What is the philosophy behind the prohibition of some kinds of looking at the apposite sex?
One of the rulings of Islam is the prohibition and Hormah of looking at the opposite sex under some conditions. The question is that why Islam did not let the people to be free in their looking?
At first we should say that it is not true that Islam has forbidden every looking at the opposite sex. It has an independent discussion that here is not its appropriate place, but we just have a summery here:
Looking at the opposite sex is unlawful if it is done in one of these cases:
1) If a man looks at the body of a woman more than her hands till the wrists and the face.
2) If looking at the woman or man is done with the sexual pleasure.
3) If looking at the opposite sex is done with the fear of falling into the sin in the future.(it means that probably at the time of looking, there is no any sexual pleasure, but the man or the woman fears that later on through thinking and imagination he/she will commit the sin.)
4) If a woman looks at the parts of the body of a man that usually those parts are covered like the leg.
Of course there are some other rules regarding looking at the opposite sex that we do not mention them here.
So let’s talk now about the philosophies behind this ruling,
Allah says in the holy Quran chapter Noor verse 30-31:
قُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِمْ وَيَحْفَظُوا فُرُوجَهُمْ ذَلِكَ أَزْكَى لَهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا يَصْنَعُونَ
وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ
“Say to the believers they should lower their gaze and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Allah is aware of the things they do.
And say to the believing women, that they lower their gaze cast down their eyes and guard their chastity”
It is interesting that after ordering the man to lower their gaze, the verse says: “that is purer for them”. We can understand from this part of the verse that someone who guards his eyes and does not let his eyes to go astray, he will have more purer heart, because such a poisonous look, little by little makes the heart poisoned and dirty and after a while, the person realizes that he/she has no interest in the worship of Allah or it makes him/her reluctant to perform his/her Islamic duties. So the man or woman should not underestimate such a look because it may lead little by little to the indifference to religion or even denial of Allah.
The commander of the faithful Imam Ali peace be upon him said:
“The one who makes his/her eye free, his/her regret will increase.”
You know it has been proved in the psychology that the one that always looks at the opposite sex with sexual pleasure, if he/she is married, after a while he/she feels reluctance to his/her spouse and always compares his/her spouse with the other men or women and it is very obvious that it can even lead to the divorce and the bad effects of a lot of divorces can be created. Or if he/she is unmarried, it may prevent him/her from getting married or postpone that or if he/she gets married, the mentioned problems above may happen to him/her as well.
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Source:
Quran.porsemani.ir
