As-salamu-alaykum brothers and sisters in islam as we are about to enter the final third and the most important part of ramadan in which muslims stay in the mosque for the last 10 days in search of the lailatul qadr I will propose that we learn from each other from this thread the importance, benefits, and the rules and regulations of itikhaf. May Allah accept all our efforts as an act of ibadah

Amin.
Wa alaykum salam

deols: SalamuaLaykum.

As we all know, the ‘last ten days of ramadan’ is here!, the most important part of which is a night, the Laylatul Qadr, a night greater than a thousand months !We, as Muslims are encouraged to seek this night by staying in seclusion,  This seclusion is I’tikaaf. This write-up is aimed at providing the basic things to know of I’tikaaf in order to get the full benefit of it. May Allah help us!

I’tikaaf

I’tikaaf literally means to stick to something and block out every other thing. In this context, it means seclusion, intending intimacy with Allah.
It is Mustahab(desired) but becomes Waajib(compulsory) on anyone who made a vow to perform it.
It can be performed at any time of the year but is of much importance in Ramadan because of the seek for the Laylatul Qadr.

Conditions for I’tikaaf

    It has to be in a mosque.

    It may or may not be accompanied by fasting.

    The least period for it is a night but is best done for the whole of the last ten days.

    The best time to enter it is after solatul subh and the prophet would leave it after subh on eid day.

what nullifies I’tikaaf

intimate intercourse (…but do not associate with your wives while you are in retreat in the mosques,  Q.2:187)

Desirable acts

    All the acts of worship are encouraged at this time- voluntary prayers, Qur’an recitation, repentance.

    Give charity, increase in good deeds.

    The prophet especially taught us to say-Allahuma innaka afuwwun tuhibbul afwa fafuanni.

Don’t forget

This is the time to ask Allah for all the things you want. Don’t be too shy or reluctant  to ask and don’t you think your sins can prevent you from asking. Remember, he knows you in and out and he is the oft forgiving, most merciful!

WHat Allah says

[img]http://ammeerrahh.files./2011/08/lailat-qdr.jpg[/img]

3- the night of power is better than a thousand months

SuratulQadr(97):1-5

*

jazakumullah

deols:
The best time to enter it is after solatul subh(say, on the 21st day of ramadan) and the prophet would leave it after subh on eid day.

Salaam
Can you clarify the above?
My opinion is that the mutakif wants to be in itkaf during laylatu qadar. If so, that night would have passed if he delays till the morning of 21st of Ramadan
Eg For those who started fasting on Wed, today (Mon) is 20th of Ramadan and the first (21st ) of the last 10 nights within which laylatul qadar falls begins this evening
I would believe that people who want to have 10 nights should start this evening before sunset rather than tomorrow (Tue)
I know that Aisha reported that the Prophet (SAW) started after fajr, but majority of scholars assumed that he either entered the mosque in the morning of 20th or he started itkaf before sunset but did not enter the place of itkaf until after fajr

Allah knows best

BetaThings:

Salaam
Can you clarify the above?
My opinion is that the mutakif wants to be in itkaf during laylatu qadar. If so, that night would have passed if he delays till the morning of 21st of Ramadan
Eg For those who started fasting on Wed, today (Mon) is 20th of Ramadan and the first (21st ) of the last 10 nights within which laylatul qadar falls begins this evening
I would believe that people who want to have 10 nights should start this evening before sunset rather than tomorrow (Tue)
I know that Aisha reported that the Prophet (SAW) started after fajr, but majority of scholars assumed that he either entered the mosque in the morning of 20th or he started itkaf before sunset but did not enter the place of itkaf until after fajr

Allah knows best

That is it.

But I agree with what you said. since night comes before the day, it is better to go in before the fajr of the 21st.

Wa alaykum salam.

Hallloo. Happy sallah in advance. Djod. So i dey fp today. No be moi moi. Which numba i b sef

Tnx

i will say jazakumullah khaeran for the reminder.i pray ALLAH accept our deeds in this holy month as an act of ibadah.ameen.

Salam, am planning 2 wake up around 2:am and worship til sahur time,is dat ok? and can i observe some rakats?

