For a person to attain spiritual maturity, they must sometimes distance themselves from crowds and withdraw into their inner world. Imam Ghazali extensively describes the virtues and etiquette of seclusion (uzlet) in the Âdât (Habits) section of his book “Ihyâu Ulûmi’d-Dîn.” Seclusion is not merely keeping the body away from people, but also purifying the heart from everything other than God (masiva), and protecting oneself from hypocrisy, ostentation, and gossip. According to the rule “The sign of familiarity with Truth is unfamiliarity with people,” 32, those who are discerning prefer solitude and silence because they know that unnecessary conversations and crowds driven by worldly desires kill the heart.
For Sufi practitioners, solitude (halvet) is a training process for the heart to be completely directed towards God. However, Ghazali warns that withdrawing into seclusion without knowledge before learning religious obligations and sciences can harm a person rather than benefit them. If a person retreats to the mountains without first learning what is obligatory upon him (prayer, fasting, purification, etc.), they become disobedient. After acquiring the necessary scientific equipment, the servant who withdraws into seclusion attains the secret, “Solitude is the friend of the Truthful Ones.” In solitude, one has the opportunity to diagnose the diseases of their own ego and treat them with remembrance (dhikr), contemplation (tafakkur), and worship (ibadah).
True seclusion is more than physically closing oneself off in a cave; it is the heart’s ability to be with God (Halvet der Encümen) even among people. If a spiritual traveler has truly established familiarity with God, then whether they are in the desert or the city, all of creation becomes one to them. A perfect believer is physically present within society; earns their family’s livelihood, benefits others, but their heart is always occupied with the remembrance of God. Such a servant has escaped the traps of Satan and the ego, opening their spiritual windows to the unseen realm and attaining endless peace and security.