Likewise, when he sought permission to enter, the Prophet ﷺ would ask three times. If he came to someone’s house, he would knock on the door three times; if no answer came, he would turn back. This is his Sunnah: repeat the matter up to three times and then stop.

Does the same rule apply when the telephone rings three times? One view says yes: if you call someone, the phone rings three times, you can hear it, and he does not answer, you are free to put the receiver down. Another view is that the telephone is different: you should stay on the line until you despair of a reply, for the people of the house may not be near the phone when you call—they could be at the far end of the place and need several steps to reach it. For this reason we consider both possibilities viable.

The author—may Allah have mercy on him—next cites the ḥadith of ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her: the Prophet ﷺ spoke distinctly, each element clearly separated; no letter encroached upon another, no word crowded its neighbor, so that anyone who wished to count his words could have done so.