Everything in Islam is divided into two parts, permitted and prohibited.   Looking is a most important action.  In every holy book and by every prophet, servants are ordered to keep themselves from every prohibited thing.  We have a responsibility, especially in Tariqat, to be very careful, as every trouble for man is coming from his looking at prohibited things.

These things are prohibited because there is harm in them.

 When you look at women (who are prohibited to you) ^[1]   that looking is a poisoned arrow from Satan into your heart.  You will find pain. It makes your faith mixed up and (brought down), like a nail in a tyre causing a car to stop or go out of control.  Satan’s aim is only to hearts.  You must protect your heart.  You can’t move on with a flat tire.

 Therefore, looking is very important.  If a man is not keeping his eyes from unlovely places the least amount of harm to come to him is that he loses manpower.   He becomes useless with his own lady.   One keeping his eyes is always strong; therefore prophets and saints are never losing their power.  Our Grandsheikh married after he was 100 years old.

Once, walking in the street and passing a store window filled with things leading people to fornication he said to me, “Oh Nazim Effendi if a man is looking at these things without taking wisdom he is a sinner and is wasting his sight without benefit.”

 Wisdom means knowing more about one’s Lord.   Wasting the light of our eyes prevents Light from coming on the eyes of our heart.  We become blind.   When allowing the eye to look without fear of the Lord, for the ego’s pleasure the darkness of fornication gathers in the eyes. 

To look at young boys is 7 times worse than looking at women. 

These things keep us from improving and reaching our destination.  Our egos keep us in the darkness of the world, too weighed down to journey to the heavens.  We must try for improvement in the Divine Presence.

Taken from Mercy Oceans Book 2  pp41/42

[1] That is women other than those  to whom you are married.