Beardless Boys

One thing, which the scholars of the Salaf used to warn against, and which people don’t warn against anymore is the temptation (فتنة) of beardless handsome young boys (المردان) upon their fellow men.

They used to say that it is safer for a man to sit with snakes, lions and scorpions than to sit with handsome boys.

The Salaf used to encourage men to lower their gazes from the handsome youth, not to shake their hands, – as means to block triggering forbidden desires for them. They considered looking at them with lust as sinful – exactly like looking at women with lust.

1- Sufyan al-Thawri saw a beardless young man and he said:
اخرجوه فإني أرى مع كل امرأة شيطانا ومع كل غلام عشرة شياطين
“Take him out from here, because with every woman walks one demon (tempting people towards her) and with every boy walk ten demons.”
[“Tilbis Iblis”, 1/338].

2- Abu Saaib said:
لأنا أخوف عَلَى عابد من غلام من سبعين عذراء
“On a worshipper, we fear the temptation of one boy more than we fear the temptation of seventy virgins.”
[“Dham al-Hawaa”, 92].

3- Al-Hassan ibn Zakwan said:
لا تجالسوا أولاد الأغنياء فإن لهم صورا كصور النساء، وهم أشد فتنة من العذارى
“Don’t sit with the children of the affluent, because their boys look like women and they are a bigger temptation (fitnah, فتنة) than virgins.”
[“Shu’b al-Iman”, 4/358].

4- Bishr bin al-Haarith said:
احذروا هؤلاء الأحداث
“Stay away from the youthful boys.”
[“Dham al-Hawaa”, 94].

5- About Imam Malik it is reported:
وكان مالك بن أنس يمنع دخول المرد مجلسه
“Imam Malik used to prevent beardless youth to enter his gatherings.”
[“Majmu al-Fatawa”, 4/26].

6- Imam al-Bayhaqi even made a chapter:
بوب البيهقي في الكبرى (7/ 99): باب ما جاء في النظر إلى الغلام الأمرد بالشهوة
“Chapter: What is narrated about [the prohibition of] looking at a beardless boy with lust.”

7- Imam Al-Mardawi Hanbali mentioned among the prohibitions: a man looking at beardless youth with lust:
ولا يجوز النظر إلى أحد ممن ذكرنا لشهوة وهذا بلا نزاع. قال الشيخ تقي الدين رحمه الله: ومن استحله كفر إجماعاً
“And it is not permissible to look at any of the ones we mentioned with lust. There is no disagreement about this issue.
Shaykh Taqiudin said: the person who permits it falls into disbelief, by agreement of all scholars.”
[“Al-Insaaf”, 8/28].

8- Ibn Muflih Hanbali quotes Ibn al-Jawzi as saying:
كان السلف يقولون في الأمرد : هو أشد فتنة من العذارى ، فإطلاق البصر من أعظم الفتن
“The pious predecesors used to say about the beardless boys: They are a greater temptation than virgins, so looking at them is a bigger temptation.”
[“Al-Furu”, 5/113].

9- Ibn Taymiyah said:
الصبي الأمرد المليح بمنزلة المرأة الأجنبية في كثير من الأمور ، .. ولا يجوز النظر إليه على هذا الوجه [ يعني بشهوة ] باتفاق للناس
“A beardless young man has the same ruling as a strange woman in many situations … so it is not permissible to look at them with lust, and this is agreed upon.”
[“Al-Fatawa al-Kubra”, 3/202].

10- Al-Malibari said:
ويحرم مصافحة الأمرد الجميل كنظره بشهوة
“It is forbidden to shake hands with handsome beardless boys, as it is forbidden to look at them with lust.”
[“Fath”, 3/263].

11- Ibn Abidin al-Hanafi said:
ويحرمُ النظر إلى وجهها ، ووجه الأمرد إذا شك في الشهوة ، أما بدونها فيباح ولو جميلاً
“It is forbidden to look at her face, and at the face of a beardless youth if there is fear of lust, but if that is absent, then it is allowed, even if they’re good looking.”
[“Hashiyah Ibn Abidin”, 1/407].

