I'tikaf is a Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW). The honorable Fuqaha have deemed the practice of observing i'tikaf as "Sunnah Mu'akadah Ala al-kifayah", which basically means that if no one from an entire neighborhood observes I'tikaf, all of them are considered sinful. The Prophet (SAW) himself consistently observed i'tikaf throughout his life. Hazrat Aisha (RA) narrated that the Prophet (SAW) used to observe i'tikaf during the last 10 days of Ramadan, and this practice continued until the Prophet's passing. His wives also observed i'tikaf consistently afterwards.
The first benefit of i'tikaf is that staying in the pure environment of a mosque for 10 days helps a person abstain from idle talk and gradually develop the habit of engaging in righteous deeds such as tahajjud prayers, recitation of the Holy Quran, and zikr.
Another noteworthy fazeelat of i'tikaf is that it creates distance between the individual (the person observing i'tikaf) and Jahannum. The Prophet (SAW) said, "Whoever observes I'tikaf for one day seeking the pleasure of Allah, Allah will place between him and the Hellfire three ditches, each wider than the distance between the heavens and the earth." (Majma' al-Zawa'id, Hadith Number: 13716).
Above all, i'tikaf is a means of expressing besotted love and devotion to Allah (SW). The individual spends ten days and ten nights yearning for forgiveness and seeking to please Allah. There is strong hope that the individual will receive forgiveness from Allah in return for this devotion.
Issued by Darul ifta Al-Ikhlas, Karachi