Solitude in the Cave of Ḥirāʾ

Muhammad (peace be upon him) would leave Makkah and spend time—he would go out of Makkah and spend time in the cave of Ḥirāʾ, in a mountain that is fairly close to Makkah, a few kilometres away from Makkah. Muhammad (peace be upon him) would take with him provisions, some food, and he would go and stay in seclusion, in solitude, in this cave, worshipping Allah (swt). And from the cave, it is said that the Kaʿbah could be seen, in those old days. So Muhammad (peace be upon him) would spend days and nights continuously in the cave, worshipping Allah (swt), before prophethood. So he knew Allah (swt), and he was worshipping Allah (swt) in that cave, and this was a chance for Muhammad (peace be upon him) to do reflection and contemplation on the creation of Allah. And this was training for him—Allah (swt) was training him through these moments of reflection and contemplation, because they purify the heart.

And Saʿīd Ḥawwā comments on this; he says, "Solitude was the tradition of some who seek the guidance of Allah with the remembrance of Allah and worship. It was used to illuminate the heart and remove its shadows, by disconnecting it from its heedlessness and desires. Some would advise this in the beginning of the journey to belief, as this was the example of the Prophet (peace be upon him), when he spent time in solitude before and at the beginning of his apostleship."

As a Muslim, one is recommended to spend time alone in dhikr—for example, early in the morning, after ʿAṣr, between ʿAṣr and Maghrib on Friday. Time is spent alone remembering Allah in solitude, and the scholars have talked about the benefit of solitude. Now, one shouldn't go into the extremes of leaving society completely, or immersing oneself in society completely; there should be a middle road, so some time is spent with people socialising, but also some time spent alone between oneself and Allah. Qiyām al-layl is a chance for solitude—praying at night alone when everybody is asleep, so it is something between the worshipper and Allah. There is an element of sincerity there that might not exist with other ʿibādāt that are done collectively—doing this alone, nobody can see, there is no showing off. Who is it being done for? It's being done for Allah. So it's very important for one to spend this time in solitude to purify the heart, because the scholars say that too much socialisation, too much laughing, too much attachment to dunyā obscures the heart and throws veils on it. And the way to purify the heart is by spending some time worshipping Allah (swt) in solitude.

And Allah (swt) says about taqwā:

Behold, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding—men who celebrate the praises of Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and who contemplate the wonders of creation in the heavens and the earth, with the thought: "Our Lord, not for naught hast Thou created all this. Glory to You. Give us salvation from the chastisement of the Fire." So Allah (swt) is saying here that His servants contemplate the creation of the heavens and the earth, and they say, "Oh Allah, You have not created this in vain. There is purpose in creation, there is wisdom in everything that exists."