اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰہِ رَبِّ الْعٰلَمِیْنَ وَ الصَّلٰوۃُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلٰی سَیِّدِ الْمُرْسَلِیْنَ ^ط

اَمَّا بَعْدُ فَاَعُوْذُ بِاللّٰہِ مِنَ الشَّیْطٰنِ الرَّجِیْمِ ^ط  بِسْمِ اللہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّ حِیْم ^ط

The virtues of Islamic knowledge

اَلصَّلٰوۃُ وَ السَّلَامُ عَلَیْكَ یَا رَسُولَ اللہ                                                         وَعَلٰی اٰلِكَ وَ اَصْحٰبِكَ یَا حَبِیْبَ اللہ

اَلصَّلٰوۃُ وَ السَّلَامُ عَلَیْكَ یَا نَبِیَّ اللہ                                                                       وَعَلٰی اٰلِكَ وَ اَصْحٰبِكَ یَا نُوْرَ اللہ

نَـوَیْتُ سُنَّتَ الاعْتِکَاف  

Translation: “I have made the intention of Sunnah i’tikaf.”

Dear Islamic brothers! Whenever you enter a masjid, make the intention of iʿtikāf, for you will then be rewarded as long as you stay in the masjid. Remember, inside a masjid there is no sharʿī permission to eat, drink, sleep, have suḥūr or ifṭār, and not even to drink Zamzam water and the water on which dam has been made. However, if the intention of iʿtikāf is made, all these acts will become permissible. One should not make intention to observe iʿtikāf only to eat, drink or sleep, but rather he should do it to please Allah.

It is written in Fatāwa Shāmi: “If someone wants to eat, drink or sleep in a masjid, he should make intention to observe iʿtikāf and do the dhikr of Allah for some time. Then, he may proceed as he wishes (i.e. now if he wants to eat, drink or sleep, he can do so).”