Bukhari

Hadith Commentary:

A vow (nazr) or offering (niyaz) that is made purely for Allah and for a permissible matter, in a permissible manner, must be fulfilled and is obligatory. I'tikaf (spiritual retreat) is also included among such matters. If someone makes an incorrect vow, such as a person who vowed to perform Hajj on foot, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) declared it invalid. Similarly, other incorrect vows and pledges must also be broken. Making a vow or pledge for anyone other than Allah falls under shirk (associating partners with Allah).

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
Some scholars have deduced from this narration of Sahih Bukhari that i'tikaf (spiritual retreat) is valid without fasting, because the night is not a time for fasting. If fasting were a condition, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) would have instructed Umar (radi Allahu anhu) to perform i'tikaf while fasting. However, deducing from this narration that i'tikaf can be performed only at night is questionable, because in Sahih Muslim it is mentioned that Umar (radi Allahu anhu) had vowed to perform i'tikaf for one day.
(Sahih Muslim, Al-Iman, Hadith: 4294(1656))
Ibn Hibban has said:
Both narrations are authentic, because Umar (radi Allahu anhu) had vowed to perform i'tikaf for one day and one night. The one who mentioned the night also intended the day implicitly, and the one who mentioned only the day had the night in mind, because the night follows the day.

(2)
In some narrations, it is mentioned that when Umar al-Faruq (radi Allahu anhu) presented to the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) that he had a vow of i'tikaf, the Prophet instructed him to perform i'tikaf and to fast. However, this narration is not suitable as evidence due to the narrator Abdullah bin Budayl.
(Fath al-Bari: 4/349)
However, in one narration of Sahih Bukhari, it is mentioned that after the guidance of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), Umar (radi Allahu anhu) performed i'tikaf for one night in Masjid al-Haram.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Al-I'tikaf, Hadith: 2042)
From this, it is understood that he did not perform i'tikaf for more than one night, and there was no fasting in this i'tikaf.
(Fath al-Bari: 4/349)

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
In this hadith, "Jahiliyyah" refers to the period before Umar radi Allahu anhu accepted Islam, because every person's period of ignorance (Jahiliyyah) is determined by the time they embraced Islam. It does not refer to the era of ignorance before the advent of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Imam Tahawi rahimahullah has titled this hadith with the following words:
(Man nazara wa huwa mushrikun thumma aslama)
"Whoever made a vow while he was a polytheist, then accepted Islam."
This title is clearer in conveying the intended meaning. While returning from the Battle of Hunayn, Umar radi Allahu anhu asked the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam the aforementioned question, as is explicitly mentioned in another hadith.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Maghazi, Hadith: 4320) (2)
From this hadith, it is understood that it is necessary to fulfill a vow made during the period of ignorance (Jahiliyyah). The period of disbelief and polytheism does not prevent the fulfillment of a vow. In any case, it is obligatory to fulfill a vow of obedience, even if it was made during the period of disbelief and polytheism.
(3)
It should be noted that Umar radi Allahu anhu was observing i'tikaf (spiritual retreat) in Masjid al-Haram after the distribution of the spoils of war obtained in the Battle of Hunayn, as he himself has clarified this matter.
(Fath al-Bari: 11/709)

Hadith Commentary:
Hazrat Nafi‘ bin Samr was a companion (jalis) of Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar radi Allahu anhu and his freed slave.
In the science of hadith, he is considered reliable in chain of transmission (sanad) and as a proof (hujjah).
Imam Malik rahimahullah states that whenever I hear a hadith of Ibn Umar radi Allahu anhu from Nafi‘, I no longer feel the need to hear it from any other narrator.
He passed away in 118 AH.

