Hyderabad: The Jamia Nizamia, one of the oldest Islamic seminaries in India, has issued a fatwa on Itikaf (secluding oneself in a mosque for a long period of time in order to pray) and Eid-ul-Fitr prayers in view of the lockdown. The fatwa suggests that one person from the locality should perform the Itikaf in the local mosque should be enough. However, doing it at home is not permissible, the fatwa said.
One of the standout rituals of the last 10 days of Ramzan is the Sunnah of Itikaf. It is a practice of secluding oneself in a mosque doing continual prayer during the month of Ramzan. It starts from the 21st night of the month of Ramzan and continues till the sighting of the Eid moon.
The fatwa issued with the signature of Jamia Nizamia chief mufti Moulana Mufti Mohammed Azeemuddin says that there must be at least a few people in every community who perform Itikaf in every masjid every year to keep the tradition alive. For men, the Itikaf must be in a mosque but for women, the place where they normally pray is acceptable.
The fatwa contended that doing Itikaf during Ramzan is a Sunnat-e-muakkada Kifaya. This means that if one person living in a particular area in which a masjid is situated performs Itikaf, then the Sunnah is fulfilled on behalf of all the people of that area. However, if nobody performs the Itikaf, then all the members of the area will be liable for not doing so.
As there is no prohibition in staying in mosques, if one faithful is secluded in a mosque, then the Sunnah need not be performed by other Muslims. However, men can’t do Itikaf at home.
According to rituals, it is necessary to have a congregation for saying an Eid prayer and this condition will not be fulfilled if the prayer is performed at home. Hence, if it is possible to arrange Eid prayers with this condition – that one person from each area performs the Eid prayer in a neighbourhood mosque – then the prayer is deemed to have been performed, otherwise they have to pray two 'rakats' of thanksgiving at home.
