Book of Iʿtikāf
Book of Iʿtikāf
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Book of Iʿtikāf
Observing iʿtikāf is a sunnah, and it becomes obligatory when one has made a vow to perform it.
Its validity rests on six conditions: intention, Islam, sanity, discernment, freedom from anything that necessitates ghusl, and that it be carried out in a mosque; for anyone upon whom congregational prayer is obligatory, there is an additional stipulation—that the mosque be one in which the congregation is actually held1.
Whatever has been added to the mosque shares its ruling: its extensions, its roof, its walled courtyard, and its minaret whose structure or doorway lies within it. If someone designates his iʿtikāf for a mosque other than the three sacred mosques, the designation is not binding.
Iʿtikāf is invalidated by leaving the mosque without excuse, by merely intending to leave even if he does not, by intercourse in the private parts, by ejaculation through direct physical contact short of intercourse, by apostasy, and by intoxication2.
Whenever the iʿtikāf is invalidated, a person must recommence the consecutive vowed iʿtikāf that was not tied to a specific time, and no expiation is due. If it was tied to a particular time, he must repeat it and pay the expiation for breaking an oath because the appointed time has passed.
Iʿtikāf is not invalidated3 if he leaves the mosque to urinate or defecate or