The Cambridge itikaf didn’t entirely seal off ordinary life, but it did throw the everyday into relief. Like Chaucer’s pilgrims on the way to Canterbury, some itikaf participants seemed to see it as nearly as much of a social event as a spiritual one. (Later, I’d hear that some attendees had criticized what they felt was a too-casual air, suggesting that less talking and fewer cookies might have engendered a more spiritual atmosphere.) But whether on hajj or in itikaf, this porous quality between a spiritual experience and ordinary life is a feature—and a strength—of Muslim life. Islam affords
...more
