Discover the meaning of the term Al-aʿtkaf (اعتكاف) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 4 min readIn language it is the act of remaining and confinement (al-ihtibas). In the Law: the staying of a fasting person in a congregational mosque with an intention.
Emptying the heart of the occupations of this world and surrendering the soul to the Master. It has been said: al-i'tikaf and al-'ukuf mean remaining in place, in the sense: 'I shall not leave your door until You forgive me.'
In language: confinement; in the Law: staying in the mosque together with fasting and intention.
It derives from 'ukuf, which is confinement and remaining. In the Law: staying in a mosque with fasting and intention. The linguistic meaning is present in it, with an addition. In the 'Kunz ad-Daqa'iq' it was legislated to stay in a congregational mosque with fasting and intention. Abu Hanifa, may God have mercy on him, held that it is valid only in a mosque where the five prayers are performed. He also held that the obligatory i'tikaf is not permitted outside the congregational mosque, while the supererogatory is permitted there. He further held that every mosque with a known imam and muezzin where the five prayers are performed in congregation is a mosque in which one may retreat. The best place for it is the Sacred Mosque, then the Mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), then Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem), then the cathedral mosque, then every mosque with many worshippers. The Shaykh said: it is a sunna. Al-Quduri said: it is recommended (mustahabb). The author of the 'Hidaya' and the sound view hold it is an emphatic sunna. The sound position is the distinction: if it is vowed conditionally (ta'liq) or by specification (tanhiz), it is obligatory. In the last ten nights of Ramadan it is a sunna, and at other times recommended; the least i'tikaf is the supererogatory of one hour, so it falls into three categories.
In language: from i'takafu ya'takifu i'tikafan, the root being 'akafa. Ibn Faris said: 'ayn, kaf, and fa' constitute a sound root denoting remaining in a place and confinement; one says 'akafa, ya'kufu, and 'akafa with 'ukufan, meaning your attachment to a thing from which you do not turn away. Al-'Ajaj said (in verse): 'they remain at it when they perform hajj...'. Ibn al-A'rabi said: 'akafa an-nabit' means they play the fanzanj (a game of counters). Another said: 'the bird alighted ('akafa) upon the slain quarry'. Al-'akif is the mu'takif (the one in retreat), and al-ma'kuf the confined one. Ibn al-A'rabi said: one says 'ma 'akafaka 'ala kadha', that is, 'what detained you at this', as God says: 'and an offering (hady) held back (ma'kufan) that has not reached its place (of sacrifice)'.
The staying of a legally responsible Muslim in the mosque beyond what is required for tranquility (his natural needs), with intention.
In language: assiduous devotion and constant presence; hence the verse 'they remain (ya'kufuna) devoted to their idols' (al-A'raf, 138); it also means remaining and confinement, from which comes the legal i'tikaf, which is confining oneself in the mosque away from ordinary activity, with intention.