This chapter trains the gaze. The recurring idea is ghadd al-basar, lowering or restraining the eyes, treating sight as a trust rather than a free pass. The hadith trace a single thread: every limb can carry a person toward sin, and the eye is where it usually begins, so guarding the look guards the heart.
Read these together and a gentle discipline appears. The Prophet does not tell people to abandon ordinary life, sitting on the road, being among others, but to honour its rights, the first of which is the lowered gaze. A few of these hadith touch matters of covering and conduct whose precise rulings belong to the scholars; here we stay with the shared spiritual aim, a clean eye and a protected heart.
Hadith 1622
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said:
وعن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: "كُتب على ابن آدم نصيبه من الزنا مدرك ذلك لا محالة: العينان زناهما النظر، والأذنان زناهما الاستماع، واللسان زناه الكلام، واليد زناها البطش، والرجل زناها الخطا، والقلب يهوى ويتمنى، ويصدق ذلك الفرج أو يكذبه" . ((متفق عليه. وهذا لفظ مسلم، ورواية البخاري مختصرة)).
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah has written the very portion of Zina which a man will indulge in. There will be no escape from it. The Zina of the eye is the (lustful) look, the Zina of the ears is the listening (to voluptuous songs or talk), the Zina of the tongue is (the licentious) speech, the Zina of the hand is the (lustful) grip, the Zina of the feet is the walking (to the place where he intends to commit Zina), the heart yearns and desires and the private parts approve all that or disapprove it." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. This is the wording in Muslim; Al-Bukhari wording is a bit short.
In plain words
Every part of the body can take a share in sin: the eye through a lustful look, the ears, the tongue, the hands, the feet, while the heart desires and the private parts confirm or refuse it. Guarding each limb, especially the gaze, guards the heart.
Reference : Riyad as-Salihin 1622 In-book reference : Book 17, Hadith 112
Hadith 1623
Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) said:
وعن أبي سعيد الخُدري رضي الله عنه عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: "إياكم والجلوس في الطرقات". قالوا: يا رسول الله ما لنا من مجالسنا بُد نتحدث فيها. فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : "فإذا أبيتم إلا المجلس، فأعطوا الطريق حقه" قالوا: وما حق الطريق يا رسول الله؟ قال: "غض البصر، وكف الأذى، ورد السلام، والأمر المعروف والنهي عن المنكر" ((متفق عليه)).
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Avoid sitting on roadsides." His Companions said: "O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), there is no other alternative but to sit there to talk." Thereupon the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "If you have to sit at all, then fulfill the rights of the road." They asked: "What are their rights?" Thereupon he said, "Lowering the gaze (so that you may not stare at unlawful things); refraining from doing some harm to others, responding to greeting (i.e., saying 'Wa'alaikumus- salam' to one another) and commanding the good and forbidding the evil." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
In plain words
Told to avoid sitting on roadsides, the companions said they needed to, so the Prophet (peace be upon him) named the road's rights: lower the gaze, do no harm, return greetings, and encourage good while forbidding evil. If you sit among people, honour what you owe them.
Reference : Riyad as-Salihin 1623 In-book reference : Book 17, Hadith 113
Hadith 1624
Abu Talhah Zaid bin Sahl (May Allah be pleased with him) said:
وعن أبي طلحة زيد بن سهل رضي الله عنه قال: كنا قعودًا بالأفنية نتحدث فيها فجاء رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقالم علينا فقال: "ما لكم ولمجالس الصعدات؟ فقلنا: إنما قعدنا لغير ما بأس، قعدنا نتذاكر، ونتحدث. قال: "إما لا فأدوا حقها: غض البصر، ورد السلام، وحسن الكلام" ((رواه مسلم)). "الصُّعُدات" بضم الصاد والعين، أي: الطرقات.
We were sitting and talking on a platform in front of our house when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stopped by us and said, "Why do you sit on roads? Avoid sitting in them." We replied: "We sit there intending no harm. We only sit and discuss (religious) knowledge and talk." He said, "If you have to sit, you should fulfill the rights of the road: Lower your gaze, respond to greetings and talk in a good manner." [Muslim].
In plain words
When the companions explained they sat outside only to talk, the Prophet (peace be upon him) still asked them to fulfil the rights of the road: lower the gaze, return greetings, and speak well. Even ordinary gatherings carry duties toward others.
Reference : Riyad as-Salihin 1624 In-book reference : Book 17, Hadith 114
Hadith 1625
Jarir bin 'Abdullah (May Allah be pleased with him) said:
وعن جرير رضي الله عنه قال: سألت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن نظر الفجأة فقال: "اصرف بصرك" ((رواه مسلم)).
I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about (the Islamic ruling on) accidental glance (i.e., at a woman one is not Islamically allowed to look at) and he ordered me to turn my eyes away. [Muslim].
In plain words
Asked about an unintended glance falling on a woman, the Prophet (peace be upon him) told him simply to turn his eyes away. A first accidental look is excused, but it should not be repeated.
Reference : Riyad as-Salihin 1625 In-book reference : Book 17, Hadith 115
Hadith 1626
Umm Salamah (May Allah be pleased with her) said:
وعن أم سلمة رضي الله عنها قالت: كنت عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وعنده ميمونة، فأقبل ابن أم مكتوم، وذلك بعد أن أُمرنا بالحجاب فقال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم : "احتجبا منه" فقلنا: يا رسول الله إلىس هو أعمى لا يبصرنا، ولا يعرفنا؟ فقال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم : "أفعمياوان أنتما ألستما تبصرانه؟!" ((رواه أبو داود والترمذي: وقال حديث حسن صحيح)).
I was with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) along with Maimunah (May Allah be pleased with her) when Ibn Umm Maktum (May Allah be pleased with him) (who was blind) came to visit him. (This incident took place after the order of Hijab). The Prophet (ﷺ) told us to hide ourselves from him (i.e., observe Hijab). We said: "O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), he is blind and is unable to see us, nor does he know us." He replied; "Are you also blind and unable to see him?" [Abu Dawud and At- Tirmidhi].
In plain words
When a blind man came to visit, the Prophet (peace be upon him) still told the women to observe covering, noting that though he could not see them, they could see him. Modesty is a two-way responsibility, not only the other person's.
Reference : Riyad as-Salihin 1626 In-book reference : Book 17, Hadith 116
Hadith 1627
Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) said:
وعن أبي سعيد رضي الله عنه أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: "لا ينظر الرجل إلى عورة الرجل، ولا المرأة إلى عورة المرأة، ولا يفضي الرجل إلى الرجل في ثوب واحد، ولا تفضي المرأة إلى المرأة في ثوب واحد" ((رواه مسلم)).
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "A man must not look at a man's private parts nor must a woman look at a woman's private parts; neither should two men lie naked under one cover, nor should two women lie naked under the same cover." [Muslim].
In plain words
A man must not look at another man's private parts, nor a woman at another woman's, and two of the same should not lie naked under one cover. Personal privacy and modesty are to be respected even among the same gender.
Reference : Riyad as-Salihin 1627 In-book reference : Book 17, Hadith 117