قُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا۟ مِنْ أَبْصَـٰرِهِمْ وَيَحْفَظُوا۟ فُرُوجَهُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَزْكَىٰ لَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ خَبِيرٌۢ بِمَا يَصْنَعُونَ٣٠ وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَـٰتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَـٰرِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُن
“O Prophet!˺ Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their chastity. That is purer for them. Surely Allah is All-Aware of what they do. And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their chastity…”
Quran 24:30-31
The summer sun is blazing, and with it comes a challenge you probably weren’t expecting to read in a productivity article.
Everywhere you turn—whether it’s a quick grocery run, a jog in the park, or even scrolling through social media—you’re bombarded with images and people dressed in revealing clothes that pull your gaze in directions your heart knows aren’t beneficial.
The revealing nature of summer fashion & the immodesty we see all around us hijacks our heart and brain and makes it hard for us to focus, spiritually and mentally.
If you’ve been struggling to focus at work, have meaningful connections with people, or feeling distant from Allah SWT, it’s time to check your spiritual heart and ask yourself if you’ve opened the floodgates of your eyes to soak in everything it sees without a filter.
This isn’t about making you feel bad; it’s about recognizing our fitrah (natural disposition), and how if we leave our nafs unchecked, it can trap our minds and hearts in ways we didn’t expect.
Our Creator knows us and gave us the perfect prescription to help protect our hearts and minds from overtaxing ourselves with impure imagery when He commanded us to lower our gaze.
The True Cost of a “Harmless” Glance
Someone might argue: “What’s the big deal? It’s just a look. Where’s the harm?”
Here’s what that momentary pleasure actually costs you:
- Your Creative Edge Disappears
The dopamine hit from an inappropriate look is stealing from your ability to find satisfaction in meaningful work. Your brain becomes so overstimulated that writing, problem-solving, or deep thinking feels boring by comparison. - Your Focus Becomes Fragmented
Every inappropriate glance is like a browser tab that stays open in your mind. You think you’ve moved on, but part of your heart and mental processing power is still stuck on what you saw hours ago and those images will haunt you in your prayers, in your marriage, and when you least expect them. - Your Spiritual Connection Weakens
Allah wants our hearts to be purely dedicated to Him. When our hearts are filled with imagery from inappropriate looks we saw in real life or on our phones, our prayer feels mechanical. Quran recitation lacks sweetness. That close connection with Allah that used to bring you peace? It feels distant and clouded.
The “pleasure” of looking lasts seconds but the productivity cost lasts hours (if not days)—and this doesn’t count the spiritual/akhirah cost of indulging ourselves in such looks.
