Islamic manners require that we seek permission before entering any house or rooms of friends and relatives. Seeking permission begins with offering a greeting of peace, or salam, and identification of the visitor. This is confirmed in many Hadiths that we have quoted over the last few weeks. However, sometimes we may come to a place which has no door, or the door is wide open. At the time of the Prophet and in the early days of Islam, most houses did not have front doors, and people could come in unannounced. Hence, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) made the importance of seeking permission before entry very clear. It is part of Islamic manners.
When a person arrives at a place and finds the front door wide open, there is always the temptation to look inside. Some people would look even when there is only a little hole in the door or a window is slightly ajar. But this means that one is looking at people and their place when they are unaware. Hence, the Prophet made clear that this is totally unacceptable from the Islamic point of view. Abu Hurayrah quotes the Prophet as saying: “If one’s eye enters a place, then no permission of entry may be given.” (Related by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, Abu Dawood, Al-Tirmidhi and Ahmad)
This is clearly a statement of disapproval of such an action, where a person is looking at the inside of a house or a room before seeking permission to enter.
This applies even within the home, when one member of a family wants to enter another member’s room, even that of his mother or daughter. Privacy should always be respected. We have looked at Hadiths where people asked whether they should seek permission before entering their mother’s room. The Prophet told them: “If you do not seek permission, you are likely to see what displeases you.”
The Prophet’s companions understood this well and were keen to impress it on others. Hudhayfah ibn Al-Yaman was one of the Prophet’s companions. One day a man sought permission to enter his place, but before he was given such permission he looked inside. Hudhyfah realized what the man did, so he said to him: “Your eye has entered, but not your backside.” (Related by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad). If it is suggested that Hudhayfah’s reply was rude, certainly the man’s action was much more so.
Sometimes the Prophet emphasized this in different ways. Anas ibn Malik reports that a Bedouin came to the Prophet’s house and put his eye at a hole in the door. The Prophet took up an arrow or a stick with a sharp end and aimed it at the Bedouin so that he could stab his eye with it. The Bedouin moved away.
The Prophet said to him: “Had you remained in your position, I would have certainly stabbed you in the eye.” (Related by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad).
Perhaps the Prophet was certain that the Bedouin would move away once he realized that he was serious when he aimed the stick at his eye. The Prophet’s action, however, indicates that he considered the Bedouin’s action to be so serious that it merited such a strong action. It also tells us that if one finds himself in a similar position and he hurts the offender, he may not be taken to task for doing so. It is the person who looks into another person’s place that commits an offense, and what we do in retaliation is right. Umar ibn Al-Khattab says: “He who deliberately looks at the yard of a house, before he is given permission, commits a serious offense.” (Related by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad)
The same principle is stated clearly at the beginning of a Hadith in which the Prophet points out several aspects of Islamic manners. The Hadith is reported by Thawban, the Prophet’s servant, who quotes him as saying: “It is not permissible for any Muslim to look intently at the inside of a house until he has been given permission. Should he do so before permission is granted, he has actually entered. No Muslim who leads others in prayers may address his supplication personally, apart from his congregation until he has finished his prayers. No one may pray when he feels the need to go to the toilet until he has relieved himself.” (Related by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, Ahmad, Abu Dawood and Al-Tirmidhi)
The first part of this Hadith confirms what we have been saying about seeking permission not only for entry into a house or someone else’s room, but also before looking inside. Here we have a clear prohibition of deliberate looking inside without first obtaining permission to enter. Such a look is clearly equated with actual entry, because such a person would be looking at what the people of the house or those inside the room are doing, or what they are wearing. This is not right.
Secondly, the Prophet tells anyone who leads a congregational prayer to look after his congregation. If he supplicates, he should include his congregation in every prayer.
Scholars say that if an imam uses some of the supplication used by the Prophet in the singular form, he should do so intending that all his congregation are included with him, or he should use the same words in the plural form.
This is again an aspect of Islamic manners, because when the imam says a supplication, the congregation could only confirm what he says. If he is using the singular form, they may feel that he is only praying for himself and their role is to endorse his prayer. On the other hand, when he uses the plural form, everyone feels that the supplication is for them all. Their endorsement is more heart-felt.
The last point concerns someone who wants to pray but he feels the urge to go to the toilet. It is imperative that he should do so before he prays. If he prays in this condition, he is unlikely to be able to concentrate on his prayer.
He would be preoccupied with his self control so that he does not discharge a drop of urine on his clothes. Indeed, he would find attending to his prayer very difficult. Hence, he should not put himself in such a situation. The proper procedure is to relieve himself first, renew his ablutions and then offer his prayers.
Arab News Islam 23 May 2003