Explanation of the hadith of the Mother of the Believers, Safiyyah bint Huyayy (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was in i'tikaf, so I came to visit him at night

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions:
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) transmitted, in the context of the hadiths in the chapter on the hadiths of the Dajjal and the signs of the Hour, among other things:
"From the Mother of the Believers, Safiyyah bint Huyayy (may Allah be pleased with her), who said:

I came to visit the Prophet (ﷺ) while he was in the state of I'tikaf [(seclusion) in the mosque during the last ten days of Ramadan]. After having talked to him, I got up to return. The Prophet (ﷺ) also got up with me and accompanied me a part of the way. At that moment two Ansari man passed by. When they saw him they quickened their pace. The Prophet (ﷺ) said to them, "Do not hurry. She is Safiyyah, daughter of Huyai, my wife." They said: "Subhan Allah (Allah is free from imperfection)! O Messenger of Allah! (You are far away from any suspicion)." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Satan circulates in a person like blood (in the blood streams). I apprehended lest Satan should drop some evil thoughts in your minds."

كان النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم معتكفاً، فأتيته أزوره ليلاً، فحدثته ثم قُمت لأنقلب، فقام معي ليقلبني، فمرَّ رجلان من الأنصار رضي الله عنهما، فلما رأيا النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أَسرعا. فقال صلى الله عليه وسلم: على رسلكما إنها صفية بنت حيي، فقالا: سبحان الله يا رسول الله ؟ فقال: إن الشيطان يجري مِن ابن آدم مجرى الدم، وإني خشيت أن يقذف في قلوبكما شرًا أو قال: شيئا

Riyad as-Salihin 1849

Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
And from Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

I was in the company of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on the day of (the battle of) Hunain. Abu Sufyan bin Al-Harith and I did not leave the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) throughout the battle. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was riding on his white mule. When the Muslims had an encounter with the pagans, Muslims took to their heels. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) began to urge his mule towards the disbelievers, holding the bridle of his mule. I was trying to restrain it from going very fast, and Abu Sufyan was holding the stirrup of the mule of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "O Abbas! Call out the People of As-Samurah [i.e., those people who had made the covenant under the tree (i.e., Bai'ah Ridwan)]." 'Abbas called out at the top of his voice: "Where are the People of As-Samurah." 'Abbas said: As soon as they heard my voice, they rushed towards the Prophet (ﷺ) like a cow turning towards her calf. They were shouting: "Here we are." Soon they began to fight the infidels. Then there was a call for Ansar. Those who called out to them shouted: "O you the people of Ansar! O you the people of Ansar!" They ended their call at Banu Al-Harith bin Al-Khazraj. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) who was riding on his mule looked at their fight with his neck stretched forward and he said, "This is the time when the fight is raging hot." Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) took pebbles and threw them in the face of the disbelievers. He said, "By the Rubb of Muhammad, the disbelievers will be defeated." I continued to watch until I found that their force was subdued and they began to retreat.

شهدت مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يوم حنين، فلزمت أنا وأبو سفيان بن الحارث بن عبد المطلب رسولَ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فلم نفارقه، ورسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم على بغلة له بيضاء، فلما التقى المسلمون والمشركون ولَّى المسلمون مدبرين، فطفق رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يركض بغلته قِبَل الكفار، وأنا آخذ بلجام بغلة رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أَكفها إرادة أن لا تُسرع، وأبو سفيان آخذ بركاب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: أيْ عباس، ناد أصحاب السَّمُرة، قال العباس: وكان رجلاً صيّتا: فقلت بأعلى صوتي: أين أصحاب السَّمرة، فوالله لكأن عطفتهم حين سمعوا صوتي عطفة البقر على أولادها، فقالوا: يا لبيك، فاقتتلوا هم والكفار، والدعوة في الأنصار يقولون: يا معشر الأنصار، يا معشر الأنصار، ثم قَصُرت الدعوة على بني الحارث بن الخزرج، فنظر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وهو على بغلته كالمتطاول عليها إلى قتالهم، فقال: هذا حين حمي الوطيس، ثم أخذ رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم حصيات فرمى بهن وجوه الكفار، ثم قال: انهزَموا وربِّ محمد، فذهبت أنظر، فإذا القتال على هيئته فيما أرى، فوالله ما هو إلا أن رماهم بحصياته، فما زلت أرى حدهم كليلا وأمرهم مدبراً

Riyad as-Salihin 1850

Narrated by Muslim".

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
These two hadiths were mentioned by the author (may Allah have mercy on him) at the end of his book *Riyad al-Salihin*:
The first: The hadith of Safiyyah bint Huyayy (may Allah be pleased with her), the Mother of the Believers: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was in i'tikaf in the mosque in Ramadan, and there is no i'tikaf except in Ramadan, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not perform i'tikaf in any month other than Ramadan, except for one year when he missed the last ten days in Ramadan, so he made them up in Shawwal. As for the rest, it is not prescribed for his Ummah (peace and blessings be upon him) to perform i'tikaf in any month other than Ramadan. Rather, i'tikaf was for the purpose of seeking the Night of Decree. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform i'tikaf in the first ten days of Ramadan hoping for the Night of Decree, then in the middle ten days, then it was told to him that it is in the last ten days, so he persisted in performing i'tikaf in the last ten days.
As for the hadith of 'Umar: , this does not indicate that i'tikaf is prescribed, but rather it indicates fulfilling a vow of i'tikaf and that it is not a sin if he fulfills his vow in it. However, the Sunnah is that i'tikaf is only in Ramadan and only in the last ten days of it.
He (peace and blessings be upon him) performed i'tikaf in the last ten days. I'tikaf is: "staying in the mosque in obedience to Allah so that a person can devote himself to worship", not so that a person can devote himself to walking around. That is walking around like the people who are in i'tikaf, some of them walking around among each other, spending their nights and days in matters that have no good in them. I'tikaf is staying in the mosque for obedience.
Safiyyah came to him one night and spoke with him for a while, because she is his wife, and there is no harm in a person speaking with his family while he is in i'tikaf, because of the affection, love, and tenderness in that. Then she stood up to go to her house, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was the best of people to his family, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: : So he stood up with her to see her off, accompanying her to her house. When two men from the Ansar passed by, and when they saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), they were shy and bashful, so they hurried in their walking. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: : So that they would not think that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) at night, and night is a time for resting and sheltering in houses. : They were surprised that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would say this. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And "as blood runs" is a prepositional phrase of place, meaning: in the place where blood runs. .
In this hadith, there is evidence for several benefits:
Among them is the good character of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in his treatment of his family.
And among them is the permissibility of a woman visiting her husband during i'tikaf, and that this does not invalidate the i'tikaf. Even if it were assumed that he took pleasure in looking at her or the like of that, it would not harm, because Allah only prohibited direct contact with women during i'tikaf.
And among them is that it is recommended for a person to see off his family when they return from him, if it is at night or at a time when he fears for their safety.
And among them is that it is recommended for a person to remove the causes of whispers in hearts. For example, if he fears that someone will think ill of him, then it is obligatory for him to remove that from them and inform them of the reality, so that nothing occurs in their heart.
And among them is that if a person encounters something that amazes him, let him say: "Glory be to Allah," as the two Ansar did, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) approved of them.
And among them is the mercy of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for his Ummah, and warding off evil from them.