Is the hadith reported from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, "He would not fix his gaze upon anyone's face; he was downcast, his gaze towards the ground was longer than his gaze towards the sky, and most of his looking was for observation," authentic? And is it from the Sunnah to look into the eyes of the person you are speaking to, and does the ruling differ between speaking to a man and speaking to a woman?

The phrases used to describe the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, are found in many books of seerah (biography). Their meaning is correct, but their chain of narration (sanad) is weak, as stated by Al-Albani and Al-Iraqi. In any case, it is a sign of good manners when speaking with others to listen attentively and turn towards them, while lowering one's gaze. It is obligatory to lower one's gaze if the conversation is with a woman whom one is not permitted to look at, or with an amrad (beardless youth) from whom one fears fitna (temptation), based on the Almighty's saying: "Tell the believing men to lower their gaze." Therefore, there is no harm in averting one's gaze if the conversation is with someone from whom one must lower their gaze.