Reserving a place in the Prophet’s Mosque for i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque)
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
He says: If I perform i'tikaf in the Prophet’s Mosque and reserve a place, sitting in it for a period of time, and then I go out to perform wudu' (the ablution for prayer) and return to find someone in my place, is it permissible for me to ask him to leave?
The Shaykh:
He says:
The questioner:
May Allah reward you. If you find one of the people in your place, is it permissible for you to ask him to leave from the place you reserved initially?
The Shaykh:
You do not have the right to ask him to leave. But if you want to go, put something in your place to preserve it for you, such as a stick or something similar. Yes.
The questioner:
If he placed a stone or a stick in his place and then came back and found one of the brothers sitting there, is it permissible for him to ask him to leave?
The Shaykh:
It is permissible for him to do so. It is not permissible for anyone to remove the barrier if its owner is nearby and intends to return. It is not permissible for anyone to say, “It is forbidden to remove a prepared prayer mat before its owner arrives,” except if the owner reserves the place but does not attend. In that case, anyone may remove it. However, if he went to perform wudu' or for a brief need and intends to return, he has the stronger right to it. And this person is encroaching. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
He says: If I perform i'tikaf in the Prophet’s Mosque and reserve a place, sitting in it for a period of time, and then I go out to perform wudu' (the ablution for prayer) and return to find someone in my place, is it permissible for me to ask him to leave?
The Shaykh:
He says:
The questioner:
May Allah reward you. If you find one of the people in your place, is it permissible for you to ask him to leave from the place you reserved initially?
The Shaykh:
You do not have the right to ask him to leave. But if you want to go, put something in your place to preserve it for you, such as a stick or something similar. Yes.
The questioner:
If he placed a stone or a stick in his place and then came back and found one of the brothers sitting there, is it permissible for him to ask him to leave?
The Shaykh:
It is permissible for him to do so. It is not permissible for anyone to remove the barrier if its owner is nearby and intends to return. It is not permissible for anyone to say, “It is forbidden to remove a prepared prayer mat before its owner arrives,” except if the owner reserves the place but does not attend. In that case, anyone may remove it. However, if he went to perform wudu' or for a brief need and intends to return, he has the stronger right to it. And this person is encroaching. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
Source
شرح كتاب الصيام من كتاب هداية الراغب، شرح كتاب الصيام من هداية الراغب [5] — alfawzan.live (1:08:02)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.