Lowering the gaze and preserving chastity at work

Q: I am an Egyptian young man. I work as a first-aid nurse. The nature of my job makes me look at (Part No. 24; Page No. 428) women, deal with them and examine them sometimes for the purpose of aid or treatment, and this is the first part of my question. The second part is: In Alexandria, my home city, I work during summer on beaches, where there are first-aid spots handling cases of drowning, injuries, and other emergency cases. Of course you know that in such places, there are semi-naked women and men who do not fear Allah. I try to lower my gaze as much as I can, but they come to me at my workplace. What do you advise me to do? Should I quit this job, although this is the only job I can do? Please guide me to the right path.

A: A Muslim should fear Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He), lower their gaze, guard their private parts, and try to avoid all means leading to Fitnah (sedition) and approaching evil. Allah (Exalted be He) says, And come not near to unlawful sex. Verily, it is a Fâhishah (i.e. anything that transgresses its limits: a great sin), and an evil way (that leads one to Hell unless Allâh forgives him). This is a clear prohibition of committing obscenity and all means leading to it. However, the worst of this is to look at women, especially those that are semi-naked. It is also impermissible for a woman to be treated by a male doctor. The same applies to a man except in cases of emergency, where there is no available female doctor for women and vice versa. Finally, what we recommend you to do is (Part No. 24; Page No. 429) to stay away from places of Fitnah and to earn your living from a job other than this one. Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) says, And whosoever fears Allâh and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. If there is a necessity to treat women, keep it to a minimum, without staying in private with them, and let your gaze be restricted to the spot of treatment at necessity. The spot of treatment in her body is the only part that may be uncovered.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.