How can a person who masturbates to relieve lust avoid imagining or taking pleasure in or recalling the image of a woman, or prevent it from becoming a habit, and does this align with what Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said?

Masturbation is forbidden. If it is permitted out of necessity, its extent must not be exceeded. This means that if someone fears committing fornication due to sexual urges, these urges will subside and their desire will weaken. However, doing it for pleasure, or remembering the image of a woman, or making it a habit, falls outside the scope of necessity.

Necessities permit prohibitions, provided they are estimated according to their extent. An example of this is the consumption of carrion by one in dire need, where the Quran conditioned its permissibility on not being inclined to sin and not being rebellious or transgressing. Allah Almighty says: "But whoever is forced by severe hunger with no inclination to sin - then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." [Al-Ma'idah: 3] and "But whoever is forced [by necessity], neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit] - then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." [An-Nahl: 115].

Al-Tabari said: "Neither desiring: by eating it for pleasure, not out of necessity due to hunger. Nor transgressing: by eating it beyond what Allah has limited and permitted for him to eat."