What is the ruling on one who designates specific mosques for i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) in them?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner: Your Eminence, the issue of i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) is this, my Shaykh: in Egypt, the scholars point to i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque), and the acts of worship and obedience are only achieved in i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) in the three mosques. So what is the solution?
The Shaykh: I did not understand you, my brother.
The questioner: Scholars.
The Shaykh: No, it is not strange to me a little. Give me a moment.
The questioner: Yes, our scholars point to i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) in the mosques in Egypt, and the acts of worship and obedience are only achieved in the mosques, so we go from the villages to Cairo, for example, for i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque).
The Shaykh: Why are the acts of obedience confined to i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque)?
The questioner: I mean, we do not have the capacity for us to...
The Shaykh: I tell you, I am asking you: do you know the answer?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: The acts of obedience are confined to i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque).
The questioner: No.
The Shaykh : Say no.
The questioner: No.
The Shaykh: So the scope for drawing near to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) there are hundreds, indeed thousands, of acts of worship. Therefore, the worship of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is not confined to i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) alone.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Correct.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: If the matter is so, then it does not benefit the worship that we worship Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with what Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) have not prescribed. Allah informed that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 3:789, Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 3:789, and this is on the same basis as his saying (peace be upon him): Jami` at-Tirmidhi 326Sahih (Darussalam). So whoever wants to draw near to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) by traveling to a mosque other than these three mosques, that is something that distances him from Allah and does not bring him closer to Allah. Likewise, whoever wants to perform i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) in a mosque other than the three mosques, he does not increase in anything from Allah except distance.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: I did not understand you, my brother.
The questioner: Scholars.
The Shaykh: No, it is not strange to me a little. Give me a moment.
The questioner: Yes, our scholars point to i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) in the mosques in Egypt, and the acts of worship and obedience are only achieved in the mosques, so we go from the villages to Cairo, for example, for i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque).
The Shaykh: Why are the acts of obedience confined to i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque)?
The questioner: I mean, we do not have the capacity for us to...
The Shaykh: I tell you, I am asking you: do you know the answer?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: The acts of obedience are confined to i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque).
The questioner: No.
The Shaykh : Say no.
The questioner: No.
The Shaykh: So the scope for drawing near to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) there are hundreds, indeed thousands, of acts of worship. Therefore, the worship of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is not confined to i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) alone.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Correct.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: If the matter is so, then it does not benefit the worship that we worship Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with what Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) have not prescribed. Allah informed that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
There is no i'tikaf (spiritual retreat) except in three mosques
لا اعتكاف إلا في ثلاثة مساجدThere is no i'tikaf (spiritual retreat) except in three mosques
لا اعتكاف إلا في ثلاثة مساجدA mount is not saddled (for a journey) except to three Masajid
لا تُشَدُّ الرِّحال إلا إلى ثلاثة مساجدThe questioner: Yes.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.