Is fasting a condition for i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque)?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
What requires fasting?
Answer:
It is not required; this is among the evidence that fasting is not a condition, because the night is not a time for fasting. For this reason, Ibn 'Abbas said: There is no fasting required of the one observing i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) unless he makes it obligatory upon himself, but the best is to fast if it is easy during the day.
Q: How does one respond to this hadith regarding the one who made fasting a condition for the one observing i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque)?
The Shaykh: There is no evidence for it. One might argue with the report from 'A'ishah that stops at her: There is no i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) except with fasting. But 'A'ishah's statement is opposed to Ibn 'Abbas's statement, and the original ruling is that it is not a condition.
What requires fasting?
Answer:
It is not required; this is among the evidence that fasting is not a condition, because the night is not a time for fasting. For this reason, Ibn 'Abbas said: There is no fasting required of the one observing i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) unless he makes it obligatory upon himself, but the best is to fast if it is easy during the day.
Q: How does one respond to this hadith regarding the one who made fasting a condition for the one observing i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque)?
The Shaykh: There is no evidence for it. One might argue with the report from 'A'ishah that stops at her: There is no i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) except with fasting. But 'A'ishah's statement is opposed to Ibn 'Abbas's statement, and the original ruling is that it is not a condition.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.