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These
disciples of God who are termed as Sufis have in seclusion
(chillah) perfected withdrawal of senses of perception from
seeking sense gratification from the external environment.
Prophet Muhammad used to go to the cave of Hira and pass days
and nights in Khilvat. When he was forty years old, he received
the first Divine relevation in the cave of Hira.
This
tradition of khilvat is firmly held by the Sufis who also
go into retreat once every year. The Sufis go into Khilvat
for 40 days in a year. Here moral injunction and fixed observances
are adhered to and the disciples try for greater perfection
in improving the concentration on the Divine (Fikr) with increased
practice of Zikr (rememberance of the Divine). In khilvat
the disciple also is able to isolate the voice of the soul
which is different from the ordinary thought of the mind or
the voice of the ego or the voice of the intelligence. We
must remember here that the disciples who go in Khilvat have
already the blessings of Murshid (spiritual mentor) for it
is not possible without the guidance from the murshid to be
able to isolate the intution from the Jungle of other voices
in the mind which originate due to imagination of hallucination
or from mental fatigue. In khilvat the negative traits retarding
the progress of the murid (disciple) are weeded out for it
is only in isolation that perfect concentration with perfect
contemplation combine to enhance Zikr (remembrance of the
Divine).
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