Bayān (clear exposition) is dhikr (remembrance of God) performed through vision. The aim of dhikr of the Divine Essence is for the light of dhikr to settle in the qalb (the heart) as an essence. The main purpose expected to be attained from khalwa (spiritual retreat) / uzla (seclusion) is this.
Sometimes this state can also be attained in khalwa through the recitation of the Qur'an, even without the dhikr of the kalima (word) of tawhid (the oneness of God).
If the murīd (aspirant, disciple) recites the Qur'an frequently and strives to align his qalb with what his tongue utters, the divine kalām (speech) flows through his tongue, preventing the objections of the nafs (the lower self), and the murīd begins to recite the Qur'an and perform prayer with ease. This ease in recitation and prayer illuminates the heart. Since the light of the divine kalām settles in the qalb as an essence, Qur'anic recitation stands in place of the dhikr of the Divine Essence. Through witnessing the majesty of the attribute of kalām of the Real (God), the light of the divine kalām gathers in the qalb. Without such divine gifts, the doors of ʿilm al-ladun (divine knowledge) are not opened to the servant.
When the servant attains this station through Qur'anic recitation and dhikr, and purifies his inner being, he passes into a state of absence (ghayba) due to the perfection of the feeling of intimacy (uns) and the sweetness of dhikr. His absence during dhikr resembles the state of one who sleeps. Just as realities (ḥaqāʾiq) are unveiled to the sleeper in the form of khayāl (imaginal vision), so too do realities first manifest to the murīd in a state of absence as imaginal forms.
The purpose of khalwa is to draw near to Allah by making use of time (imār al-awqat) and refraining from acts that are makruh (reprehensible). According to some Sufis who are people of khalwa, it is better to distribute one's awrād (litanies) throughout all times, while others prefer to persist in a single dhikr. Others find it more appropriate to persist in muraqaba (spiritual vigilance). For others, transitioning from dhikr to awrād or from awrād to dhikr may be suitable. The form and quantity of these are known and determined by the shaykh who is a murshid (spiritual guide). Such a shaykh is one who knows the states of people and that they are created with different natures, who gives nasīḥa (advice) to all the ummah out of compassion, and who desires the murīd for Allah, not for himself. His desire for followers is not from his own nafs. For if one desires followers for his own nafs, his corruption will exceed his rectification.
Uzla (seclusion) is divided into two: obligatory and virtuous. Obligatory uzla is to avoid evil and evil people; virtuous uzla is to avoid those who have made useless activities a habit. It has been claimed that khalwa is not uzla. Khalwa is to withdraw to a secluded corner away from society and people; uzla is to avoid the nafs, its desires and wishes, and everything that distracts from Allah, and to abandon them. In khalwa there is abundance of presence; in uzla, scarcity of presence.
Abū Bakr Warrāq said: From Adam to our day, no tribulation has arisen from anything other than mixing with people, and nothing but avoiding people has saved from these tribulations. It is said: Safety is ten parts; nine are in silence, one is in uzla.
It is said: Khalwa is essential, mixing with people is accidental. One must always adhere to that state. One should only go out as much as necessity requires. When going out and mixing with people, it should not be done out of desire, but out of necessity. When in khalwa/uzla and coming together with people, one should remain silent. For here, silence is essential, speech is accidental. When speaking, it should only be out of necessity. There are many dangers in sohba (spiritual companionship). The servant needs to increase his knowledge in this matter. Many reports have been transmitted regarding the need to avoid coming together and conversing with people.
Khalwa is the servant's being with the Real (God) in his secret (inner world) without the intermediation of an angel or any other being.
Jalwa is the servant's emergence from khalwa with divine attributes. (Istilāh, 537)
The source of khalwa in religion is this: "I am with My servant when he remembers Me alone; and I am with him among a group when he remembers Me among a group." (Bukhari, Tawhid, 15; Muslim, Tawba, 1) This is an authentic qudsi hadith. It includes both khalwa and jalwa. The root of the word khalwa comes from khalāʾ (emptiness), the state in which the world exists... (Futūḥāt, II, 147; Asfār, 83)
He feels nothing
as long as he remains in khalwa
trial and imtihān (testing) is the ruling of khalwa
(Futūḥāt, II, 147)
Khalwa, which is among the stations of istishāb (desiring companionship with the Real), is both this world and the hereafter forever. Whoever can realize this becomes eternal, for after his eye (of perception) there remains no trace. The well-known khalwa is not a station; it is only valid for the one veiled from realities. For the people of kashf (unveiling), khalwa is always valid. They witness the rūḥ (the spirit) created from the sublime and fiery elements. They see existence as speaking by its essence and by the materials of the khalwa house... (Futūḥāt, II, 148; Asfār, 86)
When Allah removes his gaze from perceptible things, he distinguishes between animals, inanimate objects, and angels, and also separates silence from the world of speech, stillness from the world of movement. He desires to be alone with his Lord. So much so that the speech or movement of any being cannot distract him. Among them are those who, within these, turn their gaze and thought from Allah to increase their knowledge of Allah. This is the most perfect of aims. (Futūḥāt, II, 148)
Uzla is to fear that things will prevent union (wuṣla), or to hope for union through uzla because of being veiled by the nafs and matter. The reality of His Essence invites the person to seek union in the divine form upon which he stands. Just as, when there is a connection between them, the Raḥīm seeks union with the Raḥmān. Then the servant witnesses his unbreakable bond with Allah. For the world is His essential attribute manifested through this bond. From this manifestation, khalwa/uzla...
