Solitude in Times of Fitna

Question

When an era of trials (fitan) appears, is solitude and seclusion the path to safety? Has that era already appeared or not? What is the intended meaning (misdaq) of the noble verse: [ar]يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ عَلَيْكُمْ أَنفُسَكُمْ لَا يَضُرُّكُم مَّن ضَلَّ إِذَا ٱهْتَدَيْتُمْ ۚ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ جَمِيعًا فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ[/ar] "O you who believe! Take care of your own souls. He who has strayed cannot harm you if you are rightly guided.

Answer

Whoever cannot preserve his religion while living within [ordinary] society and surroundings, but is able to preserve it in seclusion, may still do so at the present time. But if he does not possess [the] religion [to begin with], he should not adopt seclusion as a means of acquiring religion — rather, let him seek a better environment where he may find a good companion; let…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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