Is I’tikaf (Spiritual Retreat) Valid If Performed Outside a Proper Mosque?

Answered by Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad

Question

Is it valid to perform i‘tikaf (spiritual retreat) in a prayer space that does not fulfill the conditions of a mosque?

Answer

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger sent as a mercy to the worlds, our Master and Prophet, Muhammad, and his Family and Companions.

I‘tikaf

I‘tikaf (spiritual retreat) is to remain in the mosque with a specific intention for the sake of Allah (Most High). It is a legislated and recommended act of worship according to scholarly consensus. The basis of i‘tikaf is that it should be performed in mosques, as Allah (Most High) says:

“Do not be intimate with your spouses while you are meditating in the mosques.” [Quran, 2:187]

Consensus of the Muslim Scholars

The scholars have unanimously agreed that a man’s i‘tikaf is only valid if performed in a mosque, based on the previously mentioned verse and the fact that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) only performed i‘tikaf in the mosque.

They also agree that the three mosques—the Sacred Mosque in Makka, the Prophet’s Mosque in Madina, and the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem—are superior to other mosques, with the Sacred Mosque being the most virtuous, followed by the Prophet’s Mosque, and then the Aqsa Mosque.

Furthermore, they agree that performing i‘tikaf in a congregational mosque (al-masjid al-jami‘) is valid and preferable after the three mosques. If a person vows to perform i‘tikaf during a period coinciding with Friday prayers, then they must do so in a congregational mosque to avoid the need to leave for Friday prayers unless they condition leaving for this purpose according to the Shafi‘i School. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar; ‘Adawi, Hashiyat al-‘Adawi ‘ala Sharh Abi al-Hasan; Nawawi, al-Majmu‘; Shirbini, Mughni al-Muhtaj;  Muhammad Siddiq Hasan, al-Rawda; Bahuti, Kashshaf al-Qina]

Other Mosques

The scholars, however, differed on the validity of i‘tikaf in other mosques:

• According to the Hanafi and Hanbali Schools, i‘tikaf is only valid in a mosque where congregational prayers are held.
• The Hanafis define a mosque for congregation as one that has an imam and a mu’adhdhin, regardless of whether the five daily prayers are established in it or not.
• The preferred view in the Maliki and Shafi‘i Schools is that i‘tikaf is valid in any mosque. [‘Adawi, Hashiyat al-‘Adawi ‘ala Sharh Abi al-Hasan; Nawawi, al-Majmu‘; Shirbini, Mughni al-Muhtaj]

Women’s I‘tikaf

There is also a difference of opinion regarding where a woman may perform iʿtikāf:

According to the majority opinion and the new Shafi‘i position (al-madhhab al-jadid), a woman’s i‘tikaf is like that of a man: it is only valid in a mosque, and thus, it is not valid for her to perform i‘tikaf in the prayer space of her home. I‘tikaf must be performed in a mosque where congregational prayer is established. This is because the prayer space at home is not technically or legally considered a mosque, as it is permissible to change its designation and for a person in a state of major ritual impurity (junub) to sleep in it.

The Hanafis, however, permit a woman to perform i‘tikaf in the prayer space of her home, as it is the place designated for her prayer, fulfilling the condition of awaiting prayer therein. If she performs i‘tikaf in a congregational mosque, it is valid but disliked (karaha tanzihiyya), and her home is considered better for her than her neighborhood mosque, and her neighborhood mosque is better for her than the central mosque.

A woman is not permitted to perform i‘tikaf in any place in her home other than her designated prayer space.

For detailed reading on i‘tikaf, please see “al-Mawsu‘a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaytiyya” and “al-Fiqh al-Islami wa Adillatuh”.

Summary

Thus, it is clear that i‘tikaf is only valid in mosques. We ask Allah (Most High) for acceptance, guidance, and success in righteous deeds, for He is the All-Hearing, Near, and Responsive.

[Shaykh] Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad