The Ruling on I'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) After the First Part of the Ten Days Has Passed

The questioner : The questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, it is known to you that studies and work do not end until the ten days have begun. Is i'tikaf valid after the first part of the ten days has passed? And if I perform i'tikaf, when should I enter the mosque for it? And when should I leave it? Do I leave on the night of the festival or on the morning of the festival?

The Shaykh : What appears to me is that i'tikaf can be divided. Otherwise, it is known that the i'tikaf recommended by the Sunnah, which the Sunnah brought, is for a person to observe i'tikaf for the entire ten days, from when the sun sets on the twentieth of Ramadan until the sun sets on the last day of Ramadan. This is the i'tikaf that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prescribed, and which he practiced. As for if a person observes i'tikaf for five days, from the beginning to the end, there is no doubt that he has observed part of the period. If we say that i'tikaf can be divided, and that a person can give charity of five dirhams out of ten, then it is valid for him to observe i'tikaf for part of the ten days rather than all of them. And if we say that it is a single act of worship that cannot be divided, and that if a person divides it, he is like one who prostrates without bowing or bows without prostrating, then based on that, he does not obtain the reward of i'tikaf. But what appears to me is that it can be divided, in the sense that if a person is free from his studies, he observes i'tikaf, but he does not obtain the complete Sunnah that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prescribed for his Ummah (the Muslim community).
As for what came in the hadith of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that he consulted the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about his vow to observe i'tikaf for a night or a day in al-Masjid al-Haram (the Sacred Mosque), and he said to him, "Fulfill your vow," this does not indicate that i'tikaf for a day or a night is among the matters prescribed for Muslims that a person is required to do. Rather, it is among the permissible matters that if a person does it, he is not blamed, but it is not among the prescribed matters. So if someone asks, "What is this principle you mentioned? Is a person confirmed in something that is not prescribed?" We say, yes, he is confirmed in something that is permissible and not blameworthy, but it is not required of him or of anyone else. We give two examples for this.
The first example is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a man on a military expedition, and he would lead them in prayer and conclude with "Qul huwa Allahu Ahad" (Say: He is Allah, the One). When he was asked about this, he said, "It is a description of Allah, and I love to recite it." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) approved of him. But do we say that it is prescribed for us now to conclude our prayers with "Qul huwa Allahu Ahad"? I answer: No, because the Messenger did not say, "Conclude your prayers with 'Qul huwa Allahu Ahad,'" nor did he conclude with "Qul huwa Allahu Ahad." However, he granted a dispensation to this man, whose love for Allah led him to conclude with "Qul huwa Allahu Ahad."
This is an example. Another example: A man came to him and said, "O Messenger of Allah, my mother died suddenly, and I think that if she had been able to speak, she would have given charity. Should I give charity on her behalf?" He said, "Yes." And Sa'd ibn Ubadah came to him seeking permission to make his orchard a charity for his mother, so he permitted him.
So is it said that it is prescribed for a person to do something like this, or do we say that if he does it, we do not blame him? The latter. And for this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order any of the Muslims to cut off a portion of his wealth for his mother or father when they died, but he permitted it, and recommended that we make du'a' (supplication) for them without giving them anything from our wealth when . This is what appears to us in the hadith of . As for the prescribed, Sunnah i'tikaf that is in complete imitation and following of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), it is i'tikaf for the entire ten days. Yes.