Is it permissible for the one in i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) to go out to break the fast of the fasting people and to buy dates to distribute them in the Haram (the sacred precinct)?
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The questioner : Your Eminence, is it permissible for the one in i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) to go out to break the fast of the fasting people and to buy dates to distribute them in the Haram (the sacred precinct)?
The Shaykh : Yes, it is not permissible for the one in i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque), if his i'tikaf is a vow, to go out to buy food for the fasting people. However, if his i'tikaf is voluntary, then it is permissible for a person to break his voluntary i'tikaf. If he goes out for this purpose, the i'tikaf is broken, and its end is not built upon its beginning, because going out to break the fast of the fasting people has no connection to the i'tikaf. It is not one of the things that are necessary.
Based on this, we say to the one in i'tikaf: If you wish for your i'tikaf to remain continuous, part by part, then do not go out. And if you wish for it to be broken and for you not to attain the Sunnah (recommended practice) in that, then go out. It is well known that the person in i'tikaf loves for his i'tikaf to be continuous, in accordance with the Sunnah of his Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). Therefore, he should not go out to prepare food for the fasting people.
The Shaykh : Yes, it is not permissible for the one in i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque), if his i'tikaf is a vow, to go out to buy food for the fasting people. However, if his i'tikaf is voluntary, then it is permissible for a person to break his voluntary i'tikaf. If he goes out for this purpose, the i'tikaf is broken, and its end is not built upon its beginning, because going out to break the fast of the fasting people has no connection to the i'tikaf. It is not one of the things that are necessary.
Based on this, we say to the one in i'tikaf: If you wish for your i'tikaf to remain continuous, part by part, then do not go out. And if you wish for it to be broken and for you not to attain the Sunnah (recommended practice) in that, then go out. It is well known that the person in i'tikaf loves for his i'tikaf to be continuous, in accordance with the Sunnah of his Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). Therefore, he should not go out to prepare food for the fasting people.