Civility Will Not Be In Something Except That It Beautifies It And It Will Not Be Excluded From It Except That It Defaces It _ Prophet Muhammad ( Salla-llahu alehi wasalam)
Perhaps it is the nous in being civil that makes the prophet of Islam, Muhammad Salla-llahu alehi wasalam, guns for it in every matter- be it civil, domestic, politic, economic and religious ! Civility or Politeness or courtesy has been the magic in prophetic psychology for dealing with both his loyalists and foes alike for all the 23 years of his divine mission! And it has been accounted for the greatest percentage of his prophetic mission success!
He had moved mountains with it – made what seemed impossible possible; drawn nearer what was afar ; salvaged the despicable , accelerated the slow-pace, buoyed the dampen spirit of his society and boosted their Morales which had been flagged by all manners of mean and vile behaviours emanated from their polytheistic imbued ways of life !
It was the wandwork he deployed to win the then fierce and daring ‘Umar bn Khattab, who would later become the second caliph of Islam with all his brilliant programs which the modern world would also imitate in good governance and enviable programs such as banking system, postal order , infrastructure and establishment of naval posts across the boarders of the Arabian Peninsula , when he was a stark unbeliever and a lover of polytheism of a note.
It was the artwork that attracted Suraqah; an artful soldier who was meant to kill the prophet during his Hijrah , to abandon the job he was commission to execute and accept the faith of Muhammad while Tafiil ,who was being toasted to do away from listening to the prophet’s talks and sermon – that the prophet’s talks and sermons were causing separation between fathers and sons as they were erecting a barrier between families and tribes, until he described the prophet salla-llahu alehi wasalam, as ” the best in speech and manner he had ever seen!”
Courtesy in entering other people’s homes i.e seeking the permission of the owners of the homes and give salutation to them before entering into their homes is an Islamic value which other cultures are claiming now. It has been instituted to encourage Politeness in dealing with others, while it is a major in-road to modesty and refined behaviour.
The glorious Qur’an has this commandment in showing Politeness to the owners of the homes before entering upon them :
” Oh you who believe! Do not enter houses other than your own houses until you have asked permission and saluted their inmates ( the owners of the houses) ; that is better for you , that you may be mindful”
” But if you do not find anyone therein ,then do not enter them until permission is given to you; and when it said to you : Go back; then go back; this is purer for you and Allah is cognizant of what you do” (Qur’an 24 :27-28)
Since the Creator of the universe and what abound therein, Allah, Has made houses for His creatures as resorts where they return to after their daily works and where they find succor in terms of peace of mind and resting of human bodies,anytime of the days, He Has also demanded politeness for whoever may wish to enter into them other than the dwellers in the above verses of the glorious Qur’an to take permission before entering into them, endear salutation to the inmates and when the one who wants to enter into them is told to go back ; for the dwellers of the houses may be resting; naked or enjoying themselves or concealing something they do not want an outsider to be privy to; the one who wants to enter as a matter of religion and ethic ,must go back!
Some people have the bad habit of entering into People’s homes without taking permission and without caring for the conditions of the dwellers of the homes. Some landlords who have rented their houses away to the tenants are also in the habit of swooping into People’s homes in the name of being landlords forgetting that they have exchanged their landlordship with the rents paid by the tenants.
There resides in this behaviour of the people of Jahiliyah period when there was no divine commandments to guide the conducts of man; errors such as exposition of the owners of the homes to ridicules for being privy to their nakedness. Also, entering into People’s homes without showing any civility on the part of those who enter has adverse imprints on human relations as it spreads suspicion among humanity while it debars them the needed privacy their homes were made for ,in the first instance!
Besides, some people are known to want to enter into People’s homes even when they are told to go back. Their insistence, to say the obvious may push them to knock the doors repeatedly so as to register their presence the more and this may push the owners of the homes to ditch their sleep and if one of them is sick, it may predisposed him to worsening state of his health or lead him to early death!
At the same time, some may sneak into People’s homes, check their windows or back doors if there are no response from the owners of the houses instead of going back and check later and in doing so, their eyes may behold illegal things or the nakedness of the owners of the houses which they might have not seen are they being they had gone when they had not heard from the owners of the houses.
Taking Permission Before Entering Into People’s Homes Is Instituted For The Roving Nature Of The Eyes
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According to prophet’s tradition, the commandment to seek permission from dwellers of homes is instituted so as to prevent the evils inherent in the roving nature of human eyes! He has said :
” Permission to enter into People’s homes is instituted because of the eyes”
A critical examination of human nature will reveal that indeed, human eyes do rove and roam and if the owners of the eyes does not care, his eyes can endanger his life both in terrestrial and celestial senses for the starting points of most sins human beings are venturing into are the eyes_ talking of adultery and fornication, it is the eyes which will first behold a beautiful lady, and within a nanoseconds, it will register it into human brain while the brain will prod man to smile to his prey ( beautiful woman), then he will talk to her and a place to exchange intimacy will be fixed and fornication will ensue!