@deols and better things
Jazakum lai kanran for d post and d observations. May Allah SWT Rahman continue upon us all, amin
Ramadan kareem

deols: Amin.
Wa alaykum salam

جزاك اللهُ خيراً

Alhamdulillah may Allah bless us with all the blessings of this Holly Month and give us ability to worship.. Amin

Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: I asked the Messenger of Allah: ‘O Messenger of Allah, if I know what night is the night of Qadr, what should I say during it?’ He said: ‘Say: O Allah, You are pardoning and You love to pardon, so pardon me.’ “(Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and Tirmidhi).The transliteration of this Dua is “Allahumma innaka `afuwwun tuhibbul `afwa fa`fu `annee”

jazakumullah

Paretomaster: Salam, am planning 2 wake up around 2:am and worship til sahur time,is dat ok? and can i observe some rakats?

wa alaykum salam. I believe it is okay. But you may not call that i'tikaaf.

ALLAHU AkBAR islam is beautiful, thank u bro.

Lailatul Qadr (the Night of Power) is greater than 1,000 months (in which there‘s no Lailatul Qadr); therefore, performing act of Ibadah in it is greater than performing Ibadah in 1,000 months (which is about 82 years)... This unique “promo“ must be sought after! May Allah assist our endeavour; may He accept our Ibadah & grant our prayers, ameen.

deols:

wa alaykum salam. I believe it is okay. But you may not call that i'tikaaf.

Thanks sis, wat time should i start d Itikaf, cos i dnt want 2 miss d night of majesty. Sombody put me thru abeg.

deols: Amin.
Wa alaykum salam

but in case one has a masjid inside one's compound, can such a person be doing the 'tikaf inside the masjid and be shuttling btw the masjid n d one's ows or it is strictly inside the masjid?

Paretomaster: Thanks sis, wat time should i start d Itikaf, cos i dnt want 2 miss d night of majesty. Sombody put me thru abeg.

You can observe your normal, usual night prayers(tahajjud) and that would be good. But what is better is the itikaf which takes you out of your house. You can use a mosque where a large congregation prays the five daily prayer or a bigger mosque where jumuah prayers are said. The bigger the congregation, the better.

Makka is the best place for i'tikaaf. Although it is called umrah(lesser hajj).


Now my brother, I dont know your situation or where you are.I dont know exactly how to help you. If you can be prepared for i'tikaaf, the best is to start tonight until the day of eid.

But if you cannot do that, you can stay in your house, wake up in the night and pray.

Pray the 13 rakaah of tahajjud.

Say the prayer of forgiveness posted above(several times)

Say other adhkar

Recite the quran

And ask Allah for whatever you want.

May Allah make it easy for you and everyone of us. Amin.

usefaith:
but in case one has a masjid inside one's compound, can such a person be doing the 'tikaf inside the masjid and be shuttling btw the masjid n d one's ows or it is strictly inside the masjid?

Do people from outside pray in that mosque? I dont know much about how qualified your family mosque is.

But if you would be shuttling, it is just as I explained above. It is like you having tahajjud and not itikaf(seclusion).

But if your mosque is qualified (I need more learned people on that) you can get people to do whatever you want done for you while you STAY in the mosque.

deols:

You can observe your normal, usual night prayers(tahajjud) and that would be good. But what is better is the itikaf which takes you out of your house. You can use a mosque where a large congregation prays the five daily prayer or a bigger mosque where jumuah prayers are said. The bigger the congregation, the better.

Makka is the best place for i'tikaaf. Although it is called umrah(lesser hajj).


Now my brother, I dont know your situation or where you are.I dont know exactly how to help you. If you can be prepared for i'tikaaf, the best is to start tonight until the day of eid.

But if you cannot do that, you can stay in your house, wake up in the night and pray.

Pray the 13 rakaah of tahajjud.

Say the prayer of forgiveness posted above(several times)

Say other adhkar

Recite the quran

And ask Allah for whatever you want.

May Allah make it easy for you and everyone of us. Amin.

thanks, i wil b on a nite shft,and am starting 2nite, i just want 2 kw d exact time, so dat i cn observe it in d office mosque. D exact time 2 start and 2 end.

wa alaykum salam. Tank yu.

