معتکف کے لیے اجرِ خاص

It is narrated from Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said concerning those who observe i'tikaf: "One who sits in i'tikaf is protected from sins (because of the i'tikaf and because of being confined in the mosque), and all those good deeds are recorded for him which one who does good performs (and which he cannot perform because of the i'tikaf)."

I'tikaf is from 'ukuf, which means to sit and remain fixed in one place. In the terminology of the Shari'ah, to sit in the House of Allah Most High with the intention of i'tikaf for a special connection with Allah Most High is called i'tikaf. The reality of i'tikaf is just this: that, cutting off connection from every side, one should — in order to join and strengthen one's connection with Allah Most High — attach oneself to Allah alone, sit at His door, and, apart from all else, in solitude remain occupied in His worship, remembrance and reflection.

Allah Most High has described those who sit in i'tikaf in the Qur'an thus:

"And We commanded Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and Isma'il (peace be upon him): Purify My House for those who circumambulate, those who sit in i'tikaf, and those who bow and prostrate (that is, those who pray)." (Al-Baqarah — 125)

In this blessed hadith too, two benefits are stated for those who observe i'tikaf. One is that, because of the i'tikaf, one is protected from sins; for at times such occasions of sin and slipping arise that a person falls into sins, but by lying in the mosque with the intention of i'tikaf, protection largely remains. The second benefit is that when a servant, with the intention of i'tikaf, confines himself in the mosque, then although he greatly increases his good deeds by way of worship, remembrance and recitation, he is also compelled to forgo certain great good deeds — for example, he cannot visit and serve the sick, which are acts of very great reward; he cannot rush to the aid of some helpless person, a poor person, an orphan, or a widow; he cannot give the ritual bath to a deceased person, which, when done with sincerity and the intention of reward, is a matter of very great reward; likewise he cannot go out to take part in the funeral prayer, nor go to the graveyard with the deceased, at each and every step of which many pardons are granted and good deeds are recorded. But in this hadith glad tidings are given to the one observing i'tikaf: that in his account and in his record of deeds, by the command of Allah Most High, all those good deeds too are recorded which, because of the i'tikaf, he is compelled to forgo and to which he was accustomed.

SubhanAllah! How fortunate are those people who, through i'tikaf, save themselves from sins and sit attached to Allah Most High, and along with that those good deeds too become their portion which, being confined in the state of i'tikaf, they cannot perform. May Allah Most High grant every person the ability to attain this mighty blessedness at least once in his life. Amin!