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When an adult man looks at a free, adult woman whom he intends to marry, he may view her neck, face, hands, and feet.
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When he looks at a woman who is his maḥram, at a nine-year-old girl, when he himself feels no sexual desire, or when the onlooker is a discerning minor who does feel desire, it is permissible to look at the face, neck, hands, feet, head, and calves.
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For the purpose of medical treatment, he may look at whatever parts of the body must be examined or treated.
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A man looking at a free girl who can discern but is younger than nine; a woman looking at an unrelated man; a discerning boy who has no sexual desire looking at a woman; and one man looking at another—even if the latter is beardless—all may look at everything except the area between the navel and the knee.
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A man may look at his wife and she at him, even with desire; each may view every part of the other’s body. The same license applies to looking at the entire body of a child under seven.
It is forbidden to look with desire, or when there is fear that desire will be stirred, at any of the persons just mentioned. Touching carries the same ruling as looking. It is likewise unlawful to take sensual pleasure from the voice of an unrelated woman, even if she is reciting, and it is forbidden for a man who is not a maḥram to be alone with women—and vice versa.
11 – Ibn al-Qattan al-Maliki said: There is unanimous agreement that it is forbidden to look at a beardless youth for the sake of enjoyment, and unanimous agreement that it is permissible to look at him when no pleasure is intended.
12 – It is unlawful for a woman to adorn herself for any maḥram man other than her husband or, in the case of a bondswoman, her owner.
13 – Imam Ahmad was asked about a man kissing female relatives within the forbidden degrees. He said: “If he returns from a journey and is free of temptation, there is no harm, but he should not kiss them on the mouth.”
14 – Shaykh al-Islam said: “The gaze is a gateway to the corruption of the heart; for this reason Allah commanded that the eyes be lowered. In the two Ṣaḥīḥs, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘The adultery of the eyes is the gaze.’ Al-Tabarani reports from Ibn Masʿud that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘The glance is a poisoned arrow from the arrows of Iblis. Whoever leaves it for fear of Allah, He will replace it with faith whose sweetness he finds in his heart.’”