to any particular mosque over another. Accordingly, it is recommended at all times and in every mosque. All the mosques of the world are places for i'tikaf; it is not restricted to the three mosques, as has been narrated from Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman—may Allah be pleased with him—that the Prophet ﷺ said, “There is no i'tikaf except in the three mosques.” (1) However, this hadith is weak.

One indication of its weakness is that Ibn Mas'ud—may Allah be pleased with him—declared it weak. Hudhayfah—may Allah be pleased with him—mentioned to him that some people were observing i'tikaf in a mosque situated between Hudhayfah’s house and Ibn Mas'ud’s house. He came to visit Ibn Mas'ud and said, “Some people were observing i'tikaf in such-and-such a mosque, while the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘There is no i'tikaf except in the three mosques.’” Ibn Mas'ud—may Allah be pleased with him—replied, “Perhaps they were correct and you were mistaken; perhaps they remembered and I forgot.” (2)

Thus, Ibn Mas'ud weakened this hadith both in its legal implication and in its transmission. As for its legal implication, this is in his words, “They were correct and you were mistaken”; and as for its transmission, it is in his words, “They remembered and I forgot,” for a person is liable to forget.

Even if this hadith is authentic, what it means is that there is no complete i'tikaf—that is, i'tikaf in these mosques is more complete and more virtuous than i'tikaf in other mosques, just as prayer in them is more virtuous than prayer in other mosques.

That it applies generally to every mosque is indicated by Allah’s saying: “And do not have relations with them while you are in retreat in the mosques.” [al-Baqarah: 187]