He said: If he has a need, then he must do that. I said: Does a man perform ablution in the mosque?

He said: It does not please me for him to perform ablution in the mosque.

Section: If he exits for something he must do, his I'tikaf is invalidated, even if it is for a short time. This is the opinion of Abu Hanifah, Malik, and al-Shafi'i. Abu Yusuf and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan said: It does not become corrupt until it exceeds half a day, because a small amount is excused, evidenced by the fact that Safiyyah came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to visit him in his place of I'tikaf, and when she rose to leave, he went out with her to see her off. Also, a small amount is excused, evidenced by what would happen if he were slow in his walking. Our evidence is that it is an exit from his place of I'tikaf for no necessity, so it invalidates it, just as if he remained [outside] for more than half a day. As for the exit of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), it is possible that he had no choice but to do so, because it was at night and he did not feel secure for her safety; and it is possible that he did that because his I'tikaf was a voluntary act of worship, for which he had the right to abandon the entirety of it, and thus he had the right to abandon part of it, and for that reason he left it when his wives wanted to observe I'tikaf with him. As for walking, the dispositions of people vary, and there is hardship in his changing his pace, which is not the case here, for he has no need to go out.

530- Issue: He said: (And he does not visit the sick, and he does not attend a funeral, unless he stipulates that.)

The discussion on this issue is in two parts: one of them is regarding the exit to visit the sick and attend a funeral without having stipulated it. The reports regarding Ahmad differ on this.