Secluding Oneself in the Mosque

Itikaf is the devotional retreat of withdrawing into a mosque for a set period, cutting off ordinary affairs to devote the time to prayer, recitation of the Qur'an, remembrance and reflection. The one in retreat remains within the mosque, leaving only for necessities, and gives the interval wholly to worship. Though it may be undertaken at any time, it is most strongly associated with the last ten nights of Ramadan, when the Prophet Muhammad is reported to have kept it every year, and to have redoubled his devotion within it.

The retreat is aimed above all at seeking the Laylat al-Qadr, the Night of Power hidden among the odd nights of Ramadan's final third, which the Qur'an declares better than a thousand months. By secluding themselves the devout hope to meet that night in a state of undistracted worship. Itikaf is classed as a strongly recommended act, becoming binding only if vowed, and in the last ten nights of Ramadan it is treated in the tradition as a communal sunnah that at least some of a locality should keep.