one of those who follow their desires without guidance from Allah.

“And who is more astray than one who follows his desires without guidance from Allah? Indeed, Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.”

And He Most High says:

“But as for one who feared standing before his Lord and restrained himself from desire, Paradise will indeed be his refuge.”

And He Most High says:

“Do not follow desire, lest it lead you astray from the way of Allah. Indeed, those who stray from the way of Allah will have a severe punishment for having forgotten the Day of Reckoning.”

As for someone who gazes at beardless youths, imagining that he is looking at manifestations of divine beauty, and makes this his path to Allah—as some groups who claim spiritual knowledge do—his assertion constitutes greater disbelief than the assertion of idol-worshippers or the disbelief of the people of Lot.

Such people are among the worst apostate heretics, who must be put to death according to the consensus of every religious community. For the idol-worshippers said:

“We worship them only so that they may bring us nearer to Allah.”

These people, however, maintain that Allah—glorified is He—is present in the idols themselves and dwells within them. By His appearance and self-disclosure in created things, they do not mean that these are proofs of Him and signs pointing to Him. Rather, they mean that He—glorified is He—has appeared and disclosed Himself within them. They liken this to the presence of water in a tuft of wool, butter in milk, oil in olives, oil in sesame seeds, and similar things, implying that His very Essence dwells within His creatures or is united with them.

Thus, they say of all created things what the Christians say of Christ alone. They then regard beardless youths as manifestations of beauty, endorsing this most grievous form of associating partners with Allah as a means of deeming indecencies lawful—indeed, of deeming everything forbidden lawful—as someone said to the foremost of