38/9. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 2156b — Seeking Permission Guards Sight
The Prohibition Of Looking Into A House
Islamic Privacy Hadith: Permission Was Made Because of Sight
Sahih Muslim : 2156b
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 2156b
وَحَدَّثَنِي حَرْمَلَةُ بْنُ يَحْيَى، أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ وَهْبٍ، أَخْبَرَنِي يُونُسُ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، أَنَّأَخْبَرَهُ أَنَّ رَجُلاً اطَّلَعَ مِنْ جُحْرٍ فِي بَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَمَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم مِدْرًى يُرَجِّلُ بِهِ رَأْسَهُ فَقَالَ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " لَوْ أَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ تَنْظُرُ طَعَنْتُ بِهِ فِي عَيْنِكَ إِنَّمَا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ الإِذْنَ مِنْ أَجْلِ الْبَصَرِ " .
Sahl bin Sa`d As-Sa`idi Narrated from:
A person peeped through the hole of the door of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and he had with him some pointed thing with which he had been adjusting (the hair of his head). Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said to him: If I were to know that you had been peeping. I would have thrust it in your eyes. Allah has prescribed seeking permission because of protection against glance.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 2156bIn-book reference : Book 38, Hadith 54USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 25, Hadith 5367
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 2156b
This narration explains the same privacy lesson with slightly different wording. A man peeped through a hole in the door of Allah's Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) while the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) had a pointed object with which he was adjusting his hair. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said that if he knew the man had been peeping, he would have thrust it into his eyes. He then said that Allah prescribed seeking permission because of protection against glance. This hadith is often searched as the hadith about peeping into houses or permission because of sight. Its message is direct: the rules of permission are not empty manners. They protect people from being seen when they have not agreed to be seen. The gaze itself can cross a boundary.
What we learn from this hadith
- Allah prescribed seeking permission as protection from intrusive sight.
- Peeping is not treated as a harmless action in this narration.
- People inside a private place have a right not to be looked at without consent.
- Permission is connected to both entry and eyesight.
