We praise Allah and send blessings and salutations upon His
Noble Messenger Sallalahu Alayhe wasallam ,
his companions and those who follow him.
It used to be the general practice of the Messenger of
Allah Sallalahu Alayhe wasallam to
perform Itikaaf in the Holy month of Ramadhan. At times he Sallalahu Alayhe wasallam used to
remain in the masjid for the whole month and in his final year, he Sallalahu Alayhe wasallam was in Itikaaf for twenty days. Because He Sallalahu Alayhe wasallamusually secluded himself in the
masjid for the last ten days of Ramadhan, the scholars consider it ‘sunnah
muakkadah’ to perform Itikaaf for that period.
Ibn Abbas Radhiallahu Anhu relates that the Messenger
of Allah Sallalahu Alayhe wasallam said,
"The person performing Itikaaf remains free from sins and he is indeed
given the same reward as those who do good deeds (in spite of not having done
these deeds). (Ibn Majah).
This hadith mentions two great benefits of Itikaaf. The
first is that the person performing Itikaaf avoids sins. The world around us is
full of temptations and more often than not one falls into them. To commit sins
in this blessed month is indeed a great injustice to ourselves. Through
remaining secluded in the masjid, one completely avoids the temptation of doing
a sin.
Another benefit is that when one is secluded in the masjid,
one is apparently at a disadvantage by not being able to perform certain good
deeds like joining in funeral prayers, attending burials, visiting the sick,
etc. But according to this hadith, one is rewarded for even those deeds which
he could not perform as a result of his Itikaaf. May Allah make it possible for
us to fully benefit from Itikaaf.
Purpose:
Mankind has been created to worship Allah. Islam has
designated many forms of worship for the fulfilment of this aim. Itikaaf enjoys kind of superiority over other methods of worship because it encompasses many other forms
of worship within itself.
Benefits Of Itikaaf
Itikaaf makes it easy to perform salat with full devotion
because the mutakif breaks all ties with the outside world and is in a state of
tranquillity, where he is free from everything that diverts him from Allah’s
remembrance. This leaves him to focus his mind solely towards Allah’s obedience
and happiness.
More voluntary prayers will be performed by a mutakif
because his aim is to worship Allah swt and to build up a close tie with Him
and the best way of achieving this is by performing salat.
Another benefit of Itikaaf is that the mutakif can perform
his prayer in the first row. It is very easy for him to derive the full benefit
of offering prayer in this row.
Abu Hurairah Radhiallahu Anhu narrates that the Messenger of
Allah Sallalahu Alayhe wasallam said,
"Had the people known the reward of azaan and the first row, they would
most certainly draw lots (to decide who should give the azaan and stand in the
first row). (Bukhari).
The mutakif gains the reward of waiting for salat.
The
Prophet Sallalahu Alayhe wasallam said, "You
will be regarded as performing salat while you are waiting for salat and the
angels supplicate saying, ‘O Allah forgive him and have mercy on him as long as
he does not leave his prayer place or break wind." (Bukhari).
One benefit of Itikaaf is that it makes a person accustomed
to staying in the masjid for a long period and creates an attachment between
him and the masajid.
The Prophet Sallalahu Alayhe wasallam said, "From
amongst the seven whom Allah will give shade to on the day when there will be
no shade except His shade, will be that person whose heart was attached to the
masjid." (Bukhari)
It becomes easy to perform the Tahajjud prayer. Normally,
this is very difficult for a person because Satan tries hard to stop a person
from offering this prayer and deprive him of its great reward.
Indeed the last 10 days are full of mercy ,forgiveness and much more
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