AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Mosques in different cities of Tanzania, including Dar es Salaam, Tanga, Kigoma and Moshi hosted Itikaf rituals this week.
Hundreds of enthusiastic youths took part in the religious rituals, held on the 13th to 15th day of the lunar Hijri calendar month of Rajab (January 25-27).
They were organized at Al-Ghadir, Imam Ali (AS), Hujjat al-Asr and other mosques with the support of religious societies and institutions as well as benevolent Shias.
Iranian Cultural Attaché in Tanzania Mohsen Maarefi met with those taking part in the rituals at al-Ghadir Mosque after Friday prayers yesterday.
He described Itikaf as an opportunity for reflection and self-improvement for those who seek living a life with spirituality.
He added that Itikaf is an act of worship that provides the opportunity for many other acts of worship such as prayers, fasting, supplications, etc, and that is why rewards equal to those given to Hajj and Umrah are said to be given to participants in Itikaf.
The Iranian official also gifted the participants in Itikaf copies of a book on the rules of Salah and Wudu (ablution) in the Swahili language.
Itikaf is a tradition of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his family, and is regarded as a highly rewarding act of worship in Islam.
It is a spiritual practice in Islam that involves staying in a mosque for a certain number of days, fasting, and praying to God.
It is usually performed on the 13th, 14th, and 15th of Rajab, the seventh month of the Islamic calendar.
Tanzania is a country in East Africa where Islam is the religion of about 35 percent of the population.
On the mainland, Muslim communities are concentrated in coastal areas, with some large Muslim majorities also in inland urban areas especially and along the former caravan routes. More than 99 percent of the population of the Zanzibar archipelago is Muslim.
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