Panel: CONSTRUCTIVE MUSLIM THEOLOGIES ADDRESSING GLOBAL CHALLENGES



518.2 - SACRED SPIRITUAL CIRCLES: CHALLENGING THE LONELINESS EPIDEMIC

AUTHORS:
Sayilgan S. (Georgetown University ~ Washington, DC ~ United States of America)
Text:
This paper examines the Prophetic practice of ḥalaqas (spiritual circles) as a constructive Islamic response to the contemporary loneliness epidemic, drawing on Qur'anic ethics of relationality and Said Nursi's reflections in the Risale-i Nur on communal faith formation. While modern societies increasingly valorize individualism and digital connectivity, they often lack embodied spaces of trust, belonging, and intergenerational encounter. The ḥalaqa, rooted in the Prophet Muhammad's practice of gathering diverse companions for shared learning, remembrance, and ethical cultivation, offers a model of micro-communal life centered on presence, reciprocity, and moral growth.