should enter his place of I'tikaf before the break of dawn of its first day. This is the view of Al-Layth and Zufar, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would, when he intended to perform I'tikaf, pray the morning prayer and then enter his place of I'tikaf. It is agreed upon. Furthermore, Allah Almighty said: "So whoever of you witnesses the month, let him fast it." Fasting is not required except from before the break of dawn. And because fasting is a condition for I'tikaf, it is not permissible to begin it before its condition. Our evidence is that he vowed the month, and its beginning is sunset. For this reason, debts linked to it become due, and divorce or manumission conditional upon it occur. It is necessary that he enters before sunset in order to complete the entire month, for that is not possible except by doing so. Whatever is necessary to complete an obligation is itself an obligation, such as holding back a portion of the night along with the day in fasting. As for fasting, its time is the day, so no part of the night enters it during its duration or at its beginning, except for what happens out of necessity, unlike I'tikaf. As for the Hadith, Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said: I do not know of any jurist who held this view. Moreover, the report relates to voluntary I'tikaf, where one may enter whenever one wishes. In our issue, he vowed a month, so he is obligated to perform a full month of I'tikaf, which cannot be achieved unless he enters before sunset on the first day and exits after sunset on the last day. This resembles one who vows a day of I'tikaf; he is obligated to enter before its dawn and exit after its sunset.

Section: If he intends to perform I'tikaf during the last ten days of Ramadan voluntarily, there are two reports. The first is that he enters before sunset on the night of the twenty-first, based on what was narrated from Abu Sa'id, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to perform I'tikaf during the middle ten days of Ramadan, until it was the night of the twenty-first—which is the night on whose morning he would emerge from his I'tikaf—he said: "Whoever has performed I'tikaf with me, let him perform I'tikaf for the last ten days." It is agreed upon.