This thread will examine the ayat of shamelessness in the Quran. A major problem faced by muslims today. Every ayah on this subject offers a unique perspective on this sickness and how it ruins us.

Make Dua.

All credit goes to my teacher Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan, make dua for him and his family.

Assalamu aleikum

Key Definitions

The words for shamelessness used in the Quran

i. Al Fahsha: This refers to shamelessness in the general sense, The idea of been inappropriate or doing ugly things. Anything that is ugly , detestable behavior is considered fasha. Socially unacceptable speech, socially unacceptable clothing, socially unacceptable actions, Vulgarity, lewdness etc fall under Fasha. Inappropriateness...

ii. Al fahisha: This refers to a particular act of inappropriateness.

So Fahsha is the general inappropriateness
Al fahisha is a particular act of inappropriateness.

Plural for both:

Al Fawahish: Include both Fasha and al fahisha.

The lessons from the Quran on shamelessness

The first ayah we would look at, is one that every Muslim listens too every Friday. It is from Surah Nahl, Ayah 90...

Inna Allaha ya/muru bialAAadli waal-ihsani wa-eeta-i thee alqurba wayanha AAani alfahsha-i waalmunkari waalbaghyi yaAAithukum laAAallakum tathakkaroona

I would break the ayat up and explain as we move along

Inna Allaha ya/muru bialAAadli waal-ihsani

There is no doubt at all that Allah in fact commands to justice and he commands you to do the best.

Look at the transition here, from the least to the highest.

The least you can do is alAAadl (Justice), Allah commands you to Justice and if you excel in Justice then the highest state you can reach is Ihsan...

So Allah commands you to Aadl but don't be satisfied with that, reach for Ihsan...

wa-eeta-i thee alqurba

Give to close relatives...

A case study of Aadl and Ihsan, Giving charity to close relations in your family. There are members of your family who you must provide for to fulfill the requirement of justice but Ihsan requires to to do beyond that, beyond the minimum, the sharia expects you to do , do extra things for your parents, for your siblings, your cousin, your uncle...

wayanha AAani alfahsha-i waalmunkari waalbaghyi

And He prohibits all forms of shamelessness and every other evil deed and rebellion.

On the other hand, He prohibits from Alfahsha and almunkar

almunkar includes alfahsha but alfahsha does not include almunkar.

So if Allah just says Almunkar, it also covers alfahsha. If Allah says do not do evil things, it would have included all forms of shamelessness as well but Allah pulls it out of that umbrella and mentions it separately and then mentions the rest of evil deeds.

There are many evil deeds, murder, stealing, riba, eating haram, taking the money of the orphan etc.. BUT there is only one evil that Allah pulled out implying especially this one and then the rest. That is alfahsha.

Allah says He prohibits you first from shamelessness and then the rest. Now, why is that? Because if you lose your shame, the other sins are easy. If you lose your shame, then no other sin matters.. When you lose your shame, it means you are not ashamed infront of Allah anymore.

From Ibn Masood (ra) who said that the Prophet (sas) said: "Among that which reached the people from the words of the earlier prophethood: If you feel no shame, then do whatever you wish." (Bukhari)

So Allah mentions Alfasha first, maintaining shame will save you.

At the end of it all, Allah says rebellion (waalbaghyi).

yaAAithukum laAAallakum tathakkaroona

He is giving you advice, so you can make a real effort to remember

The advice:

Be fair, excel, take care of relations and don't be shameless... Every friday, you are given this reminder... Don't be shameless...

So don't respond to that girl's text message after juma'ah because you just heard: He prohibits you from shamlessness and all forms of evil.. You come well dressed to juma'ah and take it all off after Jumaah... You just heard the ayah, whether you understand it or not, it is binding on you... It is a case made against you. The ayat were read on you.

