The Ocean of the Quran

A verse by verse explanation of The Ultimate Scripture

Al-Nūr – Verse 29

لَّيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَن تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتًا غَيْرَ مَسْكُونَةٍ فِيهَا مَتَاعٌ لَّكُمْ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تُبْدُونَ وَمَا تَكْتُمُونَ

There will be no sin upon you in entering [without announcing] uninhabited houses wherein there are goods benefitting you. And Allah knows whatever you disclose and whatever you conceal.

EXEGESIS

Junāḥ (sin) – not to be confused with janāḥ (wing/arm) – is generally considered by the exegetes to be from the Arabic root of j-n-ḥ, meaning to incline towards something, as in, And if they incline toward (janaḥū) peace, then you [too] incline toward it (8:61). In this verse it means inclining towards sin.[1] Alternatively, it is said to be Arabicised from the Persian word for sin, gunāh.[2]

Matāʿ means benefit (manfaʿah).[3] This is general and may refer to any kind of worldly need and enjoyment that one may benefit from.[4] Having said that, early exegetes have offered different options as to what it means here:

  1. Goods belonging to merchants.[5]
  2. A place for relieving oneself (outhouse).[6]
  3. The way between Mecca and Medina used to have uninhabited houses in which people would leave supplies and items needed by travellers.[7] This is not a very good understanding of the verse though.
  4. Enjoyment (istimtāʿ) in general.[8]

Considering the wide meaning of uninhabited houses (discussed below), only the fourth option is good and that is what later exegetes have preferred.

EXPOSITION

This verse deals with the final of the four scenarios, houses which do not require anyone’s permission for entry.

There will be no sin upon you in entering: i.e. without asking for permission,[9] uninhabited houses, i.e. houses that are non-residential and meant for public access, such as shops, hotels, and so on.

Wherein there are goods benefitting you: people may benefit from such premises without the need to ask for permission separately.

And Allah knows whatever you disclose and whatever you conceal: He knows the intention of a person, if they enter a building for a legitimate need, or for the sake of causing problems for others,[10] or that they would enter someone’s house with the pretence that they thought it was uninhabited.[11]

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

  1. From Imam al-Ṣādiq (a), that this verse refers to inns and travel lodges, public baths, and mills.[12]

Note: Mills used to be visited by people to buy flour.

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

The exegetes have offered different opinions on what is meant by uninhabited houses:

  1. From Qatādah and others, that it refers to inns and travel lodges.[13]
  2. From ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ, that it refers to outhouses.[14]
  3. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Zayd, that it refers to shops.[15]
  4. From al-Ḍaḥḥāk, that it refers to abandoned houses and ruins.[16]

Although specifics are mentioned, the verse is general and should include all the above and more.[17]

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

  1. O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.[18]
  2. Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart.”[19]
[1] Tibyan, 2/43; Tabrisi, 1/439; Lisan, 2/430; Tahqiq, 2/139-140, j-n-ḥ. Ibn al-ʿArabī points out junāḥ is specifically used for inclining towards sin (Ahkam, 1/46).
[2] Arthur Jeffries, Foreign Vocabulary of the Quran (Leiden: Brill, 2007), pp. 121-122.
[3] Qurtubi, 12/221.
[4] Qurtubi, 12/221.
[5] Ahkam, 3/1364.
[6] Ahkam, 3/1364.
[7] Tabari, 18/90.
[8] Tabrisi, 7/214; Ahkam, 3/1364; Alusi, 9/332; Mizan, 15/110.
[9] Tabrisi, 7/214; Tabari, 18/90.
[10] Ahkam, 3/1364.
[11] Nemuneh, 14/429.
[12] Qummi, 2/101; Tabrisi, 7/214.
[13] Tibyan, 7/427; Tabari, 18/90.
[14] Tibyan, 7/427; Tabari, 18/90.
[15] Tibyan, 7/427; Tabari, 18/90.
[16] Tabari, 18/90.
[17] Tibyan, 7/427; Tabrisi, 7/214; Tabari, 18/90-91.
[18] Psalms 139:1-2.
[19] Acts 1:24.