I'tikaf
means to stick to something, whether good or
bad, and to block out everything else. Allah
says in the Qur'an "What then are images
that you pay devotion [akifun] to them?"
[al-anbiya:52] - that is, what they dovoted
themselves to in worship. What is meant here
is the seclusion and staying in the mosque
with the intention of becoming closer to
Allah.
All
scholars agree on its legitimacy. Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would perform i'tikaf
for ten days every Ramadan. In the year that
he died, he performed it for twenty days. [related
by Bukhari, Abu Dawud, and ibm Majah]
Rasulullah's sallallahu alayhi wa sallam
companions and wives performed i'tikaf with
him and continued to do so after his death.
Even though it is an act which is done to get
closer to Allah, there is no sound hadith
concerning its merits.
The
different types of i'tikaf
I'tikaf
is of two types: Sunnah and Obligatory. The
sunnah i'tikaf is that which the Muslim
performs to get closer to Allah by following
the actions of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi
wa sallam, especially during the last ten
days of Ramadan. The obligatory i'tikaf is
that which the person makes obligatory upon
himself. This may be done by an oath. In
Sahih Bukhari it is reported that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said "Whoever
makes an oath to obey Allah should be
obedient to Him."
The
condition of i'tikaf
The
one who performs i'tikaf must be a Muslim
adult, a discerning child who is free of
sexual defilement, or an adolescent who is
free of menstrual or childbirth bleeding.
The
principles of i'tikaf
I'tikaf
will be fulfilled if a person stays in the
mosque with the intention of becoming closer
to Allah.
If a
person is not in a mosque or did not do it
with the intention to please Allah, it is not
i'tikaf. The fact that the intention is
obligatory is proven by Allah's words "They
are ordained nothing else than to serve Allah,
keeping religion pure for Him."
Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said
"Every action is according to the
intention and for everyone is what he
intended."
Certainly
i'tikaf must be done in the mosque, as Allah
says "And do not touch and be at your
devotions in the mosque." [2:178] This
ayah porves that if it were proper for i'tikaf
to be performed elsewhere, why would Allah
exclusively disallow coming to one's wife
during i'tikaf? The answer is that since such
an act would nullify i'tikaf [no matter where
it is performed], it is clear that i'tikaf
itself must be in the mosque.
The
Beginning and Ending of I'tikaf
If a
person has the intention to perform i'tikaf
during the last ten days of Ramadan, he
should begin it before the sun sets. Bukhari
records from Abu Sa'id that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said "Whoever
makes i'tikaf with me is to make i'tikaf
during the last ten nights." The ten
refers to the last ten nights of Ramadan
which begin on the night of the 20th or 21st.
According
to Malik and Ahmad, whoever accomplishes i'tikaf
during the last ten days of Ramadan can leave
the mosque after sunset, but it is
preferrable for the person to remain in the
mosque until the time for 'id prayer. Ibrahim
said "The people preferred that one who
performed i'tikaf during the last ten days of
Ramadan stay in the mosque on the night of 'id
and then proceed to the 'id prayer from the
mosque."