Rulings on I'tikaf

Question : The questioner says: We hope you will clarify for us how to perform i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque). Is it for a specific, limited number of days? And if circumstances arise for the person in i'tikaf, such as the death of a relative or something else, may he leave the mosque?

Answer : I'tikaf is the Muslim's staying in one of the mosques during the ten days of Ramadan. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform i'tikaf in the first ten days of Ramadan, seeking the Night of Decree. Then it was revealed to him that he should continue his i'tikaf, and that it was not in the first ten days. So he performed i'tikaf in the middle ten days. Then he was told that it was in the last ten days. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform i'tikaf in the last ten days, seeking the Night of Decree. He would strive in these days with prayer, dhikr (the remembrance of Allah), du'a' (supplication), reciting the Qur'an, and other righteous deeds. This is what the person in i'tikaf should do. The person in i'tikaf does not leave his i'tikaf except for something that is absolutely necessary, such as leaving to relieve himself, whether urination or defecation, or if he has major ritual impurity (janabah) and goes to take a full ritual bath (ghusl), or if he leaves for a matter that is naturally necessary, because bathing, fighting, and the like are religiously necessary, or he leaves for what is naturally necessary, such as leaving to eat and drink if no one brings them to him in his mosque. As for leaving to attend the funeral of a relative, or to visit a sick relative, this is not permissible. If he does so, his i'tikaf becomes invalid. The statement "it is not permissible" means that the i'tikaf is invalidated. However, if he leaves during a voluntary i'tikaf, it does not matter, because invalidating a voluntary i'tikaf for a valid reason is not a problem. If you have started it, it is not obligatory for you to complete it, but it is disliked for you to leave it without your purpose, except for Hajj and 'Umrah, for which it is obligatory to complete them, even if they are voluntary, once you have started them. Based on this, we say that this person in i'tikaf whose relative died does not leave with his funeral. Nor does he leave unless he had stipulated that at the beginning of his i'tikaf, such as if he feared that this relative might die, and he said, "O Allah, if my relative dies, then I have the right to leave." If he stipulated that, there is no blame on him, based on the hadith of Umm Salama, the wife of al-Zubayr, where she wanted to enter the state of ihram for Hajj, and she was ill. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her, "Perform Hajj and stipulate that if I am confined, then I have fulfilled my obligation to my Lord."
There is a third category for which leaving is never permissible, which is for a person to leave for buying and selling, meeting his wife, and the like. This is not permissible, whether stipulated or not. Even if he stipulated it and left, his i'tikaf becomes invalid. So the things for which a person in i'tikaf leaves are of three categories: a category that is religiously or naturally necessary, for which he leaves whether he stipulated it or not, and his i'tikaf is not invalidated by it. A category that is religiously intended, which is worship, but a person has an alternative to it; for this, if he stipulated it, there is no blame on him, such as visiting the sick, attending a funeral, and the like. And a third category for which it is not permissible to leave, whether stipulated or not, which is what completely contradicts i'tikaf, such as leaving for buying and selling, meeting his wife, and the like.