Khalwah, in most Sufi traditions,means retreat or withdrawal from the world.  For us, this practice is an all night silent prayer retreat under the guidance of Sidi or one of his appointed teachers.  This sacred offering is a means of walking deeply and letting go of old thought forms and patterns of the nafs. Many sacred traditions are done in the evening or in the middle of the night, when the veil between the two worlds is the thinnest and the outside, physical world is the quietest.  Khalwahs traditionally begin after Salat al-Magrib and continue into the early morning hours. This sacred practice consists of reciting a specific number of rounds of the daily al-Wird, the traditional Shadhuli practice using your prayer beads or masbaha.  The leader determines the number of rounds based on the depth of the walking of the group.  This number varies from 500 (for beloveds new to the path) up to 3000 repetitions of each of the three Arabic chants from the Wird.  Between each of the three lines of chants, we do two rak’ah of Salah.  After completing the assigned number of chants for all three lines of the Wird, the khalwah is completed by doing thirty minutes to an hour of Remembrance (chanting Allah) with your eyes open and gazing at the name of Allah written in Arabic    Followed by another thirty minutes to an hour of Remembrance while looking at the name of Allah with your eyes closed.  During the khalwah, it is our tradition to fast from eating.  Drinking water or tea is acceptable. There is also a sacrifice (donation) that is involved, which has deep significance to the individual’s soul.  Giving charity is one of the five pillars of Islam.  It is a way for people to purify themselves of their attachments to the outside world.  Each person is asked to gave a sacrifice of $250, which is used to buy food to feed poor people in the Holy Land.  If you are truly unable to sacrifice the full $250, then go into your heart and ask what the amount you heart wants to give.  This amount will be accepted instead. Healing practices not only heal the person doing the practice, but also loved ones who are energetically attached to the practitioner and to people living in the local area around the practitioner.

Please check this website to see if a khalwah is being held for the community. USHS khalwah.  Also here is a prinout of khalwah-instructions provided by USHS.

In the mid-2000’s I was at USHS doing a khalwah with Sidi.   We were in a tent out in the California mountains, praying as a group.  Since we were close to a lake, you could hear frogs croaking loudly and continuously.  Sidi said that all animals do their own dhikr to Allah and you could hear the frogs saying their dhikr.  I recently came upon this recording of crickets doing their dhikr.  It is the sound of crickets chirping, slowed down.  It sounds like angels singing in a choir.  Here is a link to the crickets.  Since it is a link to another website that I don’t have any control over, if this link becomes broken or inactive, please let me know.

In Sidi’s book, The Path to Allah, Most High, Sidi devotes a whole section on the khalwah.  I have written part of it below and then it continues.

The Tenth Station: al-khalwah

The tenth station of the heart that is required is retreat (al-khlawah).  Allah says, “And [remember] when We appointed for Musa forty nights [of solitude].” [Q2:51]  And Allah said to His Prophet, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, “So remember the Name of your Lord and devote [yourself] to Him with utter devotion.”[Q73:8] This means to turn to Him in worship and in sincerity.  He refers to this when He says, “Say, ‘Allah’, and leave them to play in their vain idle talk.” [Q6:91] ‘A’ishah said, “The revelation to the Prophet, may the blessings and peace be upon him, began with a true vision in his sleep.” Whenever he had a vision, it manifested like the break of dawn.  And Allah endeared seclusion to him, so he would sit alone in the cave of Hira’ and worship Him all night, and the Haqq revealed Himself to him in the cave of Hira’. Know that retreat (al-khalwah) is of two types: the seclusion from creation and the seclusion of forty days with the Truth.  As for the first it is known that to keep the company of a holy person is better than seclusion and to be in seclusion is better than keeping the company of a bad person.  The Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, said, “The best way of living is that of the man who takes his horse in the way of Allah to the heart of the valley to establish as-salat, to give zakat,  and to worship Allah until death comes to him.”  It has also been said that whoever wants to preserve his religion in the right way and to give rest to his body and heart should isolate himself from people. An intelligent person chooses the solitary life.  However, the believer who mixes with the company of  people and has patience with their troubles is better than the believer who does not mix with them and cannot be patient with people.  The deciding factor in all of this is that if you find companions who support you in your religion, then mingle with them.  And if you do not find such companions, it is better to be alone than to keep the company of those who are inclined to evil. The seclusion of forty days with the Haqq has its own conditions and ‘adab.  Retreat is a necessary condition in this tariqa.  ‘A’ishah, peace be upon her, narrated that at the beginning of the revelation, “Allah endeared seclusion to the Prophet, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him.”  He would spend time in the cave of Hira’, sometimes for a week or two, and at that time the Haqq revealed to him the secrets of seeking the Haqq.  He did away with family, relatives, sustenance, and all the pleasures of the junya, and was satisfied with what would quench his thirst, meaning a little water.  He was in a state of divestment, engaged in turning to the presence of the Lord.  He continued this practice and Allah enriched him until he had need for the food and drink of the creation.  He used to say, “I put up for the night with my Lord; He feeds me and gives me drink.”  He was aided by a spirit from Him and ennobled by the descent of revelation upon him.

I have included a PDF of the rest of it here: khalwah from Path to Allah.  Please print it out if you do not have a copy of Path to Allah.