There are two meanings for 'you may seek permission' in it. The first is that it is from the apparent seeking of permission, which is the opposite of feeling uneasy. The one who knocks on another's door does not know whether he will be granted permission or not. He is like one who feels uneasy due to the uncertainty of the situation. So when he is granted permission, he feels at ease. The meaning is: until you are granted permission, as in His saying: 'Do not enter the houses of the Prophet unless you are granted permission.' This is a matter of metaphor and implication. Mahmoud said: 'In it are two meanings. The first is that it is from the seeking of permission, which is the opposite of feeling uneasy, meaning: until you are granted permission so that you may feel at ease, expressing one thing for what is implied by it. The second is that it could be from seeking knowledge, from 'anasa' when one sees. The meaning is: until you discover the situation, whether your entry is desired or not. He also mentioned a distant meaning, which is that it means until you know whether there is a person inside or not.' Ahmad said: 'On this last meaning, it is based on the word for seeking knowledge, and the first meaning is clearer. The reason for the metaphor in it and the shift from the literal meaning is to encourage the addressees to seek permission by mentioning that it has a benefit and a fruit that inclines the souls towards it and repels from its opposite, which is the unease that arises from not seeking permission. In this, there is an encouragement for the motives to adhere to this etiquette, and Allah, glorified and exalted is He, knows best.' For this type of seeking permission is accompanied by the permission itself. So it is placed in the position of permission. The second possibility is that it is from the seeking of knowledge and exploration: a form derived from 'anasa' when one sees something clearly and openly. The meaning is until you inquire and explore the situation, whether your entry is desired or not. From this is their saying: 'I sought permission, do you see anyone?' and 'I sought permission and saw no one,' meaning: I became acquainted and inquired. From it is the verse of Al-Nabigha: 'On a solitary sighting.' It is as if my journey has passed us by at the time of day... at the place of Al-Jaleel on a solitary sighting. Al-Nabigha describes his camel as being like a racing wild donkey, fearing what it saw. Al-Asma'i said: 'The day has passed: it has reached its midpoint,' and perhaps it is because the sun has moved from the middle of the sky. It is also possible that the meaning is: it has passed and there remains only a little, as it is commonly understood to attribute the passing to the day. 'Upon us' means 'on us.' It is possible that the 'b' indicates proximity. Al-Jaleel is a tree with fronds like those of a palm tree. 'The one of Al-Jaleel' refers to its place. The solitary one is the one who raises his head, wondering if he sees someone. It was said that the one who fears the companion is the solitary one. 'I felt at ease with the thing' means my heart found peace with it. 'I felt at ease' means I became aware and enlightened and feared the companion. The solitary one is the one who is alone. 'Solitary' is like 'circumstance,' so he is alone. 'Solitary' is like 'cause,' and 'solitary' is like 'fear': he is alone, meaning the man was above that donkey, not above the camel, due to its speed like that of a donkey.

And it is permissible that it is from the humans, which is to inquire if there is a person present. And from Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him, we said, 'O Messenger of Allah, what is seeking permission?' He said: 'A man speaks the words of glorification, takbir, and praise, and clears his throat: this is to inform the people of the house. And the greeting is to say: 'Peace be upon you, may I enter?' three times. If he is given permission, then fine; otherwise, he should return. And from Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari, he came to the door of Umar, may Allah be pleased with both of them, and said: 'Peace be upon you, may I enter?' He said it three times, then he returned and said: 'I heard the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, say: Seeking permission is three times.' And a man sought permission from the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and said: 'May I enter?' So he, blessings and peace be upon him, said to a woman named Rawda: 'Go to this one and inform him, for he does not know how to seek permission. Tell him to say: 'Peace be upon you, may I enter?' So the man heard her and said it, and he said: 'Enter.' [This was narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah from the narration of Sufyan Al-Samman: I heard Sa'id bin Jubair, and he did not mention Rawda, and he said in it: 'And he said to his servant.'] And the people of the pre-Islamic era would say when a man entered a house that was not his: 'You have greeted the morning, and you have greeted the evening,' then he would enter. Perhaps the man would find his wife in the same bedcover, so Allah forbade that and taught what is better and more beautiful. And how many doors of the religion are to the people like an abrogated law that they have abandoned working by it, and the door of seeking permission is among them: while you are in your house, if someone knocks at your door [The phrase 'if someone knocks at your door' in the authentic texts: a man knocks, if blood comes out of his nose. And a horse knocks, if it precedes and advances, so what is here is a metaphor by way of comparison. (A)] by one, without seeking permission or greeting from the greetings of Islam or pre-Islam, and he is one who has heard what Allah has revealed in it and what the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said, but where is the attentive ear? And in the reading of Abdullah: 'until you greet the people of it and seek permission.' And from Ibn Abbas and Sa'id bin Jubair: it is only until you seek permission, so the writer made a mistake. And this narration is not relied upon. And in the reading of Ubayy: 'until you seek permission. That is seeking permission and greeting is better for you than the greeting of the pre-Islamic era and entering without permission - and its derivation is from destruction, which is ruin, as if its owner is ruined for the enormity of what he has committed. And in the hadith: 'Whoever's eye precedes his seeking permission has been ruined.' [This was narrated by Al-Tabarani through Abu Safar from Yazid bin Shurayh from Abu Umamah with the wording: 'Whoever enters his eye into a house without the permission of its people has been ruined. And for Ibrahim Al-Harbi in the strange narrations from the hadith of Thawr bin Yazid from Yazid bin Shurayh from Abu Hayy the caller to prayer from Abu Hurairah with the wording: 'It is not permissible for a Muslim to look into a house until he seeks permission. If he does so, he has been ruined.' Abu Ubaidah said in the strange hadith: We were informed by Hisham from Mansur bin Al-Hasan with his wording, and he said Al-Kisai: 'ruined' with the lightening, meaning he entered without permission.] And it was narrated that a man said to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: 'Should I seek permission to enter upon my mother?' He said: 'Yes.' He said: 'She has no servant other than me, should I seek permission every time I enter?' He said: 'Do you like to see her naked?' The man said: 'No.' He said: 'Then seek permission.' [This was narrated by Abu Dawood in the mursal from the hadith of Ata bin Yasar: 'A man asked...' and he mentioned it as mursal, and it is in Al-Muwatta from Safwan bin Sulaim from Ata. And Al-Tabari mentioned it through Ziyad bin Sa'd from Ata as mursal as well, and Ibn Abi Shaybah mentioned it in the marriage: We were informed by Ibn Uyainah from Zaid bin Aslam and he mentioned it as mursal.] Perhaps you will remember, meaning that it was revealed to you. Or it was said to you this with the intention that you remember and take admonition and act upon what you have been commanded regarding seeking permission.