Is a Girl Sinful for Causing a Boy to Be Sexually Tempted?


Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question

If a boy looks at a girl with desire or falls into fitna, is the girl considered sinful for this?

Answer

Thank you for your question. A girl is not responsible for a boy being sexually tempted when he sees her. Rather, she is responsible for her behaviour, which includes how she dresses, lowering her gaze, and following gender interaction rules.

Quranic injunction

There is no question that fitna, or temptation in the land, is caused by both men and women. Men and women alike need to restrain their gazes and protect their private parts, as Allah told us in the Quran:

“˹O Prophet!˺ Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their chastity. That is purer for them. Surely Allah is All-Aware of what they do. And tell the believing women to lower their gaze, guard their chastity, and not reveal their adornments except what normally appears. Let them draw their veils over their chests, and not reveal their ˹hidden˺ adornments except to their husbands, their fathers, their fathers-in-law, their sons, their stepsons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons or sisters’ sons, their fellow women, those ˹bondwomen˺ in their possession, male attendants with no desire, or children who are still unaware of women’s nakedness. Let them not stamp their feet, drawing attention to their hidden adornments. Turn to Allah in repentance altogether, O  believers, so that you may be successful.” [Qur’an, 24:30-31]

And those who succeed in restraining themselves? This is their reward: Allah Most High has told us in the Quran, “The believers have already succeeded–those who humble themselves in awe in prayer, who turn away from nonsense, who give in alms, and who protect their private parts.” [Quran, 23: 1-5]

Du`a

You should make this prophetic supplication daily:

اللّهُـمَّ إِنِّـي أَعـوذُ بِكَ مِـنْ عَذابِ القَـبْر، وَمِـنْ عَذابِ جَهَـنَّم، وَمِـنْ فِتْـنَةِ المَحْـيا وَالمَمـات، وَمِـنْ شَـرِّ فِتْـنَةِ المَسيحِ الدَّجّال

O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the punishment of the grave, and from the punishment of Hell-fire, and from the trials of life and death, and from the evil of the trial of the False Messiah.

Please see more details here:
Why Are Women Accountable for All the Fitna in the World and Men Are Not?
My Computer is a Fitna for Me – Should I Get Rid of It?
How Can I, as a Man, Make Peace with the Temptation of Women Innate Inside of Me?
Is It Permissible to Look at Women Who Do Not Cover Their Awrah without Lust according to Hanafi Fiqh?
A Reader On Gender Interaction

May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.

[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqida, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.