to defend it, even to the point of killing, because the inviolability of life is greater than that of property. However, this view is weak, because the hadiths are general: “Whoever is killed defending his property is a martyr.” (1) This is general in wording. The man said, “What if he demands my property?” He ﷺ replied, “Do not give it to him.” (2) This too is general. Thus, the correct view is the general one. This matter is not one of retaliation or equivalence; for if it were, we would say that defense is impermissible unless the property under attack were worth the amount of the blood-money. Yet no one has said this. Rather, fighting is permitted because of the violation of the inviolability of property.

Question: If someone looks into your house through a crack in the door, is he like an assailant?

Answer: He is not like an assailant. Rather, his eye may be put out without any need for defensive action. This is how it is reported in the hadith from the Prophet ﷺ (3). Shaykh al-Islam, may Allah have mercy on him, said concerning this that it is not a case of repelling an assailant; rather, it is a case of punishing the transgressor.

However, if the door were open, and a man came and stood at that open door, looking about inside the house, would one have the right to put out his eye? No, because it is the owner of the house who has forfeited the sanctity of his home. But if the door is locked, then the man has preserved its sanctity.