[Attachment(s) from Shahid included below]
| fatwa # 48999: Ruling on i'tikaaf and the evidence for it being prescribed in Islam |
Question:
What is the ruling on i'tikaaf?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
I'tikaaf is prescribed according to the Qur'aan and Sunnah and scholarly consensus.
In the Qur'aan, Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"and We commanded Ibraaheem (Abraham) and Ismaa'eel (Ishmael) that they should purify My House (the Ka'bah at Makkah) for those who are circumambulating it, or staying (I'tikaaf), or bowing or prostrating themselves (there, in prayer)"
[al-Baqarah 2:125]
"And do not have sexual relations with them (your wives) while you are in I'tikaaf (i.e. confining oneself in a mosque for prayers and invocations leaving the worldly activities) in the mosques"
[al-Baqarah 2:187]
With regard to the Sunnah, there are many ahaadeeth, such as the hadeeth of 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) who said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to observe i'tikaaf during the last ten days of Ramadaan until Allaah took his soul, then his wives observed i'tikaaf after he was gone. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2026; Muslim, 1172.
With regard to scholarly consensus, more than one of the scholars narrated that there was scholarly consensus that i'tikaaf is prescribed in sharee'ah, such as al-Nawawi, Ibn Qudaamah, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, and others.
See al-Majmoo', 6/404; al-Mughni, 4/456; Sharh al-'Umdah, 2/711.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz said in Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 15/437:
Undoubtedly i'tikaaf in the mosque is an act of worship, and (observing it) in Ramadaan is better than at other times. It is prescribed in Ramadaan and at other times.
Secondly:
The ruling on i'tikaaf.
The basic principle is that i'tikaaf is Sunnah, not obligatory, unless one made a vow to do it, in which case it becomes obligatory, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever vows to obey Allaah, let him obey Him, and whoever vows to disobey Him, let him not disobey Him." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6696.
And 'Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: "O Messenger of Allaah, during the Jaahiliyyah I vowed to observe i'tikaaf for one night in al-Masjid al-Haraam." He said: "Fulfil your vow." (6697).
Ibn al-Mundhir said in his book al-Ijmaa' (p. 53):
They were unanimously agreed that i'tikaaf is Sunnah and is not obligatory unless a man obliges himself to do that by making a vow, in which case it becomes obligatory for him.
See Fiqh al-I'tikaaf by Dr Khaalid al-Mushayqih, p. 31.
| fatwa # 49002: The minimum length of time for i'tikaaf |
Question:
What is the minimum length of time for i'tikaaf ? Is it possible to observe i'tikaaf for a short time or does it have to be for several days?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The scholars differed as to the minimum length of time for i'tikaaf.
The majority of scholars are of the view that the minimum length of time is a moment. This is the view of Abu Haneefah and Ahmad. See al-Durr al-Mukhtaar (1/445); al-Majmoo', 6/489; al-Insaaf, 7/566.
Al-Nawawi said in al-Majmoo', 6/514:
With regard to the minimum length of time for i'tikaaf, the majority stipulated that it must be observed in the mosque, and that it is permissible to do a lot or a little, even a hour or a moment.
They quoted several reports as evidence for that:
1 – That i'tikaaf in Arabic means staying, and the word may be applied to a long period of time or a short one; there is no report in sharee'ah that defines it as being a specific length of time.
Ibn Hazm said: I'tikaaf in the language of the Arabs means staying… any stay in the mosque for the sake of Allaah with the intention of drawing closer to Him is i'tikaaf… whether that is for a short time or a long time, because the Qur'aan and Sunnah do not specify any number or length of time. Al-Muhalla, 5/179
2 – Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated that Ya'la ibn Umayyah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: I will stay in the mosque for an hour, and I am only staying to observe i'tikaaf. Ibn Hazm quoted this as evidence in al-Muhalla (5/179); it was quoted without comment by al-Haafiz in al-Fath. "Hour" here refers to a period of time but it does not mean an hour in the modern sense of sixty minutes.
Some scholars are of the opinion that the minimum length of i'tikaaf is one day. This was narrated from Abu Haneefah and was the view of some of the Maalikis. Shaykh Ibn Baaz said in Majmoo' al-Fataawa (15/441):
I'tikaaf means staying in the mosque to worship Allaah, whether that is for a long time or a short time, because as far as I know there is no report to indicate a set time, whether one or two days or more. This is an act of worship which is prescribed in Islam unless one vows to do it, in which case it becomes obligatory. This applies equally to men and women.
| fatwa # 49003: The reward for i'tikaaf |
Question:
What is the reward for i'tikaaf?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
I'tikaaf is prescribed in Islam and it is an act of worship that draws one closer to Allaah. See Question no. (48999)
Once this is established, there are many ahaadeeth which encourage us to draw closer to Allaah by doing naafil acts of worship. The general meaning of these ahaadeeth includes all kinds of worship, including i'tikaaf.
For example, there is the hadeeth qudsi in which Allaah says: "My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6502.
Secondly:
There are several ahaadeeth which speak of the virtue of i'tikaaf and describe its reward, but they are all weak (da'eef) or fabricated (mawdoo').
Abu Dawood said: I said to Ahmad (i.e., Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal): Do you know anything about the virtue of i'tikaaf? He said: No, except something weak. Masaa'il Abi Dawood, p. 96.
These ahaadeeth include the following:
1 – Ibn Maajah (1781) narrated from Ibn 'Abbaas that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said concerning the person who observes i'tikaaf: "He is refraining from sin and he will be given a reward like that of one who does all kinds of good deeds."
This was classed as da'eef by al-Albaani in Da'eef Ibn Maajah.
2 – al-Tabaraani, al-Haakim and al-Bayhaqi narrated the following from Ibn 'Abbaas, which they classed as da'eef: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever observes i'tikaaf for one day seeking thereby the Face of Allaah, Allaah will place between him and the Fire three ditches wider than the distance between the east and the west."
This was classed as da'eef by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Da'eefah, 5345.
3 – al-Daylami narrated from 'Aa'ishah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever observes i'tikaaf out of faith and in the hope of reward will be forgiven his previous sins."
Classed as da'eef by al-Albaani in Da'eef al-Jaami', 5442.
4 – Al-Bayhaqi narrated the following report from al-Husayn ibn 'Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), which he classed as da'eef: the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever observes i'tikaaf for ten days in Ramadaan, that will be equivalent to two Hajjs and two 'Umrahs.
This was mentioned by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Da'eefah (518) where he said: it is mawdoo' (fabricated).
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