Surah An-Nur 24:58-61 - Quran Translation Commentary

58.O you who believe! Let your slaves and those (children who have not attained puberty ask your leave at three times (before they come into your presence) : before the Fajr (pre-dawn) prayer and when you lay aside your clothes for noon, and after the prayer of Isha (night). These three times are of privacy for you. At other times it is no sin either for you or for them if you go around (visiting) one another. Thus Allah makes clear to you His revelations.⁹⁶ Allah is Knowing, Wise,⁹⁷

59. And when your children reach the age of puberty, then let them ask your leave as those before them (who reached puberty) ask.⁹⁸ Thus Allah makes clear for you His commands. Allah is Knowing, Wise.

60. It is no sin for the old women, have no hope of marriage, if they lay aside their (outer) clothing⁹⁹ in such a way as not to show adornment. ¹⁰⁰ It is better they refrain from this. Allah Hears All and knows All.

61. There is nothing wrong for the blind, nor is there anything wrong for the lame, nor anything wrong for the sick, nor for yourselves if you eat from your houses , or the houses of your fathers, and grand father or the houses of your mothers, or the houses of your brothers, or the house of your sisters, or the houses of your fathers’ brothers, or the houses of your fathers’ sisters, or the houses of your mothers’ sisters, or from that (house) of which you hold the key, or from (the house) of a friend.¹⁰¹ It will be no sin for you whether you eat together or apart.¹⁰² However, when you enter houses, salute¹⁰³ one another with greeting from Allah, blessed and pure¹⁰⁴ (word). Thus Allah makes clear His revelations for you so that you may understand.¹⁰⁵

Commentary

96. It is an explanatory ayah. In the ayah No.27, the direction was given about entering any house, after obtaining permission. In this connection it is being explained here that so far as your children and male and female slaves are concerned, they have to come to you very often, and therefore, it is not necessary for them to ask for your permission every time that they come to you. But there are three occasions when it is necessary for them also to obtain your permission before they come to you, and these occasions are of your privacy. First is the time after Isha (night) prayer, when man goes to bed, second is the time before the Fajr prayer, and the third time is that of the afternoon, the time of siesta, particularly in the warm climates. During these times man is with his wife or he has scanty clothing on his body, therefore it is necessary to instruct the young children also to seek permission before going to their elders. Thus it becomes clear that special attention should be paid to the right training of the children. Prevent children from being exposed to any immoral act, or may a sexual behaviour that may affect their morals.

Today the population explosion has created very difficult housing problems. People have to stay in very small and narrow rooms with their children. On the one hand there are these residential difficulties, and on the other hand there is the demand for privacy, which can never be ignored. In these circumstances, whatever precautionary measures can be taken must be taken, and the residential requirements should be given preference over other/requirements that is arrangements for living should be made is such a way that privacy should be maintained as well as the restrictions imposed by the shariah in relation to living conditions should also be observed. Those who possess a sense of morality and want to lead an Islamic way of life, it is absolutely necessary for them to solve their resi de nt i al prob l em s a n d th e re fore t he y should be ready to shoulder greater financial burden.

97. Hints at the fact that His commands are based on knowledge and wisdom.

98. That is: When these children attain puberty, they should seek permission to come into the presence of their elders at other times. This restriction for them is like the restriction which was for the grown up people before them.

99. In the ayah No. 31. the women were given the directive about the veils, that if any ‘ghair mahram’ (strange) male should enter the house, the women should draw their veils over their bosom, etc., In this ayah those old women who have no hope of getting married are allowed to put off their veil or chadar to which there is no objection, provided the objective is not to display adornment, and it is better if they do not put aside their veils or the outer chadar, it is more modest.

Many commentators have taken the clothing to mean chadar or the outer cover, that is according to them while going out if old women do not cover their bodies with the outer chadar, then there is nothing wrong, but the command concerning ‘chadar’ (jilbab) is given in Surah Ahzab. In this Surah commands are given concerning houses, in which the commands for ‘odhni’ (head cover or veil) is given, and the ayah under discussion is an explanatory ayah, therefore, it is more concerned with the directive about head-cover or odhni.

100. In this Surah three forms of adornment have been narrated. First is that adornment which necessarily manifests itself, for such an adornment there is nothing wrong if it is displayed before a ‘ghair mahram.’ Its command is given in the ayah No.31, in the words: ‘Mazahara minha’ (only what is apparent). The second form is that a woman can come with that adornment in the presence of her husband and also other relatives. This command has been given in the ayah No. 31.And the third form is that a woman may display her adornment before the ‘ghair mahram’ (strange) men, that is she should display that adornment in the presence of strangers which she is supposed to hide. Such a display of adornment is haram, forbidden, and in the terminology of Qur’an it is called ‘Tabarruj.’ In this ayah ‘tabarruj’ is prohibited.

101. This ayah has been revealed to clarify the commands given in this surah regarding the etiquette of the family life. The objective is to remove the misunderstanding that in view of the stated restrictions there is no room for the helpless people to go and eat in the houses in which the charitable persons had arranged for their feeding, nor can the near relatives and the friends take food together in one another’s houses. In this ayah it is clarified that the helpless people can eat in houses where feeding arrangement has been made. Asking for permission to enter the houses and the restrictions for purdah do not mean that the sympathetic treatment of the helpless people be abandoned.

As for the near relatives, e.g. father, mother, brother, sister, uncle, father’s sister, mother’s brother, and mother’s sister, so if there is an arrangement for you to go and take your food in the house of anyone of these, there is nothing wrong in that. Similarly there is nothing wrong in eating in the houses which are in your control, e.g. someone has gone out on a journey and has left his house in your care, then there is nothing wrong for you to take food in his house from what he has left behind of the provisions. Moreover, you can go for eating to the houses of your friends and can eat freely. To eat in one another’s houses helps in making mutual relationships pleasant. Therefore, there is nothing wrong in going to the houses of one another, provided the commands given concerning the etiquette of family life is scrupulously followed. As for the point: ‘eating from your house’ it is originally your house where you can eat unchecked, but if for some reason you are required to eat in the houses of your near relatives or friends, then there is nothing wrong in that.

In the ayah there is no command concerning eating from the houses of sons, because so far as the eating is concerned the houses of sons are one’s own houses.

102. The point whether the food should be taken together or apart is to be decided on the basis of circumstances, necessity and exigencies. From the viewpoint of shariah there is no restriction in this connection, and both the methods have been termed permissible according to convenience.

103. Do not forget that whether it may be your house or the house of your relative, etc., while entering it you have to salute essentially. Whether they are man’s own kinsmen or other persons in the house being members of his own millat they deserve to be presented with the gift of prayer for their safety (salute).

104. That is: It is a word of prayer which has been taught to you by Allah, and which is very, auspicious and full of blessing.

105. These commands which have been given with sufficient clarity need to be followed with understanding. Obeying the command merely as a formality does not meet the purpose for which the command is given, nor does the hairsplitting in the fiqh meets the demands of the shariah. The right way of acting on the command is that man should try to fully understand the objective for which the command is given and in obeying it should prove himself to be an intelligent person, If problems crop up, then he should try to solve them by pondering over them seriously. Allah has not granted intelligence that it may be kept unused, but it has been granted so that it should be rightly used and in order to follow the commands of the shariah in a right way and the intelligence should be seriously and honestly applied.