aitikaaf

[Mohammed Khan]

Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

What pre-conditions are their for sitting in aitikaaf, that is the state of a persons iman to begin with ?

[Imam]

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,

Thank you brother Muhammad Khan for your question. As the month of Ramadhan is well on its way, we are about to face the third ten days of Ramadhan-al-Mubarak, which in essence are the days from the freedom of hellfire. May Allah the Almighty free all the Community of Muhammad Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam, from the hellfire (amin).

The Qur'an sharif has stated:

'wa la tubaashiru hunna wa antum 'akifuna fil masjidi'

'and do not have sexual relations while you are in a state of i'tikaf in the Masjid'.

A Hadith of the Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam, which is narrated by Hadrat 'A'isha Siddiqa Radi Allahu anha, states:

'The Messenger of Allah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam, used to perform the i'tikaf, in the last ten days of Ramadhan Sharif'.

Now for a person to sit in i'itikaf, which is sunnat-e-Mu'akidah 'kifayah', using common sense he must be a namaazi, because what use is performing a sunnat-e-mu'akidah, when you are not even a regular on your fard salah.

These days ordinary people perform i'tikaf, by ordinary we mean those people who may not even be a namazi, or dont comply with the sunnah of the Messenger Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam, then as learners, does this not strike us?

The only pre-conditions I had seen in 'bahar-e-Shar'iyyat' were that anybody who does i'tikaf in a masjid, no matter for how short a period of time, doesnt have to have reached the age of puberty, however he/she must be sane, and free from any menstruating periods. You dont even have to be free from slavery, as even a slave can perform i'tikaf. (As long as his master gives him permission to do so.)

The main thing is that it is 'kifayah', meaning that if one person performs it, the rest of the community shall be freed of this obligation. However, if none perform the i'tikaf, then all will be responsible, and will have to answer in the presence of the Almighty.

These were some of the issues in relation to the 'mu'takif', who is the person performing the 'i'tikaf',

May Allah the Almighty accept the 'i'tikaf' of all those people who do so in the month of Ramadhan, and may we all be freed from the obligation...

Wallahu A'lamu Biththawaab.

M. Waseem Ashrafi.