Which Night Forgives All Your Sins?
Laylat al-Qadr and the Rules of I'tikaf - Kitab al-Wajiz Fasting Chapter
Summary
This lecture continues the discussion of fasting from Kitab al-Wajiz, focusing on the significance of Laylat al-Qadr (the Night of Power) during the last 10 nights of Ramadan. Sh. Ali Mashhour references a hadith from Bukhari and Muslim narrated by Abu Hurairah, emphasizing that whoever performs qiyam (night prayers) on Laylat al-Qadr with faith and hope in Allah's reward will have their past sins forgiven. The majority of the lecture addresses the rules and conditions of i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque), including the requirement that i'tikaf must be performed in a masjid rather than smaller prayer spaces, the recommended practices during i'tikaf (focused worship, Quran recitation, dhikr), and the permissible necessities that allow one to temporarily leave i'tikaf. Sh. Ali Mashhour concludes by noting the completion of the book of fasting section and discusses future study plans.
Note: This transcript was generated using YouTube's automatic captioning, with AI-assisted cleanup for readability. It may contain inaccuracies due to background noise, audio quality, or limitations of the transcription software — particularly during Arabic recitation. Listener discretion is advised; please refer to the original video for precise wording.
I'm about to continuing in the book of fasting from the chapter regarding the calf. This here is to mention that the prophet was selling would strongly encourage that a person take particular care and make particular effort to make salah for the duration or for large portion of the nights of the last 10 of Ramadan.
[Silence]
Bukhari and Muslim Abu Hurairah narrates that the prophet Sallallahu alaihi wasallam said whoever spends the duration of the night of Laylat al-Qadr which again we don't know exactly which night it is each year. So the only possible way for a person to conceivably be certain of having you know acquired its virtue is to have put in an effort each of the last 10 nights of Ramadan. He says whoever does qiyam on the night of al-Qadr Laylat al-Qadr out of iman and hopefulness in Allah's reward, what is past of his sins will be forgiven.
[Silence]
Here he says and i'tikaf is only to take place in a masjid. Person couldn't make i'tikaf in his home or i'tikaf in a small musalla or something that. It has to be a masjid and a masjid has a different ruling than a musalla. And so some of the scholars have mentioned that one of the parameters of a masjid to make i'tikaf in is that it has to be a masjid that at least is sizable enough that they give the Jumu' khutbah. That they have salat al-Jumu' there at the masjid. And so it has to be in the masjid. Some scholars from amongst the tabi'in as a very few of them have mentioned that it can only be in the three major masajid. Al-Masjid al-Haram, al-Masjid al-Nabawi, wal Masjid al-Aqsa. That I'tikaf can only be in those three masajid. And whilst that opinion is nothing to thumb your nose at, it does have its very strong evidences. Though it is the opinion of the majority, the minority. The opinion of the majority of the scholarship of Islam khalafan wa salafan is that I'tikaf is permissible in any masjid. however, in those three masajid, it is agreed upon to be of the utmost of virtue. And the evidence that I'tikaf can only be in a masjid is the statement of Allah "walatubashiruhunna waantum 'aakifuna fil masajid". So, he mentions al-I'tikaf in masajid. And because the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam was never narrated to have ever made I'tikaf anywhere but a masjid. It's always been in a masjid. Yaqul an yashghala nafsahu bita'atillahi kas salati wal qira'ati wat tasbihi wat tahmidi wat tahlili wat takbiri wal.
[Arabic recitation]
Strongly recommended that a person who is making itikaf spend his time in in fervent worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala whether that be in salah or making thicker or recitation of the Quran or dua or studying Islamic knowledge etc. etc.
[Silence]
He said and it is conversely disliked and dispraised that a person spend his time in that which is unnecessary that which is little consequence whether that be of actions or words while they are in itikaf. Likewise it is impermissible to take that to the extreme to the point that a person refuses to speak at all to anyone as long as they are in itikaf. This is well is not the prophet Muhammad's sunnah.
[Silence]
And it is permissible for a person while they are in I'tikaf that they leave their I'tikaf to go do something that is necessary for their day-to-day, right? And when we say day-to-day, we're not talking about you know, going to the bank or do of their doesn't have a place come to something possible for the brushing their hair or cutting their clean It is lifted. Number one, I'tikaf or These two things will interrupt an I'tikaf. And with that, we will have finished the book of fasting from Kitab al-Wajiz. We started at the beginning of Ramadan. And and we didn't start at the beginning of Ramadan, really. We We a week before Ramadan, really. as a as a as a preparation for Ramadan. And then Ramadan finished and we kept going. And people were thinking why are these people talking about fasting? Because Ramadan is over. As if that's only to talk about during Ramadan. So, we finished that. We will probably start at the beginning of the book if we want to continue this book. Or we can revert back to Riyadhus Saliheen, which is what we were doing before. So, we'll have to discuss that,.
[Arabic recitation]