Paretomaster: thanks, i wil b on a nite shft,and am starting 2nite, i just want 2 kw d exact time, so dat i cn observe it in d office mosque. D exact time 2 start and 2 end.

From after ishai prayer until the call for subh prayer.

I found this prayer in one of the books given to us at last year hajj. May Allah s.w.t accept our supplications. Amin.

O Allah, I ask You pardon and well-being within my religion, my worldly life, my family and my property. O Allah, conceal my faults and calm my fears. O Allah, protect me from in front of me and from behind, on my right and on my left and from above me. And I seek refuge in Your greatness from being slain from below.

Grant me soundness in my body; O Allah, grant me soundness in my hearing; O Allah, grant me soundness in my sight. There is no god but You. O Allah, I seek refuge in You from disbelief, from poverty and from the punishment of the grave. There is no god but You. O Allah, You are my Lord; there is no god but You. You created me and I am Your servant, and I uphold Your covenant and [my] promise to You as much as I am able. I seek refuge in You from the evil I have done. I acknowledge before You Your favor upon me and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me. For indeed, none can forgive sins except You. O Allah, I seek refuge in You from anxiety and sorrow, I seek refuge in You from inability and laziness, and from stinginess and coward¬ice, and I seek refuge in You from being overcome by debt or oppressed by men. O Allah, make the start of this day amendment, its middle prosperity and its end success. And I ask of You the good of both this world and the Hereafter, O most merciful of the merciful.

O Allah, I ask of You [my] acceptance after an occurrence, a pleasant life after death, the bliss of looking at Your noble countenance and the longing to meet You without harmful adversity or having been misled. And I seek refuge in You from doing wrong or being wronged, from transgressing or being transgressed against and from committing an offense or sin that you will not forgive.

O Allah, I seek refuge in You from being returned to decrepit old age. O Allah, guide me to the best deeds and morals; none guides to the best of them except You. And divert from me the evil ones; none can divert them from me except You.

O Allah, make good for me my religion, make my home spacious and bless for me my provision. O Allah, I seek refuge in You from harshness, heedlessness, humiliation and need. And I seek refuge in You from disbelief, disobedience, schism and showing off. And I seek refuge in You from becoming deaf and dumb, and from leprosy and the worst illnesses.

O Allah, grant my soul consciousness of You and purify it; You are the best to purify it. You are its patron and its Lord. O Allah, I seek refuge in You from knowledge that has no benefit, from a heart that is not humble, from a soul that is not satisfied and from a supplication that is not answered.

O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done and from the evil of what I have not done. O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the cessation of Your favors, from a change in the well-being You have granted, from Your sudden vengeance and from all that angers You.

O Allah, I seek refuge in You from destruction and decline and from drowning, being burned and senility. And I seek refuge in You from being struck by Satan at the time of death. And I seek refuge in You from a lethal snake bite and I seek refuge in You from greed becoming characteristic.

O Allah, I seek refuge in You from bad manners, deeds, desires and illnesses. And I seek refuge in You from overwhelming debt, the oppression of men and the malicious rejoicing of enemies.

O Allah, Make good for me my religion, which is the safeguard of my affairs, make good for me my world within which is my livelihood, make good for me my afterlife to which is my return. And make life for me an increase in all that is good, and make death for me relief from all that is evil. My Lord, assist me and do not assist [others] against me, and support me and do not support [others] against me. Guide me and facilitate guidance for me.

O Allah, Make me one who constantly remembers You, is constantly grateful to You, constantly obedient to You and constantly returning to You. My Lord, accept my repentance, wash away my sin, respond to my supplication, confirm my evidence, guide my heart, direct my tongue and remove resentment from my bosom.

O Allah, I ask of You firmness in the matter and determination in integrity, and I ask of You gratitude for Your favors and ability to worship You well. I ask of You a sound heart and a truthful tongue. And I ask of You from the good that You know and seek refuge in You from the evil that You know. And I seek Your forgiveness for that which You know, and You are the knower of the unseen.

O Allah, I inspire me with wisdom and protect me from the evil of myself. O Allah, I ask of You ability to do good, to cease what is wrong, to love the poor, and that You forgive me and have mercy on me. And when You intend a trial for Your servants, take me to You in death unaffected by it.

