1. If someone's sandals are exchanged with the sandals (of same design and equally used) of another person (at the masjid) and the latter already left, is the former allowed to use the sandals left by the latter? 2. Is a male person allowed to look at a young girl who is under the age of puberty?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

If a person makes a mistake and takes other people’s belongings – shoes or anything else – then this does not make him own it and it does not make him exempt from guaranteeing it for its owner, so he is obliged to give it back to him if he can. Besides, it is not permissible for the mistaken person to benefit from the sandals unless it is impossible to reach its owner; in which case, he may pay its price in charity on behalf of the owner (i.e. while intending the reward for him) and then benefit from the sandals. In case he finds its owner one day, then he still guarantees the sandals, and he makes the owner choose between getting the reward of charity or receiving the value of the sandals, and then the reward of charity will be for the one who took the sandals by mistake.

As for the ruling of looking at a young girl: then first of all, we should clarify that the view that we consider to be preponderant in regard to the ‘awrah (body parts that must be covered as per the sharee‘ah) of a young girl is the view of the Hanbali School: that there is no ‘awrah for a little girl who is below seven years old; it is permissible to look at her entire body. As regards the girl between seven and ten years old, her ‘awrah in prayer is between the navel and the knee, but it is desirable for her to cover herself and cover her head (in prayer), like an adult woman, to be on the safe side. In front of non-Mahram men, her ‘awrah is her entire body with the exception of the face and neck, the head, the hands up to the elbows, and the legs and feet. The girl at the age of ten is exactly like the adult woman.

Therefore, it is permissible to look at the entire body of a girl who is below seven years old, and it is permissible to look at a girl of seven to ten years old to all what generally shows from her body. As regards a girl who is ten years or above, then the ruling of looking at her is the same as the ruling of looking at an adult woman.

It goes without saying that the permissible looking in regard to what is discussed above is if this looking is without desire; as regards looking with desire, then this is absolutely forbidden – in regard to other than the wife or what one’s right hand possesses [i.e. female slave]. For more benefit, please refer to fatwa 92003.

Allaah knows best.