This entire article has been taken from the book Kitab al Iʿtikaf by Abu al Hasan Muhammad ibn Hasan ibn Abbas.

It is a focused fiqh work on iʿtikaf that begins with its linguistic and shar’i meaning, then brings the hadiths and reports on it, explains its ruling, purpose, and virtue, and clarifies the difference between iʿtikaf and jiwār.

It then goes through the agreed conditions and the disputed conditions for a valid iʿtikaf, what breaks it and what does not, the rulings of vowing iʿtikaf, whether fasting is a condition, and the best acts for the one in iʿtikaf, before ending with a summary of the views of the fuqaha.

Navigation Menu For The Summary

Definition of Iʿtikaf

How many times the Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed iʿtikaf

Hadiths narrated about iʿtikaf

The ruling of iʿtikaf

The best time for iʿtikaf

Is iʿtikaf permissible outside of Ramadan

The virtue of iʿtikaf

Comparing iʿtikaf with other acts of worship

What is jiwar

The agreed conditions of iʿtikaf

If you intend to do iʿtikaf for a period, are you bound to complete it

The place in which iʿtikaf is done, and that is the masjid

Whether iʿtikaf is valid in every masjid

The ruling on taking a screen or tent in the masjid for men and women

When the one in iʿtikaf enters his place of retreat

When he leaves

The ruling on iʿtikaf without fasting

The least amount of time for iʿtikaf

The ruling on intending iʿtikaf for everyone who enters the masjid

What invalidates iʿtikaf and what does not invalidate it

Rulings related to women in iʿtikaf

Vowing iʿtikaf

The ruling on stipulating something in iʿtikaf

The ruling on teaching the Qur’an and teaching knowledge during iʿtikaf

The ruling on working and permissible matters during iʿtikaf

The ruling on the muʿtakif leaving his place of iʿtikaf

The ruling on the muʿtakif grooming and adorning himself

The ruling on silence during iʿtikaf

Making up iʿtikaf on behalf of the deceased

Navigation Menu For The Full Article

The linguistic definition of Iʿtikaf

The Sharia definition of Iʿtikaf

How many times the Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed iʿtikaf

The ruling of iʿtikaf, its aim, and comparing it with the rest of worship

Consensus that iʿtikaf is not obligatory

The best time for iʿtikaf

Is iʿtikaf permissible outside of Ramadan

The words of Imam Malik about iʿtikaf

The virtue of iʿtikaf

Comparing iʿtikaf with other acts of worship

What is jiwar

What is the difference between iʿtikaf and jiwar

The wisdom behind jiwar

The ruling of jiwar in Makkah

The agreed conditions of iʿtikaf

If you intend to do iʿtikaf for a period, are you bound to complete it?

The third condition, the place in which iʿtikaf is done, and that is the masjid

Is iʿtikaf permissible in other than a masjid

Is it permissible for a woman to perform iʿtikaf in her house

Remaining devotedness outside the masjid

Whether a woman may observe i’tikaf in her home

Whether i’tikaf is valid in every masjid

The ruling on taking a screen or tent in the masjid for men and women

The ruling on specifying a particular place for i’tikaf

When the one in i’tikaf enters his place of retreat

The leaving of the one in i’tikaf for Eid

The Disputed Conditions for the Validity of I’tikaf

The Wisdom Behind Joining I’tikaf with Fasting

Remaining in the Masjid is a Condition

The Least Amount of Time For I’tikaf

The Longest Duration in Which I’tikaf is Permissible

The Ruling on Intending I’tikaf for Everyone Who Enters the Masjid

What Invalidates I’tikaf and What Does Not Invalidate It

Committing Major Sins

Leaving the Masjid Without Need

Menstruation

Intercourse

Emission Caused by Direct Contact

Rulings Related to Women in I’tikaf

The Ruling on the Person in I’tikaf Carrying Out a Marriage Contract

The Ruling on Intercourse During I’tikaf

The Wisdom Behind the Prohibition of Intercourse During I’tikaf

The Ruling on Physical Contact with Women Without Intercourse

The Ruling on the One Who Has Intercourse Forgetting For A Moment He Is Doing I’tikaaf

Is Expiation Required from the One Who Has Intercourse During His I’tikaf?

The Woman Whose Husband Dies While She Is in I’tikaf

The Ruling on the Wife Observing I’tikaf Without Her Husband’s Permission

The Ruling on the One Who Gave His Wife Permission for I’tikaf Then Prevented Her

If a Woman Menstruates While She Is in I’tikaf in the Masjid

The Ruling on the I’tikaf of the Woman with Irregular Bleeding

Vowing I’tikaf

Vowing I’tikaf in a Specific Place

The Ruling on Stipulating Something in I’tikaf

The Ruling on Teaching the Qur’an and Teaching Knowledge During I’tikaf

The Ruling on Attending Gatherings of Knowledge During I’tikaf

The Ruling on Working in the Masjid During I’tikaf

The Ruling on Occupying Oneself with Permissible Matters During I’tikaf

The Ruling on the Mu’takif Leaving His Place of I’tikaf

The Ruling on Going Up to the Roof of the Masjid

The Ruling on Leaving the Masjid Without Need

One Who Intends to Leave I’tikaf

The Ruling on One Who Leaves the Masjid Forgetfully

The Ruling on the Mu’takif Grooming and Adorning Himself

Eating Food in the Masjid During I’tikaf

The Ruling on Silence During I’tikaf

Making Up I’tikaf on Behalf of the Deceased

Summary

Definition of Iʿtikaf

Iʿtikaf in the language is to stay upon something, hold oneself to it, and keep to it constantly, whether that is in righteousness or in falsehood. For that reason the word was used in the Qur’an for devotion to idols as well as devotion in worship. Ibn Manzur said it means turning to something and not turning away from it. Al Tabari said its root is staying and keeping oneself held to something.

Al Shafiʿi, as quoted by al Bayhaqi, said the core of ʿukuf is that a person stays upon something and holds himself to it, whether in righteousness or sin. In the Sharia, iʿtikaf means staying in the masjid in a specific manner for the worship of Allah.

Al Nawawi said its relation to place is like the relation of fasting to time, since fasting is holding oneself back in a specific time, while iʿtikaf is holding oneself back in a specific place. (Lisan al ʿArab, 9/255; Al Tabari, 3/267; Ahkam al Qur’an, 1/111; Al Majmuʿ, 6/474)

How many times the Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed iʿtikaf

The Prophet ﷺ only fasted Ramadan 9 times, and from those 9 Ramadans he performed iʿtikaf 6 times. The most established reports show that he used to perform iʿtikaf in the last 10 nights of Ramadan until Allah took him, and that in the year of his death he performed iʿtikaf for 20 days. His wives also performed iʿtikaf after him.

The authentic reports also show that he had a specific place in the masjid, that his bedding was laid behind the Pillar of Repentance, that he would bring his head close to ʿA’ishah رضي الله عنها for combing while remaining in iʿtikaf, and that he once left iʿtikaf in Ramadan and made it up in Shawwal when the tents of his wives were set up in a way he disliked. (Ahkam al Qur’an, 1/111; Al Majmuʿ, 6/474, 6/481; Sharh al ʿUmdah, 2/707; Majmuʿ al Fatawa, 29/295, 297; Al Bukhari, 2029; Muslim, 685; Ibn Majah, 1774)

Hadiths narrated about iʿtikaf

The hadiths gathered show the basic picture of iʿtikaf from the Sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ stayed in the last 10 of Ramadan, visited only for human need, allowed his wives to seek permission for iʿtikaf, spoke with Safiyyah رضي الله عنها at night and walked with her when she returned home, and would pass by a sick person without stopping when in iʿtikaf.

The report from ʿA’ishah رضي الله عنها that says, “The sunnah for the one in iʿtikaf is that he does not visit a sick person, and he does not attend a funeral,” was treated by Abu Dawud as the words of ʿA’ishah رضي الله عنها rather than a marfuʿ report. (Al Bukhari, 2026, 2028, 2029, 2045; Muslim, 678, 685, 2780, 2781, 2784, 2785; Abu Dawud, 2472, 2473)

The ruling of iʿtikaf

Iʿtikaf is a sunnah and not obligatory, except by vow. The proof given is that the Prophet ﷺ linked it to wanting it, and that he left it when he chose to leave it. When a person vows it, then it becomes binding because of the hadith, “Whoever vows to obey Allah, then let him obey Him,” and because the Prophet ﷺ ordered ʿUmar رضي الله عنه to fulfil his vow of iʿtikaf in al Masjid al Haram.

There is a ijmaa from al Shafiʿi, Ahmad, Ibn al Mundhir, al Qurtubi, al Nawawi, and Ibn Hajar that iʿtikaf is not obligatory upon the people as a duty, except through a vow. (Al Bukhari, 6696, 2045, 5034; Muslim, 1656, 2785; Al Umm, 2/529; Al Mughni, 4/456, 4/546; Al Ijmaʿ, no. 130; Sharh al Nawawi ʿala Sahih Muslim, 4/218; Al Majmuʿ, 6/474)

The best time for iʿtikaf

The best month for iʿtikaf is Ramadan, and the best days of Ramadan for it are the last 10. Ibn Rushd al Jadd said this clearly, and the narrations mentioned connect the last 10 to Laylat al Qadr.

Ibn al Najjar said it is a sunnah at every time, more confirmed in Ramadan, and most confirmed in its last 10. (Al Muqaddimat al Mumahhidat, 1/259; Muntaha al Iradat, 2/249)

Is iʿtikaf permissible outside of Ramadan

Yes. Malik said there is no harm in iʿtikaf outside Ramadan. Ibn ʿAbd al Barr said the ulama agreed that it is permissible throughout all time, except for the discussion tied to days on which fasting is forbidden and the disagreement over whether fasting is a condition. Ibn al Mulaqqin said it is recommended at every time by consensus. Ibn Taymiyyah said the Prophet’s ﷺ joining it to fasting and the last 10 was because he sought the best state, not because other times are impermissible. (Al Istidhkar, 3/384; Al Muqaddimat al Mumahhidat, 1/258; ʿUmdat al Muhtaj, 5/250; Sharh al ʿUmdah, 2/764)

The virtue of iʿtikaf

The hadith of Ibn ʿAbbas رضي الله عنهما, “He holds back sins, and he is made to have the good deeds like the one who does all good deeds,” was noted as weak, and Ahmad said nothing sound is known in its specific virtue except something weak. Even so, the author said the meanings of iʿtikaf are witnessed by the Sharia.

Its virtues include reciting the Qur’an, long standing in prayer, waiting for one prayer after another, striving for Laylat al Qadr, keeping company with the believers, and holding the self upon obedience.

The reports from al Hasan al Basri, ʿAta, al Sarakhsi, al Kasani, Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn al Qayyim, and Ibn Rajab all return to one core meaning, namely emptying the heart from the dunya, gathering it upon Allah, cutting off distractions, and making one’s loneliness with Allah in the masjid a preparation for the loneliness of the grave. (Ibn Majah, 1783) (Lata’if al Maʿarif, p. 191) (Al Istidhkar, 3/387) (Al Mabsut, 3/115) (Bada’iʿ al Sana’iʿ, 2/108) (Sharh al ʿUmdah, 2/707, 2/712) (Zad al Maʿad, 2/83) (Al Jamiʿ li Shuʿab al Iman, 5/437)

Comparing iʿtikaf with other acts of worship

Acts of worship differ in excellence. Some ulama preferred deeds whose benefit reaches others, such as jihad and teaching the Qur’an, over iʿtikaf in some situations. Ahmad preferred teaching the Qur’an over iʿtikaf, and said nothing equals jihad.

Ibn Taymiyyah replied that a better act is not legislated in every place, and that a person also needs times of seclusion, private worship, and self reckoning. So iʿtikaf remains from the noble acts of worship, but it is not always better than every other deed in every situation. (Al Mughni, 4/482; Sharh al ʿUmdah, 2/845, 2/844, 2/489; Al Insaf, 7/563)

What is jiwar

Jiwar is staying near the House of Allah, and many ulama treated it as another wording for iʿtikaf.

ʿA’ishah رضي الله عنها used the wording of jiwar for the Prophet ﷺ in the masjid, and Malik, ʿAmr ibn Dinar, al Tahawi, al Nawawi, and al Qadi ʿIyad all said jiwar and iʿtikaf are the same.

ʿAta held that they can differ, with jiwar being broader and not requiring the same inner position in the masjid. The preferred view is that the matter returns to the speaker’s intent and context. Jiwar was also presented as a lighter form of keeping to the masjid when the full conditions of iʿtikaf are difficult. (Al Bukhari, 2028; Muslim, 678; Al Majmuʿ, 6/474; Mawahib al Jalil, 2/459; Mukhtasar Ikhtilaf al ʿUlama’, 2/48; Musannaf ʿAbd al Razzaq, 4/141)

The agreed conditions of iʿtikaf

The majority made 4 agreed conditions or pillars. They are the person doing iʿtikaf, the intention, the place, and remaining in the masjid.

The person must be Muslim, sane, discerning, and free from what prevents remaining in the masjid, such as menstruation, postnatal bleeding, and janabah. A discerning child’s iʿtikaf is valid. The intention is required because remaining in the masjid can be habit or worship, and iʿtikaf needs the intention that distinguishes the worship. (Mughni al Muhtaj, 2/189; Bada’iʿ as Sana’iʿ, 2/110; Al Majmuʿ, 6/476; Nihayat al Muhtaj, 3/223; Kifayat an Nabih, 6/424; Al Bayan, 3/585; Al Insah, 9/289; Sharh al ʿUmdah, 2/751)

If you intend to do iʿtikaf for a period, are you bound to complete it

There are 2 views. Al Shafiʿi and those with him said voluntary iʿtikaf does not become binding by merely beginning it, so a person may leave it. The Malikis and Hanafis said it becomes binding by intention together with entering into it, and if he cuts it off he makes it up.

The stronger view is the first one, because the Prophet ﷺ left his iʿtikaf, and if it had been obligatory by merely beginning it, he would not have left it. His making it up in Shawwal was treated as a voluntary making up of a sunnah act, not proof of obligation. (Al Mughni, 4/485; Mawahib al Jalil, 2/460; Bada’iʿ as Sana’iʿ, 2/108; Al Muqaddimat al Mumahhidat, 1/259; Al Bukhari, 2045; Muslim, 2785)

The place in which iʿtikaf is done, and that is the masjid

Al Jassas, Ibn ʿAbd al Barr, Ibn Battal, al Qurtubi, and Ibn Taymiyyah all quoted or supported consensus on this. So it is not done in a house, cave, grave site, mountain top, or any place outside the masjid.

The stronger view is that iʿtikaf for both men and women is only valid in the masjid.

The Hanafis gave a concession for a woman in the prayer place of her house, the hadith of the wives of the Prophet ﷺ seeking permission for iʿtikaf in the masjid is proof against performing it in the house. (Ahkam al Qur’an, 10/302; Al Istidhkar, 3/385, 3/397; Sharh Sahih al Bukhari, 4/160; Al Jamiʿ li Ahkam al Qur’an, 3/216; Majmuʿ al Fatawa, 27/252; Fath al Bari, 2/295; Al Mabsut, 3/119; Bada’iʿ as Sana’iʿ, 2/113; Al Mughni, 4/464; Sharh al Nawawi, 4/220)

Whether iʿtikaf is valid in every masjid

There are 3 main views.

One view restricted it to the 3 masjids. Another held it should be in a masjid where Jumuʿah is prayed. The majority held it is valid in every masjid where congregation is established, and for one whose iʿtikaf includes Jumuʿah, the central masjid is better.

The stronger view is the majority view, because the verse says, “And while you are observing iʿtikaf in the masjids.” (Al Baqarah 187) and leaves the wording general. The report restricting it to 3 masjids was treated as uncertain in wording. (Al Muwatta’, p. 258 after hadith 712; Ahkam al Qur’an by al Tahawi, 1/461; Sharh al Sunnah, 6/394; Ahkam al Qur’an, 1/302; Al Mughni, 4/463; Muntaha al Iradat, 2/256; Sharh al ʿUmdah, 2/762)

The ruling on taking a screen or tent in the masjid for men and women

It is permissible and recommended for concealment and gathering the heart. Ibn Qudamah said it is recommended for a woman, and there is no harm in it for a man either, because the Prophet ﷺ had a tent set up for him. Ibn Taymiyyah said the screen helps him hide his deed, gather his heart, and cut himself off from the people’s speech. (Sharh al ʿUmdah, 2/751, 2/749; Al Mughni, 4/465; Al Mufhim, 3/242)

When the one in iʿtikaf enters his place of retreat

The 4 imams held that he enters before sunset if he is beginning a counted period such as the last 10. Al Awzaʿi and Ishaq said he enters after Fajr because of the hadith of ʿA’ishah رضي الله عنها. The stronger view is the first one, and the hadith is explained to mean that he entered his special place of retreat after Fajr, not that the principle of iʿtikaf only began then. (Al Muwatta’, p. 259 after hadith 712) (Al Jamiʿ li Ahkam al Qur’an, 3/221) (Al Istidhkar, 3/400) (Tarh al Tathrib, 4/168) (Ikmal al Muʿlim, 4/153)

When he leaves

There are 2 views about the one doing iʿtikaf in the last 10 of Ramadan. One view says he stays until he goes to the Eid prayer, and this was preferred as better by Malik, Ahmad, and al Nawawi. The other says he leaves when the sun sets on the last day of Ramadan, and this is the stronger view because the period of the month has ended then. If trial, fear, or a binding obligation appears, he may leave. (Al Muwatta’, p. 260 after hadith 715; Al Jamiʿ li Ahkam al Qur’an, 3/221; Al Istidhkar, 3/395, 3/396; Sharh al ʿUmdah, 2/842)

The ruling on iʿtikaf without fasting

This is one of the major disagreements.

Imam Al Shafiʿi, Imam Ahmad in a narration, and others held that fasting is not a condition, unless a person made it binding on himself. Malik, Abu Hanifah, and many from the Salaf held that fasting is a condition, especially in obligatory iʿtikaf.

The stronger view in is that iʿtikaf without fasting is permissible, because of the hadith of ʿUmar رضي الله عنه about iʿtikaf for 1 night in al Masjid al Haram, and because the texts making fasting a condition are not decisive. At the same time, the proofs of the other side are strong, and that no one should condemn another in this issue. It also said the ulama agreed on the recommendation of fasting for the one in iʿtikaf. (Al Bukhari, 2042, 6697; Fath al Bari, 5/480, 5/481; Al Mughni, 4/485, 4/458; Al Umm, 2/532; Al Muqaddimat al Mumahhidat, 1/258; Bada’iʿ as Sana’iʿ, 2/109; Al Majmuʿ, 6/487; Sharh al ʿUmdah, 2/755, 2/761, 2/752; Al Muwatta’, p. 259 after hadith 712)

The least amount of time for iʿtikaf

The stronger view is that there is no fixed least amount by a specific text, and that even a short period is valid, such as an hour or more generally any remaining in the masjid with the intention of iʿtikaf.

This was the view of al Shafiʿi, Abu Hanifah, most of the fuqaha, the Hanabilah, and Ibn Hazm. Malik had reports from him that its least amount is a day and a night, and another report of 3 days, while some Malikis spoke of 10 days as the least recommended amount. (Musannaf ʿAbd al Razzaq, 4/141; Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, no. 9652; Ahkam al Qur’an, 1/305; Al Istidhkar, 3/402; Al Muhalla, 5/293–296; Sharh al Nawawi, 4/218–219; Muntaha al Iradat, 2/249; Ikmal al Muʿlim, 4/151)

The ruling on intending iʿtikaf for everyone who enters the masjid

The Shafiʿiyyah recommended that everyone who sits in the masjid intend iʿtikaf, so that he gains its reward for however long he remains. Ibn Taymiyyah replied that the Prophet ﷺ and the Sahabah were not doing that every time they entered for prayer. Based on reports from the Sahabah and Tabiʿin, iʿtikaf is permissible for everyone who enters the masjid, though the matter is built upon the discussion of fasting and minimum duration. (Sharh al Nawawi, 4/218–219; Majmuʿ al Fatawa, 7/572)

What invalidates iʿtikaf and what does not invalidate it

The clear nullifiers mentioned are riddah (apostasy), intercourse, menstruation, leaving the masjid without need, and ejaculation caused by direct contact. Major sins in general do not invalidate it according to the majority, though intoxication does because the person is no longer fit for the masjid.

Leaving the masjid without need invalidates it according to Abu Hanifah, Malik, al Shafiʿi, and Ahmad, while Abu Yusuf and Muhammad were broader and said not until more than half a day passes. Forgetful leaving was also disputed. Intending to leave invalidates it according to some madhhahib. A wet dream does not invalidate it.

Physical contact without desire does not invalidate it. With desire, it is forbidden, and if ejaculation occurs it invalidates according to the majority, while Malik invalidated even without ejaculation. Intercourse invalidates by consensus, whether by day or night, and most held no expiation is required for spoiling iʿtikaf by intercourse. Carrying out a marriage contract during iʿtikaf is permissible. (Bada’iʿ as Sana’iʿ, 2/116; Minhaj al Talibin, p. 199; Al Insaf, 7/627; Tibyin al Haqa’iq, 1/352; Al Asl, 2/191; Al Mughni, 4/469; Al Majmuʿ, 6/499; Al Ijmaʿ, no. 134; Al Istidhkar, 3/404; Ikmal al Muʿlim, 4/153; Masa’il Abi Dawud, no. 670; Ahkam al Qur’an, 1/479)

Rulings related to women in iʿtikaf

A woman’s iʿtikaf is valid in the masjid, but according to the majority it is not valid in the prayer place of her house. The husband’s permission is required, and the ulama agreed on that. If he gives permission and later withdraws it, there are 2 views. Some said he may not prevent her after permission, and others said he may.

The hadith of the Prophet ﷺ stopping the iʿtikaf of his wives after their tents were set up was used as proof by those who allow him to prevent her. If a woman menstruates during iʿtikaf, she leaves the masjid, and when she becomes pure she returns and completes it.

A woman with irregular bleeding may remain so long as she protects the masjid from impurity. If her husband dies while she is in iʿtikaf, the stronger view is that she leaves to observe the waiting period in the husband’s house. (Al Mughni, 4/485, 4/487, 4/488; Al Majmuʿ, 4/476; Muntaha al Iradat, 2/253; Al Insaf, 7/571; Al Bayan, 3/574; Al Hawi, 3/504; Mughni al Muhtaj, 2/197)

Vowing iʿtikaf

If a person vows iʿtikaf, it becomes obligatory. If he vows it in al Masjid al Haram, no other place is enough. If he vows it in the Masjid of the Prophet ﷺ, then al Masjid al Haram is enough for him because it is better.

If he vows it in al Masjid al Aqsa, then any of the 3 masjids is enough.

If he vows iʿtikaf in a masjid other than the 3, the stronger view is that going to that specific place is not binding, and he may perform it elsewhere, because no special virtue makes it binding except in the 3 masjids. (Al Mughni; Mukhtasar Ikhtilaf al ʿUlama, 3/250; Mawahib al Jalil, 2/461; Sharh al ʿUmdah, 2/768, 2/770; Al Bayan, 3/576; Al Mudawwanah, 1/565)

The ruling on stipulating something in iʿtikaf

Malik disliked introducing personal conditions into iʿtikaf and said it should remain upon the known Sunnah. Abu Hanifah, al Shafiʿi, Ahmad, and many early ulama permitted valid conditions, such as stipulating that one may go out for a needed matter, visit a sick person, attend a funeral, or take food with his family, especially in voluntary iʿtikaf.

Forbidden conditions are invalid, such as stipulating intercourse, amusement, entertainment, or trade in the masjid. (Al Muwatta’; Musannaf ʿAbd al Razzaq, 4/148; Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, no. 9650; Al Umm, 2/529; Al Mughni, 4/471; Muntaha al Iradat, 2/259; Al Mawsuʿah al Fiqhiyyah, 5/218)

The ruling on teaching the Qur’an and teaching knowledge during iʿtikaf

There are 2 views.

Al Shafiʿi and one narration from Ahmad recommended it, because teaching and knowledge are from the best acts of obedience and their benefit reaches others.

Imam Malik and the apparent wording from Ahmad did not recommend being occupied with it, because the Prophet ﷺ was not known to busy himself in iʿtikaf with other than the acts specific to it. (Al Mudawwanah, 1/293; Al Ishraf, 3/167; Al Istidhkar, 3/392)

The ruling on working and permissible matters during iʿtikaf

The one in iʿtikaf should busy himself with prayer, Qur’an, dhikr, and what concerns the Hereafter, and avoid argument, foul speech, and what does not concern him. Buying, selling, sewing, and worldly speech were treated differently by the madhhahib.

Al Shafiʿi and the Hanafis were broad and permitted these so long as they do not involve sin.

Ahmad was stricter and disliked work except what is needed. Malik also disliked crafts, trade, and even extensive sitting in circles of knowledge during iʿtikaf. The majority held that nothing is disliked except what is already disliked in the masjid itself, though what is more fitting for iʿtikaf is cutting down worldly occupation. (Al Umm, 2/530) (Al Asl, 2/185, 2/191) (Ikhtilaf al Aʾimmah al Ulamaʾ, 1/267) (Al Mughni, 4/481, 4/483) (Al Mawsuʿah al Fiqhiyyah, 5/227) (Nayl al Awtar, 5/574) (Fath al Bari, 5/478)

The ruling on the muʿtakif leaving his place of iʿtikaf

He may leave for urination, defecation, purification, food and drink if no one brings them, vomiting outside the masjid, Jumuʿah, individually binding jihad, obligatory testimony, illness, fear of fitnah, menstruation, postnatal bleeding, and similar unavoidable matters. The ulama agreed that he may leave for relieving himself.

The majority did not permit him to leave for visiting the sick or attending funerals unless he had stipulated that, though another view from ʿAli رضي الله عنه and some of the Tabiʿin permitted it. The roof and courtyard of the masjid count as part of the masjid, so iʿtikaf there is valid.

He need not rush unnaturally in walking for his need, but he should not remain out longer than necessary. (Al Ijmaʿ, no. 132) (Al Jamiʿ li Ahkam al Qur’an, 3/219) (Al Mughni, 4/369, 4/470) (Sharh al Sunnah, 6/398) (Al Muwatta’, p. 257–258, 261 after hadith 711, 717) (Al Asl, 2/183) (Al Insaf, 7/609) (Al Majmuʿ, 6/480)

The ruling on the muʿtakif grooming and adorning himself

The stronger view is that it is permissible. He may wash, comb, oil the hair, clip nails, trim the moustache, eat in the masjid while protecting it from dirt, and use perfume according to the majority. Ahmad had differing reports on perfume. The proof is the hadith of ʿA’ishah رضي الله عنها combing the Prophet’s ﷺ hair while he was in iʿtikaf, and the general command to take adornment at every masjid. (Ahkam al Qur’an, 1/311; Musannaf ʿAbd al Razzaq, 4/158; Al Hawi, 3/503; ʿUmdat al Muhtaj, 5/266; Sharh al ʿUmdah, 2/799; Al Mughni, 4/483; Al Mawsuʿah al Fiqhiyyah, 5/228; Nayl al Awtar, 5/574)

The ruling on silence during iʿtikaf

Complete silence as an act of worship is a disliked innovation by agreement of the people of knowledge, and some treated it as forbidden. The proof is the report of Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه forbidding the silent practice of a woman, and the hadith of Abu Isra’il whom the Prophet ﷺ ordered to speak, seek shade, sit down, and only continue the fast. It is not permissible to make the Qur’an a substitute for ordinary speech in this way. (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, 25/292; Sharh al ʿUmdah, 2/796)

Making up iʿtikaf on behalf of the deceased

If a person dies while obligatory iʿtikaf is due from him, then it is not performed on his behalf, nor is food given on his behalf, because it is an act of worship into which financial replacement does not enter in life. A minority view from Abu Thawr and reports from ʿA’ishah رضي الله عنها and Ibn ʿAbbas رضي الله عنهما were mentioned, but the preferred view is that it is not made up after death. (Al Bayan, 3/602)

Full Article

Definition of Iʿtikaf

The linguistic definition of Iʿtikaf

Iʿtikaf, in the language, is to stay upon something, and to keep oneself held to it, whether it is righteousness or something else. From that is the saying of Allah, the Exalted:

“وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا إِبْرَاهِيمَ رُشْدَهُ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَكُنَّا بِهِ عَالِمِينَ ۝ إِذْ قَالَ لِأَبِيهِ وَقَوْمِهِ مَا هَذِهِ التَّمَاثِيلُ الَّتِي أَنْتُمْ لَهَا عَاكِفُونَ”
“And We certainly gave Ibrahim عليه السلام his right guidance before, and We were knowing of him. When he said to his father and his people: What are these statues to which you are devoted?” (Al Anbiya 51–52)

Ibn Manzur (d. 711 AH) said: ʿAkafa upon something, yaʿkufu and yaʿkifu, ʿakfan and ʿukufan: he turned to it, keeping to it constantly, not turning his face away from it. (Lisān al ʿArab, 9/255, Ṣādir edition.)

Al Tabari (d. 310 AH) said: ʿUkuf, its root is staying, and keeping oneself held upon something. The ʿākif is the one who does not leave his place. The maʿkuf is the one held back. Allah, the Exalted, said:

“وَالْهَدْيَ مَعْكُوفًا أَنْ يَبْلُغَ مَحِلَّهُ”
“And the sacrificial animals held back from reaching their place.” (Al Fath 25) (Al Tabari, 3/267.)

Al Bayhaqi said: I read in the book of Harmalah, in what was narrated from al Shafiʿi رحمه الله, that he said: The core of ʿukuf is that a person stays upon something, and holds himself to it, whether it is righteousness or sin, then he is an ʿākif. He used as proof His saying, Mighty and Majestic:

“فَأَتَوْا عَلَى قَوْمٍ يَعْكُفُونَ عَلَى أَصْنَامٍ لَهُمْ”
“Then they came upon a people devoted to idols of theirs.” (Al Aʿraf 138)

And His saying, about one whose words Allah approved:

“مَا هَذِهِ التَّمَاثِيلُ الَّتِي أَنْتُمْ لَهَا عَاكِفُونَ”
“What are these statues to which you are devoted?”

It was said: So, does the iʿtikaf that is done as devotion have a basis in the Book of Allah, Mighty and Majestic?

He said: Yes. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said:

“وَلَا تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنْتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ”
“And do not have relations with them while you are devoted in the masjids.” (Al Baqarah 187)

The Sharia definition of Iʿtikaf

Its meaning in the Sharia is: staying in the masjid, upon a specific manner.

Allah, the Exalted, said:

“وَعَهِدْنَا إِلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ أَنْ طَهِّرَا بَيْتِيَ لِلطَّائِفِينَ وَالْعَاكِفِينَ وَالرُّكَّعِ السُّجُودِ”
“And We made a covenant with Ibrahim عليه السلام and Ismaʿil عليه السلام: Purify My House for those who go around it, and those who stay for devotion, and those who bow and those who prostrate.” (Al Baqarah 125)

And Allah, the Exalted, said:

“وَلَا تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنْتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ”
“And do not have relations with them while you are devoted in the masjids.” (Al Baqarah 187)

Devotion in the masjids is to keep the selves within them, and to hold them upon the worship of Allah and obedience to Him. (Ahkam al Qur’an, by al Shafiʿi, compiled by al Bayhaqi, al Khanji Library, Cairo, 1/111.) (Al Majmuʿ, Sharh al Muhadhdhab, Abu Zakariyya Muhyi al Din Yahya ibn Sharaf al Nawawi, publisher Dar al Fikr, 6/474.)

Al Nawawi said: Iʿtikaf, in its real meaning, is to hold oneself back from all other places, just as fasting is to hold oneself back from things in a specific time, so the relation of iʿtikaf to place is like the relation of fasting to time.

ʿAli passed by a people playing chess, so he said: “What are these statues to which you are devoted?”

Iʿtikaf, in the wording of the Sharia, when said without restriction, is specific to devotion to Allah in His House, as He said:

“وَلَا تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنْتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ”
“And do not have relations with them while you are devoted in the masjids.” (Al Baqarah 187)

And He said:

“أَنْ طَهِّرَا بَيْتِيَ لِلطَّائِفِينَ وَالْعَاكِفِينَ وَالرُّكَّعِ السُّجُودِ”
“Purify My House for those who go around it, and those who stay for devotion, and those who bow and those who prostrate.” (Al Baqarah 125)

And He did not mention: devotion to whom, and upon whom, because the devotion of the believer is only for Allah.

How many times the Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed iʿtikaf

The Prophet ﷺ did not fast Ramadan except 9 times. From them, he performed iʿtikaf 6 times. (Ahkam al Qur’an, 1/111.) (Al Majmuʿ, 6/474.) (Al Majmuʿ, 6/481.) (Sharh al ʿUmdah, Ibn Taymiyyah, 2/707.) (See: Majmuʿ al Fatawa, 29/295, 297.)

Hadiths narrated about iʿtikaf

From ʿA’ishah رضي الله عنها, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ: “The Prophet ﷺ used to perform iʿtikaf in the last 10 nights of Ramadan until Allah took him, then his wives performed iʿtikaf after him.” Agreed upon by al Bukhari and Muslim.

Al Qadi ʿIyad (d. 544 AH) said: He used to perform iʿtikaf. Most often this word, meaning the word ‘used to’, is used for what a person keeps doing constantly.

From Ubayy ibn Kaʿb رضي الله عنه, he said: “The Prophet ﷺ used to perform iʿtikaf in every Ramadan for 10 days, and when it was the year in which he was taken, he performed iʿtikaf for 20 days.”

From ʿA’ishah رضي الله عنها, she said: “The Prophet ﷺ would bring his head close to me while he was staying in devotion in the masjid, and I would comb his hair while I was menstruating.” Agreed upon by al Bukhari and Muslim.

And from ʿA’ishah رضي الله عنها: that she used to comb the Prophet ﷺ while she was menstruating, while he was in iʿtikaf. (Al Bukhari, 2026; Muslim, 2784.) (Ikmal al Muʿlim bi Fawa’id Muslim, 4/151.) (Ahmad, 21277; Abu Dawud, 2463.) (Al Bukhari, 2028; Muslim, 678.)

In the masjid, and in her room, he would pass his head to her, and he would not enter the house except for a human need, when he was in iʿtikaf. Agreed upon by al Bukhari and Muslim.

From Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما, he said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to perform iʿtikaf in the last 10 nights of Ramadan.” Agreed upon by al Bukhari and Muslim. And in Muslim: Nafiʿ (d. 117 AH) said: ʿAbd Allah showed me the place in which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to perform iʿtikaf.

From ʿA’ishah رضي الله عنها, she said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he wanted to perform iʿtikaf, he prayed Fajr, then entered his place of iʿtikaf. And he ordered a tent to be set up when he wanted iʿtikaf in the last 10 nights of Ramadan, so Zaynab ordered her tent and it was set up, and others from the wives of the Prophet ﷺ ordered their tents and they were set up.

When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed Fajr, he looked, and there were the tents, so he said: Do they want righteousness? Then he ordered his tent to be taken down, and he left iʿtikaf in Ramadan until he performed iʿtikaf in the last 10 nights of Shawwal.” (Al Bukhari, 2029; Muslim, 685.) (Al Bukhari, 2025; Muslim, 2780.) (Muslim, 2781.) (Narrated by the group: Al Bukhari, 2045; Muslim, 2785, except al Tirmidhi, but he has from it: “When he wanted to perform iʿtikaf, he prayed Fajr, then entered his place of iʿtikaf.”)

From Nafiʿ (d. 117 AH), from Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما: that the Prophet ﷺ, when he performed iʿtikaf, his bedding would be laid for him, or his bed would be placed for him behind the Pillar of Repentance. (Ibn Majah, 1774.)

From Safiyyah bint Huyayy رضي الله عنها, she said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was in iʿtikaf, so I came to visit him at night, I spoke with him, then I stood up to return, so he stood with me to turn me back, and her home was in the house of Usamah ibn Zayd.” Agreed upon by al Bukhari and Muslim. Meaning: the house that later became for Usamah.

From ʿA’ishah رضي الله عنها, she said: “The Prophet ﷺ would pass by the sick person while he was in iʿtikaf, so he would pass as he was and would not stop to ask about him.” (Abu Dawud, 2472.)

Abu Dawud said: Wahb ibn Baqiyyah (d. 239 AH) narrated to us, Khalid ibn ʿAbd al Rahman (d. 141 AH) informed us, meaning Ibn Ishaq (d. 151 AH), from al Zuhri (d. 124 AH), from ʿUrwah (d. 94 AH), from ʿA’ishah رضي الله عنها, that she said: “The sunnah for the one in iʿtikaf is that he does not visit a sick person, and he does not attend a funeral, and he does not touch a woman, and he does not have relations with her, and he does not go out for a need except for what he must have, and there is no iʿtikaf except with fasting, and there is no iʿtikaf except in a congregational masjid.”

Abu Dawud said: Other than ʿAbd al Rahman ibn Ishaq does not say in it: “She said: the sunnah.” Abu Dawud said: He made it the words of ʿA’ishah. (Abu Dawud, 2473.)

The ruling of iʿtikaf, its aim, and comparing it with the rest of worship

The ruling of iʿtikaf

Iʿtikaf is a sunnah, and what shows that it is a sunnah, and it is not obligatory except by a vow:

From ʿA’ishah رضي الله عنها, she said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he wanted to perform iʿtikaf, he prayed Fajr, then entered his place of iʿtikaf.” Narrated by the group. If it were obligatory, he would not have linked it to wanting it.

As for when a person vows it, then it becomes binding upon him, because the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever vows to obey Allah, then let him obey Him.”

From ʿUmar رضي الله عنه, that he said: O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I vowed to perform iʿtikaf for 1 night in al Masjid al Haram. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Fulfil your vow.” Agreed upon by al Bukhari and Muslim.

And the action of the Prophet ﷺ, and his keeping to it, seeking closeness to Allah, and seeking His reward, and the iʿtikaf of his wives with him and after him, and his companions did not perform iʿtikaf, and the Prophet ﷺ did not command them to do it except the one who wanted it. (Al Bukhari, 2045; Muslim, 2785.) (Al Bukhari, 6696.) (Al Bukhari, 5034; Muslim, 1656.) (Al Mughni, 4/456.)

Consensus that iʿtikaf is not obligatory

Al Shafiʿi said: iʿtikaf is a sunnah.

Abu Dawud said: From Ahmad: I do not know of anyone from the ulama any disagreement that it is a sunnah.

Ibn al Mundhir (d. 318 AH) said: The people of knowledge agreed that iʿtikaf is a sunnah. It is not obligatory upon the people as a duty, except that a person makes iʿtikaf obligatory upon himself by a vow, then it becomes obligatory upon him. (Al Umm, 2/529.) (Fath al Bari, 5/477.) (Al Mughni, 4/546.) (Al Ijmaʿ, number 130, by Imam Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn al Mundhir al Naysaburi, Dar al Muslim for publishing and distribution.) (Al Mughni, 4/546.) (Al Istidhkar, 3/384.) (Ikmal al Muʿlim bi Fawa’id Muslim, 4/150.)

Al Qurtubi said: The ulama agreed that it is not obligatory. (Al Jamiʿ li Ahkam al Qur’an, 3/216.)

Al Nawawi said: The Muslims have agreed on its recommendation, and that it is not obligatory, and that it is strongly confirmed in the last 10 nights of Ramadan. (Sharh al Nawawi ʿala Sahih Muslim, al Risalah edition, 4/218.) (Al Majmuʿ, 6/474.)

Ibn Hajar said: It is not obligatory by consensus, except upon the one who vows it, and likewise the one who begins it then cuts it off deliberately, according to some.

The best time for iʿtikaf

Ibn Rushd al Jadd (d. 520 AH) said: The best months for iʿtikaf is the month of Ramadan, and the best of its days are the last 10 of it.

It was narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed iʿtikaf in the first 10 of Ramadan, then Jibril عليه السلام came to him and said to him: What you seek is ahead of you, so he performed iʿtikaf in the middle 10, then he came to him and said to him: What you seek is ahead of you, so he performed iʿtikaf in the last 10. (Al Muqaddimat al Mumahhidat, 1/259.)

Ibn al Najjar al Futuhi (d. 972 AH) said: It is a sunnah at every time, and in Ramadan it is more confirmed, and its most confirmed is its last 10.

Is iʿtikaf permissible outside of Ramadan

Malik (d. 179 AH) said: There is no harm in iʿtikaf in other than Ramadan.

Ibn ʿAbd al Barr said: The ulama agreed that iʿtikaf is permissible throughout all time, except the days that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade fasting, and that is a place of disagreement, due to their disagreement about the permissibility of iʿtikaf without fasting. (Al Istidhkar, 3/384, and with its meaning: Al Muqaddimat al Mumahhidat, 1/258.)

Ibn al Mulaqqin (d. 804 AH) said: iʿtikaf is recommended at every time, by consensus.

Ibn Taymiyyah said: As for the iʿtikaf of the Prophet ﷺ while fasting, that is because he used to seek the best states in his iʿtikaf, and for this reason he used to perform iʿtikaf in the last 10, even though iʿtikaf in other than them is permissible. (Sharh al ʿUmdah, 2/764.) (ʿUmdat al Muhtaj, Ibn al Mulaqqin, Ibn Hazm edition, 5/250.) (Muntaha al Iradat, 2/249.)

The words of Imam Malik about iʿtikaf

Malik (d. 179 AH) said: I thought about iʿtikaf, and the leaving of the companions of it, with their strong following of the reports, and it came to my mind that it is like continuous fasting, and I think they left it due to its difficulty, and it has not reached me from anyone of the Salaf that he performed iʿtikaf except Abu Bakr ibn ʿAbd al Rahman, and his name is al Mughirah, and he is the son of the brother of Abu Jahl, and he is 1 of the jurists of the Tabiʿin of Madinah. I do not see iʿtikaf as forbidden.

It was said: Why do they think they left it?

He said: I think it is due to the difficulty of iʿtikaf upon them, because its night and day are the same. (Al Mudawwanah, 1/299.)

Ibn Hajar said: It is as if he meant a specific manner, otherwise we have narrated it from more than 1 of the companions. And from the words of Malik: some of his companions took that iʿtikaf is permissible, and Ibn al ʿArabi (d. 543 AH) objected to that upon them and said: It is a strongly confirmed sunnah. And likewise Ibn Battal (d. 449 AH) said: In the keeping of the Prophet ﷺ to it is what shows its strong confirmation. (Fath al Bari, 5/477.)

Ibn Rushd al Jadd (d. 520 AH) said: The righteous Salaf were not less in keeping an eye on any act of righteousness than their keeping an eye on iʿtikaf, and that is due to its difficulty, and because its night and day are the same, and because whoever enters it must keep to completing it upon its conditions, and he may not fulfil them. (Al Muqaddimat al Mumahhidat, 1/258.)

The virtue of iʿtikaf

From Ibn ʿAbbas رضي الله عنهما: that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said about the one in iʿtikaf: “He holds back sins, and he is made to have the good deeds like the one who does all good deeds.” (Ibn Majah, 1783.)

If it is said: This hadith has Farqad al Sabkhi, and speech has been made about him, and for this reason Abu Dawud said: I said to Ahmad: Do you know anything about the virtue of iʿtikaf? He said: No, except something weak, and Abu Talib نقل that too.

It was said: Farqad al Sabkhi is a righteous man. The people wrote his hadiths. The hadiths of encouragement and warning are treated with ease in their chains, as Ahmad said: When encouragement and warning comes, we made it easy, and when lawful and unlawful comes, we were strict.

And the words of Ahmad: “Except something weak”, is a sign that its chain is not strong, and this amount is an amount that does not prevent using it as proof in rulings, so how about in virtues.

Ishaq ibn Rahawayh (d. 238 AH) narrated from Abu al Darda’ رضي الله عنه, he said: “Whoever performs iʿtikaf for 1 night, he has for him like the reward of 1 ʿumrah, and whoever performs iʿtikaf for 2 nights, he has for him like the reward of 2 ʿumrahs”, then he mentioned according to that.

I said: If we take the apparent words of Ahmad, then all the hadiths narrated about the virtue of iʿtikaf are weak, and this speech is also said about the hadiths of sacrifices, but it does not follow from their weakness that their meaning is wrong.

The one in iʿtikaf gains great rewards in reciting the Qur’an, and long standing before Allah, Lord of the worlds, and holding the self upon obedience.

Sitting of the one in iʿtikaf in the masjid is an act of obedience by itself, and a means to other acts of obedience. He is in the House of Allah, waiting for prayer after prayer, so he is within the meaning of waiting in prayer, and this is the meaning of His saying, the Exalted:

“وَرَابِطُوا”
“And remain steadfast.”

And if there were no virtue in iʿtikaf except that it is a thing the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did, that would be enough.

And Allah made iʿtikaf at the end of Ramadan, as if He is saying to the people: Strive at the end of your lives as you strive at the end of Ramadan, for actions are by their endings. O Allah, end for us with good.

Al Hasan ibn ʿAli رضي الله عنهما said: Whoever keeps going to the masjid, Allah provides him 1 of 7 traits: a brother gained for Allah, or a mercy brought down, or knowledge gained, or a word that guides to guidance, or turns him away from destruction, or he leaves sins out of fear, or out of shyness.

From al Hasan al Basri (d. 110 AH), he said: For the one in iʿtikaf, every day is 1 hajj.

Al Bayhaqi said: This saying that was narrated from al Hasan al Basri, al Hasan does not say it except from a report that reached him, and this speech, even if there is an issue in it from the hadith side, it has meanings in the Sharia that witness for it.

It came in Sunan al Tirmidhi that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever sits after Fajr until the sun rises, in his place of prayer, Allah writes for him the reward of 1 hajj and 1 ʿumrah, complete, complete.” Al Tirmidhi graded it.

The aim of iʿtikaf is: to devote the concern to Allah, and to keep thinking about the Hereafter, and to push away distractions that turn away from Him, by withdrawing to the masjid, and freeing oneself for the remembrance of Allah, or for listening to His remembrance, and for remembering Him.

Being alone in iʿtikaf reminds a person of being alone in his grave, and being cut off from the people, and the people being cut off from him. This being alone makes him return to his accounts, and he does not give the dunya more than its size. It gives the being a calm pause from the struggle of life, and it trains the person upon obedience, and it makes him know the righteous, and their way of life, so that he follows them.

From the greatest aims of iʿtikaf: reviving Laylat al Qadr, and keeping company with the group of believers, whom the one who sits with them is not made miserable. They are the carriers of musk, and they are a blessing for the one who sits with them. None of us is without supplications he stores for these blessed days, and this is speech of the Salaf that witnesses what was mentioned.

Zubayd al Yami (d. 122 AH), and a group with him, when it was the day of Nayruz and the day of Mihrajan, would perform iʿtikaf in their masjids, then they would say: O Allah, those people performed devotion upon their disbelief, and we performed devotion upon our belief, so forgive us. (Al Jamiʿ li Shuʿab al Iman, al Rushd edition, 5/437.)

Ibn ʿAbd al Barr said: The one in iʿtikaf is one who has made it binding upon himself to stay in the masjid for obedience to Allah, so it becomes binding upon him to fulfil that, and to not busy himself with what distracts him from remembrance and prayer.

Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Sahl, Shams al A’immah al Sarakhsi (d. 483 AH) said: In iʿtikaf there is emptying the heart from the matters of the dunya, and handing oneself over to its Creator, and taking protection in a strong fortress, and keeping to the House of Allah.

ʿAta (d. 114 AH) said: The example of the one in iʿtikaf is like a man who has a need with a great man, so he sits at his door and says: I will not leave until you fulfil my need.

The one in iʿtikaf sits in the House of Allah and says: I will not leave until You forgive me. So it is the most noble of actions, if it is with sincerity. From ʿAta’ ibn Abi Muslim al Khurasani (d. 135 AH), he said: The example of the one in iʿtikaf is like a criminal who threw himself before the Most Merciful and said: By Allah, I will not leave until You have mercy on me. (Al Istidhkar, 3/387.) (Al Mabsut, 3/115, al Maʿrifah edition.) (Al Jamiʿ li Shuʿab al Iman, 5/437.) (Al Ifsah ʿan Maʿani al Sihah, Abu al Muẓaffar Ibn Hubayrah, 9/294.)

He said: It is fitting for the one in iʿtikaf to understand the meaning of iʿtikaf, which is: just as he holds his foot back from moving in other than closeness, likewise he holds his heart and his passing thought back from thinking about other than closeness.

Al Kasani (d. 587 AH) said: Iʿtikaf is seeking closeness to Allah by staying near His House, turning away from the dunya, and turning to His service, seeking mercy and hoping for forgiveness.

Until ʿAta’ al Khurasani said: The example of the one in iʿtikaf is like the one who threw himself before Allah, saying: I will not leave until He forgives me. And because it is worship, due to what it has of showing servitude to Allah by keeping to places attributed to Him.

And when a person only keeps to and stays constant upon the one he loves and honours, like the polytheists used to keep devotion upon their idols and statues, and the people of desires keep devotion upon their desires, Allah legislated for the people of belief that they keep devotion upon their Lord. The most special places for remembering His Name and worship are His Houses built for that, so iʿtikaf is keeping to the masjid for obedience to Allah in it. (Bada’iʿ al Sana’iʿ, 2/108.) (Sharh al ʿUmdah, 2/707.)

Ibn Taymiyyah said: The one in iʿtikaf has held back sins, stopped them, and kept away from them, so they do not reach him. (Al Ifsah, 4/167.) (Sharh al ʿUmdah, 2/712.)

Ibn al Qayyim (d. 751 AH) said: The aim of iʿtikaf and its core is: devotion of the heart to Allah, and gathering it upon Him, and being alone with Him, and cutting off from being busy with creation, and being busy with Him alone, so that His remembrance, love, and turning to Him takes the place of the concerns of the heart and its passing thoughts, so He becomes over it instead of them, and the concern becomes all for Him, and the thoughts become all with His remembrance, and thinking becomes in gaining what pleases Him and what brings near to Him.

Then his comfort with Allah becomes instead of his comfort with creation, so he is prepared by that for his comfort with Him on the day of loneliness in the graves, when there is no companion for him and nothing that makes him happy besides Him. This is the greatest aim of iʿtikaf.

Iʿtikaf is that the one in iʿtikaf hands himself over completely to the worship of Allah, seeking closeness, and keeping the self away from the work of the dunya that blocks what the servant seeks of closeness. In it, the one in iʿtikaf fills his times with prayer, either in reality or by ruling, because the main aim of legislating iʿtikaf is waiting for prayer in the congregational prayers, and making the one in iʿtikaf like the angels, who:

“لَا يَعْصُونَ اللَّهَ مَا أَمَرَهُمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُونَ”
“They do not disobey Allah in what He commands them, and they do what they are commanded.” (At Tahrim 66:6)

They glorify at night and day, not stopping.

Ibn Rajab (d. 795 AH) said: The meaning of iʿtikaf and its reality is: cutting off ties from creation in order to connect to service of the Creator. Whenever knowledge of Allah becomes stronger, and love for Him, and comfort with Him, it gives the one who has it full cutting off to Allah in every state. (Zad al Maʿad, 2/83, al Risalah edition.)

Some of them used to remain alone in his house, empty with his Lord. It was said to him: Do you not feel loneliness? He said: How would I feel loneliness when He says: I am the sitting companion of the one who remembers Me.

My times alone with You made me feel alone from every companion, and I became alone, and I saw You in the unseen as my sitting companion.

The recommended for the one in iʿtikaf is to live 10 days, as if he is with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his companions, and to strive in obedience, so that if it were said to him: the Day of Rising is tomorrow, he would not be able to add.

ʿAli رضي الله عنه said: Whoever performs iʿtikaf, then let him not trade insults, and let him not speak indecently in speech, and he orders his family with needs, meaning while he walks, and he does not sit with them.

Ahmad (d. 241 AH) said: It becomes binding upon the one in iʿtikaf to guard his tongue, and nothing shelters him except the roof of the masjid, and it is not fitting for him, when he performs iʿtikaf, to sew or work.

Ibn Qudamah (d. 620 AH) said: It is recommended for the one in iʿtikaf to busy himself with prayer, reciting the Qur’an, remembrance of Allah, and the like, from pure acts of obedience. (Lata’if al Maʿarif fima li Mawasim al ʿAm min al Waza’if, page 191, Zayn al Din ʿAbd al Rahman ibn Ahmad ibn Rajab al Hanbali, Dar Ibn Hazm.) (Sharh al ʿUmdah, Kitab al Sawm, 2/792.)

He avoids what does not concern him from speech and actions, and he does not speak much, because whoever has much speech has much slipping.

He said: And in the report: From the good Islam of a person is leaving what does not concern him. If he does not leave what does not concern him in iʿtikaf, then when will he leave it.

He avoids arguing, disputing, insulting, and foul speech, because that is disliked outside iʿtikaf, so within it it is more fitting.

There is no harm in speech for his need, and speaking with others, because Safiyyah, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ, said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was in iʿtikaf, so I came to visit him at night, I spoke with him, then I stood up and returned, so he stood with me to turn me back, and her home was in the house of Usamah ibn Zayd, then 2 men from the Ansar passed by, and when they saw the Prophet ﷺ they hurried, so the Prophet ﷺ said: Be calm.

She is Safiyyah bint Huyayy. They said: Subhan Allah, O Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He said: Satan runs in the human being like the running of blood, and I feared that he would throw into your hearts evil, or he said: something.” Agreed upon by al Bukhari and Muslim.

Comparing iʿtikaf with other acts of worship

Acts of worship differ in excellence. Allah said:

“أَنْ طَهِّرَا بَيْتِيَ لِلطَّائِفِينَ وَالْعَاكِفِينَ وَالرُّكَّعِ السُّجُودِ”
“Purify My House for those who go around it, and those who stay for devotion, and those who bow and those who prostrate.” (Al Baqarah 2:125)

So the religion of Allah, even though all of it is good, it still differs in excellence, so some of it is better than some. (Al Tirmidhi, 2317, and it is mursal.)

And this speech of the Salaf bears witness to that

Malik (d. 179 AH) was asked, “Should a person perform iʿtikaf in the frontier outposts on the sea and elsewhere?” He said, “I do not know what this is. Does he go out upon the mountain ridges and perform iʿtikaf?!” It was as though he disliked it. (An Nawadir wa az Ziyadat, 2/110.)

Al Marrudhi (d. 275 AH) said, “I said to Abu Abd Allah Ahmad (d. 241 AH): A man teaches the Qur’an in the masjid, and he wants to perform iʿtikaf, and perhaps he may complete the Qur’an every day? He said: If he does this, it is for himself, but if he sits in the masjid it is for him and for others. Teaching the Qur’an is more beloved to me.”

Ahmad (d. 241 AH) was asked, “Which of the 2 is more beloved to you, iʿtikaf or going out for jihad?” He said, “Nothing equals jihad with me,” meaning that going out for jihad is better than iʿtikaf. (Al Mughni, 4/482.) (Sharh al ʿUmdah, 2/845.)

Abu Talib said, “He should not perform iʿtikaf in the frontier zone, lest it distract him from going out when the call is made.”

If going out for jihad becomes individually binding upon him, such as when an enemy comes and they fear his attack, or when the imam calls for a general mobilisation, then he goes out and leaves his iʿtikaf, just as we said regarding going out to complete the waiting period, and even more so, because jihad is among the greatest obligations, and staying behind from it is among the greatest harms. (Al Insaf li Maʿrifat ar Rajih min al Khilaf, 7/563.) (Sharh al ʿUmdah, 2/844.)

The summary of their words is that acts of worship whose benefit reaches others, such as jihad and teaching the Qur’an, are given precedence over other than them. But is this speech to be taken without restriction? The answer, according to Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH), is what he said: As for the claim that benefit reaching others is better, then there are answers to that.

The 1st is that it does not follow from a thing being better that it is legislated in every act of worship. Rather, placing the better thing in other than its proper place makes it lesser, and the same applies in reverse.

For this reason, reciting the Qur’an is better than tasbih, yet it is disliked in rukuʿ and sujud. For this reason, this is not legislated in prayer and tawaf, even if those 2 are better than optional prayer and optional tawaf.

The 2nd is that saying those 2 are better would mean keeping busy with them instead of iʿtikaf.

The 3rd is that benefit reaching others is not better in an unrestricted sense. Rather, a person should have times in which he privately speaks to his Lord, is alone with himself, and takes himself to account. His doing that may be better than his mixing with people and benefiting them. For this reason, a person’s being alone at night with his Lord is better than his gathering with people. (Sharh al ʿUmdah, 2/489.)

What is jiwar

Jiwar, with the jim read with dammah or kasrah, comes from mujawarah.

Staying in Makkah is called mujawarah because the person is staying near the House of Allah, just as a man stays near the house of another man, because he has become the neighbour of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, by keeping to His House and to one place for His worship. (Sharh al ʿUmdah, 2/708, 709.)

What is the difference between iʿtikaf and jiwar

The ulama differed about that into 2 sayings.

The 1st saying is that jiwar and iʿtikaf are 1 and the same.

From ʿA’ishah رضي الله عنها, she said, “The Prophet ﷺ would incline his head towards me while he was staying as a neighbour in the masjid, and I would comb it while I was menstruating.” (Al Bukhari, 2028. Muslim, 678.)

An Nawawi (d. 676 AH) said, “Iʿtikaf is also called jiwar.” (Al Majmuʿ, 6/474.)

Sanad said, “Whoever says: It is binding upon me for Allah that I stay as a neighbour of the masjid by night or day for a number of days, then this is a vow of iʿtikaf using the wording of jiwar. So there is no difference in meaning between his saying: I will perform iʿtikaf for 10 days, or: I will stay as a neighbour for 10 days.

So whatever is binding in iʿtikaf is binding in that, and whatever is forbidden in iʿtikaf is forbidden in that. The wording is not sought for itself. Rather, what is sought is its meaning.” (Mawahib al Jalil, 2/459.)

ʿAmr ibn Dinar (d. 126 AH) said, “Jiwar and iʿtikaf are 1 and the same.” (Musannaf ʿAbd ar Razzaq, 4/141.)

Malik (d. 179 AH) said, “Iʿtikaf and jiwar are the same, and iʿtikaf for the townsman and the Bedouin are the same.” (Al Muwatta’, after Hadith 712, p. 258.)

Abu Jaʿfar at Tahawi (d. 321 AH) said, “Jiwar, according to them, is iʿtikaf.” (Mukhtasar Ikhtilaf al ʿUlama’, 2/48, Basha’ir al Islamiyyah edition.)

Al Qadi ʿIyad (d. 544 AH) said, “Iʿtikaf is also called jiwar.” (Ikmal al Muʿlim bi Fawa’id Muslim, 4/150.)

The 2nd saying is that jiwar is not another word for iʿtikaf.

Ibn Jurayj (d. 150 AH) said, “I said to ʿAta’ (d. 114 AH): Tell me about jiwar and iʿtikaf. Are they different, or are they 1 thing? He said: Rather, they are different. The houses of the Prophet ﷺ were in the masjid.

So when he performed iʿtikaf in Ramadan, he went out from his houses to the middle of the masjid and performed iʿtikaf there. I said to him: If a person says: I owe days of iʿtikaf, must it be in its inner part? He said: Yes. But if he says: I owe days of jiwar, then at its doorway or in its inner part, if he wishes.”

The preferred view is that the matter goes back to the intent of the speaker, and this intent is understood from the context of his speech.

The wisdom behind jiwar

When the Sharia placed iʿtikaf in a way that is difficult for most people to keep, it legislated in that field what makes keeping it easier for most people. So it legislated jiwar. The one doing jiwar attends the masjid and increases his time there, but he does not commit himself to residence and continuous staying in the way the one in iʿtikaf commits himself.

There is no difference among the imams that keeping to the masjid is among the voluntary acts of goodness and among the ways of drawing near.

Then he said: Physical intimacy is not forbidden in it, fasting is not a condition for it, and intercourse is not forbidden for the one doing jiwar, even though he is prevented from it in the masjid because of the sanctity of the masjid. So even if he had intercourse outside the masjid, he would not sin. (Musannaf ʿAbd ar Razzaq, Tasil edition, 4/141.) (Mawahib al Jalil, 2/459.)

The ruling of jiwar in Makkah

As Sarkhasi (d. 483 AH) said: Muhammad narrated from Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH), may Allah have mercy on them both, that he used to dislike jiwar in Makkah and would say: It is not a land of hijrah, for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ migrated from it to Madinah.

According to Abu Yusuf (d. 182 AH) and Muhammad (d. 189 AH), may Allah have mercy on them both, there is no harm in that, and it is better, and that is what people act upon today.

Was iʿtikaf known in the earlier laws

Al Juwayni (d. 478 AH) said: Iʿtikaf was present in the earlier laws. Allah, the Exalted, said: … (Al Mabsut, 3/115.) (Nihayat al Matlab fi Dirayat al Madhhab, 4/80.)

The agreed conditions of iʿtikaf

The conditions of iʿtikaf, according to the majority, are 4. They are the person doing iʿtikaf, the intention, the place of iʿtikaf, and staying in the masjid. Some of them called them pillars.

The first condition, the person doing iʿtikaf

The fuqaha agreed that iʿtikaf is valid from a man, a woman, and a discerning child. They made the following conditions for the validity of obligatory and recommended iʿtikaf.

Islam. So iʿtikaf is not valid from a disbeliever, because he is not from the people of worship.

Sanity. Because worship is not done except with intention, and the insane person is not from the people of intention.

Discernment. So iʿtikaf is not valid from the insane person, the drunk person, the unconscious person, or the one who has not reached discernment, because they have no intention, and intention in iʿtikaf is obligatory.

As for the sane, discerning child, iʿtikaf is valid from him because he is from the people of worship, just as voluntary fasting is valid from him.

Purity from menstruation and postnatal bleeding. So iʿtikaf is not valid from the menstruating woman or the woman in postnatal bleeding, because both are prevented from the masjid, and iʿtikaf is not valid except in a masjid. (Mughni al Muhtaj, 2/189, with a similar wording.)

Purity from janabah. So iʿtikaf is not valid from the person in janabah, because he is prevented from remaining in the masjid. (Bada’iʿ as Sana’iʿ, 2/110 and after it.) (Al Majmuʿ, 6/476.) (Minhaj at Talibin, p. 199.) (Nihayat al Muhtaj, 3/223.) (Al Mawsuʿah al Fiqhiyyah al Kuwaitiyyah, 5/209.)

The second condition, the intention

That is because remaining in the masjid is sometimes a habit and sometimes an act of worship, so it needs intention in order to distinguish the habit from the worship. (Kifayat an Nabih fi Sharh at Tanbih, 6/424.) (Al Bayan, 3/585.)

Ibn Hubayrah (d. 560 AH) said: They agreed, meaning the 4 imams, that iʿtikaf is not valid except with intention. (Al Insah, 9/289.)

Ibn al ʿArabi (d. 543 AH) said: The intention cuts his heart off from the dunya and its attachments, and the masjid prevents his body from keeping busy with its occupations, because the masjids are:

فِي بُيُوتٍ أَذِنَ اللَّهُ أَنْ تُرْفَعَ وَيُذْكَرَ فِيهَا اسْمُهُ

“In houses which Allah has permitted to be raised, and His Name to be remembered in them.” (Surah al Nur 36)

There is no action in them for other than Him. So it is not permissible for him to do any work of the dunya except for human necessity, and that is food, drink, and what he owns. So he is prevented from eating in the daytime because it is 1 of the means of cutting off from the dunya, and he is prevented from leaving the masjid except for human need or to get his provision. (Al Qabas, p. 532.)

Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) said: Iʿtikaf is not valid until he intends keeping to the masjid for the worship of Allah. So if he remained in the masjid without intention, he would not be in iʿtikaf. And if he intended sitting in it for an act of worship he was doing, such as an obligatory prayer, or learning knowledge, or teaching it. (Sharh al ʿUmdah, 2/751.)

If you intend to do iʿtikaf for a period, are you bound to complete it?

The ulama differed regarding this issue into 2 sayings.

The 1st saying is that whoever intends iʿtikaf for a period is not bound by it. If he begins it, then he may complete it, and he may leave it whenever he wishes. This is the saying of Ash Shafiʿi (d. 204 AH).

The proofs are as follows.

Ash Shafiʿi said: Every action which a person may choose not to enter into, if he enters into it and then leaves it, he does not have to make it up, except Hajj and ʿUmrah.

Ibn Qudamah (d. 620 AH) said: No consensus has taken place that a voluntary act becomes binding merely by beginning it except Hajj and ʿUmrah. If acts of worship which have an principle in obligation do not become binding by beginning them, then what has no principle in obligation is more deserving of that.

Consensus has taken place that if a person intended to give a specific amount in charity, then began giving charity from it and gave out some of it, he would not be bound to give charity from the rest of it. This is similar to iʿtikaf, because it is not set in a fixed amount by the Sharia, so it resembles charity. (Sunan at Tirmidhi, Kitab as Siyam, after Hadith 814.)

The 2nd saying is that it becomes binding by intention together with entering into it. If he cuts it off, he must make it up. This is the saying of the Malikis and the Hanafis.

Al Kasani (d. 587 AH) said: Iʿtikaf becomes obligatory through 1 of 2 matters. The 1st is by speech, and that is an unrestricted vow, such as when he says: It is binding upon me for Allah that I perform iʿtikaf for a day, or a month, or the like of that.

Or he attaches it to a condition, such as when he says: If Allah cures my sick person, or if so and so arrives, then it is binding upon me for Allah that I perform iʿtikaf for a month, or the like of that.

The 2nd is by action, and that is beginning it, because beginning a voluntary act is binding with us just like a vow. (Mawahib al Jalil, 2/460.) (Bada’iʿ as Sana’iʿ, 2/108.)

Ibn Rushd al Jadd (d. 520 AH) said: Iʿtikaf becomes obligatory in 1 of 2 ways, either by vow, or by intention together with entering into it. (Al Muqaddimat al Mumahhidat, 1/259.)

The proofs are as follows.

From ʿA’ishah رضي الله عنها, “The Prophet ﷺ used to perform iʿtikaf in the last 10 of Ramadan. Then ʿA’ishah sought his permission, and he permitted her. So she ordered that her structure be put up, and it was put up.

Hafsah asked ʿA’ishah to seek permission for her from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and she did so. So she ordered that her structure be put up, and it was put up.

When Zaynab bint Jahsh saw that, she ordered her structure to be put up, and it was put up.

She said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he had prayed the morning prayer, would enter his place of iʿtikaf. So when he prayed the morning prayer, he turned and saw the structures and said: What is this? They said: The structures of ʿA’ishah, Hafsah, and Zaynab.

So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Do you intend righteousness?! I am not going to perform iʿtikaf. So he returned, and when he broke his fast, he performed iʿtikaf for 10 days in Shawwal.” (Agreed upon by al Bukhari and Muslim.)

The stronger view

The stronger view is the first saying. What the companions of the second saying mentioned is actually proof against them, because the Prophet ﷺ left his iʿtikaf, and if it had been obligatory, he would not have left it.

His wives also left iʿtikaf after intending it and after their structures had been set up for them, and there was no excuse present that prevented doing an obligation, and they were not commanded to make it up.

The Prophet’s ﷺ making it up was not obligatory upon him. Rather, he did it voluntarily, because when he did an action he would keep to it, and his making it up was like his doing it on time, in the manner of voluntary action, not in the manner of obligation, just as he made up the sunnah prayer that had passed him after Zuhr and before Fajr.

So his leaving it is proof that it is not obligatory, because leaving an obligation is forbidden. His making it up does not prove obligation, because making up sunnah acts is legislated.

If it is said: He was only permitted to leave it, and he did not command the women who left it to make it up, because they left it before beginning it.

We say: then the argument has fallen, because we all agree that it does not become binding before beginning it. So making it up cannot be proof of obligation while we all agree that obligation was absent.

It is not correct to compare it with Hajj and ʿUmrah, because reaching those 2 usually does not happen except after great effort, severe hardship, and spending much wealth. So invalidating them would waste his wealth and nullify his many actions, and we have been forbidden from wasting wealth and nullifying deeds.

But in leaving iʿtikaf after beginning it, there is no wealth wasted and no deed nullified, because what has passed from his iʿtikaf is not nullified by leaving the iʿtikaf that remains ahead. Also, the ritual acts are tied specifically to al Masjid al Haram, whereas iʿtikaf is not like that.

The third condition, the place in which iʿtikaf is done, and that is the masjid

Is iʿtikaf permissible in other than a masjid

Al Jassas (d. 370 AH) said: All of the Salaf agreed that from the conditions of iʿtikaf is that it be in a masjid, even though they differed regarding whether that applies to all masjids or only to specific ones. (Ahkam al Qur’an, Ahmad ibn ʿAli Abu Bakr ar Razi al Jassas al Hanafi, 10/302.)

Ibn ʿAbd al Barr (d. 463 AH) said: They agreed that iʿtikaf is only in a masjid, because of His saying, the Exalted:

“وَأَنْتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ”
“While you are in iʿtikaf in the masjids.” (Al Istidhkar, 3/385.)

Ibn Battal (d. 449 AH) said: The ulama agreed that iʿtikaf is only in the masjid. (Sharh Sahih al Bukhari, 4/160.)

Al Qurtubi (d. 671 AH) said: The ulama agreed that iʿtikaf is only in the masjid, because of the saying of Allah, the Exalted:

“فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ”
“In the masjids.” (Al Jamiʿ li Ahkam al Qur’an, 3/216.)

Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) said: Iʿtikaf is only in the masjids by agreement of the ulama, as Allah the Exalted said:

“وَلَا تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنْتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ”
“And do not have relations with them while you are in iʿtikaf in the masjids.”

Iʿtikaf is not by seclusion, nor by other than seclusion, not in a cave, not at a grave, nor in any other place to which the misguided people travel.

The Khalil Ibrahim عليه السلام said:

مَا هَذِهِ التَّمَاثِيلُ الَّتِي أَنْتُمْ لَهَا عَاكِفُونَ

“What are these statues to which you are devoted?” (Surah al Anbiya 52)

وَجَاوَزْنَا بِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ الْبَحْرَ فَأَتْبَعَهُمْ فِرْعَوْنُ وَجُنُودُهُ بَغْيًا وَعَدْوًا حَتَّى إِذَا أَدْرَكَهُ الْغَرَقُ قَالَ ءَامَنْتُ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا الَّذِي ءَامَنَتْ بِهِ بَنُو إِسْرَائِيلَ وَأَنَا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ

“And We took the Children of Israel across the sea. Then Firʿawn and his soldiers followed them in oppression and hostility, until when drowning overtook him he said, ‘I believe that there is no god except the One in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am from the Muslims.’” (Surah Yunus 90)

It is authentically reported from Saʿid ibn al Musayyib (d. 94 AH) that he said: Whoever vows to perform iʿtikaf in the masjid of Iliyā’ (Bayt al Maqdis), then performs iʿtikaf in the masjid of the Prophet ﷺ in Madinah, that is sufficient for him.

Whoever vows to perform iʿtikaf in the masjid of Madinah, then performs iʿtikaf in al Masjid al Haram, that is sufficient for him. Whoever vows to perform iʿtikaf upon mountain tops, then that is not fitting for him. Let him perform iʿtikaf in a masjid in which congregational prayer is established.

This which Saʿid forbade is agreed upon by the majority of the ulama. Even if it were imagined that a man does not call this iʿtikaf, still, whoever does outside the masjid what the person in iʿtikaf does in the masjid, then he is a person doing iʿtikaf outside the masjid, and that is forbidden by agreement. (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, 27/252.) (See also Musannaf ʿAbd ar Razzaq, 8025.)

Ibn Hajar (d. 852 AH) said: The ulama agreed that the masjid is a condition for iʿtikaf, except Muhammad ibn ʿUmar ibn Lubabah al Maliki, who permitted it in every place. The Hanafis permitted a woman to perform iʿtikaf in the prayer place of her house. (Fath al Bari.) (Al Mufhim with a similar wording, 3/241.) (See also Bidayat al Mujtahid wa Nihayat al Muqtasid, 2/77.) (Ikmal al Muʿlim bi Fawa’id Muslim, 4/150.)

Ibn Rajab (d. 795 AH) mentioned in Al Fath, 2/295, 2 reports that oppose this consensus.

The 1st is that Abu al Ahwas, the companion of Ibn Masʿud رضي الله عنه, performed iʿtikaf in the masjid of his house, and Ash Shaʿbi (d. 103 AH) gave concession in that.

As for the first, then in the Musannaf of ʿAbd ar Razzaq and Ibn Abi Shaybah it is narrated that he performed iʿtikaf in the masjid of his quarter. From Ath Thawri, from ʿAmr ibn ʿAmir, who said: “Abu al Ahwas used to perform iʿtikaf in the masjid of his people.” From Abu az Zaʿra’, that Abu al Ahwas performed iʿtikaf in the masjid of his people. (Musannaf ʿAbd ar Razzaq, number 8013.) (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, number 9667, Rushd edition.)

As for the 2nd, it is also in the Musannaf of Ibn Abi Shaybah, but in its chain there is an unnamed man. From Isra’il, from a man, from Ash Shaʿbi, who said: “There is no harm in a man performing iʿtikaf in the masjid of his house.” (Musannaf ʿAbd ar Razzaq, number 8024.)

All of this does not weaken the consensus, because as far as I know, it has not been transmitted from the Sahabah, nor authentically established from the Tabiʿin, that iʿtikaf is permissible for a man in his house.

A benefit. None of the acts of worship need the masjid except Tahiyyat al Masjid, iʿtikaf, and tawaf. (Nihayat al Muhtaj, 3/217.)

Is it permissible for a woman to perform iʿtikaf in her house

The 1st saying is that she does not have iʿtikaf in her house. This is the saying of Malik (d. 179 AH), Ash Shafiʿi (d. 204 AH), and Ahmad (d. 241 AH), because of His saying, the Exalted:

وَلَا تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنْتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ

“And do not have relations with them while you are in iʿtikāf in the masjids.” (Surah al Baqarah 187)

What is meant by that is the places built for prayer in them. The place where she prays in her house is not a masjid, because it was not built for prayer in it. Even if it is called a masjid, then that is only figurative, so the rulings of actual masjids are not established for it, just like the saying of the Prophet ﷺ, “The earth has been made for me a masjid.”

Also, the wives of the Prophet ﷺ sought his permission for iʿtikaf in the masjid, and he gave them permission. If it had not been the place for their iʿtikaf, he would not have permitted it. If iʿtikaf in other than it had been better, he would have directed them to it and made them aware of it.

Also, iʿtikaf is an act of drawing near for which the masjid is a condition in the case of the man, so it is also a condition in the case of the woman, just like tawaf.

As Sarkhasi (d. 483 AH) said: The apparent of this saying is that the prayer place of the house does not have the ruling of a masjid, as is shown by the permissibility of selling it and the permissibility of sleeping in it for the person in janabah and the menstruating woman. This is because the aim is the magnifying of the place, so it is restricted to the place magnified by the Sharia, and that is not found in the prayer places of houses. (Al Mabsut, 3/119.)

Al Kasani (d. 587 AH) said: The وجه of this saying is that iʿtikaf is an act of drawing near that is specifically tied to the masjids by text, and the prayer place of her house is not truly a masjid. Rather, it is only a name for the place prepared for prayer for her. So none of the rulings of the masjid are established for it, and therefore it is not permissible to establish this act of drawing near in it. (Bada’iʿ as Sana’iʿ, 2/113.)

The 2nd saying is that she may perform iʿtikaf in the prayer place of her house, meaning the place she has set aside for prayer, and her iʿtikaf there is better, because her prayer there is better. Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH) and Ath Thawri (d. 161 AH) said this.

They said: Her iʿtikaf in the congregational masjid is not valid, because the Prophet ﷺ left iʿtikaf in the masjid when he saw the structures of his wives in it, and said, “Do you intend righteousness?!” Also, the prayer place of her house is the place of superiority for her prayer, so it is the place of her iʿtikaf, just as the masjid is for the man.

Muhammad ibn al Hasan (d. 189 AH) said: A woman only performs iʿtikaf in the prayer place of her house, and she does not perform iʿtikaf in a congregational masjid. (Al Asl, 2/184.)

At Tahawi (d. 321 AH) said: Our companions said: The woman performs iʿtikaf only in the prayer place of her house, and she does not perform iʿtikaf in the congregational masjid. (Mukhtasar Ikhtilaf al ʿUlama’, 2/48.)

As Sarkhasi (d. 483 AH) said: Because the congregational masjid is entered by everyone, and she is not able to remain concealed throughout the day, and there is fear for her of fitnah from the sinful people, so the prohibition is for this reason. (Al Mabsut, 3/119.)

Al Kasani (d. 587 AH) said, from Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH): A woman may perform iʿtikaf in the congregational masjid, and if she wishes she may perform iʿtikaf in the prayer place of her house. The prayer place of her house is better for her than the masjid of her quarter, and the masjid of her quarter is better for her than the larger masjid.

This is an act of drawing near that is specifically tied to the masjid. But the prayer place of her house has the ruling of the masjid for her, in the matter of iʿtikaf, because it has the ruling of the masjid for her in the matter of prayer, due to her need to gain the virtue of Jama’ah (congregation).

So it was given the ruling of the congregational masjid for her, such that her prayer in her house became better, based on what was narrated from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that he said: “The prayer of a woman in the prayer place of her house is better than her prayer in the masjid of her courtyard, and her prayer in the courtyard of her house is better than her prayer in the masjid of her quarter.”

So when it has the ruling of the masjid for her in prayer, then likewise it does in iʿtikaf, because each of the 2 is the same in being specific to the masjid.

She does not have the right to perform iʿtikaf anywhere in her house other than the prayer place, meaning the place prepared for prayer, because no other place in her house has the ruling of the masjid, so her iʿtikaf there is not permissible.

The أصحاب of this saying differed, as you can see, regarding a woman’s iʿtikaf in the masjid, whether it is forbidden or merely contrary to what is better. (Bada’iʿ as Sana’iʿ, 2/113.)

