with women is required of a person observing iʿtikāf only when he observes it in a mosque, according to the apparent meaning of the Quran. This is an anomalous opinion, so reflect upon it.
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Among its conditions is refraining from intimate contact with women. If a man has intercourse with his wife, engages in intimate contact with her, kisses her, or derives pleasure from her in any way, whether forgetfully or deliberately, by night or by day, his iʿtikāf is invalidated and he must begin it anew, because Allah, Exalted and Majestic, says:
“Do not have intimate relations with them while you are staying for worship in the mosques.” [al-Baqarah: 187]
Likewise, if intercourse takes place with a woman during her iʿtikāf while she is asleep or under compulsion, her iʿtikāf is invalidated. If a person deliberately breaks his fast, his iʿtikāf is likewise invalidated and he must begin it anew, whether it was vowed or voluntary, according to Mālik’s position in al-Mudawwanah. If he breaks his fast forgetfully, he must make up the missed fasting, joining it directly to his iʿtikāf in either case. Ibn Habīb said that he need not make it up if the iʿtikāf was voluntary.
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According to Mālik and his companions, fasting is among its conditions: iʿtikāf is valid only with fasting. This is because Allah, Exalted be His mention, mentioned it together with fasting, saying:
“Then complete the fast until nightfall. And do not have intimate relations with them while you are staying for worship in the mosques.” [al-Baqarah: 187]
Al-Shāfiʿī and al-Muzanī—may Allah Most High have mercy on them both—permitted iʿtikāf without fasting. Those who supported their position cited the report transmitted from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—through ʿAlī and Ibn ʿAbbās:
“A person observing iʿtikāf is not required to fast unless he makes it obligatory upon himself.”
Ibn Lubābah also adopted this position. He said: “If a person observing iʿtikāf were required to fast even when he did not intend to do so, it would not be permissible for him to observe iʿtikāf in Ramadan, just as someone who vows to observe iʿtikāf with fasting may not fulfil that vow in Ramadan.”
This conclusion does not follow, for we do not say that the validity of iʿtikāf requires the fast to be undertaken specifically for its sake. Rather, we say that fasting is a condition of its validity, even if undertaken for another purpose—just as ritual purification is a condition of the validity of prayer, even if performed for another purpose. Our evidence for this is the report transmitted from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—through ʿĀʾishah:
“There is no iʿtikāf without fasting.”
This is also the view of ʿAlī and Ibn