\u201cAllah’s Apostle said, “If anyone of you asks the permission to enter thrice, and the permission is not given, then he should return.\u201d<\/i> (Bukhari, Isti\u2019dhan, 13)<\/p>\n
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In our daily life we enter various places. Of course this has to be within the frame of certain manners. In this context, the Holy Qur\u2019an addresses us as follows:<\/p>\n
\u201cO you who believe! Enter not houses other than your own, until you have asked permission and saluted those in them: that is best for you, in order that you may heed (what is seemly).\u201d<\/b> (al-Nur 24; 27)<\/p>\n
Asking permission to enter a house or a similar place is based on the principle of protecting privacy. Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) clearly stated this issue in the following tradition: \u201cVerily! The order of taking permission to enter has been enjoined because of that sight, (that one should not look unlawfully at the state of others).\u201d<\/i> (Bukhari, Isti\u2019dhan, 11)<\/p>\n
According to the statement of the above tradition, violation of privacy can occur not only by entering a house without permission but also by unlawfully looking into it. Therefore, when one attempts to ask permission to enter a place, he should stay on the right or left side of the door in accordance with the customs of the Prophet (pbuh). (Abu Dawud, Adab, 127)<\/p>\n
What is worse is to peek through the key holes or to look through the windows and to spy on the people inside. These are not behaviors befitting a true believer. For such an action is moral lowness and a psychological disorder from the point of the peeking person and a cause of discomfort and embarrassment from the point of the person who is being watched.<\/p>\n
Sahl b. Sa\u2019d (r.a.) reported that a person peeped through the hole of the door of Allah’s Messenger (pbuh), and at that time Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) had a comb in his hand. When Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) recognized him he said:<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I were to know that you had been peeping through the door, I would have thrust this into your eyes,\u201d<\/i> and Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) said:<\/p>\n
\u201cPermission is needed as a protection against glance.\u201d<\/i> (Muslim, Adab, 40-41)<\/p>\n
Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) stated how great a crime and a sin peeping is by saying that: \u201cHe who peeped into the house of people without their consent, it is permissible for them to put out his eyes.\u201d<\/i> (Muslim, Adab, 43) Here the permissibility of putting someone\u2019s eyes out is just to explain how immoral and bad such an action is. [1]<\/sup><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n Since houses in the age of happiness were one storey simple buildings built from palm branches, people could enter other people\u2019s houses easily by asking permission saying, \u201cal-salam alaikum<\/i>! May I enter?\u201d We also see that the Prophet (pbuh) scolded the companions who did not observe this manner.<\/p>\n It was narrated Kaladah ibn Hanbal:<\/p>\n \u201cSafwan b. Umayyah sent him with some milk, a young gazelle and some small cucumbers to the Apostle of Allah (pbuh) when he was in the upper part of Mecca. I entered but I neither asked permission nor gave a salutation. The Prophet (pbuh) said:<\/p>\n \u201cGo back and say: \u201cPeace be upon you\u201d!\u201d<\/i> (Abu Dawud, Adab, 127)<\/p>\n A man of Banu Amir recalled that he asked the Prophet (pbuh) for permission to enter the house when he was in the house, saying:<\/p>\n \u201cMay I enter?\u201d The Prophet (pbuh) said to his servant:<\/p>\n \u201cGo out to this man and teach him how to ask permission to enter the house, and say to him: \u201cSay: Peace be upon you. May I enter?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n The man heard it and said:<\/p>\n \u201cPeace be upon you! May I enter?\u201d The Prophet (pbuh) permitted him and he entered. (Abu Dawud, Adab, 127)<\/p>\n Because today\u2019s buildings and doors are built differently than the ones in the age of happiness, it might be more difficult to make one\u2019s salutation heard by the owner of the house. In fact out of necessity today people use doorbells for asking permission instead of saluting at the door. However, one may also follow the custom of the Prophet (pbuh) if he\/she salutes the owner of the house when he\/she opens the door.<\/p>\n Moreover, one should repeat knocking the door three times at most and if he does not get an answer he should not insist. This is stated in a verse as follows:<\/p>\n \u201cIf you find no one in the house, enter not until permission is given to you: if you are asked to go back, go back: that makes for greater purity for yourselves: and Allah knows well all that you do.\u201d<\/b> (al-Nur 24; 28)<\/p>\n Allah\u2019s Messenger (pbuh) said that: \u201cIf anyone of you asks the permission to enter thrice, and the permission is not given, then he should return.\u201d<\/i> (Bukhari, Isti\u2019dhan, 13) However, if a person thinks that the owner of the house did not hear the knocking, he\/she may knock the door more.<\/p>\n It is not appropriate to use obscure statements while asking permission like to answer the question of \u201cwho is it?\u201d as \u201cit\u2019s me;\u201d because it is not always possible to recognize people from their voices, even if it is an acquaintance. Whereas, a question such as \u201cwho are you?\u201d or \u201cwho is it?\u201d implies the questioner\u2019s wish to know the person at his\/her door. Responses like \u201cit\u2019s me\u201d \u201ca man,\u201d \u201csomeone,\u201d \u201ca servant of Allah,\u201d and \u201csomeone you know,\u201d are not enough to meet that wish. The following narration clearly warns us in this context:<\/p>\n Jabir (r.a.) narrated:<\/p>\n \u201cI came to the Prophet in order to consult him regarding my father\u2019s debt. When I knocked on the door, he asked, \u201cWho is it?\u201d I replied, \u201cme\u201d He said,<\/p>\n