Keeping away fromphysical luxuries.

InI’tikaaf a person reduces a lot of these things and becomes like astranger in this world, so “give good news to the stranger.” For thesake of earning the pleasure of Allah, he is content to stay in acorner of the mosque with usually no more than a pillow on which to layhis head and a blanket with which to cover himself, for he has left hiscomfortable bed and his usual habits for the sake of earning Allah’spleasure.

Asfor his food, this is a different story, if it is not what he usuallyeats. If he has food brought from his house, usually it will not be asmuch as he would eat at home, and he does not eat it at a table withhis wife and children, as he would usually do. On the contrary, he eatslike a stranger, like a poor slave who is need of his Lord. If he goesout to the market-place to get food, he tries hard to take what isavailable and he is not too fussy about what kind of food he gets,because he has to go back to his place of I’tikaaf and not take toolong to do these things. Thus he learns that he can get by with alittle, for which his Lord will be pleased with him, just as he canlive with much, for which his Lord will not be pleased with him – andthe different between the two is immense.