The ruling on leaving the Sacred Mosque during rest periods while in i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque)
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Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. The questioner says: In the Sacred Mosque, there is severe crowding and no place to rest inside the mosque. Is it permissible for me to stay in a nearby place, go out there during rest periods while I am in i'tikaf, and then return to the mosque?
Answer:
No, that is not permissible. It is not permissible for you to leave the Sacred Mosque to another place, because that breaks the i'tikaf. However, I say that going to the Sacred Mosque during these nights or in this season, with the presence of severe crowding, does not allow a person to engage in worship, recitation, and dhikr (the remembrance of Allah). In fact, he cannot even perform the obligatory prayer in the required manner due to the intensity of the crowding. Therefore, it is better for him to remain in his local mosque and perform i'tikaf in his local mosque, where he can perform i'tikaf with tranquility and calmness, than to go to the Sacred Mosque with the severe crowding that prevents him from performing worship. Even the obligatory prayer, he cannot perform it in the required manner due to the intensity of the crowding. Yes. May Allah keep you safe, Honorable Shaykh. He says: And it is the Ka'bah... extending... come on, okay. Here is a note on this occasion.
That a person performing i'tikaf in his local mosque is better than him going for 'Umrah (the lesser pilgrimage). If he wants to perform 'Umrah, he should go at the beginning of the month, for example, and perform 'Umrah during the time of sa'y (walking between al-Safa and al-Marwah), then return and perform i'tikaf in his hometown; that is better. As for him leaving the i'tikaf, which is a confirmed sunnah (recommended practice), and going for 'Umrah in the midst of severe crowding, this is contrary to what is preferred and better. Acts of worship should be performed with tranquility and completion. If there is severe crowding and a person cannot perfect his worship and perform it in the required manner, he should not go until the crowding subsides.
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. The questioner says: In the Sacred Mosque, there is severe crowding and no place to rest inside the mosque. Is it permissible for me to stay in a nearby place, go out there during rest periods while I am in i'tikaf, and then return to the mosque?
Answer:
No, that is not permissible. It is not permissible for you to leave the Sacred Mosque to another place, because that breaks the i'tikaf. However, I say that going to the Sacred Mosque during these nights or in this season, with the presence of severe crowding, does not allow a person to engage in worship, recitation, and dhikr (the remembrance of Allah). In fact, he cannot even perform the obligatory prayer in the required manner due to the intensity of the crowding. Therefore, it is better for him to remain in his local mosque and perform i'tikaf in his local mosque, where he can perform i'tikaf with tranquility and calmness, than to go to the Sacred Mosque with the severe crowding that prevents him from performing worship. Even the obligatory prayer, he cannot perform it in the required manner due to the intensity of the crowding. Yes. May Allah keep you safe, Honorable Shaykh. He says: And it is the Ka'bah... extending... come on, okay. Here is a note on this occasion.
That a person performing i'tikaf in his local mosque is better than him going for 'Umrah (the lesser pilgrimage). If he wants to perform 'Umrah, he should go at the beginning of the month, for example, and perform 'Umrah during the time of sa'y (walking between al-Safa and al-Marwah), then return and perform i'tikaf in his hometown; that is better. As for him leaving the i'tikaf, which is a confirmed sunnah (recommended practice), and going for 'Umrah in the midst of severe crowding, this is contrary to what is preferred and better. Acts of worship should be performed with tranquility and completion. If there is severe crowding and a person cannot perfect his worship and perform it in the required manner, he should not go until the crowding subsides.
Source
الخروج من المعتكف من أجل الزحام — alfawzan.live
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.