اعتکاف

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to observe i‘tikaf in the last ten days of Ramadan. (Bukhari and Muslim)

In the sacred Law, Allah has ordained a special seclusion and solitude, and within a long span He has prescribed a short span for this seclusion — namely, the last ten days of Ramadan al-Mubarak. And He named this seclusion “i‘tikaf,” not “seclusion (khalwah).”

In Ramadan the Messenger of Allah’s ﷺ eagerness for worship would increase to the utmost degree, and in the last days of Ramadan he ﷺ would especially engage in the worship of Allah. In the last ten days of Ramadan he ﷺ would free himself entirely for Allah and go into i‘tikaf in the mosque. The reality of i‘tikaf is this: that when the servant, with humility and lowliness, comes and stays at the door of his Master, casts all worldly tasks behind him, and becomes absorbed in His remembrance solely to please his Lord — that is, when the servant, turning away from everything, attaches himself to Allah, falls at His threshold (that is, in the mosque), and busies himself in His remembrance and worship — then Allah forgives his sins and favours the one in i‘tikaf with countless rewards; because when He is pleased and pours the rain of His grace upon the servant, no one can estimate His gifts and bounties.

By making i‘tikaf, the servant expresses this reality: that his true relationship is with none but his Lord; that both his open life and his seclusion are for Allah alone; and that in every state he seeks only Allah’s pleasure. In reality the very spirit of i‘tikaf is this: that the servant becomes able to free himself entirely for Allah. In fasting and i‘tikaf, in both aim and act, there is found the utmost degree of correspondence and harmony; this is why fasting has been made an essential part of i‘tikaf and Ramadan has been considered the best time for i‘tikaf. To give further strength to the distinctiveness of fasting, in the ancient Law even keeping silent had been made part of the fast; but Allah made this matter easy in the Law of His beloved Prophet ﷺ and did not make it part of the fast.

The excellences of i‘tikaf are boundless. One of them is that the servant frees his heart from worldly matters and turns it toward the Generous Master; the heart holds the remembrance of Allah and attends to Him alone. It is as though, in a way, he severs his link with the world and falls into the house ascribed to Allah — that is, the mosque. For the believer the mosque is like a great, strong fortress, especially in the state of i‘tikaf, because Satan is unable to lure and lead him away to any place of sin. From the outward state of the one in i‘tikaf it appears as though some needy beggar has come with his hand outstretched in petition at the court of the greatest of kings, and thinks: “Until my Master grants me forgiveness, I will not raise my head,” and thinks: “Whatever I ask I shall receive; when I seek forgiveness I shall be forgiven.” By a single glance of His grace all their affairs of this world and the Hereafter are set right.

May Allah grant us all the enabling-grace to perform an act of worship like i‘tikaf, to sit in His lofty court, and to partake of His mercies and favours — so that we too may turn away from this worldliness and, for a few days, sit in Allah’s court, have our sins forgiven, and rise only after pleasing Him. He is the One who seeks occasions to bestow favour; it is only we who sit heedless!