Al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah requested permission from her parents to look at her, but they disliked it, so the woman granted him permission. Recorded by Sa'id (4). It is not permitted for him to be in seclusion with her because she (5) is unlawful to him, and the Law (Shar') did not permit anything other than looking, so she remains in the state of prohibition. Furthermore, in seclusion, one is not safe from falling into forbidden acts, for the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him - said: "No man should ever be in seclusion with a woman, for the third among them is the devil." (6) He should not look at her with a gaze (7) of enjoyment or desire, nor with suspicion. Ahmad said, in the narration of Salih: He looks at the face, and it should not be by (8) way of pleasure. He is permitted to repeat his look at her and to contemplate her beauty, because the intended purpose is only achieved through that.
Section: There is no disagreement among the scholars regarding the permissibility of looking at her face. This is because it is not an area of the body that must be covered (awrah), and it is the focal point of beauty and the place of looking. It is not permitted for him to look at what does not normally appear. It was narrated from al-Awza'i that he looks at the areas of flesh. From Dawud, it is narrated that he looks at all of her, due to the apparent meaning of his saying - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him -: "Look at her." Our position is the saying of Allah the Almighty: {And not display their adornment except what is apparent of it} (9). It was narrated from Ibn Abbas that he said: The face and the inside (10) of the palm. Furthermore, because looking is forbidden but was permitted due to necessity, it is restricted to what the necessity calls for, which is what we have mentioned. The hadith is absolute, and whoever looks (11) at the face of a person is called a "looker" (nazir) at him, and whoever sees him while he is wearing his clothes is called a "viewer" (ra'in) of him, as Allah the Almighty said: {And when you see them, their bodies please you} (12). {And when}
(4) In: Chapter regarding looking at a woman if he intends to marry her, Sunan Sa'id ibn Mansur 1/146. (5) In the original, there is an addition: "kānat" (she was). (6) Recorded by al-Tirmidhi, in: Chapter regarding what has been mentioned about the dislike of entering upon women whose husbands are absent, from the Chapters on Nursing; and in: Chapter regarding what has been mentioned about adhering to the community, from the Chapters on Tribulations. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 5/121, 9/9. Also recorded by Imam Ahmad, in: al-Musnad 1/18, 26, 3/339, 446. (7) In M: "nazratin" (a look). (8) In A and B: "'ala" (upon). (9) Surah al-Nur 31. (10) In B and M: "wa-batn" (and the inside). (11) In B and M: "yanzuru" (looks). (12) Surah al-Munafiqun 4.
المُغِيرةِ بن شُعْبةَ، أنَّه اسْتَأْذَنَ أبَوَيْها فى النَّظَر إليها، فكَرِهَا، فأذِنَتْ له المرأةُ. روَاه سعيدٌ (٤). ولا يجوزُ له الخَلْوةُ بها؛ لأنَّها (٥) مُحَرَّمةٌ، ولم يَرِدِ الشرعُ بغيرِ النظرِ، فبَقِيَتْ على التَّحْرِيمِ، ولأنَّه لا يُؤْمَنُ مع الخَلْوةِ مُوَاقعةُ المَحْظُورِ، فإنَّ النَّبِىَّ -صلى اللَّه عليه وسلم- قال: "لَا يَخْلُوَنَّ رَجُلٌ بامْرَأَةٍ، فَإنَّ ثَالِثَهُمَا الشَّيْطَانُ" (٦). ولا يَنْظُرُ إليها نظَرَ (٧) تَلَذُّذٍ وشَهْوةٍ، ولا لرِيبَةٍ. قال أحمدُ، فى رِوايةِ صالحٍ: يَنْظُرُ إلى الوَجْهِ، ولا يكونُ عن (٨) طريقِ لَذَّةٍ. وله أن يُرَدِّدَ النظرَ إليها، ويتأمَّلَ مَحاسِنَها؛ لأنَّ المقصودَ لا يَحْصُلُ إلَّا بذلك.
فصل: ولا خِلافَ بين أهلِ العلمِ فى إباحةِ النَّظَرِ إلى وَجْهِها، وذلك لأنَّه ليس بعَوْرةٍ، وهو مَجْمَعُ الْمَحاسنِ، ومَوْضِعُ النظرِ. ولا يُباحُ له النَّظَرُ إلى ما لا يَظْهَرُ عادةً. وحُكِىَ عن الأَوْزَاعىِّ أنَّه يَنْظُرُ إلى مواضِعِ اللَّحْمِ. وعن داودَ أنَّه يَنْظُرُ إلى جَمِيعِها؛ لظاهرِ قولِه عليه السلام: "انْظُرْ إلَيْهَا". ولَنا، قولُ اللَّهِ تعالى: {وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا} (٩). ورُوِىَ عن ابنِ عباسٍ، أنَّه قال: الوَجْهُ، وباطِنُ (١٠) الكَفِّ. ولأنَّ النَّظَرَ مُحَرَّمٌ أُبِيحَ للحاجةِ، فيَخْتَصُّ بما تَدْعُو الحاجةُ إليه، وهو ما ذكَرْنا، والحديثُ مُطْلَقٌ، ومن نَظَرَ (١١) إلى وَجْهِ إنسانٍ سُمِّىَ ناظِرًا إليه، ومَنْ رآه وعليه أثْوابُه سُمِّى رائِيًا له، كما قال اللَّهُ تعالى: {وَإِذَا رَأَيْتَهُمْ تُعْجِبُكَ أَجْسَامُهُمْ} (١٢). {وَإِذَا
(٤) فى: باب النظر إلى المرأة إذا أراد أن يتزوجها، سنن سعيد بن منصور ١/ ١٤٦.(٥) فى الأصل زيادة: "كانت".(٦) أخرجه الترمذى، فى: باب ما جاء فى كراهية الدخول على المغيبات، من أبواب الرضاع، وفى: باب ما جاء فى لزوم الجماعة، من أبواب الفتن. عارضة الأحوذى ٥/ ١٢١، ٩/ ٩. والإمام أحمد، فى: المسند ١/ ١٨، ٢٦، ٣/ ٣٣٩، ٤٤٦.(٧) فى م: "نظرة".(٨) فى أ، ب: "على".(٩) سورة النور ٣١.(١٠) فى ب، م: "وبطن".(١١) فى ب، م: "ينظر".(١٢) سورة المنافقون ٤.