The same process can be said of thievery, burglary, kidnapping and all the sins of humanity! This is the reason the one who desired to live the life of a proper Muslim will endeavour to keep to the commandment of Allah in other Quranic verses as follows:
” (Oh Muhammad) tell the believing men that they lower their gaze and guard their private parts ; for that is purer for them; surely Allah is aware of what they do”
”And tell the believing women that they lower their gaze and guard their private parts …” (Qur’an 24: 31-30)
Reason For The Revelation Of The Verses Of Taking Permission Before Entering Into People’s Homes In The Glorious Qur’an
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It is reported among the reasons for the revelation of Qur’an 24:27-28 from ‘Adiy Bn Thabit who said that a woman from the Ansar’s clan came to the prophet salla-llahu alehi wasalam ,and said : Oh you the Apostle of Allah, indeed, I happened to be in my house in a state I don’t like anybody to see me in; whether it is my parents or my children; but the father does come and enter upon me and he does not cease to enter upon me a man from my household while I’m in that state ; o you Allah’s Apostle; what shall I do?” Then Allah revealed :” ” “Oh you who believe! Do not enter houses other than your own houses until you have asked permission and saluted their inmates ( the owners of the houses) ; that is better for you , that you may be mindful”
” But if you do not find anyone therein ,then do not enter them until permission is given to you; and if it is said to you : Go back; then go back; this is purer for you and Allah is cognizant of what you do” (Qur’an 24 :27-28)
The exegetes of the glorious Qur’an said : When this verse was revealed, Abubakir Al-Sidiq, ( may Allah be pleased with him) , said :” o the Apostle of Allah, can you see the pubs and taverns on the way to Saam, which harbours no dwellers, can anybody enter into them without taking permission? And Allah revealed : ” There is no sin on your part that you enter uninhabited houses wherein you have your necessities ; and Allah knows what you do openly and what you hide”
Parts Of The Manners Of Taking Permission Before Entering Into People’s Homes In Islam
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Among the manners and ethics of civility in taking permission before entering into People’s homes in Islam are :
_ The one who is taking permission should avoid using anonymous pronoun I and We for themselves when they want to enter people’s homes when the owners of the homes asked them the question :” who is at the door”.
The evidence for this in the prophet’s Sunnah is the Hadith of Jaabir Bn Abdullah ( may Allah be pleased with him) who said that :” I seek permission to enter the prophet’s house and he said : ” who was there? And I said : ” I” , and the prophet salla-llahu alehi wasalam, replied me mockingly :” I I said Muhammad” , as if he detested his statement : ” I”
_ The one who is seeking permission to enter the house should do salutation before seeking the permission to enter. This is the thinking of the majority of the scholars of jurisprudence based on Tirmidhi’s Hadith as follows : ” salutation before talking” . It has also been reported that a man from among the clan of Bani ‘Aamir sought permission to enter upon the prophet salla-llahu alehi wasalam, and the prophet was inside his room, the man said :” should I entered?” The prophet told his maid:” go out to that man and teach him how to seek permission; tell him to say : ” As-salam Alekum, should I enter?” The man heard this and said :” As-salam Alekum, should I enter?” And the prophet salla-llahu alehi wasalam granted him the permission and he entered !”
_ The one who is taking permission should not face the door directly when seeking permission to enter other people’s homes but instead he must be at the right or left corner of the door. This is contained in the Hadith of the prophet as reported by ‘Abdullah Ibn Basar as follows :
” The prophet salla-llahu alehi wasalam, whenever he was at the door of a people ,would not face the door directly but would approach it from the right hand corner or its left and he would say :” As-salam Alekum , As-salam Alekum”
” He who seeks the permission thrice to enter into People’s homes and he is not given the permission must go back to where he is coming back . This is what the glorious Qur’an meant when it said :” and when you are told ” go back; then go back, it is indeed purer for you”
It Is A polite Manner To Seek Permission Before You Also Enter Into Your women ; Mother, Sister And Female Children
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Yes it is a civil behaviour and polite Manner that you still seek permission before entering into homes of your family members who are females. This is what is obtainable when a man asked the prophet salla-llahu alehi wasalam ” will I still seek permission from my mother before entering upon her?” The prophet answered him affirmatively ”yes” and the man went further ” she has no maid other than me ; should I still seek permission to enter upon her Everytime I want to do so ? The prophet answered ” do you like seeing her nakedness? The man said :” no”, then seek permission before entering into her room, the prophet concluded”
While seeking permission before entering into People’s homes is compulsory , saluting the people of the house is sunnatic, i.e he who abandons the former will be penalised while he would do the later will be rewarded and if he abandons it, he will not be penalised.
Taking Permission is contingent upon everybody even if the dwellers of the homes are all blind!
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