Rawdhatul-‘Uqala [Post 3]
Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (radhiallahu `anhu) said, ‘It was said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what is the most virtuous deed?‘ He said, ‘Jihad in the way of Allah.’ He said, ‘Then what?’ He said, ‘That a man secludes himself in the mountains fearing Allah and freeing the people from his evil.’ [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Abu Hatim: A person of wisdom should practice secluding himself from the people in general and being cautious of mixing with them…
‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (radhiallahu `anhu) said, ‘Take your portion of seclusion.’
Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah: ‘I saw al-Thawri in my sleep and so I said to him, ‘Advice me.’ He said, ‘Lessen your association with the people, lessen your association with the people, lessen your association with the people.’
Ahmad ibn Hanbal said, ‘I saw Ibn al-Sammak [1] writing to a friend of his (saying), ‘If you can find a way to do so, become a worshipper of Allah alone.’
A group of the mutaqaddimin (the past generations) used to practice ‘Azla (seclusion) both in general and at specific times. Ibn al-Mubarak said, ‘Fudayl went to see Dawud al-Ta’i but Dawud shut the door from him. So Fudayl sat outside weeping and Dawud was inside weeping.’ (i.e. he wanted to practice seclusion although he did not wish to hurt his friend).
‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn al-Khattab: ‘A big black dog was seen lying down next to Malik ibn Dinar [2] so it was said to him, ‘O Abu Yahya! Can’t you see this dog lying next to you?’ He said, ‘It is better than an evil companion.’
Bakr ibn Muhammad al-‘Abid: ‘Dawud al-Ta’i said to me, ‘O Bakr! Be afraid of people just like you would be afraid of predatory animals.’
Abu Hatim said, ‘As for the reason which necessitates a person to seclude himself from people in general, then it is due to the hiding of the khayr (good) and the spreading of the sharr (evil) because people tend to veil the good and instead display evil. So if a person is knowledgeable, the people will cause him to innovate and if a person is ignorant, they insult him. If he is better than them, they become jealous of him and if he is inferior to them, they humiliate him. If he speaks, they say that he talks too much and if he remains quiet, they say that he is incoherent. If he gains power, they say that he is dictatorial and if he is generous they say that he is extravagant. So regret is inevitable in the end and degradation exists the whole time for the one who is fooled by a people whose description is this.
Ibrahim ibn Shimas said, ‘Al-‘Akkaf Hafs ibn Humayd [3] who was a companion of Ibn al-Mubarak in Marw said to me, ‘O Ibrahim! I have accompanied people for 50 years but I have not found anyone who concealed my faults, or anyone who kept my ties with him if I cut him off, or anyone who I felt safe from when he was in a state of anger. So being busy with such people is great stupidity.’
Muhammad ibn al-Muhajir al-Ma’dil said the following lines of poetry to ‘Ali ibn Hajr al-Sa’di:
زمانك ذا زمان دخول بيت *** حفظ للسان وخفض صوت
Your life is one of merely entering your home,
And guarding your tongue and lowering your voice.
فقد مرجت عهود الناس إلا *** أقلهم فبادر قبل الموت
For the promises of people have become doubtful
Except for a few, so prepare yourself instead for death
فما يبقى على الأيام شيء *** وما خلق امرؤ إلا لموت
For nothing remains from the days of this world,
And a person has not been created except for death.
Abu Dharr (radhia’Allahu `anhu) said, ‘The people used to be like leaves without any thorns. But today they are thorns without any leaves.’
Al-Qahdhami said,
ذهب الحسن والجمال من النا *** س ومات الذين كانوا ملاحا
Goodness and beauty have deserted the people
And those that were kind and gentle have died
وبقى الأسمجون من كل صنف *** إن في الموت من أولئك راحا
Instead there remains repulsive ones of every type
Indeed, there is in death a relief from those people
Abu Hatim observes: The wise one knows that people are naturally disposed to having certain characteristics and different natures, for everyone wishes to follow those that help and aid him and they abandon whoever opposes him and remains aloof. Whenever a person sees from his brother/friend something which he himself is not used to, he begins to despise him for it; and if something that is different to what is in his heart becomes clear from his friend, he becomes bored of him. Boredom leads to irritancy and irritancy leads to hatred and hatred causes enmity. So being occupied with someone whose nature is this, is foolishness for the wise one.
And indeed, al-Nabahi was right when he said,
ارفض الناس وكل مشغله *** قد بخل الناس بمثل خردله
Abandon the people and their places of occupation
For people are miserly even in a seed’s worth
لا تسأل الناس وسل من أنت له
Do not ask the people but instead
Ask the One who you belong to
Muhammad ibn Ya’qub al-‘Abdi said,
إذا قلت: هذا صاحب قد رضيته *** وقرت عيناي, بدلت آخرا
If I said: ‘This is my friend whom I’m happy with
And is a coolness for my eyes’; I end up replacing him
وذلك أني لا أصاحب صاحبا *** من الناس إلا خانني وتغيرا
And that is because I have never befriended someone
Except that they have betrayed me and changed
Malik ibn Dinar said, ‘Whoever does not find delight in the speech of Allah and instead finds it in the speech of people, then surely his knowledge has taken a plunge, his heart has become blind and his life has become wasted.’
