“Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do.

And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty…” (Qur’an Nur, 30-31)

Here are some easy steps to achieve Hayaa.

1-Reflect:

Every night instil a habit of reflecting upon the sins and immodest actions you did and when you wake up the next day think about how you will avoid that undesirable action.

2-Say No to Fashion Hijab!

The Prophet said, “There are two types of the people of Hell whom I have not seen yet. People with whips like the tails of cattle, with which they strike the people, and women who are clothed yet naked, walking with an enticing gait. They will not enter Paradise nor even smell its fragrance, although its fragrance may be detected from such and such a distance.”

Also Allah mentions in the Holy Quran,

“… and not to show off their adornment…” [An-Noor 24:31]

The hadith mentions women who wear clothes yet naked which means that the clothes are so tight that the shape of their body is revealed. Unfortunately we see our Muslim women wearing tight fitting clothes with a little piece of cloth on their heads covering only the hair. Sisters if you want to observe hijab do it like the wives of the prophet and don’t adopt the fashion hijab, which does not fulfill the proper requirements.

3-Seek Knowledge to keep a sound heart:

“The Day on which neither wealth nor sons will be of any use, except for whoever brings to Allah a sound heart.” [Quran 26:88-89]

Knowledge is food for the soul. It helps us to keep our iman at its highest peak always. This way we will always be aware of immodest acts. Modesty is a fruit of imān and knowing Allah, the All-Mighty and Exalted will increase our Iman.

4-Remember Allah is always watching:

It is narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Verily, Allah the Exalted is Modest and Concealing (Sittīr); and He loves modesty and concealment. So, when any of you bathe, let him conceal himself.”

Wherever you are and what time it is, we should remember that Allah is watching and He is the All-Knowing.

5-If you have nothing good to say, be quiet:

“Allah does not like that evil should be mentioned in public except by one who has been done injustice. And Allah is all-hearing, all-knowing.” [Sûrah al-Nisâ 04: 148]

Abstain from shameless words or actions, such as foul speech. This will aggravate Satan, who beautifies these actions, and tempts people with them. So, not engaging in such actions will make him hopeless, and he would in turn retract in disgrace.

6-Constantly increase your acts of worship:

Allah, says: “Verily, prayer prevents lewdness and evil deeds.”

It was said to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): “So-and-so prays all night, but when he wakes up he steals!” So, he (peace be upon him) said: “What you mentioned [i.e. his prayers] will [eventually] prevent him from that.” Or he said: “His prayers will prevent him.”

Zakah is another example. Allah, Most-Glorified, says regarding zakah: “Take a portion of their wealth as charity [zakah] to purify them and increase them with it.” (Qur’an, 9:103)

7-Better be alone than in an ill company:

Accompanying people who are immodest will not help you to have Hayaa, in fact it will do the opposite. Try to find good and modest people with high iman so that you too can benefit from them.

8-Ask for forgiveness:

“Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.'” (Surah Zumar 39:53)

Asking for forgiveness for your past immodest acts will make you ashamed of yourself and the next time you turn to anything immodest you will think twice as to will this be forgiven again. Verily Allah is the all-Forgiving.

Following these steps will Inshallah will make us modest people and modesty will lead us to Paradise. I ask Allah to make our youth more modest so that our future generation is more modest than the present.

Fatima Damad,

Writer, AAT