and the most praiseworthy in their outcome. This is moderate wakefulness, which benefits the heart and body without hindering the servant from attending to what benefits him.

Those who practise spiritual discipline and wayfaring base their training on these four foundations. Those who benefit most from them follow the prophetic way of Muhammad, neither deviating like those who go to extremes nor falling short like the negligent. We have already described his guidance—peace and blessings be upon him—in fasting, night prayer, and speech. Let us now describe (1) his guidance in devotional retreat.

He—peace and blessings be upon him—used to observe devotional retreat during the last ten days of Ramadan until Allah, mighty and majestic, took him in death (2). On one occasion he omitted it, then made it up in Shawwāl (3).

On one occasion, he observed devotional retreat during the first ten days, then the middle ten, then the last ten, seeking the Night of Decree. It then became clear to him that it fell within the last ten days (4), so he continued to observe his retreat then until he met his Lord, mighty and majestic.

He would order a tent to be pitched for him in the mosque, where he would be alone (5) with his Lord, mighty and majestic.

When he intended to observe devotional retreat, he would pray the dawn prayer and then enter the tent. Once, he ordered it to be pitched, and it was pitched for him. His wives then ordered their tents to be pitched, and they were. After praying the dawn prayer, he looked and saw those tents. He ordered his own tent to be taken down, and it was dismantled. He did not observe devotional retreat that Ramadan, until he observed it during the ten days