Treatment of the addiction to looking at what is forbidden: Advice for the one who has let his gaze wander to what is forbidden

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Question:
Your Eminence the Shaykh, the questioner says: A man is afflicted with looking at what is forbidden, and he knows its prohibition. What is your advice to him?

Answer:
It is obligatory to lower the gaze. Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) says:

Tell the believing men to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts

قُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِمْ وَيَحْفَظُوا فُرُوجَهُمْ

[An-Nur 24:30]

And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision

وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ

[An-Nur 24:31]

So it is obligatory for him to lower his gaze, to fear Allah, to be mindful of Allah, and to be cautious. When he sees women, he should lower his gaze. If they are not covering themselves, he should order them to cover, and say to them: "Fear Allah, and this is not permissible." He should lower his gaze, and it is not permissible to look at them, because this is one of the causes of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). However, he should order them to cover, advise them, and rebuke them for their tabarruj (a woman's display of her adornment) and lack of covering, while lowering his gaze.

Source قناة «فضيلة الشيخ ابن باز Alsheikh Binbaz»، 247 علاج إدمان النظر إلى المحرمات نصيحة لمن أطلق بصره بالنظر إلى المحرمات للإمام ابن باز — youtube.com

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

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