Giving up many harmfulhabits

 

Inthe light of the fact that the concept of Islamic education is lackingin many Muslim societies and in many homes in those Muslim societies,many habits have become widespread which go against the teachings ofthis pure religion. These evil habits have become so widespread thatthey have become almost acceptable and are not seen as having anyharmful impact either on the religion or the individual. These habitsinclude smoking, listening to music and watching scenes and eventsbroadcast by satellite channels which go against the ‘aqeedah (belief)of the Muslim and his sense of modesty and chastity, and other habitswhich affect the religion and the individual.

 

Thetime of I’tikaaf gives the individual the opportunity to see thefalsehood of these habits and the futility of the belief which manyMuslims have, that they do not have the ability to rid themselves ofthese habits, because they have gained control over them.

 

Duringthe period of I’tikaaf, when he is alone with his Creator, the Muslimcomes to understand the concept of worship in the most comprehensivesense and that he has to be enslaved to Allah every hour of the day, inboth his public and his private life. When he takes the pleasure andlove of Allah as the yardstick against which he measures all hisactions, he will find that the habits we have referred to above, andmany others, do not agree with that love of Allah, and indeed they arethe opposite. So he discovers that habits such as these take him out ofthe circle of sincere ‘uboodiyyah towards Allah. If this is the case,then he is obliged to rid himself of these habits as quickly aspossible.

 

Duringthe period of I’tikaaf, the Muslim is not allowed to go out except inthe case of definite needs which serve to facilitate his staying in themosque for I’tikaaf. Apart from that, he should not go out, even if itis for a permissible purpose. So – for example – he cannot go out andwalk around in the market-place, even for a short time, to buy thingsthat have nothing to do with his I’tikaaf. If he goes out to buysiwaak, this will not affect his I’tikaaf because it is something thatis required for his prayer during his I’tikaaf. But if he went out tobuy a gift for his wife or for one of his children, that wouldinvalidate his I’tikaaf, because the Messenger, Peace and Blessingsof Allah be upon him,  didnot go out except in the case of “human need”, as mentioned above. Sohow about if the person in I’tikaaf goes out to do something haraamsuch as smoking cigarettes for example, or to watch a satellite TV showthat he usually watches? Undoubtedly this would invalidate his I’tikaaf.

 

Soif he goes out to drink wine or to smoke, this invalidates hisI’tikaaf. In general, any going out for any invalid reason invalidatesone’s I’tikaaf, and more so if the purpose of going out is to commit asin. Even when he goes out for a legitimate purpose, it is notpermissible for him to light a cigarette on the way.

 

I’tikaafis an annual opportunity in which a person can get rid of these badhabits by repenting and turning to Allah, and by weaning himself fromthese sins during the period of I’tikaaf, not giving in to his desires,and getting used to this.

 

Thiscontinual worship of Allah requires continual patience on the part ofthe person in I’tikaaf, which is a kind of training for a person’s willand a kind of self-discipline for the soul which usually tries toescape this worship to turn towards other matters which it desires.

Thereis also the kind of patience which is required for dealing with theabsence of things which a person may be used to, such as differentkinds of food that he eats at home but which are not available in themosque. So he puts up with having little for the sake of earning thepleasure of Allah, may He be exalted and glorified.

 

Andthere is the kind of patience which is required for putting up with theplace where he is sleeping, for he will not have a bed put in themosque for him, or a comfortable mattress on which he could sleep. Hesleeps on a very modest mattress or even on the carpets in the mosque.

 

Andthere is the kind of patience which is required for putting up with theconditions in the mosque, the crowds of people around him, the lack ofpeace and quiet such as he enjoys at home when he wants to sleep.

 

Andthere is the kind of patience which is required for suppressing hisdesire for his wife, with whom he is not allowed to have sexualrelations if he goes home for any purpose; he cannot even kiss her orhug her, even though she is halaal for him. Thus the value of patience,strong will power and self-control is manifested. Through thesepractices and others, a person can train himself to delay many of thethings he desires for the sake of things which are more important, sohe puts off these psychological and material needs for the sake ofearning the pleasure of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted.

 

(9) Peace of mind

(10) Reading the Qur’anand completing it

(11) Sincere repentance

(12) Qiyaam al-Layl(praying at night) and getting used to it

(13) Making good use ofone’s time

(14) Purifying one’ssoul

(15) Reforming one’sheart and focusing on Allah.

 

Weask Allah to help us to remember Him, thank Him and worship Himproperly. And Allah knows best. May Allah bless our Prophet Muhammad.

 

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References:

 

Al-I’tikaafNadrah Tarbawiyyah, Dr. ‘Abd al-Lateef ibn Muhammad Baaltoo

Al-Ithaaf fiBayaan Masaa’il al-I’tikaaf, Abu ‘Umar Haay al-Haay