What is your opinion regarding the statement of some scholars that i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) is only valid in the three mosques: al-Masjid al-Haram, al-Masjid al-Nabawi, and al-Masjid al-Aqsa?

The questioner : May Allah reward you, O Shaykh. What is your opinion regarding the statement of some scholars that there is no i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque)

The Shaykh : Some of what?

The questioner : Some scholars say that there is no i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) except in the three mosques: al-Haram al-Nabawi and al-Masjid al-Aqsa. Is there any evidence for this, I mean?

The Shaykh : This is one instance of the issue I mentioned to you a moment ago, which is here:

The questioner : ...

The Shaykh : No, it is not a matter of looking at some texts while ignoring others. The first point is that, as you know, Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Hudhayfah, "Perhaps they memorized it and I forgot it," meaning that he (may Allah be pleased with him) seemed to criticize the understanding of Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him). Ibn Mas'ud
Second: that there is no i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) means there is no complete i'tikaf, just as in the saying , meaning there is no complete prayer.
Third: How can Allah (Mighty and Majestic) say: , which is an address to the Ummah (the Muslim community), and then we say that this great Quranic address is restricted to three places on the face of the earth? Which is greater in number: the people who perform i'tikaf in the three mosques, or those who perform it elsewhere? Yes, the latter, without a doubt. How can we apply the verse to a specific case when it is general for all people? This is a mistaken understanding, even if some of the previous scholars held it. But from every person's speech, some is taken and some is left. So i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) is prescribed in every mosque. Yes.