It is related that a group of people were once seated in the company of Al-Hasan Al-Basri, when some men passed by, dragging along with them a body of a dead man. When Al-Hasan saw the dead man, a glint of instant recognition could be discerned in his eyes, and he fell unconscious from the shock of some memory that had just been rekindled.
When he regained consciousness, his companions asked him what was wrong with him.
He said; This man – referring to the dead man being dragged along on the ground – used to be one of the best worshippers and one of the most renowned ascetics in the world (renouncing all the temporary pleasures of this world because he was so busy and devoted to worship).
One day he left his home, intending to go to the masjid to pray; but on the way, he saw a beautiful young Christian women, who became an immediate temptation to him.
When he proposed to her, she refused, saying, “I will not marry you until you become an adherent of my religion.“
He went on his way, but as time went on, he yearned for her continued to increase. He then succumbed to her wish and exited from the fold of Islaam – the religion of pure, unadulterated Monotheism.
After he became a Christian and some time passed, the woman came out to him from behind the curtain and said, “You are a man who is bereft of goodness. You have forsaken your religion, which was important to you for your entire life, simply for the sake of a lust that is of no value. Indeed, I too am forsaking my religion, but not for the same reason. I am doing so in order to achieve a blissful existence that never comes to an end, an eternal existence under the care of the One, the As-Samad (i.e., Allaah; The Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creature need, He neither eats nor drinks).“
She then recited the entire Chapter of Al-Ikhlaas:
“Say (O Muhammad (saw)): “He is Allah, (the) One. Allah-us-Samad (The Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, He neither eats nor drinks). He begets not, nor was He begotten; And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him.” [Qur'aan 112:1-4]
When the people had heard about what she had said, they approached her and asked, “All along, you had this Chapter memorized?“
“No,” she answered. “By Allaah, I had never known it before. But after this man continued to insist upon having me, I saw a dream; I saw Hellfire, and my place in it was shown to me. I became terrified and panic-stricken. Maalik – the gatekeeper of the Hellfire – said to me, ‘Do not be afraid or sad, for Allaah has ransomed (i.e., saved) you with this man (i.e., he will take the place in Hellfire that you would have taken had not Allaah saved you).’ He then took me by the hand and admitted me into Paradise. Seeing a line written inside of it, I read it; among what was written were these Words:
“Allaah blots out what He wills and confirms (what He wills). And with Him is the Mother of the Book (Al-Lauh Al-Mahfooz)“. [Qur'aan 13"39]
He then recited Soorah Ikhlaas to me, and I began to repeat it. Then I woke up and had it (Soorah Ikhlaas) memorized.“
Al-Hasan then said, “The woman then embraced Islaam, and the man – whose corpse you just saw being dragged away – was killed for having apostatized. And I ask Allaah to make us firm and steadfast upon guidance and to grant us safety and success.“
[Taken from "Glimpses From The Lives Of Righteous People", Pp. 53-55, Darussalam publishing]
As temperatures soar and sweat pours down our faces this summer, it is essential to remember this: protect your eyes, and I am not talking about wearing sunglasses.
I¹m talking about lowering our gazes.
In our culture today, as the temperature increases, so does the amount of exposed skin on people¹s bodies. Although this is very distressing and disturbing, it has become a fact of life.
In fact, those of us, especially our sisters wearing Hijab, who cover to guard our modesty are seen as strange!
Yet, covering, not exposing the skin, is an advice currently being given by the United States Department of Health And Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
They have sponsored a campaign called "Choose Your Cover", encouraging people to protect themselves from skin cancer.
One of the recommended methods is wearing clothing that covers skin and protects against the sun's UV rays.
The campaign¹s section on clothing notes that "a long-sleeved shirt and long pants with a thick weave provide the best protection."
And lest we forget, before global warming and skin cancer warnings were ever issued, most of the Muslim and non-Muslim men and women living in the scorching deserts or cities and villages of Africa and Asia, which experience tremendous heat in the summers [if not most of the year] did NOT emerge from their homes virtually naked.
In fact, they covered themselves more to protect themselves from the sun.
SOME ADVICE FROM THE QURAN AND SUNNAH
It is in this instance, surrounded by half-naked people, that we must have the courage to follow the command of Allah and His Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and lower our gazes.
Allah says: "Do not go near fornication and adultery, it is an abomination and an evil way." (Quran 17:32). This sin is so hateful in the sight of Our Lord, that He commanded us to not even go near it.
Despite what anyone may say, looking upon that which one is not supposed to is going near adultery. For an illicit affair begins with a lustful glance.
Allah wishes for us not to commit this ugly sin, and thus He commands us to lower our gazes: "Tell the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that will make for greater purity for them; And Allah is well acquainted with all that they do.
And tell the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modestyŠ" (Quran 24:30-31). Lowering the gaze does not mean keeping our eyes constantly on the ground and not looking up at all.
It is turning our faces away when we see a less-than-decently-dressed woman or man walking on the street in the middle of July.
THE ADULTERY OF THE EYES The Prophet further explained to us Allah¹s command. Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet said, "Šthe adultery of the eyes is looking (at [that] which is not allowed)Š" (Bukhari, Muslim).
Also, on the authority of Jurayr who said, "I asked the Messenger of Allah about accidentally looking at something that is not allowed and he said, ŒTurn your eyes away.¹" (Muslim).
In another Hadith on the authority of Abu Sa¹eed, the Prophet said, "A man should not look at the Awrah of another man, and the woman should not look at the Awrah of another womanŠ" (Muslim).
Thus, our Prophet even instructed us to lower our gaze when looking at members of the same gender in some cases.
LOWERING FOR THE ³OTHER² NAKEDNESS
One common mistake is to think that lowering your gaze is only required upon encountering nakedness and indecency "in the flesh" or in person.
Lowering our gaze must also be practiced when watching a film or television program replete with nakedness and intimate scenes of couples (actually, we should try to avoid watching such types of programs, period).
Lowering our gaze includes changing the channel when "Baywatch" comes on.
It also means changing the channel when watching the news if we feel attracted to the anchorperson or reporter reading or presenting the news.
And anyway, television isn¹t that great of a way to spend time. See why in Sound Vision¹s unTV guide.
DON¹T GO TO THE BEACH
Or anywhere else you¹ll find a plethora of bikini- and swimming-trunk clad men and women.
Lowering your gaze there is virtually impossible. You may turn in one direction, thinking you¹re home-free, but soon enough you can¹t even look there.
The same holds true for parks. While this doesn¹t mean never taking the kids out to enjoy the slides and see-saws or having barbecues there, it does mean perhaps having activities on days that are cooler, or at times when the sun is not as hot and intense (i.e. some time in the earlier morning or before Maghrib).
This way, the prime time for sunbathing has passed, and most people either leave or feel cool enough to put some more clothes on.
MAKE DUA
"Never underestimate the power of Dua," Imam Siraj Wahhaj of Brooklyn, New York once said. This holds true in all trying situations.
Sometimes, despite avoiding certain places where you are more likely to encounter an improperly dressed person, you may find someone walking on the street going to the beach or the park who decided to get ready for suntanning or swimming beforehand.
In these cases, lowering the gaze may be even harder. You weren¹t expecting it, so you didn¹t mentally prepare yourself.
If you feel overwhelmed, one suggested Dua to read is: "Aoutho billahi Sami¹ il Aleem minash Shaytan ir Rajeem" (see Quran 41:36 for more information). A translation of this is "I seek the refuge of Allah who is the Hearer and Who is the Knower from the Shaytan the accursed."
In general, seek refuge in Allah. It has also been suggested to say "La hawla wa la Quwwata illa billah" (there is no power except with Allah). If we sincerely make Dua, Insha Allah, we can succeed in turning our eyes away.
