i'tikaaf in, and there are other mosques that are not allocated for
i'tikaaf. There are some people who want to observe i'tikaaf in these
mosques, I mean the ones that are not allocated by the state.Are the
employees of these mosques sinning if they prevent these peoplefrom
observing i'tikaaf there, in accordance with the instructions of the
government? Are they included in the words of Allah (interpretation of
the meaning): "And who are more unjust than those who forbid that
Allaah's Name be glorifiedand mentioned much (i.e. prayers and
invocations) in Allaah's mosques" [al-Baqarah 2:114]? If they are
sinning by doing that, what about obeying the authorities?
Especiallysince there are other mosques allocated for i'tikaaf. Please
advise us, may Allah reward you with good.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Mosques are the most honoured places on Earth;they are the houses of
Allah and were built for His worship by praying, reading Qu''aan,
remembering Allah, seeking and teaching Islamic knowledge, and
i'tikaaf. Concerning this, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) said: "… rather they [mosques] are for the remembrance of
Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, and prayer, and reading
Qur'aan." Narrated by Muslim (285).
Every Muslim has the rightto enter the mosques and worship Allah
there, so long as he does that in the prescribed fashion. Based on
that, whoever wants to observe i'tikaaf in some mosque has the right
to do that, and no one has the right to prevent him from doing so. The
one who prevents him may be included in the meaning of this verse
(interpretation of the meaning):
"And who are more unjustthan those who forbid that Allaah's Name be
glorified and mentioned much (i.e. prayers and invocations) in
Allaah's mosques and strive for their ruin? It was not fitting that
such should themselves enter them (Allaah's mosques) except in fear.
For them there is disgrace in this world, andthey will have a great
torment in the Hereafter"
[al-Baqarah 2:114].
i.e., no one is more unjust than those who do this.
This prohibition is reinforced if it is done because these people who
are observing i'tikaafare keen to follow the Sunnah and warn people
against innovation and tell them not to cause mischief on earth, so
restrictions are put on them to prevent them from observing i'tikaaf
in the houses of Allah.
Whoever strives -- in this case -- to prevent people from observing
i'tikaaf and staying in the mosques to pray, read theQur'aan and
remember Allah, is sinning and comes under the warning mentioned in
this verse. The one who helps him todo that is like him.
As for the employees of the mosques, if they can take a stance for the
sake of Allah against preventing people from observing i'tikaaf in the
mosques unjustly, this is what they should do, and they cannot afford
to do anything else. If they cannot do that, then they should be
gentle with the one who wants to observe i'tikaaf and ask him to
change his mind, because it is not wise for a person to observe
i'tikaaf in the mosque andthus cause harm to his Muslim brothers.
It may be better for him and for the Muslims to observe i'tikaaf in
the mosques where i'tikaaf is permitted, so that a large number of
Muslims will come together, and perhaps that will be a means of
teaching them some Islamic rulings that they do not know, or one of
them may receive sincere advice (naseehah) that will benefit him.
Secondly:
Prohibiting i'tikaaf in some mosques may be acceptable if the mosque
is small and does not have enough room for theworshippers, in which
case observing i'tikaaf there would bother the worshippers and make
the place even more overcrowded.
And Allah knows best.
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