However...
However, some people do not make proper use of them: وَلَقَدْ ذَرَأْنَا لِجَهَنَّمَ كَثِيراً مِّنَ الْجِنِّ وَالإِنسِ لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لاَّ يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ لاَّ يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ آذَانٌ لاَّ يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا أُوْلَـئِكَ كَالأَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ أُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْغَافِلُونَ “Many are the Jinns and men we have made for Hell: They have hearts wherewith they understand not, eyes wherewith they see not, and ears wherewith they hear not.
They are like cattle, - nay more misguided: for they are heedless (of warning).”[The Holy Qur’an, al-A’raf 7:179] There is a tradition from the Prophet of God regarding the above verse [al-Balad 90:8] which reads: “God told the children of Adam: يا بْنَ آدَمَ! إنْ نازَعَكَ لِسانُكَ في ما حَرَّمْتُ عَلَيكَ فَقَد أَعَنْتُكَ عَليهِ بِطَبَقَتَينِ فَأَطْبِقْ. وإنْ نازَعَكَ بَصَرُكَ إلى بَعضِ ما حَرَّمْتُ عَلَيكَ فقَدْ أَعَنْتُكَ عَلَيهِ بِطَبَقَتَينِ فَأطْبِقْ. “O Children of Adam!
I have given you two lips. If your tongue tries to make you commit a forbidden act, close your lips. I have given you eyelids. If your eyes try to make you commit a forbidden act, close your eyelids.” [^1] The eyes must be closed to what is forbidden by God.
We read the following about the unbelievers in the Holy Qur’an: الَّذِينَ كَانَتْ أَعْيُنُهُمْ فِي غِطَاء عَن ذِكْرِي وَكَانُوا لَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ سَمْعًا “(Unbelievers) whose eyes had been under a veil from remembrance of Me, and who had been unable even to hear.” [The Holy Qur’an, al-Kahf 18:101] In this verse, we read that the unbelievers did not close their eyes to what is forbidden to look at. Rather they closed their eyes from what reminds man of God.
They did not hear even though they had the hearing faculty. In fact, the unbelievers disabled their most useful faculty to seek the truth and realize the realities. It is interesting to note that God says that their eyes had been under a veil from His remembrance. Thus, they could not see God’s signs. They went astray due to not seeing the truth. We cannot see God’s remembrance with our eyes. Rather we see His signs that remind us of him.
Looking at One’s Creation One proper use of the eyes is in cases that the Qur’an has pointed out. The Qur’an invites us to look at our own creation in the following verse: فَلْيَنظُرِ الْإِنسَانُ مِمَّ خُلِقَ خُلِقَ مِن مَّاء دَافِقٍ يَخْرُجُ مِن بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَائِبِ “Now let man but think from what he is created!
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