Haya Secrets Exposed! Here’s the Juicy Details

Prophet sallā-llāhu 'alayhi wa-sallam has paired Haya/modesty with faith, saying: "Indeed Haya (modesty) and Iman are Companions. When one of them is lifted, the other leaves as well." (Baihaqi)

Shaytan, our greatest enemy as Allah says in the Qur’an, wants our Iman to be taken away from us. He seizes us through haya, just like He trapped our father Adam (ʿalayhi s-salām) and Hawa (ʿalayhi s-salām) by making them slip from obedience to disobedience and the consequence of which was that they were ripped off their clothes.

Allah Subḥānahu wa-taʿālā says in Qur’an, in Surah Al-A’raf (V20-22)

Then Satan tempted them in order to expose what was hidden of their nakedness. He said, “Your Lord has forbidden this tree to you only to prevent you from becoming angels or immortals.”

And he swore [by Allah] to them, “I am truly your sincere advisor.”

So he brought about their fall through deception. And when they tasted of the tree, their nakedness was exposed to them, prompting them to cover themselves with leaves from Paradise.

Just as Anger removes the Intellect, Envy removes Religion, Backbiting removes Good Deeds, Desire removes Haya/modesty. The desire of Adam (ʿalayhi s-salām) and Hawwa (ʿalayhi s-salām) to be immortals, caused them to Slip and  Allah ‘azza wa jall was displeased by them and He Subḥānahu Wa Ta'Ala uncovered that which was hidden of their private parts.

So the plot of Iblees is to rip us off our clothes by making us desire beauty, the glamor, the attention of people, praises, and fame. When our desires overtakes our obedience it causes us to disobey Allah Subḥānahu wa-taʿālā 

When we are ripped off Haya, Shaytan doesn't have to do anything much, his job is accomplished. When Haya, shame and bashfulness leaves, Iman leaves from the person’s heart, because haya is an elementary form of Taqwa. 

Prophet sallā-llāhu 'alayhi wa-sallam said إذَا لَمْ تَسْتَحِ فَاصْنَعْ مَا شِئْت" - “If you do not feel shame, do what you wish”

People who lack Haya will simply do as they please. They have no internal limitations or barriers to engaging in whatever they want. 

Allah says in the Quran, “Do whatever you will. Indeed, He sees all that you do.” (Al-Fussilat 41:40)

A mistake or a sin happens when a person’s Iman departs, and he forgets Allah in that instance and sin, when this layer of Iman leaves, Haya also leaves and he forgets that , the Allah al-Baseer, All-seeing, is seeing him; Allah, as-Sami’, the All- hearing is hearing him; Allah, ash-Shaheed, the All-witnessing, is witnessing him. 

As Humans our natural instinct (fitrah) is to cover, be it our bodies or our mistakes or sins, and this is Haya. Our fitrah is programmed to feel an uneasiness when codes of morality are violated. Shaytan’s plan is to destroy this fitrah of Haya and expose them therefore Haya is a compulsory and core value that should permeate our lives.

As Believers we should use our internal haya as a barometer to measure our actions. The reality is that Haya is the driving force in every single act of faith. It is the manner in which we find closeness to Allah Subḥānahu wa-taʿālā and submit to His every law.

Let's contemplate, when I am faced with a choice, do I have the feelings of Haya -shyness, shame, apprehensiveness, and worry or do I give in for my desires and do wrong hoping for Allah’s mercy.

Depending on what choice we make in the given moment, a question to ask ourselves, are we assisting ourselves to make it to Jannah through submission and obedience to Allah Subḥānahu wa-taʿālā or are we assisting shaytan in his mission and his rebellion?

To be continued…..