“Take Your Portion of Seclusion”

Verily all praise belongs to Allâh, we praise Him, seek His Aid and His Forgiveness. Whomsoever Allâh guides there is none to misguide and whomsoever Allâh misguides there is none to guide. I testify that there is none deserving of worship except Allâh alone without any partners and I testify that Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam is His servant and His Messenger.
May Allah send his peace and blessings upon our final Prophet, his family, companions and all who follow them in righteousness until the Day of Judgement, ameen!
To proceed:

Recently, I was reading over some statements from the Salaf and I came upon narrations about a very beneficial, but neglected, action: seclusion/isolation for the sake of Allah.
Below are some of the narrations and poems I found about seclusion:

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]

‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (radhiallahu `anhu) said, ‘Take your portion of seclusion.’

Sheikh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said:
"At times, it is necessary for the worshiper to be isolated from others in order to pray, remember Allah, recite the Qur'an, and evaluate himself and his deeds. Also, isolation allows one to supplicate, seek forgiveness, stay away from evil, and so on."



Ibn al-Jawzi dedicated three chapters of his well-known book Sayd al-Khatir to this topic. He said:
"I have not seen or heard of anything that brings repose, honor, and dignity as much as seclusion does. It helps one to stay away from evil, it protects one's honor, and it saves time. It keeps one away from the jealous minded and those who take pleasure in your affliction. It promotes the remembrance of the Hereafter, and it allows one to reflect on the meeting with Allah. In times of seclusion, one's thoughts may roam in that which is beneficial, in that which contains wisdom..."

One of the Salaf also said in a poem:
"I found company in my solitude and I remained fervently in my home,
So felicity was perpetual for me and my happiness grew,
I have severed human relations and I couldn't care,
Whether the army has gone forth or the president has given us a visit!

Another poet said:
"Meeting with people brings about no benefit,
Except with the increase of, `it has been said', and, `he said,
' So spend less time in conversing with others, though barring,
The acquirement of knowledge or the improvement of one's condition."

The same message can be found in many of the Salaf's narrations wherein they warn from heavily mixing with the people and encourage seclusion. Of course this is not to say we should abandon our friends or family! But we should be balanced. We should make time for them and also for ourselves; time to remember Allah without any distractions, time to take ourselves to account for good and bad deeds.

As the illustrious companion 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (radiallaahu 'anhu) once said: Hasibu anfusakum Qabla antuhasabu "Bring yourself to account before you are taken to account." And 'Umar added: Wazinu anfusakum Qabla antuzanu "Weigh your deeds before your deeds are weighed."

Brothers and Sisters, who else can we wait on to do this but our own selves? Should we wait until the Day of Judgement for this to happen?
I understand that this fast paced dunya will not allow us time to be in seclusion for many hours. Many of us are parents, students, workers, etc.
However, we can make time each day, even if it's thirty minutes to just 'get away', sit and remember Allah (SWT).

Put away the iPod, turn off the T.V. and computer, go to a quiet place in your house and reflect, or read. Contemplate over the creation of Allah (SWT), recite Qur'an, think about the hereafter. Insha'Allah, we will benefit from this time not only in this dunya but also in the akhirah. This is an advice to myself first and then to my Brothers and Sisters in Islam

I will conclude with some beautiful verses from Qur'an (Surah Ale-Imran 190-194), in which Allah Azza wa Jal describes the faithful believers:

"Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding. Those who remember Allah (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and think deeply about the creation of the heavens and the earth, (saying): "Our Lord! You have not created (all) this without purpose, glory to You! (Exalted be You above all that they associate with You as partners). Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire.

"Our Lord! Verily, we have heard the call of one (Muhammad Salalahu Alayhi wa Salaam) calling to Faith: 'Believe in your Lord,' and we have believed. Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and remit from us our evil deeds, and make us die in the state of righteousness along with Al-Abrar (those who are obedient to Allah and follow strictly His Orders). Our Lord! Grant us what You promised unto us through Your Messengers and disgrace us not on the Day of Resurrection, for You never break (Your) Promise."

Ameen!

May Allah (SWT) make us from those who hear the best of words and who act upon them, ameen

BarakAllahu Feekum

Wa'Salaamu Alaiakum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatu