The Invalidators and Conditions of I'tikaf

The Shaykh:
May Allah greet you and bless you.

The presenter:
O dear brothers and listeners, the discussion continues regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted: We had previously spoken about a great part of this verse, namely the saying of Allah the Exalted: "And do not have intimate relations with them while you are in i'tikaf in the mosques." The discussion continues regarding i'tikaf, this great act of worship and the great Prophetic guidance from the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

The questioner:
We begin our questions with the Honorable Shaykh with a question about the invalidators of i'tikaf. Honorable Shaykh, you have spoken about this previously?

The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. I'tikaf, as mentioned before, is a great act of worship. It is staying in a mosque where the congregational prayer is established, for the worship of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). The Book and the Sunnah and scholarly consensus have indicated this. As for the Book, it is in this verse: .
As for the Sunnah, it is from the actions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) performed i'tikaf in the middle ten days, then in the last ten days, and he continued to perform i'tikaf until he departed this world. His wives performed i'tikaf after him, and it was the practice of the Muslims, both the earliest and the later generations. So it is a great act of worship. We have explained the conditions of i'tikaf.
In our previous discussion, they are that it must be in a mosque where the congregational prayer is established, that one must avoid intercourse during the period of i'tikaf, and that one must not leave the i'tikaf except for a need that is absolutely necessary, then return to the place of i'tikaf nearby. If any of these conditions is disrupted, the i'tikaf becomes invalid. So if one performs i'tikaf in other than a mosque, then this i'tikaf is not valid and not prescribed.
Likewise, if one performs i'tikaf in an abandoned mosque where the congregational prayer is not established, then this i'tikaf is not valid, because he is between two things: either he leaves the congregational prayer and remains in his place of i'tikaf, and this is forbidden, or he goes out for the congregational prayer and his going out is repeated, and this is incompatible with i'tikaf. And among the invalidators of i'tikaf is if one has intercourse with his wife during the i'tikaf, then it becomes invalid, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted: "And do not approach them while you are in i'tikaf" and "And do not have intimate relations with them" . Yes.

The presenter:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh.