; they are the enemy, so beware of them. May Allah destroy them! How deluded they are!”
If Allah has said what He has said about these hypocrites, whose bodies impress the beholder because of their splendour, comeliness and outward adornment—although they are not people looked at with lust—then what of those who are looked at with lust?
A person may be regarded for his faith and piety; here, what matters is his heart and deeds, not his appearance. He may also be looked at because his form points to the One who fashioned him, and this is good.
Or he may be looked at out of admiration for his physical beauty, just as one looks at a mountain, animals or trees. If this is done in the spirit of admiring worldly life, status and wealth, it too is blameworthy, for the Most High says:
“Do not let your eyes long for what We have given some groups among them to enjoy—the splendour of this worldly life, through which We test them.”
But if it is done in a way that does not diminish one’s religious commitment and merely refreshes the soul—as looking at flowers does—then it belongs to those idle diversions that help one pursue what is right.
Whenever any of these kinds of looking is accompanied by lust, it is undoubtedly forbidden, whether the desire is to take pleasure in a lustful gaze or to engage in sexual intercourse. There is a difference between what a person feels when looking at trees and flowers and what he feels when looking at women and beardless youths. Because of this distinction, the religious ruling differs. Looking at beardless youths thus falls into three categories: