Advice regarding the last ten days.

The Shaykh : However, I must take this opportunity to offer advice and a reminder, for the reminder benefits the believers. It is well known among people that i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) is permissible in any mosque, and they differed regarding which mosque. Some said: It should be a congregational mosque, not just one where the five daily prayers are performed. This is so that the person in i'tikaf is not forced into one of two things if he performs i'tikaf in a congregational mosque that is not a Friday mosque. In that case, he would be forced into one of two things: either leaving the Friday prayer because he is in i'tikaf in that mosque where Friday prayer is not held, and there is no doubt that this is clearly defective, for his situation would be, as was said long ago in such a case: it is like one who builds a palace and demolishes a fortress. He preserves the i'tikaf, which is a recommended practice, but he neglects the obligatory prayer, which is the Friday prayer. Therefore, they stipulated that his i'tikaf must be in a Friday mosque. Even if the one who is in i'tikaf in a congregational mosque can leave that mosque to pray Friday, there is a deficiency in the meaning of i'tikaf, for it was reported in *Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim* meaning necessity. This person who is in i'tikaf in a congregational mosque and not a Friday mosque can leave and pray Friday in the Friday mosque, but there is a deficiency, even if only formal, in the i'tikaf in that place. Therefore, most scholars stipulated that his i'tikaf must be in a Friday mosque so that he is not forced to break his i'tikaf if he is in a congregational mosque and not a Friday mosque.
But the thing I want to point out, based on what was mentioned earlier, is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Therefore, there is no basis for the detail I mentioned earlier, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) denied the legitimacy of i'tikaf except in these three mosques. This hadith is exactly like the well-known hadith recorded in *the two Sahihs*, namely his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): then he mentioned them. Similarly, his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): The wisdom in this hadith is that people do not slacken in traveling to the three mosques for i'tikaf, or because of i'tikaf in the mosques in their lands. For this legislative wisdom, people frequently travel to the great Islamic cities: Mecca, Medina, and Bayt al-Maqdis. This is what I wanted to remind you of, based on his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): There is no doubt that traveling to Mecca and Medina is, praise be to Allah, very easy, and we hope that it will be made easy for the Muslims also to perform i'tikaf in al-Masjid al-Aqsa, by expelling the Jews and returning them to where they came from in the lands. Anyone else?

The questioner : Where is this hadith?

The Shaykh : I have recorded this hadith in my treatise *Qiyam Ramadan*, which is published. Have you come across it?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : You will find it there with a scholarly tracing. I do not have the source at hand right now; I am reviewing my memory. It is found in some printed books and others in manuscript. From the printed books: *Sunan al-Bayhaqi al-Kubra*. From the manuscripts: *Mu'jam al-Shuyukh* by al-Isma'ili. Also, other sources are mentioned in the treatise there.