Question (Q-50)
What happens if a person performing I’tikāf enters the Finā ul Masjid (the vicinity of the Masjid)? What is the definition of Finā ul Masjid? Are the Masjid courtyard, walls, side rooms, Funeral/Eid halls and classrooms, part of the Finā ul Masjid? Also, can a a person performing I’tikāf have a bath and use shampoo and soap?
Answer:
The I’tikāf of the person who enters Finā ul Masjid (the vicinity of the Masjid) remains valid.
The definition of Finā ul Masjid (the vicinity of a Masjid) is any area outside a Masjid but attached to it and used for its necessities, such as a shoe area, bathroom etc. Entering these areas does not invalidate I’tikāf. Finā ul Masjid has the same ruling as the Masjid itself in relation to such matters. (Fatāwā Amjadiyyah, Volume 1, Page 399)
The Masjid courtyard and boundary etc. are the same as the Masjid in some aspects; a person performing I’tikāf may enter these areas unnecessarily. (Al Fatāwā Ar Ridhwiyyah, Volume 16, Page 495)
Side rooms in a Masjid are also Finā ul Masjid and therefore have the same ruling as a Masjid. (Al Fatāwā Ar Ridhwiyyah, Volume 8, Page 95)
Funeral/Eid halls which are attached to a Masjid are also classed to be Finā ul Masjid and therefore a person performing I’tikāf can enter them. (Radd ul Muhtār, Volume 2, Page 430)
A Madrasah (religious educational institute) which is within the boundaries of a Masjid is also classed to be Finā ul Masjid. This is where there is only a wall separating the Masjid and the Madrasah and there is no path between the two of them. This is part of the Masjid and therefore a person performing I’tikāf is allowed to enter it. (Al Fatāwā Ar Ridhwiyyah, First Publication, Volume 3 Page 474) .
A person performing I’tikāf may enter Finā ul Masjid to have a bath even if it is not necessary for him to have a bath. It is permissible for him to use shampoo and soap. (Bahār e Sharī’at etc.)
Some rules pertaining to I’tikāf
Entering the Finā ul Masjid has the same ruling as entering the Masjid itself and therefore I’tikāf is not invalidated by entering into it. It is permissible to enter into it for any purpose including to announce Suhūr (meal consumed before commencing the fast). (Fatāwā Amjadiyyah, Volume 1, Page 399)
The Scholars have defined Finā ul Masjid as follows,
هو المکان المتصل به ليس بينه و بينه طريق فهو کالمتخذ مصلاة الجنازة اوعيد
“Finā ul Masjid is the place that is connected to it without the presence of any path separating them. Examples of Finā ul Masjid are the areas designated for Salāt ul Janāzah (Funeral Prayer) and ‘Eid Prayer.” (Radd ul Muhtār, Volume 2, Page 430)
If there is a shop next to a Masjid and income from the shop belongs to the Masjid, then a person performing I’tikāf may walk onto the shop roof.
لأنها کانت من فناء المسجد و لا طريق فاصل بينهما فکيف و قد صارت من المسجد
“This is because it is Finā ul Masjid and there is no path separating between them both. I’tikāf will be valid as the shop is classed to be part of the Masjid.” (Al Fatāwā Ar Ridhwiyyah, Volume 16, Page 438, Lahore Publication)
The boundary wall of the Masjid is in some aspects the same as the Masjid. A person performing I’tikāf is allowed to enter it unnecessarily. (Al Fatāwā Ar Ridhwiyyah, Volume 16, Page 495)
A Masjid wall is neither the Finā ul Masjid nor the actual Masjid. (Al Fatāwā Ridhwiyyah, Volume 8, Page 7)
A Mu’takif is certainly allowed to walk around and sit in the Masjid courtyard. (Al Fatāwā Ar Ridhwiyyah, Volume 8, Page 60)
Any shops that are outside the Masjid gate are Finā ul Masjid because they are attached to it.
It is stated in Fatāwā Qādhī Khān and Al Fatāwā Al Hindiyyah,
الإقتداء لمن قام علي الدکاکين التي تکون علي باب المسجد متصلة بالمسجد
“Salāh behind the Imām is valid of those people who are in shops that are at the door of the Masjid and which are connected to the Masjid.”
It is stated in Al Fatāwā Ar Ridhwiyyah, Volume 8, Page 66, that Finā ul Masjid is any area that is attached to the Masjid.
The rooms in a Masjid are Finā ul Masjid and therefore are classed to be part of the Masjid. It is stated in Al Fatāwā Al Hindiyyah,
الفناء تبع المسجد فيکون حکمه حکم المسجد کذا في محيط السرخسي.
“The Finā (vicinity) is subordinate to the Masjid and therefore the same rules apply to it as the actual Masjid. This is what is stated in Al Muhīt of As Sarkhasī.”
In relation to religious institutes and classrooms that are adjacent to the Masjid, it is stated in Volume 3, Page 474, in the first publication of Al Fatāwā Ar Ridhwiyyah that entering them is in essence entering the Masjid when they are within the boundary of the Masjid and there is no path in between. The differentiation between the Masjid and the Madrasah is only through a wall in such an instance. It is permissible for a person performing I’tikāf to enter such an area as it is part of the Masjid.
Allah (تعالى) is Most Knowing.
Written by Muftī Shamsulhudā Khān Misbāhī (Allah preserve him)
