The Benefits of I’tikaf

There are many hidden benefits in the acts of worship and much wisdom behind them.  The basis of  all deeds is  the heart, as the Messenger  of  Allah,  Peace and Blessings  of  Allah be  upon  him,  said: 

“In the body there is  an organ  which if it  is sound,  the entire  body will be sound, and if it  is  corrupt, the entire body will be corrupt. That organ is the heart.” (Narrated by al-Bukhari, 52; Muslim, 1599)

What corrupts  the  heart  most  is distractions and preoccupations – such as food, drink, sex, talking too much, sleeping too much  and  socializing too much,  and  other distractions – which divert people from turning  to Allah and cause the heart to be unfocused and unable  to concentrate on worshipping  Allah. So Allah has prescribed acts of worship, such as fasting, to protect the heart from the negative effects of these distractions. Fasting deprives a person of food and drink and sex during the day, and this denial of excessive enjoyments is reflected in the heart, which gains more strength for seeking Allah and frees it from the chains of these distractions which distract a person from thinking of the Hereafter by occupying him with worldly concerns.

Just as fasting is a shield which protects the heart from the influences of  physical distractions such as excessive  indulgence  in food,  drink  and sex, so I’tikaf  offers an immense  hidden  benefit,  which  is protection  from the effects of  excessive  socializing.  For people may take socializing to extremes, until it has a similar effect on a person to the effects of over-eating, as the poet said:

“Your enemy was once your friend, so do not have too many companions,

For, as you see, most diseases come from food and drink.”

I’tikaf  also  offers protection  from the evil consequences of  talking  too much, because a person usually does I’tikaf  on his  own, turning  to Allah by  praying  Qiyaam  al-Layl,  reading  Qur'an, making  Dhikr, reciting du’a, and so on.

It also  offers protection  from sleeping  too much, because when a person makes I’tikaf  in the  mosque, he devotes his  time  to drawing  closer  to Allah by  doing  different  kinds  of  acts of  worship;  he does not stay in the mosque  to sleep.

Undoubtedly  a person’s  success in freeing  himself  from socializing,  talking  and sleeping  too much will help him to make his heart turn towards Allah, and will protect him from the opposite.