10 Practical Tips for Making Itikaf in Madina During Ramadan

[Jul 2024 update] Everything has changed since Covid and I have not yet been able to perform i’teqaf since then. Insha’Allah I plan to update this article after Ramadan 2025. Please make dua that I can go! Jzk for your patience]

Spending the last 10 days of Ramadan in i’tekaf is a well-known sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. The spiritual benefits one can attain when performed correctly can be life-changing.

Now imagine making i’tekaf in one of the best places on Earth near the best of Creation ﷺ! This article will provide helpful tips to make your experience smooth inshaAllah.

1. Travel Arrangements

Plan. More people travel to Saudi for the last ten nights of Ramadan than for Hajj. Hence, flights and hotels get sold out very quickly and can get pricey. Things to consider:

1. Are you planning on doing an Ummrah? Of course, you are! Doing an Ummrah during Ramadan is equivalent to a Hajj with Prophet ﷺ. Fly into Jeddah first. Post Ummrah head out to Medina.

1. Are you planning on starting i’tekaf on the 19th of Ramadan (so you are guaranteed ten nights) or the 20th night? Regardless, plan on getting into Medina by the 17th or 18th of Ramadan to accommodate for the margin of error afforded by your local moon sighting.
2. You will also have to plan on spending Eid in Medina as well to ensure all ten nights.
3. Flights booked 3–5 months before will be significantly cheaper and will allow you to get optimal dates.
4. Since you’ll be staying in the masjid, travel light! Unless of course you can afford to store your things off-site, such as a hotel room but…
5. Hotels in Makkah and Medina for the last ten nights are sold as a package of ten nights. You can’t book one or two nights.
6. Visas are somewhat restricted during Ramadan for the next few years due to the heavy construction in Makkah. Hence, reach out to a trusted travel agent and apply early. Have your Meningitis vaccination ahead as well although they may not issue it until two weeks before travel.

2. It’ikaf Registration

Make sure to register online before your departure. You will avoid the need to stand in this long line:

Here is the link to register online (as of late 2014) http://eservices.wmn.gov.sa:8081/eservices/ittikaf/reg_seasonal_isolated.php make sure to print out the confirmation form because there will be a number that you will hand to one of these guys sitting at a desk who will then give you a pass identifying you as a mo’tikif.

The pass will enable you to obviously bring your things inside the masjid, sleep, and for easy in-and-outs.

3. What To Pack

The basics! Actually, the essentials. We’ve seen folks stay the entire 10 days with just a sheet and a topi. So we mean it here, if you think you can bring in your air bed and 10 pairs of underwear think again.

If I had to pick only 5 items they would be:

1. Underwear/shirts
2. Pillow
3. Thobe
4. Sleeping bag
5. Small bag of toiletries.

Mine had a Siwaak, Dual purpose liquid soap (hair and body), toothpaste, nail cutters, hand-wipes, ear-plugs, phone + charger and some chocolate (lol).

Siwaak is essential since you can use it while fasting to keep your mouth fresh.

Multipurpose liquid soap will simplify your life. This one is awesome: http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Bronners-Tea-Tree-OLTT32/dp/B0001TSIB8. You can use it as soap and also as a shampoo. I ended up using it as detergent to wash my clothes!

TIP: Since you will be performing Ummrah, you will most likely have an ihram. If you end up keeping it then this can be used as a secondary sheet or even a towel!

In terms of clothes, I packed very light and you will need to pack light because they don’t allow a lot of things inside the Masjid. Not sure how many times I need to say this… this is barebones people!

Think of it as if you’re climbing Mount Everest and you’ve only got a backpack. What would you bring? Obviously you’d bring the essentials and to tell you the truth you don’t need much. Allah(swt) and his Messenger ﷺ are sufficient in this place, no joke!

Buy your medication while in Medina. The pharmacists are very good, they are like doctors. Get a dose of standard pain killers, a round of antibiotics and maybe something for your stomach. Better to be safe than sorry unless of course your emaan levels are super high. In that case all you need is fatiha.

When entering the masjid for the first time a guard may stop you to inspect what you are bringing in. If they feel you are bringing in too many items, you be be denied entry. Be smart!

5. Setting Up Shop

Although there is a specific section for the mo’takif, the masjid gets filled all the way to the brim. We stayed in a location that was fairly close to the bathrooms. The advantage is quick access for wudu during prayers. You don’t want to venture out too long as they sometimes close off the entrance to the masjid when at capacity.

This was our view. The automatic domes would open up at night for circulation of air. It was pure bliss looking up at the sky sending ﷺ under the moon.

Although there were three of us, we had a hard time holding down our spots. Because of the sheer amount of people you’re always picking up your things, packing them up for prayer, and then taking them back out afterwards. We were constantly shifting and moving and you have to be alert and quick otherwise you may end up getting tooooo comfy next to someone from Peshawar.

Be prepared for some bromace.

You get a designated storage space for your things and it gets filled!

Your patience will be tested!

You might wake up to find a random dude’s foot in your face. Also, be prepared for a snoring symphony!

I for one made sure to pack earplugs and an eye mask to block out any external noises and light. We also used a scarf that doubled up as a face mask.

6. Bathrooms/Toilets

The bathrooms are surprisingly clean. The stalls also double up as a shower so take your toiletries and plan for a shower every time you’re out for wudu. Why? Showers are an easy way to raise your alert level and cool you off.

There are several different bathroom stations and in each station there are several floors. Most of them look like this (hole in the ground) although they do have some stall with western style toilets.

TIP: Most people take the escalator to go to the bathrooms on the right, but there are also stairs on the left. We thought the stairs led to the same bathroom but in reality they don’t! Since most people take the escalator, the stairs bathroom have half the amount of people = less wait times.

During peak timings expect to wait between 2 to 5 minutes to get a stall. You can avoid this however if you leave at least 10 minutes before the athan goes off for a given prayer.

The back stalls are also less empty than the front.

7. Iftaar & Suhur

For iftar time the menu is fairly standard: yogurt, bread, zatar, dates, zamzam and coffee. If you’re lucky you might even get some turkish delight.

We sat in the zone that happened to be hosted by some Turkish brothers. TD Baby! They were the most sweetest brothers in the world. Especially Papa Turk.

For iftar time, you will need to make room for the dastarkhaan (food spread). If you’re making your way into the masjid from wudu, you will find yourself being called by various brothers to come sit at their dastarkhaan. We would kindly decline and make our way back to our zone. You can always sit elsewhere but our recommendation is that once you find a spot, stick to that spot so you don’t intrude on someone else’s area. Your belongings are stored in a designated spot so this is another reason to remain in the same area.

A reminder to myself and others is to be cognizant of the fact that you’re in the Prophet’s ﷺ Mosque. Practice good adab, have patience and be accommodating whenever and wherever you can as the hadith states, “Whoever fulfilled the needs of his brother, Allah will fulfill his needs; whoever brought his (Muslim) brother out of a discomfort, Allah will bring him out of the discomforts of the Day of Resurrection” — Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 43, Number 622

After the Maghrib Athan is called, you will get a good 10 to 15 minutes of time to eat your bread and zatter with yogurt before the prayer starts. You will actually feel and hear a distant sound when it’s time to clean up as a large garbage bag passes you by and engulfs the Dusterkhan like a whale eating plankton in the depths of the ocean. It’s actually a very marvelous site!

TIP: Try not to waste food and only take what you think you’re going to consume. I for one am NOT a fan of zattar so I would always give it away. I’m also not too keen on the traditional Arab coffee or Kahwa so I would forego that as well.

We had a designated person who would go across the street and grab food for us. We would then eat in the courtyard of the masjid. If you are the one out getting food, make sure to do just that and nothing else as you don’t want to invalidate your i’tekaf.

For suhur you are on your own. In other words, there is nothing hosted/coordinated by the masjid. You will find small gatherings of people take out left overs from iftaar and you are more than welcome to partake in that.

8. Reading Quran

If you plan on reading Quran with your phone, bring a power brick with 10 days worth of juice since finding an outlet is close to impossible. The outlets that are scattered around are locked and reserved for the cleaning crew. Your best bet is to read the good old fashioned way.

9. Rawda & Sending Salaams

Walking towards the resting place of the Prophet ﷺ should be a beautiful experience. Walk slow. Take your time. Walk with humility, all the while respecting others and the worshippers around you. I for one am not a fan of walking in front of people who are praying but sometimes you may have to and have no choice. The closer you get towards the resting place of the Prophet ﷺ, the busier and chaotic it gets.

Our advice would be to send salaams from afar than to force your way through the rush. You can also walk around to the outside door and find an open spot to reflect and send salaams there.

Bring an extra dose of adab and an extra bag of patience with you when trying to attain a spot in the rawda as it can get buck-wild. Ignore the folks jumping and pushing. Distance yourself from that behavior as much as possible.

Try to go the least busiest time of day and pray in the outskirts of the rawda rather than trying to push your way further in. We found the timings right after Asr to be the best.

Pray your 2 raka’a and be gone. This way you’re able to go at least once a day without a lot of hardship. Again, I’m all about preserving the sanctity of the place. Pushing or stepping over the heads of people while they’re praying is counter to the teachings of Islam. Wallahu A’lam.

10. Eid Salat & Departure

Most people stay in the masjid after fajr and wait for the Eid salat. This will be best if you want space in the Masjid to avoid the sun’s hot glare. We made the mistake of walking to the hotel to freshen up and ended up praying on the roof which was fine until the sun came up. I almost turned into a kabab.

You will probably be leaving Saudi during the 3 days of Eid, which means they will be short staffed. Get to the airport at least 3 hours before the fight to ensure you don’t miss it as we almost did because we were dropped at the wrong terminal. Make sure to get dropped off at the Hajj/Ummrah terminal! Do not go to the International Terminal despite what your itinerary says. They will ask you to go back to the Hajj/Ummrah terminal which is 3 miles away.

They will only allow the 5 liter bottles of zamzam on flights and you can get them at the airport.

And that’s a wrap!

Please make dua for the authors.

Questions? Email omair@omairali.com