and at the time of the midday rest; for it is at these times that private parts may be exposed, as Allah Most High said:

“These are three times of privacy for you.”

This indicates that neither a slave capable of discernment nor a child capable of discernment may look at a man’s private parts, just as a man may not look at the private parts of a child, a slave, or anyone else. Their entering without permission outside these times is permitted on the basis of His words:

“Beyond these times, there is no blame on you or on them, as you move about among one another.”

This indicates that concessions are allowed regarding those who move about among you, male and female, which are not allowed regarding others. One who moves about in this way is someone who enters without permission, as a cat does, and as a child or slave does. If this applies to a child capable of discernment, then it applies all the more to one who has not yet attained discernment.

Concessions are also allowed regarding ritual purity. A group of jurists among Ahmad’s followers and others have said concerning children, cats, and others that if impurity gets on them, the affected area becomes pure through saliva passing over it and does not need washing. This is because they are among those who move about among people, as the Messenger stated concerning cats, despite knowing that they eat mice. There were no sources of water in Medina to which cats went, such that one could say that a cat’s mouth had become pure by its going to the water. It is thus understood that these mouths do not require washing to become pure. Thus, the permission mentioned at the beginning of the surah must be sought before entering