THE DEVIL IN THE EYE

Tuesday, 17 April 2012

 adapted from Barrie. http://wherebearsroamfree.com/ 

Feminists may ridicule the inflexible rules of Islam on gender segregation. Men and women are not supposed to mix freely. There even is a saying in Islam that women are a fitnah (upheaval, choas, sometimes even translated as curse). But that is a matter of speech, not literally.

What it means is that men's weakest spot, his sexual urge, if not controlled, will cause him his downfall. Just like the saying "money is the root of evil", the saying "women are a fitnah" is figurative.

We all know that prostitution and sex outside marriage is very common. What many fail to admit is that if sexual urge is not controlled, it controls you.

But the root of the problem in men is that it all starts with the eye. And that's why Islam shields the male eye from the female form - the hijab. The eye is the most frequently sexually stimulated organ among the five senses.

But then you may ask, why protect the male eye only? What about the female eye, and hence, men too should cover up as much? I have explained that quite in detail here - Sex scandals is what Islam has forewarned us all along

Incidentally, while the hijab is taken to mean the headdress a Muslim woman wears, the meaning of hijab actually means all things that cover the woman's sexuality from the male eye. Hence, it does not just mean her scarf, but also the clothes she wears, as well as her actions and her behaviour.

Before Feminists and Liberals say that I have taken the patriarchal route on the view of women as the cause of men's misery, please read the article I linked above. If you feel that you disagree and would like to comment, I guess it won't take too much effort to read in detail what I wrote. In any case, here are just some excerpts from the above link:-

This portion discusses about the weakness of men - sexual urge, starting with the eye.

Imam Al-Ghazali, one of Islam's most revered classical scholars, once said that when a man's organ stands erect, two-thirds of his intellect walks away. Very true.

So what are the ways that are recommended to control sexual desire?


Means to control illicit sexual desire

1. “Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts)” [al-Noor 24:30] (Quran)

Of course, that's easier said than done for many men. So it has to be combined with other deeds like prayer, fasting and remembrance of Allah.


2. Covering women up. Ah, this is gonna be a contentious issue for many non-Muslim women, especially those who uphold "Western" ideals. To those who say why must it be the women who cover up more than the men, the answer is simple. Firstly, don't women have more things to cover than men? Secondly, between a naked woman with a man alone, and a naked man with a woman alone, which situation would likely end up with both having consensual sex? Ah, don't you think it makes more sense to have which gender more covered up?


3. Separation of sexes. Again, some Feminists claim this is misogyny. Especially when the women are made to pray behind men or sit behind men. Simple answer. Is it not true that men are more easily distracted by a woman than women distracted by a man? Need more be said?


The Eye - most frequently sexually stimulated organ among the Five Senses

Isn't the eye the first organ that attracts the person to the opposite sex? In today's context where men and women mix freely, isn't the eye fed with all the sexual stimuli around you, far more than the other four senses combined?

The above being the case, isn't the way to control illicit sexual desire hence, to halt that stimuli at the very source - ie to stop the eye from receiving sexual stimuli? Well, that's how I explain all the reasons for the segregation of sexes and covering of women.

This portion addresses the Feminist and Liberal idea that Islam is misogynistic.

Countering Claims on Misogyny

Some (mainly Western) Feminists are quick to claim that the recommendation in Islam (as cited above) to counter illicit sex desires are mainly misogynistic. They claim that blame is put on the women and the onus on women to cover up is also placed on them. But this is simply cultural acceptance. To Western Feminists, it is misogyny. That's your culture. Thank you, but no thank you. Many Muslim women in Muslim societies choose to cover themselves up on their own accord anyway. What now?

Some Feminists claim that women are as seen as "evil" in Islam. They cite how some past scholars describe women as "fitnah" (can't find an equivalent English word , but it has links to such meanings: trials, upheavals, chaos, disunity in society).

Again, it is a cultural representation of things. That's the language of the people of the times. It does not mean women are evil. It means that if you don't lower your gaze and control your eyes, or your sexual desires, you will end up having illicit sex.

A simple comparison I can give is "Money is the root of all evil."

Of course we know that money is neither good nor evil. It is the people who control them are. Likewise, when some of these scholars decribe women as a "fitnah", it does not refer to the women, but the deeds that follow if you don't control illicit sexual desire.


More Women in Hell according to hadith

So if it is the men who have less control over illicit sexual desires, why is there a hadith that says there are more women in hell? Again, this is yet another argument used (mainly by Feminists and perhaps anti-Muslims) to claim that the teachings of Islam is misogynistic. But there is a simple explanation.

As we can see, it is the eye which is one of the weakest spots in men that leads him to illicit sex. For the woman, the weakest spot is neither the eye nor her desire for illicit sex. It is her tongue.

Now hold a second, ladies. Feminists who want to dispute me that the woman's tongue is her weakest spot can scream all they like. I am sure I can find more women (and men) who agree with me than disagree.

For the man, if he engages in illicit sex, who is he most likely to have sex with? A woman, isn't it? So for every evil deed he does, he brings along another woman with him. Perhaps if she is a prost, she would bring down 20 men with her.

But the fact remains that when the sex act stops, the sin stops there. So for every one deed of sexual act, two people at that time, one man and one woman, would be accountable.

Now compare to the tongue - gossip. For every one session a woman gossips, there would be five, ten, twenty, thirty pairs of ears. And who most likely would be her gossiping peers? Other women, no?

However, when she stops gossiping, would that gossip stop? Unlikely. Wouldn't the second hand gossipers pass to more (women) gossipers?

Unlike the sex act where it is a one man one woman show, gossip sessions involve many. And unlike the sex act where the illicit deed ends there when the couple disengages, the "fitnah" caused by the gossip continues to multiply even after the original gossiper stops. Do your math and see how many men compared to women would hence end up in hell.

Again, critics and Feminists may say the above teaching is misogynistic. But if you look at reality, isn't the situation described fairly accurate?

Conclusion

Liberals may laugh and ridicule Islam's conservative ways. But in the end, as always, even the simplest sexual desire, if left uncontrolled, can lead to bigger things.