Lower Your Gaze

The most important and fundamental thing about a secure and healthy society is its moral soundness. The more morally a society is, the better place it would be for living. Morality starts from inside. In an Islamic society, some things are to be imposed while most of the things can only applied by one's own self.

It is inevitable for men and women to have interaction in one way or other. When Islam stops mingling of opposite sexes, it does not mean that they cannot co -exist. They very much can exist without any trouble but by just observing a few rules.  One of them is lowering the gaze.

How common it has become, and we do not even feel it, when we look at each other  during shopping or travel or work or studying. Satan looks for such places where he can play his part. Now when men and women interact, they have to be very careful in every respect. They should not look at each other too much. They should not be un careful about their speech. Many a times, the evil starts with just one gaze. This is why, it is forbidden to stare at the others. In Holy Quran, Allah swt command men and women regrading gaze in following words.

[024:030] And ask the believing men to (be modest and) lower their gaze and maintain their chastity. That is righteous and better. Allah is quite familiar with what they do.

[024:031] Ask the believing women to lower their gaze, guard their chastity, and not leave bare their beauty and charm, except that which becomes apparent by itself. Ask them to pull their veil-cloths down across their bosom, and not show their adornments to anyone except their husbands, fathers, husband�s father, sons, husband�s sons, brothers and their sons, sister�s sons, their women, the female slaves they own, the men-servants too old to have erotic desires, and boys not yet old enough to have awareness of the carnal. Ask them not to stamp their feet hard, in order to display (and jingle the jewelry worn on their feet and other) hidden adornments (under their outer garments). Oh you believers! Turn all of you  towards Allah in repentance. Perhaps you will prosper.

Notice, Allah swt first tell men to lower their gaze and then tell women to lower theirs secondly, of all the self modesty, the first thing that has been ordered to both men and women is lowering their gaze. This tells us that the first source of evil thoughts is eyes.

There are hadiths of Prophet Muhammad pbuh regarding the evil of the eyes;

Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 74, Number 248:

Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:
The Prophet said, 'Beware! Avoid sitting on the roads." They (the people) said, "O Allah s Apostle! We can't help sitting (on the roads) as these are (our places) here we have talks." The Prophet said, ' l f you refuse but to sit, then pay the road its right ' They said, "What is the right of the road, O Allah's Apostle?" He said, 'Lowering your gaze, refraining from harming others, returning greeting, and enjoining what is good, and forbidding what is evil."

thus, those men who have this habbit of standing at the corners of roads and streets are to be more conscious about their eyes. Unfortunately, we see that all kind of people stand on roads and streets staring continuously at women without fear. In another hadith, prophet Muhammad pbuh said that eyes also commit adultery, how;

Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 74, Number 260:

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
I have not seen a thing resembling 'lamam' (minor sins) than what Abu Huraira 'narrated from the Prophet who said "Allah has written for Adam's son his share of adultery which he commits inevitably. The adultery of the eyes is the sight (to gaze at a forbidden thing), the adultery of the tongue is the talk, and the inner self wishes and desires and the private parts testify all this or deny it."

thus, the use of eye is extremely important. One cannot think of any excuse regarding this. To maintain a healthy society, people should more morally sound, and their morality can be judged from their eyes.