Nothing benefits the heart more than a spiritual seclusion whereby it enters the domain of true reflection.- Ibn Ata' Allah Iskandari
Seclusion or 'khalwa', which also means, literally, emptying out. The idea of khalwa involves complete severance from the world. Periods of seclusion and isolation are necessary for spiritual health and development. They are prescribed and practiced by all paths of enlightenment. The world of rationality is causal and its mysteries can only be unraveled through the exercise of a healthy intellect and what appreciation lies beyond.
The spiritual world relates to the heavenly, inner, unseen realities in subtle ways that can only be tapped into by exclusion, silence and through transcendental states. It was during one of his frequent periods of seclusion and meditation in a cave outside Mecca that the Angel Gabriel came to the Prophet Muhammad and the first verses of the Qur`an were related.
Giving up outer awareness and going beyond the world of causality is the only way to reach this subtle world, whose patterns are already in the soul and heart, but locked away for most people. The 'emptying' that takes place during khalwa reveals the cosmology of one's inner.
During Khalwa experience of Shaykh Fadhlalla, he had vivid dreams and visions of great beings and prophets, especially the Prophet Muhammad. At one point, he saw himself lifted by him as a mother lifts her baby and carried for some distance across a barren desert, after which he was embraced and walked on by myself. There were many other visions, both disturbing and serene. >> Read the whole excerpts here.
:: Excerpts from Son of Karbala by Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri
:: Wisdom of Ibn Ata Allah
About | Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri is a realized master, teacher, and inheritor of the Prophetic path to divine realization. He has instructed people throughout the world on this path for over 20 years and has written numerous books on various topics concerned with the wisdom teachings of Islam. Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri is an isthmus between the ancient wisdom teachings and our present time.
:: Read selected writings of Shaykh Fadhlalla
COMMENTS