I’TIKAAF RULING, VIRTUES AND BENEFITS
ASSEMBLED BY MALLAM ABBA ABANA, KUBWA, ABUJA, NIGERIA
http://variousislamicdawadocuments.blogspot.com
https://web.facebook.com/abba.abana
emails:gonidamgamiri@yahoo.com; abba.abana@gmail.com
SATURDAY 9th RAJAB 1440 AH- 16th MARCH
2019 CE
(PART 9 OF 11: I’tikaaf Ruling, virtues and benefits)
(I’tikaaf Part 4 of 4)
13.0
EDUCATIONAL ASPECTS OF I’TIKAAF
- Implementing the concept of worship in a complete fashion:
I’tikaaf
plants in the soul of the person who does it the concept of true enslavement to
Allaah (‘uboodiyyah), and trains him in this important matter for which man was
created. For Allaah (May He be exalted) says (interpretation of the meaning): “And
I (Allaah) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me
(Alone).” [Holy Quran Chapter al-Dhaariyaat 51:56]. For the person who is
in I’tikaaf has devoted his whole self and his whole time to worship Allaah,
may He be glorified.
His whole
purpose is to earn the pleasure of Allaah, may He be exalted, so he strives
with his body, senses and time for this purpose, by praying fard and naafil
prayers, by making du’aa’ and dhikr, by reading the Qur’aan, and other kinds of
acts of worship.
Through
this training during the best days of the month of Ramadaan, the person in
I’tikaaf trains himself to apply the concept of ‘uboodiyyah or enslavement to
Allaah in his public and private life, and he strives to put into practice the
words of the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “Say (O Muhammad):
“Verily, my Salaat (prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for
Allaah, the Lord of the ‘Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists). He has
no partner. And of this I have been commanded, and I am the first of the
Muslims.” [Holy Quran Chapter al-An’aam 6:162-163]
Al-Qurtubi
said: “my living means, whatever I do in my life; my dying means
what I advise you to do after my death; for Allaah, the Lord of the
‘Aalameen means, they are only for the purpose of drawing closer to Him.”
(7/69).
- Seeking Laylat al-Qadr
This was
the main purpose behind the I’tikaaf of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him). At first his I’tikaaf lasted for the entire month, then he
did I’tikaaf during the middle ten days, seeking Laylat al-Qadr. When he learned
that it is in the last ten days of the month of Ramadaan, he limited his
I’tikaaf to these blessed ten days.
- Getting accustomed to staying in the mosque
The person in I’tikaaf has
committed himself to staying in the mosque for a specific time period. Human
nature may not readily accept such restrictions at the beginning of the
I’tikaaf, but usually this attitude quickly disappears because of the peace of
mind that the Muslim soul develops from staying in the House of Allaah.
The person in I’tikaaf understands
the importance of his staying in the mosque during his I’tikaaf from the
following things:
- The person who stays in the mosque finds that the mosque becomes dear to him, and he understands the value of the houses of Allaah, may He be exalted. This love has a great value with Allaah, because those who love the houses of Allaah will be one of the groups whom Allaah will shade on the Day when there will be no shade except His shade.
- When a person stays in the mosque, whilst he is waiting for the prayer, he is rewarded as for praying, and the angels pray for forgiveness for him. According to the hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The angels will pray for blessings for any one of you as long as he stays in his place of prayer and as long as nothing happens to break his wudoo’. [They say:] ‘O Allaah, forgive him, O Allaah have mercy on him.’ As long as any one of you stays in his place of prayer, as long as what is keeping him there is the fact that he is waiting for the prayer, and nothing is keeping him from going back to his family apart from his prayer.” (al-Bukhaari, 2/360 Fath al-Baari).
- Keeping away from physical luxuries.
In I’tikaaf a person reduces a
lot of these things and becomes like a stranger in this world, so “give good
news to the stranger.” For the sake of earning the pleasure of Allaah, he is
content to stay in a corner of the mosque with usually no more than a pillow on
which to lay his head and a blanket with which to cover himself, for he has
left his comfortable bed and his usual habits for the sake of earning Allaah’s
pleasure.
As for his food, this is a
different story, if it is not what he usually eats. If he has food brought from
his house, usually it will not be as much as he would eat at home, and he does
not eat it at a table with his wife and children, as he would usually do. On
the contrary, he eats like a stranger, like a poor slave who is need of his
Lord. If he goes out to the market-place to get food, he tries hard to take
what is available and he is not too fussy about what kind of food he gets,
because he has to go back to his place of I’tikaaf and not take too long to do
these things. Thus he learns that he can get by with a little, for which his
Lord will be pleased with him, just as he can live with much, for which his
Lord will not be pleased with him – and the different between the two is
immense.
