A Book About Being Alone
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Welcome. We live in a world where we are almost never alone. Our phones buzz. Our feeds scroll. Voices, opinions, arguments, and noise follow us from the moment we wake up until we fall asleep.
But what if some of the most important things can only happen in silence?
About eleven hundred years ago, in Baghdad, the scholar Ibn Abi al-Dunya collected everything he could find on this question. What did the Prophet ﷺ say about withdrawing from people? What did the companions do when the world around them became confusing and full of trials? And when is it better to be with others, and when is it better to be alone?
He called his book al-Uzla wa al-Infirad, Seclusion and Solitude.
It is not a book that tells you to run away from life, or abandon your family, or stop going to the mosque. The scholars of Islam always taught that we are social beings, with rights and duties towards others.
But it is a book that teaches the value of protecting your heart, guarding your tongue, choosing your company carefully, and making time to be alone with your Lord.
