With the Prophet, Peaceand Blessings of Allah be upon him, in his I’tikaaf

 

The Prophet, Peaceand Blessings of Allah be upon him,  didI’tikaaf during the first ten days of Ramadhan, then in the middle tendays, seeking Laylat al-Qadr, then it became clear to him that it wasin the last ten days, after which he always spent them (the last tendays) in I’tikaaf.

 

Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri(may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allah, Peaceand Blessings of Allah be upon him,used to do I’tikaaf during the middle ten days of the month, and whenthe night of the twentieth had passed and the twenty-first had begun,he would go back to his home, and those who were doing I’tikaaf withhim also went home. Then one month he made I’tikaaf on that night whenhe used to go home. Then he addressed the people, commanding them asAllah willed, then he said: ‘I used to spend these ten days inI’tikaaf, but now I want to spend these last ten days in I’tikaaf, sowhoever used to do I’tikaaf with me, let him stay in his place ofI’tikaaf. I was shown that night (Laylat al-Qadr) then I was made toforget it, so seek it during the last ten nights, in the odd-numberednights. And I saw myself prostrating in water and mud.’

 

AbuSa’eed said: it rained on the night of the twenty-first, and the roofof the mosque leaked in the place where the Messenger of Allah, Peaceand Blessings of Allah be upon him, was praying. I looked at himwhen he had finished praying Subh (Fajr), and his face was wet withwater and mud, so what he, Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him, had seen came to pass. And this was one ofthe signs of his Prophethood.”

 

The Prophet, Peaceand Blessings of Allah be upon him,continued to do I’tikaaf during the last ten days of Ramadhan, as itwas reported in al-Saheehayn from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased withher), who said that the Prophet, Peace and Blessings of Allah beupon him,used to spend the last ten days of Ramadhan in I’tikaaf until he died,then his wives continued to do I’tikaaf after he died. (Narrated byal-Bukhaari, 1921; Muslim, 1171).

 

During the year inwhich he, Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him,died, he spent twenty days in I’tikaaf (al-Bukhaari, 1939), i.e., themiddle ten days and the last ten days. This was for a number of reasons:

 

Inthat year, Jibreel reviewed the Qur’an with him twice (al-Bukhaari,4712). It was appropriate for him to spend twenty days in I’tikaaf, sothat he could review the entire Qur’an twice.

 

He, Peace andBlessings of Allah be upon him,  wantedto increase his righteous deeds and do more acts of worship, becausehe, Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him,  feltthat his time (of death) was near, as we may understand from the wordsof Allah (interpretation of the meaning):

 

“When there comes theHelp of Allah (to you, O Muhammad against your enemies) and theConquest (of Makkah).

 

And you see that thepeople enter Allah’s religion (Islam) in crowds.

 

Soglorify the Praises of your Lord, and ask His forgiveness. Verily, Heis the One Who accepts the repentance and Who forgives.” [al-Nasr110:1-3]

 

So Allah commanded HisProphet, Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him,  toincrease his Tasbeeh (“Subhaan Allah – Glory be to Allah”) and hisIstighfaar (“Astaghfir-Allah – I seek the forgiveness of Allah”)towards the end of his life, and this is what he, Peace andBlessings of Allah be upon him,  did.Often when he did Rukoo’ and Sujood, he would say, “Subhaanak Allahummawa bi hamdik, Allahumma ighfir li (Glory and praise be to You, O Allah.O Allah, forgive me)” – in obedience to the commands of the Qur’an.(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 487, and Muslim, 484).

He, Peace andBlessings of Allah be upon him,did that in gratitude to Allah for the blessings that He had bestowedupon him of righteous deeds such as jihaad, teaching, fasting andqiyaam (praying at night), and for the blessings of the revelation ofthe Qur’an to him, raising high his fame, and other favours that Allahhad bestowed upon him.

 

The Prophet, Peaceand Blessings of Allah be upon him,used to enter his place of I’tikaaf before the sun set. If he wanted,for example, to spend the middle ten days of the month in I’tikaaf, hewould enter his place of I’tikaaf before the sun set on the eleventhday. If he wanted to spend the last ten days in I’tikaaf, he wouldenter his place of I’tikaaf before the sun set on the twenty-first day.

