Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: (Indeed, the hearing, the sight, and the heart...)

We return at the beginning of this episode to a message from one of our brother listeners in Nigeria, in the city of Lagos. The listener is Zakariya Muhammad Hasan. Our brother Zakariya raised a question for us in a previous episode, and in this episode he asks about the exegesis of a verse, which is the saying of the Truth, Blessed and Exalted is He: I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan: [Al-Isra: 36].
Answer: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah, upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance.
As for what follows: The content of this noble verse is a warning against hearing what is not permissible for you, or looking at what is not permissible for you, or believing what is not permissible for you. You are accountable for what you heard, what you looked at, and what you believed in your heart. The fu'ad is the heart, so a person is accountable for his hearing, his sight, and his heart.
Therefore, the believer must fear Allah in his hearing, his sight, and his heart, and not hear what Allah has forbidden him from hearing, such as songs and musical instruments, or backbiting and talebearing, because of the great harm in them, or anything similar to that which is harmful to hear. Rather, he should listen to good, such as listening to the Noble Qur'an or the pure Sunnah or beneficial hadiths, and listening to the permissible speech of his family or his brothers, and anything similar to that which is permissible. As for what is forbidden, let him beware of it.
Among that is listening to people who dislike being heard and do not approve of their conversation being heard; it is not permissible for him to do so. As in the authentic hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Narrated by al-Bukhari. And al-ank means molten lead. This is a warning against listening to the conversations of people when they dislike it, such as listening to them secretly from the door, or through a window, or through a telephone receiver, or the like of that. It is not for you to listen to the conversation of people who dislike it, because of this great hadith, which is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): meaning molten lead. We ask Allah for safety.
And so with the sight, you are commanded to lower your gaze from what Allah has forbidden, lowering your gaze from women, so that you are not tempted by them, as He, Exalted and Majestic is He, said: [An-Nur: 30] You lower your gaze from what Allah has forbidden you of foreign women, such as your brother's wife or your uncle's wife, or anything similar to that of non-mahram women.
And so with young boys, if you fear temptation, you lower your gaze from looking at a young boy if you fear temptation, and so with anything similar to that which is forbidden to look at, such as the private parts of people. It is not for you to look at the private parts of people, nor through their houses, because you are prohibited from that.
And so it is obligatory upon you to beware of false beliefs. Rather, it is obligatory to purify your heart and your mind from what Allah has forbidden, so you do not believe what Allah has forbidden you, such as considering what Allah has forbidden to be lawful, or believing that what Allah has made obligatory is not obligatory, or doing in your heart what Allah has forbidden. For example, believing that zina is lawful; this is a disease of the heart, and it is disbelief. We ask Allah for safety. And so believing that drinking intoxicants is lawful; this is a disease of the heart and it is major shirk. We ask Allah for safety.
And so your bad opinion of Allah and your bad opinion of your brothers without evidence is also among the diseases of the heart. And so your despair from the mercy of Allah and your security from the scheme of Allah are all serious, blameworthy heart actions from the major sins. And so hypocrisy is a heart disease: that you display Islam and believe in disbelief in the inner heart, believing that the Messenger is not truthful, or that the religion is not the truth, or anything similar to these beliefs of the people of hypocrisy.
The summary is that the hearing, the sight, and the heart must all be protected from what Allah has forbidden. You must protect your hearing from what Allah has forbidden, your sight from what Allah has forbidden, and your heart from what Allah has forbidden. And you should look at and listen to what benefits you and pleases Allah with you, or what Allah has made permissible for you. And you should believe in your heart what Allah has legislated and what Allah has made permissible, and act upon it, such as loving Allah and His Messenger, fearing Allah and hoping in Him. All these are obligatory heart actions. Having a good opinion of Allah, believing that He is the One, the Unique, the One worthy of worship, and believing in what Allah has made obligatory upon you, such as prayer and fasting. You believe in your heart that Allah has made prayer obligatory upon the Muslim adults, He has made zakah obligatory upon the one who has wealth subject to zakah, He has made fasting Ramadan obligatory upon the one who is able to do so, He has made Hajj obligatory upon the one who is able to do so, and so on.
And you are accountable for all of this on the Day of Resurrection. If you have preserved them and protected them, you will be safe and the outcome will be praised. But if you have mismanaged them and not protected them from what Allah has forbidden, then you are in great danger. And there is detail in this as mentioned previously. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good and benefit us with your knowledge.