one cannot be a muʿtakif after the time of Ṣubḥ prayers on...

one cannot be a muʿtakif after the time of Ṣubḥ prayers on the first day [and stay in the mosque until the same time on the fourth day] even if he compensates the time lost from the first day on the fourth day; for example, he stays in the mosque from the time of afternoon prayers (Ẓuhr) of the first day until the time of afternoon prayers on the fourth day. Conditions for the Validity of Iʿtikāf Ruling 5: The following are the conditions for a valid Iʿtikāf. One: The muʿtakif must be a Muslim .

Two: The muʿtakif must be sane (ʿāqil). Three: Iʿtikāf must be performed with the intention of attaining proximity to Allah: A muʿtakif must have the intention of attaining proximity to Allah in the same manner that was mentioned regarding ablution (wuḍūʾ). Iʿtikāf must be performed from start to finish with a sincere intention to attain proximity to Allah.

Four: The duration of the Iʿtikāf must be a minimum of three days: The minimum duration of Iʿtikāf is three days; less than three days is incorrect. However, there is no maximum limit Five: A muʿtakif must fast during the days of Iʿtikāf: A muʿtakif must fast during the days of Iʿtikāf. Therefore, Iʿtikāf performed by someone who cannot [legally] fast [during those days] – such as a traveller who does not intend to stay somewhere for ten days, a sick person, a woman in menstruation (i.e.

a ḥāʾiḍ), and a woman who is experiencing lochia (nifās) – is not correct. Furthermore, on the days of Iʿtikāf, it is not necessary to fast especially for performing Iʿtikāf; rather, it is acceptable for one to keep any fast during Iʿtikāf, even a fast that one has been hired to keep (istījārī), or a recommended fast, or a lapsed (qaḍāʾ) fast. While a muʿtakif is fasting – i.e. from the time of ṣubḥ prayers until the time of Maghrib prayers – everything that invalidates (i.e.

makes bāṭil) a fast also invalidates Iʿtikāf. Therefore, a muʿtakif must refrain from intentionally (ʿamdan) doing the things that invalidate a fast. Six: Iʿtikāf must be performed in one of ‘the four mosques’ or a jāmiʿ mosque: It is correct to perform Iʿtikāf in Masjid al-Ḥarām, Masjid al-Nabī (Ṣ), Masjid al-Kūfah, and Masjid al-Baṣrah.

Similarly, it is correct to perform Iʿtikāf in the jāmiʿ mosque of every town, except when the religious leadership (Imāmah) of that mosque is in the hands of a person who is not dutiful (ʿādil), in which case, based on obligatory precaution, Iʿtikāf is not correct.