the most assiduous of people in following his ways and example—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Eventually, the thought took hold of me that it resembled continuous fasting without breaking the fast, which the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—forbade. He was told, ‘But you fast continuously,’ and replied, ‘I am not like you. I spend the night with my Lord feeding me and giving me drink.’ Thus, no one should undertake iʿtikāf unless he believes he can fulfil its conditions.”
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The best month for iʿtikāf is Ramadan, and its best days are the last ten. It is related that “the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—observed iʿtikāf during the first ten days of Ramadan. Gabriel—peace be upon him—came to him and said, ‘What you seek lies ahead of you.’ He then observed iʿtikāf during the middle ten days. Gabriel came to him and said, ‘What you seek lies ahead of you.’ He then observed iʿtikāf during the last ten days.”
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The minimum duration of iʿtikāf is one day and one night, and its recommended maximum is ten days, according to Ibn Habīb. Mālik’s statements concerning its minimum duration differ: on one occasion he said that it was one day and one night, and on another that it was ten days. Whoever binds himself to observe iʿtikāf without specifying a number of days, or begins it without intending a particular number of days, must complete ten days according to one view. According to the other, he is bound only to one day and one night, beginning with the night before the day and entering iʿtikāf at sunset. If he begins after sunset but before dawn, that day of iʿtikāf does not suffice. This is Sahnūn’s position.
Another view holds that it does suffice, though he has acted badly, because the entire night is a time for forming the intention to fast: whenever during it he forms that intention, it suffices. This was stated by Abd al-Wahhāb. It has also been said that these statements do not represent a disagreement: Sahnūn’s statement is understood as referring to someone who vowed to observe iʿtikāf, and Abd al-Wahhāb’s to someone who merely intended it. The former understanding is more convincing: there is a genuine disagreement applying to both cases alike.
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Iʿtikāf becomes binding in one of two ways: either through a vow or through an intention accompanied by actually beginning it