How Does the Eye Fast?
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
The topic of tonight’s Ramadan reflection is about fasting of the eye. How does the eye fast? The fasting of the eye is to prevent it from seeing forbidden things and to cover it from indecencies. The eye is disciplined during Ramadan.
Allah (SWT) blessed us with the amazing gift of eyes so that we may be guided by them; so that we may be helped by them in respect of our needs; that we may see the wonders in the kingdoms of the heavens and earth and derive lessons from the signs they contain. We have to guard our eyes from casting lustful looks, from looking at that which is unlawful or undesirable; from looking at a Muslim with an eye of contempt; and from being on the lookout for another Muslim’s faults.
Allah commands both the believing men and the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their chastity.
قُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِمْ وَيَحْفَظُوا فُرُوجَهُمْ
“Say to the believing men that they lower their gaze and guard their chastity.”(al-Nur, 24: 30)
وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ
“And say to the believing women that they lower their gaze and guard their chastity.” (al-Nur, 24: 31)
What does gaze imply? It implies having lustful thoughts while looking.Whoever does not lower his gaze brings harm to himself. The soul, because of the wrong act of the eye, is in constant distress, anxiety and turmoil, as a result of which the sweetness of worship and obedience is lost. If the eye is not disciplined and made to fast from unlawful sights, then one starts losing the light of faith (the noor of Iman). Only through the control of the eyes can the soul find the taste of faith and conviction.
One of the righteous predecessors is reported to have said, “I once looked at something that was forbidden and I forgot the Qur’an.” After forty years, Allah rewarded him for lowering his gaze by blessing him with faith the sweetness of which he tasted in his heart. Let us ask ourselves. Are we filling ourselves with light which creates righteousness or filling ourselves with darkness which creates uncontrollable, evil urges?
The eyes are a doorway to the mind and whatever one’s mind continually thinks upon, a person will eventually do. If a person is going to be pure, he must have the intention to guard his eyes. This will affect the types of movies watched, books read, and Internet sites visited. It will also affect how one looks at the opposite sex. For many, when they view the opposite gender, it is hard to not view them from a sexual standpoint. Their eyes continually trigger lustful thoughts and intentions, and if not combated, these eventually trigger lustful actions.
There is something called “bouncing” one’s eye. When seeing an attractive female for instance, instead of cultivating lustful thoughts and intentions, a man quickly bounces his eyes to something else. When seeing seductive images on the TV or the Internet, instead of taking a second look, one bounces one’s eyes by turning the channel or closing the webpage.
Ali ibn Ali Talib once asked the Prophet (S) about the gaze. He replied: “Lower your gaze.” In another narration, he said: “O Ali, do not follow a glance with another, for you will be forgiven for the first, but not for the second.” This is because the first glance was accidental and unintentional but any further glances would be intentional and counted as sin,
Why is sexual abuse so pervasive and overwhelming globally? No doubt, this has to do with the increased access to erotic material in books, on TV, and on the Internet. The result of people viewing these materials is that eventually they can’t control themselves—they are filled and controlled by the darkness their eyes continually engage in.
There are many benefits and honors to be gained from lowering the gaze such as: (1) Obedience to Allah’s command to lower the gaze. This by itself is enough as a blessing and honor, (2) Peace of the heart, (3) Avoidance of calamities and safety from trials and misdeeds, (4) Allah opens for His servant the doors of knowledge, a fitting reward for taqwa or piety. The Qur’an says:
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللَّهُ
“Have taqwa of Allah and Allah will give you knowledge.” (al-Baqarah, 2:282). And (5) Allah will instill a sense of discernment or judgment; again a reward for those who lowered their gaze.
Accordingly, when Ramadan comes, the eyes are expected to fast in obedience to Allah’s command. Hunger curtails the excesses of the eye and weakens the desire to cast lustful glances. There are some people whose stomachs fast from food and drink but their eyes do not fast from forbidden sights. Such people do not know the real essence of fasting. The eyes have to fast from unlawful things in the same way that we abstain from food and drink.
May Allah turn our eyes from what is worthless to what is good. May we be among those whose eyes fast for the pleasure of Allah (SWT). He is the One Who guides to the Straight Path.
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
وَصَلَّ اللهُ عَلَى خيرِ خَلقِهِ مُحمَّدٍ وعَلَى آلِه وأصْحَابِه أجْمَعِين- بِرَحْمَتِكَ يا أرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِين
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Some passages have been excerpted and paraphrased from the book “Thirty Lessons for Those Who Fast” by Aa’id Abdullah al-Qarni.