__________________________
1 – Abu al-‘Abbas Muhammad ibn Subayh ibn al-Sammak, from the righteous du’at of Kufa (d. 183 AH).
2 – Abu Yahya, Malik ibn Dinar al-Basri, one of the ascetic Muhaddithin from the Tabi’in (d. 131 AH)
3 – Abu ‘Umar, Hafs ibn Humayd al-Akkaf from the people of Marw (Central Aisa), he was of their ascetic scholars (d. 200 AH).
Baarak Allahu feeki ukhti! SubhanAllah, I was just thinking of how I would like my own cave to seclude myself in.
I like to go out in the nature as it helps me clear my mind and be alone for some time.
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh,
A belated Eid Mubaarak sister. ‘Afwan. I hope you benefited from this Ramadaan as much as I did. Al Hamdulillaah it was one of the best for me.
Re this article. Quote:
Abu Dharr (radhia’Allahu `anhu) said, ‘The people used to be like leaves without any thorns. But today they are thorns without any leaves.’
This article is a good reminder and very beneficial Al Hamdulillaah, ma sha Allaah. Sometimes you wonder to yourself,”What’s up with people these days?”
It is very hard to please everyone so as the salaf advised, limit your association to that what is only absolutely necessary and even then it should be with believers who remind you of Allaah or with someone who you intend to befriend for the sake of Allaah.
I can’t remember who said this but it was something like this,
“If you associate with evil or un-righteous people then either you will influence them or they will influence you. Make sure it is the former and not the latter.”
May Allaah reward you and us in Ilm and Hikmah. Ameen.
I haven’t read your translation of Basaa’ir Al Fitan but I hope to do so this week insha Allaah.
Keep up the good work ma sha Allah. Sahl Allaahu laki wa taqabbal mink.
Assalaamu alaykum
We definitely need our time away from people and the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam used to practice seclusion as we know from the Seerah. However, as Umar ibn Al Khattab radhiAllahu anhu said, as quoted above, “Take your portion of seclusion” so that means don’t always be away from people and turn into an introvert, but rather know that there are times when you should be away from others and reflecting.
We get 27 times more good deeds when we pray in Jama’ah. We are instructed (for the men) to go to Jumu’ah prayer as an obligation so that we may be with the community. We also have the plethora of quotes that have been compiled. May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala help us to have a balance between the two. Ameen…
Amatullah, I’m with you on that! Taking a break to go out in the quiet, open space is definitely my cuppa tea 🙂
Fulaan, barakallahu feek akhi عيد سعيد – تقبل الله منا ومنكم.
You should read Basa’ir… the quotes in there are amazing.
You are right, striking a balance is key to everything and mixing with good companions is better than seclusion.
Let’s list some benefits to seclusion:
– Opportunity to contemplate and clear one’s mind
– Opportunity to draw closer to Allah `azza wa jall through supplication, tasbih, repentance, gratitude, dhikr, you name it.
– Helps one get away from the idle talk of friends/people and it decreases one’s errors when it comes to speech e.g. backbiting, slander, talking too much etc
– Please continue to add…
Of course too much seclusion is not healthy so we should take the middle path.
– Time for salaah (as the brother mentioned above)
– There must be a time set aside for visiting relatives in order to keep the family ties which Allaah has commanded us.
– Time for someone in the community who needs help with something.
– Fulfilling other Islamic duties.
Also if one responds to an invitation for a meal (some scholars say its obligatory as long as no evil is known to be taking place) or a beneficial gathering like a circle of knowledge etc. that is a good reason to come out of seclusion.
Allaahu A’lim. In my limited knowledge, seclusion is only beneficial when one is using the time to remember Allaah or reflect on one’s strengths and weaknesses or the progress they have made over the years and think about the future or how they can spend their time better. If it is not in one of these categories (maybe I’ve missed some) then it will not benefit a person much.
Some people don’t realise the value of time but when they do they will spend it in a way that returns more profit than loss.
Forgive me sister for the long answer. Don’t worry, I know what you’re thinking and the answer is, “Yes, I will, very soon and I will keep you informed insha Allaah.”
Assalaamu alaykum
P.S. Please give those “Shabaab” some naseehah if you get a chance.
Allah yakrimak.
Another point:
– Seclusion in a masjid would actually be I’tikaf. Having now passed Ramadan, I’m sure many people took their portion of seclusion as is recommended in the Sunnah.
Assalamu alaykum sister. I read this article a few years back. Then I tried to implement it. Then slowly I forgot about it. Then I read it again and remembered my forgetfulness. And now again this year I was redirected to this post by someone. May Allah (swt) help us implement His Deen to the best our abilities and with the utmost amount of ikhlaas and enrich us with goodness in both worlds, Ameen. JazakAllahu Khairan.
Wa `alaykumusalam wa rahmatullah
Wa iyyaki sister, ameen to your du’a. I wouldn’t worry too much about not practising it fully, as I believe it’s a concept/act intended only for certain times and particular circumstances in one’s life (i.e. when it’s needed).
assalam o alykum , i have a question please, many people confuse seclusion with ” Rahbaniyah” and totaly leave off and disengage with the community thus forgetting the purpose of dawah , forbidding evil and enjoining righteousness , please elaborate in light of this article
jazakillah khair sister
really great article
quite inspiring