Itikaaf For Sisters

http://islamqa.com/en/ref/37698/i'tikaf
Can women sit for I'tikaf in a mosque in the last ten days of Ramadan?.

Praise be to Allaah.

Yes, it is permissible for a woman to observe i’tikaaf in the mosque during the last ten days of Ramadaan.

Indeed, i'tikaaf is Sunnah for both men and women, and the Mothers of the Believers (may Allaah be pleased with them [i.e., the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] used to observe i’tikaaf with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) during his lifetime, and after he passed away.

Al-Bukhaari (2026) and Muslim (1172) narrated from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to spend the last ten nights of Ramadaan in i'tikaaf until he passed away, then his wives observed i'tikaaf after he died.

It says in ‘Awn al-Ma’bood:

This indicates that women are the same as men when it comes to i'tikaaf.

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

I’tikaaf is Sunnah for both men and women, because it was proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to observe i'tikaaf during Ramadaan, and finally he settled on i'tikaaf during the last ten days, and some of his wives used to observe i'tikaaf with him, then they observed i’tikaaf after he died. The place for i’tikaaf is the mosque in which prayers in congregation are performed.

From the internet website of Shaykh Ibn Baaz.

And Allaah knows best.

Jazakallah

just one question...does that mean the women can sit in itikaaf at a mosque or just in thier homes? :?

just one question...does that mean the women can sit in itikaaf at a mosque o just in thier homes?

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In the Masjid, as this was the practice of Um'mul Mu'mineen, Aishah RadiyAllahu Anha.

:salamext:

I was wondering about this just several days ago.

JazakAllahu khayran

WassalamuAlaykum

x-Afifa-x said:

Jazakallah

just one question...does that mean the women can sit in itikaaf at a mosque o just in thier homes? :?

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Trn2allah said:

Some of his wives used to observe i'tikaaf with him, then they observed i’tikaaf after he died. The place for i’tikaaf is the mosque in which prayers in congregation are performed.

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With him in the Masjid

i don't think masjids today cater or allow women to do itikhaf in the masjid.

Brother_Mujahid said:

i don't think masjids today cater or allow women to do itikhaf in the masjid.

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Some do akhee. And the ones that allow sisters to pray Taraweeh most probably would aswell.

JσℓιєFℓєυя;1005848 said:

Some do akhee. And the ones that allow sisters to pray Taraweeh most probably would aswell.

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eh, not down here they don't

I've not heard of any masjid which allows women to do itikhaf...

Brother_Mujahid said:

I've not heard of any masjid which allows women to do itikhaf...

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thats probably because they havnt asked. If the masjid would reserve a room for sisters to pray Taraweeh in I'm certain they'd reserve one for I'tikaaf.

so that doesnt mean they necessarily will allow women to do itikhaf....

Most the masjids only have a shower or two max. Plus they only have one kitchen. So Even if they cater for sisters to pray, it may not be feasable to have sisters doing itikhaf in the same masjids.

Wasalam

Brother_Mujahid said:

so that doesnt mean they necessarily will allow women to do itikhaf....

Most the masjids only have a shower or two max. Plus they only have one kitchen. So Even if they cater for sisters to pray, it may not be feasable to have sisters doing itikhaf in the same masjids.

Wasalam

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I get you.

And it makes sense, although the masjid that I pray at has all the facilities alhamdulillah.

Its just that nobody has asked.

I know that many sisters attend the tarawih prayer in Manchester didsbury Masjid but im unsure to whether they facilitate Itikaaf for them too. You can perhaps try to find out starting here...

http://www.didsburymosque.com/Main.asp

I guess in these times it would be easier for women to do itikaaf at home.

In Pakistan, the general practice is for women to do Itikaaf in their homes. That may be the position of Hanafi Mazhab, though I'm not sure ...

From http://members.tripod.com/worldupdates/ramadaan/id58.htm
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]WHERE TO PERFORM I'TIKAAF[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]The best of places for I'tikaaf is the Masjidul Haram in Makkah. The next best is the Masjidun-Nabawiy in Madinah, and the next best is Baytul Muqaddas. Thereafter, comes the Jaama Masjid in one's own time, and last but not least, the Masjid nearest to one's home. Imaam Abu Hanifa stipulates that the Masjid should be one wherein the five daily Salaat are regularly performed, while Imaam Abu Yusuf and Imaam Muhammad agree that any Masjid acceptable to the Shari'ah can be entered for I'tikaaf. The above applies to the males. As for the females, they should perform It'ikaaf in the prayer room (Masjid set aside in their homes). Where, however, no such demarcated place exists, any one room or part of the house should be set aside for this purpose. I'tikaaf is thus in fact an easier task for women. The domestic duties can be performed by daughters or servants under her supervision and the woman in I'tikaaf, while remaining in a section of her own house, is spiritually rewarded for it. It is so very unfortunate that, in spite of this relative ease, our womenfolk still remain deprived of the blessings of I'tikaaf. [/FONT]

It is not correct for a woman to observe i’tikaaf in her house

Can a woman observe itikaf at home , what if she has to cook.

Praise be to Allaah.

I’tikaaf is only valid if done in the mosque, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And do not have sexual relations with them (your wives) while you are in I‘tikaaf (i.e. confining oneself in a mosque for prayers and invocations leaving the worldly activities) in the mosques”

[al-Baqarah 2:187]

Men and women are equal in this regard.

Ibn Qudaamah said in al-Mughni:

A woman has the right to observe i‘tikaaf in any mosque, and that is not subject to the condition that it be a mosque where prayers are performed in congregation, because that is not obligatory upon her. This was the view of al-Shaafa’i.

She does not have the right to observe i'tikaaf in her house, because Allaah says “while you are in I‘tikaaf (i.e. confining oneself in a mosque for prayers and invocations leaving the worldly activities) in the mosques”, and because the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked him for permission to observe i’tikaaf in the mosque, and he gave them permission.

Al-Nawawi said in al-Majmoo’ (6/480):

It is not correct for a man or a woman to observe i'tikaaf anywhere except in the mosque.

This is the view favoured by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen in al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 6/513

And Allaah knows best.
Islam Q&A

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I know that's the Islamqa fatwa, but to the best of my knowledge, all four mazhabs say women's itikaaf is in the home. Let's not argue fatwaas here, obviously both sides must have valid arguements to support them.

Please show your sources
Jazakallahu Khairan

Here is the Hanafi fatwaa:


Answer 4355
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from http://groups.msn.com/Muslimsaround...Message=5142&LastModified=4675493807028633888

I maybe wrong about the other mazhab's though, cuz the islmqa fatwa specically states Imaam Shafee's view.
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