What is the reality of feeling inclined towards young boys, and does it stem from the self or from obsessive whispering (waswas)? What is the meaning of looking with lust? Does the gaze at the beautiful differ from that at the ugly? And is someone aged 7, 8, 9, or 10 considered an amrad (a beardless youth)?

It is advisable to avoid excessive doubt (waswasah) regarding matters of looking. Looking is not forbidden unless it is accompanied by lust (shahwah), which is either the lust for intercourse or the pleasure derived from looking. Al-Nawawi forbade looking at an amrad (beardless youth) with lust, and some scholars went as far as to forbid it absolutely. Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned that looking at the face of an amrad with lust is like the lustful looking at one's maharim (unmarriageable kin) or an ajnabiyyah (non-mahram woman). Ibn al-Hajj considered enjoying looking at youths as a type of sodomy (liwat), and it is forbidden by consensus. The jurists agreed on the prohibition of looking at an amrad with lust, and the Hanafis and Shafi'is considered it a greater sin than looking at a woman with lust. As for a beautiful amrad from whom temptation (fitnah) is feared, deliberately looking at him is absolutely forbidden. The ruling for a young child differs from that of a beardless youth; it is permissible to look at a young girl who is not desired, due to no fear of temptation. The 'awrah (intimate parts that must be covered) of a child from seven to ten years old are only the private parts.