Document Type : Original Article
Author
Member of the faculty of Al-Mustafa University
Abstract
A minor's asking for permission as evidenced in verse 58 of chapter 24 of the Quran is one of the controversial issues of jurisprudential jurisprudence. Some of the jurists have made use of the verse to argue that a minor or an underage child is duty-bound when it comes to entering his/her parents' room. According to them this is an exception to the general principle that minors are under no obligation and cannot be duty-bound. On the contrary, some other jurists hold that the verse signifies that the parents are supposed to educate their children to get their parents' permission before entering their room. Thus, the parents should teach that seeking permission is desirable or even obligatory. The present study, which uses a descriptive-analytical method and relies on library resources, seeks to re-examine these two interpretations of the verse and evaluate it according to the arguments and rules used in verses and hadiths. The evaluation results in this study shows that it is not correct to oblige a minor and to exclude him from the rule of non-obligation. The verse seeks to express the parents' obligation to teach their children to seek permission before walking into their rooms. The verse does not signify desirability. There are indications suggesting that it is obligatory for the parents to teach them manners to respect their parents' privacy.
Keywords
Main Subjects
)