Allah says in Surah al mulk (roughly translated):

For those who defy their Lord We have prepared the torment of Hell: an evil destination. They will hear it drawing in its breath when they are thrown in. It blazes forth, almost bursting with rage. Its keepers will ask every group that is
thrown in, ‘Did no one come to warn you?’ They will reply, ‘Yes, a warner did come to us, but we did not believe him. We said, “God has revealed nothing: you are greatly misguided”.’ They will say, ‘If only we had listened, or reasoned, we would not be with the inhabitants of the blazing fire,’ and they will confess their sins. Away with the inhabitants of the blazing fire! (Surah 67 6-11)

If only they had listened or reasoned, this would be the regret of those cast into the fire... May Allah save us.

Now everything, you will read on this thread is hanging over all of us because we heard it. Allah is holding it over all of us, so if we ignore this, Then listen to the punishment of those who ignore Allah's words.

Who could be worse than the person who is reminded of his master's ayat and turns his back on them, forgeting about what his hands are storing up for him [in the Hereafter]? We are going to place a lock over their hearts (inaccessible), so they can never be able to understand, and We put heaviness in their ears: even you call them to guidance [Prophet] they will never accept it. (Surah kafh: 57)

All because they heard the ayat of Allah and chose to ignore them. Such that even if the messenger himself gave them dawah personally, they would not accept. This is what happens when this crime is committed. This is the punishment of one who ignores the ayat of Allah when they are reminded.

So make the intention to stick to what you will read here.

This is one of the greatest destroyers of our faith, i am motivated to write about this because i see many Muslims stuck in this.. It is killing our Iman and salat... And we wonder why we can't cry in prayer, How are you going to cry in prayer and watch season 1 and season 2 of some stupid show.

If you cannot stand the heat of this thread, then make sure you unfollow because what you read and ignore will be a case against you.

More ayat to come

Assalamu aleikum.

وعليكم السلام.jazakukumullahu khairan for d post.....may Allah reward u.I'm looking foward to more posts! Tanx

Rhaphy: وعليكم السلام.jazakukumullahu khairan for d post.....may Allah reward u.I'm looking foward to more posts! Tanx

Wa iyyakum, More to come in sha Allah

The next ayah we are going to look at, comes from Surah Al-Ankaboot ayah 45:

Otlu ma oohiya ilayka mina alkitabi waaqimi alssalata inna alssalata tanha AAani alfahsha-i waalmunkari walathikru Allahi akbaru waAllahu yaAAlamu ma tasnaAAoona

We will break the ayah as we move along

Otlu ma oohiya ilayka mina alkitabi waaqimi alssalata inna alssalata tanha AAani alfahsha-i waalmunkari

Read and follow what has been revealed to you from the book and establish prayer, no doubt about it, it is infact prayer that prevents you from all forms of shamelessness and evil behaviour.

Prayer (Salat) is the thing that prevents you from Alfahsha, prayer will block you from alfahsha.

Now some of you might say: I have been praying five times a day but i still have a boyfriend or a girlfriend. I am still addicted to filthy stuff online but i still pray five times...

So how come Allah is saying, prayer will prevent you from these things and you are still engrossed in these things??

Answer: You think, you are praying...Allah doesn't just say prayer prevents alfasha, He says : no doubt about it, it is infact prayer that prevents you from all forms of shamelessness.

No doubt about it, if you are actually praying, you will be prevented, you will be stopped.. You will not be able to go forward...

Something is wrong with your prayer, if you are still up to this stuff. Something is missing because you are not really praying.

If you are not able to guard your eyes and stare at every woman that walks by, watch every inappropriate advert that comes on TV, Then there is something missing in your prayer because you are not really praying.

If you were praying, you won't be able to do all that stuff.

The more you stare at in appropriate stuff and take in this sin, it goes into your heart and the heart gets harder and harder such that it becomes harder for you to pray... Your prayer becomes hit and run... You find it harder to stand up for prayer. There will be no life left in your salat.

Protecting your eyes is not just about protecting the chastity, it is also about protecting the Salat.

walathikru Allahi akbaru

And the remembrance of Allah is greater

The remembrance of Allah is greater, In other words, As strong as you temptations are, remembering Allah is more powerful. Remembering Allah at that time will be more powerful..

