The Model of Monotheistic Solitude and the Style of Relating to the Real (al-Ḥaqq) in Quranic Supplications: An Analysis of Epistemological and Psychological Components

Monotheistic solitude (al-khalwah al-tawḥīdiyyah) is a foundational pillar of the faithful lifestyle. Extracting this model from Quranic verses elucidates the governing logic of secluding oneself with the Lord within the realm of “Quranic supplications” (munājāt) and identifies its epistemic and psychological components. The present study seeks to investigate how the style of communion with the Divine in Quranic supplications provides an efficacious model of monotheistic solitude based on epistemological and psychological dimensions. Employing a descriptive-analytical approach, the findings demonstrate that from the Quranic perspective, solitude is not passive isolation, but a strategic action aimed at reconstructing human existential dimensions before the Absolute Truth. “Monotheistic solitude” encompasses a spectrum of intertwined styles, each fulfilling a distinct function in the servant’s psycho-spiritual structure. Within a coherent Quranic-narrative framework, these diverse styles of total devotion and detachment (inqiṭāʿ ilā Allāh) include: forty-day spiritual retreat (arbaʿīniyyah) as a ground for receiving revelation, seclusion (ʿuzlah) and spiritual retreat (iʿtikāf) as spaces for returning to the self and countering civilizational turbulence, and nocturnal vigil (tahajjud) as an instrument of spiritual resilience and inner fortitude for fulfilling demanding social responsibilities. At a deeper level, this model is anchored in asceticism (zuhd) and liberation from illusory attachments, culminating through tajrīd (clearing the mind of phenomenal multiplicity) into the station of tafrīd (dedicating the heart exclusively to God and the unity of witnessed reality). Psychologically, these supplicatory styles foster personality coherence, crisis resilience, and the mitigation of existential anxiety. Epistemologically,