Guarding the Gaze, and the Sound Heart

The Hadith Qudsi continues: whoever guards his gaze, naẓar, from what Allah (swt) has forbidden — SubḥānAllāh, and this applies to everyone alike — Allah (swt) will in turn protect his eyes from the heat of the fire of Jahannam. This, unfortunately, is among the present generation's greatest weaknesses: the concept of reading has largely been lost, replaced by a desire to be passively entertained in front of an idiot box, on YouTube, on the internet — any kicks, any laughs, hours spent in front of the monitor, surfing, simply because entertainment is wanted. The pop-up windows that appear cannot always be controlled, and where the right safeguards are not in place, all manner of ḥarām material is seen. The commanding self within, meanwhile, has already done its own work, its own feasibility study: it knows exactly what appeals to a given person, what particularly works on the young depending on their own habits, and it knows, from a person's own browsing history, exactly what turns him toward it, so that everything of that kind comes to him. A person looks at ḥarām material this way — but can the eyes be controlled, for the sake of Allah (swt)? Whoever guards his gaze from what is forbidden — Allah (swt) will save him from the fire, the heat of Jahannam. This is a promise of Allah (swt).

The society in which Muslims now live does not know or understand the concept of tasattur, covering, nor what ʿawrah is; everything, in the name of liberty, in the era of the commanding self, is made free and accessible, especially to the young, who find it correspondingly difficult to master their own desires. People do not understand the reason, the ḥikmah, the wisdom behind covering: human beings have a certain nature, and there are certain things they cannot simply control once a certain train of thought has been set in motion. With the commanding self, Shayṭān, and all his soldiers, junūd, the whole system ranged in support of them both, it becomes a very difficult struggle indeed. What, then, is to be done? Allah's (swt) purpose is to bring the heart, qalbun salīm, to Him in a state of purity — a sound heart:

— on the Day of Judgment, neither wealth nor children will be of any use; the only thing that will avail a person is a pure, sound heart brought to Allah (swt). This is not the physical organ, but the spiritual heart, the seat of a person's understanding and intelligence, where every decision is made, and everything — the senses, speech, the tongue, the eyes, the ears, touch, and the thoughts that result from them — constantly leaves its mark upon it. Yā Muqallib al-Qulūb, thabbit qalbī ʿalā dīnik — "O Turner of hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion" — is prayed precisely because Shayṭān is constantly working, fighting, to seize control of the heart, just as the angels work to keep it steady; a believer asks Allah (swt) to keep the heart steady upon His path.

Each of the senses forms an inlet to the heart and can, in turn, be governed: when the ḥarām is present, the shutters must be closed — the eyelids exist not merely to keep the eye moist, though that is their physical purpose, but, in a spiritual sense, to be shut when confronted with what is forbidden. The ears cannot be plugged with cotton, yet what is listened to can still be controlled; so can the tongue — holding it does not mean physically taking hold of it, but simply not letting out what will cause harm to another or bring a person to account on the Day of Judgment, so long as it stays in. A sound heart of this kind, qalbun salīm, is very difficult to achieve, and remains the greatest challenge a human being faces.