Chapter on I'tikaf

I'tikaf is the act of spiritual retreat within a mosque, dedicated to worship, remembrance of Allah, and drawing near to Him through seclusion from worldly affairs. Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani addresses the rulings of i'tikaf according to the Maliki school, covering its status, conditions, duration, and what is permitted or forbidden for the one in retreat.

The Maliki school holds that i'tikaf is a confirmed Sunnah (sunnah mu'akkadah), particularly in the last ten nights of Ramadan. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) performed i'tikaf in the last ten days of Ramadan consistently until his death, and his wives continued this practice after him. The night of Laylat al-Qadr, which is sought in the last ten nights of Ramadan, is one of the primary spiritual motivations for i'tikaf.

The conditions for valid i'tikaf according to the Maliki school are: Islam, intention (niyyah), being in a state of ritual purity (taharah), and performing the i'tikaf within a mosque where congregational prayer is held. For men, the Maliki school requires that the mosque be one in which the Friday prayer (Jumu'ah) is established, or that the person in i'tikaf be able to attend Friday prayer without exiting the area — this is the preferred position to avoid interrupting the retreat. A woman's i'tikaf in the mosque requires the permission of her husband and the absence of harm or fitnah.

The minimum duration of i'tikaf that is legally valid in the Maliki school is disputed among the scholars. The dominant position is that the minimum is one day and night, though some scholars hold that even a brief period with the intention of i'tikaf is valid. There is no fixed maximum — one may remain in i'tikaf for the full ten days, an entire month, or longer by intention.

While in i'tikaf, the person must remain within the mosque. Leaving is permitted only for necessities: relieving oneself, performing the obligatory bath (ghusl) if needed, eating if food is not brought to the mosque, and attending the Friday prayer if it is not held in one's mosque. Leaving for any other reason without necessity breaks the i'tikaf, requiring it to be started over or made up, depending on whether it was obligatory or voluntary.

It is prohibited for the person in i'tikaf to engage in sexual relations, even if one's spouse visits the mosque. The Quran explicitly states this: 'And do not have relations with them as long as you are staying for worship in the mosques' (al-Baqarah: 187). Intimacy — including kissing and touching with desire — is similarly prohibited and invalidates the i'tikaf.

The one in i'tikaf is encouraged to occupy himself with the Quran, voluntary prayers, dhikr, supplication (du'a), and learning. Speaking in worldly matters is permitted but disliked in excess. The spirit of i'tikaf is total devotion — the heart and body united in the house of Allah, detached from everything other than Him.