LOWERING THE GAZE DOESN¹T MEAN BEING ANTI-SOCIAL
But lowering our gaze does not mean being rude or anti-social. Summer is definitely a time to go out, have fun, and even make Dawa (inviting others to Islam).
You can, for example, hand out brochures at public places and parks.
The Prophet used to present the message of Islam to people that had come for the yearly "Ukaz" festival, which did include unIslamic activities like drinking and gambling.
However, this requires faith, self-control and discipline. This must never be used as an opportunity to indulge in these sins.
THE GAZE IS A PART OF A MUSLIM¹S CHARACTER
A Muslim is decent and pure. This means all of his or her body must be decent and pure. A natural consequence of this is lowering the gaze.
Allah tells us: "O you who believe! Do not follow Satan¹s footsteps: if any will follow the footsteps of Satan, he will command what is shameful and wrong..." (Quran 24:21). Looking at another man or woman in an indecent manner is following in Satan¹s footsteps.
It all begins with a lustful glance. Such a glance leads to lustful talk and flirting, then meetingŠand we are all aware of what comes next.
Let us stop Satan in his tracks and lower our gaze.
Let us start today, during these hot summer months. Yes, it is very difficult and it takes discipline and faith.
Yet, whenever we struggle to please Allah, He will reward us several times over in this life and the next.
It is truly a Jihad. But, it is a Jihad worth undertaking, and we will be all the better for it.
A servant of Allah who is a 3alim is better than the one who is a 3abid! and that should be your moral at least from the first story.. many people do the deeds of the dwellers of paradise until the end you'd swear they are of the people of Jannah but they are the people of hell.. there is an error inside them (and a woman isn't really responsible for that error) it is their own nafs that leads them to hell!
Text without context is pretext If your opponent is of choleric temperament, seek to irritate him
A servant of Allah who is a 3alim is better than the one who is a 3abid! and that should be your moral at least from the first story.. many people do the deeds of the dwellers of paradise until the end you'd swear they are of the people of Jannah but they are the people of hell.. there is an error inside them (and a woman isn't really responsible for that error) it is their own nafs that leads them to hell!
Thank you for pointing that out. It seems like some men would love to put the blame on women, forgetting that some of their statements are sometimes viewed as a way to "blame" the woman for the sins of the man.
As if men are not fitna women . But at the end of the day everyone will be held accountable for their sins.
70:28 Lo! the doom of their Lord is that before which none can feel secure
The hidden blessing those of us who live in a cold climate have.
Summer clothing for either man or woman is out of the question. It is worth no longer having a summer, to know that everybody will dress modestly year round, even if for some it is out of climate conditions and not choice.
I do not think there are any stores here that even sell summer clothing.
The first story is just breathtaking..
The realization that iman can be so fragile and nafs can be that extremely strong
May Allah SWT always guides us to the straight path and may He SWT strengthens our iman and saves us from the fire of hell
^hmm, sometimes even when you reach a v high level of iman and taqwa you can wake up the next day and have it all gone unless you keep workin on it.
you know the good thing about summer is that you become quite desensitized to women even if your lowering your gaze cause its nearly impossible to go out and not catch a glimpse of skin here and there, eventually your just not affected anymore.
of course that doesnt mean you stop lowering your gaze, it just makes it easier.
SubhanAllah..the story in the original post was just astonishing. Its like the story of the Pious person who was taking care of a woman, who's brothers trusted him to care of their sister while they went out for Jihad. But he fell for shaytans trap and committed adultery, not only that, he killed her after shaytan gave him a false promise.
He [Shaitan (Satan)] makes promises to them, and arouses in them false desires; and Shaitan's (Satan) promises are nothing but deceptions. Surat An-Nisa 4:120.
And Shaitan (Satan) will say when the matter has been decided: "Verily, Allah promised you a promise of truth. And I too promised you, but I betrayed you. I had no authority over you except that I called you, so you responded to me. So blame me not, but blame yourselves. I cannot help you, nor can you help me. I deny your former act in associating me (Satan) as a partner with Allah (by obeying me in the life of the world). Verily, there is a painful torment for the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers, etc.)." Sura Ibrahim 14:22
Then how can you avoid the punishment, if you disbelieve, on a Day that will make the children grey-headed?
Sura Al-Muzzammil 73:17
the story is simply heartbreaking...i mean the part where he left Islam...thats tragic...how delicate can our iman can get and how blinded we can be and how easy we can loose sight of our final goal.
i dont really like the title of this thread though its doesn't necessarily match...the story could be relevant to any title.
...desperate for husnul-khitaam...
please make dua that Allah grants me a good end (to my life). please make dua that Allah guides me.
The story is so mind-boggling. It really portrays that how easily the shaitaan can trap us and we are at risk of falling for it even at peaks of faith.
If Allah helps you, none can overcome you; and if He forsakes you, who is there after Him that can help you? And in Allah (Alone) let believers put their trust.
Surah Ale Imran : 160
It was narrated that Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him) climbed up Uhud, accompanied by Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthmaan, and the mountain shook with them. He struck it with his foot and said: “Stand firm, O Uhud, for there is no one on you but a Prophet or a Siddeeq or two martyrs.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3483)
Allah (Subhaanahu Wa Taala) does not inspire seeking forgiveness in a slave whom he wishes to punish.
i dont really like the title of this thread though its doesn't necessarily match...the story could be relevant to any title.
Indeed:
كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ رَهِينَةٌ Pickthal 74:38] Every soul is a pledge for its own deeds;
it isn't the first post by the dear brother which savors designating the transgression solely on the woman's shoulders.. al7mdlillah that Allah swt is most just and alluding that it is the woman's responsibility for this man's egregious sins is in my humble opinion a way to deny God's wise judgment!
Text without context is pretext If your opponent is of choleric temperament, seek to irritate him
i heard this story before but i think it might be weak? im saying because i heard different versions of this story where a man was going to masjid and he saw this woman and the woman was teasing him and asking him to follow her into her home, he gave into his lusts and followed her when she trapped him in the house, she turned into this ugly old woman so which version is right. and how could a man who was so devoted to Allah just throw away his religion like that. when iman enters the heart, it never leaves it!
all because of a woman? like are men really that weak. there was a shortage of muslim women or something that he wanted a christcian woman?
A servant of Allah who is a 3alim is better than the one who is a 3abid! and that should be your moral at least from the first story.. many people do the deeds of the dwellers of paradise until the end you'd swear they are of the people of Jannah but they are the people of hell.. there is an error inside them (and a woman isn't really responsible for that error) it is their own nafs that leads them to hell!
format_quote Originally Posted by TrueStranger
Thank you for pointing that out. It seems like some men would love to put the blame on women, forgetting that some of their statements are sometimes viewed as a way to "blame" the woman for the sins of the man.
As if men are not fitna women . But at the end of the day everyone will be held accountable for their sins.
Respected sisters, please keep in mind that Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihe Wasalam said, words to the effect: "I have not left behind any fitnah more harmful to men than women."
When women are described as fitnah, it doesn't mean there is something inherently wrong with them. Nor does it mean the blame is to be placed on them for the sins men commit.
It just means that we men are to be careful around women cos you guys are potentially 'dangerous' to us. It's like the 'red button'. Despite being warned repeatedly not to touch it, temptation will always arise.
Last edited by Alpha Dude; 05-24-2010 at 06:41 PM.
Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
When you create an account, we remember exactly what you've read, so you always come right back where you left off. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and share your thoughts. Sign Up
A servant of Allah who is a 3alim is better than the one who is a 3abid! and that should be your moral at least from the first story.. many people do the deeds of the dwellers of paradise until the end you'd swear they are of the people of Jannah but they are the people of hell.. there is an error inside them (and a woman isn't really responsible for that error) it is their own nafs that leads them to hell!. But at the end of the day everyone will be held accountable for their sins.
its doesn't necessarily match...the story could be relevant to any title.
Hide
Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks