Chapter (9) Retreating to Worship Allah

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The first retreat of Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān in a cave at the foot of Mount Sagarmah in Karbchna, which Shāh al-Kasnazān and Shaikh Ḥusayn al-Kasnazān had used for retreats (1978).

Compete in preaching; compete in opening takyas; compete in having good manners; compete in doing more dhikr; compete in worshipping at night; compete in fasting often; compete in performing retreats and spiritual exercises. Do not compete in chasing after this world. This world is carrion and those who seek it are dogs. This world seeks those who run away from it and runs away from those who seek it.

Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān (Sermon, 22 December 2005)

Following in the footsteps of the Prophet (PBUH) and the Shaikhs of Ṭarīqa, Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad went into khalwas (retreats) to worship Allah (exalted and high is He). His three seclusions were in the same cave that Shāh al-Kasnazān and Sultan Ḥusayn carried out their retreats at the foot of Mount Sagarma.

9.1 Three Retreats

The Shaikh’s three seclusions took place in three consecutive years, all after he became the Master of Ṭarīqa. The first khalwa was less than six months after assuming the Shaikhdom in 1978 and the second and third in the following two years. Clearly, practising three khalwas in such a short period at the beginning of his Shaikhdom was meant to speed up his spiritual development.

Each khalwa began ten days before the month of Ramadan and continued throughout the month of fasting, totalling forty days. According to the Western calendar, the first khalwa began around 26 July and ended on 3 September 1978. Each of the following two seclusions began and ended eleven days before the one that preceded it, as the lunar Hijrī year is shorter than the solar Western year by eleven days. The third khalwa differed from the first two in that the Shaikh did not spend all of his time in the cave. He would remain inside it from the morning prayer until the night prayer and then return to the takya, probably because of his need to closely manage the Ṭarīqa’s affairs and the impossibility of postponing everything for forty days.

Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān upon leaving his first retreat in Karbchna, followed by his companion, the Caliph Ḥājj Muḥammad Maḥmūd (September 1978).

Before entering his first seclusion, he visited the Karbchna shrines. When he was about to enter the cave, he read the basmala and the following noble verse, “Retreat to the cave. Your Lord will spread out for you of His mercy and will make easy for you your affair” (al-Kahf 18:16). This noble verse recounts Allah’s order to the famed young converts to enter the cave that witnessed the miracle of their lengthy slumber and then waking up.

The cave of our Shaikh’s retreat faces the Kaʿba. The walls and ceiling of this natural cave are made up of huge rocks. It is about three metres deep, and it is more than two metres high in most places, so it is possible to stand at its entrance, but it gradually narrows on some of its sides. When inside the cave, the person is completely isolated from the outside world. This makes it reminiscent of Cave Ḥirāʾ, where the Prophet (PBUH) would seclude himself. Since our Shaikh’s three seclusions were in the heat of summer, he would stay inside the cave during the day, and when the temperature would cool at night, he would go out and sit on the roof of the cave.

The Kasnazānī khalwa diet is extremely challenging to adhere to, yet our Master subjected himself to a far stricter diet, which was specific to him as the Shaikh of Ṭarīqa. He restricted his daily food intake to a very small quantity of bread, fruits, and vegetables. In the first thirteen days of his first khalwa, he limited his daily intake of bread to a quarter of a ruqāq bread prepared without any salt or sugar. Ruqāq bread is extremely thin; when he would break off a piece in his palm before eating it, it would not fill it. After that, he stopped eating bread completely for the rest of that khalwa and in the following two, limiting his diet to fruit, such as melons. He could only eat a few kinds of fruit because they would cause discomfort as a result of eating them without any other food. He would also eat a few pieces of boiled okra that were cooked without fat or salt because it helps in softening the stomach with its abundant fibre. A few days after this huge reduction in food intake, water and tea would start to cause acidity in the stomach.

.The cave of Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān’s retreat (19 March 2016)

He also put himself through additional struggles. In the first khalwa, he asked his brother-in-law, Sāmān, to accompany him without being in a state of seclusion himself, meaning without abiding by its conditions. At the time of breaking the fast, the Shaikh would ask for the best, most delicious kinds of food for his companion to eat in front of him. Shaikh Sāmān told me that as soon as the khalwa ended, it became clear to him that our Shaikh was subjecting himself to additional struggle by having his companion eat those delicious foods in front of him. He expressed his amazement about the fact that he never thought about this matter at all during the khalwa. As he put it, it was as if the Shaikh had thrown a veil over his companion that prevented him from realising that he was being used as an additional source of strife for the Shaikh so that he would not feel embarrassed. While the Shaikh would watch his companion eat as much as he liked of the tastiest of foods, the small amount of very limited foods he would eat himself throughout the entire day would not fill the palm of one hand. Commenting on the difficulty of this struggle against the self, our Shaikh said, “There are times when one wishes he could give everything he owns for a piece of bread”.[1] This emphasizes the magnitude of spiritual influence that helps the person in seclusion withstand its exceptional hardships.

About thirty-five dervishes from different parts of Iraq and some from Iran joined him in the first khalwa. He delivered a sermon to them about the khalwa’s rules and etiquettes. Before it began, he determined the area of seclusion for the dervishes, on the same mountain, close to his cave. Each disciple chose a small natural place suitable for seclusion or prepared one using branches and shrubs as roofs and walls. It was incumbent upon the one in seclusion to stay within the limits of the khalwa area even when leaving his place of seclusion for whatever reason. Some disciples secluded themselves on an individual basis, while others were in pairs. The Shaikh cautioned the dervishes to not busy themselves with talking instead of worship. He and the dervishes refrained from shaving their beards during the khalwa.

In every khalwa, the first dhikr that our Shaikh and the disciples would perform was the first khatma of the perennial Kasnazānī dhikrs, “lā ilāha illallāh”. They would also complete a khatma of each of the other eighteen perennial wirds during the khalwa. Dervishes were instructed not to sleep at night as they had to spend it in worship. A dervish could sleep for a while after finishing his dhikrs that follow the dawn prayer.

Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān looks at the beautiful calligraphy of a copy of the Holy Quran before the start of the celebration of the birth of Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Gaylānī (may Allah sanctify his secret) at the Amman takya, Jordan, the night of 20 December 2018.

The disciples spent most of their time alone performing their devotional duties, but they would come together at certain times of the day for congregational dhikrs. They would also recite al-Būṣīrī’s al-Burda every night as a group. Also, after praying and breaking the fast, the Shaikh and the dervishes would stand in the direction of the Kaʿba to recite one hundred times each of the dhikrs “yā Khabīr (O All-Aware One!)” and “ṣallā Allāhu subḥānahu wa-tʿālā ʿalayka wa-sallam yā rasūla Allāh (may Allah (exalted and high is He) send prayers upon you, O Messenger of Allah!)”.

In the morning, the dervishes taking part in the retreat would gather in front of the Shaikh’s cave to hear a sermon, any instructions or remarks he had, and answers to questions related to the seclusion. When a disciple had a question or a particular issue he wanted to present to the Shaikh outside the group meeting time, for example, a private matter, he would inform the person standing at the Shaikh’s service for him to arrange a meeting. Dervishes outside the khalwa were sometimes allowed to pay a short visit to the Shaikh.

9.2 Supernatural and Spiritual Experiences

Entering seclusion makes a person go through various spiritual experiences, from divine unveilings and visitations from good spirits to harassment and attacks from evil spiritual creatures trying to stop him from this practice of intense worship of Allah and to harm him. Someone who would like to enter a retreat needs a Shaikh to spiritually protect him from devils and evil spirits that try to cause him harm. He must also be ready for this most difficult experience, as our Shaikh explains:

An ordinary person cannot complete a khalwa at all. They either cause him some harm or kill him, he may lose his mind, or he may just cut it short and run away. Anyone who claims to have completed a khalwa is a liar, unless he is a walī. A person who has not attained wilāya cannot complete a khalwa without a Shaikh. The person who has a Shaikh can do that. If one of our dervishes wishes to enter a khalwa, I would educate him and give him permission so he can do it, provided that he has a sound mind and understanding and is calm. A person who lacks reason or understanding cannot complete a khalwa.[2]

Our Shaikh said that during his three seclusions, whenever he closed his eyes, without sleeping or entering into a state of spiritual meditation, whether night or day, he would see his Master, Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm, and his Master’s Master, Shaikh Ḥusayn, standing at the entrance of the cave.[3] Their spiritual presence was to protect their caliph and Deputy, the new Shaikh of Ṭarīqa, while he progressed spiritually. Our Master said that Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm did not leave him, that is, spiritually, for five years after he succeeded him.

Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān looks at the beautiful calligraphy of a copy of the Holy Quran before the start of the celebration of the birth of Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Gaylānī (may Allah sanctify his secret) at the Amman takya, Jordan, the night of 20 December 2018.

Much of what happens during a retreat is kept private and is not shared with others. I will mention here some of what our Shaikh revealed of the spiritual experiences that he had during his seclusions.

For a period in one of the seclusions, devils would disseminate an extremely foul odour, like that of a rotting corpse, at the time of breaking the fast. The odour would persist until approximately the time of the night prayer. It made it difficult for the Shaikh to eat or drink.

One day, the Shaikh was lying down with his eyes closed reading dhikrs when his heart suddenly received an inspiration to order the dervish at his service, who was sitting nearby, to immediately get up and leave his post. As soon as the dervish left his place, a massive rock fell from the cave’s roof onto the spot where he had been seated, which would have undoubtedly killed him had he remained in his place.

One night, a snake dangled from the roof of the cave towards our Shaikh’s assistant. As soon as our Shaikh drew his sword, the snake fled. In another incident, he asked his assistant to clean his pillow, and when he lifted it, he found a very large scorpion underneath it.

The following occurrence was witnessed by all the dervishes in seclusion. At times, after the night prayer but before midnight, the part of the sky facing the opening of the Shaikh’s cave would transform into something like a battlefield because of the abundance of meteors shooting across it. This indicates an abnormal level of presence and activity of, on the one hand, devils and evil jinns who try to negatively impact the divine atmosphere that the khalwa creates and, on the other, good spirits that undo their efforts. This phenomenon is a confirmation of what Allah Almighty says in the Qur’an:

We have placed within the heaven mansions and beautified it for observers. We have protected it from every cursed devil, except one who steals a hearing and is pursued by a clear burning flame. (Al–Ḥijr 15:16–18)

Indeed, We have adorned the nearest heaven with an adornment of stars and as protection against every rebellious devil. They may not listen to the exalted assembly [of angels] and are pelted from every side, repelled; and for them is a constant punishment, except one who snatches [some words] by theft, but they are pursued by a burning flame, piercing [in brightness]. (Al–Ṣāffāt 37:6–10)

The following noble verse mentioned by a jinn spokesperson explicitly mentions the increase of guards in the heavens at certain times when special spiritual activities take place:

We have sought [to reach] heaven but found it filled with powerful guards and burning flames. We used to sit therein in positions for hearing, but whoever listens now will find a burning flame lying in wait for him. (Al–Jinn 72:8–9)

Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān looks at the beautiful calligraphy of a copy of the Holy Quran before the start of the celebration of the birth of Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Gaylānī (may Allah sanctify his secret) at the Amman takya, Jordan, the night of 20 December 2018.

This is another example of how Ṭarīqa transforms faith from being “traditional” to “authentic”, as our Shaikh used to describe it. Traditional faith is the kind of faith that one inherits from his culture and holds without direct, experiential proof of its unseen foundations. Ṭarīqa causes a devoted dervish to see spiritual proofs from the unseen, which are unattainable otherwise. The dervishes in seclusion had complete faith in Allah’s words, including verses that describe pelting the devils who try to infiltrate the world of good spirits. However, their witnessing of the phenomenon of the abundance of meteors with their own eyes drew them closer to the level of Iḥsān. This is the highest degree of certainty which the Prophet (PBUH) defined as follows, “[It is] to worship Allah as if you see Him; and if you cannot see Him, then verily He sees you”.[4] Karāmas are the means of crossing over from “believing” in the Qur’an’s truthfulness to “witnessing” it.

In another unveiling that testified to the veracity of the Qur’an, our Shaikh saw the sky in the form of an array of adjacent doors. The doors were of the usual size. When he asked about the doors, he was told that behind each was something extremely terrifying that would destroy anyone who tries to enter without permission. This is a spiritual representation of this Qur’anic verse:

And the heavens shall be opened, becoming in the form of doors. (Al–Nabaʾ 78:19)

After reciting, with the disciples, one hundred times each of “yā Khabīr” and “ṣallā Allāhu subḥānahu wa-tʿālā ʿalayka wa-sallam yā rasūla Allāh” after the sunset prayer while standing and facing the Kaʿba, the Shaikh would proceed with his personal wirds. At that time, the dervishes would begin to hear what sounded like the chirping of thousands of crickets. The sound would continue until he finished those dhikrs at the time of the night prayer, at which point it would disappear. At times, the sound would be so loud to the point where he would have to raise his voice when speaking even when addressing someone near him. One astonishing aspect of this phenomenon is the fact of it happening at night in an isolated, mountainous area, where stillness is almost ubiquitous. This phenomenon sometimes occurred even outside of the khalwa. At times, the Shaikh would go out for a walk in Amman. At the end of that walking path, there is a grove wherein there are tall pine trees. In a spot there, he would perform the sunset prayer and the Sunna prayers and read his special wirds. Sometimes, the same sounds would be heard until he finished his wirds.

In seclusion, many spiritual unveilings and visitations from Shaikhs and good spirits occur. The following is one such karāma that happened to the Shaikh in his second seclusion, which he disclosed in a speech to dervishes who were visiting him:

A short while ago, Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm came and called me, “Muḥammad”. I answered, “Yes, my beloved”. He said, “Look at my hand”. There was a wire in his hand that looked like a radio antenna. He shook the wire, and a tremendous fire broke out from the city of Penjwin (in northern Iraq, on the border with Iran) to the city of Abadan (in southern Iran, on the border with Iraq). The Shaikh said, “Do you see that?” I answered in the affirmative. The Shaikh shook the wire again, and the fire spread as had happened the first time. The Shaikh said, “Tell your dervishes that we sat you in the Shaikhs’ place and put the Ṭarīqa’s staff in your hand. The one who sticks to you is safe, and the one who does not is responsible for that”.

This unveiling happened in mid-1979. A little more than a year later, a devastating eight-year-long war between Iraq and Iran broke out.

A karāma that illustrates the spiritual benefits of retreat happened three days before the end of our Shaikh’s third khalwa, i.e. on the twenty-seventh night of the month of Ramadan. This is the night that many consider Laylat al-Qadr (the Night of Power). The Shaikhs told our Master to inform the dervishes in seclusion that the Messenger (PBUH) was telling them to submit that night whatever requests they had. They told him that a sign of the truthfulness of this message is that when he informs the dervishes, one of them will be struck with an intense ḥāl that would cause him to take to the mountain. The next day, after breaking the fast, our Shaikh stood atop his cave, which overlooked all the dervishes’ places of seclusion, and informed them of the order of the Messenger (PBUH) to present their requests to Allah (exalted and high is He) after the night prayer. An Iranian dervish named sayyid ʿAbd al-Raḥmān was struck with a ḥāl that caused him to go to the mountain. The following day, the Shaikh had to send someone to bring him back. Late in the night of the notification, a dervish and cousin of his called Mullā Muḥammad came to him having experienced a ḥāl that made him cry and laugh. The dervish asked the Shaikh for permission to speak. The latter agreed and told him that he knew what he would say. The dervish said that, while awake, he saw every disciple present his requests in the form of a scroll. He saw the honourable hand of the Messenger (PBUH) take all requests and raise them to Allah (mighty and sublime is He).[5]

Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān looks at the beautiful calligraphy of a copy of the Holy Quran before the start of the celebration of the birth of Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Gaylānī (may Allah sanctify his secret) at the Amman takya, Jordan, the night of 20 December 2018.

Several deceased walīs who were disciples of Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm visited our Shaikh while he was in khalwa. This included some who passed away when he was still young. These visitors from the spirit world would ask him what he wanted from them in the way of service to Ṭarīqa, but he would dismiss them without asking for anything.

The following is another karāma that happened during one of our Shaikh’s retreats. He would suffer from the intense mid-summer heat during the day inside the cave. The Shaikhs made an opening in the cave through which a cool breeze, like that of an electric air conditioner, would come to him.

Many dervishes witnessed karāmas that revealed the spiritual support of the Shaikhs to our Shaikh in his seclusion. In his second seclusion, the Shaikh’s nephew, ʿAlī Ḥusayn, who was not in the khalwa, had a particular dream twice. He saw Imām ʿAlī (may Allah ennoble his face) descend from a rope from the sky to the place of seclusion.

These supernatural occurrences are just the tip of the iceberg of what happened during our Shaikh’s khalwas. Most karāmas are secrets that cannot be divulged.

One day in London, our Shaikh spoke to me in detail about khalwas and supernatural events that take place in them, including some that I have mentioned earlier. He also spoke about how evil spirits target those who perform dhikrs and spiritual practices, trying to make them abandon worship and hurt them. Indeed, devils have killed many walīs and righteous people. This usually happens when the latter are in a state of inattentiveness, such as when asleep or in the toilet.

One night in Kirkuk, Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad was asleep when evil spirits attacked him and hurt him a lot. He gently addressed his Shaikh, “How can they be allowed to hurt me when I seek madad from you?” At this point, Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm appeared spiritually. Our Shaikh shyly repeated his question. The Shaikh advised him to always have a wakeful guard near to him when he went to sleep. The presence of a wakeful guard would repeal evil spirits in most cases but a few. After this incident, our Shaikh would never sleep unless someone was awake near him.[6]

[1] Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān, sermon, 25 May 2000.

[2] Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān, sermon, 16 April 2016.

[3] Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān, sermon, 25 May 2000.

[4] Al-Bukhārī, Al-Jāmiʿ al-ṣaḥīḥ, I, no. 50, p. 65.

[5] Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān, sermon, 30 June 2000; 4 December 2013.

[6] Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān, sermon, 8 May 2000.

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