This is because a person may be looked at on account of 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 horses and other animals, or at trees, rivers, and flowers. If this, too, involves admiration for worldly life, status, and wealth, it is blameworthy, in accordance with His words:
“Do not gaze longingly at the splendour of worldly life We have granted some groups of them to enjoy, so that We may test them thereby.”
If, however, it does not diminish one’s religious commitment and merely affords the soul some rest—as when looking at flowers—then it belongs to those idle pursuits that do not help one uphold the truth.
Whenever any of these kinds of looking is accompanied by desire, it is undoubtedly forbidden, whether the desire is for pleasure through looking or for 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. This distinction accounts for the difference in the religious ruling. Looking at beardless youths thus falls into three categories:
“The first” is looking accompanied by desire. This is forbidden by consensus.