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The person observing iʿtikāf should enter the spot he has set aside for seclusion after the dawn (Fajr) prayer.
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It is permissible for him to cordon off a small enclosure that gives him privacy, as long as it does not crowd those who are praying. Al-Bukhārī and Muslim relate from ʿĀʾishah that when the Prophet ﷺ intended to perform iʿtikāf he would order that a little tent be pitched for him, and it would be pitched.
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From the very meaning and objective of iʿtikāf it is understood that the retreatant avoids intercourse and anything that leads to it, refrains from leaving his place of seclusion except for a need, stays away from worldly dealings such as buying and selling or manual trades, and minimizes social interaction unless it is a gathering for remembrance or Qur’an recitation, for such activities contradict the spirit of iʿtikāf.
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A condition for iʿtikāf is that it be observed in a mosque where the congregational prayer is held, in keeping with Allah’s words, “while you are in retreat in the mosques” (Q 2:187). This prevents the iʿtikāf from causing him to miss the congregational prayer or to leave repeatedly in order to attend it.
Hadith 2
ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that she used to comb the hair of the Prophet ﷺ while she was menstruating and he was in iʿtikāf in the mosque, and she herself was in her room, so he would extend his head to her.
Another wording states: “He would not enter the house except for a human need.”
A third wording has: “ʿĀʾishah said, ‘I would not enter the house except for a need, and if there was a sick person inside I would enquire about him only as I passed by.’”
Tarjīl: combing and arranging the hair.
Overall meaning
The Jews are overly strict concerning a menstruating woman: they avoid even the forms of intimacy that Allah has allowed, distance themselves from her, and regard her as defiled and impure. The Christians take the opposite approach; they make no distinction at all and treat her exactly as they would a woman in a state of purity.
Islam, however—the religion of ease and moderation, of justice and balance—considers her body, perspiration, and clothing to be pure. A believer is never impure, whether alive or dead. Therefore, there is no harm in her handling moist or dry objects, and her husband may enjoy physical contact with her short of intercourse. Intercourse itself is prohibited because of the filth and harm it entails, harm that can affect both the partners and any child that might be conceived.
For that reason ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) would groom the head of the Prophet ﷺ while she was menstruating. His iʿtikāf did not prevent him from having his hair combed and his body cleaned, nor did it require him to leave the mosque for that purpose.