and all created things are willed by Him. Some of these people explicitly ascribe beauty to everything without qualification. The least harm that befalls them is that they abandon zeal for Allah’s honour, forbidding wrong, hatred for Allah’s sake, striving in His path, and upholding His limits. Yet they contradict themselves in this, for they cannot be content with everything that exists. Wrongful things harm both them and others, so each is left to follow his own temperament and taste, and they cast off Allah’s religion.

Some may even embrace the doctrines of union with Allah and unrestricted divine indwelling. Others confine indwelling and union to particular created beings, such as the Messiah, ‘Alī, or others, or to shaykhs, kings, and beardless youths. They thus maintain that He dwells in beautiful forms and worship those forms.

Others do not hold this view, but instead regard love for beautiful forms—those of non-mahram women, beardless youths, and others—as an act of religious devotion. They consider this part of the beauty that Allah loves, and therefore love it themselves. They cloak forbidden natural attraction in religious love and turn what Allah has forbidden into a means of drawing nearer to Him:

“When they commit an indecency, they say, ‘We found our fathers doing it, and Allah has commanded us to do it.’ Say, ‘Allah does not command indecency.’”

The other group says: It is established in Sahīh Muslim, on the authority of Abū Hurayrah, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Allah does not look at your outward forms or your wealth; rather, He looks at your hearts and your deeds.”

Allah, Exalted is He, said of the hypocrites:

“When you see them, their bodies impress you.”

And He, Exalted is He, said:

“And how many generations We destroyed before them