Seclusion from the Perspective of Izz al-Din Mahmud Kashani

Abstract

Seclusion (khalwa) refers to the seeker’s withdrawal from people and from all that is other than God in order to perform practices that facilitate the traversal of mystical stations and the purification of the self, such as fasting, remembrance (dhikr), and similar disciplines. Izz al-Din Mahmud Kashani, a Sufi of the fourteenth century, represents a form of ascetic and devotional mysticism. In his view, the benefit of designating a forty-day period for seclusion lies in the fact that signs of wisdom and the removal of veils and impurities generally manifest within the seeker over the course of this duration. He maintains that seclusion is among the later practices and commendable innovations of the Sufis, and that it was not practiced in this particular form during the time of the Prophet; although Muhammad, due to the intensity of divine love and longing for the Truth, would himself seek solitude, occasionally retreating to the Cave of Hira, where he engaged in remembrance, worship, and nightly vigils. According to Kashani, the wisdom behind prescribing forty days of sincere seclusion is that with each day, a veil is lifted and the distance from the Divine diminishes, until, over the forty days of pure retreat, all such veils are removed and the human being returns to proximity with the Divine—considered the source of goodness, beauty, knowledge, and gnosis—thereby making the contemplation of the Eternal Beauty of God possible. Thus, anyone who resolves to undertake seclusion must first purify their intention from worldly and otherworldly aims, including desire for paradise or reward. Sincerity in intention, maintaining a state of ritual purity (wudu), fasting, eating little, sleeping little, and speaking little are among the principal conditions and etiquettes of seclusion according to Kashani. This study is based on a library research method.