Reconciling the Two Hadiths on I'tikaf in the Three Mosques and the Congregational Mosque
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Regarding the issue of i'tikaf.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : A brother contacted you and asked about i'tikaf, and you told him that the hadith "There is no i'tikaf except in the three mosques" is authentic.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The questioner : Is it marfu' (traced to the Prophet) or mawquf (stopping at a Companion)?
The Shaykh : It is marfu'.
The questioner : It is marfu'. Fine, but here in *Irwaa' al-Ghalil*, you mentioned a report from the Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), which is in al-Bayhaqi. The report is long, and at the end, the Lady Aisha says:Sunan Abi Dawud 2473Hasan Sahih (Al-Albani) That the report is authentic.
The Shaykh : Do not say "hadith." Say "athar" (report). Yes, well done. Fine. And what comes after that?
The questioner : The question is: How do we reconcile the two?
The Shaykh : I think the reconciliation is automatic, as they say today, once I have drawn your attention to it and told you not to say "hadith."
The questioner : It came.
The Shaykh : The reconciliation is automatic, as they say today. Perhaps you noticed, and a hint is enough for the intelligent one.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. But what I know is that a Companion's statement, "The sunnah is such and such," has the ruling of a marfu' report.
The Shaykh : Fine. Suppose this mawquf report has the ruling of a marfu' report, or rather, it is explicit in being marfu'.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Or rather, let us assume it is explicit in being marfu'. In that case, this report says i'tikaf is in the congregational mosque, and that report says:Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 3:789 Do you see? Is the first one taken, meaning your report from Aisha, or our report from Hudhayfah? Which of the two reports is taken?
The questioner : We consider the second one specific and the first one general.
The Shaykh : They say, "Send a wise woman, but do not advise her." What will be the result?
The questioner : Perhaps the result is not what you think.
The Shaykh : No, reverse it and pour.
The questioner : Yes, I meant it.
The Shaykh : Reverse it, reverse it and pour. Perhaps, and for free, perhaps certainly, the result is not what you think.
The questioner : Yes, that is it.
The Shaykh : Why did you say the opposite?
The questioner : I understood that Aisha's report might be a specification of the first one.
The Shaykh : No, the opposite. Reverse it and pour. Aisha's report, may Allah bless you. If it were explicitly marfu', it would be general, and Hudhayfah's report would be specific. And the specific overrides the general, as you know.
The questioner : Yes, may Allah bless you.
The Shaykh: Clear.
The questioner : Fine, may Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And you as well, may Allah will it.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : A brother contacted you and asked about i'tikaf, and you told him that the hadith "There is no i'tikaf except in the three mosques" is authentic.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The questioner : Is it marfu' (traced to the Prophet) or mawquf (stopping at a Companion)?
The Shaykh : It is marfu'.
The questioner : It is marfu'. Fine, but here in *Irwaa' al-Ghalil*, you mentioned a report from the Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), which is in al-Bayhaqi. The report is long, and at the end, the Lady Aisha says:
and there is no i'tikaf except in a congregational mosque.
ولا اعتكاف إلا في مسجد جامعThe Shaykh : Do not say "hadith." Say "athar" (report). Yes, well done. Fine. And what comes after that?
The questioner : The question is: How do we reconcile the two?
The Shaykh : I think the reconciliation is automatic, as they say today, once I have drawn your attention to it and told you not to say "hadith."
The questioner : It came.
The Shaykh : The reconciliation is automatic, as they say today. Perhaps you noticed, and a hint is enough for the intelligent one.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. But what I know is that a Companion's statement, "The sunnah is such and such," has the ruling of a marfu' report.
The Shaykh : Fine. Suppose this mawquf report has the ruling of a marfu' report, or rather, it is explicit in being marfu'.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Or rather, let us assume it is explicit in being marfu'. In that case, this report says i'tikaf is in the congregational mosque, and that report says:
There is no i'tikaf except in three mosques
لا اعتكاف إلا في ثلاثة مساجدThe questioner : We consider the second one specific and the first one general.
The Shaykh : They say, "Send a wise woman, but do not advise her." What will be the result?
The questioner : Perhaps the result is not what you think.
The Shaykh : No, reverse it and pour.
The questioner : Yes, I meant it.
The Shaykh : Reverse it, reverse it and pour. Perhaps, and for free, perhaps certainly, the result is not what you think.
The questioner : Yes, that is it.
The Shaykh : Why did you say the opposite?
The questioner : I understood that Aisha's report might be a specification of the first one.
The Shaykh : No, the opposite. Reverse it and pour. Aisha's report, may Allah bless you. If it were explicitly marfu', it would be general, and Hudhayfah's report would be specific. And the specific overrides the general, as you know.
The questioner : Yes, may Allah bless you.
The Shaykh: Clear.
The questioner : Fine, may Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And you as well, may Allah will it.
Source
سلسلة الهدى والنور، رقم 124 في قناة «تسجيلات الإمام الألباني - محمد أبو ليلى الأثري» — youtube.com (4:47)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.