Al-Matalib al-'Aliyah 2461 — One who loses his sight

It is narrated from al-Musayyib bin Rafi' (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: "It used to be said that a man's losing his eyesight (the light of his eyes) is exactly like (a great loss as) being struck in his own life, that is, losing his life."
This saying makes clear the extraordinary importance of human eyesight among the early generations (salaf) and the intensity of the grief and pain felt at its loss.