Benefits of the Hadith: (… Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: “Have you looked at her?” He said: “No.” He said: “Go, then look at her, for there is something in the eyes of the Ansar.”)

The Shaykh : This is the evidence for it. Go and look at her. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) have differed on whether it is a recommended practice (sunnah) or permissible for a suitor to look at his prospective bride. Some said it is permissible because it was mentioned after a prohibition, and a command following a prohibition indicates permissibility, as Allah the Exalted said: For this reason, we do not say that it is recommended for one who has exited the state of consecration (ihram) to go and hunt; rather, this is a command following a prohibition, so it indicates permissibility. Others said it is a recommended practice (sunnah), and this is the stronger position: that it is a recommended practice (sunnah). This is because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This is a benefit, and attending to it is better than neglecting it. It is analogous to his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Do we say that visiting graves is merely permissible? No, because he said, "for it reminds one of death" or "it reminds one of the Hereafter." Since a benefit is mentioned, the command here, even though it follows a prohibition, indicates recommendation. As for his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): , this indicates the permissibility of backbiting for a benefit, even though this backbiting is general, and general backbiting is less severe than specific backbiting. Nevertheless, specific backbiting for a benefit is permissible. Fatimah bint Qays came to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and said that three men had proposed to her: Abu Jahm, Mu'awiyah, and Usamah ibn Zayd. Each of them proposed without knowing about the others. She sought the advice of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). He said to her, "As for Mu'awiyah, he is a poor man with no wealth," meaning what? He is poor. "And as for Abu Jahm, he is a man who beats women." In one narration, it is said, "he does not remove the stick from his shoulder," because he beats women with what? With a stick. It was also said that the meaning of "he does not remove the stick from his shoulder" is that he travels frequently, so there are two defects in him. "Marry Usamah." Here, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) described Mu'awiyah as a poor man with no wealth, and the second as a man who beats women. Both of these are disliked, and it is backbiting, but it was for a benefit. If backbiting is for a benefit and sincere advice, it is good and there is no harm in it. Look at the truth of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: This one who was a poor man with no wealth at that time, what did he become afterwards? He became a caliph for the Muslims. Allah the Exalted is the One in whose hand are all affairs. As for his saying: , he did not specify what one should look at, but the operative cause is clear. One looks at what leads him to marry her, meaning to proceed with the marriage. One looks at the face, because it is the place of desire, and one looks at the head, the hands, the feet, and the neck, because all of this is what makes one desire her. However, there are necessary conditions. There are conditions for a man to see his prospective bride: The first condition is that he must be determined to propose. If he is hesitant, it is not permissible, because the original ruling is what? The original ruling is prohibition. So he must be determined to propose. The second condition is that he must be confident that they will accept, meaning that they will agree to the proposal. If he is not confident that they will accept, it is not permissible. The third condition is that he must not be alone with her. If he is alone with her, it is forbidden, because... it is forbidden. The fourth condition is that he must be safe from temptation. If he fears temptation, the looking is prohibited. Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.