Basically, spiritual retreat is performed inside a mosque. If the number of secluded persons exceeds the space available within the mosque, buildings and classrooms adjacent to the mosque are also declared to be part of the mosque. It is just like using the buildings and classrooms as a mosque in many religious educational institutes, if the number of performers of congregational prayers cannot be contained within the mosque itself. This is also true in the case of ordinary mosques when the number of those performing their prayers overflows, the main building on particular occasions such as 'id or Friday, etc. In such situations, even the surrounding roads are also covered with the congregation.

Abu Hurayra g reported that the Prophet a said,

‘I have been granted privilege above all other Prophets by six; I have been granted comprehensive words; I have been assisted with awe; spoils of war have been made permissible for me; the whole Earth has been purified and made a lawful place of worship; I have been sent to the whole creation as Messenger; and the Prophethood has been finalised with me (i.e., I am the last Prophet).’

So, the entire place adjacent to the mosque takes the character of the mosque itself, for those performing their prayers with the congregation and this earns everyone who joins the congregation while still outside the mosque, the same reward as those inside the mosque.

By the grace of Allah, the partakers of spiritual retreat in Minhaj-ul-Quran are in the five figures. All those sons of Islam and self-immolating lovers of the holy Prophet a can no longer fit within the hall of the mosque. Based on the rule of necessity, the entire place adjacent to the mosque, rooms as well as a vast yard, take the character of the vicinity of the mosque. So, the spiritual retreat (al-itikaf) of all those people is valid.