12- About Imam Ahmad it is reported:
جاء رجل إلى أبي عبد اللَّه أحمد بن حنبل ومعه غلام حسن الوجه فقال: له من هذا قَالَ: ابني فقال: أَحْمَد لا تجيء به معك مرة أخرى
“A man came to Imam Ahmad and with him was a handsome boy. Imam Ahmad asked: “who is this?” The man said: “This is my son.” Imam Ahmad said: “Don’t come with him again.”
[“Tabaqaat al-Hanabilah”, 1/127].
According to other narrations, he said it because he feared that other people might not know its his son and would accuse him of carrying with him a boy for intimacy: لا يأثم الناس فيك، أو لئلا يظن بك من لا يعرفك ولا يعرفه سوءاً

13- Imam Nawawi ash-Shafi’ii said:
وكذلك يحرم على الرجل النظر إلى وجه الأمرد إذا كان حسن الصورة ، سواءً كان بشهوةٍ أم لا ، سواءً أمن الفتنة أم خافها ، هذا هو المذهب الصحيح المختار عند العلماء المحققين ، نص عليه الشافعي ، وحذاق أصحابه – رحمهم الله تعالى – ، ودليله : أنه في معنى المرأة ، فإنه يُشتهى كما تشتهى ، وصورته في الجمال كصورة المرأة ، بل ربما كان كثيرٌ منهم أحسن صورةً من كثيرٍ من النساء ، بل هم في التحريم أولى لمعنى آخر : وهو أنه يتمكن في حقهم من طرق الشر ما لا يتمكن مثله في حق المرأة
“Similarly the scholars forbade a man to look at the face of a beardless youth if he is handsome, whether with or without desire, and whether it is free of fitnah (temptation) or there is the fear thereof. This is the correct view which was favoured by the scholars. This was stated by al-Shaafa’i and the prominent scholars of his madhhab (may Allaah have mercy on them). The evidence for this is that a beardless youth is, in some ways, like a woman; he may be desired as a woman is desired, and his form may be beautiful like that of a woman, and many of them may be more beautiful than many women. The prohibition applies more to them for another reason, which is that in their case there may result from attachment to them types of evil that do not occur in the case of women.”
[“Sharh Muslim”, 4/31].

14- The temptation of these youth was so great, that the devil mislead some ignorant people to the brink of heresy, and made them think that their beauty is a manifestation of God’s beauty:
Ibn Taymiyah said:
وأما من نظر إلى المردان ظانا أنه ينظر إلى مظاهر الجمال الإلهي وجعل هذا طريقا له إلى الله كما يفعله طوائف من المدعين للمعرفة فقوله هذا أعظم كفرا من قول عباد الأصنام ومن كفر قوم لوط . فهؤلاء من شر الزنادقة المرتدين
“As for the person who stares at beardless youth and considers this like looking at the manifestation of God’s beauty, or considers this a way to get closer to God, such people have indulged in greater kufr than the original worshippers of idols, and they are comitting a kufr worse than that of the people of Lot. They are the worst heretics and apostates.”
[“Majmu al-Fatawa”, 15/410].

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Ibn Hajar al-Haythami mentions that similar narrations from the pious predecessors are too many to list – so I don’t know why nobody is talking about these issues today?

The fact that nobody takes these precautions anymore, may explain why sexual contact between clerics and young boys takes place in some Madaris. People who raise the alarm are silenced as to not shame and taint the reputation of the Madaris. That allows these practices to continue in secret. This evil has already tainted the reputation of Madaris – as it did with the Catholic Church. It should no longer be brushed under the carpet. This stain should be washed away by any means necessary. We should not generalise, it’s not all or most Madaris – but it happens in too many places. We should raise awareness and stop this nonsense.

That is why the pious predecessors warned against this.

The scholars did not restrict it to the “beardless” men only, but any handsome man, even if he has a beard, they considered it sinful for another man to look at him with lust.

Disclaimer: it does not mean these scholars themselves had these desires for young boys. They are merely warning others. They try to block the means to evil, before the shayateen get a chance to beautify evil and tempt good people.