Is what your friend said – "I was contemplating the creations of Allah" – to justify his unlawful looking in a public place a serious matter?

Looking at women is one of the destructive afflictions of the eye. Its danger lies in its ease and widespread nature, leading to habituation and the bypassing of the religious conscience's oversight. Its effects accumulate, leading to the legitimization of sin and its absorption by the heart.

Ibn Taymiyyah holds that deriving pleasure from looking at a non-mahram woman is forbidden by the consensus of Muslims, and whoever considers it an act of worship or a path to Allah is deemed an infidel. He rejects anyone who believes that loving beautiful forms is a way to purify the soul.

Ibn Al-Qayyim describes the state of some people who justify their gaze at beauty by claiming it is a vision of the attributes of the Worshipped, considering this among the delusions of those who claim gnosis and spiritual conduct.

Conclusion: Whoever utters such statements must repent from the sin of looking and beware of Satan, his specious arguments, and his desires, which could lead him to something greater and more heinous. Sins cause darkness in the heart and lead to bewilderment and delusions.