What does one who is afflicted with looking at women do?

The questioner : The questioner says: What does one who is afflicted with looking at women do? Please advise us. May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : The Shaykh says: The answer to this should be derived from some of the authentic, established hadiths of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Each of them aligns with his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): , , and in another narration: . As for the two hadiths that encompass the struggle against the self, the first is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): . The other hadith is, in reality, a Prophetic educational method that few pay attention to for treating the desire of the self, which manifests through confirming the gaze, touching, and the like, which are considered among the preliminaries of unlawful sexual intercourse. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, and I believe this hadith is known to you all, but I hope you will pay attention to the explanation that will be presented to you. That hadith is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): "If you were to follow your brothers who are [described as] 'Hudul' and take their Sunnah as a guide; for joining in the gathering is among the etiquettes of the Shari'ah gatherings."

The questioner : And peace be upon you.

The Shaykh : Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. Yes, yes.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : The food is with you.

The questioner : Will you bring it here, or shall we move over there?

The Shaykh : .

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, and be generous, O scholars. May Allah reward you with good...

The Shaykh : Yes, our previous discussion reached the answer to the questioner's question regarding the treatment of one who is afflicted with looking at what is not permissible of women. My discussion reached his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): . The point of this authentic hadith is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): . It is undeniably true that the unmarried bachelor is not on the same footing as the married man, in that the former does not find a lawful way to release his desire from his chest, unlike the husband or the married man. The indication in the authentic hadith, and its meaning, is . This is the treatment of desire for the married man. As for the bachelor who has no wife, our previous hadith is: . It is from the hadith of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), describing the treatment for the young man who does not have the financial ability to marry. Until that becomes easy for him, he (peace and blessings be upon him) commands him to fast. This means that whoever is afflicted with directing his gaze at women must increase his fasting, based on the truthful testimony of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that fasting is a restraint. "Restraint" (waja') in the language refers to the animal whose testicles are crushed; the one who does this fattens it so that its sexual desire is directed toward its physical strength, and its body becomes complete with flesh and fat. Therefore, they crush its testicles, and it no longer mounts its female, because its testicles have been crushed. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) compared the fasting of the one who fasts in that this fasting eliminates his desire, just as the crushing of the animal's testicles does. This is the treatment for restraining the self for the young man who is burning with passion and overcome by lust and sexual desire. His treatment is fasting.