Therefore, whenever you wish to enter a house that is not yours, do not go in until you feel at ease and offer the salām. What does this uns—this sense of ease—mean? It means that your heart should be free of unease, for when someone enters another person’s home without permission he feels uncomfortable, whereas entering with permission puts him at ease.
There is another Qur’anic reading that has the verb as tastaʾdhinū (“until you ask permission”), yet the canonical reading transmitted by the seven masters is ḥattā tastaʾnisū (“until you feel at ease”), and it is more comprehensive. The phrase tastaʾnisū covers both situations: being put at ease by permission just granted by the homeowner and being at ease because of permission given earlier.
For example, if the owner says, “Come to me at 4:30; you will find the door open,” and you arrive at that time to find the door indeed open, there is no need to ask permission. Are you now uneasy or at ease? At ease—because you already hold prior permission. Thus the reading ḥattā tastaʾnisū is the sound and more inclusive one, and it is among the seven canonical recitations.
Allah’s words, “and greet their inhabitants with peace,” also instruct you to say to the people of the house, “Peace be upon you—may I enter?”
When you enter your own home, there is no need to seek permission, for it is your house; nonetheless, you should still greet your family with salām. Begin with the siwāk, then say to them, “Peace be upon you.” Such is the Sunnah transmitted from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
- Allah, Exalted is He, says: “Has there come to you the story of Abraham’s honored guests…”