I'tikaf: Difference between revisions

According to [[fiqh]], I'tikaf is a [[Mustahab]] (recommended) act, although it could become [[wajib]] (obligatory), like other Mustahabs, by taking an oath or [[nadhr]] (vow) to God for offering it.

In [[fiqh]], I'tikaf is defined as staying and residing in a [[mosque]] for at least three days and  also observing required conditions with the intention of getting close to [[God]].

There is no special time for I'tikaf. However according to [[hadith]]s, the Prophet (s) did it in the month of Ramadan; thus this month is the best time for it, especially the last ten days. Based on these hadiths, I'tikaf during these days is very [[Mustahab]] (highly recommended) although it remains Mustahab in other times. Nowadays, holding the ritual of I'tikaf during [[Ayyam al-Bid]] of the month of [[Rajab]] is very prevalent in [[Iran]].

According to [[Shi'a]] jurisprudence, duration of I'tikaf must not be less than three days (from the dawn of the first day to the sunset of the third day). If the I'tikaf is Mustahab (the performer did not make compulsory by making vow or oath) Mu'tkif may quit it before the sunset of the second day. But after the sunset of the second day, finishing it to the end of the third day is obligatory ([[Wajib]]). The same ruling is applied to the sixth, ninth, twelfth day and so on.

 

There are many different opinions about the duration of I'tikaf among [[Sunni]]s, most of which believe that there is no minimum duration for it.

[[File:Mutakif Students in Baqiyyat Allah Mosque in Tehran.jpg|250px|thumbnail|right|Mu'takif students in Baqiyyat Allah Mosque in [[Tehran]], [[Iran]]. Some of the students are reciting the [[Qur'an]], while some others are sleeping which is also considered [[Mustahab]] during [[Ramadan al-Mubarak]].]]

According to some hadiths, [[Masjid al-Haram]], [[Masjid al-Nabi]], [[Masjid al-Kufa]] and the mosque of [[Basra]] are the only places for I'tikaf, but according to some others, every [[Masjid al-Jami']] (the main and usually biggest mosque of a city) or every mosque that a just Imam has performed [[friday prayer|Jum'ah]] or [[Congregational prayer]] in it is suitable for I'tikaf.

 

Based on hadiths, Shi'a jurists ([[faqih]]) have different opinions here. Most of the earlier faqihs supported the first group of hadiths while in the following centuries this speciality were doubted. For instance, [[al-Shahid al-Awwal]] and [[al-Shahid al-Thani]] said that limiting the place of I'tikaf to the [[Four Mosques]], is a very weak opinion. Moreover, some faqihs allowed I'tikaf in every mosque with the intention of ''Rajāʾ'' (hoping to receive a probable reward rather than the assured one, because the faqih is not sure whether this act is really Mustahab or not). Nowadays most of contemporary faqihs permit performing I'tikaf in Masjid al-Jami' and some other important mosque of each city.

Fasting is one of the necessary conditions of I'tikaf according to Shi'a's [[fiqh]]. Therefore, Mu'takif should fast during the I'tikaf and If someone couldn't fast -- such as, [[passenger]], sick people, Ha'id (a woman during her Menstruation), [[Nifas|Nufasa']] -- or did not fast deliberately, his/her I'tikaf is void. Also, since fasting is [[haram]] (forbidden) in [[Eid al-Fitr]] and [[Eid al-Adha]], I'tikaf in these Eids and from two days before these Eids so that the third day of the I'tikaf coincide with the Eid is void.

 

 

[[Maliki]] and majority of [[Hanafi]]s consider fasting as a necessary element for I'tikaf too (rest of Hanafis say fasting is not compulsory in Mustahab I'tikaf). On the other hand, Shafi'i and [[Ahmad b. Hanbal]] - in the most famous narration from him - basically believe that fasting is not a condition at all.