📿 al-Ḥikam of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh — Wisdom #12 مَا نَفَعَ القَلبَ شَيءٌ مِثلُ عُزْلَةٍ يَدْخُلُ بِهَا مَيْدَانَ فِكْرَةٍ. "Nothing benefits the heart like a solitude through which it enters the field of contemplation." Ibn ʿAbbād explains that mixing with people exposes the heart to backbiting, pretension, and hardness — diseases that erode certainty. True solitude is not mere isolation but a turning inward: guarding the tongue, the ears, and the gaze from what distracts. Yet withdrawal alone is incomplete — its fruit is only realized when the heart is occupied with tafakkur (contemplation), which the Prophet ﷺ praised as greater than years of worship. As Hasan al-Baṣrī said: "Contemplation is a mirror that shows you your good qualities from your bad ones." — Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, commentary by Ibn ʿAbbād al-Rundī #Islam #Hikam #IbnAtaAllah #Tasawwuf #Spirituality