seclusion in the mosque

7/30/2019 Seclusion in the Mosque

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Written by Mufti Muhammad Khan Qadiri

Translated by Muhammad Muzamil Khan


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Translators Introduction

During Ramadan 1999 when I was performingItikafinMasjid Sharif Al-Firdous, I was instructed by Hadrat Sahib to

translate the Urdu booklet into English. In 2000, a thousand

copies of the booklet were printed and distributed free. I am

now uploading this booklet for the benefit of the people who

wish to performItikaf.

Muzamil, 6th

December 2012


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Preface

From my childhood I have had the opportunity to sit in the

company of people doing I'tikaf (seclusion in the mosque);

what I saw in the people doingI'tikafin my childhood is not tobe found in the people doingI'tikafnowadays. For example, in

my childhood I saw that the people doingI'tikaf:

1 Never spoke to anybody.

2 Remained inpardah (concealed themselves).

3 When they came out they used to cover their face.

4 During the days ofI'tikafthey seemed strange.

But nowadays the people doingI'tikaf,

1 Have gatherings.

2 Thepardah (screen) is abandoned.

3 They haveIftar (breakfast parties).

4 Meetings take place between friends and colleagues.

5 Instead of reciting the Quran and remembering Allahthey occupy themselves with pleasantries.

6 I've seen people arrange gatherings whilst they were in

I'tikaf.

7 They have question & answer sessions.

8 Reading the newspaper has become a part ofI'tikaf.

9 Instead of becoming familiar with Allah, it is

considered more important to be kept informed of the

affairs of the nation.

10 Even mobile phones are kept.

Noticing this state of affairs, I felt a need to write something on

this important act of worship and request the people doing

I'tikafnot to waste their precious time.


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The Purpose of Seclusion in the Mosque

The person doing seclusion (Mutakif) in the mosque must be

aware of the purpose and the spirit of performing seclusion, so

that he bears this in mind at every moment. We now cite two

pious people whose sayings will highlight the essence of

seclusion.

(1) Shaykh Ibn Rajab writes concerningI'tikaf,

The person doingI'tikafmakes it an obligation uponhimself to obey Allah and to remember Him. He

distances himself from every action that would

occupy him other than Allah, and directs his heart

and mind towards his Lord and attaining His

nearness, until his aim and purpose is nothing but

seeking the pleasure of Allah.

He further states,

The reality and essence ofI'tikaf is that a person

severs all relations from creation and clings to his

Lord and as the person's knowledge and awareness

grows, he becomes detached from creation and

attaches himself to Allahta'alacompletely.

Then he writes about a saint who stayed alone in his house and

occupied himself in the remembrance of Allah. When asked if

he ever felt lonely he replied,

"How can I feel lonely when He (Allah) says that,

'he who remembers Me, I am with him."


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(2) Imam Ibn Hajar Makki says precisely the same thing:

The objective ofI'tikafis to sever all ties from people

and connect with God and become totally His.

Therefore, the purpose of seclusion in the mosque is that the

person doing I'tikaf should consider himself to be in the

Presence of Allah at each moment, and sever every tie from

people and try to establish a relationship with his generous

Lord.

Three hundred and fifty days of the year were shared between

God and people. At least these ten days should only serve to

establish a strong connection with God. In fact in the case of us

sinners, it is a matter of reconnecting with God, as we are very

selfish and heedless people. If God through his kindness has

taken us out of the worldly responsibilities and made us sit at

His doorstep, we should at least make every attempt and turn

wholeheartedly towards Him.

The Prophet's Endeavour

At this point bear in mind the endeavour and effort the

Prophet made in his worship in the last ten days of

(Ramadan).

Umm al M'umin Sayyida AishahRadi Allah anha narrates,

When the last days of Ramadan approached,

Rasulullah made a resolute intention to stay awake

at night and also to awaken his family as well.

(Bukhari Sharif)

She relates,


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Rasulullah used to excel in his endeavour more in

the last ten days than at any other time. (Muslim

Sharif)

She relates,

Rasulullah used to combine prayers with sleep in

the first twenty days and when the last ten days

came he used to make a greater commitment in his

prayers. (Musnad Ahmad)

This means that in these ten days Allah's beloved used to

make even a greater effort in his worship, and this is the person

whose heart is always connected with God. Allah has given

him this rank by his grace, yet he never gave up hard work and

effort.

Imam Ghazali explains about this stage when he writes that,

In the beginning the Prophet used to withdrawand isolate himself in Mount Hira until the light of

his prophethood was strengthened so that the

people did not veil him from God, although he was

physically with the people but his heart was always

facing God.

