Dear Brothers and Sisters! 

One of the issues that puts Today’s people in difficult situations is the spread of the culture of exposure. Exposure involves revealing and spreading things that should remain hidden. Today, it has become quite common for people to be visible in every aspect, including matters that should remain private. However, privacy is a moral value strongly emphasised by our religion, Islam. Generally, privacy means “secrecy,” but more specifically, it refers to “personal privacy.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Privacy, which concerns both ourselves and those around us, is one of the most important principles of our religion, Islam. The part related to ourselves is connected to the feelings of modesty and decency. The importance of the feeling of shame was emphasised by our Prophet Muhammad (saw) with the hadith, “Modesty is part of faith.”^[1] The Messenger of Allah (saw) once saw a man performing ghusl in the open, and thereafter, he ascended the minbar. After praising and thanking Allah, he said: “ Verily, Allah Almighty is forbearing, modest, and protective. He loves modesty and protection. Thus, if one of you washes himself, let him protect himself with a screen.”[2] The public exposure of private matters, is shamelessness. Unfortunately, through social media, many private situations are being laid bare for all to see. This behavior extends even to exposing family privacy.

Personal matters should remain with the individual, and family matters should stay within the family.

Dear Jama’ah!

The aspect of privacy that concerns our surroundings and other people is also important. In Islam, the necessity of respecting others’ privacy is emphasised by the command, “Do not spy on one another!”^[3] The Prophet Muhammad (saw) emphasised the wrongfulness of using personal belongings without permission by saying, “Whoever looks at his brother’s letter without his permission is as if he has looked into the fire. ”^[4] We cannot violate the private boundaries of others because every person has a personal and sacred space that belongs to them.

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

The most private and intimate space for people is undoubtedly their homes. We must not forget that the places where individuals live alone or with their families are personal spaces. In the Holy Qur’an, Allah (swt) says, “O you who believe! Do not enter houses other than your own until you have introduced yourselves and greeted their inhabitants. That is better for you; perhaps you will be mindful.”^[5]

When entering homes, we should do so with proper etiquette and greet the occupants. The Prophet Muhammad (saw) said, “It is not permissible for anyone to look into someone else’s house without permission. If they do, it is as if they have entered the house…”^[6] Indeed, we must guard even our eyes from infringing on the privacy of homes and remember that these are Islamic principles we should adhere to.

May Allah (swt) make us among those who protect their privacy. Ameen!

[1] Buhârî, İman, 16

[2] Nesâî, Gusül, 7

[3] Surah Al-Hujurat 49:12

[4] Ebû Dâvûd, Vitr, 23

[5] Surah An-Nur 24:27

[6] Tirmizî, Salât, 148

Khutba – Our Sense of Privacy