Can a man prevent his wife from observing i’tikaaf?
Question

                Does a husband have the right to prevent his wife from observing i’tikaaf?.
Praise be to Allah.
    It is not permissible for a woman to observe i’tikaaf without 
    her husband’s permission, because her observing i’tikaaf in the mosque 
    affects the husband’s rights. 

    If he does give her permission, he has the right to cancel it 
    and call her out of i’tikaaf. 

    Ibn Qudaamah (4/485) said: 

    The wife does not have the right to observe i’tikaaf without 
    her husband’s permission… if her husband gives her permission, then he wants 
    her to come out after she has started i’tikaaf, he has the right to call her 
    out in the case of a voluntary i’tikaaf. This is the view of al-Shaafa’i… If 
    what he gave permission for was something that she vowed to do, then he does 
    not have the right to bring her out, because it becomes obligatory once it 
    is started and must be completed, like Hajj once one has entered ihraam for 
    it. 

    The Sunnah indicates that it is permissible for a man to 
    prevent his wife from observing i’tikaaf without his permission. 

    Al-Bukhaari (2033) and Muslim (1173) narrated that ‘Aa’ishah 
    (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: When the Messenger of Allaah  
    (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wanted to observe i’tikaaf, he 
    would pray Fajr then enter his place of i’tikaaf. He ordered that his tent 
    be pitched, intending to observe i’tikaaf for the last ten days of Ramadaan. 
    Then Zaynab ordered that her tent be pitched, and others among the wives of 
    the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also ordered 
    that their tents be pitched. When the Messenger of Allaah  (peace and 
    blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed Fajr, he saw the tents and said: “Do 
    you intend righteousness by doing this?” Then he commanded that his tent be 
    taken down, and he abandoned i’tikaaf in Ramadaan and observed i’tikaaf for 
    ten days at the beginning of Shawwaal. 

    According to a report narrated by al-Bukhaari:  ‘Aa’ishah 
    asked him for permission (to observe i’tikaaf) and he gave her permission, 
    then Hafsah asked ‘Aa’ishah to ask for permission for her and she did so.  

    Al-Nawawi said: 

    “Righteousness” here means obedience or worship. Al-Qaadi 
    said: He  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said this by way 
    of rebuke. He  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had given 
    some of them permission to do that, as narrated by al-Bukhaari. The reason 
    why he criticized that was that he feared that they would not be sincere in 
    their i’tikaaf, and all they wanted was to be close to him because of their 
    jealousy concerning him, or because of his protective jealousy towards them, 
    so he did not want them to stay in the mosque when it was the place where 
    people gathered and was attended by the Bedouins and hypocrites, and they 
    would need to go out and come in to attend to their needs and thus they 
    would be exposed to people’s gaze… Or it may have been because he  
    (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw them with him when he was in 
    the mosque and it was as if he was at home with his wives, which was a 
    distraction from the purpose of i’tikaaf, which is to keep away from one's 
    wives and worldly concerns, etc. Or it may have been because they were 
    crowding the mosque with their tents. This hadeeth indicates that women’s 
    i’tikaaf is valid, because he  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon 
    him) gave them permission, and he only stopped them from doing it afterwards 
    for a reason. And it indicates that a man may prevent his wife from 
    observing i’tikaaf without his permission. This is the view of all the 
    scholars. If he has given her permission, can he prevent her after that? 
    There is a difference of opinion among the scholars on this point. According 
    to al-Shaafa’i, Ahmad and Dawood he has the right to stop her and bring her 
    out of a voluntary i’tikaaf. 

    Ibn al-Mundhir and others said: This hadeeth indicates that a 
    woman should not enter i’tikaaf until she has asked her husband’s 
    permission, and that if she enters i’tikaaf without his permission he has 
    the right to bring her out; if he has given permission he has the right to 
    change his mind and stop her. It was narrated from ahl al-ra’y that if the 
    husband gives her permission then stops her, he commits sin thereby and she 
    may refuse. It was narrated from Maalik that he does not have the right to 
    do that. But this hadeeth is proof against them. 

    From Fath al-Baari..