With the Noble Prophetic Hadith (18)
Seeking Permission to Enter Homes Before Entering!!
We greet you all, dear listeners, everywhere. We meet you in a new episode of your program "With the Noble Prophetic Hadith," and we begin with the best greeting and the purest peace. Peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you, and thereafter:
Imam Malik narrated in Al-Muwatta: Abu Musab told us: Malik told us, from the trustworthy source he had, from Bukair bin Abdullah bin Al-Ashajj, from Busr bin Saeed, from Abu Saeed Al-Khudri, from Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari, that he said: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: "Seeking permission is thrice, and if permission is granted to you, (enter), otherwise, go back."
This noble hadith demonstrates the pinnacle of eloquence in the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, as he used the method of "brevity through deletion." He mentioned the number "three" and deleted the counted "times." He used two conditional sentences: he deleted the result of the condition in the first, "then enter," because the result of the second indicates it, "then go back," and he deleted the condition verb in the second, "if permission is not granted," because the verb of the first indicates it, "permission is granted." So the hadith before deletion was as follows: "Seeking permission is three times, and if permission is granted to you, then enter, and if permission is not granted to you, then go back."
Seeking permission is a high etiquette that indicates the modesty of its owner, his chivalry, his good upbringing, his chastity, the integrity of his soul, and its respect by not seeing what people should not see, or hearing a hadith that he is not allowed to eavesdrop on without the knowledge of the speakers, or entering upon people and surprising and embarrassing them. With the advancement of civilization and the manufacture of locked houses and secure doors, there are still those who enter without greeting, or visit another's room or barge into a gathering without informing or seeking permission. Therefore, Islam was keen to present a set of etiquettes for seeking permission and visiting. Seeking permission is requesting permission to enter a house that the person seeking permission does not own. The ruling on seeking permission is that it is forbidden for a person to enter the house of another person except with permission, according to the saying of God Almighty: (O you who have believed, do not enter houses other than your own until you have asked permission and greeted their inhabitants). (An-Nur 27)
As for the wisdom of seeking permission, it is that seeking permission protects the sanctity of homes and prevents their curtains from being torn. Islam has forbidden looking inside homes. It was narrated from Sahl bin Saad, may God be pleased with him, who said: "A man looked from a hole in the chambers of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and with the Prophet was a tool with which he scratched his head. When the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, saw him, he said: 'If I knew you were watching me, I would have stabbed you in your eye with it. Permission was only made for the sake of sight.'" Al-Midra is a stick that a woman puts in her head to join some of her hair to some, and it resembles a skewer. It was said to be a comb with teeth. As for the manner of seeking permission, it was narrated from a man from Bani عامر that he sought permission to enter upon the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, while he was in a house, and he said: May I enter? The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said to his servant: "Go out to this one and teach him how to seek permission, and tell him: Say: Peace be upon you, may I enter?" The man heard him and said: Peace be upon you, may I enter? The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, gave him permission and he entered." (Narrated by Abu Dawood) As for the place where the person seeking permission should stand, it was narrated from Saad bin Ubadah, may God be pleased with him, who said: A man came and stood at the door of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, seeking permission facing the door, and the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said to him: "Like this from you, for seeking permission is only for the sake of sight." (Narrated by Abu Dawood)
And from Abdullah bin Busr, who said: "The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, when he came to the door of a people, did not face the door directly, but from its right or left corner, and he would say, 'Peace be upon you, peace be upon you.'" (Narrated by Abu Dawood) And it is appropriate to greet the people of the house. God Almighty said: (But when you enter houses, give greetings of peace upon each other - a greeting from God, blessed and good). (An-Nur 61) And the people of the house must return the greeting with the same or better, according to the saying of God Almighty: (And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet [in return] with one better than it or [at least] return it [in a like manner]). (An-Nisa 86)
