یٰۤاَیُّهَا O you who believe الَّذِیْنَ O you who believe اٰمَنُوْا O you who believe لِیَسْتَاْذِنْكُمُ Let ask your permission الَّذِیْنَ those whom مَلَكَتْ possess اَیْمَانُكُمْ your right hands وَ الَّذِیْنَ and those who لَمْ (have) not یَبْلُغُوا reached الْحُلُمَ puberty مِنْكُمْ among you ثَلٰثَ (at) three مَرّٰتٍ ؕ times مِنْ before قَبْلِ before صَلٰوةِ (the) prayer الْفَجْرِ (of) dawn وَ حِیْنَ and when تَضَعُوْنَ you put aside ثِیَابَكُمْ your garments مِّنَ at الظَّهِیْرَةِ noon وَ مِنْۢ and after بَعْدِ and after صَلٰوةِ (the) prayer الْعِشَآءِ ؕ۫ (of) night ثَلٰثُ (These) three عَوْرٰتٍ (are) times of privacy لَّكُمْ ؕ for you لَیْسَ Not عَلَیْكُمْ on you وَ لَا and not عَلَیْهِمْ on them جُنَاحٌۢ any blame بَعْدَهُنَّ ؕ after that طَوّٰفُوْنَ (as) moving about عَلَیْكُمْ among you بَعْضُكُمْ some of you عَلٰی among بَعْضٍ ؕ others كَذٰلِكَ Thus یُبَیِّنُ Allah makes clear اللّٰهُ Allah makes clear لَكُمُ for you الْاٰیٰتِ ؕ the Verses وَ اللّٰهُ and Allah عَلِیْمٌ (is) All-Knower حَكِیْمٌ All-Wise 24. An-Nur Page 358 وَ اِذَا And when بَلَغَ reach الْاَطْفَالُ the children مِنْكُمُ among you الْحُلُمَ the puberty فَلْیَسْتَاْذِنُوْا then let them ask permission كَمَا as اسْتَاْذَنَ asked permission الَّذِیْنَ those who مِنْ (were) before them قَبْلِهِمْ ؕ (were) before them كَذٰلِكَ Thus یُبَیِّنُ Allah makes clear اللّٰهُ Allah makes clear لَكُمْ for you اٰیٰتِهٖ ؕ His Verses وَ اللّٰهُ And Allah عَلِیْمٌ (is) All-Knower حَكِیْمٌ All-Wise
(24:58) Believers!85 At three times let those whom your right hands possess and those of your children86 who have not yet reached puberty87 ask leave of you before entering your quarters: before the Morning Prayer and when you take off your clothes at noon, and after the Night Prayer. These are the three times of privacy for you.88 If they come to you at other times then there is no sin for them89 nor for you, for you have to visit one another frequently.90 Thus does Allah clearly explain His directives to you. Allah is All- Knowing, All-Wise.
(24:59) And when your children attain puberty91 let them ask leave to come to you like their elders used to ask leave. Thus does Allah clearly explain to you His Signs. He is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
85. Beginning with the present verse, the enunciation of injunctions pertaining to social life is resumed. It is not improbable that this part of the Surah might have been revealed some time after the revelation of the discourse above.
86. In the opinion of the majority of Qur'anic commentators and jurists, the expression al-ladhina malakat aymanukum stands for one's slaves, regardless of whether they are male or female. However, 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar and Mujahid interpret the expression to mean male slaves thereby excluding female slaves. In view of the Qur'anic injunction that follows there is no ground whatsoever to exclude slave-girls. The point that is being brought home here is that in the same way that it is improper for one's minor children to invade one's privacy, it is also improper for one's slaves to do so. Jurists are, however, agreed that the injunction pertains to both adult and minor slaves.
87. Alternatively, it might be translated as 'those who have reached the age to dream that which adults dream'. Jurists, therefore, are of the opinion that the criterion to establish the puberty of a boy is whether he has had wet dreams or not. Although this is an undisputed view, the translation preferred by us is one that is based on the assumption that the injunction applies to both boys and girls. If one interprets the word hulm to strictly mean wet dream, the above injunction would only pertain to boys. For the criterion of a girl's puberty is her menstruation. In our opinion, the intent of the injunction is that until the children of the household reach puberty, they should follow this command. Once they become adults, they should abide by the injunctions which follow in the next
88. The verse says that there are 'three times of 'awrat for you'. In Arabic, 'awrah (pl. 'awrat) means the place that is vulnerable or insecure. The word also means an object whose exposure is embarrassing or disagreeable. The word also denotes something that is unprotected. All these nuances are interrelated and are variously intended in the verse to one extent or another.
