Leaving I'tikaaf just to shower

[Aboo Sumiyyah]

Assalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu,

I wanted to know how one would go about making I’tikaaf in the last ten days of Ramadhaan without having a shower facility in the masjid? Wouldn’t it be considered a necessity to cleanse oneself for his own hygiene and not to have unpleasant odors affecting the other brothers? Is it permissible to go home just to take a shower and return directly to the masjid for one’s I’tikaaf to be valid?

[purityline]

Assalamu 'alaykum wa rahmathullahi wa barakathuhu
May the peace, mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you all

I found this, inshallah it will help you understand. I am not sure of 'going home' and showering. Maybe if it is a close by mosque? According to this, the Prophet SAW had his head washed and so-forth, but then again, his house was attached/extremely close/was in fact the mosque.


What happened to my post?

[eTeacher]

There is a Yahoo Ulama Group which has over 200 Islamic Scholars on there. I posted a similar question last year. I'll post the question and then I'll post the replies. Oh btw...I love Gmail. In less than a minute, I was able to find all the discussion we've had on the this topic through my Gmail search feature. Thank You Gmail!.......

Ok...here are the posts:

POST #1:

Assalamu Alaikum Respected Ulama,

Whilst in Ietikaf, we've learnt that a person can't take a bath if it's not Fardh. Is there any leeway in this Masala? It's impossible to explain to someone that you can't take a bath for 10 days. Any solution to this predicament will be really appreciated. What if someone exits the Masjid to go to the bathroom, but before he goes to the bathroom, he takes a shower. Is that ok? Or how about taking Sahibayns Qaul that if it's less than half a day, then it's fine and the Ietikaf wont break.

What if a person sweats a lot and if he doesn't take a bath, his body will smell? Is it ok to take a bath in this condition? Will taking a bath in this condition be deemed as something which is necessary?

Also, is this only a Hanafi Masala?

Jazakumulllah,
Nazim Mangera
Toronto, Canada

POST #2:
Wslm,


It is better that a person does not go out solely for the Sunnah Ghusl or Ghusl ut tabreed(cooling off), but when he goes to relieve himself then at the time of relieving he can also take a Ghusl on his way back from the toilet area, as the bathroom is normally located next to the toilets [Fataawa Mahmudiyyah, Vol. 13, Pg. 144].

Therefore if a mu'takif practices on the above, his i'itikaaf will still be intact.

ALLAH knows best.
nawaz ahmed khan
California

POST #3:
Assalamualaykum,

mashallah, it's great to have such good Ulama friends. This issue just came up in my masjid also, and I was kind of stumped. Initially my instinct was that it's ok to shower. But one of the mu'takifeen said it isn't, unless fardh, so it put doubts in my mind.

But alhamdulillah its clear now.

Wassalaam
Imam Zia
Irving

POST #4:
Wa'aalikum as-Salam

While the more popular view - amongst our Ulama- is that a person cannot come out even for a Friday bath, the more reliable view is that he can come out for a bath on Friday.
See Ahsanul Fatawa Vol.4 Pg.512-513 for the proof.

Also, there is leeway for a person to take a quick rinse after relieiving himself as long as the shower is with the toilet and the rinse takes the same amount of time as it would take to normally make wudhu.
See Ahsanul Fatawa Vol.4 Pg. 515.

Another option, if the toilet has a shower fixture, is that he could remove his clothes and while relieving himself let the water runover himself. When finished, he could quickly complete the rinse.

And Allah Ta'ala knows best
Husain Kadodia
Durban
South Africa

POST #5:

As salaam o alaykum

What happens if the have takena bath already?

Was salaam

Zeshan Ahmed
Rockland, New York

POST #6:
Wassalam

I take it you are referring to a bath other than the Friday one, as that is ok as mentioned earlier.

If they left the masjid solely to have a bath and didn't even relieve themselves, then according to the popular view, the I'tikaf would be broken.
As the masalah isn't clearly mentioned in the books of Fiqh, and there does exist ikhtilaaf on the period for which one can leave, tell them to continue their i'tikaf.It could be counted as ok, on the basis that their ghusl is like a slightly prolonged wudhu or on the basis that the person needed to have a bath very badly. Inshallah it would be accepted.

And if they relieved themselves then made ghusl, the I'tikaf should be ok, but next time, they shouldn't take too long.

And Allah Ta'ala knows best
Husain Kadodia
Durban
South Africa



End of Discussion on Yahoo Ulama Group

The above answer is according to the Hanafi Madhab

The question was posted by yours truly in Toronto, Canada. The first reply was from California. The second one was from Texas. The third one was from South Africa. The fourth reply was from New York.

So from Toronto to California to Texas to South Africa then to New York and then back to South Africa.

Amazing!

[purityline]

Assalamu 'alaykum wa rahmathullahi wa barakathuhu
May the peace, mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you all

Can someone please tell me why my above post was deleted/edited? It may have been something I did, but it took me ages to find and post what I did, so any answers will be highly appreciated.

Jazakum Allahu Khairan.

Alhamdulillah 'ala kulli 'haal
Praise be to Allah in every situation