The best wish a Muslim can have in the month of Ramadan, after attaining the mercy of Allah The Almighty and His Forgiveness, is to be emancipated from Hell, as Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {So he who is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has attained [his desire].}[Quran 3:185]
However, emancipation from Hell requires standing at the doorstep of Allah The Almighty and supplicating Him insistently as well as performing Thikr (remembrance) and other acts of worship as much as possible.
Therefore, ‘Itikaaf (seclusion in the mosque) is considered one of the best deeds in these days because it isolates one from all that distracts him from Allah The Almighty and places him at the gates of Allah The Almighty to ask for His forgiveness and mercy and entreat Him to emancipate him from Hell.
Activities of the Prophet, , during the last ten days of Ramadan:
‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said, “When the last ten nights (of Ramadan) would begin, the Messenger of Allah would keep awake at night (for prayer and devotion), awaken his family and prepare himself to be more diligent in worship.”[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
She also told us about the activities of the Prophet, , during these nights, saying, “The Prophet would exert himself in worship during the last ten nights more than any other time of the year.”[Muslim]
Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “The Prophet used to observe ‘Itikaaf every year (during Ramadan) for ten days; in the year in which he passed away, he observed ‘Itikaaf for twenty days.”
Ibn Hajar commented on this Hadeeth (narration) in Fat-h Al-Baari saying,
The reason why the Prophet doubled the period of his ‘Itikaaf in his last year is that he felt that his life was coming to an end. Hence, he wished to do as many good deeds as he could to teach his followers to indulge in worship when they become old so as to meet Allah The Almighty in their best condition.
One usually gets busy and distracted due to being absorbed in daily life affairs, so, there is nothing better than getting rid of these distractions and devoting oneself to one's Lord for ten days every year in order to receive a great virtue and save oneself from Hell.
Those who revive the Sunnah (Prophetic tradition) of ‘Itikaaf are the most successful people in their life; they are not losers or the unemployed or those who have no better means to utilize their time. The successful person is successful in everything including his worldly affairs and his relationship with his Lord. We know many people who leave their work due to illness or any other important or trivial cause. ‘Itikaaf was mentioned in the Quran in several places. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And do not have relations with them as long as you are staying for worship in the mosques.}[Quran 2:187]
It just requires managing one’s time and making the necessary arrangements at the workplace to make ‘Itikaaf. You can utilize ordinary vacations, but if they one does not have a vacation to avail of, then ‘Itikaaf for less than ten days is valid. Some scholars have said that it is valid for one to stay any period of time in the mosque with the intention of ‘Itikaaf.
Women’s ‘Itikaaf
‘Itikaaf is permissible for women with the condition that she has the permission of her husband and that there is an available secure place in the mosque away from men. The Prophet, allowed ‘Aa’ishah and Hafsah, may Allah be pleased with them, to make ‘Itikaaf. This permission proves that women are allowed under Sharee‘ah (Islamic legislation) to make ‘Itikaaf. Of course, this permission was practically applied by the women of the righteous predecessors as proved by the fact that Imaam Al-Bukhari, may Allah have mercy upon him, entitled two chapters in his Saheeh as follows:
- Chapter of Women’s ‘Itikaaf
- Chapter of Women’s Tents in the Mosque
Likewise, Imaam Maalik said that the woman who menstruates while making ‘Itikaaf should return to her house and stay there until she becomes pure and then return to the mosque to resume her ‘Itikaaf [Al-Muwatta’ (Chapter of Making up for ‘Itikaaf)].
Dear Muslim sister, you should be keen on utilizing these blessed days in obeying your Lord. Do not get busy with making cakes and sweets wasting this precious and valuable opportunity. If this is inevitable, then it should be during a time apart from these blessed ten days. The same thing applies to buying the requirements of ‘Eed and children’s clothes, which should be bought before the advent of Ramadan, or at its beginning or at least before its last ten days.
Children and ‘Itikaaf
It is recommended to accompany the children during ‘Itikaaf as much as they could to train them to revive this blessed Sunnah and encourage them to go to the mosques and attend the Taraaweeh prayer. However, we should first teach them the manners of the mosque and accustom them to respect the house of Allah The Almighty so they will not cause trouble in the mosque.
‘Itikaaf is a golden chance to teach children the manners of asking for permission and to initiate a dialogue away from fruitless debates. It is also better to teach them these manners before the beginning of ‘Itikaaf so as to train and accustom them to behave in a good way and acquire good qualities such as cooperation and altruism.
The greatest prize that one may receive during these days is to witness the Night of Al-Qadr, which is the most virtuous night ever, as it is better than one thousand months (more than eighty-three years and four months).
The Prophet, , urged us to seek it during the last ten days of Ramadan saying:
- “Seek the Night of Al-Qadr in the last ten days of Ramadan.”
- “Seek the Night of Al-Qadr in the odd-numbered nights of the last ten nights.”
Prepare yourself well for this precious and rare opportunity by sleeping well in the afternoon. After this, you should end any dispute you have with any one and maintain your kinship ties; otherwise, you will be deprived of the bounty of Allah The Almighty on that night and during these days. The Prophet, , said: “The gates of Paradise are opened on Mondays and Thursdays, and then every slave (of Allah) is granted forgiveness if he does not associate anything with Allah in worship. But the person in whose heart there is rancor against his (Muslim) brother, he will not be pardoned and with regard to them it will be said twice, `Hold both of them until they are reconciled with each other.’” [Al-Bukhari]
Do your best, because this night is better than your whole life time and you will be emancipated from Hell. So, do not miss a single moment.
Other good deeds that emancipate you from Hell:
- Providing a fasting person with Iftaar: The Prophet, , said: “Whoever gives food to a fasting person to break his fast with, shall have his sins forgiven, and he will be saved from the Fire of Hell, and he shall have the same reward as the fasting person, without the latter’s reward being diminished the least.”
- Charity: The Prophet, , said: “Protect yourselves from (Hell) Fire, by giving in charity even half a date.”
- Leniency and good treatment of others: The Prophet, , said: “Whoever lightens the work of his slave during Ramadan, Allah The Almighty will forgive him and emancipate him from Hell.”
- Gratitude and acknowledgment of the favors that others did to you: That is because women will be the majority of the people of Hell due to their ingratitude toward their husbands.
- Getting rid of the qualities of the hypocrites: The Prophet, , said: “There are three signs of a hypocrite: When he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; and when he is trusted, he betrays the trust.” Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {Indeed, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire - and never will you find for them a helper}[Quran 4:145]
- Giving your daughters a good upbringing: The Prophet, , said: “Whoever has three daughters, and teaches them good morals, they will be a shelter for him from Hell.”
May Allah The Almighty save all of us from Hell and accept our good deeds.