The purpose of the statement is to emphasize that even minor children and slaves should not enter the private chambers of their parents/masters for there are certain times when people are either all alone or are with their spouses. It is inappropriate even for children or servants to enter someone's private chambers unannounced because they might observe them in an embarrassing state. Hence, it was laid down that at the three times of privacy mentioned in the verse even children and servants should seek permission before entering.
89. Except for these times of privacy, minor children and slaves may freely enter the private chambers of both men and women without seeking their prior permission. But if they enter their rooms during hours other than those mentioned above and find them improperly dressed, it is not fair to rebuke them. For in such a case the fault lies with the person who is not properly dressed. If anyone intrudes during the hours that are mentioned, it is he who is responsible, provided the person concerned properly instructed them. If they had failed to instruct their children and slaves on how to behave, this should be reckoned a serious failure on their part, a failure which amounts to a sin.
90. This explains the reason behind granting permission to the children and slaves of the family to enter freely at all other times than the ones declared as 'times of privacy'. It also brings into sharp relief the point that there is some rationale underlying every injunction of the Shari'ah regardless of whether it is clearly indicated in the relevant texts or not.
91. That is, when they become adults. As stated earlier (see n. 87 above) having wet dreams and menstruation signify the puberty of boys and girls respectively. There is some disagreement among jurists, however, with regard to the question of how we determine the puberty of those boys and girls who, for one reason or another do not go through these biological changes. Shafi'i, Abu Yusuf. Malik and Ahmad ibn Hanbal are of the opinion that a 15-year-old boy and girl will be regarded as having attained puberty. There is also a statement from Abu Hanifah in support of this opinion. The more popular ruling of Abu Hanifah. however, is that in such a case a boy and a girl will be assumed to have attained puberty at the age of 18 and 17 years respectively.
It is pertinent to point out that these opinions do not have any definite textual basis. They, rather, represent jurists' opinions based on their ijtihad. It is, therefore, not binding on Muslims the world over to accept a 17-year-old girl and an 18-year-old boy as adults when they do not show any physical signs of adulthood. As things stand physical growth has varied in different regions and at different times.
In our opinion, what can be done to solve the problem is to consider, in a given space-time context, the average age when boys start having wet dreams and girls begin menstruating. The puberty of those boys and girls who do not experience these physical changes, should be determined in light of the average age at which boys and girls in a particular country do so. Hence, if boys in a country show physical signs of puberty between 12 and 15, the average age will be 13 and a half. As for boys who have late growth, they may be assumed to have reached puberty at 16 and a half. The same formula can be used by legal experts in different countries, taking local conditions into account.
A hadith is cited in support of the opinion that 15 years of age may be considered the age of puberty. The tradition, narrated by 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar, is as follows: 'When I was 14 years old, I presented myself before the Prophet (peace be on him) so that I might obtain permission to take part in the Battle of Uhud. However, the Prophet (peace be on him) refused to grant me such permission. Then at the time of the Battle of Khandaq when I was 15 years old, I was presented before the Prophet once again and he granted me permission to take part.' (See Bukhari, K. al-Maghazi, 'Bab Ghazwat al-Khandaq wa huwa al-Ahzab'-Ed.)
This tradition is not, however, a decisive argument in support of the opinion, and this on two counts. First, the Battle of Uhud took place in Shawwal 3 A.H. and the Battle of Khandaq, as reported by Muhammad ibn Ishaq, was fought in Shawwal 5 A.H., and according to Ibn Sa'd, in Dhu al-Qa'dah 5 A.H. In other words, there is a time lapse of two years or a little more between the two battles. Thus, had 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar been 14 years old at the time of the Battle of Uhud, he would not have been 15 at the time of the Battle of Khandaq. Perhaps 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar rounded off the figure.
Moreover, to be eligible to take part in a battle and to be considered adult in the legal sense, i.e. with regard to social matters, are two entirely different matters. There is no correspondence whatsoever between the two. Hence, this particular tradition does not establish the legal point for which it was adduced. The more plausible opinion seems to be that fixing of the age of 15 years for a boy, who otherwise does not show any signs of puberty, is, at best, an opinion based on qiyas (analogy) and ijtihad (juristic opinion) rather than an injunction rooted in clear religious text.