The former Grand Mufti of the Kingdom, Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Baz – may God have mercy on him – made it clear that it is required in the mosque in which the Muslim is to “establish congregational seclusion in it.”
And a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, Sheikh Muhammad bin Uthaymeen – may God have mercy on him – explained that i’tikaf is in other than the three mosques; The Grand Mosque, the Prophet’s Mosque, and Al-Aqsa Mosque are legitimate in its time, and it is not specific to the Three Mosques, rather it is in them and in other mosques. “And do not interact with them while you are staying in the mosques. These are God’s limits, so do not approach them.” Thus does God make clear His verses to people, so that they may guard against evil. The word “mosques” is general for all mosques in the countries of the earth, and this sentence came in the last verses of the comprehensive fast, its ruling for all the nation in all countries. God's signs to people that they may fear. It is very far away for God to address the nation with a speech that includes only the least few of them, and on the hadith of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, may God be pleased with him: “There is no i’tikaf except in the three mosques.” In these three mosques, because of its honor and virtue over others. There is a lot of such construction – I mean that negation may mean the negation of perfection, not the negation of truth and validity – such as his saying, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him: “There is no prayer in the presence of food” and others. Undoubtedly, the principle of negation is that it is a negation of the legal or sensual reality, but if there is evidence to prevent that, it must be taken into account, as in the hadith of Hudhayfah. This is based on his safety from the triggers.
Follow-up: Ali Al-Rubai @Al_ARobai