What are the matters that the person in i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) must do?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : What are the matters that the person in i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) must do, O honorable Shaykh?
The Shaykh : He is not obligated to do anything more than others, but he must avoid things that others do not avoid. Among these is the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:187]
It is also forbidden for him to leave his place of i'tikaf except for what is necessitated by need, such as going out to eat or drink if it cannot be obtained where he is in the mosque, or going out to urinate or defecate, or going out to perform a ghusl (the full ritual bath) that is obligatory and cannot be performed in the mosque, and similar necessary matters.
The Shaykh : He is not obligated to do anything more than others, but he must avoid things that others do not avoid. Among these is the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And do not have relations with them as long as you are staying for worship in the mosques
وَلا تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنْتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِIt is also forbidden for him to leave his place of i'tikaf except for what is necessitated by need, such as going out to eat or drink if it cannot be obtained where he is in the mosque, or going out to urinate or defecate, or going out to perform a ghusl (the full ritual bath) that is obligatory and cannot be performed in the mosque, and similar necessary matters.