If your time in isolation feels like prison, you might want to see this.
We get it, no one wants to be locked up.
Your house already feels small, and by now it’s starting to feel like a prison.
You want to get out and enjoy your life as you once did before. But until this lockdown is over, you’re stuck inside like a prisoner.
But since you’re not going anywhere, I think it’s time we start to look at isolation as a blessing.
It was in isolation in the cave of Hira that the Prophet ﷺ received revelation.
It was also in isolation in the cave that أصحاب الكهف were protected from persecution.
It was in isolation in the belly of the whale that Prophet Yunus found his salvation from danger.
It was in isolation in Prison that Yusuf found his way to power after years of despair.
To the Prophet ﷺ, isolation was an opportunity for him to find seclusion with His Lord. It was a form of اعتكاف, a seclusion away from the perils and chaos of the world around him. Aisha narrated that prior to receiving revelation the Prophet ﷺ loved to make seclusion in the Cave of Hira for nights on end to worship Allah.
It is through this seclusion that we open the door of opportunity to sit down with ourselves and examine our deeds, examine our intentions and examine our status with Allah for the day.
It gives us the opportunity to give our hearts a much needed break from the frenzy of the outside world, the businesses, the finances, the current affairs, the rat race and all the outside noise. It gives us the opportunity to make Athkaar more intimately, make Istighfaar with presence, to read the Quran and connect with it like never before.
It is in such moments where we can gain proximity with our Lord and connect with Him on a deeper level. As Allah states in the Quran:
وَاذْكُرِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ وَتَبَتَّلْ إِلَيْهِ تَبْتِيلاً (Quran 73:8)
And remember the name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him with complete devotion.
This complete devotion is achieved through cutting off all distractions and concerns, and confining yourself to the remembrance of Allah.
It is in such opportunities we can gain the honour of Allah making mention of us to Himself. As mentioned in the Qudsi Hadith, Allah the Almighty says “I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself”.
This seclusion even opens the door to gaining the security of being under the shade of Allah on the Day of Judgement. As the Prophet ﷺ stated of the people who will be under the shade is
“ رَجُلٌ ذَكَرَ اللَّهَ خالياً فَفَاضَتْ عَيْنَاهُ” (Bukhari and Muslim)
A man or a woman who remembers Allah in privacy and their eyes fill with tears. This can of course only be achieved through being in a state of privacy and seclusion.
Lastly this seclusion is perhaps everything your soul needs to prepare for death. As most of us have become accustomed to a life of non-stop socializing and mixing with people, there is no better time to familiarise yourself with a day that you will have no one but your deeds to accompany you.
While the doors of socialising and mixing can no doubt bring much goodness into the life of a Muslim and allow him to increase in good deeds, let us not miss out on the blessings of seclusion in this period of isolation.
May Allah fill our Ramadan with blessing and allow us to grow closer to Him, by loving Him, knowing Him and remembering Him. Ameen
