Chastity in Islam

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ. الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ خَاتَمِ النَّبِيِّينَ وَعَلَى جَمِيعِ الأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالْمُرْسَلِينَ.

All Praise is due to Allah, we praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Allah, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, peace and blessings on him, is His servant, and His messenger.

Dear Brothers and Sisters …                                     السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

يَا أَيُّهَا الّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ –

O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam.

The Prophet ﷺ was the most chaste of people and the best of them in character. And had the best heart and the purest deeds. And was the most chaste. Allah Almighty guided him to the best words, character, speech and deeds. And averted from him evils, indecencies, and vices.

Be conscious of Allah and obey Him. And be watchful of Him in all your situations. For Ihsan (excellence in goodness) is to worship Him as if you see Him. For although you cannot see Him, He sees you.

Al Mulk (67) 12: Indeed, those who fear their Lord unseen will have forgiveness and great reward.

The desires of this world disperse with its passing. And those inclining to it are not able to fulfil all their desires within it. For its delights are mixed with its toils. And the delights are ruined by afflictions. And the delights are cut off completely by leaving this world. If their desires were forbidden, they carry sins which worsen their situations and darken their faces. Just as the evil deeds appear in the grave as an ugly man looking at its occupant who asks:

 “مَنْ أَنْتَ فَوَجْهُكَ الْوَجْهُ يَجِيءُ بِالشَّرِّ فَيَقُولُ: “أَنَا عَمَلُكَ الخَبِيثُ”.  أَبُو دَاوُدَ:4753

‘Who are you, for your face bears evil?’ He replies, ‘I am your wicked deeds.’

[Abu Dawood 4753]

And adultery is from the most evil and ugly deeds. And it is from the major and destructive sins. And one is not afflicted by it except that he is miserable in his worldly life before his afterlife. And if he dies in a state of disobedience, he meets Allah with an enormous sin.

And as the paths to adultery becomes easy and normalized, the afflictions increase, societies become polluted, and punishments descend. And if the doors of marriage are closed. And if the people go to excesses in the required expenses. The haram (forbidden) replaces the halal.

And avoiding the forbidden is easier than leaving it after falling into it. And abstaining from adultery is better than repenting from it. And for this reason, Allah Almighty prohibited getting close to its means so that avoiding it is realized.

Al-Isra (17) 32: And do not approach unlawful sexual intercourse. Indeed, it is ever an immorality and is evil as a way.

And chastity is an impermeable fortress against adultery. So, whoever protects himself with it, is safeguarded. And for this reason, Allah Almighty commanded it for those not having the financial means to marry.

An-Noor (24) 33:  And let those who find not the financial means for marriage keep themselves chaste, until Allah enriches them of His Bounty.

And chastity prevents from the ugly. And chastity is not realized except through a sound heart, free from following vain desires. For a man’s lust for a woman stuns him. Just as a woman’s lust for a man stuns her. And the eyes are the path to the lust of the heart. For whatever the eyes see find its way to the hearts. And gazes have a magic that evades the imagery of poets and words of the eloquent. And for this reason, safeguarding the private parts was coupled with constraining the gazes of both men and women.

An-Noor (24) 30-31: (30) Tell the believing men to constrain their gaze and guard their private parts.  That is purer for them. Indeed, Allah is [fully] Aware of what they do.

(31) And tell the believing women to constrain their gaze and guard their private parts

And the Prophet ﷺ indicated that:

زِنَا الْعَيْنَيْنِ النَّظَرُ، وَزِنَا اللِّسَانِ النُّطْقُ، وَالنَّفْسُ تَمَنَّى وَتَشْتَهِي، وَالْفَرْجُ يُصَدِّقُ ذَلِكَ أَوْ يُكَذِّبُهُ  (البخاري:6612 مسلم:2657

The adultery of the eyes is (lustful) looking, and the adultery of the tongue is (the licentious) speech and the inner self wishes and lusts, and the private parts affirm it, or reject it. [alBukhari 6612, Muslim 2657].

Thus, the first step of chastity is constraining the gaze. And whoever constrains the gaze relaxes their heart. And whoever unleashes their gaze brings misery to his heart by chasing his lust. For if he fulfills his lust, he falls into a major sin which torments him and brings him misery. And if he does not fulfill his lust, his heart remains attached to it thus tormenting him.

And constraining the gaze shields from all of this whether looking directly at women in person or looking at pictures or videos which abound and are found everywhere and are a great trial and affliction.  And the protected person is the one safeguarded by Allah Almighty and he turns his gaze from them. Because the gaze must fall upon some of it but one is not held accountable except if he continues to look.  Or repeatedly looks. Jareer bin Abdallah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

سَأَلْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّـهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنْ نَظَرِ الْفُجَاءَةِ، فَأَمَرَنِي أَنْ أَصْرِفَ بَصَرِي» (مُسْلِمٌ:2159)

I asked Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) about an incidental glance and he ordered me to turn my eyes away. [Muslim 2159].

