Rulings on the I'tikaf Practitioner Leaving the Mosque
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Question : May Allah reward you. Regarding the one observing i'tikaf in the Sacred Mosque, is it permissible for him to leave for food and drink? Where is i'tikaf prescribed? And what is prescribed for the one observing i'tikaf?
Answer : Yes, it is permissible for the one observing i'tikaf in the Sacred Mosque or any other mosque, if he has no one to bring him food and drink, to leave to his home to eat and drink. He also leaves to relieve himself of urine or feces, and he leaves for wudu' (ablution), and he leaves for ghusl (ritual bath) if he is in a state of janabah (major ritual impurity), and he leaves for the Friday prayer if he is observing i'tikaf in a mosque where there is no Friday prayer.
In any case, if there is no alternative for him religiously or naturally, he may leave for that purpose. As for leaving for anything else, he does not leave, even for worship. For example, if a person leaves while observing i'tikaf to visit a sick person, his i'tikaf is invalidated, because visiting the sick is not obligatory. However, if he stipulated at the beginning of his i'tikaf that he would visit a close sick relative, for example, or that he would follow a funeral if someone died, then there is no harm in that, because this is a religiously intended purpose. But if he stipulated when observing i'tikaf that he would leave to buy and sell, then this condition is not valid, as it contradicts i'tikaf. Similarly, if he stipulated that he would leave to his family to stay with them and have intercourse with them and the like, then this condition is not valid.
At that point, we say that the leaving of the mosque by the one observing i'tikaf in which he is observing i'tikaf is divided into three categories. The first category is what is necessary religiously or naturally, so leaving for that is permissible whether he stipulated it or not. The second category is what he has an alternative to and can leave, but there is a religious benefit in it, such as leaving to visit a sick person or follow a funeral. If he stipulated this, there is no harm; if he did not stipulate it, he does not leave for it. If he leaves for it, his i'tikaf is invalidated. The third category is...
...that the i'tikaf may remain valid with it, and that is if he leaves for something that is compatible with i'tikaf. So if he leaves to buy and sell, or leaves to sleep with his family, or the like of that, then this is not permissible whether he stipulated it or not. If he does so, his i'tikaf is invalidated.
The presenter : May Allah reward you,
Answer : Yes, it is permissible for the one observing i'tikaf in the Sacred Mosque or any other mosque, if he has no one to bring him food and drink, to leave to his home to eat and drink. He also leaves to relieve himself of urine or feces, and he leaves for wudu' (ablution), and he leaves for ghusl (ritual bath) if he is in a state of janabah (major ritual impurity), and he leaves for the Friday prayer if he is observing i'tikaf in a mosque where there is no Friday prayer.
In any case, if there is no alternative for him religiously or naturally, he may leave for that purpose. As for leaving for anything else, he does not leave, even for worship. For example, if a person leaves while observing i'tikaf to visit a sick person, his i'tikaf is invalidated, because visiting the sick is not obligatory. However, if he stipulated at the beginning of his i'tikaf that he would visit a close sick relative, for example, or that he would follow a funeral if someone died, then there is no harm in that, because this is a religiously intended purpose. But if he stipulated when observing i'tikaf that he would leave to buy and sell, then this condition is not valid, as it contradicts i'tikaf. Similarly, if he stipulated that he would leave to his family to stay with them and have intercourse with them and the like, then this condition is not valid.
At that point, we say that the leaving of the mosque by the one observing i'tikaf in which he is observing i'tikaf is divided into three categories. The first category is what is necessary religiously or naturally, so leaving for that is permissible whether he stipulated it or not. The second category is what he has an alternative to and can leave, but there is a religious benefit in it, such as leaving to visit a sick person or follow a funeral. If he stipulated this, there is no harm; if he did not stipulate it, he does not leave for it. If he leaves for it, his i'tikaf is invalidated. The third category is...
...that the i'tikaf may remain valid with it, and that is if he leaves for something that is compatible with i'tikaf. So if he leaves to buy and sell, or leaves to sleep with his family, or the like of that, then this is not permissible whether he stipulated it or not. If he does so, his i'tikaf is invalidated.
The presenter : May Allah reward you,
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 510- هل يجوز المعتكف في المسجد الحرام ليأكل ويشرب وما الذي يشرع له وهل يجوز للمرأة الإعتكاف — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.