What is the ruling on a man's lust for men and sexually imagining them while masturbating? And does this prevent him from engaging in sodomy?

Sodomy is a great abomination, and everything that leads to it, such as looking [lustfully] and other acts, is forbidden, just as masturbation is forbidden. Scholars have stated that if one is overwhelmed by his desires to fall into abomination, and he is faced with a choice between committing abomination and masturbation, then he is permitted to masturbate so as not to fall into abomination. One must strive to free oneself from all of that through marriage if possible; otherwise, through fasting, committing to lowering the gaze from forbidden things, avoiding seclusion, and seeking righteous company.