What should theMutakifDo?

In the light of the Quran and Sunnah,we now highlight those

actions that can help us achieve our purpose inI'tikaf.


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Seclusion and Solitude

You have read previously that whilst in I'tikafa person severs

ties from all else and comes to mosque and thus to the door of

Allah. It is imperative for him to be in seclusion and solitude so

that he can wholeheartedly devote his attention to Allah. If

after all this he leaves the company of His Lord for the people,

than what benefit is there for him being inI'tikaf?

It is for this reason that Imam Malik and Imam Ahmad bin

Hanbal have given a fatwa (religious ruling) stating that aperson should stop teaching whilst inI'tikafas it might distract

him from Allah.

Shaykh Ibn Rajab writes,

It is inappropriate to socialise with people, even to

teach the knowledge of the Quran, but it ispreferable that one should isolate himself for the

sole purpose of supplication,Dhikr and prayers.

Shaykh Abd al-Razzaq writes,

There are some fuqha (jurists) that consider it

undesirable to teach the Quran, hadith and fiqhduring I'tikaf. The reason being that it means

meeting people. Consequently one is occupied with

these activities and hence moves away from the

worship of Allah. This is according to the famous

verdict of Imam Malik and Imam Ahmad as

reported by Ibn Qudama.


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Shaykh Ibn Bahira explains,

The wisdom behind this verdict is that whilst

teaching the Quran, the teacher's attention will

turn towards the student and he will be unable toreflect on the inner meanings during the study of

the Quran, and thus his attention towards Allah

will also decrease.

If you read about the I'tikaf of the Holy Prophet you will

realise that he did not socialise with people, he used to isolate

himself as not to be distracted by others.

The Way of the Pious

In this respect it is well worth considering the practice of these

two pious people.

Imam Malik:

Shaykh Ibn Hikam describes the practice of Imam Malik

during Ramadan:

When the month of Ramadan approached, Imam

Malik used to leave the teaching of hadith and the

gathering of people of knowledge and concentrateon reciting the Holy Quran.

The 'people of knowledge' from whom he isolated himself,

were men of Allah. But during this time he preferred to be with

His Lord. Do such learned people exist amongst us nowadays?


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Imam Sufyan al-Thawri:

Imam Abd al-Razzaq describes the practice of the Imam

Sufyan al-Thawri:

When Ramadan used to approach he used to leave

every other worship (nafl) and recite the Holy

Quran.

It should be remembered that this is the practice of the pious

people during the month of the Ramadan. Just imagine how

greater their worship would be duringI'tikaf.

Sayings of the Pious

Concerning seclusion, here are some sayings of the pious.

Hadhrat Awais al-Qarni was visited by Haram bin Hayyan.

He asked him why he had come. He replied,

'' In order to be intimate with you''

He said,

''It is beyond me why someone who knows God,

should seek intimacy with others.''

Shaykh Dhu al-Nun al- Misri said,

The joy of a true believer is in seclusion andsupplication to Allah.

Shaykh Malik bin al-Dinar said,


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Anyone who finds more pleasure in the company of

people than making supplication to Allah is

ignorant, his heart is blind and he has wasted his

life.

Shaykh Fudayl bin Ayadh said,

When the night comes I happily say I will be alone

with my Lord, but as the morning approaches I read

"Inna lillahi" (expression used at times of calamity)

because now I will have to meet people who will

distract me from Allah.

You people will not find a better time to be alone with your

Lord and make supplications that take place during I'tikaf, so

consider these moments as precious and re-establish your

connection with the Creator.

Sitting Alone Behind a Screen

Islam has instructed the Mutakif to have a screen/tent in the

mosque so that apart from Salah with congregation (jamaat),

he has fewer dealings with people. It is proven in authentic

tradition about the Prophet himself that,

When he used to doI'tikafa tent would be erected

for him.

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri relates that,

Once Rasulullah satI'tikafin a Turkish tent during

the first ten days and continued to the twentieth, he

lifted his noble head outside the tent and said, ''


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'Those people who are doing I'tikafwith me should

continue in the last ten days as well.''

In this tradition there is a mention of a tent and also the fact

that Rasulullah put his blessed head out of it, which indicateshow much he avoided meeting people.

When thepardah (screen) is a tool in achieving seclusion then

the Mutakif should spend his time inside it and avoid

socialising with people. As soon as he comes out of thepardah

his attention will be distracted from Allah. If however he

comes to listen to the shabina of the Quran, he should go back

as soon as it finishes.

