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I would like to know the guidance of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, regarding I'tikaf.

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The Prophet's, peace and blessings be upon him, guidance regarding I'tikaf (spiritual retreat) was complete and easy. He used to perform I'tikaf during the last ten days of Ramadan. In the year he passed away, he performed I'tikaf for twenty days. It was said this was to accumulate more good deeds, or because Jibril reviewed the Qur'an with him twice. A stronger reason is that he had traveled the year before, so he made up for it the following year.

His places of I'tikaf were a small tent or a dome where he secluded himself from people, so that he could fully disengage from them and turn to his Lord.

He would not leave his place of I'tikaf except to relieve himself. He also paid attention to his cleanliness; he would put his head out to Aisha, and she would wash and comb it. He would not visit the sick, nor attend a funeral, nor touch a woman, nor have intercourse with her. However, some of his wives would visit him in his place of I'tikaf, and he would stand with her to escort her back.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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