The basic aim of I’tikaf is that a Muslim
continues at the door of the Almighty.
By being secluded in an area of the mosque,
cutting himself aloof from the world and devoting
his time wholly to prayer and worship. It is the
worship of the favourite worship of the creation
of the Lord. Evidently, no time could be more
appropriate for itikaaf than the month of
Ramadaan, especially it’s ten days.

In Arabic seclusion (‘itkaaf) means staying on
something.
In Sharia (Sacred Law) it means residing
(staying) with the intention of seclusion in a
mosque where group prayer (jama’at) is
performed.

It is related on the authority of Ayesha that
“The Prophet of Allah observed I’tikaf in the last
ten days of Ramadan, till the end of his life.”
There are different types of seclusion, such as
Necessary, Communal Emphasized Sunnah and
recommend (optional) seclusions
Types of ‘Itikaaf

1. Necessary (waajib) – this is seclusion
where a person vowed her would and is
accompanied by fast

2. Communal emphasised (Sunnah mu’akkada/
something the prophet did a lot and emphasised
much)) – this is fasting in the last ten days of
Ramadaan

3. Recommended (nafl) – this is any other
situation of secluding oneself on entering
the mosque for brief moment.
These seclusions ends/is broken when leaving
the masjid
For you, you will be most likely doing a
recommended ‘itikaaf (sunnah) or nafl.
In the sunnah fast, it starts on the last ten days
of Ramadan, here meaning the 20 of Ramadan
and finishes as soon as there is notice of ‘Eid the
next day (the moon is sighted). Thus it can be 9
or 10 days.nights/
You can leave it anytime,
Conditions of ‘Itikaaf (for men)

4. One is secluded within the congregational
prayer area of a mosque.

5. One has made the intention to stay in Gods
house secluded to worshipping him for 10
days and night (Sunnah ‘itikaaf) , or how
long one wishes(nafl ‘itikaaf)
Things that invalidate ‘itikaaf (the breakers) (for
our purposes these are listed)
Leaving any part of the masjid with out no
reason, this means any are that is not part
of the masjid as specified by the masjid to
be a congregational prayer place.
These areas are the wudu are, the kitchen, the
shoe area the, stairs and stairway, the corridors,
the side rooms, and actual outside are
Note; If your doing nafl ‘itikaaf then you
can just make intention and come back if
you want to do nafl ‘itikaaf, but if your
‘itikaaf was a sunnah one it is broken
although you can still do a nafl one, which
still attains much benefits such as intense
worship and possibly finding the night of
Decree.
Becoming insane or unconscious.

Things that are detested (makruaat) in ‘itikaaf

1. Observing silence believing it to be a
devotional act/worship – makruu
tazeeeh

2. trading (regardless of ‘itikaaf is highly detested) makru.

Jazak Allahu khairan

jazakallah khaeran

The Do’s and Don’ts of ‘Itikaaf

What you should do;
Do Have a right intention, think what is your
intention if its bad or seen good renew your
intention with the right one, namely that
you are doing ‘itikaaf to worship Allah more
etc

UTILIZE YOUR TIME, EVERY SECOND; make the
most out of it
Do bring duvet, a duvet, something to rest upon
(maybe another duvet) and any worship, Qur’aan etc The focus is
not on comfort but…
Do occupy yourself in constant
remembrance of Allah. Whether it be reading
the astounding words of Allah Himself or,
even reading on some Islamic knowledge.
Do try to sleep separate to your friend
(even if it means less space) as it can lead
to excessive chatter

Do Keep talk to a minimum/
Do Help fellow muttakifs (those doing
‘itikaaf)

Do Keep yourself to yourself except when
needing to learn something
Structure your time, you only have 10 or
none days which are in fact really small,
once they are gone, their gone.

Do Produce a plan (either in your head or
even in writing, preferably brief)
Usually the brothers join together to at least read
some portions if not all of the Qur’an (khatam)
which is an excellent way to accomplish some
worship
Do Try Stick to timetable and predicted
worships
Do pray extra prayers, (such as nafl,
repentance prayers, make-up prayers and
so forth)
Do read more of the book of God
( Qur’aan)

Do talk or teach (to) others about the deen
(but not where it construes time and
involves joking and laughing)…
Do Try to pray tahajud night vigil prayer (last
portion of the night)
Do Treat everyone with utmost respect
especially if they give respect to you status
Do be respectable to each other especially
those older and have mercy (kindness) on
those younger.

Do be kind and mannered if your fellow
muttakif, is disturbing you(such as
breathing loudly in sleep or loud speech)

Consult the caretaker or the imam for what
action to take. Don’t take it into you own
hands without seeking guidance first.

Do respect peoples time and tasks, such as
sleep and so reduce the sound of your
reciting/speaking accordingly
Do be promt and ready for prayers.

What you should not/can not do (can weaken
itikaaf);
If someone happened to do something to you
see or know as wrong, Do not ‘tell people’
or tell them off, rather, seek proper means
to let them know and focus on yourself
first.

Don’t bring too many items
Don’t bring snacks or keep to a bare
minimum, it is not a picnic!

Snack away, one should not bring snacks in
Don’t eat loudly especially when in the
secluded areas
Don’t waste time.
Don’t chat away and giggle. Seclusion is
the opposite of social!
Don’t talk loud especially in secluded read
and when brother sleeping or in the deep
night

Don’t ‘ over-help’ people
Don’t talk to people in the wudu area,
stairs & its area, side rooms and shoe area except very necessary.

Don’t over eat, it produces excessive sleep,
too much burping, smells, (disturbance to
fellow muttakifs), less worship, less
concentration and so forth
Don’t wait around
Don’t swear – obvious sin
Don’t talk about worldly(talk a part from
Allah and things related) things, chat
especially such as backbiting, many forms
of talk can be a sin especially in the house
of Allah.

Don’t invite people to your secluded area
for useless things such as for ‘chit chat’
and to ‘show them around’
Phone anybody except in necessity

Do not create little groups or…
If…Don’t play any nashid or Qur’aan loud
or on loudspeaker (if you happen to have
such devices)
Don’t get into arguments, quarrels,
excessive talk,
Don’t spend extra time in when in areas
which outside mosque but which a
necessary, should not prolong stay after his
need is fulfilled.

Don’t try solving problems without the
necessary means
Don’t feel extremely sad, if you think you
haven’t done enough worship etc, as Allah
is The most Kind the Provider and The
Forgiver.

Important Note:
Some of the ‘ don’ts’ can get you into trouble,
with yourself, masjid comers, masjid helpers and
most importantly Allah.

If you exceed the boundaries of respect for the
masjid and its residents (i.e fellow mutakifs)
you may be given warnings and ultimately may
lead to you being asked to leave from ‘itikaaf
which ultimately is a loss to none but yourself./
Make use of the blessed scared moments and
nights in the house of the one who stood you up,
Allah.


Barakallahufeek


Source: https://beautnotes.