Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim
1. Preface
Extraordinary young friends, do you know that every era has its own spiritual “battlefield”? Psychologically, in today’s flood of digital dopamine, our brains are constantly bombarded by visual stimuli that erode focus and inner peace. Lowering the gaze (Ghadul Bashar) is not merely a religious command, but a form of “detox” for the soul. When the eyes are guarded, mental energy isn’t drained by futile fantasies, but accumulates into remarkable creative power and clarity of thought. A soul that can control its eyes is a soul freed from enslavement to the algorithms of lust.Our greatest inspiration is Prophet Yusuf AS, who firmly refused disobedience for the sake of his integrity before Allah:
قَالَ مَعَاذَ اللّٰهِ اِنَّهٗ رَبِّيْٓ اَحْسَنَ مَثْوَايَ
He said, “I seek refuge in Allah. Indeed, my master has treated me well.” (QS. Yusuf: 23)[Yusuf]Allah SWT also affirms that the fate of those who strive to guard themselves will never be the same as those immersed in sin:
اَمْ حَسِبَ الَّذِيْنَ اجْتَرَحُوا السَّيِّاٰتِ اَنْ نَّجْعَلَهُمْ كَالَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا وَعَمِلُوا الصّٰلِحٰتِ
“Or do those who commit evil deeds think We will make them like those who have believed and done righteous deeds?” (QS. Al-Jathiyah: 21)
2. Explanation
A young man’s honor lies not in how many eyes glance at him, but in how strongly he restrains his own eyes to seek his Lord’s pleasure. In an age when sin is just a fingertip away on a phone screen, lowering the gaze is a high-level act of worship. There is a moving incident when Prophet Yusuf AS had become ruler of Egypt. Someone who knew him when he was still a prisoner shouted: “Glory be to Allah who made a slave into a king because of his obedience, and made a king into a slave because of his disobedience!” Yusuf did not ascend the throne through politics alone, but through the words “I seek refuge in Allah” when temptation was right before his eyes.The gaze is like a poisoned arrow. If you loose it in every direction, its poison seeps into your own heart, darkening your soul. But lowering the gaze is like raising a shield of light; the more often you lower it for Allah, the brighter your heart’s “screen” becomes for seeing true truth. We’re funny these days—we’re terrified of our phone screens cracking or catching a virus, so we buy the most expensive protection. Yet we often let our “eyes,” the main screen of the soul, be exposed to the “virus” of sin every day. We diligently clear browser history so humans won’t find out, but forget that angels don’t need a password to record what we watch alone at midnight. Be a young person smarter than your smartphone!
3. Lessons and Message
The fundamental lesson for youth today is that control over the eyes is control over the future.
The moral message: don’t trade the nobility of your future for a momentary dopamine rush that ruins the soul. Allah sees your struggle to hold your thumb back from unlawful sites, and know that His justice guarantees your struggle will bear a nobility never attained by those who surrender to desire. Your purity is the main capital for achieving blessed success.
4. Conclusion
O youth, rejoice in obedience! Keep fighting to guard the crown of your purity in this digital era. For whoever does not have a fiery beginning in guarding himself will not have a shining end in honor. Make your phone screen a witness to obedience, not a witness to betrayal of the Creator.
. والله أعلم بالصواب
الحمد لله رب العالمين
Wassalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.
Oleh : Abu Sultan Al-Qadrie
