I Cannot Stop Looking at Unlawful Sights, What Can I Do? (Habib Umar)
Answered by Habib Umar bin Hafiz
Question: Assalam aleykum
I cannot stop looking at unlawful sights, what am I supposed to do?
Answer: [Assalam alaykum]
The reality is that every accountable person (a Muslim adult with a sound mind) can and is able to avoid looking at unlawful sights but it is his nafs that overpowers him and if he were to seek Allah’s help to overpower it (his nafs) he would indeed triumph against it. In fact if it were impossible to do (in other words beyond the human’s ability) Allah would not have commanded us with it in the first place. It is not impossible, however the person must condition and prepare himself to be able to overpower it i.e. his nafs regarding this situation through the following steps:
1- Keeping company of righteous and God fearing people
2- Keeping up with beneficial religion shows (TV/Radio)
3- Identifying the places/periods which allow the entry of evil thoughts and evil sights so that he can avoid the places and fill the periods with beneficial alternatives
4- Abundance of remembrance of Allah and remembering one’s final destination (grave, day of judgement, meeting Allah, etc.). Refer to Surah 7 verse 201.
5- Continuously working hard to remove this desire from the nafs by nurturing the emotions of longing for closeness to Allah, longing for happiness in the dunya through drowning in the special gnosis and love of Allah and longing for eternal happiness in the afterlife in the abode like which no has seen and no one has heard and no one has even imaged.
6- Desiring to have burning longing for the most Merciful and keeping the company of his Beloved (The Prophet peace be upon him) who is the best of all creation.
7- Abundance of remembering Allah especially through the direct words of the Prophet (peace be upon him) narrated to us in the books of hadith and adhkar, abundance of invoking Allah’s name (Allah) and sending salutations upon the Prophet (peace be upon him) and abundantly asking Allah for forgiveness.
8- Let the point of your gaze be pondering upon creation, reflecting upon Allah’s signs in creation, loving and longing for the holy Ka’ba, the holy Rawda, the room where the Prophet’s body lies and dearly hoping to see the face of the Chosen one and his companions and the righteous saints.
And know that whenever the one seeking Allah’s help proves to be truthful and sincere, Allah’s concern will be extended to him through making the difficult easy, removing the veils from him, alleviating darkness and shining the lights in his heart.
Allah alone gives success.
Habib Umar bin Hafiz is a descendant of the Prophet (upon him be Allah’s peace and blessings). Born into a family of scholars, Habib Umar, pursued the sacred sciences from a young age, including Quran, Hadith, Fiqh, ‘Aqeedah, Arabic, and Spirituality. In 1994, he established Dar al-Mustafa, an educational institute in Tarim, Yemem.
Translated by Abdullah Alrajhy
