583 – ʿĀ’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, reported: “The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—used to observe iʿtikāf (spiritual seclusion) during the last ten nights of Ramadan until Allah took him in death; after his passing, his wives continued to observe iʿtikāf.” Agreed upon. (1)

Glossary of the ḥadīth
– “observe iʿtikāf”: iʿtikāf is to confine oneself in the mosque for the sake of Allah. The verb ʿakafa—“to adhere to something continually”—carries the sense of persistence and attachment. Allah the Exalted says, “They are devoted to their idols” (Q 7:138), meaning they remain with them and cling to them.

Points gleaned from the ḥadīth

1. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would seclude himself during the last ten nights of Ramadan in search of the Night of Decree, being strongly convinced that it lies within those blessed nights. He maintained this practice every year until he passed away, and his wives upheld it after him. Iʿtikāf is therefore prescribed, for it is an emphatically recommended sunnah that the Prophet both practiced and approved.
2. The purpose and fruit of iʿtikāf is for the devotee to sever worldly attachments, retire with his Lord, delight in intimate discourse with Him, and focus his heart, thoughts, and reflections solely on Allah and His worship.
3. Iʿtikāf remains a continuous sunnah that has not been abrogated, as evidenced by the Prophet’s wives undertaking it after his death.
4. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, once observed iʿtikāf for the whole month of Ramadan, but in the end he restricted himself to the last ten nights because of the greater hope of encountering the Night of Decree during them.
5. A condition of iʿtikāf is that it be performed in a mosque where the congregational prayer is established, in view of Allah’s saying: