If applied with a correct understanding, isolation can be most beneficial.
Ibn Taymiyah said:
“At times, it is necessary for the worshiper to be isolated from others in order to pray, remember Allahu, recite the Qur’an and evaluate himself and his deeds. Also, isolation allows one to supplicate, seek forgiveness, stay away from evil, and so on.”
Ibn al-jawzi dedicated three chapters of his well-known book Sayd al-Kathir to this topic. He said
“I have not seen or heard of anything that brings repose, honor and dignity as much as seclusion does. It helps one to stay away from evil, it protects one’s honor and it saves time. It keeps one away from the jealous minded and those who take pleasure in your affection. It promotes the remembrance of the hereafter and it allows one to reflect on the meeting with Allahu. In times of seclusion, one’s thought may roam in that which is beneficial, in that which contains wisdom …”
Only Allahu knows the full benefits of seclusion, one’s mind develops, views are ripened, the heart finds repose and one finds himself to be in an ideal atmosphere for worship. By remaining isolated at times, one distances himself from trials, from flattering the person who deserves no praise and from the eyes of jealous and envious persons. One is saved from the haughtiness of the proud and the follies of the idiot. In isolation, one’s faults, deeds and sayings are all secluded behind a veil.
During periods of isolation, one is able to delve deep into a sea of ideas and concepts. In such a state, the mind is free to form its opinions. Isolated from the company of others, the soul is free to achieve a state of rapture and to hunt for the stimulating thought.
When alone, one does nothing for show or ostentation, since none but Allahu sees him and since none but Allahu hears him.
Every person who was a genius, a mental giant, or a great contributor to the human race watered the seeds of his greatness from the well of isolation, until the seed became a plant and then finally a formidable tree.
