What is the ruling on one who intended to perform i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) for the last ten days but then left off the i'tikaf due to an excuse?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : This questioner says: One who intended to perform i'tikaf for the last ten days, but an unexpected circumstance arose before the period ended, does he break off his i'tikaf?
The Shaykh : First, you must know, my brothers, that i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) is a recommended practice (sunnah). It remains a recommended practice as long as it does not prevent one from fulfilling an obligatory duty; if it does prevent one from fulfilling an obligatory duty, it is prohibited. Preventing oneself from an obligatory duty is what some of the brothers do; you find them leaving the obligatory job that they must perform, and performing that job is better than i'tikaf because performing it is obligatory, and drawing near to Allah through obligatory acts is more beloved to Allah than drawing near to Him through voluntary acts, as came in the authentic qudsi hadith: "No one draws near to Me..." says Allah the Mighty and MajesticSahih al-Bukhari 6502 So i'tikaf is a recommended practice as long as it does not prevent one from fulfilling an obligatory duty; if it prevents one from fulfilling an obligatory duty, it is forbidden because abandoning an obligatory duty is forbidden. And since it is a recommended practice, it is permissible for a person to break it off without an excuse. So if a person starts i'tikaf and after two days have passed he leaves the i'tikaf, does he sin? The answer is: what is your answer? Who is the one who does not sin? Who is the one who does not sin?
He, if he intended to i'tikaf what he will i'tikaf, but his statement is about the one who intended to i'tikaf, yes. Okay, hurry up.
So if i'tikaf is a recommended practice, the person has a choice: if he wishes, he continues it, and if he wishes, he leaves it. But there is no doubt that it is better for one who has started an act of obedience to complete it, except for a reason that necessitates breaking it off.
The Shaykh : First, you must know, my brothers, that i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) is a recommended practice (sunnah). It remains a recommended practice as long as it does not prevent one from fulfilling an obligatory duty; if it does prevent one from fulfilling an obligatory duty, it is prohibited. Preventing oneself from an obligatory duty is what some of the brothers do; you find them leaving the obligatory job that they must perform, and performing that job is better than i'tikaf because performing it is obligatory, and drawing near to Allah through obligatory acts is more beloved to Allah than drawing near to Him through voluntary acts, as came in the authentic qudsi hadith: "No one draws near to Me..." says Allah the Mighty and Majestic
And the most beloved things with which My slave comes nearer to Me, is what I have enjoined upon him
وما تقرب إلي عبدي بشيء أحب إلي مما افترضت عليهHe, if he intended to i'tikaf what he will i'tikaf, but his statement is about the one who intended to i'tikaf, yes. Okay, hurry up.
So if i'tikaf is a recommended practice, the person has a choice: if he wishes, he continues it, and if he wishes, he leaves it. But there is no doubt that it is better for one who has started an act of obedience to complete it, except for a reason that necessitates breaking it off.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، لقاء[22 من 46] ما حكم من نوى اعتكاف العشر ثم ترك الاعتكاف لعذر؟!! ابن عثيمين - مشروع كبار العلماء — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.