Enjoining!Morality!!

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!!!!SELECTED!ARTICLES!AND!ESSAYS!ON!ISLAMIC!MORALITY!
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SCHOLARS!AND!LEADERS!FOUNDATION!
NEW!JERSEY!2015!
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INDEX&
Chapter&1.&The&Social&Problems&and&Their&Solutions&
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A.!Damascus!Sermon!!

B.!The!Luminous!Spiritual!Bonds!Between!Muslims!

C.!Problems!Settled!within!the!Individual!and!Reforming!the!Society!

Chapter&2.&&Principles&of&Islamic&Morality&
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A.!Sincerity!

B.!Brotherhood!

C.!Keeping!up!Sincerity!of!Intention!and!Having!a!Consciousness!of!SelfF!Criticism!!

D.!Transforming!Knowledge!into!Practice!

Chapter&3.&Methods&and&Principles&in&Religious&Mentoring&
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A.!The!Insights!of!Religious!Mentoring!

B.!Methods!and!Principles!

C.!Characteristics!of!a!Religious!Mentor!

D.!The!Role!of!the!Spiritual!Guide!

Chapter&4.&Positive&Action&
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A.!Interpretation:!Surah!AlFKahf!

B.!Consultation!

C.!Lifelong!Contentedness!

D.!Essentials!for!Fruitful!Criticism!

Chapter&5.&Obstacles&to&the&Morality&&
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A.!!HujumaatFi!Sittah!

B. Worldly Means and The Criteria for Planning the Future!

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Chapter 1
The Social Problems and Their Solutions
A. Damascus Sermon
B. The Luminous Spiritual Bonds Between Muslims
C. Problems Settled within the Individual and Reforming the Society

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A.&DAMASCUS&SERMON&by&Said&Nursi&

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Preface&

hile visiting Damascus in early 1911, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi was invited
by the religious authorities to give a sermon in the historic Umayyad
Mosque. On their insistence he agreed, and delivered a sermon to a

gathering of close on ten thousand, including one hundred scholars. It met with such a response
that the text was afterwards printed twice in one week.
In this sermon, Bediuzzaman gave certain news that in the future Islam and the truths of
the Quran would prevail, and he provided clear proofs that this would occur. Not only did he
demonstrate how the Islamic world could heal itself through taking the medicines of the Quran,
but he also pointed out a number of developments in the West, among them the stirrings of a
genuine search for the truth, that indicated to a forthcoming acceptance of Islam. With
extraordinary foresight, Bediuzzaman predicted that, as all the evidence suggested, Islam would
in the near future gain ascendancy. However, the two World Wars and a period of despotism
both in Turkey and elsewhere in the Islamic world, which he had not foreseen, delayed matters.
That is to say, as the developments of which he gave news in 1911 slowly unfold, this sermon,
together with its diagnosis of some of the fundamental ills afflicting the Islamic world and the
remedies from the Holy Quran that it points out, continues to be of the greatest relevance for
Muslims of the present day.
As Bediuzzaman Said Nursi demonstrates, since Islam relies on reason and reasoned
proof, it is the religion of the present and the future, for this is the age of science, technology and
reason. Many who realize that they cannot live without a true and complete religion understand
this fact now. The causes for the decline of the Islamic world and its material backwardness in
comparison to the West should be sought in the failure of Muslims to adhere to the teachings and
truths of the Holy Quran and Islam. Just as Islam provides for the material progress of man and
the indeed urges him towards it, so does it provide for mans true progress and development in
moral and spiritual matters. This combination forms the basis of true civilization.
Since Western civilization is not based on truth and justice, but on the principles of force,
conflict, and aggression, the evils of civilization predominate over its virtues. If man is to survive
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4!

he will embrace Islam, for he understands now his need for true civilization, founded on the
positive truths of revelation, the Holy Quran and the Sharia of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH),
in which the virtues of progress predominate, and the benefits of civilization may be profited
from.
In the form of Six Words, Bediuzzaman describes a number of those positive truths of
Islam, which form the cure for the grievous sicknesses besetting the Muslim community. Hope,
courage, honesty, love and brotherhood, self-sacrifice, awareness of the luminous bonds uniting
the believers, mutual consultation. These are not qualities that are unimportant or may be
dispensed with in the face of the difficulties or threats; on the contrary, they form the very
foundation of Muslim society.
As the truths of the Quran and Islam become increasingly apparent in this age of
scientific discovery and technological advance, the lessons of Bediuzzaman Said Nursis
prophetic sermon of 1911 increase in significance. The civilization of the future is true
civilization; the civilization of Islam. It will be achieved through Muslims heeding these lessons,
and rebuilding their society on the foundations of belief, and on the morality of Islam.
Besides the two original printings of the Sermon, a further edition of the Arabic text was
published in Istanbul in 1922. In the 1950s it was translated into Turkish by the author, and then
published as part of the Risale-iNur Collection. Bediuzzaman expanded to some degree this
Turkish edition, which is the source of the present translation, in order to address directly
contemporary Muslims also. For this reason there are references to dates subsequent to 1911, and
to other parts of the Risale-iNur.
Bediuzzaman added other pieces to the Turkish edition, taken from various of his works,
which all illustrate aspects of the main theme of his sermon, that not only Muslims, but all
mankind, will find happiness and salvation only through applying the principles of the Quran in
their social and political lives. It will also be useful for readers to bear in mind that Bediuzzaman
saw the achievement of this through the spread of the healing light of the Quranic teachings on
the truths of belief -exemplified in the Risale-iNur- and their acceptance, rather than as a result
of political activity.
this doesn't necessarily mean that they will embrace Islam

5!

Introduction to the Turkish Translation of the Original Arabic Damascus Sermon

In His Name, be He glorified! And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.
Peace be upon you and Gods mercy and blessings for ever!
My Dear, Loyal Brothers!
[With a presentiment of the future, the Old Said perceived the truths expressed in this Arabic sermon,
which, on the insistence of the Damascus religious authorities, he delivered forty years ago in the Umayyad Mosque
to a congregation of close on ten thousand, which included a hundred religious scholars; he gave news of those
truths with complete certainty as though they were going to be realized shortly. However, the two World Wars and
twenty-five years of absolute despotism delayed their realization; it is now that the signs of this, which were
predicted then, are beginning to be seen in the world of Islam. Therefore, if you consider it appropriate, you may
publish the translation of this most important and instructive piece, not as an old, outdated sermon, but as fresh and
correct instruction on social and Islamic questions addressing directly, in 1371 instead of 1327, the congregation of
three hundred and seventy (now more than a million) million in the mosque of the Islamic world, rather than in the
Umayyad Mosque.]

It is fitting here to write the most important answer to a most important question. For the
Old Said spoke prophetically in that lesson of forty years ago as though he was seeing the
wondrous teachings of the Risale-iNur and its effects. It is for this reason that I am writing that
question and answer here. It is like this:
Many have asked both me and the Risale-iNur students: Why is it that the Risale-iNur is
not defeated in the face of so much opposition and so many obdurate philosophers and people of
misguidance? By preventing to an extent the dissemination of numerous valuable and true books
on belief and Islam, and by means of their worldly pleasures and vices, they have deprived many
youths and others of the truths of belief. But their most violent attacks, vicious treatment, lies
and propaganda have been directed at the Risale-iNur, to destroy it and to scare people away
from it and to give it up. Despite this, the Risale-iNur has spread in a way never seen in any other
work, six hundred thousand copies of its treatises being written out by hand with unflagging zeal
and published secretly. How is it that it causes itself to be read with such enthusiasm, both within
the country and abroad? What is the reason for it? In reply to the many questions of this sort, we
say: Being a true commentary on the All-Wise Quran through the mystery of its miraculousness,
the Risale-iNur demonstrates that in misguidance is a sort of Hell in this world, while in belief is

6!

a sort of Paradise. It points out the grievous pains in sins, bad deeds, and forbidden pleasures,
and proves that in good deeds and virtues and the truths of the Sharia are to be found pleasures
like the pleasures of Paradise. In this way it saves the sensible among those who have fallen into
vice and misguidance. For at this time there two awesome conditions:
The First: Since mans emotions, which are blind to the consequences of things and
prefer an ounce of present pleasure to tons of future joys, have prevailed over his mind and
reason, the only way to save the dissipated from their vice is to show them the pain present in
their pleasure and to defeat their emotions. Although they are aware of the diamond-like bounties
and pleasures of the hereafter, as the verse, They deem lovable the life of this world1 indicates,
while being believers, the people of misguidance choose worldly pleasures, which are like pieces
of glass soon to be shattered. The only way of saving them from this love of the world and from
the danger of succumbing to it is by showing them the hell-like torments and pains they suffer
even in this world. This is the way the Risale-iNur takes. For at this time, due to the obduracy
arising from absolute unbelief and the intoxication caused by the vice and misguidance arising
from science, perhaps only one in ten or even twenty can be induced to give up his evil ways by
proving the existence of Hell and its torments, after having told him of Almighty God. Having
heard this, such people are likely to say: God is Forgiving and Compassionate, and Hell is a
long way off, and continue in their dissipation. Their hearts and spirits are overcome by their
emotions.
Thus, by showing through most of its comparisons the grievous and terrible results in this
world of disbelief and misguidance, the Risale-iNur makes even the most stubborn and arrogant
people feel disgust at those inauspicious, illicit pleasures, leading them to repent. The short
comparisons in the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Words, and the long one in the Third StoppingPlace in the Thirty-Second Word induce a person feel repugnance at the vice and misguidance of
the way he has taken, and cause him to accept what they teach. As an example, I shall recount
briefly the situations I beheld on a journey of the imagination, which were in fact reality. Those
wishing for a more detailed account may look at the end of Sikke-iTasdik-iGaybi (The Ratifying
Stamp of the Unseen Collection).
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1

Qur'an, 14:3

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When on that journey of the imagination I looked at the animal kingdom through the eyes
of materialist philosophy and of the people of misguidance and heedlessness, the innumerable
needs of animals and their terrible hunger together with their weakness and impotence appeared
to me as most piteous and grievous. I cried out. Then I saw through the telescope of Quranic
wisdom and belief that the Divine Name of All-Merciful had risen in the sign of Provider like a
shining sun; it gilded with the light of its mercy that hungry, wretched animal world.
Then I saw within the animal world another grievous world which was swathed in
darkness and would make anyone feel pity in which young were struggling in their need and
powerlessness. I was sorry I had looked through the eyes of the people of misguidance.
Suddenly, belief gave me other spectacles and I saw the Name of All-Compassionate rise in the
sign of clemency; it transformed and lit up that pitiful world in joyous and beautiful fashion,
changing my tears of complaint and sorrow into tears of joy and thanks.
Then the world of humanity appeared to me as though on a cinema screen. I looked
through the telescope of the people of misguidance and saw that world to be so dark and
terrifying that I cried out from the depths of my heart. Alas! I cried. For they had desires and
hopes that stretched to eternity, thoughts and imaginings that embraced the universe, the earnest
desire for everlasting happiness and Paradise, an innate capacity and powers on which no limit
had been placed and which were free, yet despite their innumerable needs and their weakness
and impotence they were exposed to the attacks of innumerable enemies and the blows of
innumerable calamities. Under the perpetual threat of death, they lived out their brief and
tumultuous lives in wretched circumstances. Ever looking to the grave, which for the misguided
is the door to everlasting darkness, they suffered the continuous blows of death and separation,
the most painful state for the heart and conscience. I saw that singly and in groups they were
being thrown into that black well.
On seeing the world of humanity in this darkness I was about to cry out with my heart,
spirit, and mind, and all my subtle inner faculties, indeed all the particles of my being, when the
light and power of belief proceeding from the Quran smashed those spectacles of misguidance,
giving me insight. I saw the Divine Name of All-Just rising like the sun in the sign of All-Wise,
the Name of All-Merciful rising in the sign of Munificent, the Name of All-Compassionate rising

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in the sign of, that is, in the meaning of, All-Forgiving, the Name of Resurrector rising in the
sign of Inheritor, the Name of Giver of Life rising in the sign of Bountiful, and the Name of
Sustainer rising in the sign of Owner. They lit up the entire world of humanity and all the worlds
within it. They dispelled those hell-like states, opened up windows onto the luminous worlds of
the hereafter, and scattered lights over the world of humanity. I declared: Praise and thanks be
to God to the number of particles in existence! I understood with complete certainty that in
belief is a sort of paradise in this world too and in misguidance, a sort of hell.
Then the world of the earth appeared. On that journey of the imagination, the dark,
hypothetical rules of the philosophy, which does not obey religion, depicted a ghastly world.
Voyaging through space on the ship of the aged earth -which travels seventy times faster than a
cannon-ball a distance of twenty-five thousand years in one year, ever disposed to break up, its
interior in a state of upheaval- the situation of wretched human kind appeared to me in a desolate
darkness. My eyes darkened. I flung the spectacles of philosophy to the ground, smashing them.
Then I looked with an eye illuminated with the wisdom of the Quran and belief, and I saw the
Names of Creator of the Heavens and Earth, All-Powerful, All-Knowing, Sustainer, Allah,
Sustainer of the Heavens and Earth, Subjugator of the Sun and Moon had risen like suns in the
signs of mercy, tremendousness, and dominicality. They lit up that dark, desolate, and terrifying
world so that the globe appeared to my eye of belief as a most well-ordered, subjugated,
pleasant, and safe ship, or aeroplane or train. It contained everyones provisions, and had been
decked out for trade and enjoyment and to carry beings with spirits through the dominical realms
around the sun. I exclaimed: All praise be to God to the number of particles of the earth for the
bounty of belief.
This has been proved with many comparisons in the Risale-iNur, that those who follow
vice and misguidance suffer a hellish torment in this world too, while through the manifestations
of belief, the believers and righteous may taste through the stomachs of Islam and humanity the
pleasures of Paradise. They may benefit according to the degree of their belief. But in these
stormy times, currents which numb the senses and scatter mans attention on peripheral matters,
plunging him into them, have deadened his senses and bewildered him. As a result of this the

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people of misguidance are temporarily unable to feel their torment, while the people of guidance
are overwhelmed by heedlessness and cannot truly appreciate its pleasures.
The Second: In former times, compared with the present there was very little absolute
disbelief, or misguidance arising from science, or the disbelief arising from perverse obstinacy.
The instruction of the Islamic scholars of those times and their arguments were therefore
sufficient, quickly dispelling any unbelief arising from doubts. Belief in God was general, and
they could persuade most people give up their misguidance and wrongdoing through teaching
them about God and reminding them of Hell-fire. But now there are a hundred absolute
disbelievers in one small town instead of perhaps one in a whole country. Those who lose their
way due to science and learning and obstinately oppose the truths of belief have increased a
hundredfold in relation to former times. With pride like that of the Pharaoh and their terrible
misguidance these obdurate deniers oppose the truths of belief. A sacred truth is therefore much
needed that will completely destroy the bases of their disbelief in this world, like an atom bomb,
and will halt their aggression and bring some of them to belief. All praise be to Almighty God
that with its many comparisons, as the perfect remedy for the wounds of this time, the RisaleiNur -a miracle of the Quran of Miraculous Exposition proceeding from its effulgence- has
routed even the most worst of those obdurate deniers with the diamond sword of the Quran. Its
proofs and arguments to the number of the atoms of the universe demonstrating Divine Unity
and the truths of belief show that in twenty-five years it has not been defeated in the face of the
severest attacks, but has itself prevailed and been victorious. Yes, with its comparisons of belief
and unbelief, and guidance and misguidance, the Risale-iNur proves those truths self-evidently.
If note is taken for example of the proofs and flashes of the Second Station of the TwentySecond Word, the First Stopping-Place of the Thirty-Second Word, the Windows of the ThirtyThird Letter, and the eleven proofs of Asa-y Musa (The Staff of Moses), it will be understood
that it is the truths of the Quran manifested in the Risale-iNur that will smash and destroy
absolute disbelief and perverse misguidance at this time. In the same way that the parts of the
Risale-iNur solving the greatest mysteries of religion and the riddles of the worlds creation have
been collected together in TlsmlarMecmuas (The Mysteries Collection), the pieces which
describe the hell in this world of the people of misguidance and the paradise-like pleasures of the

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people of guidance and show that belief is like a seed of Paradise while unbelief is a seed of the
Zakkum-tree of Hell, will be put together in a small collection, God willing, and published.
Said Nursi
THE DAMASCUS SERMON

The Concept of God's

Absoluteness and Mercy

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

We too offer the praise and thanks and gifts that all animate creatures offer through the
tongues of their beings and lives to their Creator, the Necessarily Existent One, Who said:
Do not despair of Gods mercy.2 And never-ending blessings and peace be upon our Prophet,
Muhammad the Elect of God (Upon whom blessings and peace), who said: I came to perfect
morality.3 That is, An important reason for my being sent to mankind by Almighty God was to
perfect good conduct and morality, and deliver mankind from immorality and vice.
Having offered praise to God and sought His blessings for His Messenger, I say this: O
my Arab brothers who are listening here in the Umayyad Mosque! I have not mounted this
pulpit, which is far above my station, in order to guide you, for to teach you is beyond my
authority. I am like a child before this gathering, among whom are close on a hundred religious
scholars, who goes to school in the morning and learns his lesson, then in the evening returns and
repeats it to his father. His father sees whether or not what the child has learnt is correct, and the
child awaits either approval or guidance from him. Yes, we are like children before you, and we
are your students. You are our masters, and the masters of the other Muslim nations. I shall
therefore repeat to you, our masters, part of the lesson I have learnt. It is as follows:
In the conditions of the present time in these lands, I have learnt a lesson in the school of
mankinds social life and I have realized that what has allowed foreigners, Europeans, to fly
towards the future on progress while it arrested us and kept us, in respect of material
development, in the Middle Ages, are six dire sicknesses. The sicknesses are these:
Firstly: The rising to life of despair and hopelessness in social life.
Secondly: The death of truthfulness in social and political life.
Thirdly: Love of enmity.
Fourthly: Not knowing the luminous bonds that bind the believers to one another.
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2
3

Qur'an, 39:53.
'Ajluni, Kashf al-Khafa, i, 211.

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Fifthly: Despotism, which spreads, becoming widespread as though it was various contagious
diseases.
Sixthly: Restricting endeavor to what is personally beneficial.
I shall explain, by means of six Words, the lesson I have learnt from the pharmacy of
the Quran, which is like a faculty of medicine. This lesson constitutes the medicine to cure our
social life of those six dire sicknesses.
FIRST WORD
The first word is hope; that is, to nurture a strong hope of Gods mercy. As a
consequence of the lesson I have learnt on my own account, I say: O congregation of Muslims! I
give you this good news: the first signs of the true dawn of Arab happiness are just appearing.
This happiness will occur through the kindling of the worldly happiness of all Muslims, in
particular that of the Ottomans, and especially through the progress of Islam. The emergence of
the sun of happiness has drawn close. In order to rub despairs nose in the dust4, I say what is my
firm conviction so that the world will hear: The future shall be Islams and Islams alone. And its
ruler shall be the truths of the Quran and belief. Therefore, we must submit to Divine
Determining and our fate of the present, for ours is a brilliant future, while the Europeans is a
dubious past. I shall now mention one and a half preliminary arguments. I start with the premises
of those arguments: Islam and its truths possess the perfect capacity to progress, both materially
and in moral and non-material matters.

Sun Tsu - Factors determining the outcome of a war

a) First Aspect: Progress in Moral and Non-Material Matters

You should know that history, which records actual events, is the most faithful witness to
the truth. See! History is showing us. The testimony of the Japanese Commander-in Chief who
defeated Russia to the validity and justice of Islam is this:
History shows that the Muslims increased in civilization and progressed in relation to the power
of the truths of Islam; that is, to the degree that they acted in accordance with that power. History
also shows that they fell into savagery and decline, and disaster and defeat amidst utter confusion
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4

The Old Said, through a presentiment of the event, gave news forty-five years ago of what occurred in 1371/1951,
namely that the Islamic world, and foremost the Arabic states, would be delivered from subjection to foreign powers
and their despotism, and would form Islamic states. He did not think of the two World Wars and thirty to forty years
of absolute despotism. He gave the good news of what actually occurred in 1371/1951 as though it would occur in
1327/1909. He did not take into account the reasons for the delay.

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to the degree of their weakness in adhering to the truths of Islam. As for other religions, it is
quite to the contrary. That is to say, history shows that they increased in civilization and
progressed in relation to their weakness in adhering to their religions and bigotry, and were
subject to decline and revolution to the degree of their strength in adhering to them. Up to the
present, time has passed thus.
Furthermore, from the blessed time of the Prophet (PBUH) up to the present, not a single
event in history has shown us a Muslim who has embraced another religion, whether old or new,
in preference to Islam, as result of reasoned argument and conclusive evidence. If the uneducated
embrace another religion without evidence in blind imitation, it has no bearing on this matter.
And, being without religion is yet another question. However, history shows us that followers of
other religions, and even the English and pre-Revolution Russians, who displayed the greatest
bigotry in religion, are gradually approaching and entering Islam on the strength of reasoned
argument and cogent proofs, sometimes in groups5.
If we were to display through our actions the perfections of the morality of Islam and the
truths of belief, without doubt the followers of other religions would enter Islam in whole
communities; some entire regions and states, even, would take refuge in Islam.
Moreover, man has been awakened and aroused by the modern sciences in particular; he has
understood the true nature of humanity.
Without any shadow of a doubt, man cannot live without religion, aimlessly. He cannot.
Even the most irreligious person is compelled to take refuge in religion. For the only point of
support for impotent man in the face of the innumerable disasters and the external and internal
enemies that plague him, and the only point from which he may seek help and assistance in the
face of the innumerable needs with which he is afflicted, and his desires that stretch to eternity,
Example of two suicides in Burlington NJ
Concept of happiness
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5 Ceasar milan (calm submissive state)
Proofs of this claim, and powerful witnesses to it, are the following facts; that, forty-five years after this claim was
made, in spite of two appalling world wars and the emergence of an extreme and absolute despotism, small northern
states like Sweden, Norway and Finland have accepted and started to teach the Qur'an in their schools as a barrier to
communism and irreligion. A number of prominent English orators are also seen to be in favor of encouraging the
English to accept the Qur'an. And America, now the most powerful state on earth, is seen to support the truths of
religion with all its strength, and has decided that Asia and Africa shall find prosperity, peace and reconciliation
through Islam, and it patronizes and encourages the newly emergent Muslim states and tries to enter into alliance
with them.

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despite his utter want and poverty, is in recognizing the Maker of the world, in faith, and in
believing and affirming the hereafter. There is no help for awakened mankind apart from this.
If the jewel of true religion is not present in the shell of the heart, material, moral, and spiritual
calamities of untold magnitude will break loose over humanity and man will become the most
unhappy, the most wretched, of animals.
In Short: This century, man has been awakened by the warnings of war, science, and
awesome events, and he has perceived the true nature of humanity and his own comprehensive
disposition. Man has begun to understand that with his wonderful comprehensive abilities and
disposition, he was not created only for this brief and troublesome worldly life, but that he is a
candidate for eternity, for there are within him desires that extend that far. Everybody has begun
to realize that this narrow and transient world is not sufficient and cannot meet their boundless
hopes and desires.
If it is said to the imagination, which is one of the faculties and servants of humanity:
You will rule the world and live for a million years, but in the end you will be dispatched to
non-existence with no possibility of a return to life, for sure, the imagination of one who has not
lost his true humanity and who has been awakened, rather than being joyful and pleased, will
weep longingly and with sighs and regrets at there being no eternal happiness.
Thus, included in this point is the fact that in everyones heart an inclination has sprung
up to search earnestly for a true religion. In the face of the sentence of death, before anything
else man is searching for a truth, contained only in true religion, so that he may save himself.
The present state of the world testifies to this fact.
After forty-five years and the appearance of irreligion, regions and states on the earth
have begun to perceive, like a human being, this intense need of mankind. Furthermore, at their
beginning and end, the verses of the Quran refer man to his reason, saying: Use your
intelligence! Think! Consult your mind and your heart! Confer with them so that you might
know this fact!
Look at the beginnings and ends of verses such as those; they say: Why do you not
look? Why do you not take warnings? Look so that you may know the truth. Take note of the
way Know! is used. Many verses contain sentences that have the meaning of: Why do men

14!

Camus

not know, why do they fall into compounded ignorance? Why do they not look? Have they
become blind so that they cannot see the Truth? Why do men not call to mind and ponder over
their own lives and the events in the world so that they might find the straight path? Why do they
not think, deliberate and reason with the mind, and so fall into misguidance? O men! Take a
lesson! Take a warning from past ages and try to be saved from the moral and spiritual calamities
of the future! These verses refer man to his intellect; they enjoin him to consult with his reason.
O my brothers in this Umayyad Mosque as well as those in the vast mosque of the world of
Islam! You too take warning. Take warning from the dreadful events of the last forty-five years.
Come straight to your senses! O you who are wise and thoughtful and consider yourselves to be
enlightened!
Conclusion: We Muslims, who are students of the Quran, follow proof; we approach the
truths of belief through reason, thought, and our hearts. We do not abandon proof in favor of
blind obedience and imitation of the clergy like some adherents of other religions. Therefore, in

Zaynab
Hackensack

the future when reason, science and technology prevail, of a certainty that will be the time the
Quran will gain ascendancy, which relies on rational proofs and invites the reason to confirm its
pronouncements. Moreover, the veils that have eclipsed the sun of Islam, hindered its emergence
and prevented it illuminating mankind have begun to disperse. Those things that were hindering
it have begun to fall back. The signs of the dawn appeared forty-five years ago6. Then the true
dawn broke in 1371/1951, or it will break. Even if it is the false dawn, in thirty or forty years
time the true dawn will break. Eight serious obstacles prevented the truths of Islam completely
overwhelming the past.
The First, Second, And Third Obstacles: The Europeans ignorance, their barbarity at
that time, and their bigotry in their religion. These three obstacles have been removed by the
virtues of knowledge and civilization, and they have begun to disperse.
The Fourth And Fifth Obstacles: The domination and arbitrary power of the clergy and
religious leaders, and the fact that the Europeans obeyed and followed them blindly. These two
obstacles have also started to disappear with the emergence among mankind of the idea of
freedom, and the desire to search for the truth.
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6

That is, in 1906. [Tr.]

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ADF

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Scandinavians, Koreans muslims in practice what is stopping them to embrace Islam is our degeneracy

The Sixth And Seventh Obstacles: The despotism that was with us, and our degeneracy
that arose from opposing the Sharia, were obstacles. The fact that the separate despotic power
residing in a single individual is now declining indicates that the fearful despotism of larger
groups in society and of committees will also decline in thirty to forty years time. And the great
upsurge in Islamic zeal, together with the fact that the ugly results of immorality are becoming
apparent, show that these two obstacles are about to decline, indeed, that they have begun to do
so. God willing, they will completely disappear in the future.
Misinformation

The Eighth Obstacle: Since certain matters of modern science were imagined to oppose

and be contrary to the outer meanings of the truths of Islam, it prevented, to some extent, their
prevailing in the past. Scientists and philosophers opposed Islam because they did not know the
truth and, for example, imagined the two angels composed of spirit called Thawr and Hut, who
are charged through a Divine command to oversee the globe of the earth, to be a great corporeal
ox and fish.
There are hundreds of examples like this one. After learning the truth, even the most
opinionated philosopher is compelled to submit to it. In the treatise called the Miraculousness of
the Quran7, the Risale-iNur points out flashes of the Qurans miraculousness that lie beneath
each of all the verses that science attacks, and it sets forth clearly the elevated truths, which the
hand of science cannot reach, in those sentences and phrases of the Holy Quran that the
scientists suppose to be points of criticism; it compels even the most obstinate philosopher to
submit. It is clear and self-evident, anyone who wishes may look. -So let them look and see how
this obstacle is being destroyed, as these words forecasted forty-five years ago. Some
perspicacious Muslim scholars have indeed written on this subject. Signs that this eighth serious
obstacle will be overturned are to be seen.
For sure, even if not now then in thirty to forty years time, in order to fit out and equip to
perfection the three forces of science, true knowledge, and the virtues of civilization, and to rout
and put to flight those eight obstacles, the desire to search for the truth, equity, and love of
humanity will be dispatched to the eight fronts of those eight enemy squadrons. They have

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
7

The Twenty-Fifth Word. [Tr.]

16!

already started to drive them back. God willing, in half a century they will scatter them
completely.
It is well known that the most indisputable virtue is that which even its enemies testify to
and affirm. The following therefore are two examples out of hundreds:
The First Example: A famous European scholar and philosopher of the 19th century,
Carlyle, did not hold back from proclaiming in the loudest voice to philosophers and Christian
scholars the following, which he also wrote in his works, that Islam was born like a brilliant
flame and devoured the religions of its time as though they were dead wood. It was Islams right
to do this he said, for it was a reality, while the other religions lacked reality. He said also that
the words most worthy to be heeded first are those of Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and
peace), for the true word was his. He said too that if the truth of Islam is doubted then the most
self-evident matters should be doubted, because the most self-evident and necessary truth is
Islam.8

Maurice Bucialle,Keith Moore, Heisenberg, Otto Hahn

The Second Example: A famous European of the last century who was also a scholar and
philosopher, Prince Bismarck, said: I have studied all the revealed books, but since they are
corrupted, I have been unable to find the true wisdom I was searching for, for the happiness of
mankind. Then I saw that the Quran of Muhammad was far superior to all the other Books. I
found wisdom in all its words. There is no other work that will serve mans happiness like this.
Such a work cannot be the word of man. Those who say it is Muhammads work are denying the
imperatives of knowledge. That is, the Quran is self-evidently the word of God.
So, supported by the fact that the clever fields of Europe and America have produced
crops of brilliant and exacting scholars like Carlyle and Bismarck, I say with all assurance:
Europe and America are pregnant with Islam; one day they will give birth to an Islamic state.
Just as the Ottomans were pregnant with Europe and gave birth to a European state.
O my brothers who are here in the Umayyad Mosque and those who are in the mosque of
the world of Islam half a century later! Do the introductory remarks, that is, those made up to
here, not point to the conclusion that it is Islam that will be the true, and spiritual, ruler over the
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
8

Thomas Carlyle, 1795-1880. See his work, On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History, London, 1841,
which is the transcript of six public lectures Carlyle gave in London in 1840, the second of which was entitled: The
Hero as Prophet. Mahomet: Islam.

