سورة النور

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Abdillah said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about this saying of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُیُوتًا غَیْرَ بُیُوتِکُمْ حَتَّی تَسْتَأْنِسُوا وَتُسَلِّمُوا عَلَی أَهْلِهَا [Do not enter houses other than your own houses until you have asked permission and saluted their inmates], and he said: "Isti'nas means knocking on the door and giving the greeting of peace."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Abu Ayyub al-Ansari said: I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) about this word of Allah: حَتَّی تَسْتَأْنِسُوا [until you have asked permission]: "What did Allah the Exalted intend by isti'nas (seeking familiarity)?" The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "When a person comes to the door of a house, let him say سُبْحانَ اللهِ [Glory be to Allah] and لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ [There is no god but Allah], so that the people of the house understand that he intends to enter the house."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari said: "One day the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) went towards the house of Fatimah (peace be upon her), and I was with him. When we reached the door of the house, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) knocked on the door and said: 'السّلام علیکم [Peace be upon you].' Fatimah said: 'And upon you be peace, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)!' He asked: 'May I enter?' She replied: 'Enter, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family).' The Prophet said: 'May I enter with this person who is with me?' Fatimah said: 'O Messenger of Allah! I do not have a headscarf on my head.' The Prophet said: 'Take the extra portion of your wrap or cloak and use it as a headscarf and cover your head.' When Fatimah (peace be upon her) did so, the Prophet again gave the greeting of peace and sought permission to enter, and Fatimah (peace be upon her) said: 'O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Enter.' The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'Yes, may I enter with the one who is with me?' Fatimah (peace be upon her) said: 'Yes.' Jabir says: 'The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and I entered, and at that moment I noticed that the face of Fatimah (peace be upon her) was yellow like the belly of a yellow locust.' The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'Why is your face pale and yellow?' Fatimah (peace be upon her) said: 'O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! From hunger.' Then the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) supplicated and said: 'O Allah who satisfies the hungry and takes the hand of the fallen, satisfy Fatimah (peace be upon her).' Jabir says: 'By Allah, with this supplication blood flowed into Fatimah's (peace be upon her) face in such a way that her face became red and rosy, and after that day she never became hungry again.'"

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): A man sought permission from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) to enter, and [for this purpose] cleared his throat [by making a sound]. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said to a woman whose name was Rawdah: "Go to this man and teach him, and say to him: [when seeking permission to enter,] say: السلام علیکم، أ أدخل؟ [Peace be upon you, may I enter?]" That man heard this speech of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and repeated that sentence; the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) then said: "[Now] enter."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) forbade a man from going to visit women without the permission of their guardians.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Ali al-Halabi said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "Must a person seek permission when entering upon his father?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Yes! I always used to seek permission when entering upon my father, even though my mother was not with him — rather, my father's wife was with him, for my mother had passed away when I was a young boy. [Even so, I seek permission when entering upon my father, because] it may be that they are engaged in some private matter in their seclusion which I would not like to catch them at unawares, nor would they like that from me; and [in such cases, for seeking permission] giving the salam is more correct and better."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Sahl ibn Sa'd al-Sa'idi said: A man was looking into the Prophet's (peace be upon him and his family) chamber through a hole, while the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) was scratching his head with a comb he had. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "If I had known that you were looking [inside the chamber], I would have thrust this comb into your eye; seeking permission [when entering somewhere] has been prescribed for the sake of [precisely this matter of] looking."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): A man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and asked: "Whenever I want to enter my mother's room, must I seek permission?" The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Yes." The man asked: "What is the reason for it?" The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Would you be pleased, when you enter, to see her uncovered?" The man replied: "No." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Then enter with permission and notice."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "A man must seek permission to enter his father's room, but the father does not need permission [to enter] upon his son. A man must seek permission to enter upon his daughter and his sister when they are married."

Ali ibn Ibrahim: حَتَّی تَسْتَأْنِسُوا وَتُسَلِّمُوا عَلَی أَهْلِهَا [until you have asked permission and greeted their inmates] — al-isti'nas is the same as seeking permission.

Ali ibn Ibrahim: فَإِذا دَخَلْتُمْ بُیُوتاً فَسَلِّمُوا عَلی أَنْفُسِکُمْ تَحِیَّةً مِنْ عِنْدِ اللهِ مُبارَکَةً طَیِّبَةً [But when you enter houses, greet yourselves with a salutation from Allah, blessed and good]; it is your greeting upon the people of the house, and their response to you, which stands in the place of a greeting upon yourself.