Hadith Commentary:
1.
When the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) assumed the ihram for ‘umrah from Ji‘irranah, Umar (radi Allahu anhu) also remembered a vow he had made during the pre-Islamic period of ignorance, so he asked about it. The details are found in the following narration:
It is narrated from Ibn Umar (radi Allahu anhu) that when the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) returned from Ta’if to Ji‘irranah, Umar (radi Allahu anhu) said:
“O Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)! I had made a vow during the pre-Islamic period of ignorance to perform i‘tikaf (spiritual retreat) for one day in Masjid al-Haram. What is the ruling regarding this?” The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
“Go and perform i‘tikaf for one day in Masjid al-Haram.”
Ibn Umar (radi Allahu anhu) further said:
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) had given Umar (radi Allahu anhu) a slave girl from the spoils of war (khums). When the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) set the people free, Umar (radi Allahu anhu) heard their commotion, saying that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) had set us free. Umar (radi Allahu anhu) said to Ibn Umar (radi Allahu anhu):
“Go and set that slave girl free as well.”
(Sahih Muslim, Al-Iman, Hadith: 4294.
(1656)
Hafiz Ibn Hajar (rahimahullah) writes:
From this hadith, it is understood on what basis Imam Bukhari (rahimahullah) mentioned the aforementioned hadith in the context of the Battle of Hunayn, because it contains the mention of a slave girl obtained from the spoils of Hunayn whom Umar al-Faruq (rahimahullah) set free. And Allah knows best.
(Fath al-Bari: 45/8)

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
Some individuals are of the opinion that Umar (radi Allahu anhu) made the vow after accepting Islam but before the conquest of Makkah. However, this opinion is not based on fact, because it is mentioned in Sahih Muslim that when I became Muslim, I asked the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) about this matter. In fact, in the narration of Sunan al-Daraqutni, it is explicitly stated that Umar (radi Allahu anhu) made the vow to perform i'tikaf (spiritual retreat) during the time of shirk (polytheism).
(Fath al-Bari: 4/348)
(2)
Imam al-Bukhari (rahimahullah) has established a chapter heading for this hadith in the following words:
(Chapter:
If a person vows or swears not to speak to someone during the time of ignorance, then accepts Islam.)
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Faith and Vows, Chapter: 29)
(3)
Hafiz Ibn Hajar (rahimahullah) writes:
A vow (nadhar) or oath (qasam) made during the time of ignorance (jahiliyyah) is also binding, to the extent that after accepting Islam, it becomes necessary to fulfill it, because the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) commanded Umar (radi Allahu anhu) to fulfill the vow he had made during the time of ignorance, and Umar acted in accordance with that vow.
The related discussions will be mentioned in the "Book of Faith and Vows."
(Fath al-Bari: 4/361)
By the permission of Allah.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
From this hadith, it is understood that fasting is not a condition for i'tikaf (spiritual retreat), because the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) permitted Umar (radi Allahu anhu) to perform i'tikaf for one night, and night is not the time for fasting. However, in some narrations it is mentioned that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) instructed him to perform i'tikaf and to fast, but these narrations are not authoritative because among their narrators is Abdullah bin Budeel, who is weak.
(Fath al-Bari: 4/349)
This narration shows that Umar al-Faruq (radi Allahu anhu) performed i'tikaf for only one night.
Fasting at night is prohibited in the Shari'ah.
(2)
Some people think that this incident occurred at a time when fasting at night was not yet prohibited.
But this position is incorrect because Umar (radi Allahu anhu) presented this matter to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) upon returning from the Battle of Hunayn, and by that time, the prohibition of fasting at night had already been established.
(Fath al-Bari: 4/348)
However, there is a narration from Aisha (radi Allahu anha) that there is no i'tikaf without fasting.
(Sunan Abi Dawud, al-Siyam, Hadith: 2473)
(3)
According to us, the preferred position is that i'tikaf is permissible without fasting, but performing i'tikaf with fasting is superior.
Note! This does not mean that a person should neglect the obligatory fast of Ramadan despite having the ability, and only perform i'tikaf. Rather, it means that if someone performs i'tikaf outside of Ramadan, or does not have the strength to fast during Ramadan, then it is permissible for him.

Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues:
After the conquest of Makkah, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) fought the Battle of Hunayn against the Banu Hawazin in Shawwal, 8 AH.
After being defeated, the enemy was scattered:
one group headed towards Ta’if,
another group went towards Awtas,
and a third group fled towards Nakhlah.
The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) took captive the women and children of the enemy, whose number was six thousand.
Among the livestock, twenty-four thousand camels and more than forty thousand goats were seized,
and four thousand uqiyah of silver was obtained.
All these items were gathered at the place of Ji‘ranah.
The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) then set out towards Ta’if,
because the largest group of the enemy had gone there.
However, after besieging them for some time, he returned,
and at Ji‘ranah, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), due to kinship with Banu Hawazin—since his wet nurse Halimah belonged to a family of this tribe—
waited for more than two weeks in the hope that they would embrace Islam
and come to reclaim their wealth and captives.
But when they did not come during this waiting period, he distributed the wealth and captives among the Muslims.
After the distribution of the spoils,
a delegation of Banu Hawazin came to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) as Muslims
and requested, in a very effective manner, the return of their captives and wealth.
The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said,
“After the distribution of the spoils, it is not possible to return both the captives and the wealth.
Choose one of the two.”
They expressed the desire for the return of their captives, so the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) gathered all the Companions and delivered a sermon regarding this matter,
as a result of which the people agreed to release the captives.
Thus, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) freed all the captives.
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) had given two slave girls to Umar (radi Allahu anhu) from the khums (one-fifth) of the spoils;
he gave one to his son Ibn Umar and kept the other for himself.
When the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) announced the freeing of the captives,
both father and son freed their respective slave girls.
(For details, see Al-Raheeq Al-Makhtum)

Explanation:
1:
Accordingly, Umar (radi Allahu anhu) performed i'tikaf in the Masjid al-Haram for one night.

Benefits and Issues:
In this narration, the mention of "day" and the command to "also fast" is not correct.
Because this narration is in Sahih al-Bukhari, and in it, there is no mention of the day or the command to fast.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of I'tikaf, Hadith: 2033) In any case, a vow for a righteous deed, even if it was made during the period of ignorance (Jahiliyyah), should be fulfilled.

Benefits and Issues:
If a vow for something rightful is made even in a state of disbelief, it is necessary to fulfill it.

Such a vow that was made in a state of disbelief, and in it there is obedience to Allah Ta’ala, then even after accepting Islam, that vow must be fulfilled.

This vow was for a good deed; therefore, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) ordered it to be fulfilled. Otherwise, during the state of disbelief, religious obligations are not binding.

Commentary:
Benefits and Issues:

➊
I'tikaf (spiritual retreat) can be observed for even one day or one night.

➋
If a person intends to do a good deed before accepting Islam, then after accepting Islam, he should fulfill that deed. However, if he had intended to do something un-Islamic, then he should not fulfill it.

➌
Making a vow (nadhar) for the sake of Allah is an act of worship; therefore, it is necessary to fulfill such a vow.

Benefits and Issues:
➊ Since a vow (nadhar) is an act of worship to Allah and a good deed, therefore, regarding the good deed that was intended before accepting Islam, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) commanded that the good deed should be performed.

➋ If, in the state of disbelief, a vow is made to perform an act that is also considered a good deed in Islam, then after accepting Islam, it is necessary to fulfill that vow.

Takhrij:
«أخرجه البخاري، الاعتكاف، باب الاعتكاف ليلًا، حديث:2032، ومسلم، الأيمان، باب نذر الكافر وما يفعل فيه إذا أسلم، حديث:1656.»©Explanation:
From this hadith, it is understood that if a disbeliever makes a vow (nazr) while in a state of disbelief, it is necessary to fulfill it after accepting Islam, provided that it is not contrary to the Shariah.
This is the opinion of Imam Bukhari, Imam Ibn Jarir rahimahumullah, and a group among the Shafi'is. However, according to the majority, a vow made by a disbeliever is not valid in the first place, so the question of fulfilling it does not arise; therefore, they have interpreted this hadith as indicating desirability (istihbab).
In any case, the apparent meaning of the hadith supports the first opinion.
And Allah knows best.