Chilla (retreat)

Chilla (Persian: چله, Arabic: أربعين, both literally "forty"), also known as Chilla-nashini, is a spiritual practice of penance and solitude in Sufism known mostly in Indian and Persian traditions. In this ritual a mendicant or ascetic attempts to remain seated in a circle practicing meditation techniques without food for 40 days and nights in imitation of the Arba'een.^[1][2]

The word chilla is derived from the Persian word chehel "forty".^[3]

Chilla is commonly performed in a solitary cell called a chilla-khana.^[4] The place itself is sometimes called Chilla where chilla has been performed.^[4]

The most famous case of chilla is found in the biographies of the 14th century Sufi poet Hafez of Shiraz.^[5][6][7]

A practice similar to chilla is also performed by Hindustani classical music practitioners at an advanced level. It is called chilla katna.

• Khalwa
• Meditation
• Sādhanā
• Shugendō
• Tabligh Jamaat

• Dehlvi, Sadia (5 September 2012). Sufism: Heart of Islam. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 978-93-5029-448-2.
• Landolt, Hermann; Lawson, Todd (2005). Reason and Inspiration in Islam: Theology, Philosophy and Mysticism in Muslim Thought. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-1-85043-470-2.