Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) used to observe i'tikaf during the last ten days of Ramadan. One year he was unable to perform i'tikaf, so when the next year came, he (peace and blessings be upon him) observed i'tikaf for twenty days.

Hazrat Nafi' narrates that when the Umrah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) from the place of Ji'ranah was mentioned in the presence of Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), he said that the Prophet did not perform any Umrah from Ji'ranah. He said that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) had made a vow in the days of ignorance to observe i'tikaf for one night, so he asked the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) about fulfilling this vow. The Prophet ordered him to fulfill this vow, so he entered the mosque that night. Then the complete hadith was narrated. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that I have already mentioned in the Book of Jihad the time of the Prophet's (peace be upon him) return to Makkah after the victory of Hunayn, and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) observed that night's i'tikaf after the Prophet's (peace be upon him) return and after he (the Prophet) had given Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) a slave girl from among the captives of Hunayn.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) had made a vow in the days of ignorance to observe i'tikaf for one night. So he asked the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) about this, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to observe i'tikaf. And the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had given him a slave girl from among the captives of Hunayn. So while he was sitting in i'tikaf in Masjid al-Haram, people entered Masjid al-Haram saying "Allahu Akbar." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked, "What is this?" They replied, "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has freed the captives of Hunayn (and people are raising the slogan of takbir out of happiness)." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Then free that slave girl as well." One of the narrators of this narration of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), from Nafi', from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), has stated these words: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Indeed, I had made a vow to observe i'tikaf for one day." If these words are established, then it will be of the same type which I have already mentioned, that the Arabs sometimes say 'day' and mean the day along with the night, and sometimes say 'night' and mean the night along with the day, and the evidence for this issue has already been established from the Book of Allah.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Urwah bin Zubair and 'Amrah (may Allah be pleased with them) that when Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) would perform i'tikaf in the mosque and then enter her house for some need, she would, while walking, also visit the sick. Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says that indeed the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would enter the house only for some human need, and he would extend his blessed head towards me from the mosque, and I would comb his hair.

The Imam narrates the hadith of 'Urwah and 'Umrah through another chain. In this, the wording is different: "You would extend your blessed head towards me."

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to observe i'tikaf in the mosque. Then Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) would come, and he would extend his blessed head outside, and she would comb his hair, even though she was menstruating.

Lady Safiyyah bint Huyayy (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was observing i'tikaf, so I came to meet him at night and spoke with him. Then, when I got up to return, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up to see me off, and Lady Safiyyah's (may Allah be pleased with her) house was in the neighborhood of Sayyidina Usamah (may Allah be pleased with him). During this, two Ansari companions passed by, and when they saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), they hurried ahead. So the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Both of you, walk calmly; she is Safiyyah bint Huyayy (may Allah be pleased with her)." Both of them said, "Subhan Allah! O Messenger of Allah, (could we ever think any ill thought about you)?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, Satan flows through the human body like blood, and I feared that he might cast some evil thought into your hearts," or he said, "might cast something (into your hearts)."

Lady Safiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her), the honorable wife of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), narrates that she came to visit the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the mosque during the last ten days of Ramadan while he was observing i'tikaf. She spoke with him for a little while, then she stood up to return, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also stood up to see her off. When she reached the door of the mosque near the door of Lady Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), two Ansari companions passed by them. Then the complete hadith was narrated.

Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that I used to converse with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) at night while he was observing i'tikaf, and sometimes the narrator has reported these words: she says that I used to stay awake at night. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that this narration holds no status or rank in my heart. And this is a rejected (munkar) narration, and if I had not deduced the permissibility of night conversation for a person in i'tikaf from the hadith of Lady Safiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her), I would not have made a chapter for this narration according to my condition. Because this narration is not among those from which it is permissible to derive evidence, except that the hadith of Lady Safiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) suffices for this. The narration of Lady Safiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) is proven to be authentic. And in it is the evidence that a wife can converse with her husband at night during his i'tikaf, and this is what is meant by "samar" (night conversation).

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that when he intended to perform i'tikaf, his bed or his cot would be laid behind the Pillar of Repentance. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that the Pillar of Repentance is the one to which Sayyiduna Abu Lubabah bin Abd al-Mundhir (may Allah be pleased with him) had tied himself, and it is in the direction opposite to the noble qiblah.