Retiring to a Mosque for Remembrance of Allah (I'tikaf)

Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAbd Allāh related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb related to me, from Yūnus, that Nāfiʿ informed him, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both): The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to observe iʿtikāf during the last ten days of Ramaḍān.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yūsuf related to us: al-Layth related to us, from ʿUqayl, from Ibn Shihāb, from ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr, from ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her), the wife of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace): The Prophet used to observe iʿtikāf during the last ten days of Ramaḍān until Allah caused him to die. His wives then observed iʿtikāf after him.

Ismāʿīl related to us, saying: Mālik related to me, from Yazīd ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Hād, from Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm ibn al-Ḥārith al-Taymī, from Abū Salamah ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to observe iʿtikāf during the middle ten days of Ramaḍān. One year he continued until the night of the twenty-first, the morning after which he would normally end his iʿtikāf. He said: ‘Whoever has been observing iʿtikāf with me, let him observe the last ten days. I was shown this night, then made to forget it. Seek it during the last ten days, and seek it on every odd night. I saw myself prostrating in water and mud on its morning.’ It rained that night, and water leaked through the mosque roof, which was a palm-frond shelter. My eyes saw the Messenger of Allah, and on the morning of the twenty-first I saw traces of water and mud on his forehead.’

Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us: Yaḥyā related to us, from Hishām, who said: My father informed me, from ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: While the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) was in retreat in the mosque, he would incline his head toward me, and I would comb his hair while I was menstruating.

Qutaybah related to us: al-Layth related to us, from Ibn Shihāb, from ʿUrwah and ʿAmrah bint ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, that ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her), the wife of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), said: The Messenger of Allah would put his head toward me while he was in the mosque, and I would comb it. When he was observing iʿtikāf, he would not enter the house except for a need.

Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf related to us: Sufyān related to us, from Manṣūr, from Ibrāhīm, from al-Aswad, from ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) would be physically affectionate with me while I was menstruating. When he was observing iʿtikāf, he would put his head out of the mosque, and I would wash it while I was menstruating.

Musaddad related to us: Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd related to us, from ʿUbayd Allāh, who informed me, from Nāfiʿ, from Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both): ʿUmar said to the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace): ‘During the pre-Islamic period, I vowed to observe iʿtikāf for one night in the Sacred Mosque.’ He said: ‘Fulfill your vow.’

Abu al-Numan narrated to us: Hammad ibn Zayd narrated to us: Yahya narrated to us, from Amra, from Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, who said: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to observe retreat in the mosque during the last ten days of Ramadan. I would set up a tent for him, and after praying the dawn prayer he would enter it. Hafsa asked Aisha for permission to set up a tent, and Aisha gave her permission, so she set one up. When Zaynab bint Jahsh saw it, she set up another tent. In the morning, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, saw the tents and asked, “What is this?” He was informed, and the Prophet said, “Do you think this is righteousness on their part?” He then left off the retreat that month and observed a retreat for ten days in Shawwal.

Abdullah ibn Yusuf narrated to us: Malik informed us, from Yahya ibn Saeed, from Amra bint Abd al-Rahman, from Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, intended to observe retreat in the mosque. When he went to the place where he intended to stay in retreat, there were tents: Aisha tent, Hafsa tent, and Zaynab tent. He said, “Do you call this righteousness?” Then he went away and did not observe the retreat until he observed it for ten days in Shawwal.

Abū al-Yamān related to us: Shuʿayb informed us, from al-Zuhrī, who said: ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn (may Allah be pleased with them both) informed me that Ṣafiyyah, the wife of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), told him: During the last ten days of Ramaḍān, while the Messenger of Allah was observing iʿtikāf in the mosque, I came to visit him. I sat and spoke with him for a while, then stood to leave. The Prophet stood with me and accompanied me until we reached the mosque gate, by the door of Umm Salamah. Two men from the Anṣār passed by and greeted the Messenger of Allah. The Prophet said to them: ‘Take it easy; this is Ṣafiyyah bint Ḥuyayy.’ They said: ‘Glory be to Allah, Messenger of Allah!’ They were taken aback. The Prophet said: ‘Satan moves through a person as blood moves through him, and I feared that he might cast something into your hearts.’

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Munīr related to me: Hārūn ibn Ismāʿīl heard; ʿAlī ibn al-Mubārak related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Abī Kathīr related to me: I heard Abū Salamah ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān say: I asked Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (may Allah be pleased with him): ‘Did you hear the Messenger of Allah mention the Night of Decree?’ He said: ‘Yes. We observed iʿtikāf with the Messenger of Allah during the middle ten days of Ramaḍān. We came out on the morning of the twentieth. The Messenger of Allah addressed us that morning and said: “I was shown the Night of Decree, but I was made to forget it. Seek it during the odd nights of the last ten days, for I saw myself prostrating in water and mud. Whoever has been observing iʿtikāf with the Messenger of Allah, let him return.”’ The people returned to the mosque. We saw no clouds in the sky, but a cloud came and it rained. The prayer was called, and the Messenger of Allah prostrated in mud and water, until I saw mud on his nose and forehead.’

