A man on the spiritual path once asked a scholar to advice him on how to protect his religion. The sage stated 3 strong covers for religion. The first is to give up the search of the world. Almost all spiritual leaders were inspired in seclusion before they started teaching their faith. Being lost in the world will never lead to any kind of awareness since there are a lot of influences. But to abandon the world totally is not possible as you must not leave your burden on others. You have to have at least a small source of income to make ends meet. You should take from the world only what is absolutely necessary. God will test you to strengthen your faith “ And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient,”(Surat Al-Baqarah [verse 155] ). That is why only the patient ones survive certain stages of spiritual growth. It is written in “(Tauba) Ihya Ulum id Din “ of Imam AL Gazhali: After praise of God and blessing on His prophet, cares and disasters lie before you. Either you must meet with salvation or meet with destruction. And moreover it is said: “After Hamd and Salat, this world is an enemy of God’s friend and a friend of the foes o God. Prophets, friends of God and religious people are tested for their examination with disasters”.
All prophets went through hardships as a test for them. Job(Ayyub) was tested in many ways and kept patience, and Noah was tested for a set of people. Faithful worshipers of God are not free from dangers and difficulties. They are driven out of cities. They are sometimes blamed before the ruling power and some men attribute to them infidelity. If you hang on the word you will succumb here.
The second cover for your religion is to give up the company of some people except in necessity. It is said that the 3 main people you hang with will have a huge influence on your character. Seeking the company of the righteous is advisable because it strengthens your faith and spiritual growth. Sometimes because it is necessary you must stay within the company of some people. Spirituality starts with repentance and most successful repentant keep themselves firm for some days after repentance, give up major sins and do divine service. Keeping the company of the foes of Allah might hinder this kind of behavior. People who are addicted in drugs or are in illegal relationships are not considered to be good company unless you hang with them to let a hand to help.. Having illegal sexual relationships is prohibited in Islam and even Christianity. Going on dates or to night clubs is not something necessary for a Muslim. It is even prohibited. And the successful ones among your friends, even if they are not religious are mostly people who only moderately go out in clubs or avoid it for a while at least. Sometimes you must find excuses to avoid some people as they could have an influence on your religion.
And even in our modern societies, seclusion has proven to be very effective as a therapy. They are methods of curing depression and mental illnesses where the patient is isolated for a period of time. Amd most messengers of God used to withdraw from the public to meditate. Moses was alone on the Mountain when the voice of Allah spoke to him . And the prophet Jesus(Issa aleyisalam used to practice seclusion). Once he was tempted by Satan in Seclusion. Our beloved prophet Muhammad(pbuh) received his first and many revelations in seclusion.
Seclusion in necessary for spiritual advancement because you can escape the overwhelming whispering of the mind and create thoughts that are suitable to the teachings of the prophets. Seclusion is a powerful aid for self control and self mastering and transforming thoughts.
The third cover of your religion is to stop talking. Say only what is necessary. It is your duty to give advice or complain but remember that everything you say is being recorded and will be used against you the day of judgment. Moreover some words hurts more than actions. Most of the time, especially when we are angry, we do not think before we speak and the prophet said about this : “ Whoever believes in Allah and the last day should either speak what is good or remain silent.“
The most common form of sinful speech is gossiping. Backbiting is a sin because you are normally not allowed to talk negatively about someone who is not present even-though what you say might be true. And you are also not allowed to slander, that is to make negative utterances about someone in mockery or insults or suspicions. Allah says in the quran: “O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wretched is the name [that is, mention] of disobedience after [one’s] faith. And whoever does not repent — then it is those who are the wrongdoers.” (Qur’an, 49: 11). If you have destroyed someone’s honor through gossiping it can be a major sin. You can repent by reversing it if possible but you are not really sure.
