Dear respected Shaykh, assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. One of my brothers told me that if he is attracted to a woman, he deliberately imagines himself having sex with her. He said that he did not have sex and he did not speak of his attraction to the concerned women. The hadith concerning this issue is known. Some scholars prohibit this action, but I do not know of their proof. What is your opinion on the actions of this brother? May Allah reward you. يتخيل نفسه يزني فما الحكم

Praise be to Allah, and may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family and his companions. Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. As to what follows: In response to your question, we say: The hadith which your brother indicated is that which was transmitted by al-Bukhari and Muslim from the hadiths of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Allah has forgiven my followers the evil thoughts that occur to their minds, as long as such thoughts are not put into action or uttered." [al-Bukhari (5269) and Muslim (127)]. Evil thoughts  are thoughts in which a person hesitates whether he should do the action or not. As for what a person has resolved to do, and what his heart is set on; a person is answerable for that , because of Allah’s statement, “Allah will not call you to account for that which is unintentional in your oaths, but He will call you to account for that which your hearts have earned” [al-Baqarah 2: 225]. Ibn al-Mubarak said, “I asked Sufyan ath-Thawri, “Is a servant taken to account for an intention?” He said, “If he is determined to do something then he will be taken to account.” This is the opinion of many jurists and scholars of hadith. It is supported by Allah’s statement: “And know that Allah knows what is in your minds, so fear Him. And know that Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Forbearing” [al-Baqarah 2: 235]. All this concerns actions of the limbs like adultery, stealing, drinking alcohol, murder, false accusation of adultery, and so on. However, as for the actions of the heart like pride, self-conceit, show off, jealousy, thinking badly of a Muslim without just cause; a person is taken to account because of that. A number of scholars have transmitted the fact that there is a consensus that people are answerable for actions of the heart.  What you have asked about concerning your brother’s imagining himself having sex with a woman; if it is an issue which comes to his mind and he repels it, then there is no sin on him. However, if he goes along with these thoughts or if he deliberately thinks of that, then he will be taken to account for it. This is supported by what was transmitted in the Sahihain in the hadith of Abu Hurairah (peace be upon him) that the Prophet (peace  be upon him) said, “Allah has written for the son of Adam his inevitable share of adultery whether he is aware of it or not: The adultery of the eye is the looking (at something which is sinful to look at), and the adultery of the tongue is to utter (what it is unlawful to utter), and the inner self wishes and longs for (adultery) and the private parts turn that into reality or refrain from submitting to the temptation.".” [al-Bukhari (6612) and Muslim ( 2658)]. The narration of Muslim states, “the heart desires and yearns.” Thus the Prophet (peace be upon him) considered the heart’s desire and yearning to be means and forms of adultery. If a person was not to be taken to account for that the Prophet (peace be upon him) would not have considered these things to be part of adultery. It is also from the known rules by the scholars that it is imperative to avoid the means to  a prohibited thing if it cannot be avoided except by avoiding the means. This why Allah the Exalted said, “And do not approach unlawful sexual intercourse. Indeed, it is ever an immorality and is evil as a way.” [al-Isra 17: 32]. And Allah knows best. Dr. Khalid al-Mosleh   06/09/1424