beardless youths. ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, forbade people to sit with him. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb also encountered a young man and cut his hair because some women were attracted to him, besides banishing him from his homeland and separating him from his family.

Anyone who allows a boy under his care—such as his son, brother, slave, or an orphan—to remain with someone who associates with him in this manner is a cursed man who condones such indecency:

“No one who condones such indecency will enter Paradise.”

For hidden indecency is not ordinarily established by proof; proof is established only for what is outward, and this vile companionship is itself a form of outward indecency. Allah Most High has said:

“Do not approach indecencies, whether openly or in secret.”

And He Most High has said:

“Say: My Lord has only forbidden indecencies, whether openly or in secret.”

Were we to recount the harm and corruption that have resulted from such conduct, together with what the scholars have said about it, the account would be lengthy. This applies whether the man is pious or wicked. The pious man suffers bitterly as he struggles against his desires and resists his own inclinations, and his devil and his own self often overcome him. He is like someone carrying a burden beyond his strength, which torments him or kills him. As for the wicked man, this brings his wickedness to its fullest extent. Allah knows best.

He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

“What is the ruling concerning two men who wagered over composing two zajal poems, each having his own partisan following, and concerning those who take sides with them? Their verse includes amorous descriptions of beardless youths and other subjects. What about others like these two? Give us your ruling, and may you be rewarded.”