Tafseer of The Light · An-Noor · 24:59
And when the children among you reach puberty, let them ask permission [at all times] as those before them have done. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses; and Allah is Knowing and Wise.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Allah the Exalted says: when the young children among your offspring and relatives reach sexual maturity — and by His word مِنْكُمْ ("from among you") He means: from among you who are free — الْحُلُمَ — that is: the nocturnal emission, and when they have experienced it — فَلْيَسْتَأْذِنُوا — that is: they may not enter upon you at any time without permission — neither during the three times of privacy nor afterward. His word كَمَا اسْتَأْذَنَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ ("as those before them asked permission"): that is, as the adults among the man's sons and his free relatives [asked permission]. In this verse, Allah the Exalted specifically mentioned the children and made His servants know the ruling concerning the requirement of permission for them, without separately mentioning what the right hand possesses (mā malakat aymānunā). This is despite the fact that the preceding verse had made known to them the ruling regarding the young free children and the slaves — because the ruling concerning what the right hand possesses is one and the same in this respect: for both the older and the younger ones, the requirement of permission applies to them during the three times that Allah mentioned in the preceding verse.
What we have said about this is also the view of the exegetes.
We here mention those who said this:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: "Whoever has reached sexual maturity — among the free boys — may not visit the man and his wife under any circumstance without permission. This is the word of Allah: وَإِذَا بَلَغَ الأطْفَالُ مِنْكُمُ الْحُلُمَ فَلْيَسْتَأْذِنُوا كَمَا اسْتَأْذَنَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ ."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: ʿAṭāʾ said: وَإِذَا بَلَغَ الأطْفَالُ مِنْكُمُ الْحُلُمَ فَلْيَسْتَأْذِنُوا : "It is obligatory upon all people to ask permission when they have reached sexual maturity, from whomever it may be."
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Yūnus informed me, on the authority of Ibn Shihāb, on the authority of Ibn al-Musayyab, who said: "Does a man ask his mother for permission?" He answered: "It is precisely for this that وَإِذَا بَلَغَ الأطْفَالُ مِنْكُمُ الْحُلُمَ was sent down." — In this connection [Allah says]: كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ آيَاتِهِ ("thus Allah makes clear to you His signs"): that is, thus Allah makes clear to you His signs — His rulings and the laws of His religion — just as He made clear to you the matter of these children concerning the requirement of permission after reaching adulthood — وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ ("and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise"): that is, Allah is fully aware of what is best for His creation and all else, All-Wise in the governance of His creation.
