How to intend entering i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque)?

Question:
Your Eminence the Shaykh, the questioner who wants to perform i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) in the month of Ramadan for a month, or five days, or otherwise, asks: How does one intend to enter into it?

Answer:
I'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) has no fixed limit, but the best is the last ten days, if one does not come for all of the last ten days, (peace and blessings be upon him). And if he comes for one day or two days from the beginning or from the end, there is no harm. The matter is broad, and praise be to Allah. By intention, he sits in the mosque with the intention of i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque), the intention of worship, dhikr (the remembrance of Allah), recitation, prayer, and the like, in the last ten days, or in the first ten days, or in other than Ramadan. The matter is broad. I'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) is recommended (mustahabb) in Ramadan or in other times, but in Ramadan it is better and more emphasized, and in the last ten days it is more emphasized.