Question
Is this suitable to quote?
وكان عيسى عليه السلام يقول: النظرة تزرع في القلب الشهوة وكفى بها خطيئة
‘Isa (‘alayhis salam) used to say: “An [unlawful] gaze plants the seed of desire in the heart and this is sufficient to be a sin.”
Answer
Imam Ibnul Jawzi (rahimahullah) has cited these words as the statement of ‘Isa (alayhis salam) without a chain.
(At Tabsirah, vol. 1 pg. 162)
In Dhammul Hawa, Imam Ibnul Jawzi (rahimahullah) has recorded a similar narration, with slight differences in the wording. I have not come across the credibility/lack thereof of several of the narrators of this chain. Despite that, one should definitely take heed from its profound meaning.
The wording of this version is as follows:
قال عيسى بن مريم إياكم والنظرة فإنها تزرع في القلب الشهوة وكفى بها لصاحبها
فتنة
‘Isa ibn Maryam (‘alayhis salam) said: Beware of an [unlawful] gaze for it plants the seed of desire in the heart and this is sufficient to be a trial/test for the one who casts this glance.”
(Dhammul Hawa: 288. Also see: Tafsir Razi, Surah Nur, Verse: 30, vol. 8 pg. 184)
And Allah Ta’ala Knows best.
Answered by: Moulana Suhail Motala
Approved by: Moulana Muhammad Abasoomar,