What is the manner of i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) in Ramadan?

Question : This questioner says: I hope you will clarify the manner of i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) in the month of Ramadan.

Answer : I'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) is staying in the mosque for the worship of Allah, meaning that a person remains in the mosque worshipping Allah the Exalted through prayer at times other than the prohibited times, through recitation, and through dhikr (the remembrance of Allah), so that he may increase in good. I'tikaf is not a sunnah (recommended practice) except in the last ten days of Ramadan only. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not perform i'tikaf except in the last ten days of Ramadan.
He first performed i'tikaf in the middle ten days, then he performed i'tikaf in the middle ten days, seeking Laylat al-Qadr (the Night of Decree), then it was told to him that it is in the last ten days, so he performed i'tikaf in the last ten days until Allah took his soul, and he did not perform i'tikaf in any other time except for one year, when he left off i'tikaf in the last ten days and then made it up in Shawwal. Based on this, we say that i'tikaf is a sunnah (recommended practice) in the last ten days only. Its sunnah (recommended practice) is that a person stays in the mosque for the worship of Allah the Exalted. And he does not leave the mosque except for what is necessary by the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law) or by nature.
As for what is necessary by the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law), it is like if a person becomes in a state of janabah (major ritual impurity) while he is in i'tikaf, then we say: go out and perform ghusl (the full ritual bath). Or he goes out for the Jumu'ah (the Friday prayer) if he is in a mosque where it is not held. And as for what is necessary by nature and fitrah (the innate natural disposition), it is that he goes out for food and drink if he does not find anyone to bring them to him, or he goes out to relieve himself of urine or feces. And as for going out to visit a sick person, to accompany a funeral, or to visit a relative, he does not go out, except if he had stipulated it.
When a person enters i'tikaf, if he has a sick person he wishes to visit, he stipulates with Allah that he will visit this sick person, and there is no harm in that; otherwise, he does not visit. And as for going out for selling and buying, leasing and hiring, and the like of that, this is haram (forbidden) whether he stipulated it or not. And if a person goes out for these purposes, his i'tikaf becomes invalid. So, the going out of the one in i'tikaf is divided into how many categories?
Into three categories, O brothers. The first is that he goes out for what is necessary, and this is permissible whether he stipulated it or not. The second is that he goes out for an act of worship that does not contradict i'tikaf, and this is permissible if he stipulated it, otherwise it is not. The third is going out for what contradicts i'tikaf, such as selling, buying, leasing, hiring, pledging, taking a pledge, and enjoying women, and this is not permissible whether he stipulated it or not.