Surah An-Noor (24) — Ayah 30

(Ayah 30) ➊ {قُلْ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ يَغُضُّوْا مِنْ اَبْصَارِهِمْ: ’’غَضَّ طَرْفَهُ، خَفَضَهُ‘‘} "He lowered his gaze." The second meaning is {’’نَقَصَ وَ وَضَعَ مِنْ قَدْرِهِ‘‘} "He diminished the worth of so-and-so." (Qamus) After stating the etiquettes of entering homes to protect from adultery and slander, the command to guard the gaze is given, because this is the gateway to a man's heart and the beginning of all lustful temptations usually starts from here. Ahmed Shawqi has said: {’’نَظْرَةٌ فَابْتِسَامَةٌ فَسَلَامٌ فَكَلَامٌ فَمَوْعِدٌ فَلِقَاءٌ‘‘} "First the eyes meet, then a smile, then a greeting, then conversation, then a promise, and then the matter reaches to a meeting."

➋ In the next verses, Allah Almighty addressed {’’ يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا ‘‘} directly, as is before {’’ لَا تَتَّبِعُوْا خُطُوٰتِ الشَّيْطٰنِ ‘‘} and {’’ لَا تَدْخُلُوْا بُيُوْتًا غَيْرَ بُيُوْتِكُمْ ‘‘}, here the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is addressed and told: "Say to the believing men." The reason seems to be that the matter of the gaze is extremely dangerous and stopping it is a very difficult task, therefore Allah Almighty, with royal majesty, commanded the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to say to the believing men and to say to the believing women. (Al-Biqa'i) (And Allah knows best)

➌ In {’’ قُلْ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ يَغُضُّوْا مِنْ اَبْصَارِهِمْ ‘‘}, {’’ مِنْ ‘‘} is for partiality, so it is translated as "Say to the believing men to lower some of their gazes." Allah Almighty's command is not that you should not look at anything at all, or not even raise your gaze while walking on the road, rather the command is to lower some gazes, and what is meant is to lower the gaze from those things which Allah Almighty has forbidden to gaze at, such as looking at women other than one's wife and mahram relatives, looking at a beardless boy with lustful intent, or looking at someone's letter or something he wants to hide, etc.

➍ { يَغُضُّوْا مِنْ اَبْصَارِهِمْ :} The first accidental glance is forgiven, the sin is on the gaze that is cast deliberately. The mention of the gaze is specifically made because usually the beginning of adultery is from this, otherwise adultery is committed by all the senses. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ إِنَّ اللّٰهُ كَتَبَ عَلَی ابْنِ آدَمَ حَظَّهُ مِنَ الزِّنَا أَدْرَكَ ذٰلِكَ لَا مَحَالَةَ فَزِنَا الْعَيْنِ النَّظَرُ وَ زِنَا اللِّسَانِ الْمَنْطِقُ وَالنَّفْسُ تَتَمَنّٰی وَ تَشْتَهِيْ وَالْفَرْجُ يُصَدِّقُ ذٰلِكَ كُلَّهُ وَ يُكَذِّبُهُ ] [ بخاري، الاستئذان، باب زنا الجوارح دون الفرج : ۶۲۴۳ ] "Allah Almighty has written for the son of Adam his share of adultery, which he will inevitably get, so the adultery of the eye is looking, the adultery of the tongue is speaking, and the soul desires and wishes, and the private part confirms it or denies it."

Jarir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about the sudden glance, so he commanded me to turn my gaze away." [ مسلم، الآداب، باب نظر الفجائۃ : ۲۱۵۹ ] However, for necessity, one can look at a non-mahram woman, for example, if he intends to marry her, or for medical need, or if there is a need due to an accident. Allah said: «{ وَ قَدْ فَصَّلَ لَكُمْ مَّا حَرَّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ اِلَّا مَا اضْطُرِرْتُمْ اِلَيْهِ }» [ الأنعام : ۱۱۹ ] "Although He has certainly made clear to you what He has forbidden to you, except what you are compelled to."

Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ لَا يَنْظُرُ الرَّجُلُ إِلٰی عَوْرَةِ الرَّجُلِ وَلَا الْمَرْأَةُ إِلٰی عَوْرَةِ الْمَرْأَةِ وَ لَا يُفْضِی الرَّجُلُ إِلَی الرَّجُلِ فِيْ ثَوْبٍ وَاحِدٍ وَلَا تُفْضِی الْمَرْأَةُ إِلَی الْمَرْأَةِ فِي الثَّوْبِ الْوَاحِدِ ] [مسلم، الحیض، باب تحریم النظر إلی العورات : ۳۳۸ ] "No man should look at the private part of another man, nor should any woman look at the private part of another woman. No man should lie with another man under one garment, nor should any woman lie with another woman under one garment."

