Itikaf, the retreat of the last ten days

Itikaf is staying in the masjid with the intention of worship. The sunnah itikaf of the last ten days of Ramadan 2027 begins before sunset on Saturday 27 February.

Wajib

Vowed itikaf

Itikaf you made a vow (nadhr) to do. It must be done, needs a fast with it, and so lasts at least one day.

Sunnah muakkadah

The last ten days of Ramadan

From before sunset on the 20th of Ramadan until the Eid moon is seen. A confirmed sunnah on the community as a whole.

Nafl

Voluntary itikaf

Any time, for any length, even a few minutes. Make the intention whenever you enter a masjid.

What to bring for ten days

Permission from your spouse, family or work, and someone to cover your duties.
A Quran, a book of duas and a small notebook.
A thin mattress or sleeping mat, a pillow and a light blanket.
Enough clothes for ten days, and a bag for laundry.
Toiletries, a towel, a miswak and slippers for the wudu area.
A plan for iftar and sehri: the masjid, your family, or food you can keep.
A water bottle, dates and any medicines you take.
A charger, if you must keep your phone. Switch off what distracts you.

Itikaf 2027

Enter the masjid: Before sunset, Sat 27 Feb
First night: The 21st night
27th night: Fri 5 Mar, night
Ends: When the Eid moon is seen, 8 or 9 Mar

If your masjid begins Ramadan on Tuesday 9 February, enter one day later, before sunset on Sunday 28 February. Your ticks are saved on this device only.

Guide

Itikaf, its rules and how to do it

Itikaf means staying in a masjid with the intention of worship, cut off from ordinary life to give your time to Allah. The best-known itikaf is in the last ten days of Ramadan, which the Prophet ﷺ kept every year. Aishah said he did itikaf in the last ten days of Ramadan until Allah took him, and his wives did itikaf after him.¹ In the year he passed away he did twenty days.² Allah mentions it in the Quran: "And do not have relations with them as long as you are staying for worship in the mosques".³

The three types

Hanafi position

Wajib: an itikaf you vowed, which needs a fast with it. Sunnah muakkadah ala al-kifayah: the last ten days of Ramadan. It is a confirmed sunnah for the community as a whole, so if at least one person does it in an area, the others are not blameworthy, though they miss its reward. Nafl: any itikaf at other times, for any length, with no fast needed.⁴

Other madhhabs

Shafi'i: Itikaf is a sunnah, strongly recommended in the last ten days. No fast is needed. The shortest itikaf is a stay a little longer than the time of stillness in prayer.
Maliki: A fast is a condition of every itikaf, and the shortest is a day and a night.
Hanbali: No fast is needed unless it was vowed. Even a moment counts.

Conditions

Being Muslim and of sound mind, and having the intention.
For men, a masjid where the five daily prayers are held in congregation.
Being free of janabah, menstruation and postnatal bleeding.
Fasting, for the wajib and the sunnah itikaf. The Ramadan fasts count.

How to do the sunnah itikaf

Enter the masjid before sunset on the 20th of Ramadan, which in 2027 is Saturday 27 February.
Intend: "I intend the sunnah itikaf of the last ten days of Ramadan." The intention in the heart is enough.
Stay in the masjid day and night. Use the area the masjid sets aside, and keep it clean.
Fill your time with prayer, Quran, dhikr, dua and learning, and seek Laylat al-Qadr in the odd nights.
It ends at sunset on the last day of Ramadan, when the moon of Shawwal is seen. Many people stay for Fajr and go to the Eid prayer from the masjid.

When you may leave the masjid

Hanafi position

Only for a need: to use the toilet, to make wudu or an obligatory ghusl if this cannot be done inside, to pray Jumuah if your masjid does not hold it, and to fetch food if no one can bring it. Go straight there and back. Leaving without a need, even briefly, ends the sunnah itikaf. Aishah said the Prophet ﷺ would not enter the house during itikaf except for a need.⁵

Other madhhabs

Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanbali: All allow leaving for real needs. Details, such as visiting the sick on the way, differ between the schools.

What breaks itikaf

Leaving the masjid without a need.
Intercourse, by day or night, or ejaculation from touching.
Breaking the fast, for the wajib and sunnah itikaf.
For a woman, the start of her period.

If the sunnah itikaf is broken, what is left becomes nafl. In the Hanafi school, you make up the one day that was broken, with a fast.⁴

What is allowed

You may eat, drink and sleep in the masjid, change your clothes, oil and comb your hair, and talk about what you need to. Aishah would comb the Prophet's ﷺ hair while he was in itikaf.⁶ Avoid idle talk, arguments, and keeping silent as if silence were worship, which is disliked.

Itikaf for women

Hanafi position

A woman does itikaf in the place in her home set aside for prayer (masjid al-bayt), and needs her husband's permission if she is married. She stays in that spot and leaves it only for a need, as a man stays in the masjid. Her itikaf ends if her period begins.⁴

Other madhhabs

Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanbali: A woman's itikaf is only in a masjid, as the wives of the Prophet ﷺ did, provided it is safe and suitable and, if married, with her husband's permission. A room at home does not count.

A short itikaf

If you cannot stay ten days, you can still do nafl itikaf. Intend it whenever you enter a masjid, for an hour after taraweeh or a night in the last ten. It is not the sunnah itikaf, but it is a reward of its own.

Sahih al-Bukhari 2026; Sahih Muslim 1172.
Sahih al-Bukhari 2044.
Quran 2:187, translation by Sahih International. See also 2:125.
Al-Marghinani, al-Hidayah, Bab al-Itikaf; Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar; al-Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah. The other madhhabs' positions are summarised from their standard manuals.
Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from Aishah.
Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from Aishah.

The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.

Questions

Good to know

What is itikaf?

Staying in a masjid with the intention of worship. The best known is the sunnah itikaf of the last ten days of Ramadan.

When does itikaf start in Ramadan 2027?

Enter the masjid before sunset on Saturday 27 February 2027, the 20th of Ramadan, if Ramadan begins on 8 February. It ends when the Eid moon is seen, on 8 or 9 March.

Can women do itikaf?

Yes. In the Hanafi school, a woman does it in the prayer area of her home, with her husband's permission. In the other schools, she does it in a masjid.

Can I leave the masjid during itikaf?

Only for a need, such as the toilet, wudu, an obligatory ghusl or Jumuah. Leaving without a need ends the sunnah itikaf.

Can I do itikaf for less than ten days?

Yes, as nafl itikaf, for any length. The sunnah itikaf of Ramadan is the full last ten days.

What breaks itikaf?

Leaving the masjid without a need, intercourse, breaking the fast, and for a woman, the start of her period.