“Go out and tell him: ‘Say: Peace be upon you. May I enter?’ For he has not asked permission properly.”

He said: I heard her before the maidservant came out to me, so I said, “Peace be upon you. May I enter?” He replied, “And peace be upon you. Enter.” He said: So I entered and asked, “What have you come with?” He then mentioned the hadith, up to the words, “...your poor.” I said to him, “Is there any knowledge that you do not possess?” He said, “Allah has indeed known...” and then mentioned the hadith.

I say: Its chain of transmission is authentic according to the criteria of the two Shaykhs, except for the man of Banu ʿAmir. Since he was a Companion, ignorance of his name does no harm, for all the Companions are upright, as is the position of the people of truth.

Abu Dawud narrated its opening portion, but not the hadith that is the subject of this entry; for this reason, I have included it here. His narration has previously appeared in the second volume, no. 819, with the wording: “Go out to this man and teach him how to seek permission. Tell him to say: ‘Peace be upon you. May I enter?’”

This provides explicit evidence that proper etiquette in seeking permission to enter is to begin with the greeting of peace before requesting permission. There are other hadiths on this point, some more explicit than this one, which have preceded there, nos. 816–818.

It is further supported by what al-Bukhari narrated in al-Adab al-Mufrad (1066), with an authentic chain of transmission, from ʿAtaʾ, from Abu Hurayrah, concerning one who asks permission before offering the greeting of peace. He said: “He is not to be granted permission until he begins with the greeting of peace.” In another narration of his (1067 and 1083), with a more authentic chain, ʿAtaʾ said: I heard Abu Hurayrah say: If he says, “May I enter?” without offering the greeting of peace, say, “Not until you bring the key.” I said, “The greeting of peace?” He said, “Yes.”