Different Aspects of Itikaaf
Things which are forbidden in Itikaaf
Going out of the mosque. Itikaaf becomes invalid if a person leaves the mosque for no reason, because the Messenger did not go out of the mosque except in the case of “human need,” i.e., to eat or to answer the call of nature. Food used to be brought to him in the mosque, because Saalim says: “As for his food and drink, it was brought to him where he was in his place of Itikaaf.”
He also used to go out to purify himself from minor impurities and to do wudoo, as Aaishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to put his head into my room whilst he was in the mosque, and I would comb his hair. He would not enter the house except in the case of need when he was in Itikaaf.” (Fath al-Baari, 4/808).
Touching women with desire – including intercourse. This is something which invalidates Itikaaf, because it is clearly stated that this is not permitted, in the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “And do not have sexual relations with them (your wives) while you are in Itikaaf (i.e. confining oneself in a mosque for prayers and invocations, leaving the worldly activities) in the mosques” [al-Baqarah 2:187].
Menstruation and post-natal bleeding. If a woman who is in Itikaaf starts to menstruate or experiences post-natal bleeding, she has to leave the mosque to preserve the purity of the mosque. The same applies to anyone who is in a state of junub (impurity following sexual discharge) – until he does ghusl.
To complete iddah. If the husband of a woman who is in Itikaaf dies and she is in the mosque, she has to leave the mosque so that she can do her iddah in her house.
Educational aspects of Itikaaf
Completely implementing the concept of worship:
Itikaaf plants in the soul of the person who does it the concept of true enslavement to Allah (uboodiyyah), and trains him in this important matter for which man was created. For Allah (may He be exalted) says (interpretation of the meaning): “And I (Allah) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone).” [al-Dhaariyaat 51:56]. For the person who is in Itikaaf has devoted his whole self and his whole time to worship Allah, may He be glorified.
His whole purpose is to earn the pleasure of Allah, may He be exalted, so he strives with his body, senses and time for this purpose, by praying fard and naafil prayers, by making duaa and dhikr, by reading the Quran, and other kinds of acts of worship.
Through this training during the best days of the month of Ramadan, the person in Itikaaf trains himself to apply the concept of uboodiyyah or enslavement to Allah in his public and private life. He strives to put into practice the words of the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “Say (O Muhammad): ‘Verily, my Salaat (prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists). He has no partner. And of this I have been commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims.” [al-Anaam 6:162-163]
Al-Qurtubi said: “My living means, whatever I do in my life; my dying means what I advise you to do after my death; for Allah, the Lord of the ‘Aalameen means, they are only for the purpose of drawing closer to Him.” (7/69).
Seeking Laylat al-Qadr
This was the main purpose behind the Itikaaf of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). At first, his Itikaaf lasted for the entire month, then he did Itikaaf during the middle ten days, seeking Laylat al-Qadr. When he learned that it was in the last ten days of the month of Ramadaan, he limited his Itikaaf to these blessed ten days.
Getting accustomed to staying in the mosque
The person in Itikaaf has committed himself to staying in the mosque for a specific time period. Human nature may not readily accept such restrictions at the beginning of the Itikaaf, but usually this attitude quickly disappears because of the peace of mind that the Muslim soul develops from staying in the House of Allah.
The person in I’tikaaf understands the importance of his staying in the mosque during his I’tikaaf from the following things:
The person who stays in the mosque finds that the mosque becomes dear to him, and he understands the value of the houses of Allah, may He be exalted. This love has a great value with Allah, because those who love the houses of Allah will be one of the groups whom Allah will shade on the Day when there will be no shade except His shade.
When a person stays in the mosque, whilst he is waiting for the prayer, he is rewarded as if he had prayed, and the angels pray for forgiveness for him. According to the hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The angels will pray for blessings for any one of you as long as he stays in his place of prayer and as long as nothing happens to break his wudoo. [They say:] ‘O Allah, forgive him, O Allah have mercy on him.’ As long as any one of you stays in his place of prayer, as long as what is keeping him there is the fact that he is waiting for the prayer, and nothing is keeping him from going back to his family apart from his prayer.” (al-Bukhaari, 2/360 Fath al-Baari).
