The Concepts of Seclusion in the Classical Islamic Thought

Abstract

The problem of seclusion in the classical Islamic thought is simultaneously religious, ethical, political, and a metaphysical one. The issue of withdrawal from the community is closely related to the matter of happiness. Is loneliness the way to contentment or only life in society can lead a man to happiness? This paper outlines the most important positions within the classical Islamic thought on the phenomenon ofseclusion. Thus, Al-Fārābī, following Plato and Aristotle, emphasizes that happiness is achievable only in the political community. Ibn Haldūn holds an analogous opinion, seeing sociality as essential and economically indispensable. Tasawuf, both as experience and as a concept, give to the concealment and isolation a primal significance: the seeker for God’s love must abandon everything to approach the Supreme God, who is, in His absolute transcendence, also alone. Andalusian thinkers Ibn Bādždža andIbn Ṭufayl take a middle position: man is a social being, but he is unhappy in society, society corrupts him, and therefore he strives for solitude that provides him with peace, cognition, and faith.