Mosaic Forty-Day Retreat

See also: Qur'an 68: 4

Mosaic Forty-Day Retreat (Arabic: الأربعون الكليمية) is a forty-day period from Dhu l-Qa'da 1 to Dhu l-Hijja 10, involving seclusion and worship with specific rituals. This period is established based on the forty-night divine promise to Prophet Musa (a). Some mystics recommend it for Spiritual wayfaring; however, some jurists consider the Sufi method of Forty-Day Retreat during these days as innovation (bid'a). According to some researchers, despite the virtue of these days, there is no evidence for the recommendation (istihbab) of retreat during this period.

Some of the rituals of this Forty-Day Retreat include: self-accounting (muhasaba) of past actions, vigilance (muraqaba), attention to God, avoidance of sins and isolation ('uzla), and performing specific acts and reciting specific supplications.

Status

Mosaic Forty-Day Retreat refers to forty days of seclusion, from the first of Dhu l-Qa'da until the tenth of Dhu l-Hijja, which alludes to the forty nights of God's promise to Musa (a). Some mystics and Sufis recommend this practice. This Chilla (Persian: چله, Arabic: أربعين, both literally "forty") is also known by other titles such as Chilla al-Musawiyya, Arba'in al-Kalimi, and Arba'īn al-Musawi. It is said that Chilla al-Mūsawī is the most famous seclusion among the Sufis and does not exist in Judaism.

According to Abd Allah Jawadi Amuli, Qur'an 7: 142 (وَ واعَدْنا مُوسی ثَلاثِینَ لَیلَةً وَ أَتْمَمْناها بِعَشْرٍ...; "We made an appointment with Moses for thirty nights, and We completed them with ten [more]..."), refers to the forty-day seclusion and munajat (confidential talk) of Moses with God (1 Dhu l-Qa'da to 10 Dhu l-Hijja). Therefore, he considers Mosaic Forty-Day to be among the instructions of the religion of Islam.

Rituals of Mosaic Forty-Day Retreat

The rituals of Chilla al-Musawi include self-accounting before starting, vigilance, avoidance of sins, isolation, and performing specific acts and supplications such as the Prayer of Sundays in Dhu l-Qa'da, the deeds of Dahw al-Ard and the Day of Arafah, fasting the first nine days of Dhu l-Hijja, and the Prayer of the first ten nights of Dhu l-Hijja.

Cover page of the book Asrar-i Arba'in-i Musawi (Secrets of Mosaic Forty-Day Retreat) in persian.

Views of Shi'a Scholars

Some jurists such as Lutf Allah Safi Gulpayigani and Muhammad Jawad Fadil Lankarani consider the Sufi form of Chilla al-Kalimiyya as rejected and unscriptural (ghayr al-shar'ī). Nasir Makarim Shirazi, in response to an inquiry (istifta') regarding the rulings of Chilla al-Kalimiyya, generally confirmed self-purification within the framework of the Shari'a. According to some researchers, although these forty days possess special virtue, there is no documentary evidence for the obligation (wujub) or recommendation (istihbab) of this Chilla during it.

Nevertheless, Hasan Hasanzada Amoli and Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Husayni Tihrani, who are Shi'a mystics, have recommended it for Sayr wa Suluk. Muhammad Hasan Vakili, the author of the book Ṣirāṭ-i Mustaqīm, also considers this period to have spiritual value, citing the experiences of mystics and some narrative allusions.