Keeping away from physical luxuries. In Itikaaf, a person reduces a lot of these things and becomes like a stranger in this world, so “give good news to the stranger.” For the sake of earning the pleasure of Allah, he is content to stay in a corner of the mosque with usually no more than a pillow on which to lay his head and a blanket with which to cover himself, for he has left his comfortable bed and his usual habits for the sake of earning Allah’s pleasure. As for his food, this is a different story if it is not what he usually eats. If he has food brought from his house, usually it will not be as much as he would eat at home, and he does not eat it at a table with his wife and children, as he would usually do. On the contrary, he eats like a stranger, like a poor slave who needs his Lord. If he goes out to the market-place to get food, he tries hard to take what is available, and he is not too fussy about what kind of food he gets, because he has to go back to his place of Itikaaf and not take too long to do these things. Thus he learns that he can get by with a little, for which his Lord will be pleased with him, just as he can live with much, for which his Lord will not be pleased with him – and the difference between the two is immense.
Giving up many harmful habits
In light of the fact that the concept of Islamic education is lacking in many Muslim societies and in many homes in those Muslim societies, many habits have become widespread which go against the teachings of this pure religion. These evil habits have become so widespread that they have become almost acceptable and are not seen as having any harmful impact either on the religion or the individual. These habits include smoking, listening to music and watching scenes and events broadcast by satellite channels, which go against the aqeedah (belief) of the Muslim and his sense of modesty and chastity, and other habits which affect the religion and the individual.
The time of Itikaaf gives the individual the opportunity to see the falsehood of these habits and the futility of the belief many Muslims hold that they cannot rid themselves of them, because they have gained control over them.
During the period of Itikaaf, when he is alone with his Creator, the Muslim comes to understand the concept of worship in the most comprehensive sense and that he has to be enslaved to Allah every hour of the day, in both his public and his private life. When he takes the pleasure and love of Allah as the yardstick against which he measures all his actions, he will find that the habits we have referred to above, and many others, do not agree with that love of Allah, and indeed they are the opposite. So he discovers that habits such as these take him out of the circle of sincere uboodiyyah towards Allah. If this is the case, then he is obliged to rid himself of these habits as quickly as possible.
During the period of Itikaaf, the Muslim is not allowed to go out except in the case of definite needs which serve to facilitate his staying in the mosque for Itikaaf. Apart from that, he should not go out, even if it is for a permissible purpose. So – for example – he cannot go out and walk around in the marketplace, even for a short time, to buy things that have nothing to do with his Itikaaf. If he goes out to buy siwaak, this will not affect his Itikaaf because it is something that is required for his prayer during his I’ikaaf. But if he went out to buy a gift for his wife or for one of his children, that would invalidate his Itikaaf, because the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not go out except in the case of “human need”, as mentioned above. So, how about if the person in Itikaaf goes out to do something haram, such as smoking cigarettes, for example, or to watch a satellite TV show that he usually watches? Undoubtedly, this would invalidate his Itikaaf.
So if he goes out to drink wine or to smoke, this invalidates his Itikaaf. In general, any going out for any invalid reason invalidates one’ I’tikaaf, and more so if the purpose of going out is to sin. Even when he goes out for a legitimate purpose, it is not permissible for him to light a cigarette on the way.
Itikaaf is an annual opportunity in which a person can get rid of these bad habits by repenting and turning to Allah, and by weaning himself from these sins during the period of Itikaaf, not giving in to his desires, and getting used to this.
This continual worship of Allah requires continual patience on the part of the person in I’tikaaf, which is a kind of training for a person’s will and a kind of self-discipline for the soul, which usually tries to escape this worship to turn towards other matters that it desires.
There is also the kind of patience which is required for dealing with the absence of things which a person may be used to, such as different kinds of food that he eats at home but which are not available in the mosque. So he puts up with having little for the sake of earning the pleasure of Allah, may He be exalted and glorified.
And there is the kind of patience which is required for putting up with the place where he is sleeping, for he will not have a bed put in the mosque for him, or a comfortable mattress on which he could sleep. He sleeps on a very modest mattress or even on the carpets in the mosque.
And there is the kind of patience which is required for putting up with the conditions in the mosque, the crowds of people around him, the lack of peace, such as he enjoys at home when he wants to sleep.
And there is the kind of patience which is required for suppressing his desire for his wife, with whom he is not allowed to have sexual relations if he goes home for any purpose; he cannot even kiss her or hug her, even though she is halal for him. Thus, the value of patience, strong will power and self-control is manifested. Through these practices and others, a person can train himself to delay many of the things he desires for the sake of more important things, so he puts off these psychological and material needs for the sake of earning the pleasure of Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted.
We ask Allah to help us to remember Him, thank Him and worship Him properly. And Allaah knows best. May Allah bless our Prophet Muhammad.
References:
Al-I’tikaaf Nadrah Tarbawiyyah, Dr. ‘Abd al-Lateef ibn Muhammad Baaltoo
Al-Ithaaf fi Bayaan Masaa’il al-I’tikaaf, Abu ‘Umar Haay al-Haay