17!

future, and only Islam that will lead mankind to happiness in this world and the next; and that
true Christianity, stripping off superstition and corrupted belief, will be transformed into Islam;
following the Quran, it will unite with Islam?
b) Second Aspect

material progress stems from solid moral base

That is, the powerful reasons for Islams material progress show that Islam will also be
materially dominant in the future. The First Aspect demonstrated its progress in moral and
spiritual matters and this Second Aspect offers strong proofs for its material progress and
supremacy in the future. For established in the heart of the Islamic worlds collective
personalities are five extremely powerful, unbreakable Strengths, which have blended and
coalesced9.
First Strength: This is the reality of Islam, which is the master of all perfection, can
make three hundred and seventy million souls as a single soul, has been furnished with a real
civilization and positive, true sciences, and is such that it cannot be destroyed by any power.
Second Strength: An intense need, which is the real master of civilization and industry,
and is the source and means of development, together with complete, backbreaking poverty, are
such strengths that they may be neither silent nor crushed.
Third Strength: This Strength, which teaches men exalted aims in the form of
competition for exalted things, and causes them to strive on that way, which shatters despotism,
excites exalted emotions, and destroys jealousy, envy, malice and rivalry, and is furnished with
true awakening, the eagerness of competition, the tendency towards renewal and predisposition
for civilization, consists of the freedom which is accordance with the Sharia. That is to say, it has
been fitted out with the desire for the highest accomplishments worthy of humanity.
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9

We understand from the Qur'an's teaching and instruction and what these indicate, that through mentioning the
prophets' miracles, the Qur'an is informing mankind that events similar to those miracles will come into existence in
the future through progress, and is urging them to achieve them, saying: "Come on work! Show examples of these
miracles! Like the Prophet Solomon (UWP), cover a journey of two months in a day! Like the Prophet Jesus (UWP),
work to discover the cure of the most frightful diseases! Like the Prophet Moses (UWP), extract the water of life
from stone and deliver mankind from thirst! Like the Prophet Abraham (UWP), find materials and dress in them so
that fire will not burn you! Like some of the prophets, listen to distant voices and see distant images in east and
west! Like the Prophet David (UWP), soften iron like dough and make it like wax to meet the needs of mankind!
How greatly you benefit from the clock and the ship, the miracles of the Prophet Joseph (UWP) and the Prophet
Noah (UWP) respectively. Benefit in the same way from the miracles the other prophets taught you, and imitate
them." By analogy with the above, the Qur'an instructs mankind in every respect, urges them to material, moral and
spiritual progress, and proves that it is the universal teacher and master.

18!

Fourth Strength: This fearlessness arising from belief, which is decked out with
compassion. That is, neither to demean oneself or to be servile to oppressors and despots, nor to
oppress and be arrogant towards the unfortunate; these form the foundations of the freedom
which is accordance with the Sharia.
Fifth Strength: This is the dignity of Islam, which proclaims and upholds the Word of
God. In this age, proclaiming the Word of God is contingent on material progress; it may be
proclaimed only through achieving true civilization. It cannot be doubted that in the future the
world of Islams collective personality will carry out to the letter that categorical command
issued by the dignity of Islam through belief.
In the past, Islams progress occurred through smashing the enemys bigotry and
obstinacy and through defiance against their aggression through weapons and the sword.
Whereas in the future, in place of weapons, the immaterial, moral swords of true civilization,
material progress, and truth and justice will defeat and scatter the enemies. You should
understand that what I mean are the good things that are civilizations virtues and its benefits for
mankind. Not its iniquities and evils that idiots have imagined to be its virtues, and imitating
them, devastated our possessions. Giving religion as the bribe, they have not even gained the
world. Through civilizations iniquities prevailing over its benefits and its evils being preferred
to its virtues, mankind has suffered two calamitous blows in the form of two world wars, and
overturning that sinful civilization men have been so utterly disgusted that they have smeared the
face of the earth with blood.
God willing, through the strength of Islam in the future, the virtues of civilization will
prevail, the face of the earth cleansed of filth, and universal peace be secured. Indeed, the facts
that European civilization is not founded on virtue and guidance, but on lust and passion, rivalry
and oppression, and that up to the present the evils of civilization have predominated over its
virtues, and that it has been infiltrated by revolutionary societies like a worm-eaten tree, are each
like powerful indications and means for the supremacy of Asian civilization. In a short period of
time it will prevail.
How is it that while there are such powerful and unshakeable ways and means for the
material and moral progress of the believers and people of Islam, and although the road to future

19!

happiness has been opened up like a railway, you despair and fall into hopelessness in the face of
the future, and destroy the morale of the Islamic world? In despair and hopelessness you suppose
that the world is the world of progress for Europeans and everyone else, but it is the world of
decline only for the unfortunate people of Islam! By saying that you are making a grievous
mistake.
Since the desire to progress and be perfected has been included in the universe and in
mans essential nature, for sure, if doomsday does not soon engulf mankind as a result of its
errors and wrongdoing, in the future truth and justice will show the way to a worldly happiness
in the world of Islam, God willing, in which there will be atonement for the former errors of
mankind.
Consider this: time does not run in a straight line so that its beginning and end draw apart
from one another; it moves in a circle, like the motion of the globe of the earth. Sometimes it
displays the seasons of spring and summer as progress, and sometimes the seasons of storms and
winter as decline. Just as every winter is followed by spring and every night by morning,
mankind also shall have a morning and a spring, God willing. You may expect from Divine
mercy to see true civilization within universal peace brought about through the sun of the truth of
Islam.
At the start of the lesson I said I would demonstrate one and a half arguments to support
my assertion. Now, one argument, in concise form, is finished and the remaining half argument
is as follows: As has been established by the prying investigations and innumerable experiments
of the sciences, the fundamental and absolutely overriding aim and the true purpose of the AllGlorious Maker in the order of the universe are good, beauty, excellence and perfection. For all
the physical sciences demonstrate such an order and perfection in the fields they study in
accordance with their comprehensive laws that the intellect can find nothing more perfect. For
example, sciences such as anatomy in medicine, the science of the solar system in astronomy,
and botany and biology, all demonstrate the miracles of power and the wisdom of the AllGlorious Maker in the order in their own particular fields, and the truth of the verse, Who makes
most excellent everything that He creates10.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
10

Qur'an, 32:7.

20!

Also, inductive reasoning and general experience demonstrate that evil; ugliness, defect,
badness and futility are minor in the creation of the universe. They are not the aim; they are
dependent and secondary. That is to say, ugliness has not entered the universe for the sake of
ugliness, but as a unit of measurement in order to transform a single truth of beauty into
numerous truths. Evil, and Satan even, have been set to pester man in order to be the means of
his limitless progress through competition. Minor evils and ugliness like these have been created
in the universe in order to be the means of instances of universal beauty and good. Thus,
according to inductive reasoning, the true aim and result of creation prove that good, beauty and
being perfected are fundamental in the universe and that they are the true aim. So since men
have filthied and disordered the face of the earth to this degree with their wicked godlessness and
depart this world without receiving their deserts and without reflecting the true aim present in the
universe, they certainly shall not escape to non-existence. They shall rather be despatched to the
dungeons of Hell.
Also, it is established by inductive reasoning and the investigations of the sciences that
man is the most exalted among animals and the most important. For he discovers with his reason
the steps between the apparent causes and effects existent in the universe, and the relationships
of causes, which follow on after each other in succession. And, in order to imitate Divine art and
orderly and wise dominical creation with his own insignificant art, and in order to understand
Divine actions and Divine art through his partial knowledge and his own arts, he has been given
the faculty of will as a scale and measure. Thus, the fact that man knows the universal, allembracing actions and attributes of the All-Glorious Creator through the materials he works
through the exercise of his will proves that he is the most honored and exalted creature in the
universe.
Also, according to the testimony of the truths of Islam concerning man and the universe,
the most noble and exalted, the most excellent and the highest, are the people of Islam, who are
the people of truth and reality. And, according to inductive reasoning and the testimony of
history, among the people of truth, the most exalted among honored mankind, the most excellent
and superior was the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). This is testified to by his thousand miracles,
his elevated morals, and the truths of Islam and the Quran.

21!

Since the three truths of this half argument give such news, is it at all possible that
mankind should refute the testimony of so many sciences and deny this reasoning with their
depravity, and, being perversely obstinate in the face of Divine will and pre-eternal wisdom,
which embraces the whole universe, continue in their iniquitous savagery, willful godlessness
and fearful destruction? Is it at all possible that they should continue in this way against Islam?
I swear with all my strength and, if I possessed them, with innumerable tongues by the
All-Wise and Glorious One, the All-Beauteous Maker, Who creates the world with this perfect
order, and the universe, from particles to the planets, from a flys wing to the lamps in the
heavens, with an unbounded wisdom of regularity, that it is in no way possible for mankind,
contrary to every other sort of being and opposed to the other species, which are its small
brothers, to stand in opposition to the order in the universe through its universal acts of evil and
to eat and digest the bitter fruits which, for thousands of years, have been the cause of evil
predominating over good among men.
This possibility could only occur by supposing the impossible, that, although man is at
the degree of having been charged with the supreme trust over the universe, has the rank of
Divine vicegerent of the earth, and is an elevated elder brother to the other beings in the
universe, he was the lowest, most base, most wretched, most harmful and most insignificant, and
as a consequence had stealthily entered the universe and caused chaos in it. This impossibility
can in no way be accepted.
This half argument of mine for this fact leads to this conclusion that just as the existence
of Heaven and Hell in the hereafter is a necessary fact, so too shall the religion of good and truth
prevail absolutely in the future so that, as is the case with all other beings, good and virtue will
prevail absolutely over mankind; and mankind may be equal to the rest of their brothers in the
universe; and it may be said that the mystery of pre-eternal wisdom is established in mankind
also.
In Short: As the definite facts mentioned above demonstrate, the choice result of the
universe and the most important creature in the view of the Creator is man. And as mans
wrongful conduct up to this time necessitates the existence of Hell, so do his comprehensive
innate abilities and potentialities and the truths of his belief related to the universe self-evidently

22!

necessitate Paradise. Thus, since he cannot endure the crimes, and two world wars, which have
made the cosmos weep, and cannot digest the bitter evils he has swallowed; and because of his
conduct, at which he is sick and through which he has filthied the whole face of the earth; and
since he has caused humanity to fall to the most abject level and cannot endure the crime of
having overturned a thousand years of progress; most certainly and without any doubt, if some
ghastly catastrophe does not soon break loose over his head, the truths of Islam will be the means
of delivering man from the low and debased degree to which he has fallen, of cleansing the face
of the earth, and securing universal peace. We beseech this from the mercy of the All-Merciful
and Compassionate One, and we await it with hope.
SECOND WORD
The Second Word has been born in my thought as a result of my experiences in the
course of life. It is as follows: Despair is a most grievous sickness and it has entered the heart of
the world of Islam. It is despair that has as though killed us so that a small state of one or two
million in the West has as though made twenty million Muslims in the East its servants and their
country, its colony. And it is despair that has killed our high morals, and causing us to abandon
the public good, has restricted our sight to personal benefits.
It is the despair too that has destroyed our morale. Although with little power we were
victorious from east to west through the moral strength that arose from belief, because it was
destroyed through despair, tyrannical foreigners have made three hundred million Muslims their
captives for the last four hundred years. And because of this despair, Muslims even suppose the
indifference and despondency of others to be an excuse for their own laziness and say: What is
it to me? Saying, Everybody is contemptible, like me, they abandon the courageousness of
belief and fail to perform their Islamic duties. Since the sickness of despair has inflicted so much
tyranny on us and is killing us, we shall totally shatter it with the verse, do not despair of Gods
mercy11. God willing, we shall destroy it with the truth of the Hadith, Even if a thing is not
wholly obtained, it should not be wholly left.
Despair is a most grievous sickness of communities and nations, a cancer. It is an
obstacle to achievement and is opposed to the truth of the Sacred Hadith; I am with my
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11

Qur'an, 39:53.

23!

bondsman who thinks favorably of Me. It is the quality and pretext of cowards, the base and the
impotent. It does not tell of Islamic courage. It cannot be the quality of a people like the Arabs in
particular, who among mankind have been privileged with a fine character that is the cause of
pride. The nations of the Islamic world have taken lessons from the Arabs fortitude. God
willing, once more the Arabs will give up despair and will stand together with the Turks, who are
the heroic army of Islam, and will unfurl the banner of the Quran in every part of the world.
THIRD WORD
This Third Word I have learnt from the studies and researches I have carried out in the
course of my life and from my experience of the ups and downs of social life; its summary and
essence are as follows: truthfulness is the basis and foundation of Islam, and the bond between
people of good character, and the basis of elevated emotions. Since this is so, as the foundation
of the life of our society, we must bring to life truthfulness and honesty, and cure our moral and
spiritual sicknesses with them.
Indeed, truthfulness and honesty are the vital principles in the life of Islamic society.
Hypocrisy is a sort of actualized lying. Flattery and artifice are cowardly lying. Duplicity and
double-dealing are harmful lying. And as for lying, it is to slander the All-Glorious Makers
power. Unbelief in all its varieties is falsehood and lying. Belief is truthfulness and honesty. As a
consequence of this, there is a limitless distance between truth and falsehood; they should be as
distant from one another as the East is from the West. Like fire and light, they should not become
mixed with one another. However, cruel politics and tyrannical propaganda have mixed and
confused them, and have also thrown into confusion mans achievements12.
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12

O my brothers! It may be thought from this lesson of the Old Said that he was excessively concerned with politics
and the social matters of Islam. But be careful; do not suppose he had taken the way of making religion a tool or
means of politics. God forbid! With all his strength, he was making politics the tool of religion. He used to say: "I
prefer one truth of religion to a thousand matters of politics. Indeed, he perceived at that time forty to fifty years ago
that certain two-faced atheists were attempting to make politics the tool of irreligion, and in response to those aims
and ideas of theirs, he tried to make politics a servant and tool of Islam and its truths.However, twenty years later he
saw that, in response to those clandestine double-dealing atheists' efforts to make politics the tool of irreligion,
which they were doing under the pretext of westernization, a number of religious politicians were trying to make
religion the tool of Islamic politics. But the sun of Islam cannot follow and be the tool of lights on the ground. And
to make Islam a tool is to reduce its value and is a great crime. The Old Said even saw a pious scholar who, as a
result of that sort of partisan politics, was enthusiastically praising a dissembler who agreed with his own political
leanings, while criticizing and declaring to be deviant an upright teacher who opposed them. The Old Said said to
him: "Should a devil support your political ideas, you would interpret it as mercy, and if an angel were to oppose
them, you would curse him." As a result of this, the Old Said declared: "I seek refuge with God from Satan and

24!

Truthfulness and lying are as distant from one another as are belief and unbelief. With
Muhammads rising to the highest of the high by means of truthfulness in the Era of Bliss, and
with the treasury of the truths of belief and the truths of the universe being unlocked with the key
of truthfulness, truthfulness became the most valuable merchandise in the market of human
society, and the goods most in demand. Because of lying, the likes of Musaylima the Liar fell to
the lowest of the low. Since that mighty revolution showed that at that time lying and falsehood
were the key to blasphemies and superstition, they became one of the worst and filthiest goods
on the market of the universe, and it was not as though everyone wanted to buy them, indeed,
everyone detested them. Certainly the Companions, who were in the first line of that mighty
revolution and in whose nature it was to buy things that were the cause of pride and to be
customers for the most valuable goods and those most in demand, would never knowingly have
advocated any falsehood. They would not have soiled themselves with lying. They would not
have made themselves resemble Musaylima the Liar.
Indeed, since with all their strength and through innate disposition they were customers for
truthfulness and honesty, which formed the steps whereby Muhammad (Upon whom be
blessings and peace) rose to the highest of the high, and were the most sought-after merchandise
and the most valuable commodity and the key to realities, and since as far as was possible they
tried not to depart from truthfulness, it became an established principle in the science of Hadith
and among scholars of the Sharia that the Companions always spoke the truth. Their narrations
do not require to be investigated in the same way as other narrations. The Hadiths they related
from the Prophet (PBUH) are all sound. A decisive argument for the consensus of the scholars
of Hadith and the Sharia is this fact.

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politics," and for thirty-five years has given up politics (Since the New Said gave up politics completely and did not
follow them at all, the Turkish translation of the Damascus Sermon, a lesson of the Old Said which touches on
politics, has been printed and made available) Furthermore, although the twenty-seven years of the New Said's life
together with the hundred and thirty sections of his writings and letters have been minutely examined by three courts
(now one thousand courts) and by government officials; and although he was compelled to oppose the evil-doing
apostates and double-dealers who were working against him; and although the order had even been given secretly
for his execution; the fact that they were unable to find even the slightest indication suggesting that he had exploited
religion for political ends proves decisively that he had not done so. We students of the Risale-iNur are in wonder at
this extraordinary situation and consider it to be a sign of the true sincerity that exists within the sphere of the
Risale-iNur.

25!

Thus, at the time of the mighty revolution in the Era of Bliss truthfulness and lying were
as far from one another as belief and unbelief, yet with the passing of time they have gradually
drawn closer to each other. Political propaganda has sometimes given greater currency to lies,
and evil and lying have to some degree taken the stage. It is because of this fact that no one could
attain to the level of the Companions. Since this has been discussed in the Addendum to the
Twenty-Seventh Word, which is about the Companions, we refer you to that and cut short the
matter here.
O my brothers here in this Umayyad Mosque! And O my brothers who, forty to fifty
years later, form the four hundred million believers in the vast mosque of the world of Islam!
Salvation is only to be found through truthfulness and honesty. The support most unfailing13 is
honesty. That is to say, the strongest chain with which to be bound to salvation is honesty.
However, sometimes in the past lying abrogated this if there were advantages to be gained. Some
scholars issued temporary fatwas in case of necessity or for benefit. But in this age, such fatwas
may not be given. For it has been abused so much that there may be only one benefit among a
hundred harms. The judgment cannot therefore be based on benefit.
For example, the cause for shortening the ritual prayers while on a journey is hardship.
But it cannot be the reason. For it has no determined limit and may be abused. The reason may
only be the journey. Similarly, benefit may not be the reason for telling a lie. Because it has no
specified limit and it is a swamp breeding abuse. The judgment for a fatwa may not be based on
it. In which case, Either truthfulness or silence. That is, there are two ways, not three; that is,
not either the truth, or lies, or silence. Since public order and security have been overturned
through mankinds evident and ghastly lying and willful misrepresentations, and through its
abuse of benefits, mankind is clearly commanded and compelled to close the third way.
Otherwise, the world wars, hideous revolutions, and decline and destruction that humanity has
suffered in the past half-century will bring down some overwhelming disaster on mens heads.
Indeed, everything you say must be true, but it is not right to say everything true. If on
occasion it is damaging, then be silent. But there is no fatwa for lying. Everything you say must
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13

Qur'an, 2:256.

26!

be the truth, but you do not have the right to say everything that is true. Because if it is not
sincere, it will have a detrimental effect and truth will be spent on wrong.
FOURTH WORD
What I am certain of from my experience of social life and have learnt from my life-time
of study is the following: The thing most worthy of love is love, and that most deserving of
enmity is enmity. That is, love and loving, which render mans social life secure and lead to
happiness are most worthy of love and being loved. Enmity and hostility are ugly and damaging,
have overturned mans social life, and more than anything deserve loathing and enmity and to be
shunned. Since this truth has been clearly explained in the Twenty-Second Letter of the RisaleiNur, here we shall point it out only briefly. It is as follows:
The time for enmity and hostility has finished. Two world wars have shown how evil,
destructive, and what an awesome wrong is enmity. It has become clear that there is no benefit in
it at all. In which case, on condition they are not aggressive, do not let the evils of our enemies
attract your enmity. Hell and Divine punishment are enough for them. Sometimes, mans
arrogance and self-worship cause him to be unjustly hostile towards believers without his being
aware of it; he supposes himself to be right. But this hostility and enmity is to slight powerful
causes of love towards the believers, like belief, Islam, and fellow-humanity; it is to reduce their
value. It is a lunacy like preferring the insignificant causes of enmity to the causes of love, which
are as great as a mountain.
Since love and enmity are contrary to one another, like light and darkness, they cannot
truly combine. The opposite of whichever is predominant in the heart cannot at the same time be
truly present. For example, if love is truly present, then enmity will be transformed into pity and
compassion. This is the position towards the believers. Or if enmity is truly present in the heart,
then love takes on the form of feigned approval, not interfering, and being apparently friendly.
This may be the position towards unaggressive people of misguidance.
Indeed, the causes of love, like belief, Islam, humanity and fellow feeling, are strong and
luminous chains and immaterial fortresses. One sort of the causes of enmity towards the
believers are personal matters, which are like small stones. In which case, to nourish true enmity

27!

towards a Muslim is a great error; it is like scorning the causes of love, which are as immense as
a mountain.
In Short: Love, brotherhood, and affection are basic to Islam, and are its bond. The
people of enmity resemble a spoilt child who wants to cry. He looks for an excuse, and
something as insignificant as a flys wing becomes the pretext. They resemble too an unfair,
pessimistic person who so long as it is possible to distrust, never thinks favorably. He ignores ten
good deeds due to one bad deed. Fairness and favorable thinking, which mark the Islamic
character, reject this.
FIFTH WORD
The lesson I have learnt from the mutual consultation enjoined by the Sharia is this: in
this age, the single sin of one person does not remain as one; it sometimes swells, spreads and
becomes a hundred sins. And sometimes a single good deed does not remain as one, but
progresses to the order of thousands of good deeds. The reason for this is as follows: Freedom in
accordance with the Sharia and the consultation enjoined by the Sharia have demonstrated the
sovereignty of our true nationhood. The foundation and spirit of our true nationhood is Islam. In
so far as they have carried the standard of the Ottoman Caliphate and Turkish army in the name
of that nationhood, the two true brothers of Arab and Turk are like the shell and citadel of the
nationhood of Islam, and the sentries of that sacred citadel.
Thus, through the bond of this sacred nationhood, all the people of Islam become like a
single tribe. Like the members of a tribe, the peoples and groups of Islam are bound and
connected to one another through Islamic brotherhood. They assist one another morally, and if
necessary, materially. It is as if all the groups of Islam are bound to each other with a luminous
chain. If a member of one tribe commits a crime, all its members are guilty in the eyes of
another, enemy, and tribe. It is as though a member of the tribe had committed the crime so that
the enemy tribe becomes the enemy of all of them. That single crime becomes like thousands of
crimes. While if a member of the tribe performs a good act that is the cause of pride affecting the
heart of the tribe, all its members take pride in it. It is as if each person in the tribe feels proud at
having done that good deed.

28!

It is because of this fact that at this time, and particularly in forty to fifty years time, evil
and bad deeds will not remain with the perpetrator; they will transgress the rights of millions of
Muslims. Numerous examples of this shall be seen in forty to fifty years of time. O brothers who
are listening to these words of mine here in the Umayyad Mosque! And O Muslim brothers in
the mosque of the world of Islam forty to fifty years later! Do not make apologies, saying: We
do no harm, but neither do we have the power to do anything beneficial; therefore we are
excused. Such an apology is not acceptable. Your laziness and saying: What is it to me? and
your displaying no effort and not getting into the working spirit through Islamic unity and true
Islamic brotherhood, have done much damage and are an injustice to you.
Just as bad deeds thus mount to thousands, so also at this time good deeds, that is, good
deeds that affect the sacredness of Islam, do not remain restricted to the one who performs them.
Indeed, such good deeds may in fact be beneficial to millions of believers; they may strengthen
the bonds of moral, spiritual, and material life. Therefore, this is not the time to cast oneself on
the bed of idleness, saying: What is it to me?
O my brothers here in this mosque and my brothers forty to fifty years later in the mighty
mosque of the world of Islam! Do not suppose I have mounted this place of delivering lessons in
order to give you advice. I have done so to claim my rights from you. That is to say, the interests
and happiness in this world and the hereafter of small groups are bound to masterly teachers like
you, the Arabs and Turks, who are a vast and esteemed body. We, the Muslim groups who are
your unhappy small brothers suffer harm through your idleness and laxity.
Especially the Arabs, who are esteemed, numerous, and either have been awakened or
will be! First and foremost, I address you with these words. For you are our teachers and leaders,
and the teachers and leaders of all the peoples of Islam, and you are the fighters of Islam. It was
later that the mighty Turkish nation assisted you in that sacred duty. Therefore, due to laziness
your sin is great. Your good acts and deeds are also great and exalted. In particular we await with
great expectation from Divine mercy the different Arab groups entering upon exalted
circumstances in forty to fifty years time, like those of the United States of America, and your
being successful like in former times in establishing Islamic rule in half the globe, indeed, in
most of it, which at the moment is in captivity.

29!

If some fearful calamity does not soon erupt, the coming generation shall see it, God
willing. Beware, my brothers! Do not imagine that I am urging you with these words to busy
yourselves with politics. God forbid! The truth of Islam is above all politics. All politics may
serve it, but no politics can make Islam a tool for itself. With my faulty understanding, I imagine
Islamic society at this time in the form of a factory containing many machines. Should any
components of the machines fall behind or encroach on another, which is its fellow, the
machines cease to function. The exact time for Islamic unity is therefore beginning. It
necessitates not paying attention to one anothers personal faults.
I say this to you with regret and sadness that certain foreigners have taken our most
valuable possessions and country from us and have given us a rotten price in return. Similarly,
they have taken from us our elevated morals and a part of our fine character that touches on
social life, and they have made them the means of their progress. And it is their dissipated morals
and dissipated character that they have given us as their price. For example, because of the fine
national feeling they have taken from us, one of them says: Should I die, let my nation live, for I
have an everlasting life in my nation. They have taken these words from us and it is the firmest
foundation in their progress. These words proceed from the religion of truth and the truths of
belief. They are our property, the property of the believers.
However, because of the obscene and bad character that infiltrated us from foreigners, a
selfish man from among us says: If I die of thirst, let it not rain again anywhere in the world. If I
do not experience happiness, let the world go to rack and ruin as it wishes. These ridiculous
words arise from lack of religion and from not recognizing the hereafter. They have entered
among us from outside and are poisoning us. Also, because of the idea of nationhood, which
those foreigners obtained from us, an individual becomes as valuable as a nation. For a persons
value is relative to his endeavor. If a persons endeavor is his nation, that person forms a
miniature nation on his own. Because of the heedlessness of some of us, and the foreigners
damaging characteristics that we have acquired, and despite our strong and sacred Islamic
nationhood, through everyone saying: Me! Me! and considering personal benefits and not the
nations benefits, a thousand men have become like one man.

30!

If a mans endeavor is limited to himself, he is not a human being, for human beings are
by nature civilized. Man is compelled to consider his fellow humans. His personal life continues
through social life. For example, how many hands is he in need of to eat one load of bread, and
in return for it how many hands does he in effect kiss? And how many factories is he connected
to through the clothes that he wears? You make the comparison! Since he cannot survive with
only skin like an animal, and is by nature connected to his fellow humans, and is compelled to
pay them an immaterial price, by his nature, he maintains civilization. One who confines his
view to his personal benefits abandons his humanity, and becomes an iniquitous animal lacking
all innocence. If nothing happens as a consequence and he has an authentic excuse that is an
exception!
SIXTH WORD
The key to Muslims happiness in the life of Islamic society is the mutual consultation
enjoined by the Sharia. The verse, whose rule is consultation among themselves 14 orders
consultation as a fundamental principle. Just as the consultation of the ages and centuries that
mankind has practiced by means of history, a conjunction of ideas, formed the basis of mans
progress and sciences, so too one reason for the backwardness of Asia, the largest continent, was
the failure to practice that true consultation.
The key and discloser of the continent of Asia and its future is mutual consultation. That
is to say, just as individuals should consult one another, so must nations and continents practice
consultation? For it is the freedom that is in accordance with the Sharia, which is born of the
consultation enjoined by the Sharia, and the noble-mindedness and compassion of belief that will
loosen and remove the fetters and chains of the various forms of tyranny fastened to the feet of
three hundred, rather, four hundred, million strong Islam. It is that lawful freedom, which
adorned with the customs and observances of the Sharia, will cast out the evils of dissolute
Western civilization. The freedom born of the Sharia, which arises from belief, enjoins two
principles:
Belief necessitates not humiliating others through oppression and despotism and not
degrading them, and secondly, not abasing oneself before tyrants. Someone who is a true servant
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
14

Qur'an, 42:38.

31!

of God cannot be a slave to others. Do not make anyone other than God lord over yourselves.
That is to say, someone who does not recognize God ascribes relative degrees of mastery to
everything and everyone, and piles worries on his own head. For sure, the freedom born of the
Sharia is a bounty of Almighty God through the manifestation of His Names of All Merciful and
All Compassionate; it is a characteristic of belief.
Long live truthfulness! Death to despair! Let love endure! Let mutual consultation find
strength! Let those who follow their own whims and desires be the object of blame, reproach and
detestation! And on those who follow right-guidance be peace and well-being! AMEN.
If it is asked: Why do you attach this much importance to mutual consultation? And how
the life and progress of mankind, in particular Asia, and particularly Islam, may be achieved
through mutual consultation?
We would answer: As is explained in the Twenty-First Flash of the Risale-iNur, the
Treatise on Sincerity, since just consultation results in sincerity and solidarity, three alifs15
become one hundred and eleven. Thus, three men between whom there is true solidarity may
benefit the nation as much as a hundred men. Many historical events inform us that as a result of
true sincerity, solidarity, and consultation, ten men may perform the work of a thousand.
Mans needs are endless and his enemies innumerable, his strength and capital
insignificant, and the number of destructive, harmful humans who have become like monsters
through lack of religion is increasing. In the face of those endless enemies and innumerable
needs, man can continue his personal life only through the support and assistance proceeding
from belief, and can maintain his social life only through the mutual consultation enjoined by the
Sharia, that again proceeds from the truths of belief. It is only thus that he can halt his enemies
and open up a way to secure his needs.
FIRST ADDENDUM
FIRST PART
A Summary of the Addendum to the Arabic Text of the Damascus Sermon
In the Arabic addendum to the Damascus Sermon, the unassailable moral heroism born of
belief in God was described by means of a truly subtle comparison. Here we shall set forth a
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
15

Alif: the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, written with a single vertical stroke alif

32!

summary of it and explain it. Close to the beginning of the Second Constitutional Period (19081918), I joined Sultan Reads tour of Rumelia16 on behalf of the Eastern Provinces. In our
carriage of the train, a discussion started with two friends who taught in the new secular schools
and were well versed in science. They asked me: Which is more necessary and should be
stronger, religious zeal or national zeal? To which I replied:
With us Muslims religion and nationhood are united, although there is a theoretical,
apparent and incidental difference between them. Indeed, religion is the life and spirit of the
nation. When they are seen as different and separate from each other, religious zeal encompasses
both the common people and upper classes whereas one person out of a hundred, that is, a person
who is ready to sacrifice his personal benefits for the nation, feels national zeal. Since this is the
case, religious zeal must be the basis with regard to the rights of all the people, while national
zeal must serve it and be its fortress.
This is especially so since we people of the East are not like those of the West: our hearts
are governed by the sense of religion. The fact that it was in the East that pre-eternal Divine
Determining sent most of the prophets indicate that only the sense of religion will awaken the
East and impel it to progress. A convincing argument for this is the era of the Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) and those who followed after him.
O my friends who are studying with me in this travelling school called a train! You asked
me to which one should give more importance, religious zeal or national zeal. And now, all you
who received secular education and are travelling with me towards the future in the train of time!
I say the following to you as well: Religious zeal and Islamic nationhood have completely fused
in the Turks and Arabs, and may not now be separated. Islamic zeal is a luminous chain, which is
most strong and secure and is not born of this world. It is a support that is firm and certain, and
will not fail. It is an unassailable fortress that cannot be razed.
When I said this to those two enlightened schoolteachers, they said to me: What
evidence is there for this? For a claim as great as this an equally great proof and powerful
evidence are necessary. What is the evidence?

