.Strive
with yourself and train yourself to lower your gaze and be patient in doing so,
and never give up. Allah says:

 “As
for those who strive hard in Us (Our Cause), We will surely guide them to Our
paths” (Al-`Ankabut 29:69).

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
said, “Whoever seeks to be chaste, Allah will make him chaste,
and whoever seeks to be independent of means, Allah will make him independent
of means, and whoever strives to be patient, Allah will make him patient” (Al-Bukhari).

5.Avoid
places where you feel you will be tempted to look, if you can manage to avoid
them, such as marketplaces or malls, and avoid sitting idle in the street.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
said, “Beware of sitting in the street.” They said,
“We have no alternative; that is where we sit and talk.” He said, “If you
insist on sitting there, then give the street its rights.” They said, “What are
the rights of the street?” He said, “Lowering the gaze and refraining from
causing offense” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim).

6.Realize
that you have no choice in this matter, regardless of what the circumstances
are, no matter how great the temptation is or the motive to do evil, and no
matter what emotions and overwhelming desires stir within your heart. You must
lower your gaze and refrain from looking at forbidden things in all places and
at all times. You cannot use excuses such as the environment being corrupt, or
justify your mistakes by saying that you are surrounded by temptation.

7.Do
a lot of voluntary acts of worship because do so while also regularly doing the
obligatory acts of worship is a means of protecting your physical faculties.
According to a hadith qudsi, Allah said, “And My
slave continues to draw close to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall
love him. And when I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing
with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he
walks. Were he to ask (something) of Me, I would surely give it to him, and
were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it” (Al-Bukhari).

8.Remember
that the earth on which sin is committed will bear witness for or against us.
Allah says:

 “That Day it will declare its information (about all that
happened over it of good or evil)” (Az-Zalzalah
99:4).

9.Bear
in mind some of the texts that forbid one from letting the gaze wander freely,
such as the verse in which Allah says:

“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze
(from looking at forbidden things)” (An-Nur 24:30).

10.Avoid
unnecessary looks so that you only look at what is needed and you do not allow
your gaze to wander right and left so that it falls upon something whose
effects and temptation cannot be got rid of quickly.

11.Remember
that marriage is one of the most effective remedies. The Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever can
afford it, let him get married, for it is more effective in lowering the gaze
and in guarding one’s chastity. And whoever cannot afford it, let him fast, for
it will be a shield for him” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim).

12.Remember
the hour is (maidens in Paradise), which thought will motivate you to be
patient in avoiding that which Allah has forbidden, hoping to obtain this
blessing. Allah said:

“Companions of equal age” (An-Naba’ 78:33).

 And
the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “If
a woman of the people of Paradise were to look out over the people of this
earth, it would light up everything in between and fill it with fragrance, and
the veil of her head is better than this world and everything in it”
(Al-Bukhari).

13.Bear
in mind the shortcomings of the one who takes your attention and tempts you to
look at her, and keep in mind the filth and waste material that is carried in
the gut.

14.Check
yourself from time to time and strive to make yourself lower your gaze while
being patient, realizing that everyone makes mistakes.

15.Think
of the pain and regret that will result from this look and the negative effects
of allowing your gaze to wander.

16.Understand
the benefits of lowering your gaze, as mentioned above.

17.Bring
up this topic during meetings and gatherings, and explain its dangers to
others.

18.Advise
your relatives, telling them not to wear clothes that attract attention and
show their beauty, and to take care how they walk and talk.

19.Ward
off passing thoughts and the whispers of Satan before they take hold and are
acted upon. Whoever lowers his gaze after the first glance will be saved from
innumerable problems, but if he continues to look he cannot be certain that
seeds that will be difficult to remove will not be planted in his heart.

20.Be
afraid of an evil end and of a feeling of great regret at the point of death.

By Sheikh M. S. Al-Munajjid

* Excerpted, with slight modifications, from:
www.islam-qa.com.

**Sheikh M. S. Al-Munajjid is a prominent
Saudi Muslim lecturer and author.