The Sickness and the Cure (ad-Daa wad-Dawaa)
By the teacher of Ibn Katheer, Imaam Ibnul-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah
Excerpt from the Book
Chapter: 'The Doors to Sin', Section, 'The Look':
The look is the main source of problems which afflict mankind, because the look creates a suggestion, then that suggestion becomes an idea, then that idea arouses the desires, then the desires evolve into a resolve, then the resolve strengthens until the act finally occurs; unless there is something that hinders it. This is why it is said,
“The patience of trying to restrain the glances is much easier than the patience of trying to restrain what comes after that.”
From the bitter aftertaste of failing to lower the gaze is that it burns the heart and makes it anguish; because the ‘abd sees someone whom he cannot have, nor can he control himself, and one of the most tormenting kinds of punishment is to see something that you want (but cannot have), and it is difficult to do without it. What is truely amazing is that the glance of the one who looks is an arrow that does reach its target until it penetrates the heart of the one who looks himself. I wrote a verse in this regard :
O you the one who makes great effort to shoot his arrow,
You are the one injured by your (own) shot, and it does not reach its target,
The impetus behind your glances seeks a cure,
So restrain your messenger and destruction will not come to you.
What is even more amazing than this is that the unrestrained look injures the heart severely, so one injury follows the other. However, the pain of the injury does not prevent it from repeating the action...