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
16

June, 1911. [Tr.]

33!

Suddenly the train emerged from a tunnel. We put our heads out of the window and
looked. We saw that a child not yet six years old was standing right next to the railway line
where the train was about to pass. I said to my two teacher friends: Look, this child is answering
our question just by the way he is acting. Let the innocent child be the teacher in our travelling
school instead of me. See, his behavior is stating the following truth:
You can see that the child is standing only a meters distance from where this hideous
monster will pass the minute it roars shrieking out of its hole, the tunnel, with its fearful
onslaught. Although it is roaring and threatening with its overwhelming attack saying: Anything
in my way better watch out! the innocent child is standing right next to it. With perfect courage,
heroism and freedom of spirit he gives no importance at all to its threats. He has contempt for the
monsters onslaught, and says with his childish heroism: Hey, railway train, you cant frighten
me with your thunderous roars!
It is as if he is saying too through his resolution and fortitude: Hey, railway train, youre
the prisoner of a system! Your bit and bridle are in the hands of the one whos driving you. Its
beyond your power to attack me. You cant seize me and hold me under your despotism. Off
with you! Get on your way! Carry on down the track at the command of your driver!
O friends in this train and brothers who are studying science fifty years later! Traversing
time, suppose that with their proverbial heroism Rustam of Iran and Hercules of Greece are there
in place of the innocent child. Since at their time there were no trains, of course there was not the
belief that trains move regularly, according to a system. When the train suddenly roars out of its
hole, the tunnel, snorting thunder and fire, with lightening in its eyes, how Rustam and Hercules
rush to one side at its threatening onslaught! How those two heroes are terrified and flee! For all
their proverbial courage they run more than a thousand meters.
So look, see how their freedom and courage dissolve in the face of the monsters threat.
There is nothing they can do but flee. They do not realize that it is an obedient steed, because
they do not believe in its driver and orderly system. They imagine it to be a sort of lion with
twenty terrifying and rapacious lions the size of wagons attached to its rear.
O my brothers and my friends who are listening to these words after fifty years! What
does give the five-year-old child greater freedom and courage than those two heroes, and a

34!

fearlessness and confidence far exceeding theirs, is faith, trust and belief. Belief in the order and
system of the railway are which a seed of truth in that innocent childs heart. Belief that the reins
of the train are in the hands of a driver, that its movement is regulated, that someone is driving it
on his own account. While what terrifies the two heroes and makes their consciences prisoners to
delusion is their ignorant lack of faith: It is the fact that they do not know the driver and do not
believe in the order and system.
The heroism which arose from the innocent childs belief in the comparison is like the
heroism of a number of tribes -in particular Turkish and Turkified tribes- from among the
Islamic peoples who, by reason of the faith and belief that was rooted in their hearts, for a
thousand year raised the banner of Islam and all its perfections in the face of more than a
hundred nations and states in Asia, Africa and half Europe; who went to meet death laughing and
saying: If I die, I shall be a martyr; if I kill, I shall be a champion of Islam.
Foremost the Turks and Arabs, and all the Muslim peoples, never fearing, confronted
with the heroism of belief the unending succession of hostile events in this world, and the threats
of that fearsome railway train which is inimical to mans comprehensive disposition, from
microbes, even, to comets. Through the submission to Divine Determining and Decree that arises
from belief, they took lessons, and gained wisdom and a sort of worldly happiness in place of
terror and fright. The fact that, like the innocent child, they displayed this extraordinary heroism
demonstrates that in this world as in the hereafter the absolute ruler of the future will be the
nation of Islam.
The cause of the truly strange fear, alarm and anxiety of those two strange heroes in the
two comparisons was their lack of belief, their ignorance, and their misguidance; a truth which
the Risale-iNur demonstrates with hundreds of proofs. It is as follows: Unbelief and misguidance
show to the people of misguidance a universe consisting wholly of series of terrible enemies.
Thousands of different enemies from the solar system to tubercular bacteria are attacking
unfortunate humanity with the hands of blind force, aimless chance, and deaf nature.
By presenting to mans comprehensive disposition, and his endless needs and infinite
desires, continuous fear, pain and anxiety, unbelief and misguidance are forms of Hell; it puts
those who follow it into a sort of Hell while still in this world. All science and human progress

35!

outside religion and belief is worth nothing, like the heroism of Rustam and Hercules. All it does
is to administer injections to deaden the senses so that through drunkenness and dissipation those
grievous fears may be temporarily forgotten. Thus, on the one hand belief and unbelief yield
fruits and results in the hereafter like Paradise and Hell, and on the other in this world belief
ensures a sort of Paradise, and transforms death into a release from duty, while unbelief makes
this world into a sort of Hell, destroys true human happiness and reduces death to eternal
nothingness. The Risale-iNur, relying on definite insight and direct cognition, has demonstrated
this truth with hundreds of proofs. Therefore, we refer you to those and cut short the discussion
here.
If you wish to see the truth that lies in this comparison, raise your head and look at the
universe. Look and see how many vehicles there are like the railway train: balloons, cars,
airplanes, ships of the land and the sea... the globes of the stars, the heavenly bodies, the chains
of events and successive occurrences that pre-eternal power creates with order, regularity,
wisdom and purpose on land and sea and in space. Anyone who has intelligence and sight is able
to see most of these chains of events in the manifest world and corporeal universe and to confirm
their existence. Similarly, they may confirm that there are even more wonderful successive
events created by pre-eternal power in the spirit and incorporeal worlds.
Thus, all these material and immaterial chains of events in the universe attack, threaten
and frighten the unbelieving people of misguidance; they destroy their moral and spiritual
strength. Whereas, for the people of belief, rather than threatening and frightening them, they
bring them joy and comfort, and give them hope and strength. This is because the believers
understand through their belief that an All-Wise Maker is impelling each of those innumerable
chains of events, corporeal and incorporeal railway trains and travelling universes, to carry out
their functions within a perfect orderliness, regularity, wisdom and purpose; that He is causing
them to work. Not one jot are they confused in their duties, nor can they transgress against one
another.
The believers see through their belief that these events are displaying the perfections of
His art and the manifestations of His Beauty in the universe. Thus belief gives all moral strength
to them and demonstrates a sample of eternal happiness. Nothing, then, no science, no human

36!

progress, can ensure moral strength in the face of the ghastly pains and fears that arise from the
people of misguidances unbelief, nor give them any comfort. They destroy their courage, but
temporarily draw a veil of neglect over them, deceiving them. The believers, by reason of their
belief, look on these events, not with fear and crumbled moral strength but with an extraordinary
strength and fortitude, and with the truth that is in belief, like the innocent child in the
comparison. They observe the planning and will of an All-Wise Maker within the sphere of His
wisdom and are saved from delusion and fears.
They understand and say: If it were not for the command and permission of the AllWise Maker, these travelling universes could not be in motion, they could do nothing. With
perfect confidence, they manifest happiness in the life of this world, each according to his
degree.
When the seed of truth born of belief and true religion are not present in a persons heart
and conscience, and are not his point of support, in the same way that Rustam and Hercules
courage and heroism crumbled in the comparison, such a persons courage and morale too will
be annihilated and his conscience will decay. He will become prisoner to all the events in the
universe. He will sink to being a trembling beggar before everything. Since the Risale-iNur has
demonstrated this truth concerning belief and the fearsome wretchedness that misguidance brings
in this world with hundreds of decisive proofs, we shall cut short this long and extensive truth
here.
Man in this century has perceived that his greatest need is for moral and spiritual
strength, solace, and fortitude. Therefore, for him to abandon Islam and the truths of belief at this
time, which are a point of support and secure the moral strength, solace, and happiness he needs,
and, instead of benefiting from Islamic nationhood, under the pretext of becoming westernized,
for him to rely on misguidance, dissipation, and lying politics and diplomacy, which completely
destroy and annihilate all moral strength, solace, and fortitude, are acts far from all benefit and
profit for mankind. Just how far they are from benefiting mankind foremost the Islamic world,
and all mankind, will realize. They will be awakened to this truth, and, if time has not run out for
this world, they will adhere to the truths of the Quran.
SECOND PART

37!

As in the comparison above, in the former period at the beginning of the Second
Constitutional Period, a number of religiously minded deputies said to the Old Said: You make
politics the tool of religion and the Sharia in every way possible and make it serve religion. You
only support freedom on account of the Sharia. And you favour constitutionalism in so far as it is
in conformity with the Sharia. That means one cannot have freedom and constitutionalism
without the Sharia. It is for this reason that they included you among those who said We want
the Sharia during the Thirty-First of March Incident.
The Old Said told them: Yes, it is only through the truths of Islam that the Islam will
prosper and flourish. Islamic society can function only through the Sharia of Islam and its
worldly happiness be achieved. Otherwise justice will disappear, public security be overturned,
immorality and base qualities prevail, and everything be run by liars and sycophants. As a small
proof out of thousands of this truth, I offer the following story for your attention: One time in the
desert, a man was the guest of a nomad who was one of the people of reality. He saw that the
desert-dwellers did not concern themselves with guarding their belongings. His host had even
left some money openly in the corner of the room.

The guest asked him: Arent you frightened of thieves, just throwing your belongings in
the corner like that? His host answered: We do not have any thieves here. The guest
said: We put our money in safes and lock them, but it is still frequently stolen.

His host told him: We cut off the hands of thieves as a Divine command and on account
of the justice of the Sharia.

Whereupon the guest exclaimed: Then most of you must be lacking a hand!

His host told him: I am fifty years old, and yet in my whole life I have only seen one
person with their hand cut off.

The guest was ashamed and said: Although everyday in my country we put fifty people
in prison for theft, it does not have one hundredth of the effectiveness of your justice
here.

The host said: You have been unmindful of an important truth and have ignored a
strange and powerful fact, as a result of which true justice has escaped you. In place of
general good, under an apparent justice, hatred and vicious and partisan currents

38!

intervene, destroying the effect of the judgments.

The truth is as follows: With us, the moment a thief stretches out his hand to seize
anothers property, he recalls the punishment of the Sharia. The command revealed from the
Divine Throne comes to his mind. Through the sense of belief and ear of the heart, he as though
hears the verse: As to the thief, male or female, cut off his or her hands17, which calls for the
execution of the thiefs hand, and his belief and elevated emotions are stirred into action. From
around his spirit and the depths of his conscience a state of mind is given rise to which as though
attacks the inclination to steal. The inclination, which arises from the instinctual soul and lust, is
stifled and recedes; by degrees it is completely extinguished. For not only the mind and
imagination, but also the inner faculties, the intellect, heart, and conscience, together attack that
desire and emotion. By recalling the punishment of the Sharia the thiefs conscience restrains
and prohibits him, confronting that desire and silencing it. Yes, belief places in the heart and
mind a permanent prohibitor when sinful desires emerge from the soul, it repulses them,
declaring: it is forbidden! Mans actions result from the inclinations of his heart and emotions.
They come from the sensibilities of the spirit and its needs. The spirit is stirred into action
through the light of belief. If an act is good, he does it; if it is evil, he tries to restrain himself.
Blinder emotions will not drive him down the wrong road and defeat him.
In Short: When the punishments are carried out in the name of the Divine commands and
dominical justice, both the spirit, and the intellect, and the conscience, and mans innate subtle
faculties are affected and influenced. It is for this reason that the execution of a punishment once
in fifty years is more effective than your imprisoning numerous people every day. Your penalties
affect only your imaginations, for when one of you decides to steal something, suffering a
penalty on account the country and nation and its benefits seems imaginary; or he thinks others
will condemn him if they know about it; or it occurs to him that if it turns out unfavorably the
government will send him to prison. So only his power of imagination feels minor discomfort.
And the powerful desire issuing from his instinctual soul and emotions, particularly if he is
needy as well, will overpower him. Then the penalty will be ineffective in making him refrain
from committing the bad deed. Anyway, because they are not a Divine command, the penalties
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
17

Qur'an, 5:38.

39!

are not justice. They are vain and futile like performing the prayers without taking ablutions and
not facing the Qibla. That is to say, true justice and effective penalties are those, which are in
accordance with the Divine command and executed in its name. Others can have only a minimal
effect. Other universal and all-embracing Divine injunctions may be compared with this small
question of theft, so that it may be understood that mans happiness and well being in this world
are possible only through justice. As for justice, it can be achieved only through direct
application of the way shown by the Quran. (This marks the end of the summary of the story)
It was imparted to my heart that if mankind does not come swiftly to its senses and open
courts in the name of Divine justice and in accordance with the truths of Islam, calamities both
material and non-material will break over mens heads and they will surrender to anarchy and
lawlessness. The Old Said related the above story to some religious deputies of that time, and it
was included forty-five years ago18 in the Addendum to the Damascus Sermon. Now, since the
story and previous comparison are instruction relevant to the present time rather than that time,
we offer it to the deputies who sincerely support religion so they may take note of it.
THIRD PART19
Long Live the Illustrious Sharia!
Deputies of the Assembly!
I am going to write a single sentence, which though very long, is extremely succinct.
Take note of it, for in its prolixity is conciseness. It is this:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
18

Because we do not know Arabic, we requested of Ustad that he should teach us concerning his Arabic treatise,
which was published under the title of The Damascus Sermon (Hutbe-iamiye). He did so for several days and we
wrote down what he said. He used to repeat some of the things he taught so that they would stick in our minds. We
found the story and comparison at the end useful in explaining the question. And the reason we have offered them
first of all for the attention of members of universities and deputies who support religion is because when Ustad
[Bediuzzaman Said Nursi] began to explain this subject, he said: "I put you in the place of the two teachers from the
modern schools in the railway train, and the sincerely religious deputies of the present time in the place of the
deputies of forty-five years ago who asked the question about the Shari'a." If they wish we can show them all our
notes about the Damascus Sermon, and if needed, we can publish them. We wanted Ustad to teach us about the
politics of the Islamic world. But since he had given up politics thirty-five years previously, he explained to us
instead this translation of the Damascus Sermon of the Old Said, which touches on Islamic politics. It is a lesson on
account of the Old Said (Signed: His students, Tahiri, Zbeyr, Bayram, Ceylan, Sungur, Abdullah, Ziya, Sadk,
Hsn, Hamza)
19
This part of the Addendum consists of newspaper articles written by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi forty-two years ago.

40!

If you apply the title of the ILLUSTRIOUS SHARIA to the justice, mutual consultation,
and restriction of power to the law, which is the Constitution and constitutionalism, and make it
the authority for your rulings and apply its principles, what will you lose? For it is the true and
rightful owner of this glorious, effective title and comprises the following manifold benefits: it is
the source of absolute justice; provides us with a sure point of support; establishes
constitutionalism on a firm base; saves the doubtful and anxious from the abyss of their
bewilderment; guarantees our future in this world and our lives in the next; delivers Divine
rights, that is, the rights of the public, from wrongful exploitation; preserves our national life;
attracts all minds and demonstrates to westerners our constancy, maturity, and existence; saves
you from being called to account in this world and the next; establishes unanimity of purpose and
result; gives rise to public opinion, the spirit of consensus; prohibits the corrupt evils of
civilization from entering the bounds of freedom and our civilization; delivers us from begging
to Europe; through the mystery of miraculousness, in a short space of time makes us traverse the
long distance in progress that we have lagged behind; gains great value for us by in a short time
uniting Arab, Turk, Persian, and Semite; shows the collective personality of the government to
be Muslim; by preserving the spirit of the Constitution and Article Eleven20, saves you from
perjuring yourselves; gives the lie to Europes old false ideas about us; makes it affirmed that
Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace) is the Seal of the Prophets and the Sharia is
eternal; forms a barrier against irreligion, the destroyer of civilization; with its shining face, puts
an end to the darkness of the conflict and confusion of ideas; unites all the religious scholars and
preachers and causes them to assist the nations happiness, and makes the government and its
activities serve licit constitutionalism; since its absolute justice is compassionate, reconciles and
binds to a greater extent the non-Muslim minorities; inspires the most pusillanimous man with
true feelings of progress, self-sacrifice, and patriotism the same as the bravest, and the most
common man the same as the most elevated; delivers us from vice, wastefulness, and inessential
needs, all of which destroy civilization; gives a spur to endeavour by developing this world as
well as saving the hereafter; teaches the principles of good morals and elevated emotions, the life
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
20

Article 11 of the Constitution: "Every Ottoman is free to practise his religion on condition only that no breach of
public order or good morals is committed." [Tr.]

41!

of civilization; acquits each of you deputies from fifty thousand people claiming their rights from
you; shows you to be a small, licit sample of the consensus of the Umma; because of pure
intention makes all your actions into worship; and saves you from criminal conspiracy against
the spiritual lives of three hundred million Muslims; -since it comprises this many benefits, what
will you lose if you apply the title of the Sharia to constitutionalism?
Long live the Illustrious Sharia!
Long Live the Sharia of Muhammad!
Since the Illustrious Sharia proceeds from pre-eternal Divine speech, it will continue for
all eternity. Our salvation from the vile tyranny of the evil-commanding soul is through reliance
on Islam, by holding fast to that rope most strong. We may profit thoroughly from true freedom
by seeking help from belief. For one who is truly a slave and servant of the worlds Maker will
not stoop to worshipping His creatures. Everyone is a commander in his own world and is
therefore charged with the greater jihad in it, with assuming the morality of Muhammad (Upon
whom be blessings and peace), and raising to life his practices. Rulers of this land! If you want
success, conform to the Divine laws! Otherwise you will be unsuccessful. For the fact that all the
known prophets appeared in the lands of Islam and the Ottomans is a sign of Divine Determining
that the steam of the engine of the progress of this countrys people is religion. The flowers of
these fields of Asia, Africa, and Rumelia will grow and flourish through the light of Islam.
Religion may not be sacrificed for the sake of this world. At one time the matters of the Sharia
were given as the bribe to preserve the now defunct despotism. Did anything other than harm
result from giving up and sacrificing the matters of religion? This nations heart disease is
weakness in religion; it will regain its health through strengthening it. The way of our society is
love for love and enmity towards enmity. That is, assisting love between Muslims and routing
the soldiers of hostility. Our way is also to adopt the morality of Muhammad (Upon whom be
blessings and peace) and revive his practices. Our guide is the Illustrious Sharia, our sword its
decisive proofs, and our aim to uphold the Word of God. All believers are in meaning members
of our society, while formal membership is by making determined effort to raise to life in ones
own world the Prophets practices. First of all, in the name of the Sharia, we call on the religious

42!

scholars, sheikhs, and students of the religious schools, who are the guides of the general public,
to unite.
A Warning: With two false comparisons, journalists, the public orators, have plunged
this nation into a bog. The First is by comparing the provinces with Istanbul. But if philosophy is
taught to children who cannot yet read, what is taught will be superficial...The Second: They
have compared Istanbul to Europe. But if a man dresses in a garment deemed suitable to women,
he becomes ridiculous and the object of scorn.
Reality
We have been members of the ttihad-Muhammed (The Muhammadan Union) (Upon
whom be blessings and peace) since man undertook the trust in pre-eternity21.The reason for our
unity is Divine Unity; our oath and pledge is belief; we are united because we affirm Divine
Unity. All believers are charged with upholding the Word of God, and at this time the most
effective means of doing this is material progress, for the Europeans are crushing us under their
tyranny with the weapons of science and industry. We shall therefore wage jihad with the
weapons of science and industry on ignorance, poverty, and conflicting ideas, the worst enemies
of upholding the Word of God.
As for external jihad, we shall refer it to the decisive proofs of the Illustrious Sharia. For
conquering the civilized is through persuasion, not through force as though they were savages
who understand nothing. We are devotees of love; we do not have time for enmity.
Republicanism22 consists of justice, mutual consultation, and the restriction of power to the law.
The Illustrious Sharia was founded thirteen centuries ago, so to go begging to Europe in the
question of laws is a great crime towards the religion of Islam. It is like facing the north while
praying. Power must reside in the law; otherwise, arbitrary rule spreads. The saying It is Allah
Who is the Strong, the Most Firm must govern the conscience. That is possible through general
education and widespread civilization, or in the name of the religion of Islam. Otherwise
absolutism will always prevail.
Unity may be achieved through Divine Guidance, not through personal whims and
desires. People are free, but they are still slaves of God. Everything is free now; the Sharia is
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
21

"Qalubala." See, Qur'an, 7:172. [Tr.]

At that time it was 'constitutionalism,' now it is 'republicanism.'

22

43!

free, constitutionalism is free. We shall not give the matters of the Sharia as a bribe. One may not
make the faults of others the basis of and excuse for ones own faults. Despair is an obstacle to
all achievement. The saying: What is it to me, let others think is a souvenir of absolutism. I do
not know what should be interposed to tie together these sentences since I do not know Turkish,
and leave it for the readers to work it out.
The Voice of Truth
The way of Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace) is free of all doubts and
trickery, and therefore does not condescend to concealing things, which is suggestive of doubt
and trickery. Anyway, such a mighty, extensive, all-embracing truth could in no way be hidden,
especially from the people of this time. How could an ocean be concealed in a pitcher?
I repeat: the means of unity of the ttihad-Muham-med (Muhammadan Union), which in reality
is Islamic Unity, is Divine Unity. Its oath and pledge is belief. Its associations and councils are
the mosques, religious schools, and Sufi meeting-places. Its membership consists of all believers.
It code of rules are the practices of the Prophet (PBUH). Its laws are the commands and
prohibitions of the Sharia. This Union consists not of numbers but of worship.
Fear and causing fear are both hypocrisy, but there is no hypocrisy in performing the
obligatory acts of religion. The obligatory act of greatest importance at the present time is
Islamic Unity. While the aim and goal of Unity [or the Muhammadan Union] is to stir into life
the long, many-branched, far-reaching luminous chain which binds together the centres of Islam
and their places of worship, to arouse those bound to it, and through the wishes and promptings
of their consciences drive them to the way of progress.
The way of this Union is love; its enmity is only for ignorance, poverty, and strife. NonMuslims should feel sure that this Union attacks only those three facts. Our actions towards nonMuslims consist only of persuasion, for we know them to be civilized. And we suppose them to
be fair-minded, so we should demonstrate that Islam is lovable and elevated. The lax and
negligent should know that they cannot ingratiate themselves with the Europeans by being
irreligious, for they only show that they are unprincipled. And no one likes unprincipledness and
anarchy. Those who join this Union after due investigation, will not leave it by blindly imitating
such people. We present to public opinion the ideas, way, and reality of the Muhammadan

44!

Union, which is Islamic Unity. If anyone has any objections, let him voice them; we are ready to
answer them. All the lions of the world are bound to this chain; Could the fox chew through it by
trickery?
A part I left out of the Programme of My Aims, which I published23:One channel of modern
education, which flows in from outside, should consist of some of the members of the religious
schools, so that it may be purified of rancour and hatred. For coming from another channel it is
polluted and cloudy. It has had a negative effect on some minds oppressed by the tyranny, which
arises from the swamp of idleness and breathes through the poison of despotism; it must
therefore pass through the filter of the Sharia. It will be transformed through the efforts of the
religious scholars. Peace on those who follow right-guidance.
To Dispel Any Fears
I shall reply to nine groundless fears voiced about the ttihad-Muhammed
(Muhammadan Union).
First Groundless Fear: It is inappropriate to put forward the question of religion at a
sensitive time such as the present.
The Answer: We love religion, and we love this world for the sake of religion. There is
no good in this world without religion. Secondly, since in constitutionalism sovereignty belongs
to the nation, the nations existence has to be demonstrated, and our nation is only Islam. For the
strongest bond of Arab, Turk, Kurd, Albanian, Circassian, and Laz, and their firmest nationhood,
is nothing other than Islam. The foundations of an array of states are being laid, due to
negligence and strife incited through the revival of the partisanship and tribalism of the Age of
Ignorance, which died one thousand three hundred years ago. We have seen this.
Second Groundless Fear: By using this name specifically you make non-members feel
alarm and anxiety?
The Answer: I have explained this before, but because it has not been read or has been
misunderstood, I am obliged to repeat it. It is like this: What is meant when we say the ttihadMuhammed (Muhammad Union), which is Islamic Unity, is the unity between all believers,

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
23

See, Volkan, Nos: 83, 84. [Tr.]

45!

whether potential or actual. It does not refer to the society in Istanbul and Anatolia. A single drop
of water is still water. The word cannot be thought of as specific. Its true definition is as follows:
Its foundations stretch from east to west and from north to south; its center are the holy places of
Mecca and Medina; its point of unity is Divine Unity; its oath and pledge is belief; its code of
regulations, the practices of the Prophet (PBUH); its code of laws, the commands and
prohibitions of the Sharia; its clubs and councils, all the religious schools, mosques, and Sufi
meeting-houses; the societys eternal press organ are all Islamic books, and its constant one is
foremost the Quran and all Quranic commentaries (and at this time, the Risale-iNur, which is a
Quranic commentary), as well as all moderate religious papers and journals whose aim is to
uphold the Word of God; its membership consists of all believers; and its leader is the Glory of
the World (PBUH).
What we want now is the awakening and attention of believers, for the effect of public
attention is undeniable. The aim of the Union and its purpose is to uphold the Word of God, and
its way is to wage the greater jihad with ones own soul, and to guide others. Ninety-nine per
cent of the endeavours of this blessed society are not political. They are rather turned towards
good morals and moderation, which are the opposite of politics, and other lawful aims. For very
few societies have adopted this as their function, although its value and importance is immense.
Only one out of a hundred of its members will be connected with politics by way of offering
guidance to politicians. Their swords are decisive proofs. And just as their way is love, so will
they encourage the love included in the seed of the brotherhood between believers to grow, like a
tree of Tuba.
Fifth Groundless Fear: Is there not the possibility that the Europeans will be perturbed
by it?
The Answer: Those who consider this to be a possibility are themselves perturbed. For it
is refuted by the Europeans praising Islam in lectures24 and describing its elevatedness, in the
very centres of their bigotry. Also, it is not they who are our enemies; what has in reality brought
us this low is opposition to the Sharia, which is the result of ignorance, thus preventing us from
upholding the Word of God; and poverty and its fruits of immorality and bad conduct; and
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
24

This alludes to lectures given by Bismarck, Carlyle, and others.

46!

conflict and its products of strife and hatred; the attacks of our Union are directed at these three
enemies. In the Middle Ages, Islam was compelled to be bigoted and hostile in the face of the
Europeans savagery, but it nevertheless maintained its justice and moderation. It never instituted
inquisitions and such like. In this time of modern civilization, the Europeans are civilized and
powerful, and harmful hostility and bigotry have therefore disappeared. For in respect of
religion, the civilized are to be conquered through persuasion, not through force, and through
showing by conforming to its commands in actions and conduct that Islam is elevated and
lovable. Force and enmity are only to combat the barbarity of savages.
Sixth Groundless Fear: Some people say that Islamic Unity, which aims to implement
the practices of the Prophet (PBUH), limits freedom and is opposed to the requirements of
civilization.
The Answer: The true believer is truly free. One who is the slave and servant of the
Maker of the world will not condescend to lower himself before His creatures. That is to say,
freedom is increased to the degree belief is strengthened. Absolute freedom, however, is absolute
savagery; indeed, it is animality. From the point of view of humanity, too, freedom has to be
restricted. Secondly, some lax and dissolute individuals want not to be free, but to be the vile
slaves of their evil-command-ding souls. In short, the freedom outside the bounds of the Sharia is
either despotism, or slavery to the soul, or animality, or savagery. The heedless and atheists who
want such freedom should know that they will never make any European with a conscience love
them through vice and irreligion, nor will they resemble them. For no one loves the dissolute and
the unprincipled. And if a man wears a womans dress, he merely becomes ridiculous.
Seventh Groundless Fear: The Muhammadan Union has split away from the other
religious groups, and this leads to rivalry and mutual aversion.
The Answer: Firstly, there can be no jealousy, contention, and conflict in the matters of
the hereafter, so if any of those societies attempts to compete or strive against another it will be
as though it is hypocritical and dissembling in worship. Secondly, we congratulate all societies
founded out of love of religion and we unite with them, on two conditions:
Firstly, that they preserve the freedom, which is in accordance with the Sharia and public order.
Secondly, that they act out of love, and do not smear other groups for self-advantage. If any are

47!

in error, they should refer it to the religious authorities, which collectively constitute the Mufti of
the Umma. Thirdly, any society whose aim is upholding the Word of God cannot in any way be
the means of animosity and serving its own ends. Even if it wants to, it will not be successful,
because to do so is duplicity. The truth is exalted, and may not by sacrificed for anything. Can
the Pleiades be swept with a brush or eaten like a bunch of grapes? Anyone who puffs at the sun
of reality to extinguish it merely advertises his lunacy. Newspapers and periodicals which
support religion! We say that religious groups and societies should have a common goal. But it is
neither possible for them to unite in their ways and methods, nor is it permissible. For it opens up
the way blind imitation and causes people to say: What is it to me? Let others do the thinking.
Eighth Groundless Fear: The majority of the people who have joined the Union here,
both in fact and in spirit, supporters of Islamic Unity, are ordinary people, and some are an
unknown quantity; this hints of conflict and dissension.
The Answer: It is rather as a consequence of enmity not being permitted. Also, since its
aim is unity and upholding the Word of God, all its activities and endeavors are worship. In the
mosque of worship king and beggar are equal. True equality is its principle; there is no privilege.
The best is the one most fearing of God. And the one most fearing of God is the most humble. As
a consequence, together with joining in meaning the true Union,25 he will be honored by joining
this Union, which is a physical sample of it. A single droplet does not increase the ocean. And
just as one grievous sin does not cause a person to cease being a believer, so the door of
repentance is open till the sun rises in the west. And in the same way that a flagon of impure
water does not make the ocean unclean, a number of persons of unknown origins -now that they
have purified themselves- who have joined this sample of Islamic Unity with the firm intention,
as far as they can, to revive the practices of the Prophet (PBUH), obey his commands and refrain
from what he prohibited, and not disturb public order, will not stain this elevated reality. For
even if they themselves are tainted, their belief is sacred. The bond too is belief. One who smears
this sacred name with such pretexts, is unaware of Islams worth and elevatedness, and simply
proclaims himself to be an idiot. We strenuously reject any innuendoes made against our society,
which is a sample of Islamic Unity, by analogies made with worldly societies, and efforts to
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
25

That is, Islamic Unity. [Tr.]

