and his mother and sister—is an act of worship. It is well known that whoever makes such forbidden looking an act of worship is like someone who makes indecencies acts of worship. Allah Most High says:

“When they commit an indecency, they say, ‘We found our forefathers doing this, and Allah has commanded us to do it.’ Say, ‘Allah does not command indecency. Do you say about Allah what you do not know?’”

It is also well known that the physical appearance of women whom a man is not forbidden to marry, and of his female relatives whom he is permanently forbidden to marry, may offer lessons and indications of the Creator of the same kind as those found in the appearance of beardless youths. Would any Muslim, then, say that a person may look in this manner at the appearance of women throughout the world and of his own female relatives whom he is permanently forbidden to marry, and claim that this is worship? Rather, whoever makes such looking an act of worship is a disbeliever and an apostate who must be called upon to repent; if he does not repent, he is to be put to death. He is like someone who makes assisting a person seeking indecency an act of worship, or makes drinking a small quantity of wine an act of worship, or makes becoming intoxicated with hashish an act of worship.

Whoever makes assisting indecency, through procuring or otherwise, an act of worship, or makes anything he knows to be forbidden in the religion of Islam an act of worship, must be called upon to repent; if he does not repent, he is to be put to death. He resembles the polytheists of whom Allah says:

“When they commit an indecency, they say, ‘We found our forefathers doing this, and Allah has commanded us to do it.’ Say, ‘Allah does not command indecency. Do you say about Allah what you do not know?’”

Their indecency consisted only in circumambulating the House naked. They used to say, “We will not circumambulate in clothes in which we have disobeyed Allah.” Thus, they circumambulated naked only to avoid wearing clothes in which they had sinned, yet the foregoing was said of them. What, then, of someone who makes indecency involving sexual desire an act of worship?