The stronger view

The stronger view is the 1st saying. The hadith of ʿA’ishah رضي الله عنها is proof for the 1st saying. The Prophet ﷺ only disliked their iʿtikaf in that state, when their structures became many, because of what he saw of their competing with one another. So he disliked that from them out of fear for them that their intention would become unsound and their purpose in it would be bad.

For that reason he said, “Do you intend righteousness?!” as though it were a rebuke, meaning: I do not think they intend righteousness.

He was objecting to that, meaning: you did not do that as righteousness. For that reason he left iʿtikaf, because he thought they were competing in order to be with him. If the matter had been for the meaning they mentioned, he would have ordered them to perform iʿtikaf in their houses, and he would not have given them permission in the masjid.

As for prayer, then it is not correct to compare iʿtikaf to it, because the prayer of the man in his house is better, yet his iʿtikaf in it is not valid. (Al Istidhkar, 3/397.) (Al Mughni, 4/464.)

An Nawawi (d. 676 AH) said: Iʿtikaf is only valid in the masjid, because the Prophet ﷺ, his wives, and his companions only performed iʿtikaf in the masjid despite the hardship in keeping to it. If it had been permissible in the house, they would have done it, even once, especially the women, because their need for it in the houses is greater. (Sharh an Nawawi, 4/220.)

Ibn Rajab (d. 795 AH) said: If this had been correct, the wives of the Prophet ﷺ would have performed iʿtikaf in the prayer places of their houses. Rather, they only used to perform iʿtikaf in the masjid of the Prophet ﷺ. (Fath al Bari, Ibn Rajab, 2/295.)

Remaining devotedness outside the masjid

Remaining devoted there is like the devotedness of the idolaters to their idols. Al Khalil Ibrahim عليه السلام said:

مَا هَذِهِ الثَّمَائِيلُ الَّتِي أَنتُمْ لَهَا عَاكِفُونَ

“What are these images to which you are devoted?” (Surah al Anbiya 52)

وَجَوَزْنَا بِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ الْبَحْرَ فَأَتْبَعَهُمْ فِرْعَوْنُ وَجُنُودُهُ بَغْيًا وَعَدْوًا حَتَّىٰ إِذَا أَدْرَكَهُ الْغَرَقُ قَالَ آمَنتُ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا الَّذِي آمَنَتْ بِهِ بَنُو إِسْرَائِيلَ وَأَنَا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ

“And We took the Children of Israel across the sea. Then Fir’awn and his armies pursued them in oppression and hostility, until when drowning overtook him, he said, ‘I believe that there is no god except the One in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am of the Muslims.’” (Surah Yunus 90)

It is authentically reported from Sa’id ibn al Musayyib (d. 94 AH) that he said, “Whoever vows to observe i’tikaf in the masjid of Iliya’, then observes i’tikaf in the masjid of the Prophet ﷺ in Madinah, that suffices for him.

Whoever vows to observe i’tikaf in the masjid of Madinah, then observes i’tikaf in al Masjid al Haram, that suffices for him. Whoever vows to observe i’tikaf on mountain tops, that is not fitting for him. Let him observe i’tikaf in a congregational masjid.” This which Sa’id forbade is agreed upon by the generality of the ulama.

Even if it were assumed that a man does not call that i’tikaf, then whoever does outside the masjid what the one in i’tikaf does in the masjid is observing i’tikaf outside the masjid, and that is forbidden by agreement. The last paragraph is attributed to Ma’mar (d. 153 AH), the shaykh of ‘Abd al Razzaq. (Majmu’ al Fatawa, 27/252. See also: Musannaf ‘Abd al Razzaq, no. 8025.)

Ibn Hajar (d. 852 AH) said, “The ulama agreed that the masjid is a condition for i’tikaf, except for Muhammad ibn ‘Umar ibn Lubabah al Maliki, who permitted it in every place. The Hanafis also permitted a woman to observe i’tikaf in the prayer place of her house.” (Fath al Bari. Al Mufhim has similar wording, 3/241. See also: Bidayat al Mujtahid wa Nihayat al Muqtasid, 2/77; Ikmal al Mu’lim bi Fawa’id Muslim, 4/150.)

Ibn Rajab (d. 795 AH) mentioned in al Fath that there are 2 reports which appear to oppose this consensus. The first is that Abu al Ahwas, the companion of Ibn Mas’ud, observed i’tikaf in the masjid of his house, and al Sha’bi gave concession in that.

As for the first, then in the Musannaf of ‘Abd al Razzaq and Ibn Abi Shaybah it is reported that he observed i’tikaf in the masjid of his quarter.

It is narrated from al Thawri (d. 161 AH), from ‘Amr ibn ‘Amir, who said, “Abu al Ahwas used to observe i’tikaf in the masjid of his people.” It is also narrated from Abu al Za’ra’ that Abu al Ahwas observed i’tikaf in the masjid of his people. (Musannaf ‘Abd al Razzaq, no. 8013.)

As for the second, it is also in the Musannaf of Ibn Abi Shaybah, and in its chain there is an unnamed man among them. It is narrated from Isra’il, from a man, from al Sha’bi, who said, “There is no harm in a man observing i’tikaf in the masjid of his house.” (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, no. 9667, Dar al Rushd edition.)

All of this does not harm the consensus, for it has not been transmitted from the Sahabah, nor has it been authentically reported from the Tabi’in, as far as I know, that i’tikaf of a man in his house is permissible.

A benefit: none of the acts of worship depends on the masjid except the greeting prayer of the masjid, i’tikaf, and tawaf. (Musannaf ‘Abd al Razzaq, no. 8024; Nihayat al Muhtaj, 3/217.)

Whether a woman may observe i’tikaf in her home

The first view

She may not observe i’tikaf in her house. This was the view of Malik (d. 179 AH), al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH), and Ahmad (d. 241 AH), because of the saying of Allah تعالى:

وَلَا تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ

“And do not have relations with them while you are in i’tikaf in the masjids.” (al Baqarah 187)

What is meant by this is the places built for prayer. Her place of prayer in her house is not a masjid, because it was not built for prayer in it. Even if it is called a masjid, that is only figurative, so the rulings of real masjids are not established for it, just as in the saying of the Prophet ﷺ, “The earth was made a masjid for me.”

Also, the wives of the Prophet ﷺ sought his permission to observe i’tikaf in the masjid, and he gave them permission. If it had not been a place for their i’tikaf, he would not have given permission for it. If i’tikaf elsewhere had been better, he would have guided them to it and pointed them to it.

Also, i’tikaf is an act of nearness for which the masjid is a condition for the man, so it is also a condition for the woman, just like tawaf.

Al Sarakhsi (d. 483 AH) said, “The basis of this view is that the prayer place of the house does not have the ruling of a masjid, as shown by the permissibility of selling it, and by the permissibility of a person in major impurity and a menstruating woman sleeping in it. That is because the purpose is to honour the place, so it is restricted to a place that is honoured by the Sharia, and that is not found in the prayer places of houses.” (Al Mabsut, 3/119.)

Al Kasani (d. 587 AH) said, “The basis of this view is that i’tikaf is an act of nearness that the text has restricted to the masjids, and the prayer place of her house is not truly a masjid. Rather, it is only a name for the place set aside for prayer in her case, such that none of the rulings of the masjid are established for it, so it is not permissible to perform this act of nearness there.”

The second view

She may observe i’tikaf in the prayer place of her house, which is the place she has set aside for prayer, and her i’tikaf there is better, because her prayer there is better.

Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH) and Sufyan al Thawri (d. 161 AH) said that her i’tikaf in the congregational masjid is not valid, because the Prophet ﷺ abandoned i’tikaf in the masjid when he saw the structures of his wives in it, and he said, “Do you seek righteousness?!” Also because the prayer place of her house is the place of excellence for her prayer, so it is the place of her i’tikaf, just as the masjid is for the man.

Muhammad ibn al Hasan (d. 189 AH) said, “A woman does not observe i’tikaf except in the prayer place of her house, and she does not observe i’tikaf in a congregational masjid.” (Al Asl, 2/184.)

Al Tahawi (d. 321 AH) said, “Our companions said: a woman does not observe i’tikaf except in the prayer place of her house, and she does not observe i’tikaf in a congregational masjid.” (Mukhtasar Ikhtilaf al Ulama, 2/48.)

Al Sarakhsi (d. 483 AH) said, “That is because the congregational masjid is entered by everyone, and she is not able to remain screened the whole day, and there is fear for her of trial from sinful people, so the prohibition is due to this.” (Al Mabsut, 3/119.)

Al Kasani (d. 587 AH) said, from Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH), “A woman may observe i’tikaf in the congregational masjid, and if she wishes she may observe i’tikaf in the prayer place of her house, and the prayer place of her house is better for her than the masjid of her quarter, and the masjid of her quarter is better for her than the central masjid.

This is an act of nearness restricted to the masjid, but the prayer place of her house has the ruling of a masjid for her with respect to i’tikaf, because it has the ruling of a masjid for her with respect to prayer, due to her need to gain the virtue of congregation.

So it was given the ruling of a congregational masjid for her, such that her prayer in her house became better, based on what is narrated from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that he said, ‘A woman’s prayer in the prayer place of her house is better than her prayer in the masjid of her home, and her prayer in the courtyard of her home is better than her prayer in the masjid of her quarter.’

If it has the ruling of a masjid for her regarding prayer, then the same applies regarding i’tikaf, because both are equal in being restricted to the masjid. She does not have the right to observe i’tikaf in any part of her house other than its prayer place, which is the place prepared for prayer, because the rest of her house does not have the ruling of a masjid, so her i’tikaf there is not permissible.” (Bada’i’ al Sana’i’, 2/113.)

The people of this view differed, as can be seen, about a woman’s i’tikaf in the masjid: is it forbidden, or merely against what is better?

The stronger view is the first view.

The hadith of ‘A’ishah is evidence for the first view. The Prophet ﷺ only disliked their i’tikaf in that circumstance, when their structures had become many, because of what he saw of their competing with one another. So he disliked that from them out of fear that their intention would be corrupted and their purpose in it would be unsound.

For that reason he said, “Do you seek righteousness?!” as though it were a rebuke, meaning: I do not think they seek righteousness. He was condemning that, meaning: you have not done that seeking righteousness.

For that reason he abandoned i’tikaf, because he thought that they were competing to be with him. If the matter had been for the meaning they mentioned, he would have ordered them to observe i’tikaf in their homes, and he would not have permitted them in the masjid.

As for prayer, it is not sound to compare i’tikaf to it, for the prayer of a man in his house may be better, yet his i’tikaf there is not valid. (Al Istidhkar, 3/397; Al Mughni, 4/464.)

Al Nawawi (d. 676 AH) said, “I’tikaf is not valid except in the masjid, because the Prophet ﷺ, his wives, and his Companions only observed i’tikaf in the masjid, despite the hardship of staying in it. If it had been permissible in the house, they would have done so, even once, especially the women, because their need for that in the houses is greater.” (Sharh al Nawawi, 4/220.)

Ibn Rajab (d. 795 AH) said, “Had this been correct, the wives of the Prophet ﷺ would have observed i’tikaf in the prayer places of their houses. Rather, they used to observe i’tikaf in the masjid of the Prophet ﷺ.” (Fath al Bari by Ibn Rajab, 2/295.)

Al Bayhaqi (d. 458 AH) said: Abu ‘Abd Allah al Husayn ibn ‘Abd Allah al Sudayri informed us at Khusrawjird, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al Hasan al Khusrawjirdi informed us, Dawud ibn al Husayn narrated to us, Humayd ibn Zanjuyah narrated to us, Yahya ibn ‘Abd al Hamid narrated to us, Sharik narrated to us, from Layth, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, from ‘Ali al Azdi, from Ibn ‘Abbas, who said: “Among the most hated matters to Allah are religious innovations, and among the innovations is i’tikaf in the masjids that are in the houses.”

Its chain is weak because of Layth. It is also narrated by ‘Amr ibn Dinar, from Jabir, that he was asked about a woman who made it binding on herself to observe i’tikaf in the prayer place of her house, and he said, “It is not proper. Let her observe i’tikaf in a masjid, just as Allah said:

وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ

‘While you are in i’tikaf in the masjids.’” (al Baqarah 187)

Al Akram narrated it. This Jabir may be Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah, the Companion, and it may be Jabir ibn Zayd Abu al Sha’tha’, the Tabi’i. (Reported by al Bayhaqi in al Sunan al Kubra, no. 8648. Harb al Kirmani also narrated it. See: Fath al Bari by Ibn Rajab, 2/295. See also: Fath al Bari by Ibn Rajab, 2/295.)

Ibn Hazm (d. 456 AH) said, “As for the saying of Ibrahim and Abu Hanifah, it is a mistake, because the prayer place of the house is not truly called a masjid. There is no disagreement regarding the permissibility of selling it, and of turning it into a lavatory. It is authentically established that the wives of the Prophet ﷺ observed i’tikaf in the masjid.” (Al Muhalla, 5/321.)

Whether i’tikaf is valid in every masjid

The first view

There is no i’tikaf except in a masjid of a prophet, such as the Ka’bah, or the masjid of the Messenger ﷺ, or Bayt al Maqdis, and nowhere else. This view is narrated from Hudhayfah ibn al Yaman and Sa’id ibn al Musayyib (d. 94 AH).

The basis of this view is what is narrated from Ibrahim, who said: Hudhayfah came to ‘Abd Allah and said, “Shall I not amaze you at people who are observing i’tikaf between your house and the house of al Ash’ari?”

‘Abd Allah said, “Perhaps they were right and you were mistaken.” Hudhayfah said, “It makes no difference to me whether I observe i’tikaf there or in this market of yours.

I’tikaf is only in these 3 masjids: al Masjid al Haram, the masjid of Madinah, and al Masjid al Aqsa.” Those who had observed i’tikaf had done so in the great masjid of Kufah, and Hudhayfah criticised them for that.

It is also narrated as marfu’ from Hudhayfah that he said to Ibn Mas’ud: “You certainly know that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘There is no i’tikaf except in the 3 masjids,’ or he said, ‘in a congregational masjid.’” Sa’id narrated it in his Sunan.

Ibn ‘Abd al Barr (d. 463 AH) said, “Part of their proof is that the verse was sent down upon the Prophet ﷺ while he was observing i’tikaf in his masjid, and the intention and indication were toward a type of masjid built by a prophet.” (Musannaf ‘Abd al Razzaq, al Ta’sil edition, 4/141; Al Tamhid, 3/385.)

The response to this view will come shortly.

Ibn Hazm (d. 456 AH) said, “As for the one who restricted it to the masjid of Madinah alone, or to the masjid of Makkah and the masjid of Madinah, or to the 3 masjids, or to the central masjid, these are sayings for which there is no proof. That is restricting the saying of Allah تعالى:

وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ

‘While you are in i’tikaf in the masjids.’ (al Baqarah 187)

If it is said: then what do you do with what you narrated through Sa’id ibn Mansur: Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah narrated to us, from Jami’ ibn Abi Rashid, from Shaqiq ibn Salamah, who said: Hudhayfah said to ‘Abd Allah ibn Mas’ud, ‘You certainly know that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “There is no i’tikaf except in the 3 masjids,” or he said, “in a congregational masjid.”’

We say: this is doubt from Hudhayfah or from someone below him. Nothing may be decisively attributed to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on the basis of doubt. If he ﷺ had said, ‘There is no i’tikaf except in the 3 masjids,’ Allah تعالى would have preserved it for us and doubt would not have entered into it, so it is certainly known that he ﷺ never said it at all.” (Al Muhalla, 5/321.)

Al Shawkani (d. 1250 AH) said, “The doubt that occurred in the hadith weakens the use of either of its 2 parts as proof. It has not been transmitted from any of the Sahabah that they agreed with Hudhayfah in his view. Rather, it is transmitted from them that they opposed him.

Hudhayfah came to ‘Abd Allah ibn Mas’ud and said, ‘Shall I not amaze you at a people who are observing i’tikaf between your house and the house of al Ash’ari,’ meaning the masjid. ‘Abd Allah said, ‘Perhaps they were right and I was mistaken.’” (Nayl al Awtar, 5/582.)

The second view

There is no i’tikaf except in the central masjid, which is the one in which Jumu’ah is prayed.

Malik (d. 179 AH) said, “The matter with us, in which there is no disagreement, is that i’tikaf is not disliked in every masjid in which Jumu’ah is established, except that it is disliked for the one in i’tikaf to leave the masjid in which he is observing i’tikaf in order to go to Jumu’ah, or to miss it. If it is a masjid in which Jumu’ah is not established, and its person is not required to attend Jumu’ah in another masjid, then I see no harm in observing i’tikaf in it, because Allah, Blessed and Exalted, said:

وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ

‘While you are in i’tikaf in the masjids.’

So Allah made the wording general for all the masjids and did not single out any of them.” (Al Muwatta’, after hadith 712, p. 258.)

Muhammad ibn al Hasan (d. 189 AH) said, “Every masjid that is greater and has more people is better, and the central masjid is better than other masjids.” (Al Asl, 2/189.)

But if the person is one upon whom Jumu’ah is not obligatory, such as travellers, women, and slaves, then it is permissible for him to observe i’tikaf in any masjid. Malik (d. 179 AH) said, “For this reason it is permissible for him to observe i’tikaf in masjids in which Jumu’ah is not established, if he is not obliged to leave it for the masjid in which Jumu’ah is held.”

The third view

It is permissible to observe i’tikaf in every masjid in which congregation is established.

Al Tahawi (d. 321 AH) said, “Some people said: he observes i’tikaf in all the masjids in which the adhan is given and the prayer is established. Among those who said that were Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH), Malik, though a differing report from Malik has already passed, Zufar, Abu Yusuf, and Muhammad. Sulayman narrated to us from his father from Muhammad from Abu Hanifah and Abu Yusuf with that. Muhammad said: and that is our saying.” (Ahkam al Qur’an by al Tahawi, 1/461.)

Al Baghawi (d. 516 AH) said, “Most of the people of knowledge held that i’tikaf is permissible in all masjids. Allah سبحانه وتعالى said:

وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ

‘While you are in i’tikaf.’

And He did not make any distinction.” (Sharh al Sunnah, 6/394.)

Al Jassas (d. 370 AH) said, “The fuqaha of the regions did not differ regarding the permissibility of i’tikaf in the rest of the masjids in which congregational prayers are established, except for something narrated from Malik by Ibn ‘Abd al Hakam, who mentioned from him that he said: no one observes i’tikaf except in the central masjid.” (Ahkam al Qur’an, 1/302.)

Ibn Qudamah (d. 620 AH) said, “I’tikaf is not permissible except in a masjid in which congregation is established.

That was only made a condition because congregation is obligatory, and a man’s i’tikaf in a masjid in which congregation is not established leads to 1 of 2 matters: either abandoning the obligatory congregation, or leaving for it repeatedly, and this would happen often despite it being possible to avoid it, and that opposes i’tikaf, since it is remaining in the place of retreat and staying upon obedience to Allah in it.

I do not know of any disagreement among the people of knowledge that i’tikaf is not valid outside a masjid when the one in i’tikaf is a man.” The better option is to observe i’tikaf in the central masjid if Jumu’ah occurs during it and it is not required there, and this is the madhhab, and this is what the companions hold. (Al Mughni; Al Insaf li Ma’rifat al Rajih min al Khilaf, 7/583.)

Ibn Juzayy (d. 741 AH) said, “The majority permitted i’tikaf in every masjid.” (Al Qawanin al Fiqhiyyah, p. 84.)

The basis of this view is that al Jassas (d. 370 AH) said, “The apparent meaning of His saying:

وَلَا تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ

‘And do not have relations with them while you are in i’tikaf in the masjids.’

shows the permissibility of i’tikaf in all masjids because of the generality of the wording, and whoever restricts it to some of them must bring proof.” (Ahkam al Qur’an, 1/302.)

It is narrated from ‘A’ishah in a hadith, “The Sunnah for the one in i’tikaf is that he does not go out except for a human need, and there is no i’tikaf except in a congregational masjid.”

It is said: his statement, “The Sunnah for the one in i’tikaf,” until the end, is not from the words of the Prophet ﷺ. Rather it is from the words of al Zuhri, and whoever inserted it into the hadith has made a mistake. Allah knows best.

Al Bayhaqi (d. 458 AH) said, “Many of the hadith masters held that this statement is from his own words, not from ‘A’ishah, and that whoever inserted it into the hadith erred in that.” (Reported by al Daraqutni, no. 2363; Al Sunan al Kubra.)

Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) said, “The saying of al Zuhri, ‘The Sunnah,’ means: the Sunnah according to what he held. Just as the faqih says: the ruling of Allah in this matter is such and such, and the Sunnah is to do such and such, and the ruling of the Sharia is such and such, meaning: according to what I have known and understood.” (Sharh al ‘Umdah, 2/762.)

It is narrated from Juwaybir, from al Dahhak, from Hudhayfah, who said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Every masjid that has a mu’adhdhin and an imam, i’tikaf in it is valid.”

Sa’id, al Najjad, and al Daraqutni narrated it, and al Daraqutni said: al Dahhak did not hear from Hudhayfah. This hadith, even if weak, may still be used as supporting evidence.

Imam Ahmad (d. 241 AH) held that every masjid in which congregation is established, i’tikaf in it is permissible, and it is not permissible in any other. Ishaq ibn Mansur (d. 251 AH) said, “I said: in which masjid is i’tikaf observed? He said: in every masjid in which prayer is established.” Sa’id ibn Jubayr (d. 95 AH) observed i’tikaf in the masjid of his people. (Masa’il al Kawsaj, p. 714; Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, no. 9663.)

The saying of al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH) in requiring a place in which Jumu’ah is established is not sound because of the reports, and because Jumu’ah does not repeat often, so the need to leave for it does not harm, just as if a woman observed i’tikaf for a period during which the days of her menstruation occur.

If the central masjid were one in which only Jumu’ah was established, and no other prayers were prayed in it, i’tikaf in it would not be valid, though it would be valid according to Malik and al Shafi’i.

I’tikaf is valid in every masjid in which congregation is established, and for a man whose i’tikaf includes a Jumu’ah, the better option is a central masjid.

Our Hanafi companions said: if the one in i’tikaf goes out for Jumu’ah, his i’tikaf is not invalidated.

Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) said, “To burden people with observing i’tikaf in the main central masjid contains great hardship, and perhaps that is not possible for many people, so concession was given for going out to Jumu’ah just as concession was given for going out for human need.” (Al Mughni, 4/463; Muntaha al Iradat, 2/256; Al Tajrid, 3/1596.)

The ruling on taking a screen or tent in the masjid for men and women

Ibn Qudamah (d. 620 AH) said, “If a woman observes i’tikaf in the masjid, it is recommended for her to screen herself with something, because when the wives of the Prophet ﷺ wished to observe i’tikaf, they ordered their structures to be set up in the masjid. Also because men attend the masjid, and it is better for them and for the women that they not see them and they not see them.

If she sets up a structure, she should place it in an area where men do not pray, so that she does not cut their rows and make things tight for them.

There is also no harm in the man screening himself, because the Prophet ﷺ ordered that his structure be set up, and because that is more concealing for him and more hidden for his deed.

Ibn Majah narrated from Abu Sa’id that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ observed i’tikaf in a Turkish tent, upon the door of which was a piece of matting. He said: he took the mat in his hand and bent it toward the side of the qiblah, then he put out his head and spoke to the people.” Allah knows best.

His saying, “in a Turkish tent, upon its entrance was a mat,” means: a Turkish tent is one that has a single door, and al suddah means the door that closes. This tent is what is referred to in the other hadith as al bina’, and in another as al khaymah.” (Sharh al ‘Umdah, 2/751; Al Mughni, 4/465; Al Mufhim, 3/242.)

Al Muhallab said, “One of the matters of fiqh in this is that the one in i’tikaf should make for himself a place in the masjid for his sleeping, in such a way that he does not make things tight for the Muslims, just as the Messenger ﷺ did in the courtyard when he set up his tent there.

Also from the fiqh in it is that when the one in i’tikaf wants to sleep in the masjid, he moves away from the people, fearing that something may come from him of the normal human things that would harm them.” (Sharh Sahih al Bukhari by Ibn Battal, 4/170.)

Ibn Hazm (d. 456 AH) said, “It is recommended for the man and the woman in i’tikaf that each of them have a tent in the courtyard of the masjid, following the Prophet ﷺ. But that is not obligatory.” (Al Muhalla, 5/329.)

Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) said, “The screening of the one in i’tikaf ought to be recommended, following the Prophet ﷺ, so that he gathers for himself the virtue of prayer in the masjid and the virtue of hiding the deed, and so that his heart is gathered by that.

He should then not become occupied with seeing the people and hearing their speech, and the people should also be cut off from him so that they do not sit with him and speak to him.” (Sharh al ‘Umdah, 2/749.)

The ruling on specifying a particular place for i’tikaf

That is permissible.

The proof is that it is narrated from Ibn ‘Umar that when the Prophet ﷺ observed i’tikaf, his bedding would be spread for him, or his bed would be placed for him, behind the Pillar of Repentance. Ibn Majah narrated it. (Nayl al Awtar, 5/573.)

In Sahih Muslim, from Nafi’, he said, “’Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar showed me the place in the masjid where the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to observe i’tikaf.”

In this there is proof for the permissibility of spreading bedding and placing a bed for the one in i’tikaf in the masjid, and for the permissibility of staying in a particular place in the masjid during i’tikaf, so this becomes an exception to the prohibition of making one place in the masjid one’s fixed place, meaning always sticking to it. The hadith regarding prayer has already passed.

When the one in i’tikaf enters his place of retreat

The ulama differed over this in 2 views.

The first view

He enters the masjid before sunset. This is the view of Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH), Malik (d. 179 AH), al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH), and Ahmad (d. 241 AH).

Malik (d. 179 AH) said, “The one in i’tikaf enters the place in which he wishes to observe i’tikaf before sunset on the night in which he wants to begin, so that he meets with his i’tikaf the first part of the night which he intends to observe i’tikaf in.” (Al Muwatta’, after hadith 712, p. 259.)

