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I`tikaaf: Miscellaneous (Ahadith 1752 – 1757)
Bismillah.
One Cute Incident:
Volume 3, Book 33, Number 257:
Narrated ‘Amra bint ‘Abdur-Rahman from ‘Aisha (radiallaahu `anhaa):
Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) used to practice Itikaf every year in the month of Ramadan. And after offering the morning prayer, he used to enter the place of his Itikaf. ‘Aisha (radiallaahu `anhaa) asked his permission to let her practice Itikaf and he allowed her, and so she pitched a tent in the mosque. When Hafsa (radiallaahu `anhaa) heard of that, she also pitched a tent (for herself), and when Zainab (radiallaahu `anhaa) heard of that, she too pitched another tent. When, in the morning, Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) had finished the morning prayer, he saw four tents and asked, “What is this?” He was informed about it. He then said, “What made them do this? Is it righteousness? Remove the tents, for I do not want to see them.” So, the tents were removed. The Prophet did not perform Itikaf that year in the month of Ramadan, but did it in the last ten days of Shawwal.
Types of I`tikaaf:
Volume 3, Book 33, Number 258:
Narrated Abdullah bin Umar (radiallaahu `anhu):
‘Umar bin Al-Khattab (radiallaahu `anhu) said, “O Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam)! I vowed in the Pre-lslamic period to perform Itikaf in Al-Masjid-al-Haram for one night.” The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Fulfill your vow.” So, he performed Itikaf for one night.
Volume 3, Book 33, Number 259:
Narrated Ibn ‘Umar (radiallaahu `anhu):
that ‘Umar (radiallaahu `anhu) had vowed in the Pre-lslamic period to perform Itikaf in Al-Masjid-al-Haram. (A sub-narrator thinks that ‘Umar (radiallaahu `anhu) vowed to perform Itikaf for one night.) Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said to ‘Umar (radiallaahu `anhu), “Fulfill your vow.”
When is I`tikaaf?:
Volume 3, Book 33, Number 260:
Narrated Abu Huraira (radiallaahu `anhu):
The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) used to perform Itikaf every year in the month of Ramadan for ten days, and when it was the year of his death, he stayed in Itikaf for twenty days.
One Cute Incident:
Volume 3, Book 33, Number 261:
Narrated `Amra bint `Abdur-Rahman from `Aisha (radiallaahu `anhaa):
Allah’s Messenger (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) mentioned that he would practice I`tikaf in the last ten days of Ramadan. `Aisha (radiallaahu `anhaa) asked his permission to perform I`tikaf and he permitted her. Hafsa (radiallaahu `anhaa) asked `Aisha (radiallaahu `anhaa) to take his permission for her, and she did so. When Zainab bint Jahsh (radiallaahu `anhaa) saw that, she ordered a tent to be pitched for her and it was pitched for her. Allah’s Messenger (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) used to proceed to his tent after the prayer. So, he saw the tents ans asked, “What is this?” He was told that those were the tents of Aisha, Hafsa, and Zainab (radiallaahu `anhunna). Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Is it righteousness which they intended by doing so? I am not going to perform I`tikaf.” So he returned home. When the fasting month was over, he performed Itikar for ten days in the month of Shawwal.
The Fiqh of I`tikaaf:
Volume 3, Book 33, Number 262:
Narrated ‘Urwa:
Aisha (radiallaahu `anhaa) during her menses used to comb and oil the hair of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) while he used to be in Itikaf in the mosque. He would stretch out his head towards her while she was in her chamber.
Kitaab-ul-I`tikaaf [Book of Retiring to a Mosque for Remembrance of Allah] ends here.
When is I’tikaaf? (Hadith No. 1751)
Bismillah.
Hadith no. 1749 and 1750 (below) are repeats. Read the post here.
Volume 3, Book 33, Number 254:
Narrated ‘Ali bin Al-Husain (from Safiya, the Prophet’s wife):
The wives of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) were with him in the mosque (while he was in Itikaf) and then they departed and the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said to Safiya bint Huyai (radiallaahu `anhaa), “Don’t hurry up, for I shall accompany you,” (and her dwelling was in the house of Usama). The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) went out and in the meantime two Ansari men met him and they looked at the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) and passed by. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said to them, “Come here. She is (my wife) Safiya bint Huyai.” They replied, “Subhan Allah, (How dare we think of evil) O Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam)! (we never expect anything bad from you).” The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) replied, “Satan circulates in the human being as blood circulates in the body, and I was afraid lest Satan might insert an evil thought in your minds.”
Volume 3, Book 33, Number 255:
Narrated ‘Ali bin Al-Husain from Safiya (radiallaahu `anhaa):
Safiya (radiallaahu `anhaa) went to the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) while he was in Itikaf. When she returned, the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) accompanied her walking. An Ansari man saw him. When the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) noticed him, he called him and said, “Come here. She is Safiya (radiallaahu `anhaa). (Sufyan a sub-narrator perhaps said that the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) had said, “This is Safiya”). And Satan circulates in the body of Adam’s offspring as his blood circulates in it.”
(A sub-narrator asked Sufyan, “Did Safiya (radiallaahu `anhaa) visit him at night?” He said, “Of course, at night.”)
Today’s Hadith:
Volume 3, Book 33, Number 256:
Narrated Abu Said (radiallaahu `anhu):
We practiced Itikaf with Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) in the middle ten days (of Ramadan). In the morning of the twentieth (of Ramadan) we shifted our baggage, but Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) came to us and said, “Whoever was Itikaf should return to his place of Itikaf, for I saw (i.e. was informed about the date of) this Night (of Qadr) and saw myself prostrating in mud and water.” When I returned to my place the sky was overcast with clouds and it rained. By Him Who sent Muhammad (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) with the Truth, the sky was covered with clouds from the end of that day, and the mosque which was roofed with leaf-stalks of date palm trees (leaked with rain) and I saw the trace of mud and water over the nose of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) and its tip.
This Hadith explains this one narrated by Abu Hurairah (radiallaahu `anhu):
“The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to observe i’tikaaf for ten days every Ramadaan, and in the year in which he passed away he observed i’tikaaf for twenty days.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari.
And this is why I`tikaaf in the last ten days of Ramadaan is more recommended than any other time.. Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) preferred it in his last year.
But this doesn’t mean one can’t observe I`tikaaf in days other than the last ten of Ramadaan. I`tikaaf can be practiced any time of the year. Read this post for more details.
I’tikaaf for Women (Hadith No. 1748)
Bismillah.
Hadith no. 1747 (below) is a repeat. Read it here.
Volume 3, Book 33, Number 252:
Narrated Abu Salama bin ‘Abdur-Rahman:
I asked Abu Said Al-Khudri (radiallaahu `anhu), “Did you hear Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) talking about the Night of Qadr?” He replied in the affirmative and said, “Once we were in Itikaf with Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) in the middle ten days of (Ramadan) and we came out of it in the morning of the twentieth, and Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) delivered a sermon on the 20th (of Ramadan) and said, ‘I was informed (of the date) of the Night of Qadr (in my dream) but had forgotten it. So, look for it in the odd nights of the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan. I saw myself prostrating in mud and water on that night (as a sign of the Night of Qadr). So, whoever had been in Itikaf with Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) should return for it.’ The people returned to the mosque (for Itikaf). There was no trace of clouds in the sky. But all of a sudden a cloud came and it rained. Then the prayer was established (they stood for the prayer) and Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) prostrated in mud and water and I saw mud over the forehead and the nose of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam).
Today’s Hadith:
Volume 3, Book 33, Number 253:
Narrated ‘Aisha (radiallaahu `anhaa):
One of the wives of Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) practiced Itikaf with him while she ad bleeding in between her periods and she would see red (blood) or yellowish traces, and sometimes we put a tray beneath her when she offered the prayer.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
I’tikaaf is Sunnah for both men and women, because it was proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to observe i’tikaaf during Ramadaan, and finally he settled on i’tikaaf during the last ten days, and some of his wives used to observe i’tikaaf with him, then they observed i’tikaaf after he died. The place for i’tikaaf is the mosque in which prayers in congregation are performed.
The bleeding that’s mentioned in the above narration is istihadha, not menstruation. A woman suffering from istihadha may observe i`tikaaf in the masjid provided she takes measures to keep her clothes and the masjid area clean. Read more on it here.
The Shaytaan in You (Hadith No. 1746)
Bismillah.
Volume 3, Book 33, Number 251:
Narrated Ali bin Al-Husain:
Safiya (radiallaahu `anhaa), the wife of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) told me that she went to Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) to visit him in the mosque while he was in Itikaf in the last ten days of Ramadan. She had a talk with him for a while, then she got up in order to return home. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) accompanied her. When they reached the gate of the mosque, opposite the door of Um-Salama (radiallaahu `anhaa), two Ansari men were passing by and they greeted Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam). He told them: Do not run away! And said, “She is (my wife) Safiya bint Huyai (radiallaahu `anhaa).” Both of them said, “Subhan Allah, (How dare we think of any evil) O Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam)!” And they felt it. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said (to them), “Satan reaches everywhere in the human body as blood reaches in it, (everywhere in one’s body). I was afraid lest Satan might insert an evil thought in your minds.”
- Wives may visit their husbands in I`tikaaf.
- The man may accompany his wife on her way back – not leaving the masjid without necessity.
- Never entertain evil thoughts about your Muslims brothers and sisters in your head. Never.
- If you’re doing something that might seem fishy to others, you might as well explain to them your intention/the reality before Shaytan gets the better of them.
- Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said “Shaytan reaches everywhere in the human body as blood reaches in it”, and we take this statement on face value. We do NOT try to explain and rationalize everything according to modern day science like it’s been done in this article. *face-palm*
One Cute Incident (Ahadith 1744 – 1745)
Bismillah.
Volume 3, Book 33, Number 249:
Narrated ‘Amra:
Aisha (radiallaahu `anhaa) said, “the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) used to practice Itikaf in the last ten days of Ramadan and I used to pitch a tent for him, and after offering the morning prayer, he used to enter the tent.” Hafsa (radiallaahu `anhaa) asked the permission of ‘Aisha (radiallaahu `anhaa) to pitch a tent for her and she allowed her and she pitched her tent. When Zainab bint Jahsh (radiallaahu `anhaa) saw it, she pitched another tent. In the morning the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) noticed the tents. He said, ‘What is this?” He was told of the whole situation. Then the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Do you think that they intended to do righteousness by doing this?” He therefore abandoned the Itikaf in that month and practiced Itikaf for ten days in the month of Shawwal.”
Volume 3, Book 33, Number 250:
Narrated ‘Aisha (radiallaahu `anhaa):
The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) intended to practice Itikaf and when he reached the place where he intended to perform Itikaf, he saw some tents, the tents of ‘Aisha (radiallaahu `anhaa), Hafsa (radiallaahu `anhaa) and Zainab (radiallaahu `anhaa). So, he said, “Do you consider that they intended to do righteousness by doing this?” And then he went away and did not perform Itikaf (in Ramadan) but performed it in the month of Shawwal for ten days.
Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) feared that the wives’ intentions might be inclined more towards pleasing him rather than pleasing Allah, so he abandoned I`tikaaf to discourage such behavior. Aren’t wives (Mothers of the Believers, and wives in general) so cute? :)
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