Is it obligatory to complete the last ten days in i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque)?

The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

The Shaykh : Sleep, what went, it went, or are you loyal? In the first place.

The questioner : 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. As for what follows, the questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, is it obligatory for a person to perform i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) for the entire ten days? And is it permissible for him to perform i'tikaf for only three days of them?

The Shaykh : The correct view is three days. Now, first, we must know that i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) is not obligatory; rather, it is a sunnah (recommended practice). If a person performs it, he is rewarded for it. If it occupies him from something more beneficial, then leaving it off is better. And if it occupies him from an obligatory duty, such as those who engage in it at the expense of their jobs, it becomes forbidden. Pay attention: it has categories. It becomes forbidden if it occupies a person from an obligatory duty, such as one who engages in it at the expense of his job, or if he has two old, elderly parents who need his dutifulness, and he leaves them to perform i'tikaf; this is leaving an obligatory duty to perform a recommended act. Second, it should not occupy him from an obligatory duty, but it may occupy him from something more important than it, such as enjoining good and forbidding evil, when there are others who can carry them out. Because if there were no one to carry them out, they would become a collective obligation, but if there are people who can carry them out, they become a sunnah (recommended practice). There is no doubt that enjoining good and forbidding evil is better than i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque), because their benefit extends to others; a person benefits himself through enjoining good and forbidding evil and benefits others. Third, if it does not occupy him from an obligatory duty or from a recommended act more beneficial than it, it becomes recommended, not obligatory. And if it is recommended, we say that whoever performs it deserves reward, and whoever leaves it off, what is the case? There is no punishment on him. Then, if he started it and realized he should leave it off without any excuse, is it permissible or not permissible? It is permissible, because it is permissible for anyone who starts a voluntary act to break it off, except for Hajj (the major pilgrimage) and 'Umrah (the lesser pilgrimage). But the scholars say it is disliked for one who starts a voluntary act to break it off except for a valid reason.
And based on this, the questioner's statement that it is obligatory for a person to perform i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) for the last ten days is incorrect. In its essence, i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) is never obligatory except if one vows to perform i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque). So i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) is an act of obedience, and whoever vows to obey Allah, let him obey Him. So if you started i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) and then you had work more important than i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque), invalidate the i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) and go to your work. And the matter is broad, and praise be to Allah. Then, the prescribed i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) is for a person to follow the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and it has not been preserved from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he performed i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) for less than ten days. He used to perform i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) for the last ten days. So whoever wants to apply the sunnah (recommended practice) as it came, let him perform i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) for all of the last ten days. It remains to be said: if someone performed i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) for part of it and not the rest, is he rewarded for what he performed? If he performed i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) for five days, do we say he gets half the reward, or does he get no reward at all because he did not perform the sunnah (recommended practice) in its proper form? This is a point of consideration for me. If you look at the saying of Allah the Exalted: , I say: he is rewarded for what he did because he did part of the good. But if you look at the fact that the sunnah (recommended practice) came in a specific form that does not benefit its doer unless he performs it in that form, like one who wants to pray a voluntary prayer, and the prescribed voluntary prayer is two rak'ahs (units of prayer), so he says he will pray one rak'ah (unit of prayer) and that will suffice him for the reward of one rak'ah (unit of prayer); does that benefit him or not? It does not benefit him. If you look at this, I say that the one who performs i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) for part of the period does not obtain any of the reward of i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) because he did not perform the prescribed i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque), which is ten days. So I am hesitant in this matter, and knowledge is with Allah, and above every person of knowledge is the All-Knowing. If you issue a ruling other than this, adhere to the ruling, and praise be to Allah. And every person's statement is taken and left except for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). But strive to complete the ten days from the beginning to the end, and know that if you leave off i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) without an excuse, there is no sin on you.

The presenter : May Allah reward you.