The second view

He enters after the Fajr prayer, because of the hadith of ‘A’ishah that the Prophet ﷺ used to pray Fajr, then enter his place of retreat. It is agreed upon.

This was the view of al Awza’i (d. 157 AH) and Ishaq, and al Qurtubi (d. 671 AH) inclined to this view. After mentioning the sayings of the first group, he said, “I say: the hadith of ‘A’ishah refutes these sayings, and it is the proof at the time of dispute, and it is an established hadith over whose authenticity there is no disagreement.” (Al Jami’ li Ahkam al Qur’an, 3/221.)

The stronger view is the first view, and it is the view of the 4 imams.

As for the hadith, Ibn ‘Abd al Barr (d. 463 AH) said, “I do not know anyone from the fuqaha of the regions who held to this hadith, despite its being established and authentic, regarding the time when the one in i’tikaf enters the place of his i’tikaf, except al Awza’i and al Layth ibn Sa’d. A group of the Tabi’in also held it.” (Al Istidhkar, 3/400.)

The majority explained the hadith of ‘A’ishah, that the Prophet ﷺ used to pray Fajr then enter his place of retreat, as meaning that he entered the private place of i’tikaf and withdrew there after the Fajr prayer, not that this was the time when the i’tikaf itself began. Rather, before Maghrib he had already been in i’tikaf and staying in the masjid, so when he prayed Fajr he secluded himself. (Tarh al Tathrib fi Sharh al Taqrib, 4/168.)

Al Qadi said, “He enters his place of retreat in order to prepare it, look into what he needs there, and make himself ready for it, while he is not yet in the state of seclusion there.” (Ikmal al Mu’lim bi Fawa’id Muslim, 4/153.)

When he leaves

The leaving of the one in i’tikaf for Eid

The ulama differed on that in 2 views.

The first view

He does not return to his house until he attends Eid with the Muslims.

It is narrated from Ibrahim that he said, “They used to like for the one in i’tikaf to spend the night of al Fitr in the masjid, so that he would go out from it to Eid in the morning.”

It is also narrated from Abu Mijlaz that he said, “He spends the night of al Fitr in the masjid in which he observed iʿtikāf, so that when he left it, he only went to the place of prayer.” It is also narrated from Abu Qilabah that he did the same. (Al Istidhkar, 3/395.)

Malik (d. 179 AH) said, “Abu Bakr ibn ‘Abd al Rahman observed i’tikaf, then he would not return until he attended Eid with the Muslims.”

Imam Malik also said, “I saw some of the people of knowledge, when they observed i’tikaf in the last 10 of Ramadan, not returning to their families until they attended al Fitr with the people.” Malik said, “That also reached me from the people of excellence who passed away, and this is the most beloved thing I heard to me concerning that.” (Al Muwatta’, after hadith 715, p. 260.)

Imam Ahmad (d. 241 AH) said, “He goes out from his place of retreat to the place of prayer.” He also said, “He does not wear his clothes on the day of Eid, and he attends Eid in the clothes in which he observed i’tikaf.” (Sharh al ‘Umdah, Kitab al Sawm, 2/846.)

Al Qurtubi (d. 671 AH) said, “Malik considered it recommended for the one who observed i’tikaf in the last 10 to spend the night of al Fitr in the masjid, so that he would go from it to the place of prayer in the morning. Ahmad also said this.” (Al Jami’ li Ahkam al Qur’an, 3/221.)

Al Nawawi (d. 676 AH) said, “The better option is that he stays the night of Eid in the masjid until he prays there the Eid prayer, or leaves from it to the place of prayer for Eid if they pray it in the prayer ground.” (Al Majmu’, 6/475.)

The second view

He leaves his place of retreat when the sun has set.

Al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH) and al Awza’i (d. 157 AH) said: he leaves when the sun has set. Sahnun narrated it from Ibn al Qasim, because the 10 days end when the month ends, and the month ends with the setting of the sun on the last day of Ramadan.

Ibn ‘Abd al Barr (d. 463 AH) said, “This is a matter of recommendation, so that the one in i’tikaf joins his i’tikaf to the Eid prayer, and thus one act of worship is joined to another. Allah knows best. That is neither obligatory, nor binding, nor a confirmed Sunnah, because the principle is that the night of Eid and the day of Eid are not a place of i’tikaf, especially according to the one who does not regard i’tikaf as valid except with fasting. Despite that, what Malik mentioned is known in Madinah and Kufah.” (Al Istidhkar, 3/395; Al Jami’ li Ahkam al Qur’an, 3/221.)

He also said in another place, “The basic rule in things is permissibility until a text reaches the hearing that makes prohibition necessary, and neither Allah nor His Messenger prohibited that, nor did everyone agree on forbidding it.”

He also said, “Abu ‘Umar said: they agreed that for the one in i’tikaf in the first 10 or the middle 10 of Ramadan, he leaves when the sun has set on the last day of his i’tikaf. In their agreement on that is what weakens the narration of the one who narrated that he leaves in its morning.” This is the stronger view. (Al Istidhkar, 3/395; Al Istidhkar, 3/394.)

Their agreement on that is the opposite of what they differed over regarding the one who observed i’tikaf in the last 10, and it indicates the weakness of the narration of the one who narrated that he leaves his i’tikaf then, meaning after sunset. Allah knows best.

If a trial occurs from which he fears for himself, or his wealth, or his family who are with him or absent from him, then he may leave, whether the i’tikaf is obligatory or voluntary.

Ahmad (d. 241 AH) said, in the narration of Abu Dawud, “The one in i’tikaf in Baghdad, if a trial occurs, leaves his i’tikaf and goes out, and there is nothing upon him. It is only voluntary. The one in i’tikaf also sets out when he hears the call to mobilise.” (Al Istidhkar, 3/396; Sharh al ‘Umdah, 2/842.)

The Disputed Conditions for the Validity of I’tikaf

The Ruling on I’tikaf Without Fasting

This issue is one of disagreement among the Sahabah, may Allah be pleased with them. They differed over it into 2 views:

The First View

I’tikaf is permissible without fasting, unless a person states fasting in his vow. This was narrated from ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, Ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, (d. 32 AH), al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH), and Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH).

The basis of the first view is this:

It is narrated from Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, (d. 73 AH), that ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, asked the Prophet ﷺ and said, “I had vowed in the Jahiliyyah to observe i’tikaf for 1 night in al Masjid al Haram.”

He said, “Fulfil your vow.” Al Bukhari narrated it under the chapter, “I’tikaf at night,” and under the chapter, “Whoever did not hold that fasting is required upon him when he observes i’tikaf.”

If fasting had been a condition, then i’tikaf at night would not have been valid, because there is no fasting in it. The night of the one observing i’tikaf and his day are equal, and the night is not a time for fasting.

Al Hafiz Ibn Hajar (d. 852 AH) said, “This was objected to by saying that in the narration of Shu’bah from ‘Ubayd Allah in Muslim there is the wording ‘1 day’ instead of ‘1 night.’ Ibn Hibban (d. 354 AH) and others combined between the 2 narrations by saying that he had vowed i’tikaf of a day and a night. So whoever mentioned only ‘night’ intended its day with it, and whoever mentioned only ‘day’ intended its night with it.” (Fath al Bari, 5/481; 5/480.)

It is narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, (d. 68 AH), that the Prophet ﷺ said, “There is no fasting upon the one observing i’tikaf, unless he makes it binding upon himself.”

Al Daraqutni narrated it and said, “Abu Bakr al Susi narrated it as marfu’, while others did not narrate it as marfu’.”

Al Daraqutni and al Bayhaqi preferred that it is mawquf, while al Hakim brought it out as marfu’ and said, “Its chain is sahih.” Making fasting obligatory is a ruling which is only established by the Sharia, and no text concerning it has been established, nor any consensus. (Nayl al Awtar, 5/579.)

‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al ‘Aziz (d. 101 AH) said, “There is no fasting upon you in i’tikaf, unless you make it binding upon yourself.” Al Zuhri (d. 124 AH) said, “There is no i’tikaf except with fasting.” So ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al ‘Aziz said to him, “From the Prophet ﷺ?”

He said, “No.”

He said, “Then from Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, (d. 13 AH)?”

He said, “No.” He said, “Then from ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him,”

He said, “No.”

He said, and I think he also said, “Then from ‘Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, (d. 35 AH)?”

He said, “No.” So I left him, and met ‘Ata’ ibn Abi Rabah (d. 114 AH) and Tawus ibn Kaysan (d. 106 AH), and asked them.

Tawus said, “So and so did not hold that fasting was required for it, unless a person made it binding upon himself.” (Al Mughni, 4/485.)

Al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH) said, “There is no harm in a man observing i’tikaf for 1 night. Likewise, there is no harm in him observing i’tikaf on the day of al Fitr, the day of sacrifice, and the days of Tashriq. I’tikaf may be done without fasting, and i’tikaf is valid without fasting.” (Al Umm, 2/532.)

Ibn Rushd al Jadd (d. 520 AH) objected to this deduction and said, “This does not necessarily follow, because the دخول of the night, in which fasting is not valid, upon the one observing i’tikaf, does not remove him from the sanctity of his i’tikaf, “even if he is not fasting during it, just as leaving it of the one observing i’tikaf to what he must do, such as relieving himself, does not remove him from the sanctity of his i’tikaf, even though i’tikaf is not valid except in the masjid.

So if it were permissible for him to observe i’tikaf without fasting because during the night he is in i’tikaf while not fasting, then it would also be permissible for him to observe i’tikaf in roads and toilets, because during his خروج he is in i’tikaf outside the masjid. If that does not follow in the case of خروج, which is from his own action, then it is even more fitting that it should not follow regarding the night, which is not from his own action.” (Al Muqaddimat al Mumahhidat, 1/258.)

Al Kasani (d. 587 AH) said, “The basis of this view is that i’tikaf is nothing but remaining and staying, and this does not need fasting.

Also, fasting is an act of worship intended in itself, so it is not suitable to be a condition for something else, because the condition of a thing is subordinate to it. In this there would be making the principal matter subordinate, and that is reversing the reality. For this reason it is not made a condition for voluntary i’tikaf.

Likewise, beginning obligatory i’tikaf without it is valid, such as if a person says, ‘It is upon me, for Allah, that I observe i’tikaf in Rajab for a month.’ As soon as he sees the crescent, entering into i’tikaf becomes obligatory upon him, and there is no fasting at that time.

If fasting had been a condition, then it would not have been permissible without it, let alone obligatory, because beginning an act of worship without its condition is not valid.

The proof of this is that if a person says, ‘It is upon me, for Allah, that I observe i’tikaf for the month of Ramadan,’ then he fasts Ramadan and observes i’tikaf, he has fulfilled his vow, even though fasting was not made obligatory upon him by the i’tikaf.” (Bada’i’ al Sana’i’, 2/109.)

Al Nawawi (d. 676 AH) said, “Our companions used as proof the hadith of ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, that the Prophet ﷺ observed i’tikaf in the first 10 of Shawwal.

Muslim narrated it with this wording, and al Bukhari also narrated it and said, ‘10 days of Shawwal,’ and what is meant is the first 10, as in the narration of Muslim. This includes observing i’tikaf on the day of Eid, and from its validity it necessarily follows that fasting is not a condition.” (Al Majmu’, 6/487.)

Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) said:

طَهِّرَا بَيْتِيَ لِلطَّائِفِينَ وَالْعَاكِفِينَ  ۝  وَالْقَائِمِينَ

“Purify My House for those who make tawaf, those who observe i’tikaf, and those who stand in prayer.” (al Baqarah 125)

“And those who stand.” (al Hajj 26)

So it is known that staying in the House of Allah is i’tikaf in it, without condition, and that it is an act of worship in itself, just as tawaf, ruku’, and sujud are acts of worship in themselves.

Also, in the language, ‘ukuf means turning to something in a state of constant devotion, and this is found in both the fasting person and the non fasting person. It is a known wording, and there is no ambiguity in it.

Also, those who remained devoted to idols were called by that merely because they kept themselves to them, even though they did not fast. So the one who keeps himself in Allah’s House for Him is one observing i’tikaf for Him, even if he is not fasting.

Also, Allah, Glorified is He, said in general terms:

وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ

“While you are observing i’tikaf in the masjids.” (al Baqarah 187)

He did not single out the fasting person from anyone else.

That is because there is nothing in making fasting a condition, whether from the Book, the Sunnah, consensus, or sound analogy. A ruling is only established through 1 of these ways.

As for the absence of this condition, it is established by the original presumption of non obligation, and by the absence of any proof indicating obligation. (Sharh al ‘Umdah, 2/755; 2/761.)

The Second View

Fasting is a condition in i’tikaf. This was narrated from Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, (d. 73 AH), Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, (d. 68 AH), and ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, (d. 58 AH). It was the view of Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH) and Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH), and it is 1 narration from Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH), who said, “When he observes i’tikaf, fasting becomes obligatory upon him.”

Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) preferred this, and Qadi ‘Iyad (d. 544 AH), al Qurtubi in al Mufhim, and Ibn al Qayyim (d. 751 AH) mentioned that it is the view of the majority of the Salaf. Ishaq ibn Rahawayh (d. 238 AH) reported the consensus of the Muslims that i’tikaf is not valid without fasting. Perhaps by that he intended the view of most of the ulama. (Mukhtasar Ikhtilaf al Ulama, 2/48; al Muqaddimat al Mumahhidat, 1/257; al Mughni, 4/458; al Mawsu’ah al Fiqhiyyah al Kuwaitiyyah, 5/216; Fath al Bari by Ibn Rajab, 1/397.)

Qadi ‘Iyad (d. 544 AH) said, “It is not done except with fasting, since it has not been transmitted that he observed i’tikaf except while fasting.

Also, Allah تعالى only mentioned i’tikaf for those who are fasting, because of His saying:

وَلَا تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ

“And do not have relations with them while you are observing i’tikaf in the masjids.” (al Baqarah 187)

Also, because it is the practice of the people of Madinah, as Malik mentioned in his Muwatta’, and it is the madhhab of the majority of the ulama.” (Ikmal al Mu’lim bi Fawa’id Muslim, 4/150.)

Al Sarakhsi (d. 483 AH) said, “The Prophet ﷺ never observed i’tikaf except while fasting, and actions that consistently occur in different times do not continue upon 1 pattern except because of a cause that calls to it, and that can only be to show that it is among the conditions of i’tikaf.” (Al Mabsut, 3/116; al Mufhim, 3/241.)

Al Nawawi (d. 676 AH) said, “The majority said that fasting is a condition in i’tikaf, so the i’tikaf of one who is not fasting is not valid.” (Sharh al Nawawi, 4/219.)

Al Kasani (d. 587 AH) said, “Fasting is a condition for the validity of obligatory i’tikaf, without disagreement among our companions.” (Bada’i’ al Sana’i’, 2/109.)

In the apparent narration, fasting is a condition in obligatory i’tikaf, not in voluntary i’tikaf. In the narration of al Hasan, it is also a condition in voluntary i’tikaf.

“As for voluntary iʿtikāf, there is no harm, according to the apparent narration, in visiting the sick person and attending the funeral. But according to the narration of al Hasan, it is measured by a day, so the answer regarding it and the obligatory i’tikaf is the same, because it became obligatory through beginning it. (Tuhfat al Fuqaha, 1/374.)

Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) said, “People have agreed upon the recommendation of fasting for the one observing i’tikaf.” (Sharh al ‘Umdah, 2/752.)

The basis of this view is:

1. What is narrated from ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, (d. 58 AH), from the Prophet ﷺ, that he said, “There is no i’tikaf except with fasting.” Al Daraqutni narrated it.

Ibn Qudamah (d. 620 AH) said, “The hadith of ‘A’ishah is mawquf upon her, and whoever narrated it as marfu’ made a mistake.” (Al Mughni, 4/458.)

It is narrated from ‘Ata’, from Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, (d. 73 AH), and Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, (d. 68 AH), that they said, “There is no i’tikaf except with fasting.”

Al Hafiz said, “Abd al Razzaq narrated it from them with a sahih chain.”

It is also narrated from Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, that ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, (d. 23 AH), had made it binding upon himself to observe i’tikaf in the Jahiliyyah, so he asked the Prophet ﷺ, and he said, “Observe i’tikaf, and fast.” (Musannaf ‘Abd al Razzaq, 4/148.)

Abu Bakr al Naysaburi said, “This is a munkar hadith.” Ibn Hajar (d. 852 AH) said, “The command to fast has come clearly in the narration of ‘Amr ibn Dinar from Ibn ‘Umar, but its chain is weak.

Al Nasa’i narrated it by the route of ‘Abd Allah ibn Budayl, and he is weak. Ibn ‘Adi and al Daraqutni mentioned that he alone narrated this from ‘Amr ibn Dinar.” (Fath al Bari, 5/481; Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, no. 9619 and what follows it; Abu Dawud, 2474; Fath al Bari, 5/480.)

It is narrated from Malik (d. 179 AH) that it reached him that al Qasim ibn Muhammad (d. 107 AH) and Nafi’, the freed servant of ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar (d. 117 AH), said, “There is no i’tikaf except with fasting,” because of the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He:

وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ ثُمَّ أَتِمُّوا الصِّيَامَ إِلَى اللَّيْلِ وَلَا تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ

“And eat and drink until the white thread becomes clear to you from the black thread of dawn, then complete the fast until the night, and do not have relations with them while you are observing i’tikaf in the masjids.” (al Baqarah 187)

Allah only mentioned i’tikaf together with fasting. On that basis, the matter according to us is that there is no i’tikaf except with fasting. (Al Muwatta’, after hadith 712, p. 259.)

Some Maliki ulama objected to this deduction. Muhammad ibn Rushd said, “As for using the verse as proof for that, it is weak, because if fasting had become obligatory by it upon every one observing i’tikaf, because i’tikaf is mentioned in it together with fasting, then i’tikaf would also have become obligatory upon every fasting person, because fasting is mentioned in it together with i’tikaf.” (Al Muqaddimat al Mumahhidat, 1/258.)

Ibn al ‘Arabi (d. 543 AH) commented on the statement of the Malikis and said, “As for fasting, none of our ulama has any weighty proof for its obligation. The most Malik relied upon was the saying of Allah تعالى:

وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ

‘While you are observing i’tikaf in the masjids.’ (al Baqarah 187)

He addressed those who were fasting with this, and there is no proof in that, because it is a speech that came out concerning a particular state, so it does not necessarily mean that it is a condition in all states. The Prophet ﷺ observed i’tikaf for 10 days of Shawwal, and it was not mentioned that he fasted, nor that he left fasting.” (Al Qabas, p. 531.)

Also, because it is remaining in a specific place, so by itself it would not be an act of nearness, just like standing.

Al Kasani (d. 587 AH) said, “Because fasting is refraining from eating, drinking, and intercourse. 1 of the 2 pillars of fasting, namely refraining from intercourse, is a condition for the validity of i’tikaf, so the other pillar, namely refraining from eating and drinking, must also be so, because both are equal in being pillars of fasting. So if 1 of the 2 pillars is a condition, then the other is likewise.

Also, because the meaning of this act of worship, namely what we mentioned of turning away from the dunya and turning to the Akhirah by remaining in the House of Allah تعالى, is not realised without leaving the fulfilment of the 2 desires except to the extent of necessity, and that is the necessity of maintaining one’s body, and that is by eating and drinking at night, whereas there is no necessity in intercourse.

As for the statement of the opponents, that i’tikaf is nothing but remaining and staying, that is accepted. But this does not prevent refraining from eating and drinking from being a condition for its validity, just as it did not prevent refraining from intercourse from being a condition for its validity.

Likewise, fasting being an act of worship intended in itself does not prevent it from being a condition for something else. Do you not see that recitation of the Qur’an is an act of worship intended in itself, then it was made a condition for the permissibility of prayer in the state of choice? The same applies here.

As for voluntary i’tikaf, al Hasan narrated from Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH) that it is not valid without fasting. Some of our mashayikh relied upon this narration. But according to the apparent narration, in voluntary i’tikaf there are 2 narrations from our companions. In 1 narration, it is measured by a day, and in 1 narration, it is not measured at all, and that is the narration of al Asl (meaning this ruling or report is the one transmitted in the book al Asl)

So if it is not measured, while fasting is an act of worship measured by a day, then it is not suitable to be a condition for that which is not measured. This is unlike obligatory i’tikaf, because it is measured by a day, and it is not permissible to leave it before its completion, so it is permissible for fasting to be a condition for its validity.” (Bada’i’ al Sana’i’, 2/109.)

Ibn al Qayyim (d. 751 AH) said, “It has not been transmitted from the Prophet ﷺ that he ever observed i’tikaf while not fasting. Allah, Glorified is He, did not mention i’tikaf except together with fasting, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ only did it together with fasting.”

The Stronger View

The stronger view is the permissibility of i’tikaf without fasting, because of the authenticity of the hadith of Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, that ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, asked the Prophet ﷺ and said, “I had vowed in the Jahiliyyah to observe i’tikaf for 1 night in al Masjid al Haram.” He said, “Fulfil your vow.” It says in al Fath, “The narration of the one who narrated ‘1 day’ is irregular.” (Fath al Bari, 5/480.)

Ibn al Mundhir (d. 318 AH) said, “In their agreement that the one observing i’tikaf during the night, after fasting has left him, has not gone out of i’tikaf, there is proof that i’tikaf is permissible without fasting.” (Al Ishraf, 3/159.)

Even though I preferred this view, the strength of the proofs of the opponent is not hidden, and this issue is from those matters in which no one should condemn another.

The Wisdom Behind Joining I’tikaf with Fasting

Ibn Taymiyyah said, “People have agreed upon the recommendation of fasting for the one observing i’tikaf. Also, fasting is more helpful for him in restraining the self from excesses, for it is the key to worship.

Thus there come together for him the restraining of the self from going out, and its restraining from desires, and so the aim of i’tikaf is completed.” (Sharh al ‘Umdah, 2/752.)

Ibn al Qayyim (d. 751 AH) said, “Since this aim, namely the heart’s devotion to Allah تعالى, is only completed with fasting, i’tikaf was legislated in the best days of fasting, namely the last 3rd of Ramadan. He used to order that a tent be set up for him in the masjid, in which he would be alone with his Lord, Mighty and Majestic. Allah is the Granter of success.” (Zad al Ma’ad.)

Ibn ‘Abidin (d. 1252 AH) said, “The reason for the suitability of i’tikaf to fasting, since it was mentioned with it, and the reason for delaying it after it, is that fasting is a condition in some types of i’tikaf, namely the obligatory kind, and the condition comes before the conditioned matter.

Also, i’tikaf is strongly sought in the last 10 of Ramadan, so fasting is ended with it. Therefore it was suitable to end the book of fasting by mentioning its issues.” (Hashiyat Ibn ‘Abidin, 2/440.)

Remaining in the Masjid is a Condition

Remaining in the masjid is a condition, without disagreement, but the disagreement is over its duration:

A. The least duration of i’tikaf
B. The longest duration of i’tikaf
C. The ruling on intending i’tikaf for everyone who enters the masjid

The Least Amount of Time For I’tikaf

The fuqaha differed over the amount of remaining in the masjid that is sufficient in the recommended i’tikaf.

The First View

Its least amount is 1 hour from the night or the day. The hour, according to the custom of the fuqaha, means a portion of time, not 1 part of 24.

It is narrated from Ya’la ibn Umayyah, may Allah be pleased with him, (d. 89 AH), that he said, “I remain in the masjid for an hour, and I do not remain there except to observe i’tikaf.” It is also narrated from Ya’la ibn Umayyah, may Allah be pleased with him, (d. 89 AH), that he used to say to his companion, “Let us go to the masjid, and observe i’tikaf in it for an hour.”

It is narrated from Suwayd ibn Ghaflah (d. 80 AH), and he was among the greatets of the Tabi’in, that he said, “Whoever sits in the masjid while he is pure, then he is observing i’tikaf in it so long as he does not break his purity.” (Musannaf ‘Abd al Razzaq, al Ta’sil edition, 4/141; Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, no. 9652; al Muhalla, 5/394.)

‘Ata’ ibn Abi Rabah (d. 114 AH) said, “It is i’tikaf so long as he remains there. If he sits in the masjid seeking the reward of good, then he is one observing i’tikaf, otherwise not.” (Musannaf ‘Abd al Razzaq, al Ta’sil edition, 4/141.)

Al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH) said, “There is no harm in a person observing i’tikaf without intending days. Whenever he wishes…” (Al Hawi, 3/490.)

Abu Bakr al Jassas (d. 370 AH) said, “Defining the duration of i’tikaf is not valid except through a fixed text or agreement, and both are absent. So the one who makes it binding upon himself to define it is merely making a claim without proof.” (Ahkam al Qur’an, 1/305.)

Ibn ‘Abd al Barr (d. 463 AH) said, “There is no fixed limit, according to Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH), al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH), and most of the fuqaha, for its least duration.” (Al Istidhkar, 3/402.)

Al ‘Imrani (d. 558 AH) said, “The least i’tikaf has no limit according to us.” (Al Bayan, 3/580.)

Ibn Hazm (d. 456 AH) said, “I’tikaf is permissible for 1 hour and more than that, by night or by day.” (Al Muhalla, 5/293.)

Al Nawawi (d. 676 AH) said, “The madhhab of al Shafi’i and his companions, and those who agree with them, is that i’tikaf of 1 hour, and even 1 moment, is valid. Its measure, according to our companions, is a remaining that exceeds the calmness of ruku’ by the slightest increase. This is the correct view.” (Sharh al Nawawi, 4/218–219.)

Ibn al ‘Arabi (d. 543 AH) said, “We used to be in Madinat al Salam, and when we entered the masjid with Fakhr al Islam, and he remained in it for an hour, he would say, ‘Do not forget the intention of i’tikaf, for its reward will be written for you.’” (Al Qabas, p. 529.)

The least voluntary i’tikaf is 1 hour of night or day according to Muhammad ibn al Hasan (d. 189 AH), and this is the apparent narration from the Imam, because voluntary acts are built upon lenience, and this is what the fatwa is given upon.

Our proof is that i’tikaf in the language applies to both little and much, and the Sharia did not define it with anything specific, so it remains upon its original meaning. (Hashiyat Ibn ‘Abidin, 2/443.)

This is also the madhhab among the Hanabilah. What is recommended according to them is that i’tikaf should not be less than a day and a night, in order to leave the disagreement of those who say that this is its least amount.

Ibn al Najjar al Futuhi (d. 972 AH) said, “I’tikaf is the remaining of a Muslim, upon whom ghusl is not obligatory, who is sane, even if merely discerning, in a masjid, even for 1 hour, for the sake of obedience, in a specific manner.” (Al Majmu’, 6/491; Muntaha al Iradat, 2/249.)

According to the Hanbali madhhab, its least amount, if it is voluntary or an unrestricted vow, is that by which a person is called one observing i’tikaf, without fixing a set amount.

Ibn Hazm (d. 456 AH) said, “The Qur’an came down in clear Arabic speech, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ addressed us in Arabic. I’tikaf in the language of common usage means staying. Allah تعالى said:

مَا هَذِهِ التَّمَاثِيلُ الَّتِي أَنتُمْ لَهَا عَاكِفُونَ

‘What are these statues to which you are devoted?’ (al Anbiya’ 52)

Meaning, staying with them and worshipping them. So if there is no doubt about this, then every stay in the masjid of Allah تعالى, with the intention of drawing near to Him, is i’tikaf and devoted remaining.

So since there is no doubt about this, i’tikaf occurs upon what we have mentioned, whether the times are little or much, since the Qur’an and the Sunnah did not specify 1 number instead of another, nor 1 time instead of another. The one who claims that is mistaken, because he speaks without proof.” (Al Muhalla, 5/294.)

Ibn Hazm (d. 456 AH) also said, “His saying:

وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ

‘While you are observing i’tikaf in the masjids.’ (al Baqarah 2:187)

He did not specify any duration over another, and your Lord is never forgetful.” (Al Muhalla, 5/295.)

The Second View

The least remaining in the masjid is a day and a night.

Muhammad ibn Rushd said, “The statement of Malik (d. 179 AH) differed regarding the least i’tikaf. At times he said, ‘Its least amount is a day and a night,’ and at times he said, ‘Its least amount is 10 days.’ This is a difference concerning the least amount that is recommended for a man to observe in i’tikaf.” (Al Bayan wa al Tahsil, 2/307.)

In Kitab al I’tikaf, Ibn Habib mentioned that its least amount according to him, meaning Malik, is a day and a night. The highest level of i’tikaf, meaning in recommendation, is 10 days, and its least amount is a day and a night. (Al Istidhkar, 3/402; al Nawadir wa al Ziyadat, 2/87.)

Al Lakhmi (d. 478 AH) said, “The least i’tikaf is like the least fasting. So the least i’tikaf is 1 day, and less than that is not permissible. The least fasting is 1 day, and part of a day is not permissible.” (Al Tabsirah, 2/831.)

Al Qurtubi, the muhaddith, said, “Our imams said: the شرعي i’tikaf is remaining in the masjid, so that he may free himself for the worship of Allah تعالى, in a period whose least obligatory amount is a day and a night, and whose least recommended amount is 10 days and their nights.” (Al Mufhim, 3/242.)

Al Qurtubi, the mufassir, said, “The least i’tikaf according to Malik is a day and a night. So if he says, ‘It is upon me, for Allah, to observe i’tikaf for 1 night,’ then 1 night and 1 day become binding upon him. Likewise, if he vows i’tikaf for 1 day, then 1 day and 1 night become binding upon him.” (Al Jami’ li Ahkam al Qur’an, 3/217; al Mawsu’ah al Fiqhiyyah al Kuwaitiyyah, 5/212.)

Another View

The least remaining in the masjid is 3 days. Ibn Wahb narrated from Malik that its least amount according to him is 3 days. (Al Istidhkar, 3/402; al Nawadir wa al Ziyadat, 2/87.)

Another View

The least remaining in the masjid is 10 days. The highest level of i’tikaf, meaning in recommendation, is 10 days, and its least amount is a day and a night. It is recommended to observe i’tikaf for 10 days, because he ﷺ never did less than that. This is the least recommended amount, and its greatest amount is 1 month. What is more than that or less than 10 was disliked. (Al Sharh al Kabir, 1/550.)

Ibn Hajar (d. 852 AH) said, “In the hadith from Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, (d. 73 AH), that ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, asked the Prophet ﷺ and said, ‘I had vowed in the Jahiliyyah to observe i’tikaf for 1 night in al Masjid al Haram.’ He said, ‘Fulfil your vow,’ which al Bukhari narrated, there is a response to the one who said that the least i’tikaf is 10 days, or more than 1 day.” (Fath al Bari, 5/481.)

The Stronger View

The stronger view is the first view, because it is reported from the Sahabah, such as Ya’la ibn Umayyah, may Allah be pleased with him, (d. 89 AH), and from the Tabi’in, such as Suwayd ibn Ghaflah (d. 80 AH).

If it is said, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ never observed i’tikaf for less than 10 nights,” we say: yes, but he did not forbid less than that. Likewise, he never observed i’tikaf except in the masjid of Madinah, so do not make i’tikaf in other than his masjid impermissible because of that.

He also never observed i’tikaf except in Ramadan and Shawwal, so do not make i’tikaf in other than these 2 months impermissible. I’tikaf in itself is a good act, so it is not permissible to forbid it except with a clear text containing prohibition. Allah تعالى grants success.

If they say, “We made analogy from his masjid, عليه السلام, to the rest of the masjids,” it is said to them: then also make analogy from his i’tikaf of 10 or 20 to what is less than 10 and what is more than 20, since there is no hour or day from these except that he would be in it observing i’tikaf. (Al Muhalla, 5/296.)

The Longest Duration in Which I’tikaf is Permissible

Qadi ‘Iyad (d. 544 AH) said, “There is no disagreement that there is no limit to its maximum for the one who vows it.” (Ikmal al Mu’lim bi Fawa’id Muslim, 4/151.)

Al Nawawi (d. 676 AH) said, “They agreed that there is no limit to the maximum i’tikaf.” (Sharh al Nawawi, 4/220.)

The Ruling on Intending I’tikaf for Everyone Who Enters the Masjid

This issue is built upon the ruling of whether fasting is a condition in i’tikaf, and upon the least duration of i’tikaf. So the Shafi’iyyah permitted i’tikaf for everyone who enters the masjid, while others did not.

Al Nawawi (d. 676 AH) said, “So it is fitting for everyone who sits in the masjid, whether waiting for prayer or for some other matter of the Akhirah or the dunya, to intend i’tikaf, so that it will be counted for him and he will be rewarded for it so long as he does not leave the masjid.

If he leaves, then enters again, he renews another intention. I’tikaf has no specific dhikr, nor any other action besides remaining in the masjid with the intention of i’tikaf.” (Sharh al Nawawi, 4/218–219.)

Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) said, “The Prophet ﷺ and his Sahabah were not intending i’tikaf every time they entered a masjid for prayer.” (Majmu’ al Fatawa, 7/572.)

The reports narrated from the Sahabah and the Tabi’in have already been mentioned, and based on that, i’tikaf is permissible for everyone who enters the masjid.

What Invalidates I’tikaf and What Does Not Invalidate It

The Nullifiers of I’tikaf

Riddah (Apostasy)

Al Kasani (d. 587 AH) said, “I’tikaf is invalidated by riddah, because i’tikaf is an act of nearness, and the disbeliever is not from the people of nearness.” (Bada’i’ al Sana’i’, 2/116.)

Al Nawawi (d. 676 AH) said, “If the one observing i’tikaf commits riddah, his i’tikaf is invalidated.” (Minhaj al Talibin, p. 199.)

Ibn Qudamah (d. 620 AH) said:

وَلَقَدْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ وَإِلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكَ لَئِنْ أَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ وَلَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ

“It has already been revealed to you and to those before you, that if you commit shirk, your deeds will surely become worthless, and you will surely be among the losers.” (al Zumar 65)

“If he commits riddah, his i’tikaf is invalidated, because of the saying of Allah تعالى, and because by riddah he has gone out of being from the people of i’tikaf. If he commits riddah during his i’tikaf, it is invalidated, without any dispute.” (Al Insaf, 7/627.)

Committing Major Sins

Ibn Khuwayz Mandad mentioned that the madhhab of Malik (d. 179 AH), al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH), Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH), and al Thawri (d. 161 AH), regarding the one observing i’tikaf who commits a major sin, is that his i’tikaf has become invalid. Ibn ‘Abd al Barr (d. 463 AH) said, “These people invalidate i’tikaf by deliberately leaving a Sunnah, so how about committing a major sin in it?!” (Al Istidhkar, 3/390.)

There is a need to look carefully at this transmission, as you will see. Perhaps Ibn Khuwayz intended particular major sins, as the author of al Tahbir said, “There is no problem that major sins which invalidate fasting, such as zina, liwat, and drinking wine in the daytime, invalidate i’tikaf.” (Tahbir al Mukhtasar, 6/2.)

Major sins do not invalidate i’tikaf according to the majority. (Tibyin al Haqa’iq, 1/352.)

If he drinks something that intoxicates him, his i’tikaf is invalidated, because he has gone out of being from the people of the masjid.

Al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH) said in Kitab al Umm, “If the one observing i’tikaf drinks nabidh and becomes intoxicated, his i’tikaf is invalidated.” (Al Hawi, 3/494.)

Al Qurtubi said, “If the one observing i’tikaf commits a major sin, his i’tikaf is invalidated, because the major sin is the opposite of worship, just as hadath is the opposite of purity and prayer. Leaving what Allah تعالى made unlawful for him is among the highest stations of worship in i’tikaf.” Ibn Khuwayz Mandad said this from Malik. (Al Jami’ li Ahkam al Qur’an, 3/220.)

Al Nawawi (d. 676 AH) said, “If the one observing i’tikaf becomes intoxicated, his i’tikaf is invalidated.” (Minhaj al Talibin, p. 199; Nihayat al Muhtaj, 3/224.)

Muhammad ibn al Hasan (d. 189 AH) said, “If the one observing i’tikaf becomes intoxicated at night, his i’tikaf is not invalidated.” (Al Asl, 2/191.)

It is disliked for the one observing i’tikaf to insult others and dispute, just as in the case of the fasting person. His i’tikaf is not invalidated by that, but its reward is lost. (‘Umdat al Muhtaj, 5/269.)

Leaving the Masjid Without Need

It is narrated from ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, (d. 58 AH), that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he observed i’tikaf, would bring his head close to me and I would comb it, and he would not enter the house except for a human need. It is agreed upon.

Ibn Hazm (d. 456 AH) said, “They agreed that whoever leaves his place of i’tikaf in the masjid without need, necessity, or an act of righteousness that he was commanded with or encouraged toward, then his i’tikaf has become invalid.”

There is room to examine this claim of consensus, because Muhammad ibn al Hasan (d. 189 AH) and Abu Yusuf (d. 182 AH) disagreed. (Maratib al Ijma’, p. 41.)

Al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH) said, “If he leaves without need, he has broken his i’tikaf.” (Al Hawi al Kabir, 3/498.)

Al Khattabi (d. 388 AH) said, “In this, meaning in his saying, ‘He would not enter the house except for a human need,’ there is clarification that the one observing i’tikaf does not enter his house except to relieve himself with stool or urine. If he enters it for anything other than these 2, such as food or drink, his i’tikaf is invalidated.” (Ma’alim al Sunan, 2/61.)

Al Kasani (d. 587 AH) said, “If he leaves the masjid without an excuse, his i’tikaf is invalidated according to Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH), even if it is only for 1 hour. According to Abu Yusuf (d. 182 AH) and Muhammad (d. 189 AH), it is not invalidated until he is out for more than half a day.” Muhammad said, “The saying of Abu Hanifah is more cautious, and the saying of Abu Yusuf is broader.” (Al Mabsut, 3/118; Bada’i’ al Sana’i’, 2/115.)

If he leaves the place of i’tikaf without need, his i’tikaf is invalidated. This was also the view of Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH), Malik (d. 179 AH), and Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH). Abu Yusuf (d. 182 AH) and Muhammad (d. 189 AH) said, “It is not invalidated until his leaving is more than half a day.”

Al ‘Imrani (d. 558 AH) and al Nawawi (d. 676 AH) said, “If he leaves without an excuse, his i’tikaf is invalidated, because i’tikaf is remaining in the masjid. So if he leaves, he has done what opposes it without excuse, so it is invalidated, just as if he ate during the fast.” (Hilyat al Fuqaha, 3/185; al Bayan, 3/585; al Majmu’, 6/499.)

Menstruation

Al Kasani (d. 587 AH) said, “If a woman menstruates during i’tikaf, her i’tikaf is invalidated, because menstruation opposes fitness for i’tikaf, since it opposes fasting. For this reason she is prevented from entering into i’tikaf, and so she is also prevented from remaining in it.

But if the one observing i’tikaf has a wet dream, his i’tikaf is not invalidated, because he had no action in it, so it is not intercourse, nor anything carrying its meaning.” (Bada’i’ al Sana’i’, 2/116. See also: al Bayan, 3/592.)

Intercourse

Al Kasani (d. 587 AH) said, “Whoever has intercourse during i’tikaf, his i’tikaf is invalidated, because intercourse is among the forbidden matters of i’tikaf, due to the saying of Allah تعالى:

وَلَا تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ

“And do not have relations with them while you are observing i’tikaf in the masjids.” (al Baqarah 187)

It was said: al mubasharah is a figurative expression for intercourse. This is how it was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, that whatever Allah, Mighty and Majestic, mentioned in the Qur’an of mubasharah, rafath, and ghishyan, what is meant by it is intercourse.

But Allah تعالى is Most Shy, Most Generous, and He speaks with whatever expressions He wills.

So the verse shows that intercourse is forbidden in i’tikaf. The prohibition of intercourse for the one observing i’tikaf is not because of the place of the masjid, rather because of the i’tikaf itself, even though the outward wording of the prohibition of mubasharah is during i’tikaf in the masjid, because the noble verse came down concerning people who used to observe i’tikaf in the masjids, and they would go out to fulfil their need in intercourse, then bathe, then return to their place of i’tikaf.

It was not that they used to have intercourse in the masjids so that they were forbidden from that. Rather, the masjids in their hearts were greater and more honoured than for them to make them a place for intercourse with their wives.

So it is established that the prohibition of mubasharah during i’tikaf is because of the i’tikaf. Thus intercourse is among the forbidden matters of i’tikaf, and it causes it to become invalid, whether he has intercourse by night or by day, because the text is unrestricted. So intercourse is among the forbidden matters of i’tikaf by night and by day, and whether he does it deliberately or forgetfully.” (Bada’i’ al Sana’i’, 2/116.)

Emission Caused by Direct Contact

Al Kasani (d. 587 AH) said, “If he had direct contact and then ejaculated, his i’tikaf is invalidated.” (Bada’i al Sana’i, 2/116.)

Rulings Related to Women in I’tikaf

The Ruling on the Person in I’tikaf Carrying Out a Marriage Contract

It is narrated from ‘Ata’ ibn Abi Rabah (d. 114 AH) that he said, “There is no harm in a woman being married while she is in i’tikaf,” and he used to say, “It is only speech.”

Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH) said, “There is no harm in the person in i’tikaf marrying.” (Al Mudawwanah, 1/293.)

Al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH) said, “There is no harm in the person in i’tikaf marrying himself, and giving another in marriage.” (Al Umm, 5/532.)

Al Tahawi (d. 321 AH) said, “This is from the matters in which, as far as we know, there is no disagreement.” (Ahkam al Qur’an, 1/479.)

Al Mawardi (d. 450 AH) said, “Because Allah تعالى only prevented him from direct contact, and not everyone who is prevented from direct contact is prevented from the marriage contract, just like the fasting person.” (Al Hawi, 3/505.)

The Ruling on Intercourse During I’tikaf

Intercourse during i’tikaf is forbidden by consensus.

The basis for that is the saying of Allah تعالى:

وَلَا تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ ۝ وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ

“And do not have relations with them while you are in i’tikaf in the masjids.” (al Baqarah 187)

Al Tabari (d. 310 AH) and others narrated through Qatadah (d. 117 AH), regarding the reason this verse was sent down, that when they were in i’tikaf, and a man went out for his need, then met his wife, he would have intercourse with her if he wished, so the verse was sent down. (Al Tabari, 3/270; Fath al Bari, 5/476.)

From al Dahhak (d. 105 AH), who said, “They used to have intercourse while they were in i’tikaf until this was sent down:

وَلَا تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ ۝ وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ

“And do not have relations with them while you are in i’tikaf in the masjids.” (al Baqarah 187) (Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated it in his Musannaf, no. 9684; al Tabari, 3/269.)

Ibn al Mundhir (d. 318 AH) transmitted consensus that what is meant by direct contact in the verse is intercourse. (Al Ishraf, 3/164.)

There is room to examine this consensus, for al Tabari transmitted disagreement regarding the explanation of the verse, then said, “The sounder of the 2 views to me is the view of the one who said that what is meant by that is intercourse, or what takes the place of intercourse from what makes ghusl obligatory.” (Al Tabari, 3/272.)

Ibn Zayd (d. 182 AH) said, “Direct contact without intercourse is the joining of skin to skin.” (Al Tabari, 3/272.)

Ibn al Mundhir (d. 318 AH) and al Qurtubi (d. 671 AH) said, “The people of knowledge agreed that whoever has intercourse with his wife while he is in i’tikaf, deliberately, in her private part, then he has invalidated his i’tikaf.” (Al Ijma’, no. 134; al Jami’ li Ahkam al Qur’an, Dar al Risalah edn, 3/214.)

Al Tahawi (d. 321 AH) said, “They agreed that if the person in i’tikaf has intercourse with his wife by day or by night, remembering his i’tikaf or forgetting it, he leaves his i’tikaf by that.” (Ahkam al Qur’an, 1/479.)

Ibn ‘Abd al Barr (d. 463 AH) said, “I do not know any disagreement regarding the person in i’tikaf who has intercourse with his wife deliberately, that he has invalidated his i’tikaf, just as he invalidates his fast.” (Al Istidhkar, 3/404.)

Ibn Hazm (d. 456 AH) said, “They agreed that intercourse invalidates i’tikaf.” (Maratib al Ijma’, p. 41.)

Qadi ‘Iyad (d. 544 AH) said, “They agreed that it invalidates his i’tikaf, whether it is by night or by day.” (Ikmal al Mu’lim bi Fawa’id Muslim, 4/153.)

Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH) said, “What is forbidden to the person in i’tikaf with his wives by night is the same as what is forbidden to him with them by day.” (Al Istidhkar, 3/402.)

Ishaq ibn Mansur (d. 251 AH) said, “I said to Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH), ‘If the person in i’tikaf has intercourse with his wife?’ He said, ‘His i’tikaf is broken.’” (Masa’il al Kawsaj, 718.)

Also because intercourse, when it happens during an act of worship, invalidates it, such as Hajj and fasting.

Al ‘Imrani (d. 558 AH) said, “If he has intercourse with her in the private part, remembering the i’tikaf, and knowing the prohibition, his i’tikaf is invalidated, because every act of worship in which intercourse is forbidden is invalidated by it, such as fasting and Hajj.” (Al Bayan, 3/595.)

The Wisdom Behind the Prohibition of Intercourse During I’tikaf

That is because this is a state of emptying oneself for Allah, magnifying Him, cutting oneself off from pleasures, and restraining the self from them. Turning to intercourse turns the self toward comfort and being occupied with enjoyment.

In that there is training for the self upon striving, and a test for the self, so that it may know Allah’s blessings upon the servant, from knowing his freedom in going out and coming in, moving through the earth, and enjoying what Allah has made lawful for him from it.

The blessings of Allah cannot be counted, and what is known of them is forgotten, and the servant is in need of reminding. Being deprived of them, by his own choice and without his own choice, reminds him of the greatness of the blessing from which he was prevented from reaching.

In it also is occupying the self with worship, so that it may increase in rewards, and seize something of what was missed.

For when the self is left alone, it increases in reflection, thought, and self reckoning, and so remembers from its shortcomings what it does not remember in the intoxication of its enjoyment. (Al Tafsir wa al Bayan, 1/250, al Tariqi.)

The Ruling on Physical Contact with Women Without Intercourse

Touching women, if that is without desire, does not go against his i’tikaf, and this is likewise without disagreement. (Tarh al Tathrib, 4/175.)

If it is with desire, al Tahawi (d. 321 AH) said, “Our companions said: if he had direct contact or kissed and then ejaculated, his i’tikaf is invalidated.” (Mukhtasar Ikhtilaf al ‘Ulama, 2/53.)

Al Jassas (d. 370 AH) said, “Direct contact during i’tikaf, if ejaculation happens from it, invalidates it just as it invalidates fasting. Whenever that does not happen from it, then it has no effect in invalidating i’tikaf, just as it does not affect the invalidation of fasting.” (Ahkam al Qur’an, 1/308.)

I said to Ibn al Qasim (d. 191 AH), “What do you think of the person in i’tikaf, if he kisses or touches, does that invalidate his i’tikaf?”

He said, “Yes.” I said, “And is this the view of Malik?”

He said, “Yes.” (Al Mudawwanah, 1/291; Mawahib al Jalil, 2/456.)

This is to be understood as when it happens with desire, because of the consensus, and because of the hadith of ‘A’ishah (d. 58 AH) regarding combing the hair of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

Muhammad ibn Rushd (d. 520 AH) said, “As for the person in i’tikaf, I do not preserve any disagreement in the madhhab that kissing and direct contact invalidate his i’tikaf.” (Al Bayan wa al Tahsil, 2/353.)

Al Qurtubi (d. 671 AH) said, “As for direct contact without intercourse, if he intended enjoyment by it, then it is disliked. If he did not intend that, then it is not disliked, because ‘A’ishah used to comb the head of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while he was in i’tikaf, and there is no doubt that her hand touched the body of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. This shows that direct contact without desire is not forbidden. This is the view of ‘Ata’ ibn Abi Rabah (d. 114 AH), al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH), and Ibn al Mundhir (d. 318 AH).” (Al Jami’ li Ahkam al Qur’an, 3/214.)

Al Mawardi (d. 450 AH) said, “As for direct contact outside the private part, it is of 2 kinds.

The first is without desire.

If it is without desire, such as touching her body for some reason, or kissing her when she arrives from travel without intending pleasure, then this is not forbidden and does not affect i’tikaf, because of what is narrated from ‘A’isha that she used to comb the hair of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and it is known that her body would have touched his body.

The second is with desire. If it is with desire, such as kissing her, or touching her with desire, or having intercourse with her short of the private part, then this is forbidden, and there is no disagreement about that, because of His saying تعالى:

وَلَا تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ ۝ وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ

“And do not have relations with them while you are in i’tikaf in the masjids.” (al Baqarah 187)

If he does that forgetfully, then nothing is due upon him, and he remains upon his i’tikaf.” (Al Hawi.)

His saying تعالى:

وَلَا تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ ۝ وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ

“And do not have relations with them while you are in i’tikaf in the masjids.” (al Baqarah 187)

The apparent wording of that requires the prohibition of direct contact in an unrestricted way, whether with desire or without desire.

Direct contact is when his skin touches her skin. However, ‘A’ishah (d. 58 AH) used to comb the hair of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while he was in i’tikaf, and there is no doubt that her hand would touch the body of the Messenger ﷺ, and that showed that direct contact without desire is not forbidden. (Ahkam al Qur’an by al Kiya al Harrasi, al Kutub al ‘Ilmiyyah edn, 1/75.)

Al Nawawi (d. 676 AH) said, “The clearest of the views is that direct contact with desire, such as touching and kissing, invalidates it if he ejaculates, and otherwise it does not.” (Minhaj al Talibin wa ‘Umdat al Muftin, p. 198; Nihayat al Muhtaj, 3/220.)

If it is with desire, then it is forbidden. Does i’tikaf become invalid by it? That is to be examined. If ejaculation comes with it, it invalidates i’tikaf, and otherwise it does not. This is the madhhab of al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH), Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH), Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH), and others.

Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH) said, “I’tikaf is invalidated by it even if he does not ejaculate.” (Tarh al Tathrib, 4/175.)

Direct contact with desire is forbidden according to the sound view of the madhhab, and this is explicitly stated. If he had direct contact below the private part and ejaculated, his i’tikaf is invalidated, and otherwise it is not. (Al Insaf, 7/627; 7/626.)

The Ruling on the One Who Has Intercourse Forgetting For A Moment He Is Doing I’tikaaf

The First View

His i’tikaf is not invalidated. This is with al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH). (Minhaj al Talibin, p. 198.)

The Proofs of the First View

Because it is a kind of direct contact that does not invalidate fasting, so it does not invalidate i’tikaf, like direct contact below the private part.

The Second View

His i’tikaf is invalidated if he forgets. This is with Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH), Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH), and Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH).

The Proofs of the Second View

What is forbidden in i’tikaf is the same in its deliberate and forgetful form in invalidating it, such as leaving the masjid.

Also because direct contact below the private part does not invalidate i’tikaf unless ejaculation comes with it.

Muhammad ibn al Hasan (d. 189 AH) said, “If he has intercourse forgetfully during the day, then he has invalidated his i’tikaf.

Intercourse in this place is not like eating and drinking, because intercourse is forbidden to him by night just as it is forbidden to him by day, and it was not forbidden because of the fast. So intercourse becomes like leaving the masjid.

Do you not see that if he left forgetfully, his leaving would be like his leaving deliberately? So intercourse is likewise. As for fasting outside i’tikaf, if he had intercourse in it forgetfully, then intercourse does not invalidate the fast as it invalidates i’tikaf.” (Al Asl, 2/190.)

I’tikaf is invalidated by intercourse in the private part, even if forgetfully, or if he ejaculates through direct contact. (Muntaha al Iradat.)

If he has intercourse deliberately, his i’tikaf is invalidated by consensus. If he did so forgetfully, then the apparent wording of the author is that his i’tikaf is also invalidated, and this is the sound view of the madhhab, and it is explicitly stated, and most of the companions held it. (Al Insaf, 7/622.)

Is Expiation Required from the One Who Has Intercourse During His I’tikaf?

There is no expiation for intercourse according to the view of the generality of the people of knowledge, among them the people of Madinah, Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH), the people of Iraq, al Thawri (d. 161 AH), the people of Sham, al Awza’i (d. 157 AH), and the apparent view of Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH).

That is because it is an act of worship that is not made obligatory by the principle of the Sharia, so expiation is not required for spoiling it, like voluntary acts.

Also because it is an act of worship into the repair of which wealth does not enter, so expiation is not required for spoiling it, like prayer.

Also because the obligation of expiation is only established by the Sharia, and the Sharia did not come with making it obligatory, so it remains upon the original rule.

Abu Dawud said, “I said to Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH), ‘If the person in i’tikaf has intercourse, is expiation due upon him?’ He said, ‘No.’” (Masa’il Abi Dawud, 670.)

Ibn al Mulaqqin (d. 804 AH) said, “There is no expiation upon the one who spoils i’tikaf according to all of the ulama, except al Hasan (d. 110 AH) and al Zuhri (d. 124 AH). They said: upon him is the expiation of the one who has intercourse during the fast of Ramadan. Al ‘Abdari said: this is the sounder of the 2 narrations from Ahmad.” (‘Umdat al Muhtaj, 5/264.)

As for direct contact below the private part, if it is without desire, then there is no harm in it, such as her washing his head, removing lice from him, or handing him something, because the Prophet ﷺ used to bring his head near to ‘A’ishah (d. 58 AH) while he was in i’tikaf, and she would comb it. (Abu Dawud, 2473.)

If it is with desire, then it is forbidden, because of the saying of Allah:

وَلَا تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ ۝ وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ

“And do not have relations with them while you are in i’tikaf in the masjids.” (al Baqarah 187)

And because of the saying of ‘A’ishah (d. 58 AH), “The Sunnah for the person in i’tikaf is that he does not visit a sick person, does not attend a funeral, does not touch a woman, and does not have direct contact with her.”

Also because he is not safe from it leading to the spoiling of i’tikaf, and whatever leads to the forbidden is forbidden.

If he does that and ejaculates, his i’tikaf is invalidated. If he does not ejaculate, it is not invalidated. This is the view of Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH), and of al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH) in 1 of his 2 views. In the other he said: it is invalidated in both cases, and this is the view of Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH).

Malik said, “The person in i’tikaf does not touch his wife, does not have direct contact with her, and does not take pleasure from her in anything, neither by a kiss nor anything else, because it is a forbidden direct contact, so it invalidates i’tikaf just as if he ejaculated.” (Al Tabari, 3/271.)

Our proof is that it is a kind of direct contact that does not invalidate fasting and does not invalidate Hajj, so it does not invalidate i’tikaf, like direct contact without desire. It differs from the kind in which ejaculation occurs, because that invalidates fasting. No expiation is due upon him, except according to the narration of Hanbal.

The Woman Whose Husband Dies While She Is in I’tikaf

The First View

The woman whose husband dies while she is in i’tikaf goes out in order to observe the waiting period, and she does as the one who went out because of a trial did.

The point is that when the husband of the woman in i’tikaf dies, going out becomes necessary for her in order to observe the waiting period, and this is the view of al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH) and Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH).

The Second View

Rabi’ah (d. 136 AH), Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH), and Ibn al Mundhir (d. 318 AH) said: she continues in her i’tikaf until she finishes from it, then returns to her husband’s house and observes her waiting period in it, because vowed i’tikaf is obligatory, and observing the waiting period in the house is obligatory, so 2 obligations have come into conflict, and the earlier of them is given priority.

The stronger view is the first view, because observing the waiting period in her husband’s house is obligatory, so going out to it becomes necessary for her, just like Jumu’ah in the case of the man. Their proof is answered by going out for Jumu’ah and the rest of the obligations.

The apparent wording of al Khiraqi is that she is like the one who went out because of a trial, and that she continues from where she left off, makes up, and gives expiation. Al Qadi said: there is no expiation upon her, because her going out is obligatory, and the speech regarding that has already passed. (Al Mughni, 4/485.)

The Ruling on the Wife Observing I’tikaf Without Her Husband’s Permission

Al Qadi said, “The woman does not observe i’tikaf except with her husband’s permission, and he has the right to prevent her so long as he has not given her permission. The same applies to his male slave and his female slave, and this is the view of all of the ulama.” (Ikmal al Mu’lim bi Fawa’id Muslim, 4/155.)

The wife has no right to observe i’tikaf except with her husband’s permission, and the owned slave has no right to observe i’tikaf except with his master’s permission, because the benefits of both of them belong to someone else, and i’tikaf causes them to be missed and prevents taking them in full, while it is not made obligatory upon them by the Sharia, so it is permissible for them to be prevented from it. (Al Mughni, 4/485; similarly, Al Majmu’, 4/476; Muntaha al Iradat, 2/253; Al Insaf li Ma’rifat al Rajih min al Khilaf, 7/571.)

The Ruling on the One Who Gave His Wife Permission for I’tikaf Then Prevented Her

The ulama differed into 2 views.

The First View

If a man gives his wife permission for i’tikaf, then he has no right to prevent her.

Our Hanafi companions said: if a man gives his wife permission for i’tikaf, then he has no right to prevent her. If he gives permission to his slave, it is disliked to prevent him, and if he prevents him, then nothing is due upon him, though he has done wrong. Malik ibn Anas said: he has no right to prevent either of them. (Mukhtasar Ikhtilaf al ‘Ulama, 2/55.)

He has no right to prevent the woman after permission, unlike the slave, because the slave is not from the people of ownership. (Hashiyat Ibn ‘Abidin, 2/440; Al Bayan, 3/572.)

The Second View

If a man gives his wife permission for i’tikaf, then he may prevent her, and this is the view of al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH). (Mukhtasar Ikhtilaf al ‘Ulama, 2/55; Al Bayan, 3/572.)

From ‘A’ishah, who said, “When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ wanted to observe i’tikaf, he would pray Fajr, then enter his place of i’tikaf. He ordered that a tent be set up for him when he wanted to observe i’tikaf in the last 10 of Ramadan.

Then Zaynab ordered that her tent be set up, and other wives of the Prophet ﷺ also ordered that their tents be set up. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed Fajr, he looked and saw the tents, and said, ‘Do they seek righteousness?!’ Then he ordered that his tent be taken down, meaning pulled down, and he left i’tikaf in Ramadan until he observed i’tikaf in the last 10 of Shawwal.” The group narrated it. (Al Bukhari, 2045; Muslim, 2785.)

Al Khattabi (d. 388 AH) said, “In this hadith there is proof that if i’tikaf is not a vow, then it is permissible for the person in i’tikaf to leave it whenever he wishes. In it also is the permissibility of leaving a righteous deed when it is voluntary because of a problem through which he fears the loss of reward.” (Ma’alim al Sunan, 2/60, Dar al Risalah edn.)

In the hadith there is proof for the permissibility of i’tikaf for women, and that it is not permissible for a woman to observe i’tikaf except with her husband’s permission, and that the husband has the right to prevent her from that after having given permission for it.

Our proof for removing the wife from it is what is narrated, “The Prophet ﷺ gave permission to ‘A’ishah (d. 58 AH), Hafsah (d. 45 AH), and Zaynab (d. 20 AH), the Mothers of the Believers, for i’tikaf, then prevented them from it after they had entered it.” (Al Bayan, 3/574.)

Al Muhallab (d. 435 AH), regarding his saying ﷺ, “Do they seek righteousness?”, said, “From the fiqh in this is that if showing off is known from a person in something from the acts of obedience, there is no harm in cutting him off from it and preventing him from it.

Do you not see his saying ﷺ, ‘Do they seek righteousness?’, meaning that they only wanted favour and status with him ﷺ, and because of that he cut off from them what they wanted, and delayed what he wanted for himself.” (Sharh Ibn Battal, 4/183.)

If a Woman Menstruates While She Is in I’tikaf in the Masjid

If a woman menstruates, she leaves the masjid and puts up a tent in the courtyard.

As for her leaving the masjid, there is no disagreement about it, because menstruation is a state that prevents remaining in the masjid. So it is like major impurity, and even more emphatic than it. The Prophet ﷺ said, “I do not make the masjid lawful for a menstruating woman, nor for one in major impurity.” Abu Dawud narrated it.

When that is established, then if the masjid has no courtyard, she goes back to her house. When she becomes pure, she returns and completes her i’tikaf, and makes up what she missed. No expiation is due upon her. Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH) explicitly stated this, because it is a regular and obligatory leaving, so it is like leaving for Jumu’ah, or for what cannot be avoided. (Al Mughni, 4/487.)

In the narration of Hanbal (d. 273 AH), “If the woman in i’tikaf menstruates, she stays away from the masjid until she becomes pure.” (Sharh al ‘Umdah, 2/837.)

The Ruling on the I’tikaf of the Woman with Irregular Bleeding

From ‘A’ishah: “The Prophet ﷺ observed i’tikaf, and with him was one of his wives while she had irregular bleeding and saw blood, and perhaps she would place the basin under herself because of the blood.” Al Bukhari narrated it.

In another narration: “A woman from his wives observed i’tikaf with him, and she used to see blood and yellow discharge, and the basin would be under her while she prayed.” Ahmad and al Bukhari narrated it.

Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH) said, “The rulings of the woman with irregular bleeding are the rulings of the pure woman in her waiting period, her prayer, her Hajj, and all of her affairs.” (Fath al Bari by Ibn Rajab, 1/397.)

Ibn Battal (d. 449 AH) said, “The ruling of the woman with irregular bleeding is the ruling of the pure person, and there is no disagreement among the ulama regarding the permissibility of her i’tikaf.” (Sharh Ibn Battal, 4/174.)

Ibn Qudamah (d. 620 AH) said, “As for irregular bleeding, it does not prevent i’tikaf, because it does not prevent prayer or tawaf. When that is established, then she protects herself and binds herself well so that she does not soil the masjid. If it is not possible to protect it from her, she leaves the masjid, because that is an excuse, and a leaving done to protect the masjid from impurity, so it is like leaving to relieve oneself.” (Al Mughni, 4/488.)

Al Mawardi (d. 450 AH) said, “As for the woman with irregular bleeding, she has no right to leave her i’tikaf, because irregular bleeding does not prevent remaining in the masjid. If she leaves, her i’tikaf is invalidated.” (Al Hawi, 3/504.)

As for the woman with irregular bleeding, if she is safe from causing impurity, she does not leave her i’tikaf. If she leaves, it is invalidated. (Mughni al Muhtaj, 2/197.)

Vowing I’tikaf

Vowing I’tikaf in a Specific Place

Vowing I’tikaf in al Masjid al Haram

Whoever vows i’tikaf in al Masjid al Haram has no right to observe i’tikaf in any other place, because it is the most excellent of them, and because ‘Umar (d. 23 AH) vowed in the Jahiliyyah to observe i’tikaf for 1 night in al Masjid al Haram, so he asked the Prophet ﷺ, and he said, “Fulfil your vow.” It is agreed upon.

Vowing I’tikaf in the Masjid of the Prophet ﷺ

Whoever vows to observe i’tikaf in the Masjid of the Prophet ﷺ may observe i’tikaf in al Masjid al Haram, because it is better than it, but he may not observe i’tikaf in al Masjid al Aqsa, because the Masjid of the Prophet ﷺ is better than it, due to the saying of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, “A prayer in this masjid of mine is better than 100,000 prayers in any other place, except al Masjid al Haram.”

It is narrated in the report from the Prophet ﷺ that he said, “A prayer in al Masjid al Haram is better than 100,000 prayers in any other place.” Ibn Majah narrated it. So the Masjid of the Prophet ﷺ enters into the general wording of it, and prayer in al Masjid al Haram is better than 100,000 prayers in any place other than the Masjid of the Prophet ﷺ.

Vowing I’tikaf in al Masjid al Aqsa

Whoever vows i’tikaf in al Masjid al Aqsa may observe i’tikaf in the other 2 masjids, because they are better than it.

Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH) narrated in his Musnad from men among the Ansar from the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ that a man came to the Prophet ﷺ on the day of the conquest, while the Prophet ﷺ was in a gathering near the Maqam. He greeted the Prophet ﷺ and said, “O Prophet of Allah, I vowed that if Allah gave Makkah to the Prophet ﷺ and the believers, I would pray in Bayt al Maqdis.

I found a man from the people of Sham here among Quraysh, coming with me and returning with me.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Pray here.” The man repeated those words 3 times, and each time the Prophet ﷺ said, “Pray here.” Then the 4th time he said the same thing, so the Prophet ﷺ said, “Go, then pray there. By the One who sent Muhammad with the truth, if you had prayed here, that would have sufficed you for every prayer in Bayt al Maqdis.” (Al Mughni.)

Vowing I’tikaf in a Masjid Other than the 3 Masjids Mentioned Earlier

The ulama differed over that into 2 views.

The First View

Whoever vows i’tikaf in a place, it is not binding upon him to go there, except in the 3 masjids.

Al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH) said, “Whoever vows to pray in Makkah, it is not enough for him in Madinah or Bayt al Maqdis. If he says in Madinah or Bayt al Maqdis, then it is permissible for him to pray in Makkah, and it is not permissible for him to pray in any other town. If he vows in a place besides these 3 towns, he may pray wherever he wishes.” (Mukhtasar Ikhtilaf al ‘Ulama by al Tahawi, 3/250.)

Ibn al Mundhir (d. 318 AH) said, “‘Saddles are not to be tightened except for 3 masjids, al Masjid al Haram, al Masjid al Aqsa, and this masjid of mine.’ Its wording is the wording of a report, but its meaning is obligation concerning what a person vows from prayer in places in which blessing is sought, such as shrines, masjids, and places of nearness.

What is meant is that fulfilment of anything from that is not binding upon him if it requires setting out for it and travelling to it, apart from these 3 masjids, which are the masjids of the Prophets, peace be upon them. As for when he vows prayer in other than them from the places, then he has the choice between going to them and performing it there, or praying it in his own place, without travelling to it.” (Ma’alim al Sunan, 1/647.)

Al Hattab (d. 954 AH) said, “Whoever vows i’tikaf in a place, going there is not binding upon him except in the 3 masjids, and going there for i’tikaf is not binding upon him.” (Mawahib al Jalil, 2/461.)

Ibn Qudamah (d. 620 AH) said, “Nothing from the masjids becomes specifically binding by his vow to observe i’tikaf in it except the 3 masjids, and they are al Masjid al Haram, the Masjid of the Prophet ﷺ, and al Masjid al Aqsa, because of the saying of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, ‘Saddles are not to be tightened except for 3 masjids: al Masjid al Haram, al Masjid al Aqsa, and this masjid of mine.’

It is agreed upon. If something besides them became specifically binding by his specifying it, then going there would become necessary for him, and he would need to travel in order to fulfil his vow there.

Also because Allah تعالى did not specify a place for His worship, so no place besides what He specified becomes binding by a person’s specifying it. These 3 masjids only became specific because of the report narrated concerning them, and because worship in them is better. So when he specifies what has virtue in it, it becomes binding upon him, just like the types of worship.

This is also the view of al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH) in the sounder of his 2 views. In the other view he said: al Masjid al Aqsa does not become specifically binding, because the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘A prayer in this masjid of mine is better than 1,000 prayers in any other place, except al Masjid al Haram.’

This indicates equality in what is besides these 2 masjids, because if prayer in al Masjid al Aqsa were better than other places, then 1 of 2 things would be necessary: either that it would go out from the general meaning of this hadith, or that its virtue of 1,000 prayers would be specific to al Masjid al Aqsa.

Our proof is that it is from the masjids for which saddles are tightened in travel, so it becomes specifically binding by specifying it in a vow, like the Masjid of the Prophet ﷺ. What they mentioned does not follow, for when the more excellent is made better by 100,000 prayers, then the less excellent may also be given excellence by that. I’tikaf in al Masjid al Haram is better than i’tikaf in any other place. The same applies to the Masjid of the Prophet ﷺ, and every masjid that is greater and has more people is better.” (Muslim narrated the hadith.)

Al Mawardi (d. 450 AH) said, “If he vows to observe i’tikaf in a specific masjid, then goes out from it to relieve himself, then enters another masjid on his way and continues his i’tikaf there, that is permissible, because i’tikaf is not specifically tied to 1 masjid rather than another.” (Al Hawi, 3/505.)

Al ‘Imrani (d. 558 AH) said, “If he vows to observe i’tikaf in a specific masjid other than the 3 masjids, then that masjid is not specifically binding upon him, and it is permissible for him to observe i’tikaf in another masjid, because some of them have no special virtue over others.” (Al Bayan, 3/576.)

If he vows prayer and i’tikaf in a specific masjid other than the 3 masjids, then he may do that in it and in other masjids. (Sharh al ‘Umdah, 2/768.)

Whoever specifies a masjid other than the 3, it does not become specifically binding. (Muntaha al Iradat, 2/256.)

Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH) said, “Whoever says, ‘Walking to other than these 3 masjids is upon me,’ then he is not required to go to it.” (Al Mudawwanah, 1/565.)

If a person vows prayer and i’tikaf in al Masjid al Haram, nothing is enough for him except it. If he vows it in the Masjid of the Prophet ﷺ, nothing is enough for him except it or al Masjid al Haram. If he vows it in al Masjid al Aqsa, nothing is enough for him except 1 of the 3. Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH) explicitly stated all of that. (Sharh al ‘Umdah, 2/770.)

From ‘Abd Allah ibn al Zubayr (d. 73 AH), from the Prophet ﷺ, who said, “A prayer in this masjid of mine is better than 1,000 prayers in any other place, except al Masjid al Haram, and a prayer in al Masjid al Haram is better than 100,000 prayers in this one.” Ahmad narrated it. Ibn ‘Abd al Barr (d. 463 AH) said, “It is the best hadith narrated regarding that.”

When that is the case, then whoever vows prayer in al Masjid al Haram, for example, has vowed 100,000 prayers, so 1 prayer, or 500 prayers, or 1,000 prayers are not enough for him. Whoever vows in al Masjid al Aqsa and then prays in al Masjid al Haram has brought what is better than the vowed act from its own kind.

Abu Hurayrah (d. 57 AH) narrated, and said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Saddles are not to be tightened except for 3 masjids: al Masjid al Haram, this masjid of mine, and al Masjid al Aqsa.”

The Ruling on Stipulating Something in I’tikaf

The First View

Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH) said, “I have not heard any of the people of knowledge mention a condition in i’tikaf. I’tikaf is only an act from the acts, like prayer, fasting, Hajj, and similar acts, whether that is obligatory or voluntary.

Whoever enters into something from that only acts according to what has already passed from the Sunnah. He has no right to introduce into that something other than what the Muslims have already followed, whether a condition that he lays down or something he invents. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ observed i’tikaf, and the Muslims knew the Sunnah of i’tikaf.”

The Second View

If he stipulates at the beginning of his i’tikaf that he will visit his family, or a righteous man, or a scholar, or attend a funeral, and likewise whatever is permissible and needed, such as having his evening meal in his home and staying the night there, then he may do that, and his i’tikaf is not invalidated by doing it. This is the view of al Thawri (d. 161 AH), Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH), al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH), and Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH).

From Qatadah (d. 117 AH), who said, “The person in i’tikaf may have what he stipulated at the time of his i’tikaf.” (Musannaf ‘Abd al Razzaq, 4/148.)

From Qatadah (d. 117 AH), that he saw no harm for the person in i’tikaf in stipulating that he have his evening meal with his family, and take the pre dawn meal, when a need presses him. (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, no. 9650.)

From Ibrahim al Nakh’i (d. 96 AH), who said, “The person in i’tikaf stipulates Jumu’ah, the funeral, and the sick person, and that belongs to him.” (Musannaf ‘Abd al Razzaq, 4/148.)

From ‘Ata’ ibn Abi Rabah (d. 114 AH), who said, “If he stipulates that he observe i’tikaf by day, and come to the house by night…”

Al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH) said, “There is no harm in stipulating in obligatory i’tikaf, and that is that he says, ‘If something happens to me, then I may go out.’” (Al Umm, 2/529.)

Al Athram (d. 273 AH) said, “I heard Abu ‘Abd Allah being asked about the person in i’tikaf who stipulates that he eat with his family. He said, ‘If he stipulates, then yes.’ It was said to him, ‘And do you permit conditions in i’tikaf?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ I said to him, ‘And may he stay the night with his family?’ He said, ‘If it is voluntary, it is permissible.’”

Among those who permitted stipulating the evening meal with his family were al Hasan (d. 110 AH), al ‘Ala’ ibn Ziyad (d. 94 AH), al Nakh’i (d. 96 AH), and Qatadah (d. 117 AH). (Al Mughni, 4/471, with slight adaptation.)

The person in i’tikaf may stipulate going out for acts of nearness, such as visiting the sick and staying the night in the home. (Muntaha al Iradat, 2/259, with a slight adaptation.)

Ibn Qudamah (d. 620 AH) said, “If he stipulates intercourse in his i’tikaf, or entertainment, or an outing, or sale for trade, or to earn by a craft in the masjid, that is not permissible, because Allah تعالى said:

وَلَا تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ ۝ وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ

“And do not have relations with them while you are in i’tikaf in the masjids.” (al Baqarah 187)

So stipulating that is stipulating disobedience to Allah تعالى.”

However, the majority differed regarding what can validly come under a condition and what cannot.

The Hanafis said: if at the time of the vow he stipulates that he will go out to visit a sick person, pray over a funeral, and attend a gathering of knowledge, that is permissible, and this is according to the view of Imam Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH). As for the 2 companions, the matter is broader.

The Hanabilah, and this is the clearer view with the Shafi’iyyah, said: i’tikaf became binding by his committing himself to it, so it becomes obligatory according to what he committed himself to. If the person in i’tikaf stipulates going out for a permissible need that is intended and not opposed to i’tikaf, then the condition is valid.

If he stipulates it for a specific need from such needs, such as visiting the sick, he goes out for that and not for anything else, even if something else is more important than it. If he stipulates it for a general matter, such as a matter that may come to him, then he may go out for every important religious matter, such as Jumu’ah and the congregational prayer, or every permissible worldly matter, such as collecting a debt from a debtor. He may not go out for the sake of the forbidden.

His saying, ‘intended’, excludes what would be stipulated for a thing not intended, such as an outing, entertainment, or going to his family. If he stipulates going out for something from that, then his vow does not take effect.

The Hanabilah said: if he stipulates going out for buying and selling, or hiring, or earning by a craft in the masjid, then the condition is not valid without disagreement. If he says, ‘Whenever I become ill, or something happens to me, I will go out,’ then he has his condition according to the sound view of the madhhab. (Al Mawsu’ah al Fiqhiyyah, 5/218.)

The Ruling on Teaching the Qur’an and Teaching Knowledge During I’tikaf

As for teaching the Qur’an, teaching knowledge, studying it, debating with the fuqaha and sitting with them, writing hadith, and similar things whose benefit goes beyond oneself, the ulama differed over that into 2 views.

The First View

That is recommended, and it is the madhhab of al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH), and 1 narration from Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH).

The Second View

That is not recommended, and it is the view of Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH), and the apparent wording of Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH).

The Proofs of the First View

Because that is from the best acts of worship, and its benefit reaches others, so it is more deserving than leaving it, like prayer.

The Proofs of the Second View

The Prophet ﷺ used to observe i’tikaf, and it was not transmitted from him that he occupied himself with other than the acts of worship specific to it.

Also because i’tikaf is an act of worship from whose conditions is the masjid, so that was not recommended in it, just like tawaf.

The Ruling on Attending Gatherings of Knowledge During I’tikaf

And what they mentioned is contradicted by visiting the sick and attending the funeral prayer. So, according to this view, doing these actions is better than i’tikaf.

Safiyyah bint Huyayy said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was in i’tikaf, so I came to visit him at night. I spoke with him, then I stood to leave, and he stood with me to take me back, and her dwelling was in the house of Usamah ibn Zayd. Agreed upon. (al Bukhari, 2035, Muslim)

Al Khattabi (d. 388 AH) said: In the previous hadith, the Prophet ﷺ went out of the masjid with her so that he could take her to her home. In this is proof for those who held that i’tikaf is not invalidated when one goes out for something obligatory, and that the mu’takif is not prevented from doing an act of kindness. (Maʿalim al Sunan, 2/63)

Ibn Abd al Barr (d. 463 AH) said: Just as a voluntary prayer, and other than it, is not cut off for another act of righteousness, such as reconciling between people and the like, then likewise he does not leave his i’tikaf for what distracts him from it from deeds of righteousness.

As for the one who permitted him to attend gatherings of knowledge in the masjid, that is because it is an action that does not conflict with his i’tikaf. What is only disliked for him is that which conflicts with his i’tikaf, such as amusement, falsehood, and what is forbidden. (al Istidhkar, 3/392)

Ibn Wahb (d. 197 AH) narrated from Malik (d. 179 AH), when he was asked about the mu’takif sitting in the gathering of the ulama and writing knowledge, that he said: He should not do that, unless it is something light, and leaving it is more beloved to me. (al Mudawwanah, 1/293)

Malik said: He should not occupy himself with gatherings of knowledge. It was said to him: Should he write knowledge in the masjid? So he disliked that. (al Mudawwanah, 1/293)

The basis of Malik’s view is what Ibn Abd al Barr said: Just as a voluntary prayer, and other than it, is not cut off for another act of righteousness, such as reconciling between people and the like, then likewise he does not leave his i’tikaf for what distracts him from it from deeds of righteousness.

As for the one who permitted him to attend gatherings of knowledge in the masjid, that is because it is an action that does not conflict with his i’tikaf. What is only disliked for him is that which conflicts with his i’tikaf, such as amusement, falsehood, and what is forbidden.

