such as the reports concerning the sevenfold recitations (al-musabbaʿāt), which he narrated from al-Khidr, from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. These are pure falsehood, even though they contain nothing but Quran recitation. He also sometimes mentions innovated acts of worship, such as the excessive praise of hunger offered by him, Abū Hāmid, and others. They describe weighing bread against moist wood, so that the amount eaten decreases as the wood dries. They also cite accounts of prayers for the various days and nights, all of them false and fabricated. Alongside this, they may therefore mention some corrupt imaginings. This is not the place to discuss that at length.

The purpose here is simply to draw attention to a category of innovated worship: “innovated retreats,” whether their duration is fixed or not. They involve innovated acts of worship: either practices whose general kind is prescribed but for which no fixed measure has been laid down, or practices whose very kind is not prescribed. As for lawful retreat, withdrawal, and solitude, these are whatever has been commanded as obligatory or recommended.

(The former) includes withdrawing from forbidden matters and avoiding them, as Allah Most High says:

“When you see those who speak offensively about Our verses, turn away from them until they engage in some other discourse.”

This also includes His words concerning His intimate friend:

“When he withdrew from them and from what they worshipped besides Allah, We granted him Isaac and Jacob, and made each of them a prophet.”

And His words concerning the people of