What is the ruling on a man looking at a non-mahram woman, and the reverse?
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The Shaykh : Because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) — and I hope you pay attention to this issue, for I rarely address it — when Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said: [An-Nur 24:30] [An-Nur 24:31] , the secret in His saying [An-Nur 24:30] [An-Nur 24:31] is that this is what linguists call a partitive expression, meaning: avert your gaze if it falls upon what is forbidden for you to look at. As for the face and the hands, it is not forbidden for a man to look at any part of that face or the hands, of course, with what is called a pure gaze. But if the gaze is intended to satisfy desire, this naturally has another known ruling. This is the opposite ruling for women: it is not permissible for women to look at the face of a man, nor at more than the face of a man. The answer is yes, but with the same condition... .
The questioner : Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. So if a woman looks at a man in a place that is not his 'awrah, it is permissible with the aforementioned condition. Reverse it and it holds: if a man looks at a non-mahram woman at what is not her 'awrah, and that is nothing but the face and the hands, it is permissible but with the aforementioned condition. He will not be afflicted by what afflicted that narrator who attended the circle of knowledge andThe Shaykh : narrated a hadith, and in their old way he mentioned the chain, saying:The Shaykh : The narrator said: So-and-so narrated to me, he said: So-and-so narrated to me, he said: I heard so-and-so say: So-and-so narrated to me, and so on, he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said. And a man entered the gathering. The man who entered was a righteous man, but the circle was students of knowledge who were listeningThe Shaykh : to what was happening; they were recording, they were writing down the chain and the hadith together. What they recorded, they recorded the chain: So-and-so narrated to me, he said: So-and-so narrated to me, and so on. When the one who entered came in, and he was a righteous man with the light of righteousness and standing in night prayer, andThe Shaykh : the narrator knew him, so he said a word from himself, but the students recorded it with the complete chain that had been narrated to them. He said: "Whoever prays much at night, his face will be beautiful by day." So they recorded this as a hadith with the chain, and it spread among the people. The chain had no liar in it and no fabricator, but a mistake occurred without intent. I fear that our man will fall into a mistake without intent: he hears that it is permissible for a man to look at a woman, but he did not hear the aforementioned condition. The condition is that the gaze be what? Pure. So whether a man looks at a woman in a place other than her 'awrah with purity, or a woman looks at a man in a place other than his 'awrah with purity, both are permissible.
Tell the believing men to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts
وقل للمؤمنين يغضوا من أبصارهم ويحفظوا فروجهم ...And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts
وقل للمؤمنات يغضضن من أبصارهن ويحفظن فروجهن ...Who
منto reduce [some] of their vision
يغضوا من أبصارهمto reduce [some] of their vision
يغضضن من أبصارهنThe questioner : Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. So if a woman looks at a man in a place that is not his 'awrah, it is permissible with the aforementioned condition. Reverse it and it holds: if a man looks at a non-mahram woman at what is not her 'awrah, and that is nothing but the face and the hands, it is permissible but with the aforementioned condition. He will not be afflicted by what afflicted that narrator who attended the circle of knowledge andThe Shaykh : narrated a hadith, and in their old way he mentioned the chain, saying:The Shaykh : The narrator said: So-and-so narrated to me, he said: So-and-so narrated to me, he said: I heard so-and-so say: So-and-so narrated to me, and so on, he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said. And a man entered the gathering. The man who entered was a righteous man, but the circle was students of knowledge who were listeningThe Shaykh : to what was happening; they were recording, they were writing down the chain and the hadith together. What they recorded, they recorded the chain: So-and-so narrated to me, he said: So-and-so narrated to me, and so on. When the one who entered came in, and he was a righteous man with the light of righteousness and standing in night prayer, andThe Shaykh : the narrator knew him, so he said a word from himself, but the students recorded it with the complete chain that had been narrated to them. He said: "Whoever prays much at night, his face will be beautiful by day." So they recorded this as a hadith with the chain, and it spread among the people. The chain had no liar in it and no fabricator, but a mistake occurred without intent. I fear that our man will fall into a mistake without intent: he hears that it is permissible for a man to look at a woman, but he did not hear the aforementioned condition. The condition is that the gaze be what? Pure. So whether a man looks at a woman in a place other than her 'awrah with purity, or a woman looks at a man in a place other than his 'awrah with purity, both are permissible.
Source
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