What is your advice for one who spends his i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) in argumentation and discussing issues?

Question : What is your advice for one who spends his i'tikaf in talking and arguing, and perhaps discussing some scholarly issues? What is the advice for these young men?

Answer : The advice for these young men, and for those who are not young as well, is to make use of the times of i'tikaf with what brings one closer to Allah, such as dhikr (the remembrance of Allah), Qur'an, tasbih, tahlil, prayer, and so on. And of course, prayer means in times other than the prohibited times, because voluntary prayer is not permissible in the prohibited times unless it has a cause, otherwise it is not. As for the advice regarding the second issue, which applies to those in i'tikaf and those who are not, it is argumentation. I warn against argumentation, and I warn students of knowledge in particular, because Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "No people were given argumentation except that they went astray, and going astray is the opposite of Many students ask for the evidence. You say, "The ruling is such and such," and he says, "What is the evidence?" I do not blame him for asking, "What is the evidence?" Rather, I thank him for it, because seeking evidence means that the person wants to build his religion on insight, and he is excused in this, indeed he is to be thanked. But you tell him the evidence, and he says to you, "It is possible that it is such and such," a remote possibility, but it is a permissible intellect. If the possibility is remote, he says to you, "It is possible that it is such and such," and hypothetical matters in the evidences of the Shari'ah are rejected.
Because if we were to bring these hypothetical possibilities that are far from reality, not a single piece of evidence would remain sound, unless Allah wills. For this reason, I warn students of knowledge against argumentation, and that they should take the easy path as the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did, taking the texts as they are, easily, without hypothesizing possibilities. And no one went astray among the people, neither in 'aqidah (creed) nor in action, except because of these hypothetical intellects in which they deviate from the guidance of Allah. Do you not know that those who denied the attributes of Allah and said that Allah is not described as having a Face or having hands, or the like, denied them by what? By hypothetical matters. They said, "If it were so, it is possible that His hand is like our hands, and there is nothing in His place." We say, "My brother, this is a non-real possibility. You believe that Allah has a Self other than the Self of the created, and He is not like the Selves of the created. So I believe that He has a Face and hands that are not like the hands of the created, nor like the faces of the created, and in that case, it is safe. So the important thing is that I warn, and I repeat the warning to students of knowledge, not to occupy themselves with argumentation, and I inform them that if they occupy themselves with argumentation, it will not increase them except in going astray, and I seek refuge in Allah, and hardness of heart. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to narrate to his Companions the hadith.
And they did not speak of anything that was possible. He told them that Allah the Exalted laughs. What did they say? They said, "Something that laughs? This does not happen." Did they say this or not? No, they said, "We heard and we believed." But even so, they say that the laughter of Allah the Exalted is not like the laughter of the created, and it is a laughter befitting His Majesty and His Greatness. Just as we do not imagine the Self of Allah, we do not imagine the attributes of Allah. Allah is safe in that. Okay, He said to them in the Noble Qur'an Did they say, "O Messenger of Allah, how did He rise above?"
And if I say, "That is it," I am shy. Did they say, "How did He rise above?" Answer, everyone. No, they never said, "How did He rise above?" Because they believe in matters as they appear, but the later people came and said, "How does He rise above?"
This happens, and so on. So I warn, and I repeat the warning to students of knowledge, not to open for themselves the door of argumentation, whether this argumentation is in their own talk or in their talk with others, because that deprives them of soundness in speech and correctness. So what if one who is in i'tikaf occupies himself with argumentation? His heart goes away from worship, he becomes occupied with arguing and justifying his position in matters that are hypothetical and have no reality.