➎ It is permissible for a man to look at every part of his wife's or slave girl's body, likewise it is permissible for a wife to look at every part of her husband's body, and for a slave girl to look at every part of her master's body. Allah Almighty said: «{ هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَّكُمْ وَ اَنْتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَّهُنَّ }» [ البقرۃ : ۱۸۷ ] "They are a garment for you and you are a garment for them." Obviously, no part of the body remains hidden from a garment. In Ibn Majah (662), the hadith narrated from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that I never saw the private part of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), is not established in terms of chain, because the narrator from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) is unknown. On the contrary, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says: "I and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to bathe from the same vessel, our hands would alternate in it." In another narration: "We would be in a state of janabah." [ بخاري، الغسل، باب ھل یدخل الجنب یدہ… : ۲۶۱، ۲۶۳ ]

➏ { وَ يَحْفَظُوْا فُرُوْجَهُمْ:} Here {’’مِنْ‘‘} is not used to say "guard some of your private parts," rather it is said, "guard your private parts completely," because complete protection from the gaze was not possible.

➐ { اِنَّ اللّٰهَ خَبِيْرٌۢ بِمَا يَصْنَعُوْنَ :} He will reward those who act on this command and punish those who do not, whether anyone is aware of their good or bad deeds or not, Allah Almighty is fully aware of whatever they are doing. He said: «{ يَعْلَمُ خَآىِٕنَةَ الْاَعْيُنِ وَ مَا تُخْفِي الصُّدُوْرُ }» [ المؤمن : ۱۹ ] "He knows the betrayal of the eyes and what the breasts conceal."

30-1. When it was made necessary to seek permission before entering someone's house, at the same time, the command to (lower or close the eyes) was also given so that the one seeking permission, in particular, keeps control over his gaze.

30-2. That is, protect it from unlawful use or keep it concealed in such a way that no one’s gaze falls upon it. Both of these meanings are correct because both are required. Furthermore, the mention of guarding the gaze was made because negligence in this matter itself becomes the cause of heedlessness.

30. (O Prophet!) Tell the believing men to lower their gaze [39] and guard their private parts [40]. That is purer for them. Surely Allah is well aware of what they do.

[39] The command to lower the gaze is for believing women just as it is for believing men. As mentioned in the next verse, lowering the gaze does not mean that one should not see the path properly while walking. Rather, it means that a man should not look at a non-mahram woman, and a woman should not look at a non-mahram man, and if the gaze falls accidentally, it should be turned away immediately. As once the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to Hazrat Ali ؓ: "The first glance is forgiven for you (i.e., if it happens accidentally), but the subsequent ones are not." [ترمذی۔ ابواب الادب۔ باب نظر الفجاءۃ]
That is, after the gaze falls accidentally, one should not keep looking, but should turn the gaze away immediately. And once the Prophet ﷺ said: "Looking with desire is the adultery of the eyes, or the adultery of the eyes is looking with desire." [بخاری۔ کتاب الاستیذان۔ باب زنا الجوارح دون الفرج]
[40]
Looking with Desire is the Greatest Gateway to Adultery:

Immediately after mentioning the avoidance of looking with desire, Allah Almighty has mentioned the protection of private parts, which clearly means that in order to protect the private parts (i.e., chastity), it is extremely necessary to avoid looking with desire. In other words, among the causes of adultery, looking with desire is a very big cause or its main gate. As a result of this looking with desire, later on, other organs of a person also become involved in this trial. The complete hadith mentioned above is as follows: "The adultery of the eye is looking with desire. The adultery of the tongue is speaking obscenely, and a man's soul desires adultery. Then the private part either confirms all these types of adultery or denies them." [بخاری۔ کتاب الاستیذان۔ باب زنا الجوارح دون الفرج]
2. Also, Sahl bin Sa'd ؓ says that a man peeped into the room of the Prophet ﷺ through a hole in the door while the Prophet ﷺ had in his hand a porcupine quill, i.e., an iron needle or the tip of an arrow, with which he was scratching his head. The Prophet ﷺ said: "If I had known that you were peeping, I would have struck your eye with it and gouged it out. The right of seeking permission (isti'idhān) was established only because of the trial of looking with desire." [بخاري۔ كتاب الاستيذان]
3. And in Tabarani, there is a narration that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that Allah Almighty says: "Looking with desire is one of the poisonous arrows of Iblis." [بحواله تفهيم القرآن ج 3 ص 380]

Permission to Look at the Fiancée:

However, there is only one exception to this, and that is that a man is permitted to look at his prospective wife, i.e., the woman he intends to marry. Mughira bin Shu'bah ؓ narrates that he proposed to a woman, so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Look at this woman, for this is a better way for affection to develop between you." [ترمذی۔ ابو اب النکاح۔ باب النظر الی المخطوبه]
Similarly, a man came to the Prophet ﷺ who wanted to marry an Ansari woman. The Prophet ﷺ asked him: "Have you looked at the woman you intend to marry?" He replied, "No." The Prophet ﷺ said: "Go and look at her, for there is a certain defect in the eyes of the women of the Ansar." [مسلم۔ کتاب النکاح۔ باب ندب من اراد النکاح امرأۃ الی ان ینظر الیٰ وجھھا]