Offering Salah Abundantly

Of all the forms of worship, Salah is the most superior. This is

the pillar of faith; through it a person establishes a special link

with his Lord. Therefore the Mutakif apart from his fard

(obligatory) Salah, should read nafl abundantly. For exampleIshraq, Chast, Awwabin, Tahajjud, Tasbih and especially read

his missed (qada) prayers. Pray to Allah in ruku and sajda.

Allah says Oh servant prostrate yourself and come near

Me.Allah loves people in sajda. The prostration is a means of

achieving nearness to Allah, thus pray abundantly in it.

Reciting the Quran abundantly

An important worship is the recitation of the Quran due to

which a person enters the presence of Allah. Therefore the

Mutakifshould try to spend the rest of his time in listening to

the Quran. If there are arrangements for shabina at night he

should join in nafl wholeheartedly so that apart from reading

himself he can listen to the words of the Beloved from

someone else. Rasulullah said to Abd Allah bin Masud,


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" Recite the Quran for me.''

He asked,

"How can I recite in your presence? "

He replied,

"I love to listen to someone else."

In these days one should learn some more parts of the Quran

that can be recited in the Salah throughout the year.

The Practice of Imam al-Aswad

During Ramadan he would finish the Quran within two nights.

The Practice of Imam Ibrahim al-Nakhi

He would finish the Quran every two nights in the last ten

days and one every three nights during the rest of Ramadan.

The Practice of Imam al-Qatada

He would finish one Quran every week but in Ramadan he

would finish one every three night and in the last days he

would finish one every night.

The Practice of Imam al-Azam and Imam al-Shafi

Both of these Imams used to finish reciting Quran sixty times

apart from Salah.

Saying of Imam al-Zuhri, when the moon of the Ramadan

appeared he used to say:


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"Now it will be recitation of the Quran and feeding

the people (iftar)."

If these people had meetings like ours then how is it possible toaccomplish this?

Recitingsalat andsalam upon the Prophet

abundantly

To offer salatand salam upon the Holy Prophet is a source of

great blessing for the followers of the Messenger . Allah says,

Allah and His angels send blessings on the Prophet, O you

who believe you should also ask and send blessings and

peace upon him.

Rasulullah said.

He who recites one salat upon me, Allah will sendten blessings upon him.

At an another time he said,

The person nearest to me on the Day of Judgement

will be the one who has the read the most salat upon

me.

In seclusion, sit with your head lowered and think of sitting in

the blessed feet of Rasulullah and read abundant salam.


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Dhikr ofKalima Tayyiba andLa hawl

Rasulullah gave five wazaif to the Umma in Ramadan

Mubarak. They are as follows:

1. The dhikr(remembrance)ofKalima Tayyiba: There is nogod but Allah and Muhammad is His messenger.

2. The dhikrofla haw la wa la quwata: There is no power togood or refrain from evil except from Allah most high.

3. To seekjannat(Paradise).

4. To seek salvation from Hell.

5. Often pray the following dua:O Allah You are forgivingand You love to forgive, forgive me.

Concern for the Hereafter

In these days the Mutakif has the opportunity to be alone

during which he reminds himself of his grave, judgement day,

the bridge, accountability to Allah and read those verses of the

Quran that describe the scenes of Heaven and Hell, so that his

longing (for God) and fear increase. If the Mutakif instils the

image of the Hereafter, he might gain the ability to follow theShari'ah throughout the whole year. And this is the purpose of

I'tikafand this is muraqabah contemplation.


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Refrain from these Actions

Avoid these actions:

1. Gatherings - duringI'tikafavoid socialising with people inI'tikafas you have stopped socialising with people outside

I'tikaf.

2. Talking too much-a person should always speak lessbecause Rasulullah said,

"He who remains silent is successful."

In I'tikaf one should try even harder to avoid speaking and

inform your friends to speak to you only after you have

finishedI'tikaf.

3. Eating too much - eat less during these days so the light ofmarifa would appear. Eating too much means sleeping too

much, eat simple foods and don't make a reason forfeasting.

4. Sleeping too much - If you want to rest, do it during theday so you can spend most of the time at night and make

lailat al qadrthe 'night of power' your aim

5. Reading newspapers etc. - try not to read anything apartfrom Quran and hadith especially newspapers because

your mind gets entangled in national politics.

An English Translation of the Urdu booklet Maqsad-e Itikaf

(The Purpose of Seclusion in the Mosque, 2000) by Mufti Muhammad Khan

Qadiri and translated by Muhammad Muzamil Khan, first print 2000 and

revised print in 2012

seclusion in the mosque

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