Question:
Is i‘tikāf valid only in the three sacred mosques — al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, al-Masjid al-Nabawī, and al-Masjid al-Aqṣā?
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
Answer:
I‘tikāf is valid in every mosque where congregational prayer (ṣalāh with jamā‘ah) is held.
It is not restricted to the three sacred mosques (al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, al-Masjid al-Nabawī, and al-Masjid al-Aqṣā).
The narration that limits i‘tikāf only to these three mosques is weak (ḍaʿīf).
(Sharḥ Mushkil al-Āthār: 7/201; al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī: 4/519)
According to Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī and Ḥāfiẓ al-Sakhāwī, all chains of this narration are weak; none is ḥasan or ṣaḥīḥ.
Though they considered that multiple weak chains might strengthen one another, this view stems from leniency and is debatable for several reasons:
① Many of these chains contain narrators who are liars (kadhdhāb) or accused of fabrication (muttahem bil-kadhib).
Even Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī himself declared some of these narrators fabricators and abandoned (matrūk).
② The principle that “multiple weak chains can strengthen a narration” was not accepted by the early scholars (mutaqaddimīn) of Islam.
It was introduced later by some of the muta’akhkhirīn (later scholars), and even among them, there is disagreement over its application.
③ Regarding this particular ḥadīth, even those who accept the concept of weak narrations supporting one another have differed — some classify it as weak or even fabricated, while others deem it acceptable as evidence, showing inconsistency in this approach.
Summary:
I‘tikāf can be observed in any mosque where congregational prayer is held.
The claim that it is only valid in the three sacred mosques is based on a weak and unreliable narration.
Is i‘tikāf valid only in the three sacred mosques — al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, al-Masjid al-Nabawī, and al-Masjid al-Aqṣā?
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
Answer:
I‘tikāf is valid in every mosque where congregational prayer (ṣalāh with jamā‘ah) is held.
It is not restricted to the three sacred mosques (al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, al-Masjid al-Nabawī, and al-Masjid al-Aqṣā).
The narration that limits i‘tikāf only to these three mosques is weak (ḍaʿīf).
(Sharḥ Mushkil al-Āthār: 7/201; al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī: 4/519)According to Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī and Ḥāfiẓ al-Sakhāwī, all chains of this narration are weak; none is ḥasan or ṣaḥīḥ.
Though they considered that multiple weak chains might strengthen one another, this view stems from leniency and is debatable for several reasons:
① Many of these chains contain narrators who are liars (kadhdhāb) or accused of fabrication (muttahem bil-kadhib).
Even Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī himself declared some of these narrators fabricators and abandoned (matrūk).
② The principle that “multiple weak chains can strengthen a narration” was not accepted by the early scholars (mutaqaddimīn) of Islam.
It was introduced later by some of the muta’akhkhirīn (later scholars), and even among them, there is disagreement over its application.
③ Regarding this particular ḥadīth, even those who accept the concept of weak narrations supporting one another have differed — some classify it as weak or even fabricated, while others deem it acceptable as evidence, showing inconsistency in this approach.
Summary:
I‘tikāf can be observed in any mosque where congregational prayer is held.
The claim that it is only valid in the three sacred mosques is based on a weak and unreliable narration.