The case study of this in the Quran is the story of Yusuf (alayhi salam), his encounter with the minister's wife... The remembrance of Allah is greater...

waAllahu yaAAlamu ma tasnaAAoona

And Allah knows what you have been manufacturing

Allah knows the plans and schemes you have been making, The guy who wants to get his way with a girl, builds elaborate plans on how to get the girl. First he introduces himself to the girl, then he attempts to get the number... He has all these plans laid out in his head.

Allah knows what you have been building.

Allah knows the games you are playing...

More ayat to come...

Assalamu aleikum

Lessons so far:

i. Alfahsha will expose you to other evil
ii. Salat will protect you.

The next ayah, we will look at comes from Surah Baqarah, Ayah 268

Alshshaytanu yaAAidukumu alfaqra wayamurukum bialfahsha-i waAllahu yaAAidukum maghfiratan minhu wafadlan waAllahu wasiAAun AAaleemun

Alshshaytanu yaAAidukumu alfaqra

Shaytan infact promises you poverty

Everytime, you are about to spend money in the path of Allah, Shaytan comes and says: What about the house rent, and Phcn bill?? what about the children school fees? what about your tuition? Are you not supposed to pay for something this month, Be financially responsible here...

200 accounting questions will come in your head when you want to spend in the path of Allah. Allah is telling why that happens.

If you go to the cinema, you do not think about these things when you pay for stuff.

Every time you want to spend for Allah, shaytan says : hey, you have to think carefully about this..

If you agree to shaytan's request, you hand him more control... He gets more power so he does the next things

way[b]amurukum bialfahsha-i[/b]

And he commands (or suggest) you to shamelessness

Amara in the arabic language is a gradient, it starts from suggesting and it moves on to command. The more control Shaytan has will determine whether he can command you or not.

You see muslims addicted to filth online and they can not help themselves, they can't stop themselves. Shaytan has taken full control and can therefore command them to shamelessness. They are addicted to Zina and p.ornography. They cannot stop themselves. They keep coming back to the same sin over and over again.

You can't stay away from this girl even when you know better. Everytime you try, you keep going back. Shaytan has taken control.

The lesson here is that shaytan gets you when you disobey in something else. You miss a salat, you don't give sadaqa. You disobey Allah in some other manner and shaytan will get you to fahsha...

At the end of the day, Shaytan wants to take your clothes off... We will learn that in Surah araf. So you will disobey Allah in other ways and he will get you with the ultimate humiliation..

waAllahu yaAAidukum maghfiratan minhu wafadlan waAllahu wasiAAun AAaleemun

God promises you His forgiveness and His abundance: God is limitless and all knowing,

More ayat to come In sha Allah

The next ayat come from Surah Baqarah ayah 168 and ayah 169

168. Ya ayyuha alnnasu kuloo mimma fee al-ardi halalan tayyiban wala tattabiAAoo khutuwati alshshaytani innahu lakum AAaduwwun mubeenun

169. Innama ya/murukum bialssoo-i waalfahsha-i waan taqooloo AAala Allahi ma la taAAlamoona

Ya ayyuha alnnasu kuloo mimma fee al-ardi halalan tayyiban

People, eat what is good and lawful from the earth,

Eat good halal food,

Halal food is not just about slaughtered animal, halal food is also about where you get the money, If you are buying halal chicken from your liquor store's money, it is still the same as pork. If it is from haram money, it is also haram. Riba money, Alcohol money, gambling money, etc... If you use that to buy zabiha chicken, you are still eating haram....

khutuwati alshshaytani innahu lakum AAaduwwun mubeenun

While not following the footsteps of shaytan, for he is your sworn enemy.

Shaytan has shown his enmity to humans from day 1, He has promised to get as many as he can to the hell fire.

So how will he show his animosity, what are these footsteps??

Next ayah:

Innama ya/murukum bialssoo-i waalfahsha-i waan taqooloo AAala Allahi ma la taAAlamoona

He will command you to evil, and will command you to shamelessness and to say about Allah what you don't even know.


There are religions in the world, whose spiritual traditions include dancing (men and women together) and alcohol. There are religion that have as their spiritual ritual all kinds of shameless stuff.. We learn here that these kinds of things are inspired by shaytan. That is shaytan telling people to 'get close' to Allah in this way.

Even muslims get taken in by this stuff, we see muslim practice all kinds of things that have no basis in the religion, saying about Allah what they do not know. Shaytan will make you say things about Allah that you have no idea about.

You consume haram and it will immediately make you more shameless, you will start watching more filthy stuf, you will start going out to movies more, you will start going to parties more.

Bad stuff will start happening when you start eating haram and you will justify it by saying of Allah what you do not know.

The ayat so far are about alfahsha, all forms of shamelessness..

Make dua.

Assalam Aleikum

Alfahisha

The lesson in this section is who should be worried about shamelessness.

The next ayat comes from Surah Imran starting from ayah 133.

133. WasariAAoo ila maghfiratin min rabbikum wajannatin AAarduha alssamawatu waal-ardu oAAiddat lilmuttaqeena

134. Allatheena yunfiqoona fee alssarra-i waalddarra-i waalkathimeena alghaytha waalAAafeena AAani alnnasi waAllahu yuhibbu almuhsineena

135. Waallatheena itha faAAaloo fahishatan aw thalamoo anfusahum thakaroo Allaha faistaghfaroo lithunoobihim waman yaghfiru alththunooba illa Allahu walam yusirroo AAala ma faAAaloo wahum yaAAlamoona



133. WasariAAoo ila maghfiratin min rabbikum wajannatin AAarduha alssamawatu waal-ardu oAAiddat lilmuttaqeena

133. Run to forgiveness from your master and a garden as wide as the heavens and earth prepared for the people of taqwa (Those who protect themselves, God consciousness)

So who are these people of taqwa?? The next ayah addresses that..

134 Allatheena yunfiqoona fee alssarra-i waalddarra-i

The people who spend when it is easy and when it is hard.

The first quality of this people is that they give charity when it is easy and they also give when it is hard,

The second and third characteristics are:

134. waalkathimeena alghaytha waalAAafeena AAani alnnasi

They swallow anger and they pardon people lovingly

When these people get angry, they swallow it and do not let it show.. They are also forgiving of people, they don't hold a grudge. They don't stay mad.

They let it go...

They ayah continues:

134. waAllahu yuhibbu almuhsineena


And Allah loves those who excel

We have three categories of believers:

i. Muslim
ii. mu'min
ii. muhsin

The highest category of believers are the muhsin, Allah is talking about the muhsin in this ayah. Those who excel. It is an act of Ihsan to give when it is easy and when it is hard, to swallow anger when angry and not to keep grudges and forgive lovingly.

These people of taqwa are so awesome that Allah calls them muhsin, you don't get any better than that.

Now the next ayah

135. Waallatheena itha faAAaloo fahishatan

The people who when they commit an act of shamelessness

These are the best of people. Allah did not say if they do something shameless, he said WHEN they do something shaemless. fahisha is not just zina, it includes everything less than that. You looked at a girl for too long, this is also fahisha. You extended a conversation with a sister longer than you should have, this is also fahisha. Little slips here and there. It will happen so Allah says when it happens...


135. aw thalamoo anfusahum

or they wrong themselves in any other way

This is a consistent feature in the Quran, shamelessness is mentioned first then every other evil deed. Allah says they wrong themselves, that includes shamelessness but Allah takes it out of the umbrella and mentioned it seperately. We have already studied a similar example above. Fahsha first every time.

So what does a person of ihsan do when then slip up?

135. thakaroo Allaha

They immediately remember (and mentioned) Allah

It is so immediate that 'fa' or 'thumma' are not used. The didn't just remember Him, they said His name because saying His name is embarrassing when you are doing something wrong

135. faistaghfaroo lithunoobihim

Then they asked Allah to forgive

135. waman yaghfiru alththunooba illa Allahu

who forgives sins but Allah?

Where are you going to go? who else are you going to turn to? We have no other place to go. There is no such thing as a bad time to remember Allah.

Immediately the people of Ihsan do something wrong/made a mistake, they immediately remember Allah and seek His forgiveness.

135. walam yusirroo AAala ma faAAaloo wahum yaAAlamoona

and will not knowingly repeat (the wrong) they did.

They do not knowingly repeat the wrong.

The people of ihsan are not angels, they would slip up but the important quality is that they remember Allah, seek forgiveness and never go back to the sin.

JazakumLlahu Khayran. Tbaba is simply sensational.

maclatunji: JazakumLlahu Khayran. Tbaba is simply sensational.

wa iyyakum, I am very uncomfortable with praise, just make dua for me in private. Thanks.

^Stop trying to be so modest. If I criticise you, you will feel bad. Just enjoy the praise quietly. A little encouragement is in order.

The next lesson about alfahisha comes from surah Nisa, Ayah 15. It addresses an important social principle.

Allah says:

Waallatee ya/teena alfahishata min nisa-ikum faistashhidoo AAalayhinna arbaAAatan minkum fa-in shahidoo faamsikoohunna fee albuyooti hatta yatawaffahunna almawtu aw yajAAala Allahu lahunna sabeelan

Roughly translated: If any of your women commit an act of shamelessness, call four witnesses from among you, then, if they testify to their guilt, keep the women at home until death comes to them or until God shows them another way.


Instead of using the word Zina, Allah uses the word alfahisha. The worst kind of fahisha is zina. So Allah says, women that have committed adultery, seek four witnesses out against them.

Now this kind of thing is done in the privacy of the bedroom so it is practically impossible to get four witnesses, It doesn't happen in public. The idea of seeking four witnesses of this act is almost impossible.

In 99.9% of the cases, you would be unable to execute any punishment against these people. Even if you have 100% evidence that this is going on but you do not have the required witnesses, you are still not able to make a case against them.

One of the wisdoms of the law is that Allah does not want these sort of cases to become public conversation, He doesn't want these kinds of things to come out all the time. These are the cover of many soft sell magazines, who cheated on who?, who did this with who?? etc.

Unfortunately, these things are out in the open these days and everybody accuses everybody else. This is the low level to which society has reached, this is been celebrated on tv shows, talk shows and entertainment channels. It is as if we are celebrating the demise of humanity. We have people educated in everything else but when it comes to decency they are as ignorant as they come.

Unfortunately, so many muslims are accepting this. We should keep away from discussions that involve who cheated on who, on who is sleeping with who. These kinds of things should NEVER become casual conversation for a muslim, not on nairaland, not anywhere. This is why four witness must be brought forward before you can make an accusation.

It should never become open conversation for the muslim, one person accusing a woman is out of the question.

Now, if you know that a muslim sister has a boyfriend or something is going on and you think you should tell someone,then the first person to talk to is the girl herself. You could threaten to tell her parents/brother if you know it will scare her off that path. And if you have to tell her brother, be indirect. It is not appropriate to spell it out, find a creative way of bringing the problem to his attention without actually accusing the person.

The next ayah, we will look at is probably one of the most important ayah on this subject.

Surah Al-An'am ayah 151

151. Qul taAAalaw atlu ma harrama rabbukum AAalaykum alla tushrikoo bihi shay-an wabialwalidayni ihsanan wala taqtuloo awladakum min imlaqin nahnu narzuqukum wa-iyyahum wala taqraboo alfawahisha ma thahara minha wama batana wala taqtuloo alnnafsa allatee harrama Allahu illa bialhaqqi thalikum wassakum bihi laAAallakum taAAqiloona

As usual we will break it down gradually

The messenger is told

Qul taAAalaw

Tell them: Come on up


First, let's examine the imagery behind this ayah. In the previous ayah (150), it began saying: Qul halumma

halumma here means: come on

Another way of saying that is used in ayah 151, taAAalaw

So there are two ways of saying it, halumma and taAAalaw. Now halumma is used when people are of equal standing, like friends amongst each other, halumma refers to people on the same level. However, when someone is standing on a high place and calling out to someone below, the word used is taAAalaw: come on up!!..


Now when people are on the same level, They can see what you see from where they are because you are all at the same level.

However, a person standing on an elevation can see what people below can't see.