Abu Bakr Ibn al Mundhir (d. 319 AH) said: Writing knowledge is recommended during i’tikaf and otherwise. (al Ishraf, 3/167)

Ibn Muharrir said: It is permissible for him to make tawaf around the House, because tawaf around the House is prayer. (Mawahib al Jalil, 2/461)

The Ruling on Refraining from Speech Other than the Qur’an

Ibn Qudamah (d. 620 AH) said: It is not permissible for him to make the Qur’an a substitute for ordinary speech, because that is using it for other than what it was meant for. So it resembles using the mushaf as a pillow and the like. It has been narrated: “Do not debate by means of the Book of Allah.” It was said: Its meaning is, do not speak with it when something is seen, such as seeing a man who has come at his proper time, and then saying:

ثُمَّ جِئْتَ عَلَىٰ قَدَرٍ يَا مُوسَىٰ

“Then you came at the decreed time, O Musa عليه السلام.” (Ta Ha 40)

or the like. Abu Ubayd mentioned something close to this meaning. (al Mughni, 4/481)

If the mu’takif occupies himself with the Qur’an and knowledge, then that is an increase in good, because it is an act of obedience within an act of obedience. (Mughni al Muhtaj, 2/193)

The Ruling on Working in the Masjid During I’tikaf

Malik said: The mu’takif is occupied with his i’tikaf. He should not turn to other things that people occupy themselves with, such as trade and the like.

There is no harm if the mu’takif gives instructions regarding some need connected to his property, or the welfare of his family, or that he instructs someone to sell his goods, or to do something that does not occupy him personally. There is no harm, if it is light, in him ordering someone to do that for him. (al Muwatta’, after hadith 712, p. 259)

Al Shafiʿi (d. 204 AH) said: There is no harm in his buying and selling, sewing, sitting with the ulama, and speaking about whatever he likes, so long as it is not sin. (al Umm, 2/530)

Abu Talib said: I asked Ahmad (d. 241 AH) about the mu’takif doing his work, such as sewing and the like. He said: I do not like that he should do any work. I said: What if he needs to? He said: If he needs to, then he should not make i’tikaf.

Muhammad ibn al Hasan (d. 189 AH) said: There is no harm in the mu’takif buying and selling in the masjid, and speaking with whatever conversation comes to him, so long as it is not sinful. (al Asl, 2/185)

Ibn Hubayrah (d. 560 AH) said: They agreed, meaning the 4 imams, that it is not for the mu’takif to engage in trade and earn through craftsmanship without restriction. (Ikhtilaf al Aʾimmah al Ulamaʾ, 1/267)

Ibn Qudamah said: Craftsmanship in the masjid is forbidden outside i’tikaf, so during i’tikaf it is more deserving of being forbidden. The same applies to the other matters we mentioned. There is no need for it. So if he needs it, then he should not make i’tikaf, because leaving i’tikaf is better than doing what is forbidden.

If he goes out deliberately for something he cannot do without, his i’tikaf is invalidated, unless he had stipulated it. If he goes out forgetfully, al Qadi said: His i’tikaf is not invalidated, because he did what was prohibited forgetfully, so the act of worship is not invalidated, just like eating in fasting.

Ibn ʿAqil (d. 513 AH) said: It is invalidated, because that is abandoning i’tikaf, and i’tikaf is remaining in the masjid. Abandoning something, whether deliberately or forgetfully, is the same, just like abandoning the intention in fasting.

If he brings part of his body outside, his i’tikaf is not invalidated, whether deliberately or forgetfully, because the Prophet ﷺ used to extend his head out of the masjid to ʿAʾishah, and she would wash it while she was menstruating. Agreed upon. (al Mughni)

The Shafiʿiyyah held that crafts in the masjid, such as sewing and writing, are not disliked for the mu’takif so long as he does not do much of them. If he does much of them, they become disliked because of the sanctity of the masjid, except for writing knowledge. Doing much of that is not disliked, because it is an act of obedience, due to teaching knowledge. As for taking sewing as a trade, and engaging in exchanges such as buying and selling without need, then that is disliked even if it is little. (al Mawsuʿah al Fiqhiyyah al Kuwaytiyyah, 5/227)

The summary is what al Shawkani (d. 1250 AH) said: The majority held that nothing is disliked in it except what is disliked in the masjid itself. (Nayl al Awtar, 5/574)

The Ruling on Occupying Oneself with Permissible Matters During I’tikaf

The 1st view is that nothing is disliked in it except what is disliked in the masjid.

Al Shafiʿi said: There is no harm in his buying and selling, sewing, and speaking, so long as it is not sinful.

Al Shafiʿi and Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH) and his companions said: The mu’takif may speak, and may buy and sell in the masjid, and may busy himself with what does not involve sin. Silence is not required from him.

Ahmad said: The mu’takif should not buy or sell except what he cannot do without, such as food and the like. As for trade, taking, and giving, then nothing from that is permissible.

The correct view is what Ahmad said, because of the hadith of ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb, from his father, from his grandfather, that the Prophet ﷺ forbade buying and selling in the masjid. (Narrated by al Tirmidhi, who said: Hasan hadith)

ʿImran al Qasir (d. 140 AH) saw a man selling in the masjid, so he said: O you, this is the market of the Hereafter. If you want to sell, then go out to the market of this universe.

If buying and selling are prohibited outside the state of i’tikaf, then during i’tikaf it is more deserving of that prohibition.

As for craftsmanship, al Marrudhi said: I asked Abu ʿAbdillah about the mu’takif. Do you think it is proper for him to sew? He said: It is not fitting for him to make i’tikaf if that is what he wants to do.

Ibn Qudamah said: What is better is that what he needs from that should be made permissible for him, if it is little, such as if his shirt tears and he sews it, or if something comes loose and needs to be tied, so he ties it. This is because it is little, and the need calls for it, so it takes the place of putting on his shirt and turban, and removing them.

Al Kasani (d. 587 AH) said: There is no harm in the mu’takif buying and selling after sunset until dawn. (Badaʾiʿ al Sanaʾiʿ, 2/117)

Ibn Hajar (d. 852 AH) said: The majority held that nothing is disliked in it except what is disliked in the masjid. (Fath al Bari, 5/478)

The majority differ from Malik, and the hadith that ʿAʾishah used to comb the hair of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while he was in i’tikaf is a refutation of him, because occupying oneself with knowledge and writing it is more important than combing the hair. (Tarh al Tathrib, 4/175)

Al Tahawi (d. 321 AH) said: Since combing the hair, which is not itself from the acts of i’tikaf, was made unrestrictedly permissible for the mu’takif during his i’tikaf, because it concerns the well being of his body, then anything else besides it that concerns the well being of his body or his property, so long as it is not unlawful in itself and is not prevented because of i’tikaf, is likewise unrestrictedly permissible for the mu’takif. (Ahkam al Qurʾan, al Tahawi, 1/479)

It is narrated from Malik that crafts and trades are disliked during it, even seeking knowledge.

The Ruling on the Mu’takif Leaving His Place of I’tikaf

The Ruling on Leaving for Urination, Defecation, and What Cannot Be Avoided

From ʿAʾishah, she said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he was in i’tikaf, would bring his head near to me and I would comb it, and he would not enter the house except for a human need. (Narrated by Muslim and al Tirmidhi, 815)

Al Tirmidhi (d. 279 AH) said: The practice among the people of knowledge is according to this. When a man makes i’tikaf, he should not leave his i’tikaf except for a human need. They agreed on this, that he may go out to relieve himself for defecation and urination. (after the previous hadith)

Ibn al Mundhir said: The people of knowledge agreed that the mu’takif may leave his place of i’tikaf for defecation and urination. (al Ijmaʿ, no. 132)

This is because this is something unavoidable, and it cannot be done in the masjid. So if i’tikaf were invalidated by going out for it, then i’tikaf would not be valid for anyone.

Al Qurtubi (d. 671 AH) said: There is no disagreement in this between the Ummah and no disagreement between the imams. So if the mu’takif goes out for a necessity, and for what he cannot do without, then returns immediately after the necessity has ended, he continues from what has passed of his i’tikaf and nothing is due upon him. Among necessities are clear illness and menstruation. (al Jamiʿ li Ahkam al Qurʾan, 3/219)

The Ruling on Leaving the Place of I’tikaf for Other than Urination and Defecation, for What Cannot Be Avoided

Ibn Qudamah said: The mu’takif has no right to leave his place of i’tikaf except for what he cannot do without.

From ʿAʾishah: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he was in i’tikaf, would bring his head near to me and I would comb it, and he would not enter the house except for a human need. Agreed upon.

This includes everything a person cannot do without, from his benefits and interests, and what another cannot do on his behalf.

The Prophet ﷺ used to make i’tikaf, and we know that he used to go out to relieve himself. What is meant by “a human need” is urination and defecation. This is an indirect expression for them, because every human being needs to do them. Included in their meaning is the need for food and drink, if he has no one to bring it to him.

Then he may go out for it if he needs it. If vomiting overcomes him, then he may go out in order to vomit outside the masjid. Everything he cannot do without, and which cannot be done in the masjid, he may go out for, and his i’tikaf is not invalidated so long as he does not remain out long.

Likewise, he may go out for what Allah has made obligatory upon him, such as one who makes i’tikaf in a masjid where the Friday prayer is not held. He needs to go out in order to pray Jumuʿah, and it is binding upon him to go to it. So he may go out to it, and his i’tikaf is not invalidated. Abu Hanifah held this view.

Al Shafiʿi said: He should not make i’tikaf except in a جامع masjid, if his i’tikaf includes a Friday prayer. If he vowed a consecutive i’tikaf, then went out from it for the Friday prayer, his i’tikaf is invalidated and he must begin again, because it was possible for him to make his obligation in a way in which he would not have to leave, so it was invalidated by leaving, just like the one making expiation who begins the fasting of 2 consecutive months in Shaʿban or Dhu al Hijjah.

Our proof is that he went out for an obligation, so his i’tikaf is not invalidated, just like the woman in her waiting period who goes out to fulfil the waiting period, and like the one who goes out to rescue a drowning person, or to put out a fire, or to give testimony that has become individually binding upon him. Also, if he vows days in which there is a Friday prayer, it is as though he verbally excluded the Friday prayer.

Then this is further supported by the case where a woman vows days that include the days of her menstrual habit.

That is valid, even though it would have been possible for her to assign it to other than those days. The basic principle they relied on is not accepted. Once this is established, then if he goes out for an obligation, he remains upon his i’tikaf so long as he does not remain out long, because this is leaving for something unavoidable, so it resembles going out for a human need.

If his going out is for the Friday prayer, then he may go early. Ahmad said: I hope that this is permissible for him, because it is a permitted leave, so hastening it was permissible, just like going out for a human need.

When he has prayed Jumuʿah, then if he wishes to continue his i’tikaf in the congregational masjid, he may do so, because it is a place fit for i’tikaf, and the place is not made binding for i’tikaf by vow and designation, so in the absence of that, this is even more so.

Likewise, if he enters another masjid on his way and completes his i’tikaf there, that is permissible for him.

If he goes out for what cannot be avoided, he is not required to hasten in his walking. Rather, he walks according to his usual manner, because there is hardship in obliging him to do otherwise. He has no right to remain after fulfilling his need for food or for anything else.

It is not permissible for the mu’takif to go out except for what cannot be avoided, such as a human need, purification, Jumuʿah, a military call that has become individually binding, obligatory testimony, fear of fitnah, illness, menstruation, postnatal bleeding, the waiting period after a husband’s death, and the like. (al Mughni, 4/369)

The Ruling on the Mu’takif Visiting the Sick and Attending Funerals

The 1st view is that he may not do that. This is the view of ʿAtaʾ (d. 114 AH), ʿUrwah (d. 94 AH), Mujahid (d. 104 AH), al Zuhri (d. 124 AH), Abu Hanifah, Malik, al Shafiʿi, and one narration from Ahmad.

Al Baghawi (d. 516 AH) said: Most of them held that it is not permissible for him to go out to visit the sick or to pray over a funeral. If he goes out, his i’tikaf is invalidated. (Sharh al Sunnah, 6/398)

The basis of this view is that ʿAʾishah said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he was in i’tikaf, would not enter the house except for a human need. Agreed upon.

From her also, she said: The Sunnah for the mu’takif is that he should not visit a sick person, nor attend a funeral, nor touch a woman, nor have intimate contact with her, nor go out for any need except what cannot be avoided.

From her also, she said: The Prophet ﷺ used to pass by the sick person while he was in i’tikaf, and he would pass by as he was and not turn aside to ask about him. Both were narrated by Abu Dawud.

From al Zuhri, he said: The mu’takif does not go out except for a need that he cannot do without, such as defecation or urination. He does not follow a funeral, nor visit the sick, nor answer an invitation, nor touch a woman, nor have intimate contact with her. (Musannaf ʿAbd al Razzaq, 4/149)

Malik said: The mu’takif does not go out for someone else’s need, nor go out for it, nor help anyone, except if he goes out for a human need. If it were permissible for him to go out for someone’s need, then the worthiest thing for him to go out for would have been visiting the sick, praying over funerals, and following them. (al Muwatta’, after hadith 711, p. 257)

Malik said: The mu’takif is not truly a mu’takif until he avoids what the mu’takif avoids, such as visiting the sick, praying over funerals, and entering the house except for a human need. (al Muwatta’, after hadith 711, p. 258)

Malik said: The mu’takif does not go out with the funeral of his parents, nor with any other funeral. (al Muwatta’, after hadith 717, p. 261)

Malik said: The mu’takif does not visit a sick person who is with him in the masjid, and he does not get up to console a man for a loss, and he does not attend a marriage contract taking place in the masjid. But if that comes to him while he is seated in his place, then I see no harm in that. (al Mudawwanah, 1/293)

Malik said: I do not like that he should pray over funerals even if the funeral is in the masjid.

Malik said: He does not visit a sick person with him in the masjid, unless he happens to pray beside him and then greets him. (al Mudawwanah, 1/293)

Muhammad ibn al Hasan said: It is not fitting for the mu’takif to leave the masjid for any need except Jumuʿah, defecation, and urination. As for visiting the sick and attending funerals, it is not fitting for him to go out for that. (al Asl, 2/183)

He should not visit the sick, nor attend a funeral, and likewise every act of drawing near, such as visiting people, taking testimony and delivering it, washing the deceased, and other than that, unless he stipulated it. This is the madhhab in all of that, and it is explicitly stated. (al Insaf, 7/609)

This is because that is not obligatory, so it is not permissible to leave an obligatory i’tikaf because of it.

As for if he goes out for something unavoidable, and then asks about the sick person on his way without making a detour, that is permissible, because the Prophet ﷺ did that.

The 2nd view is that he may visit the sick, attend the funeral, and then return to his place of i’tikaf. This is the view of ʿAli, and Saʿid ibn Jubayr (d. 95 AH), al Nakhaʿi (d. 96 AH), al Hasan al Basri (d. 110 AH), and one narration from Ahmad.

From Saʿid ibn Jubayr, he said: I made i’tikaf in the masjid of the district, and ʿAmr ibn Hurayth sent for me, and he was the governor over Kufah, but I did not come to him. Then he sent again and I did not come. Then he sent again and I did not come.

Then he sent again, so I came to him. He said: What kept you from coming to us? I said: I was in i’tikaf. He said: What is upon you? The mu’takif attends Jumuʿah, visits the sick, walks with the funeral, and answers the imam. Saʿid ibn Jubayr used to give this fatwa. (al Istidhkar, 3/389)

The proof is from ʿAli, who said: When a man makes i’tikaf, let him attend Jumuʿah, visit the sick, attend the funeral, go to his family, and instruct them regarding needs while standing. This was narrated by Imam Ahmad and al Akram. Ahmad said: ʿAsim ibn Damrah, in my view, is a proof. Ahmad said: He attends the funeral, visits the sick, does not sit down, fulfils the need, then returns to his i’tikaf. (al Mughni, 4/470)

Ibn al Qasim (d. 191 AH) said: The mu’takif goes out to visit his parents if they become ill, then he begins his i’tikaf again. He held that this was obligatory upon him because of dutifulness to them. (Mawahib al Jalil, 2/456)

Sanad said: I hold that this is obligatory in order to be dutiful to them, and because its obligation by the Sharia is above the obligation of i’tikaf by vow.

The Ruling on Going Up to the Roof of the Masjid

Ibn Qudamah said: It is permissible for the mu’takif to go up to the roof of the masjid, because it is part of it. For this reason, the person in janabah is prevented from remaining there. This is the view of Abu Hanifah, Malik, and al Shafiʿi, and I know of no one who differed concerning it. It is also permissible for him to spend the night there. (al Mughni)

Al Nawawi (d. 676 AH) said: Our companions said: I’tikaf on the roof of the masjid and in its courtyard is valid without disagreement, because both are part of it. (al Majmuʿ, 6/480)

The Ruling on Leaving the Masjid Without Need

From ʿAʾishah: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he was in i’tikaf, would bring his head near to me and I would comb it, and he would not enter the house except for a human need. Agreed upon.

Ibn Hazm (d. 456 AH) said: They agreed that whoever leaves his place of i’tikaf in the masjid without need, necessity, or an act of righteousness that he was commanded or encouraged to do, then his i’tikaf is invalidated. (Maratib al Ijmaʿ, p. 41)

This claimed consensus is open to discussion, because Muhammad ibn al Hasan and Abu Yusuf (d. 182 AH) differed.

Abu Hanifah said: If he goes out from the masjid for an hour or more, without defecation, urination, or Jumuʿah, then he has invalidated his i’tikaf. (al Asl, 2/185)

Abu Yusuf and Muhammad said: If he goes out for more than half a day, he has invalidated his i’tikaf, but if he goes out for less than that, his i’tikaf is not invalidated. (al Asl, 2/185)

Al Shafiʿi said: If he goes out without need, he breaks his i’tikaf. (al Hawi al Kabir, 3/498)

If the mu’takif forgets and goes out, then returns, his i’tikaf is not invalidated.

If the mu’takif forgets and goes out from the masjid, then remembers after that and re enters the masjid, that does not invalidate his i’tikaf according to Abu Yusuf. (al Asl, 2/191)

Al Khattabi said: In his saying, “He would not enter the house except for a human need,” there is a clarification that the mu’takif does not enter his house except for defecation or urination. If he enters it for other than those 2, such as food or drink, his i’tikaf is invalidated. (Maʿalim al Sunan, 2/61)

Al Kasani said: If he leaves the masjid without an excuse, his i’tikaf is invalidated according to Abu Hanifah, even if it is only for an hour. According to Abu Yusuf and Muhammad, it is not invalidated until he stays out for more than half a day. Muhammad said: The view of Abu Hanifah is more cautious, and the view of Abu Yusuf is broader. (al Mabsut, 3/118; Badaʾiʿ al Sanaʾiʿ, 2/115)

If he leaves his place of i’tikaf without need, his i’tikaf is invalidated. This is the view of Abu Hanifah, Malik, and Ahmad. Abu Yusuf and Muhammad said: It is not invalidated unless his leaving is for more than half a day. (Hilyat al Fuqahaʾ, 3/185)

Ibn Qudamah said: If he goes out for something he can do without, his i’tikaf is invalidated, even if it is little. This is the view of Abu Hanifah, Malik, al Shafiʿi, and Ahmad, because it is leaving his place of i’tikaf without need, so it invalidates it.

As for the leaving of the Prophet ﷺ, it is possible that he had no choice in it, because it was at night and he did not feel safe for her. It is also possible that he did that because his i’tikaf was voluntary, and he had the right to leave all of it, so he likewise had the right to leave part of it. For this reason, he left it when his wives wanted to make i’tikaf with him. (al Mughni, 4/469)

Al Nawawi said: If he goes out without an excuse, his i’tikaf is invalidated, because i’tikaf is remaining in the masjid. So when he leaves, he has done what opposes it without excuse, so it is invalidated, just as if he were to eat while fasting. (al Majmuʿ, 6/499)

One Who Intends to Leave I’tikaf

Whoever intends to leave i’tikaf, his i’tikaf is invalidated. (Muntaha al Iradat, 2/250)

Ibn al Mulaqqin (d. 804 AH) said: If he intends to leave i’tikaf, his i’tikaf does not remain according to the soundest view, just like fasting. (Mughni al Muhtaj, 5/275)

The Ruling on One Who Leaves the Masjid Forgetfully

The ulama differed on 2 views.

The 1st view is that whoever goes out forgetfully, his i’tikaf is invalidated.

Muhammad ibn al Hasan said: Do you not see that if he were to go out forgetfully, his leaving would be like his deliberate leaving? (al Asl, 2/190)

The 2nd view is that whoever goes out forgetfully, his i’tikaf is not invalidated.

Al ʿImrani (d. 558 AH) said: If the mu’takif leaves the masjid forgetfully, or under compulsion, his i’tikaf is not invalidated, because of his saying: “Mistake, forgetfulness, and what they were compelled to do have been lifted from my Ummah.” (al Bayan, 3/593)

The Ruling on the Mu’takif Grooming and Adorning Himself

The ulama differed on 2 views.

The 1st view is that it is permissible, and this is the view of the majority.

The basis of this view is from ʿAʾishah, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to be in i’tikaf in the masjid, then he would hand me his head through the room, and I would wash his head and comb it.

Al Jassas (d. 370 AH) said: This hadith shows that the mu’takif may adorn himself, because combing the hair is a form of adornment. (Ahkam al Qurʾan, 1/311)

From Malik: There is no harm in perfume for the mu’takif. (Musannaf ʿAbd al Razzaq, 4/158)

Al Shafiʿi said: There is no harm in the mu’takif and the female mu’takifah wearing what they wish, eating, and using whatever perfume they wish. (al Hawi, 3/503)

Ibn al Mulaqqin said: There is no dislike in adorning oneself with the best clothes. This is the view of most of the ulama. (ʿUmdat al Muhtaj, 5/266, with slight adaptation)

Different reports are narrated from Ahmad. I asked Abu ʿAbdillah about the mu’takif. May he use perfume? He said: Yes. Ahmad said in the narration of al Marrudhi: The mu’takif should not use perfume.

Ahmad said: I do not like that he should use perfume. That is because i’tikaf is an act of worship connected to a particular place, so leaving perfume in it is legislated, like Hajj. Yet this is not forbidden, because it does not make clothing or marriage unlawful, so it resembles fasting. (Masāʾil Ibn Haniʾ, 677; Sharh al ʿUmdah, Kitab al Sawm, 2/799; al Mughni, 4/483)

Muhammad ibn al Hasan said: There is no harm in the mu’takif and the female mu’takifah wearing whatever clothes they wish, eating whatever food they wish, and using whatever perfume they wish. (al Asl, 2/191)

Ibn Qudamah said: There is no harm in his cleaning himself by different means of cleanliness, because the Prophet ﷺ used to have his hair combed while he was in i’tikaf.

It is permissible for the mu’takif to use different kinds of perfume by night or day according to the Malikiyyah and the Shafiʿiyyah, whether he is a man or a woman according to the Malikiyyah, and this is the well known view in their madhhab.

]Likewise, according to the Malikiyyah and the Shafiʿiyyah, it is permissible to clip the nails and trim the moustache. The Malikiyyah restricted this permissibility to it being done outside the masjid if he goes out for an excuse. (al Mawsuʿah al Fiqhiyyah, 5/228)

From ʿAʾishah, she used to comb the Prophet ﷺ while he was in i’tikaf. Agreed upon.

Al Shawkani said: His saying, “She would comb,” means combing and applying oil. In it is proof that it is permissible for the mu’takif to clean himself, use perfume, bathe, shave, and groom himself, by including them under combing. (Nayl al Awtar, 5/574)

The stronger view is the permissibility of using perfume, because of the generality of His saying:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا خُذُوا زِينَتَكُمْ عِنْدَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ

“O believers, take your adornment at every masjid.” (al Aʿraf 31)

And because of the hadith of ʿAʾishah.

Eating Food in the Masjid During I’tikaf

There is no harm in the mu’takif eating in the masjid, and laying down a cloth on which whatever falls from him may fall, so that he does not soil the masjid. He may wash his hand in a basin, so that it may be emptied outside the masjid. It is not permissible for him to go out merely to wash his hands, because that is something he can do without.

The Ruling on Silence During I’tikaf

Ibn Taymiyyah said: As for being silent from speech altogether during fasting, or i’tikaf, or otherwise, then it is a disliked innovation by agreement of the people of knowledge. But is that forbidden or disliked? There are 2 views.

In Sahih al Bukhari, Abu Bakr al Siddiq entered upon a woman from Ahmas and found her observing silence and not speaking. Abu Bakr said to her: This is not lawful. This is from the practice of Jahiliyyah.

In Sahih al Bukhari, from Ibn ʿAbbas, the Prophet ﷺ saw a man standing in the sun and said: Who is this? They said: This is Abu Israʾil. He vowed that he would stand in the sun, not seek shade, not speak, and fast.

So he said: Tell him to sit, seek shade, speak, and complete his fast. So he commanded him, despite his vow of silence, to speak, just as he commanded him, despite his vow to stand, to sit, and despite his vow not to seek shade, to seek shade. He only instructed him to fulfil the fast alone. This is explicit that these actions are not acts of nearness for which the one who vowed them is commanded to fulfil them. (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, 25/292)

Ibn ʿAqil said: Abu Ishaq al Kharrāz was a righteous man, and it was his habit to refrain from speech in Ramadan. So he used to address his needs by Qur’an verses. Thus, when giving permission, he would say:

ادْخُلُوا عَلَيْهِمُ الْبَابَ

“Enter upon them through the gate.” (al Maʾidah 23)

And he would say to his son on the evening of the fast, commanding him to buy greens:

مِنْ بَقْلِهَا وَقِثَّائِهَا

“Of its herbs and its cucumbers.” (al Baqarah 61)

So I said to him: You regard this as worship, while it is disobedience. That became hard upon him. So I said: This noble Qur’an was sent down to clarify legal rulings, so it is not to be used for worldly purposes. This is no different from pounding lote leaves and ushnan in the pages of the mushaf. So he abandoned me and did not listen to the proof. (Sharh al ʿUmdah, 2/796)

Making Up I’tikaf on Behalf of the Deceased

If a person dies while an obligatory i’tikaf is due from him, then i’tikaf is not done on his behalf, nor is food given on his behalf.

Abu Thawr (d. 240 AH) said: I’tikaf is done on his behalf. This has also been reported from ʿAʾishah and Ibn ʿAbbas.

Abu Hanifah said: Half a saʿ is to be given on his behalf for each day.

Al Saydalani related that one poor person is to be fed on his behalf for each day. I did not find this from anyone else among our companions.

Our proof is that it is an act of worship into which financial compensation does not enter during life, so it does not enter it after death. Therefore it is not made up, just like purification and prayer.

And Allah knows best what is correct. (al Bayan, 3/602)