Itikaf

The literal meaning of the word Itikaf is ‘sticking and adhering to something, or to be regular in something’. In Islamic context, Itikaf means: ‘To confine oneself in a mosque for prayers, invocations and Ibadah, leaving the worldly activities for a limited no. of days.’ It is one another recommended Sunnah which bears great rewards for the person who does it. A Mu’takif (one who observes Itikaf) is supposed to devote himself to Ibadah during these days, away from worldly affairs. The Ibadah may include performing Nawafil prayers, Invocations, Recitation & understanding of Qur’an, Reading & understanding hadith etc. And, mostly, Itikaf is associated with trying to find out the ‘Night of Qadr‘.
As our usual way is, we shall split our discussion in to several smaller questions to get a comprehensive insight in to the details associated with this beautiful Sunnah.
Most of the narrations found in different collections of ahadith tell us that the most preferred time of observing Itikaf is the last ten days of the month of Ramadan.