And the Prophet ﷺ said to Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) :

يَا عَلِيُّ لَا تُتْبِعِ النَّظْرَةَ النَّظْرَةَ، فَإِنَّ لَكَ الْأُولَى وَلَيْسَتْ لَكَ الْآخِرَةُ

Do not follow one glance with another; you may be allowed the first but not the second. [Tirmizi 2777, Abu Dawood 2149].

And Allah Almighty narrated to us from the news of Yusuf (peace be upon him), about his trials with the women, so that we learn chastity.   And so that we are steadfast at times of trial. For the trail of the women is among the most severe trials. And abstaining from the prohibited with them is the greatest form of chastity. For many people are able to abstain from the prohibited wealth. And only a few men are able to abstain from beautiful women. And the Prophet ﷺ said:

 “مَا تَرَكْتُ بَعْدِي فِتْنَةً هِيَ أَضَرُّ عَلَى الرِّجَالِ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ”

I have not left after me any trial that is more harmful to men than women. [alBukhari 5096, Muslim 2740].

And through chastity is a guarantee of paradise. As was narrated in the hadith of Sahl bin Saad (may Allah be pleased with him) who related that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

مَنْ يَضْمَنْ لِي مَا بَيْنَ لحْيَيْهِ وَمَا بَيْنَ رِجْلَيْهِ أَضْمَنْ لَهُ الجَنَّةَ” رَوَاهُ (الْبُخَارِيُّ:6474)

Whoever guarantees for me what is between his jaws and what is between his legs, I shall guarantee Paradise for him. [alBukhari 6474]

And it was the Prophet’s ﷺ supplication:

 اللهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الهُدَى وَالتُّقَى، وَالْعَفَافَ وَالْغِنَى  (مُسْلِمٌ:2721

O Allah, indeed, I ask You for guidance, piety, chastity, and sufficiency. [Muslim 2721]

And Allah Almighty helps the one seeking marriage for the purpose of abstaining from the forbidden as was related in the hadith.

So, it is necessary for the believer to strive in abstaining from the forbidden. And realizing its means and staying away from the means of the indecencies.

Al-Anam (6) 120: And leave [i.e., desist from] what is apparent of sin and what is concealed thereof. Indeed, those who earn [blame for] sin will be recompensed for that which they used to commit.

Islam came with the strong affirmation of the chastity of the woman. And forbade all that would lead to tempting men, whether by word or actions.

And as Allah mentioned Yusuf (peace be upon him) in the Quran as an example among the men in chastity, He the Exalted mentioned the chastity of the virgin Maryam (peace be upon her):

At-Tahreem (66) 12: And [the example of] Mary, the daughter of ʿImran, who guarded her chastity, so We blew into [her garment] through Our angel [i.e., Gabriel], and she believed in the words of her Lord and His scriptures and was of the devoutly obedient.

And when Jibreel (peace be upon him) appeared to her in a form of a man she sought refuge in Allah Almighty from him for her chastity and protection:

Maryam (19) 18: She said, “Indeed, I seek refuge in the Most Merciful from you, [so leave me], if you should be fearing of Allah.”

And the Prophet ﷺ indicated that a women’s chastity is a basis for her entering paradise saying:

“إِذَا صَلَّتِ المَرْأَةُ خَمْسَهَا، وَصَامَتْ شَهْرَهَا، وَحَصَّنَتْ فَرْجَهَا، وَأَطَاعَتْ بَعْلَهَا، دَخَلَتْ مِنْ أَيِّ أَبْوَابِ الجَنَّةِ شَاءَتْ” (ابن حبان:4163)

When a woman prays her five (prayers), fasts her month (Ramadan), preserves her chastity and obeys her husband, she may enter by any of the gates of paradise she wishes. [Ibn Habban 4163]

For the chastity of men and women is from the aims of this great religion. And from the commands of Allah. So that the hearts are free from the diseases of whims and desires. And so that societies are free form various indecencies and deviations that cause plagues and diseases.

I conclude with this and send prayers of blessings and peace upon our Prophet as your Lord commanded:

Allahumma Sallai Al’a Muahmmad’n wa’aila Muhammad

أَقُولُ مَا تَسْمَعُونَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ  لِي وَلَكُمْ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ  إِنَّهُ هُوَ الغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

BY Imam Sheikh Mahboob Rasool

For Any further Information please contact me at info@irlammosque.org.