I'tikaf: Difference between revisions

'''Iʿtikāf''' (Arabic: {{iarabic| الاعتكاف}}) is a [[mustahab]] (recommended) worship in [[Islam]] that consists of at least three days of fasting in a [[masjid]]. Although there is no specific time to perform I'tikaf during a year, the last ten days of [[Ramadan]], as [[the Prophet (s)]] did so, is the most recommended days to do 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]].<ref>Rāghib, ''Mufradāt'', p. 355.</ref>

In [[Sufism]], I'tikaf means emptying your heart from worldly concerns and submitting yourself to your Lord. Hence I'tikaf means staying and residing, it also means staying and not getting away from God's threshold so that he forgives you.<ref>Jurjānī, ''al-Taʿrīfāt'', p. 25.</ref>

==I'tikaf before Islam==

Although Muslims learned how to perform I'tikaf from [[The Prophet (s)|their Prophet]],<ref>Mālik, ''al-Muwaṭṭaʾ'', vol. 1, p. 314.</ref> there was a ritual similar to I'tikaf prevalent amongst Arabs before Islam. For instance, it has been narrated that [['Umar b. al-Khattab]] asked the Prophet (s) that he had [[nadhr|vowed]] during the [[Jahiliyya|Ignorance era]] to stay in [[Masjid al-Haram]] for a night and the Prophet (s) told him to fulfill it.<ref>Bukhārī, ''Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī'', vol. 3, p. 105-110; Ibn Māja, ''Sunan ibn Māja'', vol.1, p. 563.</ref>

==The Prophet's I'tikaf==

There is no information whether the Prophet (s) performed I'tikaf in Masjid al-Haram before [[Hijra]] (emigration to Medina). However, in his first year in [[Medina]], he performed I'tikaf in the first ten days of the month of [[Ramadan]], the next year in the second ten days and afterward in the last ten days of the month of Ramadan. A tent was set up for him in the mosque during these days.<ref>Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 4, p. 175.</ref>

There is no special time for I'tikaf. However according to [[hadith]]s, the Prophet (s) did it in the month of Ramadan;<ref>Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 4, p. 175.</ref> thus this month is the best time for it, especially the last ten days.<ref>See: Shahīd al-Thānī, ''al-Rawḍat al-Bahīyya'', vol. 2, p. 149; Jazīrī, ''al-Fiqh ʿala l-madhāhib al-arbaʿa'', vol. 1, p. 582.</ref> 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]]).<ref>Muḥaqiq al-Ḥillī, ''Sharāyiʿ al-Islām'', vol. 1, p. 216.</ref> 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.<ref>Ibn Rushd, ''Bidāyat al-mujtahid'', vol. 1, p. 314.</ref>

According to some hadiths, [[Masjid al-Haram]], [[al-Masjid al-Nabawi]], [[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.<ref>Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 4, p. 176; Mufīd, ''al-Muqnaʿa'', p. 363.</ref>

Based on hadiths, Shi'a jurists ([[faqih]]) have different opinions here. Most of the earlier faqihs supported the first group of hadiths<ref>See: Ṣadūq, ''al-muqniʿ'', p. 18; also see: Sayyid Murtaḍā, ''al-Intiṣār'', p. 72; Ṭūsī, ''al-Khilāf'', vol. 2, p. 272. </ref> while in the following centuries this speciality were doubted. For instance, [[al-Shahid al-Awwal]] and [[al-Shahid al-Thani]]<ref>Shahīd al-Thānī, ''al-Rawḍat al-Bahīyya'', vol. 2, p. 150.</ref> 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'' <ref>Khomeini, ''Taḥrīr al-wasīla'', vol. 1, p. 305.</ref>(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]].<ref>Mālik, ''al-Muwaṭṭaʾ'', vol. 1, p. 315; Muḥaqiq al-Ḥillī, ''Sharāyiʿ al-Islām'', vol. 1, p. 215.</ref> 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)|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.

There is no necessity that the fasting to be especial for I'tikaf and it is allowed to take compensation fasting or a fasting which has became [[wajib|obligatory]] because of [[nadhr]] (vow).

[[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).<ref>See: Samarqandī, ''Tuḥfat al-fuqahāʾ'', vol. 2, p. 372; Shaykh Niẓām al-Dīn, ''al-Fatāwa l-Hindīyya'', vol. 1, p. 211. </ref> 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.<ref>See: Shāfiʿī, ''al-Umm'', vol. 2, p. 107; Ibn Hubayra, ''al-Ifṣāḥ'', vol. 1, p. 170; also see: Marwzī, ''Ikhtilāf al-ʿulamāʾ'', p. 75.  </ref>

Leaving the [[mosque]] during I'tikaf is not permitted. However there are exceptions such as: participation in [[Salat al-Jum'a]], participation in funeral (tashi'), giving testimony, visiting a sick and preparing food and water. Even in these cases, Mu'takif must not sit while being out of the mosque and must not walk in shade as much as possible.<ref>Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 4, p. 178; Ibn Rushd, ''Bidāyat al-mujtahid'', vol. 1, p. 317; Muḥaqiq al-Ḥillī, ''Sharāyiʿ al-Islām'', vol. 1, p. 217.  </ref>

===Forbidden Acts in I'tikaf===

Sexual activities - even kissing -, using perfumes, selling and buying - except for food and other necessary things - and arguing about worldly affairs are forbidden to the Mu'takif. Some of the above-mentioned activities void the I'tikaf and also cause [[Kaffara]] (atonement).<ref>Ibn Hubayra, ''al-Ifṣāḥ'', vol. 1, p. 171; Muḥaqiq al-Ḥillī, ''Sharāyiʿ al-Islām'', vol. 1, p. 219-220; Jazīrī, ''al-Fiqh ʿala l-madhāhib al-arbaʿa'', vol. 1, p. 585-587. </ref>

I'tikaf as an important jurisprudential topic was a subject of some individual and independent works. Muhammad b. Idris al-Shafi'i and Dawud b. 'Ali al-Isfahani, from [[Sunni]] school<ref>See: Ibn Nadīm, ''al-Fihrist'', p. 264-271.</ref> and [[Abu l-Fadl al-Sabuni]] and [[al-Shaykh al-Saduq]] from Shi'a<ref>See: Najāshī, ''Rijāl al-Najāshī'', p. 375-389.</ref> are some of the most famous faqihs who have authored independent writings about I'tikaf.

* ''Al-Kafaf fi masa'il al-I'tikaf'': written by Mulla [[Muhammad Ja'far Shari'atmadar Astarabadi]] (d. 1263/1847). A copy of it is preserved in the  [[library of Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi]] in [[Qom]].<ref>See: Āghā Buzurg, ''al-Dharīʿa'', vol. 2, p. 229; Mudarrisī Ṭabāṭabāʾī, ''Muqaddamiʾī bar fiqh-i Shiʿa'', p. 338.</ref>

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