I`tikaf
(seclusion in the mosque during
the last ten days of Ramadan) is for the completion of the
benefits of fasting. If a person has remained denied of inner
peace and tranquility and has been unable to concentrate on prayer
and supplication during the earlier part of Ramadan, he can make
amends for it through i`tikaf.
In
Zad Al-Ma`ad, the prominent scholar Ibn Al-Qayyim says—
The
basic purpose of i`tikaf is that the heart gets attached
to Allah, and, with it, one attains inner composure and
equanimity; preoccupation with the mundane things of life
ceases, and the state is reached in which all fears, hopes, and
apprehensions are superseded by the love and remembrance of
Allah; every anxiety is transformed into the anxiety for Him;
every thought and feeling is blended with the eagerness to gain
His nearness and to earn His good favor, and devotion to the
Almighty is generated instead of devotion to the world. This is
the provision for the grave where there will be neither a friend
nor a helper. This is the high aim and purpose of i`tikaf,
which is the specialty of the most sublime part of Ramadan, that
is, the last ten days.
Similarly,
Shah Waliullah remarks in his Hujjatullahi
Al-Balighah—
Since
i`tikaf in the mosque is a means to the attainment of peace
of mind and purification of the heart, and it affords an excellent
opportunity for forging an identity with the angels and having a
share in the blissfulness of Laylat Al-Qadr (the Night of Decree),
and for devoting oneself to prayer and meditation, Allah has set
apart the last ten days of the month of Ramadan for it and made it
a sunnah for His pious and virtuous slaves.
The
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) always observed i`tikaf
and the Muslims have, on the whole, adhered to it. All the
schools of jurisprudence are agreed that i`tikaf is not
obligatory but a sunnah (recommended act). According to the Hanafi
school, it is a sunnah mu’akkadah (according to the
Hanfis, sunnah mu’akkadah is a religious practice which,
though not obligatory, was observed regularly by the Prophet and
one is liable to be questioned for neglecting it without a valid
reason) and sunnah kifayah (meaning such religious
practices which, if they are observed by a few persons, are
considered to have been observed by all). It has become a regular
feature of the month of Ramadan and a confirmed practice with the
devout and the faithful. `A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with
her) relates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regularly
observed i`tikaf during the last ten days of Ramadan till
the end of his life. After him, his wives followed (Al-Bukhari and
Muslim).
It
is related by Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that
the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) observed i`tikaf for
ten days every year in the month of Ramadan. In the year of his
death he did it for twenty days (Al-Bukhari).
