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The Virtues of Seclusion in Times of Confusion
Virtues Of Seclusion In Times Of Confusion: Shaykh Nabulusi [#6664 0B1 PB 43+65pp A5 9781944820930 Ibriz Media, Abdul Aziz Suraqah / Dr Shadee Elmasry] The Virtues of Seclusion in Times of Confusion is a timely work about unplugging, physically and virtually, as a viable and sorely needed third option between absolute isolation from society and unrestricted social interaction. In this work that speaks to us and our time, Shaykh 'Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi brilliantly weaves together the Quranic verses, hadith reports, and counsels of the Salaf concerning self-imposed seclusion and its importance as a protective measure to safeguard our faith and shore up our spiritual defenses in times of strife and confusion (fitna). This seclusion, he tells us, is not about withdrawing completely from society and heading for the hills, but rather sitting things out, keeping busy with personal and familial concerns, minding our business—staying at home. It is a call for taking careful stock of where we are spiritually and assessing where exactly our sphere of influence is and not overextending ourselves to our own detriment and the detriment of our loved ones. Contents: Translator's Preface Foreword By Dr. Shadee El Masry Biography of Shaykh ‘Abd Al-Ghani Al-Nabulusi Introduction Chapter 1: On Self-Imposed Isolation and Avoidance of People During times of Confusion and Strife Chapter 2: The Legal Dispensation Allowing One to Avoid the “Imams of Fitna” in the Mosques Chapter 3: How the Early Muslims (Salaf) Were During Periods of Corruption Chapter 4: Early Imams Who Withdrew from Society Appendix I: Selected Narrations from Ibn Abi al-Dunya’s Kitab al-‘Uzla wa al-Infirad (The Book of Withdrawal and Seclusion) Appendix II: Selected Narrations from Ibn Abi al-Dunya’s Kitab al-Tawadu’ wa al-Khumul (The Book of Humility and Obscurity)
65 pages, Paperback
Published April 12, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 22, 2022
A short but powerful book that should be read multiple times.
It starts with a whole discussion about fitna, which types of fitna we can distinguish and what its pre-requisites are. It for example gives a list of characteristics of fitna, based on the Quran and the prophetic hadiths. Some of these characteristics are that:
- Truth becomes enmeshed and undecipherable from falsehood.
- The people of disbelief feel superior with their rejection of truth.
- Faith (Iman) appears unimpressive and unattractive.
- Oppression is interpreted as justice.
- The desire for the material world increases to an unrestrained degree.
- Pain spreads.
- Temptations and vulgarity (fujur) present themselves.
- The intellects of people are lost or clouded as a result of mass confusion.
The Shaykh ‘Abd al-Ghani al -Nabulusi then weaves together hadith reports and counsels of the Salaf concerning spiritual self-preservation (or self-imposed seclusion) as a measure of protection against fitna and strife. This book is a must read for our times!
Some interesting narrations from the book:
Ibn ‘Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) reported, “Once, while we were sitting around the Messenger of Allah ﷺ , he began to mention strife, and said, ‘When you see people at that time, their contracts will be spoiled and their trusts will be worthless, and they will be like this’— and he interlocked his fingers. I stood up before him and said, ‘May Allah make me a sacrifice for you! What do you order me to do when that time comes?’ He said, ‘Remain in your home, take control of your tongue, take what you recognise and refrain from what you do not recognize, tend to your personal affairs, and leave the affairs of the masses.’“
Zayd b. Aslam reported on the authority of his father that ‘Umar b. Al-Khattab entered the Mosque and found Mu’adh b. Jabal weeping next to the grave of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ . He said, “O Mu’adh, why are you crying?” Mu’adh replied, “I’m crying because of something I heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ . I heard him say, ‘A minute amounts of showing off (riya’) is association [of partners with Allah]. Verily Allah loves the God-fearing, the anonymous, and the pious who are not missed when absent and not noticed when present. Their hearts are lanterns of guidance, and they will be saved from every gloom.”
