Tafsir of An-Nur 24:59

"And when the children among you reach puberty..."

{The children among you}: Meaning the free-born, not the slaves.

{As those before them did}: He means those who reached puberty before them, who are the adult men. Or, it refers to those mentioned previously in His saying: "O you who have believed, do not enter houses other than your own until you ascertain welcome..." (An-Nur: 27).

The meaning is that children are permitted to enter without permission, except during the three times of privacy. Once these children become accustomed to this, and then pass the stage of childhood—by experiencing nocturnal emission or reaching the age at which they are legally considered adults—they must be weaned off that habit. They must be compelled to seek permission at all times, just like adult men who are not accustomed to entering upon you except with permission.

This is a matter regarding which people are negligent; they treat it as if it were an abrogated law.

• Ibn Abbas said: "There is a verse that most people do not believe in: the verse of permission. I even command my maidservant to seek permission before entering upon me."
• Ata was asked: "Should I seek permission to enter upon my sister?" He replied: "Yes, even if she is under your care and you provide for her," and he recited this verse.
• Ibn Abbas also said: "There are three verses that people have neglected: the verse of permission; the saying, 'Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you' (Al-Hujurat: 13), for people say instead, 'The one with the greatest house'; and the saying, 'And when [other] relatives and orphans and the needy are present at the [time of] division' (An-Nisa: 8)."
• Ibn Mas'ud said: "You must seek permission to enter upon your fathers, mothers, and sisters."
• Al-Sha'bi was asked if the verse was abrogated. He replied: "It is not abrogated." When told that people do not practice it, he said: "Allah is the One whose help is sought."
• Sa'id ibn Jubayr said: "Some say it is abrogated, but by Allah, it is not abrogated; rather, people have become lax regarding it."

If you ask: What is the age at which one is judged to have reached puberty? I reply: Abu Hanifa said eighteen years for a boy and seventeen for a girl. The majority of scholars hold it to be fifteen for both.

• Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) used to consider physical height, estimating it at five spans. Al-Farazdaq adopted this in his poetry: "Ever since his hands tied his waist-wrapper, he grew tall and reached five spans."
• Others considered the growth of pubic hair.
• Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked about a boy, and he replied: "Has his waist-wrapper turned green [i.e., has hair grown]?"

{And women of post-menstrual age who do not desire marriage - there is no blame upon them for putting aside their outer garments [outer cloaks] provided they are not displaying adornment; but to modestly refrain [from that] is better for them. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.}