Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Question: Assalaamu alaikum. Could you please clarify the start time of I’tikaf for the last ten days of Ramadan. Does it start from the Maghrib of the 20th fast, Fajr of 21st fast or Maghrib of 21st fast?
Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
I pray that you are in the best of health and faith, insha’Allah.
The complete, ten day spiritual retreat (i`tikaf) is a communal confirmed sunna in the Hanafi school as this was the inveterate practice of the Holy Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace).
If one wishes to perform this sunna, they should be in the mosque before Maghrib on the 20th Ramadan. After Maghrib would therefore correspond to the 21st night of Ramadan and the first of the last ten days, bearing in mind that the night comes before the day.
Please also see: The Spiritual Retreat (i`tikaf) and: The Three Types of Spiritual Retreat (i`tikaf)
And Allah alone gives success.
Wassalam,
Tabraze Azam
Checked & Approved by Faraz Rabbani