It was commanded that the slaves should seek permission. It was said: The slaves, female slaves, and children who have not reached puberty from the free people should seek permission three times in the day and night: before the Fajr prayer, because it is the time of getting up from the beds and removing the clothes one sleeps in and putting on the clothes of wakefulness. At noon, because it is the time of laying aside clothes for a nap. And after the Isha prayer, because it is the time of removing the clothes of wakefulness and wrapping oneself in the clothes of sleep. Each of these states is called 'awrah, because people’s covering and protection is compromised in them. 'Awrah means deficiency. Among them is: the one-eyed horseman, and the one-eyed place, and the one-eyed person: the one with a defect in the eye. Then he excused them for not seeking permission beyond these times and explained the reason for the excuse in His saying: 'They go around you,' meaning that you and they have a need for interaction and mingling: they go around you for service, and you go around them for employment. If the matter were to be strictly about seeking permission at all times, it would lead to hardship. It is narrated that Mudlij ibn Amr, who was a young Ansari, was sent by the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, at noon to invite Umar. He entered upon him while he was sleeping and his garment had slipped off him. Umar said: 'I wish that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, had forbidden our fathers, our sons, and our servants from entering upon us at these hours except with permission.' Then he went with him to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and found him having received this verse: and it is one of the verses revealed because of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. It was said: It was revealed concerning Asma bint Abu Marthad. She said: 'We enter upon a man and a woman, and perhaps they are under one covering.' It was narrated that a young man of hers entered at a time she disliked his entering, so she went to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and said: 'Our servants and young boys enter upon us at times we dislike.' And from Abu Amr: 'The dream' with a pause. And it was read: 'Three 'awrat' in the accusative as a substitute for 'three times,' meaning: three times of 'awrat.' And from Al-A'mash: 'awrat' in the dialect of Hudhayl. If you ask: What is the position of 'not upon you'? I say: When 'three 'awrat' is raised, it is in the position of raising as a description. The meaning is: They are three specific 'awrat' for seeking permission. And if it is in the accusative, it has no position and is a statement affirming the command to seek permission in those specific states. If you say: By what has some of you been raised? I say: By the subject and its predicate 'upon some' meaning: going around some, and it is omitted because 'they go around' indicates it. It is also permissible for it to be raised by 'going around' implied for that indication.