14.0 GIVING UP
MANY HARMFUL HABITS
In the light of the fact that the
concept of Islamic education is lacking in many Muslim societies and in many
homes in those Muslim societies, many habits have become widespread which go
against the teachings of this pure religion. These evil habits have become so
widespread that they have become almost acceptable and are not seen as having
any harmful impact either on the religion or the individual. These habits
include smoking, listening to music and watching scenes and events broadcast by
satellite channels which go against the ‘aqeedah (belief) of the Muslim and his
sense of modesty and chastity, and other habits which affect the religion and
the individual.
The time of I’tikaaf gives the
individual the opportunity to see the falsehood of these habits and the
futility of the belief which many Muslims have, that they do not have the
ability to rid themselves of these habits, because they have gained control
over them.
During the period of I’tikaaf,
when he is alone with his Creator, the Muslim comes to understand the concept
of worship in the most comprehensive sense and that he has to be enslaved to
Allaah every hour of the day, in both his public and his private life. When he
takes the pleasure and love of Allaah as the yardstick against which he
measures all his actions, he will find that the habits we have referred to
above, and many others, do not agree with that love of Allaah, and indeed they
are the opposite. So he discovers that habits such as these take him out of the
circle of sincere ‘uboodiyyah towards Allaah. If this is the case, then he is
obliged to rid himself of these habits as quickly as possible.
During the period of I’tikaaf,
the Muslim is not allowed to go out except in the case of definite needs which
serve to facilitate his staying in the mosque for I’tikaaf. Apart from that, he
should not go out, even if it is for a permissible purpose. So – for example –
he cannot go out and walk around in the market-place, even for a short time, to
buy things that have nothing to do with his I’tikaaf. If he goes out to buy
siwaak, this will not affect his I’tikaaf because it is something that is
required for his prayer during his I’tikaaf. But if he went out to buy a gift
for his wife or for one of his children, that would invalidate his I’tikaaf,
because the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not go
out except in the case of “human need”, as mentioned above. So how about if the
person in I’tikaaf goes out to do something haraam such as smoking cigarettes
for example, or to watch a satellite TV show that he usually watches?
Undoubtedly this would invalidate his I’tikaaf.
So if he goes out to drink wine
or to smoke, this invalidates his I’tikaaf. In general, any going out for any
invalid reason invalidates one's I’tikaaf, and more so if the purpose of going
out is to commit a sin. Even when he goes out for a legitimate purpose, it is
not permissible for him to light a cigarette on the way.
I’tikaaf is an annual opportunity
in which a person can get rid of these bad habits by repenting and turning to
Allaah, and by weaning himself from these sins during the period of I’tikaaf,
not giving in to his desires, and getting used to this.
This continual worship of Allaah
requires continual patience on the part of the person in I’tikaaf, which is a
kind of training for a person's will and a kind of self-discipline for the soul
which usually tries to escape this worship to turn towards other matters which
it desires.
There is also the kind of
patience which is required for dealing with the absence of things which a
person may be used to, such as different kinds of food that he eats at home but
which are not available in the mosque. So he puts up with having little for the
sake of earning the pleasure of Allaah, may He be exalted and glorified.
And there is the kind of patience
which is required for putting up with the place where he is sleeping, for he
will not have a bed put in the mosque for him, or a comfortable mattress on
which he could sleep. He sleeps on a very modest mattress or even on the
carpets in the mosque.
And there is the kind of patience
which is required for putting up with the conditions in the mosque, the crowds
of people around him, the lack of peace and quiet such as he enjoys at home
when he wants to sleep.
And there is the kind of patience
which is required for suppressing his desire for his wife, with whom he is not
allowed to have sexual relations if he goes home for any purpose; he cannot
even kiss her or hug her, even though she is halaal for him. Thus the value of
patience, strong will power and self-control is manifested. Through these
practices and others, a person can train himself to delay many of the things he
desires for the sake of things which are more important, so he puts off these
psychological and material needs for the sake of earning the pleasure of
Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted.
1) Peace of mind
2) Reading the Qur’aan and completing it
3) Sincere repentance
4) Qiyaam al-Layl (praying at night) and getting used
to it
5) Making good use of one's time
6) Purifying one's soul
7) Reforming one’s heart and focusing on Allaah.
We ask Allaah to help us to
remember Him, thank Him and worship Him properly. And Allaah knows best. May
Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad (Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Salaam)
References:
Al-I’tikaaf
Nadrah Tarbawiyyah, Dr.
‘Abd al-Lateef ibn Muhammad Baaltoo
Al-Ithaaf
fi Bayaan Masaa’il al-I’tikaaf, Abu
‘Umar Haay al-Haay
To be continued
Part
10 of 11: Lailatul Qadr, Virtues and Benefits (10)
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