O Allah, I ask of You Your love and the love of those who love You and the love of every deed that brings me closer to You. O Allah, I ask of You the best request and the best supplication, the best success and the best reward. Keep me firm, make my balance heavy and my faith true, raise my position, accept my prayers and worship, and forgive my sins. And I ask of You the highest degrees in Paradise.

O Allah, I ask of You the beginnings of good and its endings, all it contains, its first, its last, its apparent and unapparent aspects, and the highest degrees in Paradise.

O Allah, I ask You to raise my repute, remove my burden, purify my heart, guard my chastity and forgive my sin.

O Allah, I ask You to bless my hearing, my sight, my form, my character, my family, my life, my work and to accept my good deeds. And I ask of You the highest degrees in Paradise.

O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the distress of trial, from the lowest level of misery, from the perversity of fate and , from the malicious rejoicing of enemies. O Allah, turner of hearts, make my heart firm in Your religion. O Allah, director of hearts, direct our hearts to obedience of You.

O Allah, Give us increase and not decrease, honor us and do not despise us, grant us and do not deprive us, prefer us and do not prefer [others] over us. O Allah, make good the results of all our affairs and protect us from disgrace in this world and punishment in the Hereafter.

O Allah, apportion to us a fear of You that will prevent us from disobeying You, and obedience to You that will convey us to Your Paradise, and certain faith that will lighten for us the calamities of this world. And grant us enjoyment of our hearing, sight and abilities as long as You grant us life, and make it remaining with us. And let our revenge be on those who have oppressed us, and support us against our enemies. Let not the world be our greatest concern or the limit of our knowledge. Let not our calamity be in our religion, and give not authority over us, due to our sins, to those who do not fear You and will show us no mercy.

O Allah, I ask of You deeds conducive to Your mercy and which invite Your forgiveness, and the benefit of every act of righteousness, freedom from every sin, the attainment of Paradise and escape from the Fire.

O Allah, I Leave not for us a sin but that You have forgiven it, or a fault but that You have concealed it, or a problem but that You have relieved it, or a debt but that You have discharged it, or any need from the needs of this world and the next that You approve and is good for us but that You have fulfilled it, O most merciful of the merciful.

O Allah, ask of You mercy from Yourself which will guide my heart, consolidate my ability, amend my affair, guard my secret, elevate my reputation, show me in a good light, purify my deeds, suggest to me integrity, repel from me ordeals and protect me from all evil. ,

O Allah, I ask of You success on the Day of Judgment, a happy life, the position of the martyrs, the company of the prophets, and victory over enemies.

O Allah, I ask of You soundness of faith and faith with good morals and success followed by prosperity, and from You, mercy, well-being, forgiveness and approval.

O Allah, I ask of You health, restraint, good morals and acceptance of Your decree. a Allah, I seek refuge in You from the evil of myself and from the evil of every creature under Your control. My Lord is on a straight path.

O Allah, Indeed, You hear my words and see my position and know my secret and what I make known. Nothing about me is hidden from You, and I am a miserable one in need, calling for help and protection, apprehensive and afraid, acknowledging to You my sin. I ask You as one in need, pleading as a humble sinner, calling upon You with the supplication of one who is fearful and blind, one who has placed his neck before You, humbled his body to You and put his nose in the dust for You. May Allah bestow blessings and peace upon our prophet, Muhammed, and upon his family and companions.

deols:

From after ishai prayer until the call for subh prayer.

Thank u sis, guess i wil hav 2 manage frm like 2 am for d next 5days wen i wil change shft.

deols:

Do people from outside pray in that mosque? I dont know much about how qualified your family mosque is.

But if you would be shuttling, it is just as I explained above. It is like you having tahajjud and not itikaf(seclusion).

But if your mosque is qualified (I need more learned people on that) you can get people to do whatever you want done for you while you STAY in the mosque.

jazakillahu for that.

Paretomaster: Thank u sis, guess i wil hav 2 manage frm like 2 am for d next 5days wen i wil change shft.

That is okay. It doesnt have to be the whole of the night.

The last part of the night is the best.