The Great Virtues of ‘Itikaf

Assalamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuh, Auzu Billahi Minashaytanir Rajeem. Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem, Wassalatu Wassalamu ala Rasulina Muhammadin Sayyidul Awwalin wal Akhirin, Madad Ya Rasulallah, Madad Ya Sadat As’habi RasuLillah, Madad Ya Mashayikhina, Dastur Mawlana Sheikh Abdullah Faiz Daghestani, Sheikh Nazim al-Haqqani. Madad. Tariqatunas sohba, wal khayru fil jamiyya.

We have approached the end of Ramadan; more than half has passed. Starting with the 20th, meaning the last ten days, is the confirmed Sunnah of our Holy Prophet ﷺ which is the Sunnah of ‘itikaf. Those who can do it, can make the intention and enter ‘itikaf for ten days starting tomorrow night insha’Allah. Those who cannot do it, when coming in and out of the mosque, they can make the intention for ‘itikaf and within this period they would also get the virtues written for them. This is a great virtue for people. If not even one person does it in every city, everybody would be deprived of that virtue. ‘Itikaf has great virtues and rewards; it is a blessing.

‘Itikaf can be done in masjids or in designated places insha’Allah. Because of certain requirements in these situations, again may Allah ﷻ forgive us, the mosques are shut. So it can be done in private places too. It is said, ‘ ’, ‘Necessity requires its own rule’. Usually, it isn’t done anywhere outside of a mosque but under these circumstances it can be done outside the mosque because it's a necessary worship. If it wasn’t done, then the Ummah (nation) will be embarrassed to face our Holy Prophet ﷺ. Yet thank Allah ﷻ, there are plenty of people who are doing this Sunnah. May Allah ﷻ accept this worship from them.

People are confusing between ‘itikaf and Khalwa (seclusion). ‘Itikaf is different than Khalwa. In ‘itikaf, you sit in the mosque and fast. In Khalwa, you only eat things such as lentils and very little food. But in ‘itikaf, you can eat normally, do your worship and do not get out of the mosque. In Khalwa, you only eat lentils. Khalwa is done outside of Ramadan, either in Dhul-Hijjah or in Rajab. It starts from the beginning of DhuʻlQiʻdah until Dhul-Hijjah or from Rajab until the tenth of Sha’ban. There are differences between them.

As we said, women should do ‘itikaf in their homes. There’s no need to go to the mosque. Women who are in ‘itikaf shouldn’t leave the house until they finish. Until then, they do their worships. They assign a special place in their homes and do it there. Allah ﷻ will accept it. So even if men didn’t do it but women did, that requirement would be suspended for the Ummah. So somebody has to definitely do this worship. Our Holy Prophet ﷺ never left this Sunnah. In fact, one year he could not do it, so the next year he did 20 days in Al Masjid an-Nabawi. May Allah ﷻ bless it and may He descend His Barakah (blessing) upon us. May we be protected from these situations.

This is a spiritual strength and a spiritual protection for us. It's a great virtue for us yet most people are not even aware of it. The world doesn’t work with what we see. There are certain unseen forces, spiritual forces; that's what the world is standing with. Otherwise, it's not with their calculations; it doesn’t work this way. A man can make as many calculations as he wants, as long as that spirit is not there then it’s of no use. May Allah ﷻ help people to understand this. May it be strength to our Iman. May this ‘itikaf be blessed insha’Allah.

Wa min Allah at-Tawfiq. Al-Fatiha.

Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbani 1 May 2021/19 Ramadan 1442 Morning Prayer, Akbaba Dergah