It is understood that it is obligatory for Him, and that the goal of this station is realized only with Him, and that this is the secret of His manifestation. If such a thing were bāṭil (invalid), then rubūbiyya (divine lordship) would also be invalid. He sees Him as if He were with him in everything. The nisba (relation) of everything is like its relation to Him. Therefore, uzla (separation) is not something fixed or established. (Futūḥāt, II, 151)
Khalwa is conversation with the Real (God), such that one sees nothing but the Real. This is the true khalwa. Its form is to resort to things that lead to Allah by breaking away from all else. (Kāshānī, 161; Jāmī, 83)
Khalwa is a fortress that covers distractions with a wall. It is the lock of the senses that protects from the spread of habits. The qalb, when cut off from the channels of the senses, is like a pool whose water does not increase. This is the function of khalwa. Sometimes it saves from the veil and enables one to abandon worldly attachments. (Rawḍa, 472)
Khalwa is the garden of lovers, the orchard of thinkers, the spring of those who remember (dhākirūn). They say: The only thought of those dominated by intimacy (uns) is solitude (infirād) and khalwa. (Rawḍa, 654)
Khalwa requires silence toward all except the beloved, and turning away from all things except the beloved. For this virtue regarding things outside khalwa, the beloved suffices. For this reason, khalwa is the basis of spiritual discipline (riyāḍa). When khalwa is combined with dhikr, beautiful witnessing (ḥusn al-mushāhada) arises. (Rawḍa, 654)
Uzla is of two kinds: The uzla of murīds is the distancing of bodies from gathering with anything other than Allah. The uzla of the realized (muḥaqqiqūn) is the distancing of qalbs from matter. Their qalbs can be the locus of nothing but knowledge of Allah. In those qalbs, they witness what arises from witnessing, that is, the Real. Those who enter uzla have three aims: to avoid the evil of people; to prevent their own evil from harming others—which is superior to the first, for in the first there is suspicion toward others, in the second, suspicion toward oneself; suspicion toward oneself is preferable, for you know your own nafs better; and, morally, to prefer companionship with the Lord.
The highest of people are those who prefer companionship with their Lord and enter uzla. Whoever prefers the uzla of not mixing with people has preferred his Lord over others. Whoever prefers his Lord, no one can know the secrets Allah bestows upon him. Uzla remains eternally in the qalb as a loneliness that enters only the qalb of the one who enters uzla. He becomes intimate with that which led him to uzla. Whoever fulfills uzla completely becomes privy to the secret of divine oneness (waḥdāniyya). (Asfār, 82)
The khalwa of the sincere murīd is his prayer mat, his secret, his privacy. (Anwār, I, 110)
The condition for entering murīd-hood is khalwa. Khalwa is that, by Allah's enabling the murīd to true unveiling, the murīd is able to fulfill all the conditions of khalwa. Nothing can disrupt this. Thus Allah makes this servant aware of all the results of khalwa with a clear proof and knowledge from Himself. Whoever does not fulfill the etiquette of khalwa and does not attain its results is not a true murīd. Likewise, Allah does not make every shaykh aware of the results of khalwa, for that shaykh is not a true shaykh. He is one who has been killed by his own nafs within himself. He mocks the people of the path. His status is like that of a dream in the imagination. When he leaves the door of a judge or an amir, he is belittled and everyone laughs at him. (Anwār, II, 100)
There is no need to set a time for khalwa. When khalwa reaches kamāl (perfection), one may go out. For example, some set forty days for khalwa, but after the very first day, due to inner promptings of the nafs, they think of leaving. For this, the prolongation of khalwa causes fragmentation and separation in the qalb. The one in khalwa should make his khalwa like his grave. One only leaves the grave on the Day of Resurrection. (Anwār, II, 105)
The following are among the things accepted as a result of unveiling (kashf): Allah granting the power to walk on air and water, acting upon matter by Allah's permission and support, the earth being subjugated to him, and Allah removing him from there as long as he does not remember. These are the results of khalwa. Praise be to the Lord of the worlds. (Anwār, I, 119)
The result of uzla is to attain various divine gifts, four of which are: the lifting of the veil, the descent of mercy, the realization of love, and truthfulness of the tongue. (Jāmiʿ, 31)
The preferred evidence of the great Sufis, including the founder of the Naqshbandiyya, is this: Khalwa is in jalwa; uzla is among people. The Sufi is both here and far; he is a stranger and near; he is on the Throne and on the earth. (Bughya, 37)
Those who seek fame among people are people of ostentation, poverty, and bankruptcy. They should only be content with Allah's wrath. Only ignorance and their desires accompany them. If you want the soundness of your deeds, cut off relations with people! Honor the brides of khalwa (seek to be alone with Allah)! Befriend the bachelors of contemplation (be alone with your thought and reach places you could never reach otherwise)! (Qawānīn, 35)