General Behavior (Kitab Al-Adab)

The Messenger of Allah said: Whoever turns a man’s wife against him, or turns his servant against him, is not one of us.

Anas ibn Malik said: A man peered into one of the Prophet’s rooms. The Messenger of Allah stood up holding an arrowhead—or several arrowheads. I can almost see the Messenger of Allah stalking him in order to stab him.

Abu Huraira said that he heard the Messenger of Allah say: Whoever looks into people’s home without their permission, and they put out his eye, has no claim for that eye.

The Prophet said: When sight has entered, no permission remains necessary.

Huzayl said: A man—Uthman identified him as Sad ibn Abi Waqqas—stood at the Prophet’s door seeking permission. He stood directly facing the door, according to Uthman’s version. The Prophet said: Move away from here—or like this—for permission is prescribed because of sight.

Another chain from a man, from Sad, reports something similar from the Prophet.

Kalda ibn Hanbal said: Safwan ibn Umayya sent me to the Messenger of Allah with milk, a young goat, and wild celery while the Prophet was in upper Mecca. I entered without greeting, so he said: Go back and say, Peace be upon you. This was after Safwan ibn Umayya had accepted Islam. Amr said: Ibn Safwan related all of this to me from Kalda ibn Hanbal, but did not say that he had heard it from him. Abu Dawud said: Yahya ibn Habib’s version says Umayya ibn Safwan and does not say that he heard it from Kalda ibn Hanbal. Yahya also says that Amr ibn Abdullah ibn Safwan informed him that Kalda ibn Hanbal had informed him.

A man from Banu Amir asked permission to enter while the Prophet was in a house, saying: May I come in? The Prophet told his servant: Go out to this man and teach him how to ask permission. Tell him to say: Peace be upon you; may I enter? The man heard him and said those words. The Prophet then gave him permission, and he entered.

Rib‘i ibn Hirash was told that a man from Banu Amir had asked the Prophet for permission in a similar manner. Abu Dawud said: Musaddad also related it to us through Abu Awana, from Mansur, from Rib‘i, without mentioning a man from Banu Amir.

Another chain reports a similar account of the man from Banu Amir asking permission to enter. The narrator said that he heard him and said: Peace be upon you; may I enter?

Abu Musa said: I was sitting in a gathering of the Ansar when Abu Musa came in alarmed. We asked what had frightened him. He said: Umar ordered me to come to him. I went and asked permission three times, but was not admitted, so I returned. Umar asked: What prevented you from coming to me? I said: I did come and asked permission three times, but was not admitted. The Messenger of Allah said: If one of you asks permission three times and is not admitted, let him return. Umar said: Bring me evidence for this. Abu Said said: Only the youngest of the people will stand with you. Abu Said then stood with him and testified.

Abu Musa came to Umar and asked permission three times, calling out: Abu Musa seeks permission, al-Ashari seeks permission, Abdullah ibn Qays seeks permission. He was not admitted, so he returned. Umar sent for him and asked: What made you turn back? Abu Musa said: The Messenger of Allah said: One of you should ask permission three times; if permission is granted, he may enter, otherwise let him return. Umar said: Bring me evidence for this. Abu Musa went away and came back with Ubayy. Ubayy said: Umar, do not be a source of hardship for the Companions of the Messenger of Allah. Umar replied: I will not be a source of hardship for the Companions of the Messenger of Allah.

Ubayy testified for Abu Musa. Umar said: Could this matter from the Messenger of Allah have escaped me? Trading in the markets distracted me. But greet whomever you wish; do not ask permission.

In this version, Umar said to Abu Musa: I did not suspect you, but reports from the Messenger of Allah are serious.

In another version, Umar said to Abu Musa: I did not suspect you, but I feared people might attribute false statements to the Messenger of Allah.

The Messenger of Allah visited us at our home and said: Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah. Sad replied quietly. I said: Will you not invite the Messenger of Allah in? Sad said: Let him give us more greetings of peace. The Messenger of Allah repeated his greeting twice more, and Sad answered quietly each time. Then the Messenger of Allah left, and Sad followed him, saying: Messenger of Allah, I heard your greeting and answered quietly so that you would give us more greetings. The Messenger of Allah returned with him. Sad ordered a bath for him, and after he bathed, gave him a saffron- or wars-dyed wrap, which he draped around himself. The Messenger of Allah raised his hands and said: O Allah, send Your blessings and mercy upon the family of Sad ibn Ubada. The Messenger of Allah then ate some food. When he was ready to leave, Sad brought him a donkey padded with a velvet cloth, and the Messenger of Allah mounted it. Sad said: Qays, accompany the Messenger of Allah. The Messenger of Allah told me: Ride. I refused, so he said: Either ride or go back. I went back. Hisham Abu Marwan’s version names Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Asad ibn Zurara. Abu Dawud said: Umar ibn Abd al-Wahid and Ibn Samaah also narrated it from al-Awzai in mursal form, omitting Qays ibn Sad.

Abdullah ibn Busr said: When the Messenger of Allah came to people’s door, he would not stand directly facing it, but would stand at its right or left corner and say: Peace be upon you, peace be upon you. This was because houses at that time had no curtains.

Jabir said: I went to the Prophet regarding my father’s debt and knocked at the door. He asked: Who is it? I replied: Me. He said: Me? Me? It seemed that he disliked this answer.

Nafi ibn Abd al-Harith said: I went out with the Messenger of Allah until we entered a garden. He told me: Hold the door. Someone knocked, and I asked: Who is it? The report continues. Abu Dawud said: He means the hadith of Abu Musa al-Ashari, where it says that he knocked at the door.

The Prophet said: A man’s messenger to another man is his permission to enter.