It is so beautiful that in the previous ayah Allah tells his messenger:

Tell them: ‘bring (halumma) your witnesses to testify that God has forbidden all this.’..... (Surah 6:150)

Meaning: The witnesses are mushrik as well. Mushrik are saying 'come on' to other people of shirk. They are all on the same level so they do not see anything new. They all see the same thing. Halumma is used here..

Then Allah says to his messenger in ayah 151:

Qul taAAalaw atlu ma harrama rabbukum AAalaykum

Tell them: come on up, I will tell you what your master has really forbidden you. (Surah 6:151)


The prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) is above the people of shirk and he is calling them up and until they come up they will not see the right view. They won't see what the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) sees. The call of the messenger is elevated above the call of the mushrik..

It is beautiful.. These are the things often missing in translation... It says 'come on' in both cases in most english translations.

SubhanAllah..

So the ayah goes

i. Qul taAAalaw atlu ma harrama rabbukum AAalaykum

Tell them: come on up, I will tell you what your master has really forbidden you. (Surah 6:151)


ii. alla tushrikoo bihi shay-an

that you should not associate partners with Him at all


iii. wabialwalidayni ihsanan

and that should be the best you should possibly be to both parents

Now let's examine this: The ayah starts with: Let me tell you what is forbidden... The first thing mentioned is shirk, do not associate partners. The ayah continues mentioning other haram things like 'Don't kill you children', don't come near shamelessness, don't commit murder etc...

This part of the ayah is peculiar though: Be the best you can possibly be to your parents. Everything talks about what you should not do, this ayah tells you what you should do.. Be the best to your parents.

What this implies is : Anything short of the best to your parents is Haram.... Anything less than the very very best to your parents is haram. This is the kind of regard we should have for our parents.

There is no other action in Islam when you do not reach Ihsan, that you will earn sins.. You don't have to have ihsan in your salat or hajj and it will still be acceptable. The only thing that will earn you sins if you are less than the best is your relationship with your parents.

So girls: DO NOT TALK BACK TO YOUR MOTHER,WHEN YOUR MOTHER SAYS DO SOMETHING, DO IT AND DON"T ARGUE, WHY?? BECAUSE YOUR MOTHER SAID IT..

THAT IS IHSAN!!

Guys: DO NOT TALK BACK TO YOUR FATHER,WHEN YOUR FATHERS SAY DO SOMETHING, DO IT AND DON"T ARGUE, WHY?? BECAUSE YOUR FATHER SAID IT

THAT IS IHSAN!!

Anything short of the best with your parents is haram. Every action that you can think of, that has to do with your parents has to be the best..

Your speech , thoughts, behaviour and spending towards them has to be the best. Every single thing with your parents has to be the best.

iv. wala taqtuloo awladakum min imlaqin nahnu narzuqukum wa-iyyahum

do not kill your children because of bankruptcy’– We will provide for you and for them–‘

v. wala taqraboo alfawahisha

Don't go near any form and all the forms of shamelessness

The use of 'al' here indicates that you know these forms of shamelessness, don't go near it. YOU KNOW IT. Do not post inappropriate pictures of yourself on facebook.

Now this ayah said, don't kill your children first... A discussion to married people, then it says: Don't go near shamelessness. It shows that even married people are not free from shamelessness. Marriage is not the end of your shameless problem.

Marriage does not solve that problem. Sisters, you have to protect your husband. Brothers, you have to protect your wife. Do not watch shameless shows with your husband,stop him from all that stuff.. Make sure it is clean

You have to be on guard all the time.. Husbands and wives, if you guys don't have a beautiful marriage then you are ruining your iman. You have to have a romantic , loving marriage... Not for yourself but for your iman.

Marriage is half your deen but you have to work on a beautiful marriage.



vi.ma thahara minha wama batana

whether obvious or hidden;


vii. wala taqtuloo alnnafsa allatee harrama Allahu illa bialhaqqi


do not take the life God has made sacred, except by right.


Allah mentioned Zina first and Murder second, In other places, He mentions Murder first and Zina second. This teaches us that they are equal crimes before Allah. One is the crime of killing the body (murder), the other is a crime of killing the soul. Zina kills the soul.

They are both serious crimes in Islam.