19. I'tikaf in Ramadan

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az-Zubayr from Amra bint Abd ar-Rahman that A'isha, the wife of theProphet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,"When theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, diditikaf he would bring his head near to me and I would comb it. Hewould only go into the house to relieve himself." Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Amra bint Abdar-Rahman that when A'isha was doing itikaf she would only ask aftersick people if she was walking and not if she was standing still. Malik said, "A person doing itikaf should not carry outobligations of his, nor leave the mosque for them, nor should he helpanyone. He should only leave the mosque to relieve himself. If he wereable to go out to do things for people, visiting the sick, prayingover the dead and following funeral processions would be the thingswith the most claim on his coming out." Malik said, "A persondoing itikaf is not doing itikaf until he avoids what some one doingitikaf should avoid, namely, visiting the sick, praying over the dead,and entering houses, except to relieve himself." Yahya related to me from Malik that he had asked Ibn Shihabwhether someone doing itikaf could go into a house to relieve himself,and he said, "Yes, there is no harm in that." Malik said,"The situation that we are all agreed upon here is that there is nodisapproval of anyone doing itikaf in a mosque where jumua is held.The only reason I see for disapproving of doing itikaf in a mosquewhere jumua is not held is that the man doing itikaf would have toleave the mosque where he was doing itikaf in order to go to jumua, orelse not go there at all. If, however, he is doing itikaf in a mosquewhere jumua is not held, and he does not have to go to jumua in anyother mosque, then I see no harm in him doing itikaf there, becauseAllah, the Blessed and Exalted, says, 'While you are doing itikaf inmosques,' and refers to all mosques in general, without specifying anyparticular kind." Malik continued, "Accordingly, it ispermissiblefor a man to do itikaf in a mosque where jumua is not heldif he does not have to leave it to go to a mosque where jumua isheld." Malik said, "A person doing itikaf should spend thenight only in the mosque where he is doing itikaf, except if his tentis in one of the courtyards of the mosque. I have never heard thatsomeone doing itikaf can put up a shelter anywhere except in themosque itself or in one of the courtyards of the mosque. Partof what shows that he must spend the night in the mosque is the sayingof A'isha, 'When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, was doing itikaf, he would only go into the house torelieve himself.' Nor should he do itikaf on the roof of the mosque orin the minaret." Malik said, "The person who is going to doitikaf should enter the place where he wishes to do itikaf before thesun sets on the night when he wishes to begin his itikaf, so that heis ready to begin the itikaf at the beginning of the night when he isgoing to start his itikaf. A person doing itikaf should be occupiedwith his itikaf, and not turn his attention to other things whichmight occupy him, such as trading or whatever. There is no harm,however, if some one doing itikaf tells some one to do something forhim regarding his estate, or the affairs of his family, or tellssomeone to sell some property of his, or something else that does notoccupy him directly. There is no harm in him arranging for someoneelse to do that for him if it is a simple matter." Maliksaid, "I have never heard any of the people of knowledge mentioningany modification as far as how to do itikaf is concerned. Itikaf is anact of ibada like the prayer, fasting, the hajj, and such like acts,whether they are obligatory or voluntary. Anyone who begins doing anyof these acts should do them according to what has come down in thesunna. He should not start doing anything in them that the muslimshave not done, whether it is a modification that he imposes on others,or one that he begins doing himself. The Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, practised itikaf, and the muslims knowwhat the sunna of itikaf is." Malik said, "Itikaf and jiwarare the same, and Itikaf is the same for a village-dweller as it isfor a nomad." Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that al-Qasimibn Muhammad and Nafi, the mawla of Abdullah ibn Umar said, "Youcannot do itikaf unless you are fasting, because of what Allah, theBlessed and Exalted, says in His Book, 'And eat and drink until thewhite thread becomes clear to you from the black thread of dawn, thencomplete the fast until night-time, and do not have intercourse withthem while you are doing itikaf in mosques,' (Sura 2 ayat 187). Allahonly mentions itikaf together with fasting." Malik said,"That is what we go by here." Yahya related to me that Ziyad ibn Abd ar-Rahman said, "Malikrelated to us from Sumayy, the mawla of Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman,that Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman was once doing itikaf and he would goout to relieve himself in a closed room under a roofed passage inKhalid ibn Walid's house. Otherwise he did not leave his place ofitikaf until he went to pray at the Id with the muslims." Yahya related to me from Ziyad from Malik that he saw some of thepeople of knowledge who, when they did itikaf in the last ten days ofRamadan, would not go back to their families until they had attendedthe Id al-Fitr with everybody. Ziyad said that Malik said, "Iheard this from the people of excellence who have passed away, and itis what I like most out of what I have heard about the matter." Ziyad related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Amra bint Abdar-Rahman from A'isha that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, once wanted to do itikaf, and when he went off tothe place where he wanted to do itikaf he found some tents there,which were A'isha's tent, Hafsa's tent, and Zaynab's tent. When he sawthem he asked about them and someone told him that they were the tentsof A'isha, Hafsa and Zaynab. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, said, "Do you think them devout?" Then heleft, and did not do itikaf until Shawwal, when he then did it for tendays. Malik was asked whether someone who went into a mosque to doitikaf for the last ten days of Ramadan and stayed there for a day ortwo but then became ill and left the mosque, had to do itikaf for thenumber of days that were left from the ten, or not, and if he did haveto do so, then what month should he do it in, and he replied, "Heshould make up whatever he has to do of the itikaf when he recovers,whether in Ramadan or otherwise. I have heard that the Messenger ofAllah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, once wanted to doitikaf in Ramadan, but then came back without having done so, and thenwhen Ramadan had gone, he did itikaf for ten days in Shawwal. Some one who does itikaf voluntarily in Ramadan and some one who hasto do itikaf are in the same position regarding what is halal for themand what is haram. I have not heard that the Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, ever did itikaf other thanvoluntarily." Malik said, that if a woman did itikaf and thenmenstruated during her itikaf, she went back to her house, and, whenshe was pure again she returned to the mosque, at whatever time it wasthat she became pure. She then continued her itikaf from where sheleft off. This was the same situation as with a woman who had to fasttwo consecutive months, and who menstruated and then became pure. Shethen continued the fast from where she had left off and did not delaydoing so. Ziyad related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that the Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to go torelieve himself in houses. Malik said, "Someone doing itikafshould not leave for his parents' funeral or for anything else." Malik said, "There is no harm in someone who is in itikafentering into a marriage contract as long as there is no physicalrelationship. A woman in itikaf may also be betrothed as long as thereis no physical relationship. What is haram for someone in itikaf inrelation to his womenfolk during the day is haram for him during thenight." Yahya said that Ziyad said that Malik said, "It isnot halal for a man to have intercourse with his wife while he is initikaf, nor for him to take pleasure in her by kissing her, orwhatever. However, I have not heard anyone disapproving of a man, orwoman, in itikaf getting married as long as there is no physicalrelationship. Marriage is not disapproved of for someone fasting." "There is, however, a distinction between the marriage ofsomeone in itikaf and that of someone who is muhrim, in that some onewho is muhrim can eat, drink, visit the sick and attend funerals, butcannot put on perfume, whilst a man or woman in itikaf can put on oiland perfume and groom their hair, but cannot attend funerals or prayover the dead or visit the sick. Thus their situations with regard tomarriage are different." "This is the sunna as it has comedown to us regarding marriage for those who are muhrim, doing itikaf,or fasting. Yahya related to me from Malik from Yazid ibn Abdullah ibn al-Hadi from Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Harith at-Taymi from Abu Salama ibnAbd ar-Rahman that Abu Said al-Khudri said, "The Messenger of Allah,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to do itikaf in themiddle ten days of Ramadan. One year he was doing itikaf and then,when it came to the night of the twenty-first, which was the nightbefore the morning when he would normally have finished his itikaf, hesaid, 'Whoever has done i'tikaf with me should continue doing itikaffor the last ten days. I saw a certain night and then I was made toforget it. I saw myself prostrating the following morning in water andclay. Look for it in the last ten days, and look for it on the odddays.' " Abu Said continued, "The sky poured with rain thatnight and the mosque had a roof (made of palm fronds) and the mosquewas soaked. With my own eyes I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, leave with traces of water and clay onhis forehead and nose, in the morning after the night of the twenty-first." Ziyad related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from hisfather that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, said, "Search for Laylat al-Qadr in the last ten days ofRamadan." Ziyad related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Dinar fromAbdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, said. "Search for Laylat al-Qadr in the last sevendays." Ziyad related to me from Malik from Abu'n Nadr, the mawla of Umaribn Ubaydullah, that Abdullah ibn Unays al-Juhani said to theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,"Messenger of Allah, I am a man whose house is a long way away. Tellme one night so that I can stop my journey for it." The Messenger ofAllah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Stop on thetwenty-third night of Ramadan." Ziyad related to me from Malik from Humayd at-Tawil that 'Anasibn Malik said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, came out to us in Ramadan and said, 'I was shown a certainnight in Ramadan and then two men abused each other and it was takenaway. Look for it on the ninth and the seventh and the fifth.' " Ziyad related to me from Malik from Nafi from Ibn 'Umar thatsome of the companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, were shown Laylat al-Qadr in their sleep duringthe last seven days. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, said, "I see that your visions agree about the lastseven days, so whoever is searching for it should do so in the lastseven days." Ziyad related to me from Malik that he had heard a man he trustedof the people of knowledge say, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, was shown the lifespans of the people(who had gone) before him, or what Allah willed of that, and it was asif the lives of the people of his community had become too short forthem to be able to do as many good actions as others before them hadbeen able to do with their long lives, so Allah gave him Laylat al-Qadr, which is better than a thousand months." Ziyad related to me from Malik that he had heard that Said ibnal-Musayyab used to say, "Whoever is present at isha on Laylat al-Qadrhas taken his portion from it."