3. SPIRITUAL RETREAT (I’TIKAF)
SPIRITUAL RETREAT (I’TIKAF)
It is sunnah, at any time, to make spiritual retreat (i’tikaf) in the mosque.
LAYLAT AL-QADR
Spiritual retreat (i’tikaf) is especially recommended in Ramadan, particularly in the last ten days of it, seeking Laylat al-Qadr (lit. “the Night of the Divine Decree”) (which is, as Allah Most High says,
“better than a thousand months” (Quran 97:3),
meaning that spiritual works therein are better than works of a thousand months Jacking Laylat ai-QadI. Indicating its excellence, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
“He who prays on Laylat al-Qadr in faith and expectation of its reward will be forgiven his previous sins”).
Laylat al-Qadr could be on any night of Ramadan (or any other month of the year, according to some, It probably occurs within the last ten nights, more likely on the odd numbered ones (remembering that the night of an Islamic date comes before the day of that date), the twenty-first and twenty-third of which are the likeliest (though most scholars hold it to be the twenty-seventh (Mughni al-muhtaj ita ma’rifa ma’ani alfaz al-Minhaj (y73), 1.450). On Laylat aI-Qadr it is recommended to frequently repeat, “0 Allah, You are oft-relenting and love to forgive, so forgive me.”
HOW TO PERFORM SPIRITUAL RETREAT
At minimum, spiritual retreat (i’tikaf) consists of:
a) staying, with the intention of spiritual retreat, for more than the least amount of time that can be considered repose (i.e. a moment);
b) while being Muslim, sane, conscious, and free of major ritual impurity (i.e. of menstruation, postnatal bleeding, and major impurity (janaba);
c) in a mosque, even when this stay is no more than entering the periphery and then leaving by the same entrance (taraddud), though to merely pass through is insufficient,
Optimally, the spiritual ‘retreat (i’tikaf) should be accompanied by fasting, take place in the Friday congregational mosque (because of the size of the group prayer therein, and so as not to have to leave to attend the Friday prayer), and be no less than a day,
VOWING SPIRITUAL RETREAT IN PARTICULAR MOSQUES
If one vows to make spiritual retreat (i’tikaf) in:
1. al-Masjid al-Haram (n: in Mecca);
2. al·Masjid al-Aqsa (n: in Jerusalem);
3. or Masjid aI-Medina;
then the vow cannot be fulfilled elsewhere. Spiritual retreat (i’tikaf) in al-Masjid al-Haram fulfills a vow to make spiritual retreat in either of the other two (al-Aqsa or Medina), but not vice versa (they do not fulfill a vow to make a spiritual retreat in al-Masjid al-Haram). Spiritual retreat in Masjid ai-Medina fulfills a vow to do so in al-Masjid al-Aqsa, but not vice versa. If one vows to make a spiritual retreat in any mosque besides these three, the vow can be fulfilled in any mosque whatever (since none besides these three is superior to any other).
Spiritual retreat (i’tikaf) is invalidated by lovemaking and by orgasm as a result of touching.
VOWS TO SPEND A CERTAIN CONSECUTIVE PERIOD IN SPIRITUAL RETREAT
If one vows to make spiritual retreat for a consecutive period, then one is obligated to do so. The consecutiveness of such a period is not nullified by leaving the mosque for something necessary such as eating (even when it is possible to do so in the mosque), drinking (provided it is not possible to do so in the mosque), using the lavatory, attending to an illness, the onset of a menstrual period, or similar things; though one’s spiritual retreat is interrupted by leaving the mosque to visit a sick person, perform a funeral prayer Janaza), or attend the Friday prayer Jumu’a
Touching another with sexual desire is unlawful for someone in spiritual retreat (i’tikaf).
It is not permissible for a wife to make spiritual retreat without her husband’s permission.
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