Topic: The Origin of the Sufi Practice of Spiritual Retreat (Khalwa) and Seclusion (‘Uzla) in the Qur’an and Sunna 3) The Prophet Sallalahualahiwasallaam himself is also known to have loved moments of seclusion, as stated by A’isha when she said: “in the beginnings of the Messenger’s Prophethood...he would not have any vision (ru’ya) except it came to pass as surely as the sun rises. Then (i.e. after the beginning of Prophecy), seclusion (khalwa, khala’) was made beloved to him, and there was nothing he loved more than to be alone in seclusion. So he would seclude himself from time to time in the mountain of Hira for a certain number of days each, and then come back down to his family...” Recorded by Bukhari (Kitab Bad’ al-Wahi, #3), Muslim (#231), Tirmidhi (#3565), Imam Ahmad (#14502, 24768), Ibn Hibban (1:216 #33), Abdur-Razzaq (5:321-24 #9719), and Bayhaqi in his Dala’il (2:135-36). Ibn Abi Jamra al-Andalusi (d. 699H.) in his Bahjat an-Nufus (1:10-11), which is a commentary on his abdrigment of Sahih Bukhari, wrote about this hadith: “In this hadith there is an indication (daleel) that Khalwa is an aid for the human in his worship and the soundness of his Din, for when the Prophet Sallalahualahiwasallaam secluded himself from the people and devoted himself to worship, this great good came to him. And so anyone who imitates him in this receives good in accordance with the degree of his “sainthood” (walaya)...” And Imam Qastallani (d. 923H.) in his Sharh of Bukhari (1:62) wrote about this hadith: “In it is an indication of the merit of seclusion in that it is a rest for the heart from the occupations of this world, and empties him for Allah (Most High), so that the springs of wisdom burst open in him from it. And seclusion (Khalwa) is that he become secluded from other-than-Him, nay, even from himself, with his Lord. And at that he becomes worthy of receiving the incoming- inspirations (warid) from the Unseen, and his heart becoming a receptacle for them...” And in commentary of this hadith in Sahih Muslim (2:198), Imam Nawawi writes: “As for the Khalwa, it is the affair of the righteous and the gnostic slaves of Allah (‘arifeen)...Abu Sulayman al-Khattabi said: “Seclusion was made beloved to him Sallalahualahiwasallaam because in it is found the rest of the heart, and it aids in meditative reflection (tafakkur), and through it one severs from the habits of men and one’s heart becomes humble.” See also: Ibn Hajar’s Fath al-Bari (1:18) and Hafiz al-‘Ayni’s ‘Umdat al-Qari (1:60-61) and Shaykh al-Kirmani’s Sharh (1:32), to see that almost all the hadith scholars interpreted this hadith as a proof for the Sufi Khalwa. Imam az-Zuhri, one of the great Salaf, said: “How suprising of the people, how they have abandoned seclusion! And the Messenger of Allah used to do a thing and leave it, but he never left seclusion until his soul was taken” (Quoted in: Hashiyat at-Tahtawi ‘ala Maraqi al- Falah, p. 463). So the Prophet Sallalahualahiwasallaam from the beginning never left this Khalwa (seclusion) to the end of his life, and he used to return to it at the end of every Ramadan.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Feb 2014 23:27:24 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015