 

Concerning the reportin al-Saheeh that he, Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him,prayed Fajr and then entered his place of I’tikaaf (narrated byal-Bukhaari, 1928; Muslim, 1173; al-Tirmidhi, 791), what is meant hereis that he entered the special place in the mosque after Fajr prayer.He used to do I’tikaaf in a place reserved especially for that, as itwas reported in Saheeh Muslim, that he used to do I’tikaaf in a Turkishtent. (Narrated by Muslim, 1167).

 

The Prophet, Peaceand Blessings of Allah be upon him,  usedto put his head into ‘Aa’ishah’s apartment whilst he was in I’tikaaf inthe mosque, and she should wash his hair and comb it, and she wasmenstruating, as was reported in al-Saheehayn (al-Bukhaari, 1924, 1926;Muslim, 297).

 

InMusnad Ahmad it was reported that he would lean in the doorway of herroom, then he would put his head out, and she would comb his hair.(Ahmad, 6/272).

 

Thisindicates that if a person in I’tikaaf puts part of his body – such ashis foot or his head – outside of the place where he is doing I’tikaaf,there is nothing wrong with that, and if a woman who is menstruatingputs her hand or foot into the mosque, there is nothing wrong with it,there is nothing wrong with that because this is not counted asentering the mosque.

 

Anotherthing that we learn from this hadeeth is that there is nothing wrongwith the person in I’tikaaf keeping clean and perfuming himself, andwashing and combing his hair. None of these things affect his I’tikaaf.

 

Another of the thingsthat happened to the Prophet, Peace and Blessings of Allah be uponhim, in his I’tikaaf was narrated by the two shaykhs (al-Bukhaariand Muslim) from ‘Aa’ishah, May Allah be pleased with her, whosaid: “When the Messenger of Allah, Peace and Blessings of Allah beupon him,  wantedto go into I’rikaaf, he would pray Fajr, then go into the place wherehe did I’tikaaf. He commanded that a tent be put up, and it was done.Some of the other wives of the Prophet, Peace and Blessings ofAllah be upon him, commanded that tents be put up, and this wasdone. When he, Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him,had prayed Fajr he looked and saw the tents, and said: “Are you seekingto do a righteous deed?” Then he commanded that his tent should bedismantled, and he did not do I’tikaaf in that month, delaying it untilthe first ten days of Shawwaal. (al-Bukhaari, 1928; Muslim, 1173).

 

Thephrase “Are you seeking to do a righteous deed?” means, Is your motivefor doing this the desire to do good, or is it jealousy and the desireto be close to the Messenger of Allah, Peace and Blessings of Allahbe upon him, ?

Itis most likely – and Allah knows best – that his I’tkaaf in Shawwaal ofthat year was after the Eid, i.e., the second of Shawwaal.

 

Itmay be that it started on the day of Eid. If this is true, then it isan indication that fasting is not a condition of I’tikaaf, becausethere is no fasting on the day of Eid.

 

Something else thathappened to the Prophet, Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him,in his I’tikaaf and was narrated by the two shaykhs (al-Bukhaari andMuslim) was that Safiyyah the wife of the Prophet, Peace andBlessings of Allah be upon him,  cameand visited him during his I’tikaaf in the mosque during the last tendays of Ramadhan. She spoke with him for a while, then she stood up togo home. The Prophet, Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him, stoodup with her to take her back, then when she reached the door of themosque, by the door of Umm Salamah, two men of the Ansaar passed by andgreeted the Prophet, 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.”

 

He, Peace andBlessings of Allah be upon him,  waskeen that the two Ansaaris should remain steadfast in their faith, andhe was afraid that the Shaytaan might plant some evil thoughts in theirhearts, making them doubt the Messenger of Allah, Peace andBlessings of Allah be upon him,, which would have led them to kufr, or that they might be distractedby trying to rid themselves of these insinuations, so he, Peace andBlessings of Allah be upon him,  explainedthe matter to them so as to remove any possible doubts or insinuatingwhispers. So he told them that was Safiyyah bint Huyay (may Allah bepleased with her), and she was his wife.