I proposed to a woman, and I began concealing myself in order to catch sight of her, until I finally saw her among some palm trees belonging to her family.Someone said to him, "Do you do this when you are a companion of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?"He replied, "I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, 'When Allah casts into a man's heart the intention to propose to a woman, there is no harm in his looking at her.'"
حدثنا أبو بكر بن أبي شيبة حدثنا حفص بن غياث عن حجاج عن محمد بن سليمان عن عمه سهل بن أبي حثمة
خطبت امرأة فجعلت أتخبأ لها حتى نظرت إليها في نخل لها فقيل له أتفعل هذا وأنت صاحب رسول الله ﷺ فقال سمعت رسول الله ﷺ يقول إذا ألقى الله في قلب امرئ خطبة امرأة فلا بأس أن ينظر إليها
Its chain is daif. Ahmad narrated it 4:225 from the hadith of Hajjaj bin Artah, and 4:96, 1129, from Muhammad bin Sulayman, through him. Ibn Hibban graded it sahih (Mawarid, no. 1235), but the mention of Hajjaj is missing from its chain there, either by mistake or through the tadlis of Abu Muawiya Muhammad bin Khazim, since he is listed among those who practiced tadlis (second category). See the hadith that follows, for it makes this one unnecessary.