Remedies for Unchastity — Essence of Islam Vol. 3

14 Sep, 2026 Essence of Islam 0

Essence of Islam Book Cover by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (AS)

Introduction

In this discourse from Essence of Islam (Volume 3), Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (AS), the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, expounds upon Remedies for Unchastity, presenting profound spiritual insights and scriptural verities.

Book Series: Essence of Islam (Volume 3)
Author: Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (AS)
Section: Part 11: The Veil
Navigation: Book Table of Contents | « Previous: Wisdom Behind the System of Veil | Next: Extreme Attitudes About the Veil »

enough self-temperance to restrain control their passions, you may consider whether the veil is necessary or not. To insist upon unrestricted freedom in the present circumstances would be like putting sheep at the mercy of lions. What ails our people that they do not reflect upon the consequences of things? Let them at least take counsel with their consciences whether the condition of men is so much improved that women may go about among them unveiled. The Holy Qur’an, which lays down appropriate directions consistent with the natural desires and weaknesses of men, adopts an excellent position in this regard: 232

‘Tell the believing men to restrain their looks and to guard their private parts. This is the act through which they will attain purification….’
The Islamic injunction that men and women should both restrain themselves in certain ways, aims at safeguarding them against slipping and stumbling; for, in the early stages human beings are inclined towards vice, and, at the slightest provocation, fall upon it as a starving person falls on delicious food. It is every one’s duty to safeguard himself.
[Malfuzat, vol. 7, pp. 134-136]
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3, p. 330]

God Almighty has not only set forth excellent teaching for acquiring chastity, but has also furnished man with five remedies to safeguard himself against unchastity. These are to restrain one’s eyes from gazing at women

The Veil 331 who are outside the prohibited degrees; to avoid listening to their voices, to refrain from hearing stories about them, to avoid occasions which might furnish incitement to vice and to control oneself during celibacy through fasting, etc. We can confidently claim that this excellent teaching with all its devices that is set forth in the Holy Qur’an is peculiar to Islam. However, one point should be kept in mind: since the natural condition of man, which is the source of his appetites, and from which he cannot depart without a complete change in himself, is such that his passions are bound to be roused when they are confronted with the occasion and opportunity for indulging in such vice, God Almighty has, therefore, not instructed us that we may freely look at women outside the prohibited category, and we may contemplate their beauty and observe all their movements in dance, etc., but that we should do so with pure looks. Nor have we been instructed to listen to the singing of these women and to lend ear to the tales of their beauty, but with pure intent. Instead we have been positively prohibited from looking at their beauty, whether with pure intent or otherwise, or listening to their musical voices or relating descriptions of their beauty, whether with pure intent or otherwise. We have been directed to eschew all this as we eschew carrion, lest we stumble due to our unlawful glances. As God Almighty desires that our eyes and hearts and all our limbs and our susceptibilities should remain pure, He has furnished us with this excellent teaching. There can be no doubt that lack of restraint causes missteps. If we place soft bread before a hungry dog, it will be vain to hope that the dog will pay no attention to it. Thus God Almighty desired that human faculties should not be provided with any occasion for secret functioning and should not be confronted with anything that might incite dangerous tendencies. This indeed is the philosophy that underlies the Islamic injunctions regarding the veil, and this is what the Shariah demands. The Book of God does not aim at keeping women in captivity like prisoners. This is the thinking of the ignorant who are not aware of the Islamic ideals. The purpose of these regulations is to restrain men and women from letting their eyes rove freely and from displaying their beauty and charm, for this is to the benefit of both men and women. Remember, in Arabic Ghadd-e-Basar means to restrain oneself from casting even a cursory glance at the wrong place, while at the same time seeing things which are permissible. It does not behove a pious person, who desires to keep his heart pure, that he should lift his eyes in an unbridled manner like a beast. It is necessary for such a person to cultivate the habit of Ghadd-e-Basar in his social life. This is a blessed habit through which a person’s natural impulses are transferred into a high moral condition without adversely affecting his social needs. This is the quality which, in Islam, is called Ihsan or chastity.
[Islami Usul ki Philosophy, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 10, pp. 343-344]
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3, p. 330]

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Introduction