one hundred thousand prayers in what is besides the Mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). As for if he vows I'tikaf in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, it is permissible for him to observe I'tikaf in the other two mosques because they are superior to it. Imam Ahmad narrated in his "Musnad" (20), from men among the Ansar, from the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), that a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) on the Day of the Conquest, while the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was in a sitting area near the Maqam (Station of Ibrahim). He greeted the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: O Prophet of Allah, I have vowed that if Allah grants the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the believers victory over Makkah, I will pray in Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem), and I have found a man from the people of Syria here among the Quraysh, who has been coming and going with me. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Pray right here." The man repeated his statement three times, and each time the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Pray right here." Then he said it a fourth time, so the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Go and pray in it, for by the One who sent Muhammad with the Truth, if you were to pray right here, it would suffice you for every prayer in Bayt al-Maqdis." Whenever one vows I'tikaf in other than these mosques, and his place of I'tikaf is destroyed or it is not possible to reside in it, he is obligated to complete the I'tikaf elsewhere, and his I'tikaf is not voided.

Section: If he vows I'tikaf on the day so-and-so arrives, his vow is valid, for that is possible. If he arrives during part of the day, he is obligated to observe I'tikaf for the remainder of it, and he is not obligated to make up for what has passed, because it passed before the condition of obligation, so it did not become incumbent, just as if he had vowed I'tikaf for a time that had already passed. However, if we say: A condition for the validity of I'tikaf is fasting, then he is obligated to make up a full day, because it is not possible for him to perform the I'tikaf with fasting in what remains of the day, nor can he make it up separately from what preceded it, so a full day becomes incumbent upon him by necessity, just as if he had vowed to fast on the day so-and-so arrives. It is possible that it suffices him to observe I'tikaf for what remains of it if he is fasting, because an I'tikaf accompanied by fasting has been achieved. And if he arrives at night, nothing is incumbent upon him