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Ruling on Performing Iʿtikāf In Other Than The Three Mosques | Shaykh Muḥammad Ibn Ṣāliḥ Al-ʿUthaymīn The Questioner: May Allāh bless you, this listener to the program, ʿĪd ʿIwaḍ Ṣaqar says noble Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Ṣāliḥ al-ʿUthaymīn, truly I love you for the sake of Allāh, may the peace, mercy and blessings of Allāh be upon you. I'm from the Beheira in Egypt although I reside in Jordan. My question, dear noble Shaykh is that I heard from a student of knowledge who said that Iʿtikāf is not correct unless it is performed in one of three Mosques: the Grand Mosque [in Mecca], the Prophet's Mosque [in Madīnah] and al-Aqṣá Mosque [in Jerusalem]. Is this correct? And if this is correct then is it permissible to make Iʿtikāf in other Mosques with knowledge that some people are unable to perform Iʿtikāf in these [three] Mosques due to their financial situations; and may Allāh reward you with good. Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Ṣāliḥ al-ʿUthaymīn: “I say and may the peace, mercy and blessings of Allāh be upon you. And I ask Allāh that He will love the one who loves me for His sake. As for what he asked about concerning Iʿtikāf in other than the three Mosques, then the correct opinion which the majority of the people of knowledge hold is that performing Iʿtikāf in other than the three Mosques is lawful. And the ḥadīth of Ḥudhayfah that contains the statement: ‘There is no Iʿtikāf except in the three Mosques.’ If it is authentic, then it is understood to mean that performing Iʿtikāf in these Mosques is better than other than them just as prayer in these Mosques is better than prayer in other than these Mosques. And it does not mean that it is not correct to perform Iʿtikāf in other than these Mosques. Allāh the Exalted says: ‘And do not indulge in sexual relations while you are remaining in seclusion [performing Iʿtikāf] in the Mosques…’[Sūrah al-Baqarah 2:187] And this wording is general. And if we were to say that this was specific to those three Mosques, then this would mean that Allāh is addressing the people even though those who are able to do this is only a small group from amongst them because the percentage of people at the Grand Mosque, the Prophet's Mosque and al-Aqṣá Mosque as it relates to the Islāmic world is really nothing in comparison so how could this general ruling apply to such a restricted area that cannot hold except very few Muslims?! So the correct opinion for which there can be no doubt is the opinion of the majority of the people of knowledge that Iʿtikāf in every Mosque is lawful, correct and something that a person will be rewarded for. Yes.” Translated By: Abul-Layth Qasim Mutiva
