The Khalwa according to the Qur'an & the Sunna

In the Arabic language:

The word khalwa designates the place in which the aspirant to inner purity (moutassawwif) withdraws with himself to devote to the worship of his Lord. [al-Mu’jam al-‘arabiy al-asâsiy]

In the Tariqa Karkariya:

The word khalwa designates the fact to strictly stick to one’s own living tomb (the body), the individual stripping from all physical senses and the journey to the universe of Deep Senses, a journey whose provisions are the evocation of Divine name accompanied by an absolute dispossession, in order to penetrate the heart and reach the Lord’s Assize, until the veil lift up and the inner vision becomes piercing through the eternal Source.

In the Quran

“And He entrusted her to Zechariah. Every time he came to her in the Sanctuary, he found food near her. He said, “O Mary, where does this food come from?” “She said,” This is from Allah. ” He certainly gives food to whom He wills without counting.” [Surah al-‘Imran, verse 37]

“And We gave Moussa a rendezvous for thirty nights, and We completed them by ten, so that the time fixed by his Lord ended at the end of forty nights.” [Surat al-A’raf, verse 142]

“Do you think that the people of the Cavern and of ar-Raquim have constituted an extraordinary thing among Our prodigies? When the young people had taken refuge in the cave, they said, “O our Lord, give us a mercy coming from You; and assures us righteousness in all that concerns us.” [Surah the Cave, verses 10 and 9]

“So he went forth out of the sanctuary to his people; then he motioned them to pray morning and evening.” [Surah Maryam, verse 11]

In the Hadith

It is reported that ‘Aisha the mother of the believers said, “The first thing by which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ began to receive the revelation was the pious vision during his sleep: he was not seeing something without it being systematically accomplished. Then he began to enjoy solitude, and he set out to isolate himself (kana yakhlou) in the cave of Hira, where he undertook to perform acts of worship for several consecutive nights without returning home. He had provided himself with food and when his provisions were exhausted, he returned to Khadidja and took the necessary steps for a new retreat. This situation lasted until the day when the truth was revealed to him in this cave of Hira.

“The angel (Djibril-Gabriel) visited him and said to him:

– Iqra! (Read! Recite!)

“I am not one of those who know how to read,” replied the Prophet. “The angel wound me to the point of losing consciousness,” says the Prophet, and then renewed his injunction:

– Read !

“I am not one of those who know how to read. He grabbed me a second time and wound me to the point of losing my strength and then released me saying:

– Read !

“I am not one of those who know how to read!” I said to him again. He hugged me a third time and then loosened his hug by reciting:

– Read ! in the Name of your Lord who created. He created the man from an embryo. Read ! Your Lord is the Very Generous. “(Quran 96: 1-3).

With a trembling heart, and in possession of these verses, the Prophet rushed to Khadidja Bint Khowalid (his wife), exclaiming, “Cover me! Cover me! he was wrapped up until the disappearance of his trouble. He informed Khadidja of his adventure and added: “I have been afraid for my life. “No,” replied Khadidja, “God will never torment you, for you are in solidarity with yours, you defend the weak, you give to those who are deprived, you welcome the hosts and you assist those who are victims of injustice.

Then Khadidja accompanied him to Waraqa Ben Naufal, his paternal cousin, who had converted to Christianity at the time of the djahiliya (pre-Islamic). The latter knew how to write Hebrew and transcribed in this language, what God had allowed of the Gospel. Waraqa was of an advanced age and lost sight. Khadidja said to him: “Oh, my cousin, listen to what your brother’s son has to say to you.

“O son of my brother, what do you want?” asked Waraqa. The Prophet told him his story and what he had seen.

“It is the Namous (God’s Confidant or the angel Gabriel) whom God has already sent to Moussa,” replied Waraqa. What a pity I am no longer young! How I wish to live when your compatriots will drive you away!

“How,” exclaimed the Prophet, “will my compatriots reject me?“Yes,” replied Waraqa, “no man brought anything similar without being oppressed. If I still live at that moment, I will bring you all my assistance. Some time later Waraqa died and the Revelation was suspended.” [Saheeh al-Bukhariy, hadith 6497]

Ibn Mas’ud (radiAllahu ‘anhu) reports: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he is the truthful one worthy of being believed, made this speech to us:” We dedicate forty days to the creation of one of you in the womb of his mother to make of him a drop of liquid. Then we make of him a mass hanging in the same period. Then we make of him a bowl of chewing in the same period. Then we sent to him the Angel who breathes in him the spirit and we predetermines for him four things: his subsistence, the duration of his life, the value of his work and his predestination either in hell or in paradise. By Him outside whom there is no god, one of you certainly does the work of people destined for Paradise until there is only one cubit left between him and Paradise and now his predestination precedes him, he then commits an act of what the people of Hell do and he enters. And one of you certainly does the work of the people dedicated to Hell until there is only one cubit left between him and Hell and now his predestination is ahead, he then makes an act of what the people of Paradise do and he enters.” [Unanimously recognized as authentic]

According to Anas ibn Mālik, the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ said: “Ask (in your invocations) what is best for yourselves, and prepare to receive the breaths of the Divine Mercy, for Allah certainly has breaths of His Mercy, which He gives to who He wants among His servants, and ask Allah to cover up your modesty and ensure the tranquility of those under your care. [Chu’ab al-Imân – al-Bayhaqi, Hadîth No. 1081]

According to Abu Ayyub al-Ansâriy, the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: Whoever dedicates forty days exclusively to Allâh will see the sources of Wisdom appearing on his tongue”