Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem
The last hours of the Prophet - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam - were full of rulings and lessons. Some were Quran-related, while some were Hadith-related.
In the later part of his life, he - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam - paid more attention to the guidance of his Ummah, telling them different prophecies; what would occur after his demise, how they should relate to it; performing different acts of worship; telling them to stick to them; instructing them to exude righteousness towards one another, and many other issues.
Among the issues he explained through his actions is the issue of i'tikāf. Unlike his previous years when he would seclude himself in the mosque for ten days, in the last part of his life, he rather performed i'tikāf for twenty days.
So there are issues from this:
1. What was the reason he did a twenty-day I'tikaaf?
2. Does i'tikāf have a particular number of days?
3. Can we also perform i'tikāf for more than 9 or 10 days?
In shā Allāh, this article will answer these questions and extract lessons from the Hadith of discourse. I seek guidance and help from Allāh, and rely on Him.
Abū Hurayrah (may Allāh be pleased what ith him) reported
كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَعْتَكِفُ فِي كُلِّ رَمَضَانَ عَشْرَةَ أَيَّامٍ، فَلَمَّا كَانَ الْعَامُ الَّذِي قُبِضَ فِيهِ اعْتَكَفَ
عِشْرِينَ يَوْمًا.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to perform i'tikāf in every month of Ramadhan for ten days. But in the year he died, he performed i'tikāf for twenty days. (Sahīh Al Bukharī, 2044; Sunan Abi Dawūd, 2466, and others.)
Is There Any Number of Days for I'tikaf?
Al Imām Al Bukhārī placed the hadīth under the chapter heading
باب الاعتكاف في العشر الأوسط من رمضان
'Chapter about performing i'tikāf in the mid ten of Ramadhan.'
Waliyullah Ad Dahlawī - rahimahullah - said:
"The two great memorizers, Ibn Hajar and Al Aynī said:
كأنه أشار بذلك إلى أن الاعتكاف لا يختص بالعشر الأخير وإن كان الاعتكاف فيه أفضل.
It was as if he was indicating that i'tikāf isn't restricted to the last ten days (of Ramadhan), even though performing i'tikāf in it (that is, in last ten days) is better." (Sharh Abwāb wa at Tarājim Li's Sahīh Al Bukhārī, vol. 3 p. 554)
For this, some scholars said there is no specific period of time or days for i'tikaf because of the comprehensiveness of the verse:
{ وَلَا تُبَـٰشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنتُمۡ عَـٰكِفُونَ فِی ٱلۡمَسَـٰجِد}
And do not have relations with them as long as you are staying for worship in the mosques.
[Surah Al-Baqarah:187]
(See Badāi'i As Sanāi'i, vol. 2 p.15 ; Ahkām Al Qur'an Ibn Al 'Arabī, vol.1 p. 95 ; Majmū' Al Fatāwa, vol. 6 p.490 ; Kashf Al Qinā', vol.2 p. 374; Al Muhalla, vol. 5, p. 180; via Al Jāmi' Ahkām I'tikaf p. 88)
Al Imām Ibn Mulaqin, teacher to Al Hāfidh Ibn Hajar, said:
"There is no harm in performing i'tikāf in any time, similarly scholars unanimously agreed that its days are endless." (Al I'lām bi Fawāid 'Umdatil Ahkām, vol. 5 p. 430)
Al Hāfidh Ibn Hajar - rahimahullah - said:
"Scholars unanimously agreed that no limit to it days, however, they differed on its minimum."
Mufti Al Ummāh, Ash Shaykh Abdul 'Azīz b. Bāz said:
"The correct is, there is no limit to its minimum nor maximum." (Sharh Riyādh As Sālihīn, vol. 3, p. 604)
While Ibn 'Uthaymīn said:
"There is no i'tikāf in any month than Ramadhan." (Sharh Riyādh As Sālihīn, vol. 3, p. 321)
Why Did the Prophet Use Twenty Days in His Last I'tikāf?
Allah knows best, Al Hāfidh ibn Hajar mentioned some reasons thus:
1. The reason for this is that he - peace and blessings be upon him - knew that his time was near, so he wanted to increase his good deeds to show his Ummah the importance of striving in deeds. If they reach the maximum level of effort, they will meet Allah in their best state.
2. The reason is that Jibrīl used to revise Al Qur'an with him every Ramadan, but in the year he passed away, he rather revised it with him twice. That was why he performed i'tikāf twice as much as usual. This is supported by a narration in Ibn Majah from Hanād from Abū Bakr b. 'Ayāsh in the last Hadith of the chapter, connected to it:
"He used to review Al Qur'an with him once every year, but in the year he passed away, he reviewed it with him twice."
3. Ibn Al-Arabi said: It is possible that the reason for this is when he stopped observing i'tikāf in the last ten days due to what happened with his wives and observed it instead in Shawwal, he observed it for twenty days in the following year to fulfill the ten days in Ramadan.
A stronger argument is that he observed i'tikāf for twenty days only in that year because the previous year he was on a journey.
Compiler's Note: This is also the opinion of Al Khattābī in Mu'allim As Sunnan, vol. 2 p. 119, Ibn Qayyim in his At Tahdhīb, and Abū At Tayyib ('Ādhim Al Ābādī in 'Awn Al Ma'būd, vol. 4 p. 582)
This is indicated by what is narrated by An-Nasa'i and the wording is his, also by Abū Dawūd and authenticated by Ibn Hibban and others from the Hadith of Abu bin Ka'b:
"The Prophet - peace be upon him - used to observe i'tikaf in the last ten days of Ramadan. He traveled for a year, so he didn't observe it. The following year, he observed it for twenty days."
It is possible that this event has multiple reasons, sometimes due to the excuse of traveling and sometimes due to revising al Qur'an twice. (Fat'h Al Bārī, Sharh Sahīh Al Bukharī, vol. 4 p. 334)
Ash Shaykh 'Abdul 'Azīz b. Bāz mentioned another reasons: "It was because he was searching for laylatul Qadr; he looked for it in the first ten, then in the mid ten, then the affairs stopped on the last ten..."
Sharh Riyādh As Sālihīn of Ibn'Uthaymīn, vol. 3, p. 322, under the footnote.
Allah knows best; these opinions represent diversity in perspectives, while the best of them is what the main hadīth supports.
Abū Sahl Adebayo Dhikrullah
19th of Ramadan, 1445
29th of March, 2024
Erin Oṣùn,
Osun State, Nigeria.
