✍️ Prof. Mohammed Al-Hariri
Yes. There has come a divine prohibition against spying in the words of the Almighty: “And do not spy” (Qur’an 49:12). Thus, respecting people’s privacy is considered among the limits of God in the general sense of commands and prohibitions. Whoever intrudes into the private space of others usually finds what he dislikes; secrets extracted by force do not reveal a person’s true reality, but rather expose what should have remained concealed. Such is intrusion: it does not uncover truth, but exposes a fleeting moment. Not everything behind closed doors belongs to you, and not every window closed before you gives you the right to open it. Hence the saying: “Whoever rummages through people’s records will find what does not please him.”
Inspection and curiosity lead to what wounds the heart; the curiosity of searching is a temptation that drags the soul until it clings to what does not concern it. So do not search and do not pry, lest you regret it. And if God allows you to see something concealed about a person, do not expose it; for that becomes a test for you: will you restrain your tongue? God is the Concealer and loves concealment, and whoever exposes the covering of a servant after God has shown it to him, God will pursue his faults and expose him just as he exposed others.
Within the family, the idea becomes clear; vigilance, if it exceeds its limit, turns into spying. How many a father thought he was protecting, yet his curiosity wounded him; and how many a mother sought reform, but her fear corrupted the meaning. A good intention does not justify a forbidden means, nor should we lose a beautiful meaning through a wrong method. Protecting one’s family is not done by violating their secrets, nor by making the eye a watcher over slips; whoever follows this path is surrounded by anxiety and worry, and his work becomes the surveillance of others—and that alone is a dark path.
A father who secretly monitors his son’s messages may think he is protecting him, but he may come across a fleeting matter that does not reflect the truth of his heart. A mother who searches her daughter’s drawers out of fear may see what worries her, whereas patience and asking would have been gentler and wiser. We judge only by what is apparent and entrust inner secrets to God. Violating privacy under the pretext of concern or fear colors realities with suspicion and distorts their true meaning. A good goal does not justify a forbidden means, and advice may be offered gently and indirectly, leaving a more lasting effect.
Thus, people are like their homes: they have doors that are knocked upon, boundaries that are respected, and spaces that are not entered except with permission. Whoever intrudes into what belongs to others sees what he cannot bear and burdens himself with what he cannot carry. But whoever preserves the boundaries of others preserves his heart from سوء suspicion and protects himself from the weight of what has no benefit.
So leave what does not concern you, and your heart will be at peace. Curiosity is an ugliness disguised as concern; whoever transgresses the boundaries of others loses himself first, and whoever seeks the truth from other than its proper door goes astray and loses the way.