Al-Nawawi said in the explanation of Sahih Muslim: The scholars have agreed that seeking permission is prescribed, and the evidence of the Quran and the Sunnah and the consensus of the Companions have demonstrated it. The Sunnah is to greet and seek permission three times, combining both the greeting and seeking permission, as the Quran stated. They differed as to whether it is recommended to give the greeting first and then seek permission, or to seek permission first and then greet? The correct view, which the Sunnah has brought and which the investigators have said, is that the greeting should be given first, so he says: Peace be upon you, may I enter? And the second: he gives the seeking permission first, and the third: is the choice of Al-Mawardi from our companions, that if the eyes of the person seeking permission fall on the owner of the house before entering, he gives the greeting and does not give the seeking permission first. And two hadiths have been authenticated from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, regarding giving the greeting first. It is permissible to rely on a sign in permission. It was narrated from Ibn Masoud, may God be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said to me: "Your permission to me is to lift the veil and to hear my secret until I forbid you." (Narrated by Muslim) Al-Siwad with a Kasra: Al-Sirar, as if he allowed him to enter upon him where he hears his words and knows his presence unless he forbids him. Perhaps that is if there is no sanctity in the house, because Ibn Masoud used to serve him in all situations, preparing his ablution, carrying the water for him when he stood up to perform ablution, taking his shoes, and putting them down when he sat down, and when he got up, so he needed to enter upon him frequently. Al-Nawawi said: And in it is evidence for the permissibility of relying on a sign in giving permission to enter. The person seeking permission must inform about his name. It was narrated from Jabir, may God be pleased with him, who said: "I came to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, regarding a debt that my father owed, so I knocked on the door, and he said: Who is that? I said: I am. He said: I am, I am, as if he disliked it." (Agreed upon) Ibn al-Jawzi said: The reason for disliking the saying: "I am" is that it contains a kind of arrogance, as if its speaker is saying: I am the one who does not need to mention my name or lineage." As for the three times of seeking permission and its wisdom, it was narrated from Abu Musa, may God be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: "If one of you seeks permission three times and is not given permission, then let him return." (Agreed upon) Ibn Abd al-Barr said in al-Tamhid: Some of them said: The first time of seeking permission: is seeking permission, and the second time: is consultation, whether permission should be given to enter or not? And the third: is a sign of return, and it should not be increased beyond three.
It is necessary to teach children to seek permission from the time they reach puberty. God Almighty said: (And when the children among you reach puberty, let them seek permission [at all times] as those before them sought permission). (An-Nur 59) It was narrated from Ibn Umar, may God be pleased with them both, who said: "When some of his children reached puberty, he would not enter upon him except with permission." (Narrated by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad)
It is necessary to seek permission to enter upon the mother and sisters before entering: Ibn Masoud, may God be pleased with him, said: "You must seek permission to enter upon your mothers." (Narrated by Al-Tabarani) It was narrated from Ata, who said: I asked Ibn Abbas and said: "May I seek permission to enter upon my sisters?" He said: Yes. I said: They are in my care? He said: "Would you like to see them naked?" It was narrated from Muslim bin Nadhir, who said: "A man asked Hudhayfah: May I seek permission to enter upon my mother? He said: If you do not seek permission to enter upon her, you will see what you dislike." (Narrated by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad). It is not necessary to seek permission to enter upon the wife. Musa bin Talha said: "I entered with my father upon my mother, so he entered and I followed him, so he pushed me in my chest and said: You enter without permission?" (Narrated by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad) The door should not be knocked violently. It was narrated from Anas bin Malik, may God be pleased with him, who said: "The doors of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, were knocked with fingernails." (Narrated by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad). Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar said in Al-Fath: "This is attributed to them in exaggeration of etiquette, and it is good for those who are close to his door, but for those who are far from the door to the extent that the sound of knocking with the nail does not reach him, it is recommended to knock with something above that according to his situation."
Dear listeners: We thank you for your kind listening. Our appointment with you is in the next episode, God willing. Until then, and until we meet you always, we leave you in the care, protection, and security of God. Peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you.
Written for the radio of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut-Tahrir
Professor Muhammad Ahmad Al-Nadi - Jordan - 2014/9/15 AD