Qutaybah related to us: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, from Khālid, from ʿIkrimah, from ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: One of the Prophet’s wives, who was experiencing irregular bleeding, observed iʿtikāf with the Messenger of Allah. She would see reddish and yellowish discharge, and sometimes we placed a basin beneath her while she prayed.

Saʿīd ibn ʿUfayr said: al-Layth related to me: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Khālid related to me, from Ibn Shihāb, from ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn (may Allah be pleased with them both), that Ṣafiyyah, the wife of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), informed him. ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad related to us: Hishām related to us: Maʿmar informed us, from al-Zuhrī, from ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn: The Prophet was in the mosque with his wives. When they left, he said to Ṣafiyyah bint Ḥuyayy: ‘Do not hurry; I will accompany you.’ Her house was in the compound of Usāmah. The Prophet went out with her, and two men from the Anṣār met him. They looked at the Prophet and continued on. The Prophet said to them: ‘Come here. This is Ṣafiyyah bint Ḥuyayy.’ They said: ‘Glory be to Allah, Messenger of Allah!’ He said: ‘Satan flows through a person as blood flows through him, and I feared that he might cast something into your hearts.’

Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAbd Allāh related to us, saying: My brother informed me, from Sulaymān, from Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿAtīq, from Ibn Shihāb, from ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn (may Allah be pleased with them both), that Ṣafiyyah informed him. ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh related to us: Sufyān related to us, saying: I heard al-Zuhrī relate from ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn that Ṣafiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) came to the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) while he was observing iʿtikāf. When she returned, he walked with her. A man from the Anṣār saw him; when he noticed the man, he called to him and said: ‘Come here; she is Ṣafiyyah’—though Sufyān may have said, ‘This is Ṣafiyyah’—‘for Satan flows through a human being as blood flows through him.’ I asked Sufyān: ‘Did she come to him at night?’ He said: ‘And what time could it have been other than night?’

Abd al-Rahman narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us, from Ibn Jurayj, from Sulayman al-Ahwal, the maternal uncle of Ibn Abi Najih, from Abu Salama, from Abu Saeed. Sufyan said: Muhammad ibn Amr narrated to us, from Abu Salama, from Abu Saeed. He also said: I think Ibn Abi Labid narrated to us, from Abu Salama, from Abu Saeed, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: We observed retreat in the mosque with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, during the middle ten days. On the morning of the twentieth, we moved our belongings. The Messenger of Allah came to us and said, “Whoever has been observing retreat should return to his place of retreat, for I saw this night, and I saw myself prostrating in water and mud.” When he returned to his place of retreat, the sky grew stormy and it rained. By Him who sent him with the truth, the sky opened with rain at the end of that day. The mosque was a simple shelter, and I saw traces of water and mud on his nose and its tip.

Muhammad narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Fudayl ibn Ghazwan informed us, from Yahya ibn Saeed, from Amra bint Abd al-Rahman, from Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, used to observe retreat in the mosque every Ramadan. After praying the dawn prayer, he would enter the place where he was observing retreat. Aisha asked his permission to observe retreat, and he gave her permission, so she set up a tent there. Hafsa heard about it and set up a tent, and Zaynab heard about it and set up another tent. The next morning, when the Messenger of Allah had finished prayer, he saw four tents and asked, “What is this?” He was told what had happened. He said, “What prompted them to do this? Is it piety? Take them down; I do not wish to see them.” They were taken down. He did not observe retreat in Ramadan again until he observed it during the last ten days of Shawwal.

Ismail ibn Abd Allah narrated to us, from his brother, from Sulayman, from Ubayd Allah ibn Umar, from Nafi, from Abdullah ibn Umar, from Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: “O Messenger of Allah, in the pre-Islamic era I vowed to observe retreat for one night in the Sacred Mosque.” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to him, “Fulfill your vow.” So he observed retreat for one night.

Ubayd ibn Ismail narrated to us: Abu Usama narrated to us, from Ubayd Allah, from Nafi, from Ibn Umar: Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, had vowed in the pre-Islamic era to observe retreat in the Sacred Mosque. The narrator said, “I think he said: for one night.” The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to him, “Fulfill your vow.”

Abdullah ibn Abi Shayba narrated to us: Abu Bakr narrated to us, from Abu Husayn, from Abu Salih, from Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to observe retreat in the mosque for ten days every Ramadan. In the year in which he died, he observed retreat for twenty days.