The adab (etiquette) ofI’tikaaf

 

Thereis a certain etiquette which it is mustahabb for the person in I’tikaafto follow so that his I’tikaaf will be acceptable. The more he adheresto this etiquette, the greater his reward from the Lord of the Worldswill be, and the less he follows it, the less his reward will be.

 

Itis mustahabb for the person in I’tikaaf to keep himself busy withprayer, reading Qur’an, remembering Allah (dhikr) and other kinds ofpure worship. He should avoid all kinds of words and actions which willnot help him to do this. He should not talk too much, because the onewho talks too much, is more likely to say wrong things, and because thehadeeth says, “Part of a person’s being a good Muslim is that he leavesalone that which does not concern him.” He should avoid arguing,disputing, swearing and speaking in an obscene manner, for all of thatis makrooh when he is not in I’tikaaf, so it is even more makrooh whenhe is in I’tikaaf; he should not invalidate his I’tikaaf by doing anyof these things. There is nothing wrong with his speaking when he hasto, or conversing with others. The two shaykhs (al-Bukhaari and Muslim)narrated that Safiyyah, the wife of the Prophet, Peace andBlessings of Allah be upon him,, came to visit him during his I’tikaaf in the mosque during the lastten days of Ramadhan. She spoke with him for a while, then she got upto leave. The Prophet, Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him, stoodup to go with her, and when she reached the door of the mosque, by thedoor of Umm Salamah, two men of the Ansaar passed by and greeted theProphet, Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him. The Prophet,Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him,said to them, “Wait, this is Safiyyah bint Huyay.” They said, “SubhaanAllah, O Messenger of Allah!” They felt distressed (that he thoughtthey might think something bad). The Prophet, Peace and Blessingsof Allah be upon him,said: “The Shaytaan is as close to a man as his blood.” According toanother report: “(Shaytaan) flows through the veins of a man likeblood.” “I was afraid that the Shaytaan might cast some evil ideas intoyour hearts.”

 

Al-Haafiz said:

 

We learn a number ofthings from this hadeeth:

 

Itis permissible for the person who is in I’tikaaf to do permissiblethings such as seeing a visitor out and talking with him, and it ispermissible for him to be alone and for a woman to visit him.

 

‘Abdal-Razzaaq narrated that ‘Ali said: Whoever does I’tikaaf should notengage in obscene speech or swear; he should attend Jumu’ah andfunerals, and talk to his family if he needs to, but he should remainstanding and not sit with them.

 

Withregard to teaching Qur’an and other (Islamic) knowledge, studying,debating with the fuqahaa’, sitting with them and writing downahaadeeth, there is a difference of opinion among the scholars.According to Imam Ahmad, this is not recommended (not mustahabb),because the Prophet, Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him,  used to do I’tikaaf and it was not reported thathe did anything except devote himself to acts of worship.

 

Al-Marwazi said:

 

Isaid to ‘Abd-Allah that a man was teaching Qur’an to others in themosque and he wanted to do I’tikaaf and perhaps he would complete theQur’an each day. He said:

 

Ifhe does that, it will be for himself, but if he sits in the mosque itwill be for himself and for others; I prefer for him to teach others.

 

Theview of al-Shaafa’i, as recorded in al-Mughni, was: that it ismustahabb because it is the best kind of worship and its benefit is notlimited to only one person.

The view of Imam Ahmadis better, and Allah knows best.

 

NB(1): some people see I’tikaaf as an opportunity to be with some oftheir friends and spend time chatting with them. This is not good.

 

There is nothing wrongwith a group of people doing I’tikaaf in the mosque, because the wivesof the Prophet, Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him,  didI’tikaaf with him, and one of them even did I’tikaaf with him when shewas experiencing Istihaadah (non-menstrual bleeding), but she was inthe mosque with him. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 303, 304). So there isnothing wrong with a person doing I’tikaaf with his friend or relative,but the problem arises when I’tikaaf is regarded as an opportunity tostay up late chatting and gossiping, etc. Hence Imam Ibn al-Qayyim,after referring to what some ignorant people do by treating I’tikaaf asan opportunity to get together and visit with one another and chat,said: “This is one thing, and the I’tikaaf of the Prophet, Peaceand Blessings of Allah be upon him,  wassomething else altogether.” (Zaad al-Ma’aad).

 

NB(2): Some people leave their work and neglect their obligations inorder to do I’tikaaf. This is not the right attitude, because it is notright for a person to ignore something obligatory in order to dosomething that is Sunnah. The one who has left his work in order to doI’tikaaf has to stop his I’tikaaf and go back to work so that hisearnings will be halaal. But if he can do I’tikaaf during his time offfrom work, or if he can make an arrangement with his boss, then this isvery good.