#SultanSohbah: The Sunnah of I’tikāf

Sohbah on 19 March 2025 by Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil Ar Rabbaniق

Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm

Al-ḥamdu liLlāh today almost two-thirds of Ramaḍān have passed quickly. One-third remains which also has its worship. Everyone performs worship. And it is important to imitate the worship that our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu alayhi wa sallam performed. In shā’a Llāh some brothers and people want to perform it. May Allāh ﷻ bless them.

What is it? The Sunnah of I’tikāf. I’tikāf means spending the last ten days of Ramaḍān in the mosque. When ten days are left, our Holy ‎Prophet ﷺ would carry things to sleep on to the mosque. Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu alayhi wa sallam had no worldly possessions anyways. He ﷺ had a mattress and something to cover it with. He ﷺ would bring them for these ten days, the last ten days of Ramaḍān.

More worship is done there, without having much worldly talks. Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam had no worldly talks anyways. In order to be a lesson for people, our Holy Prophet ﷺ shows us the beautiful things he ﷺ does. It is a great virtue to do this. It is a great beauty. The beauties of Ramaḍān are many. There is also a great virtue for some people who do it.

Of course, it has its conditions. You must always be in the Masjid, inside the mosque, to worship, to break your fast at Maghrib, to perform the normal prayers and worship more. You will also have suḥūr. Some are now asking, “Should we only eat lentils?” No, that’s not seclusion. I’tikāf is different, and seclusion is different. Everyone can do i’tikāf. But one needs a special permission for seclusion. What is given is more different, more – so it’s not for everyone. It’s done for people who need it.

Sometimes some people make everyone do seclusion. That doesn’t concern us. What concerns us is the i’tikāf our Prophet ﷺ told us about. If you say, “Nawaytu l-i’tikāf”, “I intend i’tikāf”, every time you enter a mosque, that would also be rewarded. The actual i’tikāf is ten days. But people can do less. They can do as much as they can. Every time we enter a mosque, we intend to perform i’tikāf so that we will have earned the thawāb of i’tikāf.

In the mosque – now some brothers say, “We can’t do it in the mosque. There is no mosque.” When there is no mosque – it is actually done at home for women. Women mustn’t do it in the mosque. Women should perform i’tikāf at home. If they have a room where they pray, they should perform i’tikāf and worship there for ten days. Men should do it in the mosque. It should be in a place where the five daily prayers are performed.

If one person in every country does it, the other people will also attain that barakah. If they don’t do it, they will all be deprived of that barakah. Shukr to Allāh ﷻ, now it is done everywhere. There are people who perform i’tikāf in almost every part of the world.

Therefore, we should make shukr to Allāh ﷻ. We should make shukr that we are in this beautiful religion. A lady just now asked us for some advice to show to people. We said that our advice is to hold onto your fasting to attain the virtue of fasting this month of Ramaḍān.

Because many people say, “What is fasting? If I’m going to fast, will Allāh ﷻ benefit from my fasting?” Ḥāshā (far from it). Ḥāshā! Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla is not in need of anything. If all people did not fast, Allāh ﷻ would not lack anything. If they fasted, He ﷻ would not gain anything.

Therefore, this is for fasting. All worships are for your benefit. Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla is giving you that benefit. He ﷻ has no need for it. You should know its value. You should thank Allāh ﷻ for every worship you do. Shukr to Allāh ﷻ so that they may increase with our shukr. May our worships, our obedience, our submission, our servitude to Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla be more beautiful, in shā’a Llāh. Wa min Allah at-Tawfiq.

Al-Fatiha.

• Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbani 

19 March 2025/ 19 Ramadhan 1446

Lefke, Cyprus

For more resources on the Last 10 Nights of Ramadhan, please click here.

Wassalam.