It starts with a whole discussion about fitna, which types of fitna we can distinguish and what its pre-requisites are. It for example gives a list of characteristics of fitna, based on the Quran and the prophetic hadiths. Some of these characteristics are that:
- Truth becomes enmeshed and undecipherable from falsehood.
- The people of disbelief feel superior with their rejection of truth.
- Faith (Iman) appears unimpressive and unattractive.
- Oppression is interpreted as justice.
- The desire for the material world increases to an unrestrained degree.
- Pain spreads.
- Temptations and vulgarity (fujur) present themselves.
- The intellects of people are lost or clouded as a result of mass confusion.
The Shaykh ‘Abd al-Ghani al -Nabulusi then weaves together hadith reports and counsels of the Salaf concerning spiritual self-preservation (or self-imposed seclusion) as a measure of protection against fitna and strife. This book is a must read for our times!
Some interesting narrations from the book:
Ibn ‘Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) reported, “Once, while we were sitting around the Messenger of Allah ﷺ , he began to mention strife, and said, ‘When you see people at that time, their contracts will be spoiled and their trusts will be worthless, and they will be like this’— and he interlocked his fingers. I stood up before him and said, ‘May Allah make me a sacrifice for you! What do you order me to do when that time comes?’ He said, ‘Remain in your home, take control of your tongue, take what you recognise and refrain from what you do not recognize, tend to your personal affairs, and leave the affairs of the masses.’“
Zayd b. Aslam reported on the authority of his father that ‘Umar b. Al-Khattab entered the Mosque and found Mu’adh b. Jabal weeping next to the grave of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ . He said, “O Mu’adh, why are you crying?” Mu’adh replied, “I’m crying because of something I heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ . I heard him say, ‘A minute amounts of showing off (riya’) is association [of partners with Allah]. Verily Allah loves the God-fearing, the anonymous, and the pious who are not missed when absent and not noticed when present. Their hearts are lanterns of guidance, and they will be saved from every gloom.”
July 28, 2022
This is the ultimate book for any introverted misanthrope that wants any religious reasoning for why they should stay in their house and not go out to socialize. I highlighted so much of it and I can see myself coming back to it again.
I will say that I took off a star only because it seems to promote staying away from fard actions like attending the jummah prayer for men. I can see that someone picking this up might give them permission to avoid the jama3 and fall further into error.
Also it isn't clear exactly how secluded someone in seclusion was. The tradition would say the person never exited their house for years but then they also dictated books to their students. Or that they remained in their home after they reached a certain age - and in that case it might be they were too ill to attend to certain social gatherings and were exempt. So I question some of the author's conclusions such as "if Al Ghazali said we can stay home from jummuah in his time, well our time is so much worse so we should be able to get out of stuff too!" (I'm paraphrasing).
The truth is the Prophet saw lived among idolators who were trying to kill him. He still managed to live among the people and lead jummah and teach and attend to community issues. Let's keep his tradition.
But still sometimes it's fun to stay home and be comfortable and enjoy being away from others. Now if only my own (beloved) family would leave me alone. :P
I will say that I took off a star only because it seems to promote staying away from fard actions like attending the jummah prayer for men. I can see that someone picking this up might give them permission to avoid the jama3 and fall further into error.
Also it isn't clear exactly how secluded someone in seclusion was. The tradition would say the person never exited their house for years but then they also dictated books to their students. Or that they remained in their home after they reached a certain age - and in that case it might be they were too ill to attend to certain social gatherings and were exempt. So I question some of the author's conclusions such as "if Al Ghazali said we can stay home from jummuah in his time, well our time is so much worse so we should be able to get out of stuff too!" (I'm paraphrasing).
The truth is the Prophet saw lived among idolators who were trying to kill him. He still managed to live among the people and lead jummah and teach and attend to community issues. Let's keep his tradition.
But still sometimes it's fun to stay home and be comfortable and enjoy being away from others. Now if only my own (beloved) family would leave me alone. :P
April 18, 2023
I chanced upon it at the right time and I think it’s interesting to see how much our current world struggles mirror that of the author. It’s a good and easy read that can always be referred to and I highly recommend it.
May 8, 2021
The book came at the right time. I found it easy to read because its very thin
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews