O you who believe let those whom your right hands own of male slaves and female slaves and those of you who have not reached puberty from among the free men and who have not become sexually aware of women ask leave of you three times at three times of the day before the dawn prayer and when you put off your garments at noon and after the night prayer. These are three periods of privacy for you read thalāthu ‘awrātin lakum with nominative inflection as the predicate of an implied subject followed by a genitive annexation with the annexed term standing in place thereof of the predicate in other words the implied predicate followed by the annexation is hiya awqāt ‘these are times of …’; or read thalātha ‘awrātin lakum in the accusative the implication being that awqāta is itself in the accusative as a substitute for the syntactical status of what precedes it in place of which stands the annexed term. It is because clothes are taken off that private parts are revealed during such periods. Neither you nor they namely slaves and young boys would be at fault in entering upon you without asking leave at other times that is after the three times of day specified; they frequent you to provide service as some of you do with others this sentence corroborates the preceding one. So just as He has clarified what has been mentioned God clarifies for you the signs the rulings; and God is Knower of the affairs of His creatures Wise in what He has ordained for them. It is said that the ‘permission’ verse āyat al-isti’idhān was abrogated; but it is also said that it was not abrogated but that people thought little of neglecting to seek permission in such situations.
