I would like to know the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) with regard to i'tikaaf.
Praise be to Allaah.
The guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) with regard to i'tikaaf was the most perfect and moderate of
guidance.
Once he observed i'tikaaf in the first ten days of Ramadaan, then in
the middle ten days, seeking Laylat al-Qadr. Then he was told that it
is in the last ten days, so then he always observed i'tikaaf during
the last ten days, until he met his Lord.
On one occasion he did not observe i'tikaaf duringthe last ten days,
so he made it up in Shawwaal and observed i'tikaaf during the first
ten days thereof. This was narratedby al-Bukhaari and Muslim. In the
year in which he died, he observed i'tikaaf for twenty days. Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 2040.
It was said that the reason for that is that he knew his life was
drawingto a close, so he wanted to increase his good deeds, to show
his ummah how to strive hard in doing good deeds when the opportunity
for doing so drew to close, sothat they could meet Allaah in the best
way. And it was said that the reason was that Jibreel used to review
the Qur'aan with him once each Ramadaan, but in the year in which he
died, he reviewed it with him twice, which is why his i'tikaaf was
twice as long as usual.
A more likely reason is that he observed i'tikaaf for twenty days in
that year because the year before he had been traveling. This is
indicatedby the report narrated by al-Nasaa'i and Abu Dawood, and
classed as saheeh by Ibn Hibbaan and others, from Ubayy ibn Ka'b who
said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to
observe i'tikaaf during thelast ten days of Ramadaan, but he travelled
one year and didnot observe i'tikaaf, so thefollowing year he observed
i'tikaaf for twenty days. Fath al-Baari.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to order
that a kind of tent be pitched for him in the mosque, and he would
stay in it, keeping away from people and turning to his Lord, so he
could beon his own with his Lord in a true sense of the word.
On one occasion he observed i'tikaaf in a small tent, and put a reed
mat over the door. Narrated by Muslim, 1167.
Ibn al-Qayyim said in Zaadal-Ma'aad, 2/90:
All of this to achieve the spirit and purpose of i'tikaaf, and is the
opposite of what the ignorant do, whereby the place of i'tikaaf
becomes aplace of gathering and meeting with people and chatting to
them. This is one thing, and i'tikaaf as observed by the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is something else.
He used to stay in the mosque the whole time, and not leave it except
to relieve himself. 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said:
"He would not enter his house for anything except for a need when he
was observing i'tikaaf." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2029; Muslim, 297.
According to a report narrated by Muslim: "Except for human
needs."Al-Zuhri interpreted this as referring to urination and
defecation.
He (peace and blessings ofAllaah be upon him) madesure he remained
clean. He would lean his head out of the mosque into 'Aa'ishah's
apartment so that she should wash his head and comb his hair.
Al-Bukhaari (2028) and Muslim (297) narrated that 'Aa'ishah (may
Allaah be pleased with her) said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) used to lean his head towards me when he was
observing i'tikaaf in the mosque, and I would comb his hair, when I
was menstruating." According to a report also narrated by al-Bukhaari:
"And I would wash it."
Al-Haafiz said:
This hadeeth indicates that it is permissible to clean oneself, put on
perfume, wash oneself, comb one's hair etc (whenin i'tikaaf). The
majority ofscholars are of the view that nothing is makrooh except
that which it is makrooh to do in the mosque.
When he was in i'tikaaf, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) did not visit the sick or attend funerals. This was so that
he could concentrate fully on conversing with Allaahand achieving the
purpose of i'tikaaf, which is to cut oneself off from people and turn
to Allaah.
'Aa'ishah said: The Sunnahis for the person in i'tikaafnot to visit
the sick or attend funerals, or to be intimate with his wife. But
there is nothing wrong with his going out for essential needs.
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 2473; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in
Saheeh Abi Dawood.
"or to be intimate with his wife" means intercourse. This was stated
by al-Shawkaani in Nayl al-Awtaar.:->
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