By Hana Alasry (3 Minute Read)
We all know how it goes… A man, age 40, is in a cave. He is confronted by an angel. We marvel at the story of an illiterate man being asked to read by an angel named Jibreel. We drown in the scenery, his fear, his shock, his running home to his wife. However, we often times overlook one thing: What was this man doing in a cave?
Let’s tell the story again but we’ll reframe it this time. Here is a man, still age 40, alone in a small cave. He would be there days on end, sometimes longer. What was he doing? His body was breathing and so was his soul. He was in training and he was epitomizing the reflective thinking he was desperately going to need. He was getting comfortable with being alone. He is now confronted by an angel named Jibreel. From that point on, this man would know that when he was alone, he was never actually alone. This man’s name is Muhammad (pbuh).
The prophet (SAW) was a man of balance. In our lives, we try so hard to achieve balance but it only makes sense that we do so by taking his example. We do this by reflecting on why his alone time was so pertinent. Why did Muhammad (SAW) take it upon himself to step away from his home and family for days and why don’t we follow that same principle in today’s society?
Nowadays, we enjoy solitude when it’s convenient to us. For example, we slip away in a private library room to study for our exams. We go as far as turning off our cell phones or at least muting our notifications on whatsapp to get that time to be productive. In other circumstances, our comfort level with being alone is below ground level and many times, we aren’t even aware of it. When we drive home by ourselves, where does that urge to blast the radio come from? When we go out to dinner, why do we opt for take-out rather than to sit and eat our food in the restaurant all by our lonesome? And finally, why is it that right before we sleep, our thoughts flow with fears, anxiety and reality checks that keep us awake far too long? These are just a few of many examples of how we’ve been socially and psychologically conditioned to avoid solitude.
We live in a world of approximately 8 billion people. With so many people, it can get pretty “noisy.” All this noise can force us to forget the importance of knowing ourselves and enjoying silence. Perhaps the passive nature of drowning in the noise is easier than actively finding a way out. But what if we separated ourselves from the noise purposely and engaged in that same training our beloved prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) did?
From these reflections, I present a challenge. My challenge to both myself and to all readers is to begin to factor solitude into our schedules. I say let’s do what the Prophet (SAW) did and make alone-time intentional and purposeful. Let’s escape the people, the cellphones, the laptops and just train. Perhaps you can schedule a walk or stargaze at night. We can also take recommendations from our deen and utilize duaa and tahajjud. However it is done, find a way to revive that prophetic example in ourselves and watch the effect it has. If anything, let us be reminded that when we are alone, we are never actually alone.