48!

smear it. If anyone offers objections by way of asking for information, we are ready to reply to
them. The field is open...! The society of which I am a member is Islamic Unity, which I have
here described in detail. It is not the imaginary organization that critics have falsely described.
The members of this religious association are together whether in the north, south, east or west.
Question: You sometimes sign yourself as Bediuzzaman (the Wonder of the Age). Does
this not infer self-praise?
The Answer: It is not for praise; I declare my faults, excuses, and apologies with this
title. Because Bedimeans strange. And like my form, my conduct, my manner of address, and
my attire are all strange and different. Through the tongue of this manner and title I request that
the current reasoning and styles based on customary practice are not made the measure and
criterion for my style and reasoning. Also my aims are strange and unusual. I have illustrated the
lines: I have become the target of every weird person;For I am weird in the eyes of the weird! An
example is this: I have been in Istanbul one year and have seen a hundred years worth of
revolutions. Peace be on those who follow right-guidance! We say in the name of all believers:
Long live the Sharia of Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace)!
Letter to Dervish Vahdeti
My Brother, the Editor!
Writers should be mannerly, and their manners should be molded by the manners of
Islam. Let the sense of religion in the conscience order the Press Regulations, for this Islamic
revolution has shown that what governs all consciences is Islamic zeal, the light of lights. Also, it
has been understood that Islamic Unity includes all the people of Islam; there is no one outside it.
Address to Our Heroic Soldiers26
Noble soldiers of Islam! Mighty heroes who have twice saved this oppressed nation and
sacred Islam from a terrible abyss! Your beauty and perfection lie in order and discipline. You
demonstrated this perfectly at the time of greatest confusion. Yes, your life and strength lie in
obedience. Display this sacred virtue before even your least officer. The honor of thirty million
Ottomans and three hundred million Muslims is tied to your obedience. The banner of Divine
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
26

This piece and the next one, parts of an address to the army during the events in April 1909 known as the 31st
March Incident, induced eight mutinying regiments to obey their officers and return to barracks, greatly lessening
the harm of the calamity.]

49!

Unity is in the hand of your courage, while the strength of those blessed hands of yours is
obedience. Your officers are your compassionate fathers. Both the Quran, and Hadith, and
wisdom and experience state that obedience to those in command who are rightful is obligatory.
You know that thirty million could not bring about two such revolutions in a hundred years. The
true strength resulting from your obedience made the whole Islamic nation grateful to you. This
honour may be confirmed now through obedience to your officers. The honor of Islam is also
dependent on that obedience. I know that you did not get mixed up with it in order to save your
officers -who are like your kind fathers- from responsibility. But the matter is finished now, so
you should throw yourselves into their compassionate embrace. The Illustrious Sharia orders
you to do this. For your officers have been charged with authority over you; for the benefit of the
country and nation, and particularly to maintain discipline in the army, obedience to those
charged with authority is obligatory. The Sharia of Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and
peace) will also be preserved through your obedience.
Address to the Army
O Soldiers of Islam! I remind you of the decree of the Glory of the World (Upon whom
be blessings and peace) that it is obligatory to obey those in command within the bounds of the
Sharia. Your commanders and masters are your officers. The army resembles a huge and orderly
factory. If one cog of the machinery departs from the order and discipline, the whole factory is
thrown into confusion. Your orderly and powerful factory of the army is the point of support and
source of help of thirty million Ottomans and three hundred million Muslims.
Your bloodless and instantaneous killing of two awesome despotisms was wondrous; you
exhibited two miracles of the Illustrious Sharia, offering two proofs to those weak in belief of the
power of Islamic zeal and the sacredness of the Sharia. Had the price of these two revolutions
been thousands of martyrs, we still would have considered it cheap. But if even a thousandth of
your obedience is sacrificed, it will turn out extremely expensive for us. For any decrease in your
obedience is the cause of death, like a drop in the life-force or in body-heat.
History has always testified to the awesome harms to country and nation when soldiers
interfere in politics. Certainly your Islamic zeal will prevent you from attempting things that will

50!

cause harm to the life of Islam. Those who will think of politics are your officers and
commanders, who are like your powers of thought.
Sometimes, since it repels considerable harm politically, a matter you consider to be
harmful is pure benefit; your officers see this due to their experience, and give you commands. It
is not then permissible for you to be hesitant. Actions in personal life that are contrary to the
Sharia do not negate skill and expertise in a craft, and do not make the craft abhorrent. The illicit
private conduct of a skilful doctor or proficient engineer does not prevent their medicine and
engineering being profited from. So do not fail in your obedience because of minor actions
contrary to the Sharia of some of your officers who are experienced in the science of warfare,
skilful in that art, and whose ideas are enlightened through their Islamic zeal. Because the
science of warfare is an important art. Also, since your rebellion showed the Illustrious Sharia
like the Shining Hand of Moses, you compelled those few unlawful actions to return to the fold
of the Sharia. This licit union of yours swallowed up other societies, which were the cause of
division and confusion of ideas, like the Staff of Moses. It also compelled the magicians to
prostrate. Your action in this revolution was like a medicine, but if excessive, it will turn into
poison and head the life of Islam towards a serious illness. Also, through your endeavours the
despotism with us has for the present been destroyed. But we are still oppressed by Europe in
respect of progress. The utmost caution and moderation are needed. Long live the Illustrious
Sharia! Long live the army!
An Important Warning to the Societies and Clubs: Our society is now a constitutional
government. The harm of having governments within the government has become apparent. The
fact that there is not a uniform level of culture has resulted in enmity, bigotry, and partisanship
between the parties. It has become a field favorable to those nurturing hatred, who by exploiting
that natural force, meddle in politics and exercise arbitrary power -which is pleasurable- in the
general administration. It is therefore extremely harmful for the groups and parties to continue in
their present form, although it may be beneficial for members of a company, or intellectuals or
unbiased people to criticize politics, or for people of learning to offer advice and counsel to one
another. Our constitutional government now forms the society.

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SECOND ADDENDUM
FIRST PART: SEEDS OF REALITY27
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
All praise be to God, the Sustainer of All the Worlds, and blessings and peace be upon our
master Muhammad, and on all his Family and Companions.
1. The prescription for a sick age, an ailing nation, an ill member, is to follow the Quran.
2. The prescription for a glorious though unfortunate continent, an illustrious though
hapless state, a noble though ownerless people, is Islamic Unity.
3. One who does not have the strength to raise and turn the earth and all the stars and suns
as though they were beads of a tesbihcannot lay claim to creating anything in the universe. For
everything is tied to everything else.
4. The raising to life of all animate beings at the resurrection of the dead can be no more
difficult for Divine Power than restoring to life a fly in the spring, heavy with the death-stained
sleep of winter. For Pre-Eternal Power is essential; it does not change; impotence cannot
penetrate it; obstacles cannot intervene in it; there can be no degrees in it; everything is the same
in relation to it.
5. He who created the eye of the mosquito is the one who created the sun.
6. The one who ordered the stomach of a flea is also the one who ordered the solar
system.
7. There is such miraculousness in the universes compilation that if to suppose the
impossible all natural causes possessed will and the power to act, they would still prostrate in
utter impotence before such miraculousness, exclaiming: Glory be unto You! We have no
power; indeed You are the Mighty, the Wise!
8. An actual effect has not been given to causes, for Divine Unity and Glory require it to
be thus. Only, in the outer aspect of things, causes are a veil to the Hand of Power; and this,
Divine Dignity and Grandeur require, so that in the superficial view the Hand of Power should
not be seen to be directly in contact with lowly things.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
27

This consists of aphorisms taken from a collection published thirty-five years ago called Seeds of Reality

52!

9. The inner dimensions of things, where Divine Power has its connection, are transparent
and pure.
10. The Manifest World is a lace veil strewn over the Worlds of the Unseen.
11. An infinite power sufficient to create all the universe is necessary to create a single
point and set it in its place. For every letter of this Mighty Book of the Universe, and particularly
all its living letters, has a face looking to all the sentences, and an eye that beholds them.
12. It is well-known: they all looked for the crescent moon of the Id, but no one could
see it. An elderly man swore he had seen it. But what he had seen was not the crescent moon; it
was a curved white eyelash. What is an eyelash compared with the moon?... What is the motion
of minute particles compared with the one who fashions all beings?
13. Nature resembles a printing-press, not the printer. It is embroidery, not the
Embroiderer. It is passive, not active. It is a pattern, not a source. It is an order, and not the
Orderer. It is a law, not a Power. It is a code of laws proceeding from a will, not an external
reality.
14. The lure and attraction in the conscience, which is the essential nature of conscious
beings, is felt through the appeal of a drawing truth.
15. The essential nature of beings does not lie. The inclination to grow in a seed declares:
I shall sprout and produce fruit! It speaks the truth. In an egg is the desire for life; it says: I
shall be a hen! and this comes about, with Divine permission. It speaks the truth. Due to the
inclination to freeze, a handful of water says: I shall take up more space!, and unyielding iron
cannot give it the lie; the rightness of its words splits the iron. These inclinations are the
manifestations of the creative commands proceeding from Divine Will.
16. Pre-Eternal Power, which does not leave ants without a prince, or bees without a
queen, certainly does not leave mankind without prophets. As the Splitting of the Moon was a
miracle of Muhammad (PBUH) for men in the Manifest World, so the Ascension was a supreme
miracle of His before the angels and spirit beings in the World of the Inner Dimensions of
Things. Through this clear wonder, the sainthood of his prophethood was proved, and like
lightening or the moon, that shining Being scattered light through those inner worlds.

53!

17. The two phrases of the confession of faith testify to each other. The first is the proof
of cause to effect of the second, while the second is the proof of effect to cause of the first.
18. Life is a sort of manifestation of Unity within multiplicity, and therefore leads to
unity. Life makes one thing the owner of everything.
19. Spirit is a law possessing external existence, a conscious law. Like the stable and
enduring laws of creation, spirit comes from the World of the Divine Command and the attribute
of Will. Divine Power clothes it an existence decked out with senses. He makes a subtle, flowing
being the shell to that jewel. Existent spirit is the brother of the conceivable law. They are both
enduring and come from the World of the Divine Command. If Pre-Eternal Power had clothed
the laws governing in the species of beings in external existence, they would have been spirits.
And if the spirit banishes consciousness, it still would be an undying law.
20. Beings are visible through light, and their existence is known through life. Both are
revealers.
21. Christianity will either erupt, or being purified, will lay down its arms before Islam.
Christianity was split apart several times, and Protestantism emerged. Then Protestantism was
rent, and approached the true affirmation of Divine Unity. It is preparing to be rent again. It will
either erupt and be extinguished, or it will see before it the truths of Islam, which encompass the
basis of true Christianity, and it will lay down its arms. The Prophet Muhammad (Upon whom be
blessings and peace) alluded to this great mystery when he said: Jesus will appear having
descended from the skies; he will be of my community and will act in accordance with my
Sharia.
22. It is the sacredness of the authority more than proof that drives the mass of the people
to conform.
23. The essentials and incontestable matters of religion, which form ninety-nine per cent,
are each diamond pillars, while the controversial matters, which are open to interpretation, form
only ten per cent. Ninety diamond pillars may not be put under the protection of ten gold pillars.
Books and interpretations should be telescopes for observing the Quran; they should be mirrors;
not shadows or deputies!

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24. Anyone who is capable may make interpretations of the Law for his own self; but he
cannot make the Law.
25. Calling others to accept an idea is dependent on acceptance by the Ulama; otherwise
it is innovation, and should be rejected.
26. Since by nature man is noble, he seeks the truth. Sometimes he encounters the false,
but supposing it to be the truth preserves it in his heart. Then, when delving into reality, without
his willing it, misguidance strikes him on the head; supposing it to be reality, he plunges his head
into it.
27. Divine Power has many mirrors, each more subtle and transparent than the last; they
vary from water to air, and air to ether, and ether to the World of Similitudes; from the World of
Similitudes to the World of Spirits, and even to time, and to thought. A single word in the mirror
of the air becomes millions of words. The Pen of Power writes this mystery of reproduction in
truly wondrous manner. The reflection contains either its identity or its identity together with its
nature. The images of dense beings are moving but dead. While the images of a luminous spirit
in their own mirrors are living and linked with it; even if they are not identical, they are not other
than it.
28. Since the sun shakes itself in its axial rotation, its fruits do not fall; whereas if it did
not shake itself, the planets would fall and be scattered.
29. If the light of thought is not illuminated with the light of the heart and blended with it,
it is darkness and breeds tyranny. If the white of the eye, which resembles day, was not together
with its black pupil, which resembles night, the eye would not be the eye; it would be unseeing.
Similarly, if the black core of the heart is not present in white thought, it lacks insight.
30. If knowledge lacks the insight of the heart, it is ignorance. Taking the part of
something is one thing, belief is something else.
31. Embroidering meaningless things is to mislead simple minds.
32. A learned guide should be a sheep, not a bird. A sheep gives its lamb milk, while a
bird gives its chick regurgitated food.

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33. The existence of something is dependent on the existence of all its parts. As for nonexistence, since it occurs though non-existence of one part, a weak man supports destruction in
order to demonstrate his power; he acts negatively instead of positively.
34. If the laws of government are not combined with the principles of wisdom, and the
bonds of force not combined with the laws of truth, they will not be fruitful among the mass of
the people.
35. Tyranny has donned the hat of justice; treachery has clothed itself in the garment of
patriotism; jihad has been given the name of rebellion; captivity has been called freedom!
Opposites have exchanged forms!
36. Politics, which revolves around benefit, is savagery.
37. To show friendliness towards a hungry beast does not excite its compassion, but its
hunger. Both its fangs and its claws will want their rent!
38. Time has shown that Paradise is not cheap, and neither is Hell unnecessary.
39. While the virtues of those known by the world as the upper classes should be the
cause of modesty and humility, they have lead to oppression and arrogance. And while the
poverty and powerlessness of the poor and common people should be the cause of compassion
and bounty, they have resulted in captivity and condemnation.
40. So long as honour and good things are to be obtained from a thing, they offer it to the
upper classes, but if it is a bad thing, they divide it among the ordinary people.
41. If there is no imagined goal, or if it is forgotten or pretended to be forgotten, thoughts
perpetually revolve around the I.
42. The origin of all revolutions and corruption, and the spur and source of all base
morals are just two sayings. The first saying is So long as Im full, what is it to me if others die
of hunger? the second saying is You suffer hardship so that I can live in ease; you work so that
I can eat.
There is only one remedy for extirpating the First Saying, and that is the obligatory
payment of zakat. While the remedy for the Second is the prohibition of usury and interest,
Quranic justice stands at the door of the world and says to usury and interest: No entry! It is

56!

forbidden! You dont have the right to enter here! Mankind did not heed the command, and
received a severe blow. So it must heed it before it receives one even more severe!
43. War between nations and states is relinquishing its place to war between the classes
of mankind. For just as man does not want to be a slave, so he does not want to be a laborer.
44. Someone, who follows his goal by an illicit path, is usually punished by receiving the
opposite of what he intended. The recompense for illicit love, like love for Europe, is the cruel
enmity of the beloved.
45. The past and calamities should be considered with regard to Divine Determining,
while the future and sins from the point of view of responsibility before God. The Jabariyya and
Mutazila are reconciled on this point.
46. Impotence should not be resorted to in things for which a solution may be found,
while for things for which there is no solution, punishment should not be resorted to.
47. The wounds of life may be healed. But Islamic pride and honor, and national pride,
their wounds are extremely deep.
48. It sometimes happens that a single word causes an army to perish, and one bullet
leads to the annihilation of thirty million.28 Some conditions are such that a small act raises man
to the highest of the high, while others are such that a small action reduces him to the lowest of
the low.
49. One grain of truth consumes a stack of lies. One grain of reality is superior to a stack
of illusions. Everything you say should be true, but it is not right to say everything true.
50. A person who sees the good in things has good thoughts. And he who has good
thoughts receives pleasure from life.
51. What gives life to people is hope, while what kills them is despair.
52. Since early days, this Islamic state took on itself the upholding of the Word of God,
the maintenance of independence, and jihad for Islam, an obligation that if undertaken by part of
the community, released the rest; it considered itself to be charged with sacrificing itself for
Islam, which was united, and carrying the banner of the Caliphate. The misfortune it now suffers
will therefore be made up for by the future prosperity and freedom of the Islamic World. For this
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
28

A single bullet fired by a Serbian soldier at the Austrian Crown-Prince set off the Great War, and was the cause of
thirty million souls being lost.

57!

calamity has speeded up in wondrous fashion the growth of Islamic brotherhood, the leaven of
our lives.
53. To attribute to Christianity the virtues of civilization, which are not its property, and
to show retrogression, the enemy of Islam, to be its friend, is to suggest that the firmament is
revolving in the opposite direction.
54. A tarnished, matchless diamond is always superior to a piece of glistening glass.
55. Those who seek everything in materiality know only what their eyes see, and such
eyes are blind in spiritual matters.
56. If metaphors fall from the hands of learning into those of ignorance, they are
transformed into their literal meanings, opening the door to superstition.
57. Favor greater than Divine favor is not favor. Everything has to be described as it is.
58. Fame also ascribes to man what is not his.
59. Hadiths are the source of life and inspirer of reality.
60. The revival of religion is the revival of the nation. The life of religion is the light of
life.
61. The Quran, which is a mercy for mankind, only accepts a civilization that comprises
the happiness of all, or at least of the majority. Modern civilization has been founded on five
negative principles:
1) Its point of support is force, the mark of which is aggression.
2) Its aim and goal is benefit, the mark of which is jostling and tussling.
3) Its principle in life is conflict, the mark of which is strife.
4) The bond between the masses is racialism and negative nationalism, which is nourished
through devouring others; its mark is collision.
5) Its enticing service is inciting lust and passion and gratifying the desires. But lust
transforms man into a beast.
However, the civilization the Sharia of Muhammad (PBUH) comprises and commands is this: its
point of support is truth instead of force, the mark of which is justice and harmony. Its goal is
virtue in place of benefit, the mark of which is love and attraction. Its means of unity are the ties
of religion, country, and class, in place of racialism and nationalism, and the mark of these is

58!

sincere brotherhood, peace, and only defence against external aggression. In life is the principle
of mutual assistance instead of the principle of conflict, the mark of which is accord and
solidarity. And it offers guidance instead of lust, the mark of which is human progress and
spiritual advancement. Do not loosen your hands from Islam, the preserver of our existence;
cling onto it with all your strength, or you shall be lost!
62. A general disaster results from the error of the majority. Disaster is the result of
crime, and the introduction to reward.
63. A martyr thinks he is alive. Since he did not suffer the pangs of death, he considers
the life he sacrificed to be perpetual and not to have been severed. Only, he finds it purer.
64. The pure justice of the Quran does not spill the life and blood of an innocent, even
for the whole of humanity. The two are the same both in the view of Divine Power, and in the
view of justice. But through self-interest man becomes such that he will destroy everything that
forms an obstacle to his ambition, even the world if he can, and he will wipe out mankind.
65. Fear and weakness encourage outside influences.
66. Definite benefits should not be sacrificed for imaginary harms.
67. Istanbul politics at the present time are a sickness like Spanish flu.
68. Tell a bad man, You are good, you are good, and it is not unheard of that he will
become good. And tell a good man You are bad, you are bad, and it is not rare for him to
become bad.
69. So long as the enemy of an enemy remains his enemy, he is a friend; while so long as
the friend of an enemy remains his friend, he is an enemy.
70. Obduracy is this: if Satan assists someone, he calls him an angel, and calls down
blessings on him. But if among his opponents he encounters an angel, he calls him a satan who
has changed his clothes, and curses him.
71. The remedy for one ill person may be poison for another. If a remedy exceeds its
limit, it is the cause of ills.
72. Solidarity in a society results in tranquility in all its activites, while mutual envy
causes all its activities to come to a standstill.

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73. If the community is not one and a whole, undivided number, addition makes smaller,
like multiplying fractions.29
74. Non-acceptance is confused with the acceptance of non-being. The evidence for nonacceptance is the absence of established proof. The acceptance of non-being requires proof of
non-being. One is doubt while the other is denial.
75. If doubt in the matters of belief destroys one, or even a hundred, evidences, it does
not harm what is posited; for there are hundreds of evidences.
76. The majority of Muslims should be followed. For when they followed the majority,
the Umayyads, who were slack in religion, finally entered the Sunni community. As for the
Shia, who were firm in religion but remained in the minority as regards their practices, finally
only a part of them followed the Rafida.
77. If unanimity concerning good leads to conflict concerning what is better, then
sometimes good is better than the better; right is truer than what is truer. Everyone should say
about his own way that It is right, he should not say it is the only right way. Or he should
say, it is good, but he should not say it is the only good way.
78. If there were no Paradise, Hell would not be torment.
79. As time grows older, the Quran grows younger; it signs become apparent. Like light
sometimes appears as fire, sometimes intense eloquence appears as exaggeration.
80. Degrees in heat occur through the intervention of cold; the degrees of beauty occur
through the intervention of ugliness. Pre-Eternal Power is essential, necessary, and inherent.
Impotence cannot penetrate it; there can be no degrees it in; everything is equal in relation to it.
81. The suns image, which is the effulgence of its manifestation, displays the same
identity on the surface of the sea and in all its droplets.
82. Life is a manifestation of Unity; Unity is also its consequence.
83. So long as it remains unknown who are the saints among men, which moment prayers
are accepted on Fridays, which night in Ramadan is the Night of Power, and which among the
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
29

It is well-known that in arithmetic, multiplication and addition increase: four times four makes sixteen. While
fractions, contrary to multiplication and addition, make smaller: a third multiplied by a third makes a ninth. In just
the same way, if there is not integral wholeness, correctness, and unity among people, by multiplying they become
smaller, spoilt, and without value.

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Divine Names is the Greatest Name, other things retain their value and importance is given to
them. Twenty years of doubtful life is preferable to a thousand years life the end of which is
specified.
84. The consequence of sin in this world is evidence for its punishment in the hereafter.
85. In the view of Power, sustenance is as important as life. Power brings into existence,
Divine Determining clothes in form, Divine favour nurtures. Life is a summary, a specified
product and is apparent. Sustenance is not a summary; it is gradual and widespread, and causes
thought. There is no death from hunger, for death occurs before the food stored up in the body in
the form of fat is exhausted. That is to say, illness resulting from the giving up of habit kills, not
lack of sustenance.
86. The licit sustenance of carnivorous wild animals is the innumerable remains of dead
animals; they both cleanse the face of the earth, and they find their food.
87. Before entering the mouth and disappearing down the throat, a mouthful worth one
kurush (Cent) and one worth ten are the same. There is only a few seconds difference in the
mouth. To raise the price from one to ten in order to gratify and please the sense of taste, which
is like an inspector and doorkeeper, is most prodigal and wasteful.
88. When pleasure calls, a person should say: It is as though I ate it. (Sanki yedim.) For
one who made that his principle could have eaten a mosque called Sanki Yedim, but he did
not.30
89. Formerly, there was no hunger among Muslims; there was the desire for ease. Now
they are hungry, and they have no wish for pleasure.
90. Temporary pains should be smiled on rather than temporary pleasure being smiled on,
and should be welcomed. For past pleasures cause one to say: Alas!, and Alas! is the
interpreter of a concealed pain. While past pains cause one to say: Oh!, and Oh! tells of a
permanent pleasure and bounty.
91. Forgetfulness is also a bounty. It allows one to suffer the pains of only one day, and
causes the rest to be forgotten.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
30

That is, the person put aside the money saved through his abstinence and built the mosque with the proceeds. It is
in the Fatih district of Istanbul. [Tr.]

61!

92. In every calamity is a degree of bounty, like a degree of heat. Greater calamities
should be thought of and the degree of bounty in the small one noted, and God should be
thanked. For if the calamity is blown up, it will grow; and if it is worried over, it will double; the
image, the imagining, in the heart will be transformed into reality; and that will pound the heart
as well.
93. In society as a whole, everyone has a window, known as rank, through which to see
and be seen. If the window is higher than his stature, a person will grow taller through arrogance;
and if it is lower than his stature, he will bow down through modesty so to see and be seen at that
level. The measure of greatness in man is smallness, that is, modesty. The scale of smallness is
bigness; that is, arrogance.94. The dignity of the weak before the strong becomes arrogance in
the strong; while the modesty of the strong before the weak becomes abasement in the weak. The
seriousness of someone in authority in their office is dignity, and his humility is abasement.
While his seriousness in his house is haughtiness, and his humility, modesty. If an individual is
on his own, then his tolerance and self-sacrifice are good acts. But if he is more than one, they
are treachery and inauspicious. Someone should swallow his pride in his own name and not be
boastful, but he may boast in the name of the nation and should not swallow his pride.
95. To leave it to others in planning the preliminaries of a matter is laziness, while in
awaiting the outcome it is reliance on God. Resignation with the fruits of ones labor and with
fate is contentment, and strengthens the wish to strive. Whereas making do with what exists is to
lack enterprise.
96. Just as there is obedience and rebellion in the face of the commands of the Sharia, so
too there is obedience and rebellion in the face of the creative commands in the universe. With
regard to the first, the reward and punishment are mostly in the hereafter, while with the second;
they are mostly in this world. For example, the reward of patience is victory; the punishment for
idleness is poverty; the reward of effort is wealth, and the reward of constancy, triumph. Justice
without equality is not justice.
97. Mutual resemblance is the cause of contradiction; congruity is the basis of solidarity;
smallness of character is the source of arrogance; weakness is the source of pride; impotence is
the source of opposition; and curiosity is the teacher of knowledge.

62!

98. Through need, and especially through hunger, the Creators Power has reined in foremost
man, and all the animals, and put them in order. Also, He saved the world from anarchy, and
making need the master of civilization, ensured progress.
99. Distress teaches vice. Despair is the source of misguidance; and darkness of heart, the
source of distress of the spirit.
100. When due to infatuation, men become amiable; women become masculine by being
impudent. A beautiful woman entering a gathering of brothers awakens hypocrisy, rivalry, and
envy. That is to say, the unveiling of women led to the unveiling of bad morals in civilized man.
101. The represented forms of little smiling corpses have played a large role in making
the evil-polluted perverse spirit of modern man what it is.
102. The prohibited statue is either petrified tyranny, or embodied lust, or personified
hypocrisy.
103. For someone who has truly entered into the bounds of Islam by conforming
precisely to its incontestable matters, the desire to expand is the desire to be perfected. But for
someone who may be counted outside those bounds through slackness, the desire to expand is
the desire to destroy. In time of storm and earthquake, it is advisable to not open the door of
ijtihad, and to close the windows too. The overly free and easy should not be indulged with
dispensations, but determinedly and severely warned.
104. Unfortunate truths become worthless in worthless hands.
105. Our globe resembles a living being; it displays the signs of life. If it was to be
reduced to the size of an egg, would it not become a sort of animal? Or if a microbe was enlarged
to the size of the globe, would it not resemble it? If it has life, it has a spirit too. If the world was
reduced to the size of man, and the stars made like the particles and substance of his being,
would that not also be a living conscious being? God has many such animals.
106. There are two Sharia: The First is the Sharia that we know which orders the actions
and conduct of man, the microcosm, and proceeds from the attribute of Speech. The Second is
the Supreme Sharia of Creation, which orders the motion and rest of the world, the
macroanthropos, proceeds from the attribute of Will, and is sometimes wrongly called Nature.

63!

The angels are a vast community; they are the bearers, representatives, and personifications of
the creative commands, which proceed from the attribute of, Will and are the Sharia of Creation.
107. If you weigh the senses of a microscopic organism against mans senses, you will
observe a strange mystery: man is in the form of Ya. Sin., inscribed in him is the SuraYaSin.
108. Materialism is a spiritual plague which has infected man with a fearsome fever,
causing him to be visited by Divine wrath. The more the ability to inculcate and criticize
expands, so does that plague spread.
109. The most wretched, distressed, and suffering of men is the man with no work. For
idleness is the cousin of non-existence, while striving is the life of existence and the waking state
of life.
110. Profiting from banks, the doors of usury and interest, is for the infidels, who are the
worst of mankind, and for the most tyrannous of the former, and for the most base of the latter.
They are the cause of absolute harm for the World of Islam, so mankinds affluence should not
be taken into consideration. For if the infidels are warmongers and aggressive, so too they are
without respect and honour.
111. The Khutba in the Friday Prayers is for mentioning the essentials and incontestable
matters of religion, not for instructing in theoretical matters. The Arabic terms recall these in
more elevated fashion. If Hadiths and Quranic verses are balanced, it will be apparent that even
the most eloquent of men cannot attain to the verses eloquence, and cannot resemble them.
SECOND PART: AN ALLUSION OF SURA AL-IKHLAS31
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
All praise be to God, the Sustainer of All the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon
Muhammad, the Chief of His Messengers.
The specification of Say, He isis an allusion to unity of witnessing: In the view of reality,
there is nothing observed except Him. God, The One is an explicit statement of Divine Unity:
There is no true object of worship save Him. God, the Eternally Besought One alludes to the
unity of Divine dominicality: There is no Creator and Sustainer save Him. It is also a sign to the
unity of Divine might and power: There is no Self-Subsistent and no absolutely Self-Sufficient
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
31

Qur'an, Sura 112.

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One save Him. He begets not alludes to the unity of Divine Glory, and rejects every sort of
association of partners with God. That is, one who is subject to change or division, or who
reproduces, cannot be God. It rejects association of partners with God in the form of the ten
intellects, or the angels, Jesus or Uzayr being Divine offspring. And neither is He begotten
proves the pre-eternity of God and His Unity. It rejects ascribing partners to God in the form of
causality, the worship of stars, idolatry, and Naturalism. That is, something created or detached
from its original, or born of some matter cannot be God. And there is none like unto Him is a
comprehensive affirmation of Divine Unity. That is, He has no like, partner, or peer either in His
essence, or in His attributes, or in His actions. There is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He
is All-Hearing, All-Seeing.32
This sura of the Quran rejects all forms of associating partners with God, and its six
phrases comprise seven degrees of the affirmation of Divine Unity. Each phrase is both the result
and the proof of the others. Together with all its parts and members, and even its cells and all its
particles, the universe, which is the supreme affirmer of Divine Unity and its greatest proof,
declares There is no god save God, like a Mevlevi dervish mentioning Gods Names, all
contributing to the resounding sound of this mighty proof, as tongues affirming Divine Unity.
If you fasten your ear to the breast of the Quran, which is the articulate proof of Divine Unity,
you will hear from the depths of its heart an utterly elevated, serious, heartfelt, familiar,
convincing, heavenly voice, decked out with proofs, which continually chants: There is no god
but God.
The six aspects of this illumined proof are all transparent. Above it is the stamp of
miraculousness; within it are the lights of guidance; beneath it are proof and logic; on its right is
its calling the intellect to investigate; on its left is its calling the conscience to testify; before it is
good; its goal is the happiness of both worlds; and its point of support is pure revelation. How
can doubts and delusions penetrate it?
***
Will, mind, emotion, and the subtle inner faculties, which constitute the four elements of
the conscience and four faculties of the spirit, each have an ultimate aim. The ultimate aim of the
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
32

Qur'an, 42:11.

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will is worship of God; that of the mind is knowledge of God; that of the emotions is love of
God; and that of the inner faculties is the vision of God. The perfect worship known as taqwa
comprises the four. The Sharia both cultivates these, and corrects them, and takes them towards
their ultimate goals.
***
If the means and causes in creation had been given an actual effect, they should also have
been given universal consciousness, and this would have been opposed to the perfect art in
things. However, the excellence of the art in things, from the lowest to the highest and from the
smallest to the greatest, is proportionate to the innate stature of each. Thus, some are not close to
the True Causer and some far from Him, and some of them are not created through
intermediaries and some without. The lack of perfection in mans voluntary works rejects the
ideas of compulsion and proves will.
It is worthy of notice that in respect of order, a city built by men as the work of their
intellects through the intervention of their wills is inferior to the bee community in their hive,
which is the fruit of inspiration. While the city of cells of the honeycomb, the bees exhibition of
art, is inferior as regards order to the fruit of the pomegranate and its flower. This means that
from whichever pen the general attraction in the universe flows, the miniscule attraction in the
most minute indivisible particles are that pens points.
Islam says: There is no god but God, and does not accept that causes and intermediaries
have an actual effect. It looks on intermediaries as signifying the meaning of one other than
themselves. Belief in Divine Unity and the duties of submission to it demand this. However,
because it has been corrupted, present-day Christianity considers causes and intermediaries to
have an effect, and looks on them as signifying themselves. Their belief in Jesus as the son of
God and in the priesthood demands this, and urges it. They look on their saints for their own
sakes as though they do not signify another, as the source of effulgence, like the light of a lamp according to one view- transformed from the sunlight. We look on the saints as signifying the
meaning of another, that is, as a place of reflection and manifestation, like a mirror spreads the
sunlight.33
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33

The Naqshbandis' method is based on this mystery.

66!

It is because of this that spiritual journeying begins from humility, passes through selfabasement, and reaches the station of annihilation in God. It begins to journey through infinite
stations. Such journeying is extinguished by the arrogant pride of the ego and evil-commanding
soul. However, not true Christianity, but the corrupted Christianity which has been shaken by
philosophy, strengthens the ego. If a person of high rank and station with a powerful ego is a
Christian, he becomes more determined in his religion, whereas a Muslim in a similar position
becomes lax in religion.
***
The intense and varying pleasure in activity as it passes from the potential to the actual is
the leaven of change in the universe and the nucleus of the law through which all things are
perfected. Stepping out of prison into a garden, and passing from a seed to a shoot is the same
pleasure. If activity incorporates change, the pleasure increases immeasurably. It is this that
causes the hardship in duties to be borne. However attractive for intelligent creatures is absolute
perfection, for unintelligent creatures activity is attractive to the same degree and encourages
effort. It is for this reason that ease is hardship and hardship, ease.
***
Greed and precipitancy are the cause of loss. For the greedy and hasty person will not
act in accordance with the successive causes in creation, like the steps of a staircase, and
therefore will not be successful. Even if he is, since he skips some of the steps of the natural
progression, he falls into despair, and then, when overcome by heedlessness, the door is opened
to him.
God Almighty created the inner heart for belief and for knowledge and love of Himself,
while the outer heart He designed for other things. Criminal greed pierces the heart, and
introduces idols into it. God is displeased and punishes the greedy person with the opposite of his
purpose.
The scoundrels who because of ambition took political thought to the places of Islamic
beliefs did not receive honor and glory, but were execrated and reviled. The frustration and
despair of sensual love arise from this same greed and ambition. All the poetry about this sort of
love is the lamentations of mourning.

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If you anxiously try to sleep at night, you will chase sleep away and remain awake.
There are two beggars, one persistently importunate, the other reserved and selfcontained. A further example of this extensive law is that one would rather give to the latter.
***
Our worst calamity and sickness is that criticism which is based on pride and deception.
If fairness utilizes criticism, it pares the truth. Whereas if it is pride that employs it, it mutilates
and destroys it. The very worst sort is that which is levelled at the tenets of belief and questions
of religion. For belief comprises both affirmation, and exercise of the mind, and commitment,
and surrender, and compliance. Criticism of this sort destroys the compliance, commitment, and
mental exercise. Rather than affirming, the person feels uncommitted. At this time of doubts and
hesitation, it is necessary to look favourably on the positive ideas and encouraging statements
that emerge from luminous, warm hearts, and to foster and strengthen the exercise of the mind
and commitment. What they call unbiased, objective reasoning is temporary unbelief. Novices
and those new to the truth do it.
***
The view of the one who taught the Miraculous Quran -that Warner and Bringer of Good
News- and his critical insight, were too accurate, sublime, clear, and penetrating to confuse and
obscure reality with his imagination; and his way of truth is too scupulous, self-sufficient, and
elevated to deceive and cheat people. For the perceptive eye is not deceived, and a truth-seeking
heart will not deceive.
***
The Quran describes the loathsomeness of backbiting with the verse: Would any among
you like to eat the flesh of your dead brother?34 With six phrases, on six levels, it severely
censures the backbiter. It is as follows: With its interrogative form it says: Think! Could such a
thing be permitted? If your mind is not sound, look at your heart; could it love such a thing? And
if your heart is not sound, examine your conscience; would it consent to destroying the life of
society, as though tearing off your own flesh with your own teeth? And if you have no social
conscience, examine your humanity; could it have such an appetite and such monstrous rapacity?
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
34

Qur'an, 49:12.

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If you have no humanity, think of fellow-feeling; could it incline towards an action that would
break its own back? And if you have no humanity, is your inborn nature so completely corrupted
that you tear at a corpse with your bare teeth? That is to say, backbiting is repugnant to mans
mind, heart, conscience, humanity, fellow-feeling, and inborn nature, as well as to the Sharia,
and is therefore to be utterly rejected.
***
The person who does not understand the true meaning of co-operation is more lifeless
than a stone. For some stones arch themselves to co-operate with their brothers. Such a stone,
despite being a stone, leans towards his brother in the dome when he leaves the builders hand
and bows his head so it touches his brothers head, and so they keep from falling.
That is, the stones of domes stand shoulder to shoulder so as not to fall.
***
The unique being at the center of the conical successive chain from the smallest
indivisible particle to man and from man to the sun of suns, is man the ennobled.
***
Man possesses senses other than the well-known ones; he has an impelling sense like the
sense of taste, and a sense of longing. He possesses too numerous unconscious senses.
***
Sometimes desire takes the form of thought, and the greedy person supposes an animal
desire to be thought.
***
It is strange but some people fall into stinking mud, then to deceive themselves say it is
musk and ambergris, and smear it over their faces.
***
The martyr is a saint. While being an obligation that if a number of the community
undertake it, the rest are absolved, jihad has become incumbent on everyone. Indeed, it is now
doubly incumbent. As in the Hajj and zakat, intention plays little part in jihad. However, in point
of reality, the lack of intention still resembles intention. That is, if the reverse of the intention is
not definitely clear, jihad results in true martyrdom. This is because the more the necessity of the

69!

jihad increases, the more definite it becomes, and the effect of intention, which comprises will,
diminishes. If tens of thousands of saints suddenly appear for this sinful nation, it will not be a
small reward.
***
With us, if someone has strayed from the right path, he is generally immoral and without
conscience. For the desire to sin grows by silencing the voice of belief in the conscience. This
means that without shaking his conscience and spiritual life, and without holding them in
contempt, he cannot commit a completely voluntary evil act. It is for this reason that Islam
considers the depraved to be disloyal and traitorous, and does not accept their testimony. It
considers apostates to be poison, and sentences them to death. While it recognizes Christian
subjects and infidel signatories of a treaty. The Hanafi School accepts the testimony of a nonMuslim subject. Justice should be executed in the name of religion so that it may be effective
over the mind, heart, and spirit, and they may conform to it. Otherwise it affects only the
imagination. A criminal is then frightened only of the penalty set by the state, if it is enacted, or
he shrinks from the reproaches of the public; if they occur.
***
A boat carrying numerous innocent people may not be sunk on account of one criminal.
Similarly, enmity should not be nurtured towards a believer who possesses numerous innocent
attributes, because of a single criminal attribute. In particular, belief and the affirmation of
Divine Unity, the causes of love, are like Mount Uhud, while the causes of enmity are like
pebbles. However unreasonable it is to think of pebbles being heavier than Mount Uhud, for a
believer to be hostile towards another believer is lacking in heart to the same degree. Hostility
between believers may only take the form of pity.
In Short: Belief demands love, and Islam demands brotherhood. Words are like goods,
wastefulness in them is not permissible.
A Letter:The Quranic principles to save awakened mankind
In His Name, be He glorified!
Peace be upon you, and Gods mercy and blessings, for ever.
My Dear, True Brothers!

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Firstly: I congratulate you with all my heart on all the festivals and holy nights, both
those of the past and future, and the material ones and the spiritual ones, and entreat Divine
mercy that your prayers and worship are acceptable, and say Amen to them.
Secondly: I am compelled to answer privately two of your questions, which in many
ways are important, and you have frequently asked in meaning:
Your First Question: Why was it that in the early Second Constitutional Period you were
passionately involved in politics, yet for nearly forty years now you have given it up completely?
The Answer: I understood with complete certainty that the ghastly crimes committed by
mankind up to the present sprang from the abuse of the law, which is basic to politics and may be
expressed as Individuals may be sacrificed for the good of the nation and for the well-being of
the community. Since there is no specified limit to this fundamental law created by man, it has
opened up the way to excessive abuse. This tyrannical law issued the fatwa for the two World
Wars and overturned a thousand years of human progress. So too it permitted the annihilation of
ninety innocents on account of ten criminals. On the pretext of the general good, personal hatred
razed a town because of a single criminal. Since the Risale-iNur has proved this fact in some of
its collections and defence speeches, I refer you to them. Thus, in the face of this tyrannical law
of mans politics and diplomacy I discovered the below-mentioned fundamental laws of the
Quran of Miraculous Exposition, which comes from the Sublime Throne. They are expressed by
these verses: No bearer of burdens can bear the burdens of another.35 *If anyone slays a human
being -unless it be [in punishment] for murder or for spreading corruption on earth- it shall be
as though he had slain all mankind.36 These two verses teach the following principle: Others are
not answerable for a persons crime. And, without his consent, an innocent person may not be
sacrificed, even for the whole of mankind. If he voluntarily gives his consent and sacrifices
himself, his self-sacrifice is a sort of martyrdom and is another matter. This establishes true
justice for man. For details I refer you to the Risale-iNur.
Second Question: While travelling among the nomadic tribes of the east long ago, you used to
strongly urge them towards progress and modern civilization. But for nearly forty years now you
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35
36

Qur'an, 6:164.
Qur'an, 5:32.

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have called it low civilization, and you have withdrawn from the life of society and gone into
seclusion. Why is this?
The Answer: Since modern Western civilization acts contrarily to the fundamental laws of the
revealed religions, its evils have come to outweigh its good aspects, and its errors and harmful
aspects its benefits; and general tranquility and a happy worldly life, the true aims of civilization,
have been destroyed. And since wastefulness and extravagance have taken the place of frugality
and contentment, and laziness and the desire for ease have overcome endeavour and the sense of
service, it has made unfortunate mankind both extremely poor and extremely lazy. In explaining
the fundamental law of the revealed Quran: Eat and drink, but waste not in excess37, and Man
possesses naught save that which he strives38, and the Risale-iNur says: Mans happiness in this
life lies in frugality and endeavor, and it is through them that the rich and poor will be
reconciled. I shall here make one or two brief points in accordance with this explanation.
The First Point: In the nomadic stage, man needed only three or four things, and it was
only two out of ten who could not obtain them. But now, through wastefulness, abuses,
stimulating the appetites, and such things as custom and addiction, present-day civilization has
made inessential needs seem essential, and in place of the four things of which he used to be in
need, modern civilized man is now in need of twenty. And it is only two out of twenty who can
satisfy those needs in a totally licit way; eighteen remain in need in some way. That is to say,
modern civilization greatly impoverishes man. Because of the needs, it drives man to
wrongdoing and illicit gain. It perpetually encourages the wretched lower classes to challenge the
upper classes. It has abandoned the Qurans sacred fundamental law making the payment of
zakat obligatory and prohibiting usury and interest, which ensured that the lower classes were
obedient towards the upper classes and the upper classes, were sympathetic towards the lower
classes, and encouraged the bourgeoisie to tyranny and the poor to revolt. It destroyed the
tranquility of mankind.
The Second Point: Since the wonders of modern civilization are each a dominical
bounty, they require real thanks and to be utilized for the benefit of mankind. But now we see
that since they have encouraged a significant number of people to be lazy and indulge in vice,
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37
38

Qur'an, 7:31.
Qur'an, 53:39.

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and have given them the wish to heed their desires in ease and comfort; they have destroyed
these peoples eagerness for effort and endeavor. And by way of dissatisfaction and
extravagance, they have driven them to dissipation, wastefulness, tyranny, and what is unlawful.
For example, as it says in A Key to the World of the Risale-iNur, although the radio is a great
bounty and demands thanks in the form of being used for the good of mankind, since four fifths
of it are used on unnecessary, meaningless trivia, it has encouraged idleness and depravity, and
destroyed the eagerness for work. I myself even have seen that of a number of most beneficial
marvels, which should be used for endeavor and work and mans true benefits and needs, eight
out of ten are urging man to indulge in pleasure and amusement, to satisfy his desires, and to be
lazy, and only one of two of them being spent on essential needs. There are thousands of
examples like these two small ones.
In Short: Since modern Western civilization has not truly heeded the revealed religions,
it has both impoverished man and increased his needs. It has destroyed the principle of frugality
and contentment, and increased wastefulness, greed, and covetousness. It has opened up the way
to tyranny and what is unlawful. Through encouraging people to take advantage of the means of
dissipation, it has also cast those needy unfortunates into total laziness. It has destroyed the
desire for effort and work. It has encouraged depravity and dissipation, and wasted their lives on
useless things. Furthermore, it has made those needy and lazy people ill. Through abuse and
prodigality, it has been the means of spreading a hundred sorts of diseases.
Mankind is constantly threatened by three awesome matters: severe needs, the desire for
vice and dissipation, and death -and numerous illnesses, which perpetually remind him of deathwhich the atheistic currents that have awakened mankind through their infiltrating civilization
show to be eternal extinction. All these cause mankind a Hell-like torment. In the face of this
ghastly calamity of mankinds, it is understood from signs and allusions of the Quran of
Miraculous Exposition that with the awakening of its four hundred million students and its
sacred, revealed fundamental laws, it will heal those three awesome wounds -as it did one
thousand three hundred years ago; and if doomsday does not soon break loose, with its showing
that rather than being external extinction, death resembles the despatch papers for the world of
light, it will gain for mankind the happiness both of worldly life and of the life of the hereafter;

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and in the civilization that will grow out of the All-Wise Quran, the virtues of civilization will
prevail over its evils; and unlike has happened up to the present, a part of religion will not be
given as the bribe for part of civilization, but civilization will serve and assist those heavenly
laws. As the All-Wise Quran indicates this, so awakened mankind awaits it from Divine mercy,
and seeks it, and beseeches Divine mercy for it.

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B. THE LUMINOUS SPIRITUAL BONDS BETWEEN MUSLIMS

uestion: As Bedizzaman lists the drawbacks against Muslims progress in his

famous Damascus Sermon, he refers to not knowing the spiritual bonds that
attach believers to one another as an important reason. Could you elucidate the

spiritual bonds between believers?

Answer: When Bedizzaman gave the Damascus sermon, Muslims were going through the most
disastrous period in our history. People turned out to be so inefficacious over the long years that
they went rusty in the end; they were grimly atrophied in every way and Bedizzaman sought the
ways of revivifying them with all of their spiritual and material, or outward and inward, faculties.
Instead of dispiriting people with mournful elegies, he strived to be a source of hope for lifeless
willpowers at a time when people could not see any hope for the future and roared with
statements such as: Be hopeful; the highest and strongest voice in the changing world of the
future will be the voice of universal truths. I suppose expressing certain facts about hope as a
new dawn breaks is not unwise, but it cannot be considered a great merit either. Real merit is
being able to utter the words to invigorate people in a period without the slightest sign of dawn.
Bonds of Brotherhood As Many As The Divine Names
Nearly a century ago, Bedizzaman gave a sermon in the Umayyad Mosque of
Damascus. There, he firstly diagnosed the diseases that impede progress of Muslims, and then
he presented the prescriptions needed for reviving the Islamic world. One of the most important
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75!

diseases he diagnosed was the ignorance of the luminous spiritual bonds that attach the faithful.
Accordingly, the solution he proposed was revivifying the understanding of unity and concord
through a spirit of consultation. Actually, he briefly referred to this issue in The Damascus
Sermon and expounded on it later in some letters39[1] and in the treatises he wrote On Sincerity
and On Brotherhood. For example, in the treatise On Brotherhood, after stating that there are
bonds of unity, agreement, and brotherhood between Muslims as many as the number of the
Divine Names, he cited some of these shared bonds, such as having faith in God and the Prophet,
the qiblah (direction of the Prayer), and the lands in which they live. By stating that the number
of such bonds can be cited up to ten, a hundred, or a thousand, he drew attention to the
significance of the issue.
In one hadith, the most noble Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, stated
that faith has more than sixty or seventy branches40. It is possible to take this number as a round
figure indicating a multitude. Every one of those branches is an unbreakable bond that attaches
Muslims together. In the same way, each one of the truths stated by the Quran is a very
powerful bond between Muslims.
On the other hand, when believers are taken as a community, it will be seen that they
have so much in common. They are children of the same fate, same lands, same culture, and
same moral upbringing. Within these common points, they underwent the same oppression,
suffering, and condemnation. Thus, Bedizzaman underlined how great a wrongdoing it is to
present attitude and behaviors to cause disunity, hypocrisy, grudge, and enmity among believers
in spite of having so many common points that necessitate unity, concord, love, and brotherhood.
Being Righteous Enough to Give Up Ones Personal Conception of Right
Maintaining these spiritual bonds between believers without any harm depends on every
individuals being able to give up their personal conceptions, preferences, and judgments when
needed; it depends on living in spite of oneself for the sake of finding common ground. If we put
this from the perspective of Bedizzaman again, if it is possible to agree on good, there is no
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39

Apart from his book TheLetters, Bedizzamans correspondence with his students was compiled into separate
volumes named after the places Kastamonu, Emirda, and Barla, where he spent many years in persecution, exile
and imprisonment.
40
Sahih Muslim, Iman, 57

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point in raising disagreement for the sake of better. In other words, if seeking the better option
will raise disagreement among Muslims, they should stop there and suffice with what is good,
without generating any means of contradiction. We know that receiving Divine guidance and
assistance depends on having unity and concord. Accordingly, the apparent good agreed upon
by Muslims is better than the best in actual reality. For this reason, avoiding to make trivial
matters into factors of disagreement bear utmost importance in terms of keeping up the spirit of
brotherhood. Individuals should be able to give up their own priorities by taking others feelings
into consideration and not let secondary matters result in disagreement.
For example, it is so important to observe the Prayer (salah) in compliance with its truth.
As Imam Muhammed Ltfi Effendi of Alvar put it: The Prayer is the main pillar and luminous
light of the religion; the Prayer makes that ship carry on; the Prayer is the master of all the acts of
worship The truth of Prayer is disregarding ones selfhood and feeling ones standing before
the Divine presence, as if experiencing a journey of ascent to the Lord (miraj). In accordance
with the scope of ones horizons of spiritual knowledge (irfan), one must clear his or her heart
from all considerations other than God while making the intention to pray. They must become
oblivious of everything else and then they must establish the Prayer in a state of rapture, as if
they were witnessing different manifestations in a different dimension. Most of us are unlettered
ones, however. Therefore, the Prayer of such ordinary people is usually formalist and superficial.
But it should never be forgotten that if somebody observes the Prayer in compliance with its
conditions and requirements, they are considered to have fulfilled their duty with respect to its
outward dimension, even if they did in a formalist fashion. At this point, it is decidedly wrong to
adopt an accusing language and manner if a certain person does not observe the Prayer with its
true meaning and essence. What needs to be done is to accept what happens as it is, even if it is
formalist and superficial, and not create disagreement for the sake of targeting the most ideal.
Otherwise, one can commit different kinds of ugly acts unintentionally while seeking the better
or the best. And this means causing the Divine favor, support, and help to cease.
The same considerations are true for zakah (the prescribed alms). For example, for the
sake of encouraging people to giving for the sake of God, you may see a zakah of one fortieth
proportion as penny-pinchers alms and tell people to give one twentieth, tenth, or fifth.

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Although this can be allowed in terms of encouraging more, if this attitude is to give way to
disputes, you should suffice with the objective judgments of religion. In fact, when somebody
from outside who wished to learn the religion came to the Messenger of God, he told the man to
observe the Prayers and fasting, and give the prescribed alms. When the man said he would
neither do less nor more, the Messenger of God stated that the man would be saved if he were
telling the truth41. This case is an example of the point we made. In this respect, if you take
subjective standards of seeking the best and see it as the threshold of deliverance for all, you then
distance other people with lower standards from you and deprive them certain good acts they
possibly would have done. Perhaps, you might evoke a feeling of jealousy and envy towards
yourself. You can compare other acts of worship and duties with what has been mentioned.
In conclusion, encouraging people to target high horizons is a different issue; narrowing
down the matter only to a certain level is a completely different issue. If you really try to keep up
within a certain horizon in terms of your heart and spirituality, then you should try calling others
to it. But taking points of agreement as basis and knowing where to stop is more important. In
this respect, we should always seek means of unity and agreement, and make every kind of
sacrifice to maintain this spirit.

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41

Sahih al-Bukhari, Ilm, 6

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C. PROBLEMS SETTLED WITHIN THE INDIVIDUAL AND

REFORMING THE SOCIETY

uestion: You stated that a person who has not been able to settle the problems within his
or her own self is not able to solve the problems related to their environment and the
society. Would you explain the relationship between reforming oneself (nafs) and

reforming the society?

Answer: With respect to its dictionary meaning, the word nafs refers to the essence of
something or the thing itself. As a religious term, nafs, or the carnal soul, refers to the essence
and center of the potentially harmful feelings like grudge, hatred, lust, wrath, and the like, all of
which are placed in human nature for certain wisdom; it is the title for the mechanism that is
prone to whisperings and goading of Satan and which functions as a center for him. But it needs
to be known that this mechanism has a potential for transformation and progress at the same
time; it is the most important means for a persons ascending to spiritual realms. However, its
being able to fulfill this desirable mission depends on its being disciplined and purified under the
guidance and control of heavenly disciplines, like taming a wild horse before it becomes suitable
to ride. Otherwise, if the nafs, or carnal soul, is left to its own devices, it will continuously run
after its fanciful inclinations and desires, become a slave to animal desires and physical pleasures
and go after the evil. In the end, it will cause a person to fall headfirst into eternal ruin.
The Child Who Did Not Give up Sucking Milk
In his famous eulogy, Imam Al-Busiri describes the situation of an undisciplined carnal
soul as follows: The carnal soul resembles a suckling infant. If you do not cease breastfeeding
when the time comes, its appetite strengthens and it asks for more. If you can once exert your
willpower to cease breastfeeding, then it just stops.
If the carnal soul is made to cease its appetite for breastfeeding by using significant and
convincing arguments at the right time, it will then be possible to keep its insatiable appetite
under control. Butmay God forbidif the carnal self is left prone to bohemianism and gains
strength under the influence of negative thoughts and feelings, it becomes disobedient, spiraling
out of control; it begins to continually impose its own desires, fancies, and caprices on the
individual, which results in screens between the truth and the individual; a kind of spiritual
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79!

eclipse occurs. For this reason, a person captivated by the nafs, or carnal soul, and burdened
heavily with its problems cannot set a good example for others and guide them to goodness. The
duty that then befalls the person is to first solve his or her problems within. This can be realized
by giving the willpower its due and calling a halt to the endless desires and wishes of the carnal
self, making it suffice with the delights within the lawful sphere and not allowing it to step
toward transgression. Thus, it will have been saved from the state of ammaraa soul which
continually commands to commit evil, and rise to the level of lawwamaone that
continuously makes self-criticism and questions whether the behaviors are right. Furthermore, it
can even ascend to the horizons of mutmainnathe soul with a clear and satisfied conscience
that is content with respect to its relationship with its Creator. In addition, just as people seek
refuge in God against so many harmful things and factors, they must, night and day, seek refuge
in Him against their own selfhood and evil-commanding soul, which serve as a center for Satan
in human nature. Otherwise, as the carnal soul will not give up generating problems, the
individual will not be able to avoid being heavily laden with the many problems of the carnal
soul.
The Greatest Striving on the Way of God
While returning from a military campaign, the Messenger of God warned his
Companions that they were returning from the lesser jihad, or striving on the way of God, to the
greatest one42. His use of the term greatest is noteworthy, for it indicates the significance of the
issue. Furthermore, this intimidating statement was made on the way back from an absolutely
critical, great battle for Muslims, and thus it gives us a perspective of comparison between
struggling against the carnal soul and engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. In
addition, it is very meaningful that it was uttered at a time when people felt the delight of victory.
Sometimes, a very important remark can be made without taking peoples mood into
consideration (and thus being unable to raise their awareness for that remark). Therefore, it does
not have an impact on hearts at the desired level. When seen from this perspective, the timing of
this blessed saying is very important in terms of saving Muslims from the dizziness of victory.
With this remark, Gods Messenger, upon whom be peace and blessings, aimed to keep clear of
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42

Bayhaqi, Zuhd, 1/165

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the possible negative thoughts that may emerge among the victorious military of the Companions
while returning back to Medina as the conquering army.
Indeed, we always hold a good opinion of the Companions of the Prophet, in compliance
with the meaning of the Quranic prayer: O Our Lord! Forgive us and our brothers (and sisters)
in Religion who have preceded us in faith, and let not our hearts entertain any ill-feeling against
any of the believers. O Our Lord! You are All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate (especially towards
Your believing servants) (al-Hashr 59:10). On the other hand, as the Pride of Humanity was
responsible for their spiritual purification and training, he may have taken their souls into
consideration, and he may have intended with his warnings to prevent certain negative feelings
from the beginning, even before they emerge. As a matter of fact, on the way to Hunayn, it may
have occurred to some that their crowded army was an invincible one. Afterwards, they
experienced a temporary defeat, but by the extraordinary efforts of the Pride of Humanity, peace
and blessings be upon him, the temporary defeat was transformed into a victory again. This
example is also closely related to our subject. People may go through much hardship while
striving on the way of God, sometimes at the expense of serious losses. And as a consequence,
God Almighty might grant them material or spiritual victories. Right at such a moment of
victory, it is very important to keep under control certain negative feelings (of arrogance) that
may arise in a person. In his treatise on sincerity, Bedizzaman raises very important arguments
against such tendencies of the carnal soul: O my ostentatious carnal soul! Do not be proud of
your services to Gods religion. As stated in a Prophetic Tradition, God may strengthen this
religion by means of a dissolute person. You are not pure, so regard yourself as that dissolute
person. Let alone ordinary people, even saintly figures may not keep up their humbleness in the
face of such achievements and triumphs.
Indeed, somebody who does not turn towards his or her own carnal soul for the sake of its
taming and gaining of moral virtues loses so much in terms of happiness in both this world and
the next. What makes people truly human is not their body but their carnal soul, or their very
selves. The noble Prophet once said, God does not look at your bodies and your physical
appearances, but He looks at your hearts and deeds43 (that stem from the heart). If one truly
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43

Sahih Muslim, Birr, 34; Sunan ibn Majah, Zuhd, 9

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possesses a feeling of reverence and respect in his or her heart, this will be reflected in all of that
persons attitude and behaviors. Another time, the Prophet referred to a certain heedless man and
stated that if his heart were in awe of God, so would be his body parts44. For this reason, it is
very important for a person to turn first toward his or her own human essence, engage in a
struggle with the carnal self, and settle the problems within. It is for this significance of the issue
that the Messenger of God referred to it as the greatest struggle.
Blessings That Become a Curse
As the carnal soul can tempt someone into committing sins, sometimes it can cause a
person to fall by the way of blessings showering upon that person. As an example, the Quran
relates the story of Qarun: Qarun (Korah) was one of Moses people, but he betrayed and
oppressed them (al-Qasas 28:78). He was led astray by the wealth and means God Almighty
had granted him, because he had not believed in God in the way that he should have, and failed
to settle the problem with his carnal soul. Even though he seemed to have belief, he failed to
transform his belief into certainty in faith, never ascending to a horizon of heartfelt acceptance.
That is, he did not transform mere information into knowledge of God with practice, nor gain
certainty based on or arising from that knowledge, and he had nothing to do with attaining
certainty based on being able to see the truth. Therefore, there came a time when he said: All
this has been given to me only by virtue of a certain knowledge that I have (al-Qasas 28:76).
Although Korah had spent time with Prophet Moses and lived among his people, he was tempted
by worldly means and was among the losers.
Similarly, as-Samiri (the Samaritan), who was from the people of Prophet Moses, was a
person who had certain merits of speech and craftsmanship. However, he also abused the gifts
God had granted to him by making an image of golden calf to worship, thereby bringing about
his own ruin. As stated in the Quran, (Moses) said: Be gone, then! (The sentence) upon you is
that in this present life, you say Touch me not! (to warn people against proximity to you)
(Ta-Ha 20:97). As-Samiri lived in abject misery until the end of his life.
So it seems that when the problem is not settled within the individual, even Gods
blessings may become curses for people. In other words, things seeming like blessings can
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44

Hakim at-Tirmidhi, Nawadir al-Usul, 2/172

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transform into retribution unawares: skills, power, opportunity to rule, appreciation of people,
and gaining status can all be considered in this respect. When a person gains such means without
taming his nafs, he will stray from the path of the Messenger of God to that of the pharaohs
without even being aware of it.
I would like to elucidate the issue further with a narration from the time of Prophet
Moses, peace be upon him. Actually, certain parables may be questionable whether they really
took place or not, but what really matters with parables is the meaning that they convey and the
lesson we learn from it. Accordingly, on the way to Mount Sinai Moses sees that somebody has
buried himself in sand because he had no clothes to wear. This man asks Moses to pray to God
so that he has worldly goods. As Moses petitions God Almighty about it, he learns that the mans
present state is better for him. After that, Moses conveys this message to the man, but the man
still insists on his wish. Finally, God Almighty commands Moses to help that man. Moses
provides him some support and after a while the man has enough money to buy a sheep. In time
the man owns flocks of sheep through geometrical increase. One day, when Prophet Moses is
traveling to Mount Sinai again, he sees a crowd of people. He decides to get closer to see what is
happening. He is told: There used to be a very poor man. In time, God granted him abundant
means. But richness did him no good. He started to drink. One day he got drunk, engaged in a
fight, and killed someone. Now the man is going to be executed in retaliation.
In conclusion, as it is seen in history and many examples in our time, a person who does
not settle his or her problems within can often make material and spiritual bestowals into means
of their own ruin. In fact, if a blessing makes one forget God Almighty and causes that person to
become a heedless one, then that seeming blessing is a curse in disguise. Even if what
distances a person from God is a great victory, it should be known that it is a calamity sent by
Godit makes one suffer the greatest loss, where it is fairly possible to win (i.e. one could have
been among the righteous if he had truly tamed his carnal self). So the way to protect oneself
from all of these dangers is never giving up the struggle against the nafs, or the carnal soul, and
being constantly alert against its tricks and traps.

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&
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Chapter 2
Principles of Islamic Morality
A. Sincerity
B. Brotherhood
C. Keeping up Sincerity of Intention and Having a Consciousness of Self- Criticism
D. Transforming Knowledge into Practice
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A. SINCERITY: THE TWENTY-FIRST FLASH!

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

Do not fall into dispute, lest you lose heart and your power depart.(8:46)

*And stand before God in a devout [frame of mind].(2:238)

* Truly he succeeds that purifies it, * And he fails that corrupts it.(91:9-10)

* Nor sell my signs for a small price. (2:41. etc.)

my brothers of the hereafter! And O my companions in the service of the Quran!

You should know and you do know that in this world sincerity is the most
important principle in works pertaining to the hereafter; it is the greatest strength, the

most acceptable intercessor, the firmest point of support, the shortest way to reality, the most
acceptable prayer, the most wondrous means of achieving ones goal, the highest quality, and the
purest worship. Since sincerity comprises much strength and many lights like those mentioned
above; and since at this dreadful time, despite our small number and weak, impoverished, and
powerless state and our being confronted by terrible enemies and suffering severe oppression in
the midst of aggressive innovations and misguidance, the extremely heavy, important, general,
and sacred duty of serving belief and the Quran has been placed on our shoulders by divine
grace, we are certainly compelled more than anyone to work with all our strength to gain
sincerity. We need more than anything to instil sincerity in ourselves. Otherwise what we have
achieved so far in our sacred service will in part be lost and will not persist; and we shall be held
responsible; we shall manifest the severe threat contained in the divine prohibition,

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Nor sell my signs for a small price.(2:41, etc.)

We shall otherwise destroy sincerity, thus harming eternal happiness for the sake of
meaningless, unnecessary, harmful, sad, self-centered, tedious, hypocritical base feelings and
insignificant benefits. And if we were to do that, we would violate all our brothers rights,
transgress against the duty of service to the Quran, and be disrespectful towards the sacredness
of the truths of belief.
My brothers! There are many obstacles before significant good works. Satans put up a
powerful struggle against those who assist in them. In the face of those obstacles and satans you
have to rely on the strength of sincerity. You should avoid things that harm sincerity as you
avoid snakes and scorpions. In accordance with the words of Joseph (Upon whom be peace), the
evil-commanding soul cannot be relied upon. Do not let egotism and the soul deceive you!

Nor do I absolve my own self [of blame]; the [human] soul is certainly proneto evil, unless my
Sustainer do bestow His mercy,(12:53)
To gain sincerity and preserve it you should take as your guide the following rules:
YOUR FIRST RULE
You should seek divine pleasure in your actions. If Almighty God is pleased, it is of no
importance if the whole world even is displeased. If He accepts an action and everyone else
rejects it, their rejection has no effect. Once His pleasure has been gained and He has accepted an
action, even if you do not ask it of Him, should He wish it and His wisdom requires it, He will
make others accept it. He will make them consent to it too. For this reason, to seek divine
pleasure should be the sole aim in this service.
YOUR SECOND RULE
This is not to criticize your brothers who are employed in this service of the Quran, and
not to excite their envy by displaying superior virtues. For just as one hand cannot compete with
the other, so one eye cannot criticize the other, nor the tongue object to the ear, nor the heart see
the spirits faults. Each of a persons members completes the deficiencies of the others, veils

86!

their faults, assists their needs, and helps them out in their duties. Otherwise his life would be
extinguished, his spirit flees, and his body fall apart.
Similarly, the components of a factorys machinery cannot compete with one another in
rivalry, take precedence over each other, or dominate each other. They cannot spy out one
anothers faults and criticize each other, destroy the others eagerness for work, and cause him to
become idle. They rather assist each others motions with all their capacity in order to achieve
the common goal; they march towards the aim of their creation in true solidarity and unity. If
even the slightest aggression or desire to dominate were to interfere, it would throw the factory
into confusion, cancelling its products and results. The factorys owner would then demolish the
factory entirely.
O the servants of the Quran! You and I are members of such a collective personality,
worthy of the title of the perfect man. We are like the components of a factorys machinery,
which produces eternal happiness within eternal life. We are hands working on a dominical boat
which will disembark the community of Muhammad (UWBP) at the realm of peace, the shore of
salvation. So we are surely in need of solidarity and true union, obtained through gaining
sincerity for the mystery of sincerity secures through four individuals the moral strength of one
thousand one hundred and eleven indeed, we are compelled to obtain it.45
Yes, if three alifs do not unite, they have the value of three, but on uniting, through the
mystery of numbers they acquire the value of one hundred and eleven. If four times four remain
apart, they have a value of sixteen. But if, through the mystery of brotherhood and having a
common goal and joint duty, they unite coming together shoulder to shoulder on a line, they
acquire the strength and value of four thousand four hundred and forty-four. Indeed, numerous
historical events testify that the moral strength and value of sixteen self-sacrificing brothers have
exceeded that of four thousand.
The underlying reason for this mystery is this: each member of a true, sincere union may
see with the eyes of the other brothers, and hear with their ears, as if each person of a true union

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
45

Four 1s put sidebysidemake 1111. (Tr.)

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of ten acquires the value and strength to see with twenty eyes, think with ten minds, hear with
twenty ears, and work with twenty hands.46
YOUR THIRD RULE
You should know that all your strength lies in sincerity and truth. Yes, strength lies in
truth and sincerity. Even those who do wrong gain strength from their sincerity in their
wrongdoing. Evidence that strength lies in truth and sincerity is this service of ours. A small
amount of sincerity in our work proves this claim and is evidence for itself. For seven or eight
years of service to learning and religion here has surpassed a hundredfold the twenty years of
service I performed in my native region and in Istanbul. And in these places the people assisting
me were a hundred or even a thousand times more numerous than my brothers who work
together with me here, where I am alone, with no one, a stranger, semi-literate, under the
surveillance of unfair officials and persecuted by them. I have absolutely no doubt that the
service I have carried out with you these seven or eight years and the moral strength which has
resulted in success a hundred times greater than formerly, has arisen from your sincerity. I have
also to confess that by your heartfelt sincerity, you have saved me to an extent from the
hypocrisy, which used to flatter my soul under the veil of fame and renown. God willing, you
will be successful in gaining absolute sincerity, and you will cause me to gain it too.
You should be aware that it is because of this mystery of sincerity that Ali47 (May God
be pleased with him) and Ghawth al-Azam48 (May his mystery be sanctified) honour you with
their miraculous wonder-working and wondrous vision of the Unseen. They offer you
consolation in protecting manner and applaud your service. Yes, you should have no doubt that
this attention of theirs is because of sincerity. If you knowingly harm it, it is from them that you
will receive punishment. You should bear in mind the blows of compassion in the Tenth Flash.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
46

Yes, through the mystery of sincerity heartfelt solidarity and union produce innumerable benefits, and are also an
effective shield and point of support against fear, and even death. For if death comes, it takes one spirit. But since
through the mystery of true brotherhood on the way of divine pleasure in works connected with the hereafter there
are spirits to the number of brothers, if one of them dies, he meets death happily, saying: My other spirits remain
alive, for they in effect make life continue for me by constantly earning me reward, so I am not dying. I live in
respect of merit through their spirits; I am only dying in respect of sin. And he lays down in peace.
47
Ali ibnAbiTalib: the son of the Prophet Muhammads (UWBP) uncle, who from a young age was brought up by
the Prophet (UWBP), who later married him to his daughter, Fatima. Ali was one of the first to believe in the
Quranic revelation, and was famous for his heroism in battle. He became the fourth caliph.
48
Sayyid Abd al-Qadir Gilani (Geylan), known as the Gawth al-Azam, was the eponym of the Qadiri Order and a
towering spiritual figure in the history of Islam. He lived 470/1077-561/1166 and is buried in Baghdad.

88!

If you want to be backed by the support of such spiritual heroes, and have them as
masters at your head, gain complete sincerity in accordance with the verse,
But give them preference over themselves.(59:9)
Prefer your brothers souls to your own soul in honour, rank, acclaim, and in the things
your soul enjoys like material benefits, and even in such innocent, harmless benefits as informing
a needy believer about one of the fine truths of belief. If possible, encourage one of your
disinclined companions to inform him, so that your soul does not become conceited. If you have
the desire to tell him the edifying matter to gain the reward, it surely is not a sin and there is no
harm in it, but the essence of sincerity between you might be damaged.
YOUR FOURTH RULE
This is to imagine your brothers virtues and merits in your own selves, and to thankfully
take pride at their glory. The Sufis have terms they use among themselves, annihilation in the
shaykh, annihilation in the Prophet; I am not a Sufi, but these principles of theirs make a good
rule in our way, in the form of annihilation in the brothers. Among brothers this is called
tefn; that is, annihilation in one another. That is to say, to forget the feelings of ones own
carnal soul, and live in ones mind with ones brothers virtues and feelings. In any event, the
basis of our way is brotherhood; it is not the relationship (lit. means) between father and son, or
shaykh and follower; it is that of true brotherhood. At the very most a Master [Ustad] intervenes.
Our way is the closest friendship. This friendship necessitates being the closest friend, the most
sacrificing companion, the most appreciative comrade, the noblest brother. The essence of such
friendship is true sincerity. The person who spoils this true sincerity falls from the high pinnacle
of this friendship, possibly to the bottom of a deep depression. There is nothing onto which he
may cling in between.
Yes, the way is seen to be two. There is the possibility that those who part now from this
way of ours, the great highway of the Quran, are unknowingly helping the forces of irreligion,
who are hostile to us. God willing, those who enter the sacred bounds of the Quran of
Miraculous Exposition by way of the Risale-iNur will always add strength to light, sincerity, and
belief, and will avoid such pitfalls.

89!

O my companions in the service of the Quran! One of the most effective means of
attaining and preserving sincerity is contemplation of death. Yes, just as worldly ambition
damages sincerity and drives a person to hypocrisy and the world, so the contemplation of death
causes disgust at hypocrisy and gains sincerity. That is, to think of death and grasp that this
world is transient, and so be saved from the tricks of the soul. Yes, the instruction the Sufis and
people of truth received from such verses of the All-Wise Quran as,led them to make the
contemplation of death fundamental to their spiritual journeyings; it dispelled the illusion of
eternity, the source of worldly ambition.
Every soul shall taste death(3:185).
Truly you will die [one day], and truly they [too] will die [one
day](39:30).
They imagined themselves to be dead and being placed in the grave. With prolonged
thought the evil-commanding soul becomes saddened and affected by such imagining and gives
up its far-reaching ambitions and hopes to an extent. There are numerous advantages in this
contemplation. It is taught by the Hadith, which says, Frequently mention death which dispels
pleasure and makes it bitter.49
However, since our way is not that of the Sufis but of reality, we are not compelled to
perform this contemplation in an imaginary and hypothetical form like they do. To do so is
anyway not in conformity with the way of reality. Our way is not to bring the future to the
present by thinking of the end, but to travel in the mind to the future from the present in respect
of reality, and to gaze on it. Yes, dispensing with the need to imagine, one may look on ones
own corpse, the single fruit on the tree of this brief life. One may look on ones own death, and if
one goes a bit further, see the death of this century, and going further still, observe the death of
this world, opening up the way to complete sincerity.
The Second Means: By attaining a sense of the divine presence through the strength of
certain, affirmative belief and through the lights proceeding from reflective thought on creatures
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49

Tirmiz, Zhd: 4, Kymet: 26; Nes, Ceniz: 3; bniMce, Zhd: 31; el-Hkim, el-Mstedrek, 4:321.

90!

which leads to knowledge of the Maker; by thinking that the Compassionate Creator is allpresent and seeing; and by not seeking the attention of any other than He, and realizing that
looking to others in His presence or seeking help from them is contrary to right conduct in His
presence, one may be saved from such hypocrisy and gain sincerity. However, this comprises
many degrees and stages. Whichever degree a person reaches, he will profit to that extent. There
are numerous truths in the Risale-i Nur that will save a person from hypocrisy and gain him
sincerity, so referring him to those, we cut short the discussion here.
Of the very many things that destroy sincerity and drive one to hypocrisy, we shall
briefly explain two or three.
The First Obstacle Destroying Sincerity: Rivalry towards material advantages slowly
destroys sincerity. It is also detrimental to the results of our service. So too it causes the material
benefits to be lost. This nation has always nurtured respect for those who work for reality and the
hereafter, and has assisted them. With the intention of actively sharing in their genuine sincerity
and in the works they carry out devotedly, it has always showed respect by assisting them with
material benefits like alms and gifts to save them from preoccupation with securing their material
needs and wasting their time. But such assistance and benefit may not be sought; it is given. It
may not even be sought through the tongue of disposition by inwardly desiring it or awaiting it.
It should rather be given unexpectedly, otherwise sincerity will be harmed. It would otherwise
bring a person close to the prohibition stated by the verse,and in part destroys the action.
Nor sell my signs for a small price (2:41, etc.).
The evil-commanding soul selfishly excites a feeling of rivalry towards a true brother and
companion in that particular service by first desiring and expecting such a material benefit, then
not allowing it to go to someone else. Sincerity is damaged, and the sacredness of the service is
lost, and the person becomes disagreeable in the eyes of the people of reality. He also loses the
material benefit. This subject needs much discussion, but I shall curtail it and only mention two
examples which will strengthen sincerity and true union between my true brothers.
First Example: The worldly, and even certain politicians and secret societies and
manipulators of society, have adopted as their guiding principle, that of shared property, in order

91!

to procure wealth and power. They do acquire an extraordinary strength and advantage, despite
all their exploitation and losses. However, the nature of common property does not change with
sharing, despite its many harms. Although each partner is as though the owner and supervisor of
the rest in one respect, he is unable to profit from it.
Nevertheless, if the principle of shared property is applied to the works of the hereafter, it
accumulates vast benefits and produces no loss. For it means that all the property passes to the
hands of each partner. For example, there are four or five men. With the idea of sharing, one of
them brings paraffin, another a wick, another the lamp, another the mantle, and the fifth matches;
they assemble the lamp and light it. Each of them becomes the owner of a complete lamp. If each
of those partners has a full-length mirror on a wall, he will be reflected in it together with the
lamp and room, without deficiency or being split up.
Just the same are mutual participation in the goods of the hereafter through the mystery
of sincerity, and co-operation through the mystery of brotherhood, and joint enterprise through
the mystery of unity: the total obtained by those joint acts, and all the light, enters the book of
good deeds of each person taking part. This is a fact and has been witnessed by the people of
reality. It is required also by the breadth of divine mercy and munificence.
My brothers! God willing, material benefits will not provoke rivalry among you. You
may possibly be deceived in regard to the benefits of the hereafter like some of those who follow
the Sufi path. But how can some personal, minor merit be compared with the merit and light
manifested in respect of the shared actions mentioned in the above example?
Second Example: Craftsmen are obtaining significant wealth by co-operating so as to
profit more from the products of their crafts. Formerly ten manufacturers of sewing needles all
worked on their own, and the fruit of their individual labourwas three needles a day. Then
following the rule of joint enterprise the ten men united. One brought the iron, one lit the
furnace, one pierced the needles, one placed them in the furnace, and another sharpened the
points, and so on; each was occupied with only part of the process of needle-making. Since the
work in which one man was employed was simple, he did not waste time; he acquired skill and
performed the work with considerable speed. The manufacturers divided up the work performed
in accordance with the rule of joint enterprise and the division of labour: they saw that instead of

92!

three needles a day for each man, it worked out at three hundred. This event was widely
published among the craftsmen of the worldly in order to encourage them to pool their labour.
My brothers! Since union and accord in worldly matters and in dense materials yield such
results and advantages, you can compare how vastly profitable it is for each to reflect in his own
mirror through divine grace the light of all, which is luminous and pertains to the hereafter and
does not need to be divided up and fragmented, and to gain the equivalent reward of all of them.
This huge profit should not be lost through rivalry and insincerity.
The Second Obstacle Destroying Sincerity
This is to flatter the ego and give high status to the evil-commanding soul by attracting
attention to oneself and public acclaim, driven by the desire for fame, renown, and position. This
is a serious spiritual sickness that also opens the door to the hypocrisy and self-centredness
called the hidden association of partners with God, and damages sincerity.
My brothers! Our way in the service of the Quran is reality and brotherhood, and the true
meaning of brotherhood is to annihilate ones personality among ones brothers50 and to prefer
their souls to ones own. Rivalry of this sort arising from desire for rank and position should not
therefore be provoked. It is altogether opposed to our way. The brothers honour may be all the
individuals generally; so I am hopeful that sacrificing that great collective honour for personal,
selfish, competitive, minor fame and renown is far from being something the Risale-I Nur
students would do. Yes, the heart, mind, and spirit of the Risale-iNur students would not stoop to
such lowly, harmful, inferior things. But everyone has an evil-commanding soul, and sometimes
the souls emotions affect certain veins of character, and predominate to an extent in spite of the
heart, mind, and spirit; I am not accusing your hearts, minds, and spirits. I have confidence in
you because of the effect of the Risale-iNur. But the soul, desires, emotions, and imagination
sometimes deceive. For this reason, you sometimes receive severe warnings. The severity looks
to the soul, emotions, desires, and imagination; act cautiously.
Yes, if our way had been subjection to a shaykh, there would have been a single rank, or
limited ranks, and numerous capacities would have been appointed to them. There could have
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
50

Yes, happy is he who, in order to gain access to a large pool of fresh water filtered from the spring of the Quran,
casts his personality and egotism which are like blocks of ice into the pool and melts them.

93!

been envy and selfishness. But our way is brotherhood. Among brothers there is no position of
father among them, nor can they assume the position of spiritual guide. In brotherhood ranks are
broad and cannot be the cause of envious jostling. At the most brother helps and supports
brother; he completes his service. Evidence that much harm and many mistakes have resulted
from the envy, greed for spiritual reward, and high aspirations of the paths of spiritual guides are
the conflict and rivalry among those who follow them despite their vast attainments, perfections
and benefits, which have had the disastrous consequence of their vast and sacred power being
unable to withstand the gales of innovation.
The Third Obstacle: This is fear and greed. This obstacle has been explained
comprehensively in The Six Attacks51 together with other obstacles. We therefore refer you to
that, and making all the most beautiful names of the Most Merciful of the Merciful our
intercessor, we beseech that He will grant us success in attaining complete sincerity.

O God! For the sake of Sura al-Ikhlas, place us among Your servants who attain sincerity.
Amen. Amen.

Glory be unto You! We have no knowledge save that which You have taught us; indeed, You are
All-Knowing, All-Wise (2:32).

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
51

See, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Letters 1928-1932 (Istanbul: SzlerNeriyat, new edn. 2009) theSixth Section of
the Twenty-Ninth Letter, pp. 474-90. (Tr.)

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B. UHUVVAH: ISLAMIC BROTHERHOOD (AND

SISTERHOOD)

In His name. There is nothing that does not glorify Him with His praise.52
(This letter has two chapters. The first one calls believers to brotherhood [and sisterhood] and
mutual love.)
First chapter
In the name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate.

Verily the believers are brothers, so make peace between your brothers. (49:10)53

Repel (evil) with what is better; then he between whom and you there is enmity shall be as if he
were a loyal friend. (23:96)54

Those who restrain their rage and forgive people. God loves those who do good. (3:134)55

ispute, discord, partisanship, obstinacy, and envy cause rancor and enmity among
believers, and therefore are sins that harm personal, social, and spiritual life. Truth
and wisdom, as well as Islam (the viewpoint of supreme humanity) all prove this.

Moreover, they poison human life. Out of this truths numerous aspects, we mention only six.
FIRST ASPECT: It is wrong from the viewpoint of truth. O unjust one who nourishes rancor
and enmity for a believer, imagine yourself on a ship or in a house with one criminal and nine
innocent persons. If someone tried to destroy the ship or the house (because of that one criminal),
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52

sr Sresi, 17:44.
Hucurat Sresi, 49:10.
54
Fusslet Sresi, 41:34.
55
l-i mrn Sresi, 3:134.
53

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you would understand the magnitude of such an injustice and protest. Even if there were one
innocent person and nine criminals on that ship, it would still be unjust to sink it.
A believer may be compared to a house or a ship belonging to God. Such a person has not nine,
but as many as 20 innocent attributes such as belief, Islam, and neighborliness. If you cherish
rancor and enmity for a believer because of one criminal attribute you do not like, and you want
to destroy that ship or house created by God, your crime would be most atrocious.
SECOND ASPECT: It is wrong from the viewpoint of wisdom. Love and enmity are
opposites, like light and darkness, and so their true nature cannot be combined in a single heart.
If love is truly felt, hostility assumes the form of pity. Believers should loveand indeed do
lovetheir coreligionists and be pained by any evil seen in them. They should try to improve
their coreligionists only with gentleness, for a Prophetic Tradition states:
Believers should not be angry with each other, nor refuse to speak to each other for more than
3 days.56
If the causes producing enmity predominate and hostility invades the heart, love becomes
merely formal and no more than pretense and flattery. O unfair people, see what a great injustice
such attitudes are! If you regard worthless pebbles as more valuable than the Kaba and greater
than Mt. Uhud, you are guilty of a repugnant folly. Since all Islamic attributes like belief (as
valuable as the Kaba) and Islam (as splendid as Mt. Uhud) demand love and concord between
believers, it is an enormous disgrace, folly, and injustice to nurture hostility for any believer.
Doing so means that you prefer certain hostility-arousing shortcomings to belief and Islam!
Unity in belief requires unity of hearts, and oneness of creed demands oneness of society.
If you are in the same squadron as someone else, you will feel friendly toward him and so form a
mutually friendly relation because you are commanded by one commander. You also will
experience a fraternal relationship because you live in the same barracks. Given this, understand
your intimate attachment to believers through mutual ties of unity as numerous as the Divine
Names, and the bonds of accord and fraternal relations coming from the light and consciousness
of belief.
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56

Buhar, Edeb: 57, 62; stizn: 9; Mslim, Birr: 23, 25, 26; Eb Dvud, Edeb: 47; Tirmiz, Birr: 21, 24; bni Mce,
Mukaddime: 7; Msned, 1:176, 183; 3:110, 165, 199, 209, 225; 4:20, 327, 328; 5:416, 421, 422.

96!

Both of you serve the same One Creator, Sovereign, Object of Worship, Provider... so there are
as many ties between you as there are Divine Names. Your Prophet, religion [Islam], and qibla57
are one and the same, and the number of such ties amount to almost a hundred. Your town,
country, and state is one, and tens of things are one and the same for you.
These ties require unity and oneness, union and concord, love and brotherhood. Such
immaterial chains are strong enough to link all planets together. Preferring something as frail and
trivial as a spiders web, which causes dispute, discord, rancor, enmity, and grudges toward
fellow believers, shows your great disregard for such ties. You seriously offend those causes of
love and transgress against those brotherly relationships!
THIRD ASPECT: According to:

No soul bears the load of another (6:164),58

which expresses absolute justice, nurturing rancor and enmity for believers is like condemning
all of their innocent attributes on account of one criminal attributea very great injustice indeed!
If you extend your enmity to their relatives, you are the object of

People are much given to wrongdoing (14:34).59

Since truth and Islams law and wisdom warn you against such a great injustice, how can
you consider yourself to be right? In the view of truth, the forms of evil that arouse enmity are in
themselves evil, and they are dense like earth. They should not infect or pass on to others. But if
others see others who commit them and imitate them, it becomes a different matter entirely, for
such people do so more from their own inclination toward such evils than to those evils
effective powers. In contrast, good actions and qualities spring from love, arouse love, and are
luminous (for love is luminous). They are by nature transmittable. This is why we have such

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57

Qibla: The direction of the Kaba in Mecca, which all Muslims must face during prayer.
Enm Sresi, 6:164.
59
brahim Sresi, 14:34.
58

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proverbs as: The friend of a friend is a friend60 and Many eyes are loved for the sake of one
eye.
So, O unjust ones, consider how great an offense it is to harbor enmity toward innocent fellow
believers who are worthy of love, or toward their relatives because you do not like individual
believers.
FOURTH ASPECT: It is wrong from the viewpoint of personal life. Consider the following four
principles that are the basis of this aspect:
First Principle: When you know your way to be right and your opinions to be true, you
may be justified in saying: My way is right and better. But you cannot say: Only my way is
right. As we know,

the eye of contentment is too dim to perceive faults, whereas the eye of anger exhibits all
vice.61
So your unjust view and distorted opinion cannot judge between the ways, and should not
condemn anothers way as wrong.
Second Principle: Whatever you say should be true, but it is not proper to say (carelessly
and on every occasion) whatever is true. If you do, the other person may be irritated by your
advice and react unfavorably, especially if your intention is not quite sincere.
Third Principle: If you want to nurse your hostility, direct it against the enmity in your
heart and try to remove it. Fight your carnal self and its fancies and try to reform it, for it is your
most dangerous enemy. Do not nurse anger and hostility toward believers to please that injurious
self.
If you cannot remove this enmity, there are many unbelievers and heretics deserving
enmity. As the attribute of love deserves to receive love, enmity deserves to receive enmity. If
you want to defeat your enemy, meet evil with good, for responding with evil increases enmity.
Even though outwardly defeated, such people nurture rancor and enmity in their hearts. If you
respond with good, they will repent and become your friends, as expressed in the couplet:
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60
61

Nechl-Bela, s. 748-749.
Ali Mverd, Edebd-Dny ved-Dn, s.10; Dvn-fi, s.91.

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If you treat the noble nobly, they will be yours,

But if you treat the ignoble nobly, they will revolt...
Believers are noble by nature and so will submit to you if you treat them nobly. If one
believer seems to be ignoble, he or she is yet noble with respect to belief. If you repeatedly tell
someone that he or she is good or bad, it is often observed that he or she becomes good or bad
respectively. So heed the following sacred principles established by the Quran, for happiness
and salvation are found therein:

If they come across vanity, they pass by with dignity. (25:72)62

But if you pardon, overlook, and forgive, God is All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate. (64:14)63
Fourth Principle: Those who indulge in rancor and enmity wrong and transgress their
own souls, fellow believers, and Divine Compassion. They condemn their souls to painful
torment, inflict anguish upon themselves whenever they see their enemies obtain a blessing or
advantage, and suffer pain because they fear their enemies. Enmity arising from envy is the
severest torment, for envy consumes and destroys the envious while leaving the one envied
untouched (or largely untouched).
If those ensnared in such envy want to be cured, let them ponder the fate of what or who
engenders such envy. Doing so will cause them to see that physical beauty and strength, worldly
rank and wealth are transient. Their benefit is slight, but the trouble they cause is great. If you
envy others because of their merits with respect to the Hereafter, you are either a hypocrite who
wants to use up here the rewards to be paid in the Hereafter, or unjustly consider the object of
your envy a hypocrite.
If you rejoice when those you envy suffer misfortune and grieve when they receive a
bounty, you are offended by Destiny and Divine Compassion and thus indirectly criticize and
object to them. Those who criticize Destiny mean they strike and break their heads on an anvil;
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62
63

Furkan Sresi, 25:72.

Teabn Sresi, 64:14.

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those who object to Compassion are deprived of it. How can justice and sound conscience accept
that you elevate something unworthy of even one days enmity to cause a year of rancor and
enmity? Moreover, you cannot attribute any evil you have suffered at his or her hand to a fellow
believer alone for three reasons: Destiny has a part in allowing it, so accept it quietly; consider
the share of Satan and the evil-commanding self, which will cause you to pityand not resent
your fellow believer who was defeated by them; and God may use such people to punish you for
a defect of which you may be unaware or keep secret.
By responding to the remaining small share with tolerance, forgiveness, and
magnanimity, you will conquer your enemy swiftly and safely, and will avoid any wrongdoing
and harm. Otherwise, you will be like a drunken or crazed merchant who buys ice and glass
fragments at the price of diamonds. In other words, you will respond to worthless, transient, and
insignificant affairs with violent, persistent hostility and permanent rancor, as if you and your
enemy would remain in this world forever. Such an attitude leads to excessive wrongdoing,
drunkenness [in the sense of being unaware of reality], and a kind of insanity.
If you care about yourself, do not allow enmity and desire for revenge, both of which are
so harmful to your life, to enter your heart. If they are already in your heart, ignore them and
heed the words of Hafiz al-Shirazi: The world is not a commodity worth contending for. The
world is worthless because it is transient. Given this, understand how insignificant are its petty
affairs!
Hafiz also says: The tranquility of both worlds lies in two things: magnanimity toward
friends and the wise management of enemies.64 If you say: But I have no choice, for enmity is
part of my nature. Moreover, these things angered me and so I cannot overlook them, I respond:
If you do not act badly, such as backbiting or under the influence of such impulses
toward those for whom you cherish enmity, and if you are conscious that you err, it is
harmless. For awareness of your error and admission that your evil impulse is wrong
means repenting and seeking Gods forgiveness, which will deliver you from its evil
consequences. This is why I wrote this sectionso that you might seek forgiveness,

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64

Divn- Hfz, s. 14 (5. Gazel)

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distinguish right from wrong, and prevent your rightful enemy from presenting it as
wrongful.
A case worthy of notice: I once saw a partisan yet pious scholar of Islam condemn
another pious scholar of a different political opinion by implying that the latter was an apostate,
and then respectfully praise a fellow partisan hypocrite holding his own view. Appalled at such
an evil result, I sought refuge in God from Satan and politics and withdrew from politics.
FIFTH ASPECT: Obstinacy and partisanship only harm social life.
QUESTION: A Tradition says:

Difference among my community is a mercy.65

Difference requires partisanship that, although a social disease, does relieve the
oppressed masses from an oppressive elite that, if united, tends toward tyranny. If there are
[political] parties, the oppressed may protect themselves by joining one. Also, do you agree that
different opinions and ideas allow the truth to shine forth?
ANSWER: In such a context, difference is positive, meaning that it allows each side to
promote and propagate its own argument, to improve and reform a competing view instead of
destroying it. The Prophet rejects a negative difference, for it seeks to destroy another side
because of partisan bias and hostility. Those who are at each others throats cannot act positively
(toward each other).
Partisanship in the name of truth can be a refuge for those seeking their rights. But the
current biased and self-centered partisanship is only a refuge and a focus of support for the
unjust. If devilish people support those engaged in biased partisanship, such partisans will call
Gods blessings upon them. Moreover, if angelic people join another side, the same partisans
will call Gods curses upon them.
If people differ in the name of truth, this is only a difference of means. In reality, it is an
agreement and a unity with respect to aim and basic purpose. Such a difference can reveal all
aspects of truth, and so serves justice and truth. But a confrontation between biased, partisan
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65

el-Acln, Kefl-Haf, 1:64; el-Mnv, Feyzl-Kadr, 1:210-212.

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opinions driven by egotism and fame-seeking, one engendered by a tyrannical, carnal self, only
can bring forth the flames of dissension. Opposing views based upon such a source can never
converge, for only differences based upon seeking the truth in the name of a united purpose can
do so. Since they do not differ in the name of truth, they split into extremes and give rise to
irreconcilable divisions.
In short, if their conduct is not based on exalted principles, loving, disliking, and judging
for Gods sake alone, dispute and discord will result. If one ignores these principles, attempts to
do justice will result in injustice. This can be seen in the following incident: Imam Ali once
felled an unbeliever. Just as he was about to kill him, the unbeliever spat at him. Ali released
him. When the unbeliever asked why, Ali replied: I was going to kill you for Gods sake. But I
became angry when you spat at me, and so my intentions purity was clouded by my souls
inclinations. So, I did not kill you. The unbeliever replied: I spat at you so that you would
become mad and kill me instantly. If your religion is so pure and disinterested, it must be truth.
An incident worthy of notice: Upon seeing a judge display signs of anger while executing a
sentence, the just ruler fired him. If the judge had performed his task in the Sacred Divine Laws
name, he would have felt pity and shown neither mercy nor anger. Since his souls inclinations
had some share in his deed, he could not perform this task with justice.
The Muslim world is beset with a regrettable social condition and a perilous disease that
paralyzes its social life. In short, a harmonious social life requires that internal enmities be
forgotten and abandoned when the nation is confronted with foreign enemies. Even the most
unsophisticated people recognize and practice this. So why do those who claim to serve the
Muslim community nurse their petty hostilities at a time when numerous enemies are ready to
attack us, and thereby prepare the ground for our enemies? This is nothing less than corruption,
barbarity, and treachery directed against the community of Islam!
Our current situation reminds me of the Hasanan bedouins, a tribe had two mutually
hostile clans. Although more than 50 had been killed on each side, whenever another tribe (e.g.,
the Sibkan or the Haydaran) attacked them, they would forget their tribal enmity and unite until
the enemy was repelled.

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O people of belief! There are more than 100 tribes and enemies, like a series of
concentric circles, ready to attack the tribe of believers. At a time of assuming defensive
positions and supporting each other, how can believers insist on pursuing their biased
partisanship and hostile rancor and thereby facilitate the enemys assault and grant access to the
fold of Islam?
As many as 70 circles of hostile forces, ranging from the misguided, the atheists and the
people of false belief, to the vicissitudes of worldly life, are watching you. Each one looks for
ways to hurt you, and studies you with anger and hatred. Your firm weapon, shield, and citadel is
Islamic unity. Pursuing your petty enmities and other pretexts is a flagrant contradiction of the
Muslim communitys conscience and unity, both of which are based on all believers feelings of
unity. Come to your senses!
Prophetic Traditions report that such harmful and terrible people as Dajjal and Sufyan
will lead the unbelievers and hypocrites at the end of time.66 Although they will have only a
small force, they will reduce humanity to anarchy and the Muslim world to slavery by exploiting
peoples worldly ambitions and dissension.
O people of belief! If you wish to avoid such a fate, come to your senses. Take refuge in
the citadel of your fellow believers and fight those oppressors who exploit your differences. If
you do not, you cannot preserve your lives or defend your rights. While two champions fight
each other, even a child can beat them. If two mountains are balanced in the scales, even a small
stone can cause one to rise and the other to fall.
So, my fellow believers, control your passions and hostile partisanship, otherwise your
strength will weaken so much that even a small force can beat you. If you have any commitment
to a collective life of social harmony and solidarity, make the principle of
the believers are together like a firm building, one part of which supports the other67
your guiding principle in life! This will deliver you from humiliation in this world and
wretchedness in the next.

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66

Dajjal is the Islamic counterpart of the Anti-Christ in Christianity. Sufyan is a type of Dajjal. Both will cause
great havoc and confusion among believers.
67
Bukhari, Salat, 88; Muslim, Birr, 65; Tirmidhi, Birr, 18.

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SIXTH ASPECT: Enmity and rancor spoil spiritual life and worship, for they spoil your
intentions puritythe means of salvation. Biased partisans seek superiority over the enemy
while performing good deeds and so do not act purely for Gods sake. Slanting their judgments
and dealings toward their supporters, they cannot be just. Their intention becomes impure, and
their justice becomes injustice, both of which void their good deeds. This aspect could be
elaborated upon, further, but we keep it short to reserve space for other matters.

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C. KEEPING UP SINCERETY OF INTENTION AND HAVING A

CONSCIOUSNESS OF SELF CRTICISM

uestion: What are the points of consideration in terms of keeping up sincerity in
our intentions?

Answer: In order to gain the good pleasure of God Almighty, it is very important for a
person to say what they are saying sincerely and do what they are doing sincerely. Because, if
deeds are like a body, sincerity is like the soul; if deeds are like a wing, sincerity is the other
wing. Neither can a body live without a soul, nor can a wing function without the other. A word
uttered or an action realized sincerely is so precious in the sight of God that angels take that word
to their mouths and include it in their habitual prayers; spirit beings keep reciting it as if it were a
phrase of glorifying God. If the words coming out of ones mouth are the true voice of his or her
heart, then those words make their way from mouth to mouth until they reach the Holy Sphere
(Hazirat al-Quds). In addition, it needs to be known that as far as such words uttered sincerely
remain in memories, the Divine reward for the goodness keeps flowing into the speakers record
of good, righteous deeds, and thus every word uttered gains infinity through their replicas.
Spoiling Good, Righteous Deeds by Revealing Them Sanctimoniously
However, if someone adds a personal emphasis on his or her good act by the tone of
voice, facial gestures, and other sanctimonious attitudes, that person becomes a loser on a ground
of winning and becomes deprived of the abundant reward in consequence.
For example, the Daily Prayers are an exalted form of worship that takes ones journey
through the skies of infinity. It is so wonderful to glorify the greatness of God at bowing and
prostration, and to praise the Lord while rising from bowing; the Prayer is such a laudable form
of good, righteous deed. However, if a thought such as, Let others also hear how I am glorifying
Allah in the bowing and prostration positions, passes the mind of the person at the Prayer, the
glorification will be ruined; the words will become lifeless, and that beautiful act of worship will
be turned into a movement devoid of spirit and a title without meaning. If one holds any
consideration of showing off to others, even one percent of weight, he or she expels the spirit of
those words and let it fly away.
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You can evaluate all acts of worship, such as making the (first and second) calls to
Prayer, reciting a portion from the Quran during the Prayer, and the recitations and prayers
made right after the Prayer within this frame. It should be kept in mind, however, that tuning into
the inner voice and musicality of the Quranic verses recited during the Prayer, thereby letting
oneself into that stream naturally, and trying to impress others by showing off with their vocal
skills are two completely different things. It should be known that a person who shadows his
deeds with his ego, in a way, allocates a share for himself from what belongs to God,
proportional with the degree of this shadowing. This resembles breaking the wings of a bird, and
thus preventing that good deed to take wing to the realms beyond.
Therefore, a person must consider his or her sincerity in all he or she does. With the condition of
not becoming a negative example, one must look simple when viewed from the outside. That is,
one must be unpretentious and look like a simple hut, but should be more dazzling and noble
than the greatest palaces with respect to his or her inner world.
Self-Criticism as a Shield
Believers need to see themselves so lowly to the degree of saying, How surprising,
when I view my inner world, I consider myself as a person who fell from level of humanity to
that of animals. But as a Divine favor, God still lets me continue my life in human form. As for
their contribution to the services carried out for the sake of God, they should say, I could have
used these opportunities granted by God Almighty in the best way and exerted myself to tell the
truths of faith to others. But I havent been able to make efficient use of these opportunities for
His sake; I wasted them. For this reason, I am a contemptible person who has not been faithful
toward Islam and the Quran. I feel surprised that I did not turn to stone. They must come to
grips with their carnal soul and continuously be at its throat. Seeing oneself in such a low
position triggers a wish for spiritual progress as well. If seekers of perfection wish to reach
higher levels, they need to see themselves as being in a lower position than they are. Also,
journey to the Infinite One is infinite. God Almighty has revealed for us the horizons of
perfection and completeness: This day I have perfected for you your Religion (with all its rules,
commandments and universality), completed My favor upon you (al-Maedah 5:3). We must
become insatiable journeyers on the path to infinity in such a way that, even if God Almighty

106!

openly grants us Divine love in a bowl in a miraculous way without or beyond any manner and
measure, we would still be asking for more and more of it. Attaining such perfection and
completeness depends on constant self-criticism. Otherwise, those who perceive themselves as
already perfected individuals and who act as if further progress is not possible will be
condemned to remain where they are; it is impossible for such people to taste and thus become
acquainted with perfection.
In addition, there is another negative side of not facing oneself: a person who does not
make self-criticism begins busying himself with a fruitless concern about others shortcomings
unawares that he is doing so. And if the pride of being affiliated with a certain group adds to
ones personal arrogance, that person has a greater risk to become a loser. As Bedizzaman
emphasizes, communal arrogance gives strength to personal arrogance. Therefore, it can be said
that communal arrogance is a fatal and destructive calamity of great danger. The way to be saved
from all of such dangers is to constantly face oneself and make self-criticism.
For example, God Almighty may grant one man the opportunity to carry out very
important services in different parts of the world. Indeed, this man may have conquered the
hearts of all people in a place and may have realized a breakthrough in knowledge and
spirituality there. But our consideration in the face of such achievements must always be: Since
I have been in charge, so many other things have not been completed. Had it been for another
one enlightened in heart and mind, God knows how the services here would have further
flourished. I wish the services had not been narrowed down or hindered because of me. This
must be the true spirit of self-criticism that journeyers to God must possess.
In fact, avoiding a stumble and fall in the face of praises and flattery depends upon
maintaining a practice of self-criticism. That is, a person must criticize himself several times a
day, keep himself under self-surveillance, and adjust his relationship with God Almighty,
accordingly. Thus, even if others sing his praises and extol his virtues, he still says, I know
myself. This can be an intervention of Satan here, thereby saving himself from giving into pride
and arrogance. May God fill all of our hearts with such a high consciousness of self-criticism.
May He enable us to give the due of the duties He granted us as a blessing! Amin!

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D. TRANSFORMING KNOWLADGE INTO PRACTICE

uestion: When we study the life of the Companions, we see that as soon as a Quranic
verse was revealed, they would immediately begin to act upon the Divine command. We
are, however, unable to put forth the same attitude. What would be the reasons for our

inefficiency at putting our knowledge into practice, and how can this ideal be realized?
Answer: In order to implement what we know in practical life, first of all, knowledge
must be saved from being rough and simple information; it needs to be transformed into ilm, in
the sense of knowing a matter with its true nature and grasping that matter through consciousness
and systematic thinking. Otherwise, if what we know does not amount to anything beyond
superficial information, it will not yield any practical behavior, for it does not make an
impression on the heart. In this respect, the first thing to do to turn knowledge into practical
behavior is to try to reach true knowledge and, from there, to certainty in faith, with an insatiable
and fervent desire to learn. In the Quran (Ta-Ha 20:114), God Almighty gives the command to
His Noble Messenger (which can be interpreted as follows): say, My Lord, increase me in
knowledge. Each and every one of us as the follower of the Prophet is then supposed be a
fervent seeker of knowledge always trying to grow deeper in knowledge. For example, it is a
religious obligation to recite the Quran. However, even if we commit the entire Quran into
memory, if we do not make efforts to understand and delve deeper into it, we will fail to benefit
from the treasures of the Quran, the eternal source of light. There are such meanings and
inspirations to be derived through full concentration and sincere efforts that they cannot be
attained in any other way.
Offering Gratitude for Knowledge
After the first phase of transforming information into true knowledge (ilm), there are
other points to be taken into consideration. You may attain a magnificent profundity in
theoretical knowledge and gain the certainty of knowledge (ilm al-yaqin), even to the degree of
the certainty of vision (ayn al-yaqin). However, if you fail to implement such theoretical
knowledge in practical life, then you will fail to recognize the truth of Divinity with the Divine
Names, Attributes, and Qualities, and fail to be a loyal servant at Gods door. In addition, there is
a glad tiding about the issue by the beloved Prophet, Whoever acts upon what he knows, God

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lets him acquire what he does not know68. Accordingly, having a share from true knowledge
requires acting upon what one knows. If God Almighty grants you a certain level of knowledge,
you should strive to give gratitude for this blessing, without taking any personal pride in it. For
example, if others perform forty units of Prayer a day, together with the Sunnah Prayers, you
should think, Having been honored with abundant Divine blessings, I should do as much as
eighty units a day, and thus ascend to the immensities of subjective responsibility.
Incidentally, I would like to relate a memory that is especially significant for me. In one
of my visits to my late mother, she told me, I read the Jawshan al-Kabir69 every day from
beginning to end. Is there anything additional you would recommend for me to read? This is a
reflection of the spirit of someone asking for evermore and thus making continuous progress. A
person honored with Divine blessings must turn to Him in due gratitude. The Prophet would pray
until his blessed feet were swollen as narrated by his wife Aisha. Imam Al-Busiri expressed this
in a poem, I failed to follow the Practice of the Prophet who kept vigil until his feet were
swollen at the Prayer. On witnessing that, Aisha asked the Prophet, O Messenger of God,
although God has forgiven your (possible) past and future sins, why are you praying to the
degree of tormenting yourself? The Pride of Humanity gave the following answer to her,
Should I not be a thankful servant (in the face of such blessings of my Lord)70? There is a very
important message here in terms of consciousness of being a servant: Every servant of God is
obliged to offer thanksgivings to Him and praise the Almighty to the degree of the
Divine blessings and favors bestowed upon him, and thus put his knowledge into practice in
proportion to the profundity of his knowledge.
Practical Reason
At this point, it is possible to mention a consideration in Kants Critique of Pure Reason.
Kant states that God cannot be known through theoretical reason and that knowledge of God can
only be attained through practical deeds. If this can be realized, in other words, if theoretical
knowledge is efficiently put into practice, believers can feel a profound knowledge of God inside
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68

Abu Nuaym, Hilyat, 10/15.

A voluminous prayer book compiled by Bedizzaman, including the Jawshan prayer, which consists of one
hundred parts, transmitted from the Prophet.
70
Sahih al-Bukhari, Tahajjud, 16.
69

109!

of them and consequently feel a deep love for Himto such a degree that they will be saved
from the gloom of this world and be seized by an intense yearning for reunion with God, craving,
Reunion with You O God, reunion! Bedizzaman mentions faith in God as the essence of
worship. Knowledge of God comes after this faith in God, then comes love of God, and then
spiritual pleasure, which is granted as an extra Divine favor. When such a spiritual pleasure is
experienced, we will naturally feel an irresistible flood of eagerness to see the true source of
beauties, given that all beauties are merely faint shadows of the Divine Essence. If we do not feel
such eagerness in our inner worlds, then we have not passed through this process and are still
wandering outside. I do not mean to push anyone to hopelessness; however, we need to know
that this is the result of the course we have taken. In this respect, let me reiterate that no matter
how much you delve in theory, you are doomed to not make any progress but stay where you are
as long as you fail to further rise to the level of practice. If you start practicing, but this time fail
to deepen in the meaning of that practice and to acquire knowledge of God, you will not make
further progress, unable to go beyond mechanical formsto such a degree that you will view
worship as if it were a daily chore; you do the relevant acts but fail to attain knowledge of God,
and unable to feel love for Him, and savor spiritual pleasure. Those who do not implement their
theoretical knowledge in practical life are likened to a donkey carrying a load of books in the
Quran (al-Jumua 62:5). One needs to avoid from falling into such a situation, so that knowledge
does not become a burden on the back. Otherwise, his or her knowledge will be useless. At this
point, we can benefit from the power of prayer at putting knowledge into practice, as the beloved
Prophet did by saying, O God, I seek refuge in You from the knowledge that is not
beneficial71
Broader Horizons through Reading Circles
Although it is commendable for individual believers to carry out reading, thinking,
research, to scrutinize things and phenomena, to reflect upon the relationship between human,
universe, and God, it will be a means for much different blessings to attend a gathering of
faithful ones who cherish considerations and thoughts in this direction and benefit from that
blessed atmosphere. Somebody who steps into such an atmosphere will unite with the other
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71

Sahih Muslim, Dhikr, 73

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individuals in the group together and they will journey toward different horizons with this special
connection among them, pervaded by the same spiritual hue (insibagh). As it is revealed in the
Quranic verse, Gods Hand is over their hands (al-Fath 48:10). Also, the Messenger of God
stated, Gods hand (of support) is with the community72, and drew attention to importance of
being included in a group. In another case, the Prophet emphasized the danger of being alone by
stating that a stray sheep is to be devoured by wolves. Accordingly, one who acts against
collective consciousness, who leaves the circle, and who does not fall into step with the group is
doomed to be devoured by wolves. Therefore, we must try to be included in a righteous circle
against all odds, support one another at that, and avoid acting individually. However, a very
important point to be careful about here is to keep our gatherings or circles free from useless talk
and amusements, and to benefit from them in the name of deepening in knowledge and
spirituality, without even wasting a second. Unfortunately, we do not present the required
sensitivity to do this. It is such a pity that even when we come together in the name of religion,
faith, and serving for God, we sometimes talk about irrelevant matters that are of no benefit to
our worldly or otherworldly life, or we adopt lighthearted attitudes, which lead people to
heedlessness. In my opinion, a true believer must try to lead a disciplined life as was once lived
truly in Sufi lodges. In an authenticated narration, it is reported that the Pride of Humanity
laughed to the degree of chuckling only three times in his entire lifetime73. As it is known, his
blessed face was always smiling, but he never gave up being serious. That blessed person had
such a manner that His consciousness of the omnipresence of God was reflected in his entire
being. And one could not help but remember God Almighty upon seeing the Prophets state,
manners, and even the depth of his looks.
In a nutshell, we must try to benefit efficiently from all the assemblies, all of our
gatherings and the circles we attend in the name of reviving the horizons of our heart and spirit,
in order to be well-equipped in knowledge and then implement it in our lives, thus making it very
spirit and way of our lives in the true sense. If we wish to walk on the straight path, without any
collisions and straying, all of our feelings, thoughts, senses, conversations, and discussions need
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72
73

Sunan at-Tirmidhi, Fitan, 7

Sahih al-Bukhari, Tafsir as-Surah (39), 2

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to be straight; they need to be oriented toward becoming deeper and richer on the horizons of the
heart and spirit.

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Chapter 3
Methods and Principles in Religious Mentoring
A. The Insights of Religious Mentoring
B. Methods and Principles
C. Characteristics of a Religious Mentor
D. The Role of the Spiritual Guide

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A. THE INSIGHTS OF RELIGIOUS MENTORING

Introduction
The human being is a creature lower than the low with his weaknesses and higher than
the high with his virtues. All understanding of moral education that does not consider him with
these weaknesses and virtues of his is deficient and insufficient. Islam deals with the human
being as a whole. It approaches his weaknesses with a prohibitive and frightening method and his
virtues with an encouraging one. For this reason, the themes of fear and hope, paradise and hell,
mercy and wrath are treated in the Quran and hadiths of the Prophet (PBUH) subsequently and
in a balanced way. The man consumed and paralyzed by fear and the one spoilt and made to be
haughty by hope is not the type of man Islam aims for.
The maintenance and continuance of the religious life can only be possible by sanctions.
While the man reinforces his spiritual life and reaches the metaphysical consciousness on the one
hand, he must be restricted on the other hand by some sanctions so that he can continue
following the right path and be protected from making mistake and going astray. These sanctions
may appear to be unpleasant at first sight but when considered the result to be obtained by these,
it will be obvious that these sanctions are in favor of the human being as much as sanctions of
encouragement and that they have a hidden beauty under their unpleasant face.
All systems treating the human being only from one side failed. Systems that had not
already done so are in the same way too because these systems lack the reality and the harmony
of living according to this reality. The inevitable outcome of this lack is the destruction.
Therefore, we have to deal with Islamic sanctions from the perspective of the Divine
morality, which is the morality of the Quran. Our main purpose must be to show people the way
to get the highest morality possessed by the Prophet (PBUH). Moreover, the purpose of being
a man is to reach this high morality.
It is possible to divide Islamic sanctions into two main groups. These can be called
subjective and objective in the most concise way. The former is related to the individuals
inner world and spiritual nature, the latter is about things he must do concerning the outer world.
First of all, every individual must spend his own spiritual life in straightforwardness. In
addition, all pillars of the faith have the inherent quality to enable the individual to do this. A
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person believing in God, angels, books, Prophets, Day of Judgment and fate have a certain level
of this straightforwardness. However, it must be reinforced with worships called righteous
actions and it must be made a nature in every individual. A person developing and ornamenting
his inner world with supererogatory worships along with obligatory religious duties such as
prayer, fasting, zakat and pilgrimage is supposed to have fulfilled the individual part of the
sanctions. However, sanctions do not only include things that must be done but also things that
must be avoided. In other words, one end of the sanctions is the paradise and the other is the hell.
One end shows the reward and the other shows the punishment. This is the balance itself.
Furthermore, the matter should be handled within human realities. God created us as
human beings. The human being is a complex creature having many virtues together with many
weaknesses. But this quality is not inherent in other creatures as much as in human beings.
Animals cannot exceed the limit determined for them. As they were not given free will, they
have no responsibility. Djinns are much lower than human beings in terms of skills. As for
devils, they are so unified with evil that they are creatures committing evil only. Skills of angels
are limited, too. We use the term limited to explain that they are closed to improvement unlike
the human beings. The devil is deprived from obeying and the angel is safe from disobeying. As
for the human being, he was created at equal distance to both evil and good. He is the candidate
of rising to the highest of the high and going down the lowest of the low.
Islam is in an activity of destroying the evil itself with sanctions It imposes. Drying the
swamp is the safest and most permanent way of being protected from mosquitoes. It is
meaningless and insufficient to complain from the snake and try to destroy it after bringing up
and making it into a cobra. We believe that while analyzing Islamic sanctions the subject must be
approached from this point of view so that matters can be perceived in a more comprehensive
way.
Encouraging and frightening; enjoining the good and forbidding the evil; caressing,
praising and rewarding for good behaviors as well as imposing a penalty for evil and factors
leading to evil, in other words drying the swamp and eradicating the evil itself, these are among
primary methods and ways of reaching the goal in Islamic sanctions.

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In this book, we will treat the subject of amr bel-ma'roof, nahye-anel-munkarenjoining the good and forbidding the evil- from different aspects. We will always take into
consideration our fundamental point, the fact that it is one of Islamic sanctions and we will try to
base our evaluation upon this reality. We hope that such an evaluation will add new dimensions
to our understanding of Methods of Spiritual Guidance in Islam.
1. Spreading The Word is the Aim of Our Existence
Amr bil-ma'ruf, nahi-anil-munkar that is to say enjoining good and forbidding evil is
a way that leads one to the aim of the creation of the existence. God opened this palace of
universe for this sacred duty and assigned human being as a vicegerent in this palace to
accomplish this great duty. The history of Prophethood was also written for this very reason.
The Prophet Adam (PBUH) was the first man and the first Prophet at the same time. At the very
moment they opened their eyes, His children saw their father as a Prophet who enjoined good
and forbade evil. The first human existence started with the Prophethood. In consequence, the
tree of Prophethood produced the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who was its seed at the
beginning. He is the Sultan of the Two Worlds for whom the universe was created. And the aim
He was sent for was spreading the Word. As for the essence of this spreading, it is enjoining
good and forbidding evil. This means that the existence was created for it. There is no doubt
that a task that is the aim of the creation of the existence is the most important of all tasks.
The first children of Adam (PBUH) born into this world, as if they were watching the
Polaris, watched a Messenger Father who always gazed up at the world above, who took
orders from there, who trembled with fear under these orders He took and who always felt the
anxiety of the other worlds with a shiver on his lips. Adam (PBUH) was the first man to perform
the task of enjoining good and forbidding evil as a human being and a Prophet at the same
time and this way is not a way that was opened just for once and that was subsequently closed
down. So many Prophets followed Adam (PBUH) since humanity needs Prophets because
virtually time and events are determined to use up one by one all the virtues a man possesses.
For this reason, the Holy Quran points out that periods of time in which one does not regenerate
himself cause hardness of heart. When some periods of time and eras cause such a hardness of
heart, peoples vision gets blurred, and they slip and go astray. As God is the One Who knows

116!

these the best with His comprehensive knowledge and as His mercy prevails over His wrath, He
sent Prophets one after another and each Prophet who was sent performed the task of enjoining
good and forbidding evil in accordance with the circumstances of the era.
Adam (PBUH) spent all His life for this aim and always advised His children to do what
is good and to avoid the evil. The reverberation of His voice continued until some time after His
death and as this reverberation started to lose its power God just charged some of Adams
distinguished children with the duty of Prophethood. They successively performed this duty they
were entrusted with properly and between the time period when each Prophet left as the sun set
and the other rose like the sun, darkness had always been experienced in the sky of the
humanity. Though many saints used to embellish every dark night almost like the stars, it was
naturally impossible for them to provide the light expected from the sun.
Until Noah (PBUH) it all went on like this. Then, one day, the humanity heard His husky
voice proper to a Prophet who was one of the highest in rank.

I convey unto you the Messages of my Lord and give sincere advice to you. And I know from
Allah what you know not (Surah Al-A'raf/The Heights: 7/62) said that great Prophet as
expressed in the Quran. In other words, those who listen to me, obey me and get on my ark will
survive. This survival will be both external and internal. If you believe me deep in your heart
and listen to what I say, you will be saved from drowning in the terrible waves of the present
and the future world and you will gain safety. Otherwise you will go exhausted physically and
spiritually.
The Prophet Noah (PBUH) had been preaching this way for almost one thousand years
and He was followed by the Prophet Hud (PBUH). Also, He said

117!

I convey unto you the Messages of my Lord, and I am a trustworthy adviser (or well-wisher) for
you (Surah Al-A'raf/The Heights, 7/68) and invited the human beings to act in accordance with
the aim of their creation. The human being was created to know God and to feel what he knows
in his very conscience, so Prophets (PBUT) had been coming one after another to remind him
this duty and to enable him to reach this spiritual knowledge. The Prophet Hud (PBUH) was
followed by many Others and they all performed the same task.
However whenever the effect of the voice and words of the preceding Prophet got erased
from human minds, the humanity started to go down relatively to the preceding one and great
tremors in his spiritual life came one after another. The spiritual life became like an arid area,
breezes of exhilaration belonging to the divine universe ceased totally and human beings became
ruined. When Abraham (PBUH), the father of the Prophets, was sent, the humanity was in such
an atmosphere. He joined the people with His reviving breath of enjoining good and forbidding
evil, wherever He saw a few men, He approached them and He told them about God and about
Gods Messages. Those who listened to Him and obeyed what He said climbed the peaks in
terms of virtues again and always stayed there.
After Abraham (PBUH), the humanity started to go slowly down the summit he had
climbed again and lose the qualities that had been acquired. The mentality which believed that
only physical things really exist and that reduced everything to the matter became dominant
again. I think we better understand today how horrible this disaster coming up until the twentieth
century is.
The Prophet Moses (PBUH) emerged in Egypt in time when such a countercurrent used
to take place in the Nile delta. He was charged with the task of enjoining good and forbidding
evil like other Prophets who preceded Him and He was appointed to struggle with an obstinate
people. He took on this high duty and set about helping and elevating them. He had been
successful in doing this to a certain degree. Though the people He was dealing with were those
who would not easily listen to reason, Moses (PBUH) witnessed many improvements while He
was still alive as a result of His endless attempts and efforts as the fruit of His endeavor in
enjoining good and forbidding evil.

