Section: A woman may observe I'tikaf in any mosque. The establishment of congregational prayer is not a condition for her, because it is not obligatory upon her. Al-Shafi'i held this view. She may not perform I'tikaf in her house. Abu Hanifah and Al-Thawri (12) said: She may perform I'tikaf in the mosque within her house, which is the place she has designated for prayer therein, and her I'tikaf there is superior, because her prayer there is superior. It was narrated from Abu Hanifah that her I'tikaf in a congregational mosque is not valid, because the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) abandoned I'tikaf in the mosque when he saw the structures of his wives therein and said: "Is it righteousness that you desire?" (13). Also, because the mosque of her house is the place of the merit of her prayer, so it is the place of her I'tikaf, like the mosque in the case of a man. Our evidence is His saying, the Exalted: "...while you are observing I'tikaf in the mosques". What is meant by this are the places that were built for prayer to be performed in them, and the place of her prayer in her house is not a mosque, because it was not built for prayer to be performed in it; if it is called a mosque, it is metaphorically, so it does not possess the rulings of true mosques, similar to the saying of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace): "The earth has been made a mosque for me" (14). Furthermore, the wives of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) sought his permission to perform I'tikaf in the mosque, and he gave them permission. If it had not been a valid place for their I'tikaf, he would not have permitted it; and if I'tikaf were superior elsewhere, he would have directed them to it and alerted them to it. Moreover, I'tikaf is an act of worship for which a mosque is a condition for a man, so it is a condition for a woman, like Tawaf. The Hadith of Aisha is proof for us, for the reason we have mentioned. He only disliked their I'tikaf in that situation, when their structures became numerous, because of what he saw of their rivalry; thus, he disliked it from them for fear of the corruption of their intentions and an evil purpose behind it. That is why he said: "Is it righteousness that you desire?" expressing disapproval of that, meaning: You are not doing this for the sake of piety. For this reason, he abandoned I'tikaf, thinking that they were competing to be with him. If it were for the reason they mentioned, he would have ordered them to perform I'tikaf in their homes and would not have given them permission for the mosque. As for prayer, it is not valid to equate I'tikaf with it, for a man's prayer in his house is superior, yet his I'tikaf is not valid therein.