The Virtue of I'tikaf, Its Invalidators, and the Rulings on Leaving It

The questioner : A questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, since the last ten days are approaching, my question is: What is the virtue of i'tikaf? When does a person enter the state of i'tikaf? What are its invalidators? What is prescribed for the person in i'tikaf during his stay? And what is the time in which the person in i'tikaf may leave his place of i'tikaf?

The Shaykh : Yes, this question contains several points, but the important one is that the person in i'tikaf commits himself to the mosque for the worship of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) so that he may devote himself to worship, because a person in his home or in the market is distracted from worship. So he devotes himself to worship and to waiting for the Night of Decree, because our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed i'tikaf in the first ten days, seeking the Night of Decree. Then he performed i'tikaf in the middle ten days, seeking the Night of Decree as well. Then it was told to him that it is in the last ten days, so he performed i'tikaf in the last ten days. The person in i'tikaf should know that the meaning of i'tikaf is not merely that his pre-dawn meal and breaking of the fast are in the mosque. No, the meaning of i'tikaf is to devote oneself to worship and to wait for the Night of Decree. The person enters i'tikaf from the setting of the sun on the twentieth of Ramadan. He exits it at the setting of the sun on the last day of Ramadan, whether it is the thirtieth or the twenty-ninth. When the entry of Shawwal is established, the time for i'tikaf ends. So i'tikaf is prescribed in the last ten days of Ramadan in any of the mosques, whether in the Sacred Mosque, the Prophet's Mosque, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, or in the mosques of the villages or the cities. Allah the Exalted said: As for what is narrated from Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: the three mosques, if this hadith is authentic—and I say, if it is authentic, because Ibn Mas'ud responded to Hudhayfah. When Hudhayfah came, Ibn Mas'ud said that a group of people performed i'tikaf in the mosques of Kufa, and that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: He said, "Perhaps they mentioned it and I forgot, and they preserved it," meaning, "I was negligent" or a word to that effect. This is undoubtedly a rebuke from Ibn Mas'ud to Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him), meaning, "You say such and such, and they perhaps preserved it while you did not." So I say, on the assumption that this hadith is authentic, it is to be understood as referring to complete i'tikaf, meaning there is no complete i'tikaf except in because these mosques are the best mosques on the face of the earth, and they are the ones to which journeys are made. As for saying to those who performed i'tikaf in other mosques, "You have no i'tikaf," that is far from the truth. How can Allah the Exalted say: with the letter "al" indicating the plural and "mosques" indicating the super-plural form, and then we say that only three mosques fall under this generality? That is not correct; it is very far-fetched.
As for what the person in i'tikaf should do, he should occupy himself with recitation, dhikr (remembrance of Allah), and prayer. There is no harm in speaking a little to his companions who are with him in i'tikaf or to those who come to visit him, for it is established that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was in i'tikaf when Safiyyah, one of his wives (may Allah be pleased with them), visited him. However, this does not mean that a person should make the majority of his i'tikaf time spent talking to his companions, as is the case with some of those in i'tikaf in the Sacred Mosque, whose most of their time is spent talking among themselves. If that is not the case, then it is just sleep and talk; where is the i'tikaf? It is a time devoted to the worship of Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
As for what invalidates i'tikaf, it is sexual intercourse with women. Buying and selling invalidates i'tikaf. And of course, sexual intercourse and buying and selling are outside the mosque. That is, if a person leaves the mosque for a need and then buys or sells or has intercourse with his wife, his i'tikaf is invalidated. It is also invalidated by leaving for a non-need.
So if he leaves for a need, such as if he is required to perform ghusl (full ritual bath) and leaves to do so, or wudu' (ablution) and leaves to do so, or if he has no one to bring him his food and drink and he leaves to eat and drink, this is a need and there is no harm in it. As for leaving for acts of worship, such as attending a funeral, visiting the sick, listening to dhikr or lectures, and the like, this is not permissible unless he stipulated it when entering i'tikaf by saying, "O Allah, I stipulate that I will return to so-and-so, or that I will accompany so-and-so if he dies," or the like. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) divided the exit of the person in i'tikaf into three categories: a category where exit is permissible without a stipulation, a category where it is permissible with a stipulation, and a category where it is not permissible with or without a stipulation. What is permissible without a stipulation is leaving for what is necessary by Shari'ah or by nature. What is necessary by Shari'ah is like leaving for wudu' or for the Friday prayer if he is not in a congregational mosque, or the like. What is necessary by nature is like leaving to relieve oneself, or to eat or drink if no one can bring them to him.
This is permissible whether he stipulated it or not. The second is permissible with a stipulation, and it is the worship that does not contradict i'tikaf, such as visiting the sick, accompanying a funeral, attending a lecture or dhikr, and the like. The third is what is not permissible with or without a stipulation, such as leaving for something that contradicts i'tikaf, like leaving to his shop to buy and sell, saying, "These days are the season, the days of the festival, I will go out to buy and sell," or a person leaving to enjoy his family, saying, "I recently got married and I want to enjoy my family." We say, there is no harm, enjoy your family, but do not perform i'tikaf. Yes, this is not permissible with or without a stipulation because it invalidates i'tikaf. Perhaps we will connect on this part and keep the questions with our brother Mahmoud, and we entrust you to Allah until next year, if Allah wills. And whoever wants to perform 'Umrah, we will have lessons in the Sacred Mosque, if Allah the Exalted wills.