Explanation of the hadith: (Do not travel for the sake of prayer except to three mosques), and he was asked about the place of i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) and whether i'tikaf in other than the three mosques is a religious innovation.

The questioner : Is there a connection between it and the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): to the end of the hadith?

The Shaykh : What is the hadith of the Messenger?

The questioner :

The Shaykh : The connection is not direct with this hadith, but there is an explicit hadith on the subject, which is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): And the other hadith is:

The questioner : Is i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) in other than these mosques a religious innovation?

The Shaykh : Whoever has been reached by the proof is in that state, but as for whoever has not been reached by the proof and has a doubtful matter in something like the generality of, for example, , understanding "mosques" to mean comprehensiveness and inclusiveness, then at that point he is excused. But after the authentic Sunnah from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has reached him, he should not stop at the verse; he should not rely on the authentic Sunnah to understand it. Here, I must remind you that the generality of this verse is not adopted by the majority of the well-known Muslim scholars of knowledge and jurisprudence in religion, namely: . The "al" (the) in "mosques" here, in language, is either for generality, comprehensiveness, and inclusiveness, or it is for the known (definite reference). On the first meaning, the meaning is in every mosque, and this at that point includes any mosque, even a small mosque next to your house, or even a small mosque in your house that you have designated for performing prayer, you and your wife and your child... and so on. This is called a mosque. So, is i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) valid in it? If we take the verse on the first meaning of generality and inclusiveness, the answer comes that it is permissible, because the verse includes it. But if we understand the "al" (the) in "mosques" as being for the known (definite reference), meaning what is known in the minds religiously, then at that point we say: What are these mosques in which i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) is prescribed? Since we have said that in some mosques i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) is not prescribed, and in some mosques it is prescribed, the majority of scholars are with us in this detail, which is currently summarized, meaning that in some mosques i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) is prescribed, and in some mosques it is not prescribed. In a long disagreement, for example, some scholars say there is a congregation mosque, meaning the five daily prayers are performed in it, but the Friday prayer is not performed in it, so i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) is not valid in it. Why? Because the man would be forced to leave this mosque in which he is in i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) to the Friday mosque in order to pray Friday. So this is a restriction. Therefore, the meaning is that the mosques in the verse are not for comprehensiveness and inclusiveness. At that point, when the majority of scholars agree that the mosques are not for comprehensiveness and inclusiveness, here the importance of the Sunnah appears. So, what are the mosques in which i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) is prescribed, which I mean by His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): ? His saying (peace and blessings be upon him) came: . You wanted something, do not be stingy with us.