Al-Itikaaf - Ruling on allocating some mosques for i‘tikaaf and not others

In our country the state allocates some mosques for people to observe
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.

3a] Ruling on observing i‘tikaaf in a room that is separate from the mosque

the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), because the
houses of theMessenger had doors that opened into the mosque, but
despite that they were houses and the Messenger (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) did not go out to them [i.e., during i'tikaaf].
So to be on the safe side, the one who is observing i'tikaaf should
not do it there. But the custom of people nowadays is that rooms that
are in the mosques are regarded as being part of the mosque.
End quote from Sharh al-Kaafi.

And Allah knows best.

3] Ruling on observing i‘tikaaf in a room that is separate from the mosque

3]
Our mosque has two places that are separate, outside the mosque. We
had got used to praying in this place, but since construction on the
mosque was completed, we pray inside the mosque. Is it permissible for
us to observe i'tikaaf in these two places?.
Praise be to Allaah.
I'tikaaf means staying in the mosque to worship Allah, and it is
something that is done only in the mosques and is not valid if done
elsewhere.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allahhave mercy on him) said: I'tikaaf observed
anywhere but in a mosque is not valid if the person observing i'tikaaf
is a man. We do not knowof any difference among the scholars
concerning this. The basic principle with regard to that is the verse
in which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): "And do not have
sexual relations withthem (your wives) while you are in I'tikaaf (i.e.
confining oneself in a mosque for prayers and invocations leaving the
worldly activities) in the mosques" [al-Baqarah 2:187]. So it is
something that is only for the mosques. If it were valid to preserve
i'tikaaf anywhere else, the prohibition on intimacy would not have
been mentioned only with regard to the mosques, because intimacy is
forbidden during i'tikaaf in all cases. According to the hadeeth of
'Aa'ishah, she said: "The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) used to put his head into (my room) when he was in
the mosque, and I would comb his hair. He did not enter the house
except for some need when he was observing i'tikaaf." Al-Daaraqutni
narrated with his isnaad from al-Zuhri, from 'Urwah and Sa'eed ibn
al-Musayyab from 'Aa'ishah in a hadeeth: The Sunnah is for the person
who is observing i'tikaaf not to go out except for necessary purposes,
and there is no i'tikaaf except in a mosque where prayers are offered
in congregation (jamaa 'ah).
End quote from al-Mughni, 3/65
With regard to this separate place, it does notseem that it is part of
the mosque that is built for prayer, so it is not valid toobserve
i'tikaaf there. The guideline in defining whatis included in the rooms
of the mosque and what is not included is as follows:
1. If the room that is connected to the mosque was built to be a
mosque, i.e., the builder of the mosque intended it to be part of the
mosque in which prayers are offered,then it comes under the same
rulings as the mosque and it is permissible to observe i'tikaaf there,
and women who are menstruating or bleeding following childbirth
(nifaas) should not be allowed to enter it.
But if it was intended to be extra space for teaching or holding
meetings, or as accommodation for the imam or muezzin, and notas a
place for prayer, it does not come under the same rulings as a mosque
in that case.
2. If the intention of theone who built the mosque is not known,
then the basic principle is that whatever is within the wall of the
mosque and has a door into the mosque comes under the same rulings as
the mosque.
3. The courtyard that is enclosed within the wall of the mosque
comes under the same rulings as the mosque.
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The walls of the mosque,
both inside and outside, comes under the same rulings as the mosque
andit is obligatory to protect them and respect their sanctity. The
same appliesto its roof, the well inside it, and its courtyard.
Al-Shaafa'i and his companions (may Allah have mercy on them) stated
that it is valid to observe i'tikaaf in its courtyard or on its roof,
and the prayer of one who follows an imam who is inside the mosque in
these places is valid.
End quote from al-Majmoo', 2/207
It says in Mataalib Ooli al-Nuha (2/234): Also included as part of the
mosque are its roof and its enclosed courtyard. Al-Qaadi said: If it
has a wall and gate, then they are like the mosque, because they are
part of itand belong to it. If it is not enclosed, then it does not
come under the same rulings as the mosque. Also part of the mosque
isthe minaret, if it or its door is in the mosque; butif it or its
gate is outside, even if they are close, andthe person who is
observing i'tikaaf goes out to them to give the adhaan, his i'tikaaf
is rendered invalid. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy onhim) was asked: With
regard to a room that is inside the mosque, is it permissible to
observe i'tikaaf in it? He replied: That depends. The one who studies
the words of the fuqaha' in general willsay that it is part of the
mosque, because they saythat the room that is enclosed by the walls of
the mosque are part of the mosque. But the one who thinks that it was
not built as part of the mosque and that it is a room for the imam,
will regard it as being like the houses of the Messenger (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him), :->

2a] Fasting lasts until the sun sets and is not as some of the Shi’ah say

2a]
He said: It is still day. He said:Dismount and make saweeq for us. So
he dismounted and made saweeq for them, and the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) drank it, then he said: When you see that
night has come from here,then let the fasting person break his fast.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This hadeeth indicates that it is mustahabb to hasten to break the
fast and that it is not permissible to refrain from eating and
drinking for any part of the night at all; rather as soon as it is
established that the sunhas set, it is permissible tobreak the fast.
End quote.
Fath al-Baari, 4/197.
Moreover, the fact that there is consensus among the Muslims regarding
breaking the fast and eating as soon as one hears the muezzin give the
call to Maghrib prayer when the sun disappears is evidence that this
is thetruth and the one who goes against that is following something
other than the way of the believers and has introduced something into
the religion for whichhe has no proof or reportsfrom the scholars.
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Maghrib comes immediately after the sunhas set, and this is something
on which thereis consensus. Something concerning this was narrated
from the Shi'ah to which no attention should be paid and which has no
basis. End quote.
Sharh Muslim, 5/136
In fact, in many of the books of the Shi'ah it mentions that on which
there is consensus among the Muslims concerning this matter. Some of
themnarrated from Ja'far al-Saadiq (may Allah have mercy on him) that
he said: "When the sun sets, it becomes permissible to break the fast
and it becomes obligatory to offer the prayer." End quote.
Al-Baroojardi narrated from the author of al-Da'aa'im that he said: We
narrated from Ahl al-Bayt -- may the blessings of Allah be uponthem
all -- that there was consensus concerning thatwhich we learned from
the reports from them, that the onset of night which makes it
permissible for the fastingperson to break the fast isthe
disappearance of the sun beneath the western horizon without any
barrier which would prevent seeing it such as amountain or wall and
the like. When the disk disappears beneath the horizon, then the night
has begun and it is permissible to break the fast. End quote.
Jaami' Ahaadeeth al-Shi'ah, 9/165
To sum up: what are some of the Shi'ah do now, of delaying Maghrib
prayer and the breaking of the fast until sometimeafter the sun has
set is contrary to what is indicated by the Holy Qur'aan, the saheeh
Sunnah of the Prophet and the consensus of the Muslims.
Moreover it is contrary to what they themselves narrated from their Imams!
And Allah knows best.