What is the ruling on collective i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque)?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The questioner asks: Is it permissible to perform i'tikaf collectively?
Answer:
There is no such thing as collective i'tikaf. Each person performs i'tikaf for himself individually, and people do not gather as a group, binding themselves together to perform i'tikaf collectively. This has no basis. If they believe that this is a sunnah (recommended practice), then it is not a sunnah. However, if two or three people perform i'tikaf in a room without agreement or organization, there is nothing wrong with it. But if they believe that collective i'tikaf is a sunnah, that is a mistake. However, if they do it without believing it is a sunnah, but rather because it is more comfortable for them and better for them, so that they keep each other company and cooperate, there is nothing wrong with it.
The questioner asks: Is it permissible to perform i'tikaf collectively?
Answer:
There is no such thing as collective i'tikaf. Each person performs i'tikaf for himself individually, and people do not gather as a group, binding themselves together to perform i'tikaf collectively. This has no basis. If they believe that this is a sunnah (recommended practice), then it is not a sunnah. However, if two or three people perform i'tikaf in a room without agreement or organization, there is nothing wrong with it. But if they believe that collective i'tikaf is a sunnah, that is a mistake. However, if they do it without believing it is a sunnah, but rather because it is more comfortable for them and better for them, so that they keep each other company and cooperate, there is nothing wrong with it.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما حكم الاعتكاف الجماعي؟ للشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.