Library Islam What is Islam? I'tikaf
I'tikaf
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I‘TIKAF
Question:
What is i‘tikaf?
Answer:
I‘tikaf consists of staying in the mosque for a period of three days or more during which the Muslim fasts in the daytime and refrains from doing many things which would be incompatible with achieving nearness to God, and also does not leave the mosque except for the performance of necessities.
Question:
What is the benefit of i‘tikaf?
Answer:
Its benefit is to raise the soul upwards to spiritual things and to break the individual from those physical attachments which smear clear thinking. It is a time of recuperation and rest so as to cleanse the body and purify the soul.
At the present day we see that people, even the heads of governments, withdraw from their work for a period of recuperation, so that they may have an opportunity for relaxing and reflecting. They go to a house in the country or to the seaside and elsewhere in order to regain their energy and think about their problems away from the hubbub of life. I‘tikaf is better than doing this because:
1. While doing i‘tikaf you are fasting, some of the benefits of which have already been mentioned.
2. I‘tikaf involves focusing oneself on God who is the source of every good and the inspiration of every serenity and inner peace.
3. I‘tikaf is carried out in a mosque which is in itself a place of obedience, worship, truthfulness and purity, free from transgressions and evil acts.
It has been scientifically demonstrated that place influences the human spirit and can, according to what sort of place it is, be a positive influence for good or for evil.
