O you who believe! Do not enter houses other than your own until you have asked permission from the people and greeted them.
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| Etiquette for entering someone's home. |
O you who believe! Do not enter houses other than your own until you have asked permission from the people and greeted them. That is better for you, and you will be more careful. Then if you do not find anyone there, do not enter them until permission is given to you. And if you are told to go back, then go back. That is more just and purer for you. And Allah knows best what you do. But there is no harm in you if you enter a house where no one is living and you have something to do in it. Allah knows all that you reveal and all that you conceal. (Surah An-Nur 27-29)
Islam is the eternal ideal.
Islam has a unique and beautiful system for managing human life and death, sleep and wakefulness, transactions, relationships, friendship and enmity, economics, and social behavior, that is, for the overall conduct of life. Islam has provided appropriate provisions for establishing human morality, social order, and the rule of law. All the provisions that protect society from the production of lawlessness and its spread.
Humans are social creatures.
As social creatures, everyone is dependent on each other. For this, they have to communicate with each other. The necessity of communication is expected in every aspect of human personal, family, and social life. In addition to neighbors, they have to communicate with their relatives, both far and near, about various events or matters. Every person living in society has to go to the house of another person with their happiness and sorrow. Therefore, Islam, as a complete and timeless ideal, has taught courtesy, politeness, and manners even for entering another person's house. We need to know about this ideal. In the mentioned verse, we get a complete idea of entering someone's house.
In explaining this verse, various commentators and jurists have said that in the pre-Islamic era, it was the rule of the Arabs that they would enter each other's houses without hesitation, saying good morning and good evening. Many times, outsiders would see the owner of the house and the women of his house in an uncomfortable state. To rectify this, Allah has established the principle that every person has the right to protect his personal privacy wherever he is, and it is not permissible for another person to interfere with his privacy without his consent and permission. In the light of the verses and the sayings of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the commentators and jurists have formulated the following rules and regulations:
forbidden to peek into another person's house.
1: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) limited this right to personal privacy only within the confines of the house but considered it a general right. In this context, it is forbidden to peek into another person's house, look from outside, and even read another person's letter without his permission. Hazrat Hudhayl ibn Shurahbil said a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and stood right at his door and asked for permission. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to him, "Step back and stand, for it is only in order that you may not be seen that you should ask for permission." (Abu Dawud) The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had a rule that when he entered someone's house, he would never stand right in front of the door. Because in those days, there were no curtains on the doors of houses. He would stand on the right or left side of the door and ask for permission. (Abu Dawud) Hazrat Abdullah ibn Abbas (RA) narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) said, “Whoever looks at his brother’s letter without his permission is like looking into the fire.” (Abu Dawud)
It is narrated in Bukhari and Muslim that the Prophet (PBUH) said, “If a person peeks into your house and you throw a pebble into his eye, there is no sin on him.”
Imam Shafi’i took this hadith literally and allowed the eye of someone peeking into the house to be gouged out. But Imam Abu Hanafi interpreted it in such a way that this command was not given for mere glances. Rather, it applies to a situation where a person enters a house without permission, and despite the housemates' efforts to stop him, he does not stop, and the housemates continue to resist him. If his eyes are cut out in the conflict, the housemates will not be responsible for it. (Ahkam al-Quran-Jassas)
What does Islam say about blind people?
2: The jurists have included the power of hearing in the ruling on the power of sight. For example, if a blind person enters without permission, his sight will not be able to see, but his ears will hear the people in the house without permission. This is also an illegal interference with personal rights, like sight.
Ask permission when you go to your mother's room.
3: It is not only the command to seek permission when entering someone else's house, but permission must also be sought when visiting one's mother and sisters. A man asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), Should I seek permission when visiting my mother? He replied, "Yes." He said, "There is no one to look after my mother except me. In this case, should I seek permission every time I go to her?" He replied, “Do you like to see your mother naked?” Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “Ask permission when you go to your mother and sister's room.”
Can you take permission in a moment of danger?
4: It is not necessary to ask permission only when there is a sudden danger in one’s house. For example, a fire breaks out or thieves break in. In such a situation, one can enter without permission to help.
How to take permission to enter somewhere?
5: When the law of asking permission was first issued, people did not know its rules. Once a man came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and shouted from the door, "May I enter?" The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to the caller, "This man does not know the rules of asking permission. Go up a little and say to him, 'Assalamu Alaikum, may I enter?'" (Abu Dawud). The correct way to ask permission was to say your name. It is narrated about Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) would appear in the service and say: 'Assalamu Alaikum, O Messenger of Allah! May Umar enter?' (Abu Dawud).
The Prophet (peace be upon him) prescribed the limit of calling out three times loudly for permission and said that if there is no response after calling out three times, then go back. (Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud) It is not necessary to call out three times in a row, but rather to pause a little.
The permission of the owner of the house.
6: The permission of the owner of the house or the householder or a person whom people can reasonably assume to be giving permission on behalf of the householder is acceptable. For example, a house servant or a responsible person. If a small child comes and asks, it is not right to go in at his request.
Don't insist on permission.
7: It is not permissible to insist on asking for permission unnecessarily or to stand stubbornly at the door when permission is not received. If the owner of the house does not give permission or refuses to give permission after asking three times, then one should go back. One should not be angry or upset about this. If a person does not want to meet someone, he has the right to do so. Or he can express his inability due to being busy with some work. The jurists have interpreted the commandment of “go back” in the verse to mean that in this situation, it is not permissible to stand in front of the door in a huddle but rather to leave. Forcing someone to meet or bothering him at the door is tantamount to interfering with one’s rights.
Don't enter empty house without permission.
8: It is not permissible for anyone to enter an empty house. However, if the owner of the house himself has given permission to enter, then he can enter. For example, if the owner of the house says, "If I am not at home, then you will sit in my bed." Or such permission that "I am coming; you will sit." However, it is not necessary to take permission to enter the following places, such as hotels, inns, guesthouses, shops, etc.
If we can move within these prescribed boundaries, then social peace, order, and harmony will return, and we will receive a clean society as a gift. Allah Almighty says: "This is the most decent and clean way for you" (Surah An-Nur: 29). May Allah Almighty grant us the ability to follow this decent and clean way.
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