118!

It is certainly not easy to elevate people to the peaks and to make each one of them into a
perfect man. That is why even many of the Prophets had been martyred. The Prophet Zakariyya
(PBUH) had been cut into two with a handsaw for this duty; the Prophet Yahya (PBUH) had
also been martyred for this sacred duty. As a matter of fact, the cross was built to martyr Jesus
(PBUH) for this evil aim.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had been subjected to even worse. He had suffered from
many pains and torments. O Aisha, I suffered a lot from your people1 He said once to Aisha
His wife. These words of the grieved Prophet (PBUH) were the expression of the moan of a
broken heart. Take these words up until Adam thinking of all Prophets. When examined, you
will see that they express the hurt almost all Prophets felt at heart. Adam (PBUH) would gather
his children and say I suffered a lot from you, Noah, Hud and others would repeat the same
words and would express the same hurt.
The holy ones who continued this duty after the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)...You will
see that they utter the same hurt, too: I know nothing in terms of worldly pleasure in my whole
life of about eighty years. My entire life has been spent either in the battlefields, in prisons of
slavery or in the prisons, in the courts of my country. I have suffered many pains and tortures. I
was treated like a criminal in the courts martial, I was sent to exile from country to country. I
was isolated in my countrys prisons for months. I was poisoned many times. I have been subject
to various insults. There have been times when I preferred to die rather than to live. If my
religion had not forbidden me from committing suicide, maybe Said would have already been
rotted and vanished under the ground. These words express nothing but a broken heart.
Bediuzzaman74 had probably uttered these words for all his predecessors who were brokenhearted like himself. In short, this situation is the unchanging destiny of those who perform the
task of enjoining good and forbidding evil.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
74

Turkish Islamic leader and thinker from Turkey's Kurdish region. Founder of the Nurculuk movement. His
outlook was shaped by the Naqshbandi tariqah and westernization in the Ottoman administration. Realized that the
Turkish modernization movement needed Islam to bring all Muslims under the umbrella of common faith, with the
advantages of Western technology and knowledge. Hoped that this sociopolitical program would be carried out by
Young Turks, but those efforts failed despite his collaboration with the Young Turk government and led to his exile.
Later exiled by Atatrk when his program of religious revitalization clashed with Atatrk's aims. Proselytizing and
influence
over
disciples
led
to
additional
exiles
and
imprisonments
(Retrieved
from
http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1783?_hi=0&_pos=5078)

119!

Every step taken on the way of enjoining good and forbidding evil enables the one who
takes this step to acquire the merit of being the heir of the Prophet because this duty is
essentially the duty of the Prophets. Each man who takes a step on this way is considered to
have undertaken such a task or to have been charged with this duty as a divine favor. Therefore,
even a man who takes one single step for this task will get the reward of this duty according to
his intention and his rank.
In addition, since this holy duty is the duty of the Prophets and the Prophets are in total
straightness, then those who perform the task of enjoining good and forbidding evil would be
considered to be in righteousness. In short, the guarantee that every individual who believes in
God can be accepted as a believer and can remain so in the presence of God depends heavily on
his performing the duty of spreading the Word properly. In fact, he is charged with it.
Individuals and communities believing in God can continue their existence only by performing
this task. Telling about God and His Messages, not keeping quiet like the devil when face with
injustice, always treating the life and the death with disdain, having the understanding of the
companions of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and considering this holy duty to be the aim of
the life, these are the secret of existing and the condition of remaining a believer at the same
time. Shame on the days lacking in these! In fact each believer should be afraid of living in a
society where this holy duty is not performed and ask help from God.
While performing this task, the individual will have the opportunity to put into practice
what s/he believes in and what s/he has sacrificed his life for. Thus, his faith will avoid being
just theoretical because the religion Islam is a reality that is being lived in everyday life. The
man who put the faith in the center of everything and the conveying Gods Messages to other
people plans all his daily activities accordingly. For a believer, among the five essentials that
must be protected, the religion is the one that comes first. He would protect his honor, chastity,
money and life but he must protect his religion first and foremost. Thus this would be the sign of
the importance he attaches to his religion. The most outstanding picture showing the degree and
greatness of the individuals relationship with God is the efforts and attempts he makes to
protect the religion. In addition, it should not be forgotten that the one who cannot protect his

120!

religion would not able to protect the other four essentials. This is one of the most appropriate
and exemplary lesson the history has taught us so far.
God created us so that we express and tell of Him. This is the divine purpose of our
creation. Acting in accordance with this purpose will make both our world and afterlife
prosperous. Otherwise we would be punished with regard to this purpose, and as the nation and
society, we would have been pushed into the midst of mischief and malice. In case this
important duty is not performed, the probable calamities the society would face with were
expressed by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in the following way: One day, the companions
were around the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and were listening to Him very carefully.
However, on that day, His pure tongue that was a source of gem and jewel was also articulating
some expressions of threat and menace: What is to become of you? On that day when the
women rebel and rush out into the streets immodestly and unrestrainedly, when the evils spread
out everywhere and telling the truth is avoided? asked the Messenger of God (PBUH), as
narrated by Eb Ya'la and Ibn-i Ebi'd-Dunya.
The companions were horrified to hear these words since they were unable to believe in
the possibility of such a thing. They believed that this kind of evils would not spread out in the
society even if one single believer remained. Thats why they were surprised to hear it and
immediately asked: Will these really happen, O Messenger of God? They had asked this with
surprise but they had also wanted to get an explanation. When the Prophet (PBUH) said, I
swear in the name of God the Omnipotent Who has got my soul, that even worse will happen, a
strange atmosphere fell. What is worse than that, O Messenger of God? hardly asked the
companions unable to think and speak properly, in a horrified manner. Upon this, If you had
known what would become of you on the day when you saw all the evil to become good and all
the good to become evil! said the Glory of Mankind (PBUH). Lets take this part of the hadith
into consideration for it points out the general situation of today:
The hadith points out that one day everything will become reversed, the values will turn
upside down, the good will be considered evil and the evil will be considered good, adultery will
be encouraged, terrorism and anarchy will be boosted, the faith and Quran will be degraded,
those who believe in God will be despised, many evils will be protected with laws by the states

121!

and truths concerning the religion will be treated as reactionary. This is how the values turn
upside down. The man of this century has gone through this ten times more severely and will
continue to do so for some time. If the duty of disseminating the Message to other people is not
performed, it is certain that the honor, dignity and values will be replaced by humiliation and
insult.
If the laws of nature are broken, the outcome should also be endured. This has always
been the case; it is not possible for sensible people to expect something else. Thats why the
companions who could not accept this in their conscience asked again in surprise: Will this
happen, too, O Apostle of God, namely, will the good be forbidden and will the evil be enjoined?
Even worse will happen! What is even worse than that, O Messenger of God? Shame on you
on the day when you keep quiet face-to-face with the evil and you encourage it personally! In
other words, it is a tragedy when you neglect your family, leave them to themselves, even when
you enjoin them the evil with your manner, words and behaviors, and even worse when you
make your generation forget God and remove the Prophet (PBUH) from their hearts. The
companions were extremely surprised, weak at the knees and hardly breathing, then they asked
with a trembling and exhausted voice: Will this happen, too, O Messenger of God? Yes, even
worse will happen.
At this very moment, the Messenger of God (PBUH) swore by God and narrated these
words of His: I swear by My rage that I will just disperse mischief of all kind in a society that
became so... The Messenger of God (PBUH) was expressing miraculously what it would cost
to the ummah in the future if this important duty would not be comprehended. In fact, we have
such a responsibility, too. At the most sensitive part of our heart there is the pain and grief of a
weight of responsibility that has been going on for three centuries. There is no doubt that the
only way to relieve this pain and grief of ours is to comprehend and perform this task of
Prophets all together as an ummah.
2. The Need For Spiritual Guidance and Its Benefits
The man of today needs the duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil more than in
any age. In fact, the Prophethood came to an end with the Last Prophet (PBUH) and that door
was closed forever. However, today we are face-to-face with an issue of disbelief and rebellion

122!

equal to the total of the former ages. Therefore, those undertaking this holy duty today may be
subject to more troubles and pains than the men of every age. Here are these hard conditions that
will make the religious mentors and teachers of today go much further than their predecessors
and will give them, we hope, a rank of being just behind the Prophet (PBUH)s companions.
Though one considers him more inferior than everything, the duty should come before
everything else. Human beings receive Gods favor in proportion with their needs. When Gods
mercy is distributed among human beings, its abundance is usually in inverse proportion with the
persons power. God helps and shows more mercy towards the one who is weaker and more
helpless.
The sins that were introduced into our heart by looks and perception in different
atmospheres have made us so paralyzed that our nights long for spiritual excitement and our
prayer rugs long for tears. What other disasters do we anticipate with this state of ours that
became a cadaver lacking love and affection, I do not know. The disaster beyond this may be the
one that happened to the devil, God forbid. We, the men of the this century, are so intermingled
with the sins that, if we were given the ability to see the inner aspect of things and we could
observe our own spiritual character, we would be the ones who escaped the first from this state
of ours.
The fact that our Lord entrusted us the duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil
though we are so guilty, feeble and decrepit, is simply because of our need for mercy. Though
we are extremely small and weak, God is utmost high and merciful. If we say Alhamdulillah
(thank God) thousands of times in good conscience in return for this endless mercy and
compassion of His, it would be not nearly enough. The twentieth century has been a century
when everything in terms of spirituality and soul has been shaken up and collapsed. This has
been to such a degree that the eyes have been in eclipse, the views have become blurry and the
strength has been exhausted. Places where one has submitted to are always at the opposite
direction of the niche of the mosque. Despite all these negative conditions, the voice and breath
of our Prophet (PBUH), though as a whisper, is still being heard and the echo of what He said
centuries ago passes over time and place and reaches us-which can be explained with nothing but
the infinite mercy of our Lord. So what we must do is to thank God for this endless favor and

123!

this can be possible by filling our soul with His reviving breaths and adjusting each respiration of
ours according to these breaths. Those who thank God this way will be the ones who will finally
be saved.
Addressing to our Prophet (PBUH), Sadi of Shiraz75 (1213-1291) said: How lucky is the
ummah76 whose steamship has You as the captain. How lucky is the ummah who is backed up
and supported by You. We are on a rescuing ship and the captain of this ship is the Sultan of the
Universe (PBUH). At present time our Captain is addressing to us once more and wants His crew
to gather together. Only those who get on this ship will be saved... Will we able to hear this
voice and accept this invitation all together, I do not know.
Lets now look at some verses of the Quran and see the Muslim being charged with this
duty and rewards pertaining to the present and next world he will get if he performs this duty
properly. God said: Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good,
enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong: They are the ones to attain felicity.
(Surah Al Imran, 3/104). There should always be a community among you who will perform the
duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil, invite to the good and prohibit from the evil, show
the right to the human beings and be so straightforward themselves as to escape from the evil as
if they escaped from snakes and all kind of vermin. In other words, Muslim should be a Polaris
for the society they live with. The course of the ship of society traveling in the ocean of social
life should be adjusted and all other courses should be checked according to them so that
deviations and straying from the truth can be minimized. However, this guiding band should be
so motivated to perform this task that those who see them will consider them to be a personified
statue consisting of enjoining good and forbidding evil and it is this consideration that will
make them credible...If in a society, there is not a band that can always be like this and who can
remain so forever, that society is done for. It is impossible for them to find the right way until
such a band arises out of them.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
75

Persian mystic poet. Lived and wrote in Shiraz. A member of the Suhrawardi tariqah, he is best known for
spiritual and moral teachings. He traveled throughout the Islamic world as a Sufi dervish. His two major works,
Bustan (The orchard) and Ghulistan (The [flower garden), are characterized by garden and floral imagery in the
context of scriptural admonitions to live a moral life. Known as a master of the Persian language (Retrieved from
http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100436186)
76
The whole community of Muslims bound together by ties of religion

124!

If somewhere there is a group of people that enjoins good and forbids evil, God
guarantees that He will protect the people in this region from all earthly and heavenly disasters.
Therefore, the Quran says:

And your Lord is not such as to destroy townships without reason, while their people are
righteous (Surah Hud/Hud, 11/117). And after the expression of Quran, relying upon the
statements of many people of stature and upon relevant words of all the Prophets and saints, we
can conclude that God does not send any disasters or calamities to a place where the duty of
enjoining good and forbidding evil is performed. Even if the society deserves such a
punishment, that disaster and calamity may be called off for the sake of that group because the
hearts of that group are always connected with God. Every moment, every minute of their life is
passing by enjoining good and forbidding evil. They are sorrowful and tearful. The pain,
sorrows, and grieves hit their brain and they always writhe in pain. The idea of who and how
should I tell about Him has become an indispensable idea for them. They are always surrounded
by this idea, while eating, drinking, sleeping, and waking up. Their existence has almost become
the one that is composed of this idea. As long as such voluntary servants of the truth asking for
no freedom exists in a society, it is safe from all earthly and heavenly disasters and calamities.
And if we want to be safe from the earthly and heavenly disasters and calamities, we must
immediately start doing our duty which is the aim of our creation and we must know that the
calamities are coming because of our abandoning the duty enjoining good and forbidding evil.
If we want that disaster and calamity disappear, that will be possible again by performing
enjoining good and forbidding evil. No other worship or prayer has this kind of protection
power. God may destroy and ruin a person or a society while they are praying, even
circumambulating Kabah, continuously saying daily prayers and recitations.
For this reason, the following fact is mentioned in some Israeli sources: When the
people of the Prophet Lot (PBUH) (the people of Sodom and Gomorrah) were destroyed, there
were among them many devout and ascetic people who were spending their night praying and
!

125!

their day fasting but they were not performing the duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil.
Again, when the people of the Woods of the Prophet Shuaib (PBUH) were destroyed, God
knows how many of them were praying and how many of them fasting! However, it is
impossible to see a single destroyed society or nation among which the duty of enjoining good
and forbidding evil was being performed since there is not such an example in the history. I hope
to mention this issue in a more detailed way later in the light of verses and hadiths.
We can consider the reality of spiritual guidance and the need for it on earth from another
point of view. Enjoining good and forbidding evil is the requirement of the human being the
vicegerent of God on earth. God made the human being a vicegerent who can interfere in things
and bestowed him a will from His own will. The self and ego exist only in the human being.
Thus, with these qualities he has got, the human being tries to understand Gods names and
attributes with their various manifestations and perceives his real identity. The ego, ownership
and the sense of freedom resulting from these are just a unit of measurement and the man, with
the suppositional lines he establishes by the help of these, can perceive and understand his God,
his Lord and His being the Almighty.
The fact that the human being was given such distinctive qualities means in a way that he
has been considered to be a caliph from the beginning. Moreover, God addressed His angels I
will create a caliph on the earth... and then created Adam (PBUH), the father of the humanity.
He gave him the right of having things at his disposal and appointed him as His vicegerent in a
sense. The representative cannot exceed the limits determined by the person who gave him the
right of representing and cannot do anything beyond these limits. Furthermore, things the man
must do were determined and fixed by divine commands communicated by Prophets. As long as
the man acts in accordance with those declarations and commands, he will have performed his
representation properly and perfectly.
The following mursal hadith77 narrated by Al-Hassan al-Basri illuminates this issue:
Whoever performs the duty of enjoining good, forbidding evil is the vicegerent of God, the
Prophet and the Book of God. It is everybodys duty to understand and to tell about God, to
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
77

A mursal hadith is one that in its chain of reporting does not go as far back as the Prophet (PBUH), but ends
with someone like Al-Hassan, who belonged to the generation following that of the companions of the Prophet
(PBUH).

126!

know God and to make Him known, to show with ones behaviors that one belongs to Him. It is
also the duty of the human being to understand and tell about the Messenger (PBUH) and Holy
Book of God. Practicing the principles of God and His Messenger (PBUH) and making them
possible to be practiced are also this kind of duty. Moreover, these duties are the purpose of the
creation of the human being at the same time. Therefore, the human being will have done his
duty as much as he performs enjoining good, forbidding evil and all these are important
opportunities that enable the human being to reach Gods approval step by step.
Durre Bint-i Ebi Leheb said: One day Gods Messenger (PBUH) was delivering the
sermon. A man entered the mosque and asked, Who is the most beneficial of men? to the
Messenger of God (PBUH). The Messenger of God (PBUH) answered: The most beneficial of
men is the one who performs enjoining good, forbidding evil, who reads the most, who fears
God the most and who visits his relatives. The most beneficial of the human beings is the one
who always thinks of enjoining good and spreading the goodness, who suffers for it day and
night, who prevents evil and does all he can to prevent its flourishing, who always has this
feeling in his heart, who fears God very much, who spends his life in a way connecting laws of
creation with Quran of Miraculous Expression, that is to say who joins to each other points to
which realities spurting from the Quran rise by forming an arch and who considers things and
events with this point of view, who visits his relatives. According to us, this is the most
important of all tasks.
If we have our best interests at heart for the human beings and if we think that we feel
compassion for them, the best way to show this would be doing our duties towards them. From
this point of view, the vital thing we must do is enjoining good, forbidding evil. Therefore, we
must work in order to perform this duty for the whole humanity. Besides, whoever does this duty
will be appraised and glorified by God. The Quran says:

127!

Not all of them are alike: Of the People of the Book are a portion that stand (for the right):
They rehearse the Signs of Allah all night long, and they prostrate themselves in adoration. They
believe in Allah and the last day; they enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong; and they
hasten (in emulation) in (all) good works: They are in the ranks of the righteous (Surah Al
Imran, 3/113-114). This means that whoever performs this duty, if he believes in God and in the
Day of Judgment, is honored by Quran. Essentially, it is this verse and this kind of verses that
offer us plenty of hopes.
The man of today does not need violence, pressure, beating and killing, but affection,
love, soft words and soft voice. You should treat everybody with affection, feel sympathy for
them and share their sorrows as if they were yours...That is what is expected from us today. An
important task awaited by the humanity will have been performed as much as this is realized.
Behaviors causing hatred were of no benefit yesterday; they will be so today and
tomorrow, too. I have heard of and listened from many who embraced the Islamic faith saying
many times Thank God, we were not killed when we were at the opposite side at that time of
anarchy, otherwise our world and hereafter would have been ruined. If they had been harmed or
killed yesterday, they would have not been benefiting from these spiritual pleasures promised by
the Islamic faith now.
The answer given by a companion who embraced the faith and obtained the honor of
attaining the presence of the Messenger of God (PBUH) to another companion who reproached
him for having killed one of the Prophets (PBUH) friends during jahilliya78 is so meaningful:
You are reproaching me for such an act of mine that God put him into His Paradise because of
me since he had been martyred. What if it were me who was killed there? Because on that day I
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
78

Pre-Islamic
period,
or
ignorance
of
(http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1157).

128!

monotheism

and

divine

law.

was an unbeliever and I would have entered hell forever... Essentially, if you could go to a
certain era of the history and listen to people who got rid of anarchy and met their prayer rugs
again, you would hear the same voice, the same words. I really wonder what those who tried to
solve each problem with force on that day would say if they saw those old criminals crying on
their prayer rugs today.
To clarify this issue, I want to give a real example from the Age of Happiness: Amr b. As
(R.A..) was a companion who had lived a long and prolific life. On his deathbed he was very
anxious and almost ruined because of this anxiety. His son, Abdullah b. Amr b. As (R.A.), one of
the scholars of the ummah said to this ex-soldier and political genius: Father, you didnt use to
like at all people who have the anxiety of death, on the contrary you used to get angry towards
these. Now, I see that you have the same kind of anxiety... Amr b. As (R.A.) on his deathbed
answered: There are three important periods in my life, which make me have various feelings.
The first period of my life passed in disbelief. I did many evil things to the Messenger of God
(PBUH) and believers. I opposed them everywhere and every time I could. They migrated to
Abyssinia; I followed them and disturbed them even there. I opposed many Muslims in many
battles. Many of those who had been with me at that time had died in disbelief. God protected me
and guided me into the true faith. Thus, I felt grateful and thanked to my Lord day and night for
not having died at that time. In the second period of my life, I was always with the Messenger of
God (PBUH) and I never left Him. I lived a pure life in this period. Many companions died while
in this purity and sincerity but I did not. I always lamented, I always felt sorry for not having
died in this period. I always said, I wish I had died in this period. In the third period of my life,
our Prophet (PBUH) moved to His place in the presence of God the Highest of all; He was not
among us anymore. We tried to find solutions to problems ourselves. In this period I got involved
in many events disturbing my conscience and death came to me in such a period. Thats why I
am anxious. Today, we can observe, more than in any previous era, people of a certain period,
who reached the light and a luminous ground and praised and thanked God on their prayer rugs
like Amr b. As (R.A.) who continuously thanked God for not having died before embracing
Islam. If we can prepare a pure life for them in their second and third periods, we will have
enabled them to spend their last moments in the same atmosphere of gratitude and gratefulness.

129!

There is no limit to the duty, especially for those who are determined to self-sacrifice for
love of God. An altruistic and determined person for love of God is a hero who devoted himself
to make people love God. All he thinks about is to make people love God and open ways going
to eternal existence. The need of the duty such a hero must undertake is in much more
seriousness especially for today. Even though some examples of people who return to and
embrace religion in various places give us some hope, the man of today generally lives a broken
and unconnected life with God. Saving this generation from such turbulence is not only very
difficult but also an extremely esteemed duty. Suggesting such generation tumbling in this
turbulence to protect pureness of their hearts and to keep their relations firm with Lord is as same
as even much harder than saying "stay as you are!" to a man of insanity and being killed in
fluttering in a swamp. However, we have to overcome this difficulty. Love, affection and
tolerance are just one significant way to overcome this difficulty. Most of the people dealt with
in this way are confronting to loose their eternal lives. We want them to gain their eternal lives,
but they are not even aware of how serious and dangerous the situation they are in. Therefore,
they find our efforts and enthusiasm strange. Sometimes they get even angry towards us and
oppose us. Treating them as same as they do will cause them to lose their eternal life, so our
treatments must be entirely different from their angry and opposite manners. If they had already
known that they were in this dire affliction, they would have understood our efforts, run towards
us, and filled our hearts with great contentment. In that sense, we must be persistence on sacred
notifications despite their opposition and negative attitudes. Sincere lovers of God, Prophets and
Saints gleamed as sun and moon in our sky always behaved in such great manner. For instance, it
is the way of Prophet Noah (PBUH) who had worried about His son who was not aware of the
fact that he was about to drown and was insisting not to get on the ship. Noah (PBUH) had been
shaken and sunk into a silent wail79 when His son had been taken away by the waves. The same
burden and enthusiasm must be felt against hundreds of events of the same kind today!
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79

So it (the ship) sailed with them amidst the waves like mountains, and Nuh (Noah) called out to his son, who had
separated himself (apart), "O my son! Embark with us and be not with the disbelievers." 43. The son replied: "I will
betake myself to a mountain, it will save me from the water." Nuh (Noah) said: "This day there is no saviour from
the Decree of Allah except him on whom He has mercy." And a wave came in between them, so he (the son) was
among the drowned (Surah Hud 11/42-43).

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The pain and sorrow of Prophet Abraham (PBUH) confronted His father worshipping the
idols and his endless efforts to tell him the truth must be an instructive message for todays
altruistic and dedicated lovers of God. Most particularly, the great efforts of Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH) should never be forgotten in this manner. He was sad and sorrowful while He was next
to the deathbed of His uncle, Abu Talib, who protected Him for forty years. He said My dear
uncle, affirm my Prophethood once so that I intercede for you in the hereafter80. We should
keep in mind that although He was insulted and driven away by His people, He had always
responded back with love and affection. He eventually had won because the way He opened
continued by passing over this bridge of forbearance. Consequently, billions of people gained
their eternal lives through passing that bridge81.
This sacred duty is a task that just qualifies the heroes of love and affection. This duty is
the duty of those who give up pleasures of life in order to cherish and make others have these
pleasures. Giving up for your own life for others is very difficult to put into practice. It is
narrated: On the Judgment Day, when the Messenger of God (PBUH) heard that some of His
ummah will enter the hell, He prostrated Himself and said My ummah! My ummah! This is
such an affection that it made Him forget the heaven, all kinds of pleasures and beauties God
knows, and He continued to weep bitterly. He would not raise His head from the ground and
moan My ummah! My ummah! until He was said, Raise your head! Intercede, your
intercession will be accepted! Here is the expression of this eminent persons matchless affection
and compassion towards His ummah. This also means that He is the biggest of all self-sacrificing
the love heroes. It is not possible for someone to be the hero of love unless he gives up his
personal pleasures, his happiness in family and worldly occupations and unless he forgets
himself and his beloved ones for the sake of sympathizing with others and sharing their pains. It
is not possible to properly perform the duty of enjoining good, forbidding evil without being a
real hero of the love, either.

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80
81

Buhr, menkbu'l-ensar 40; Tirmiz, tefsir 28, 29; Nes, ceniz 102.
Heysem, Mecmeu'z-zevid, 6/35; Aliyy'l-kr, erhu'-ifa, 1/279.

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3. Religious Guidance is the Most Valuable Gift

We can similitude the duty of conveying Gods messages of exchanging gifts. You give
your relatives presents on special occasions such as birthdays, holidays or weddings. Beforehand
you trouble yourself and think a lot on choosing the right present for the person you will give it
to. This is a perfectly normal and even useful behavior because you will give a present as well as
meet a need with that present. When you are planning to meet and talk to people with whom you
share the same social life, you must be at least as careful as when you choose a gift so that you
can offer those people things they need most.
We should keep in mind that what the man of today needs most is a few good words and
advice and the most valuable gift of today is enjoining good, forbidding evil. For this reason,
in order to perform this duty perfectly we must know the person or people we will meet very
well and determine their weak points, things they need most very well. Otherwise, even if we
give this person a high quality satin robe that does not suit him for example, it will be like
dressing him with an unpleasant garment and though the thing we did is a favor, it will cause a
bad effect. Elevating a person with various ideological fixed ideas to the skies, in other words,
telling him about heavenly matters without purifying his ideas is meaningless. How can the stars
show their lights in the heart mirror of a person if whose heart is darkened? For this very reason,
it is vital to determine a persons weak points in terms of approaching him so that what you say
shakes him, makes him think and pull himself together.
Sometimes a painful moaning of yours may awaken and make him feel his weak point.
No other gift is more valuable than that moaning, that wailing full of sorrow or a few good words
awakening one, I think. This is such a word or moaning that it will stop him from doing wrong
afterwards and lead him to the right path. This gift leading one to the good instead of evil,
opening highways before him is enjoining good, forbidding evil itself and this is the most
valuable of all gifts according to me. Bukhari and Muslim narrated the following event: The
siege of Haibar lasted for days. No positive result was obtained. The Jews of Haibar were
putting up strong resistance. One day the Messenger of God (PBUH) said: Tomorrow I will
give the flag to such a person that he loves God and His Messenger; and God and His
Messenger love him, too. This was the greatest news for a companion and everybody wanted

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this honor to be his. They normally would like their brother to be better than themselves in all
issues, for instance they would offer a sip of water they were going to drink to a brother of theirs
asking for water though they themselves were in need and about to die. They could easily give
up everything they possess for the sake of a believing brother of theirs. But what was said today
was the good news of the guarantee of being loved by God and His Messenger (PBUH). No one
would like to miss it and prefer his brother rather than himself in this issue.
In short everybody wanted to obtain this honor. Even such a rare personality as Umar
(R.A.) would tell us the following concerning this event: I did not want to get any proposal of
rulership and there was no duty I wanted to be charged with so far. But only that night I strongly
desired and hoped to be given the flag because the guarantee of being loved by God and His
Messenger (PBUH) lied in it. The companions could not sleep a wink till the morning and
wondered who would get this honor. The next morning, everybody tried to find a place
somewhere at the front for the Morning Prayer with this expectation since the flag would be
given to its owner just after the prayer. When the Messenger of God (PBUH) turned to the
congregation, everybody all eyes was waiting what the Sultan of the Two Worlds was going to
say. In a little while the lips would move and this heaven-scented mouth would utter a single
sentence. The sentence to be uttered was very important since it would contain the name of the
luckiest man in the world. The excitement was at its peak and the time had finally come and with
his tender voice-causing shiver the Messenger of God (PBUH) asked Where is Ali? .
It was all clear. This lucky person was Ali (R.A.) but there was another chance. Because
Ali (R.A.) was ill with serious pain in his eyes, the companions answered with this hope: He is
lying over there ill, O Apostle of God! Our Prophet (PBUH) called him near and put His holy
fingers to His mouth and then rubbed them on Alis (R.A.) eyes. Those aching eyes recovered
health all of a sudden and Ali (R.A.) never felt this pain again for the rest of his life. As a result,
the flag had found its lucky owner. Ali (R.A.) had handled the flag and set off for Haibar. Then
he suddenly stopped and asked to the Messenger of God (PBUH): O Apostle of God! On what
thing shall I fight against them? What kind of proposal shall I offer them? The Sultan of the
Two Worlds (PBUH) answered: Keep your composure until you enter their region (dont fight
at once). Then invite them to Islam. If they accept, they will have protected their property and

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family from you. Their rights regarding the hereafter are something up to God. O Ali! I swear by
God that someones embracing the faith by means of you is more beneficial than sacrificing a
world full of red camels in Gods way.
Henceforth whenever and wherever an Islam army enters a battle, each soldier seems to
be hearing this message of the Messenger of God (PBUH) and considers acting in accordance
with this order a duty for himself. In the eras before us, the duty of enjoining good, forbidding
evil had been systematized taking into consideration this hadith and this kind of hadiths along
with the practices of the Messenger of God (PBUH). In other words, teams for disseminating the
Message used to enter a region before the army, they used to convey Gods Messages and soften
the atmosphere in favor of the Muslims. If this method brought out spreading of Islam, this
region used to be considered a Muslim land. However, if the other side opposed and tried to
prevent spreading of Islam, then the conquerors used to intervene in and act in accordance with
the principles mentioned before. In other words, first of all they used to preach Islam since they
knew that someones embracing Islam by means of theirs is more beneficial than sacrificing a
world full of red camels in the way of God.
In conclusion, the best gift a Muslim can offer in the name of humanity should be his
performing the duty of enjoining good, forbidding evil as we previously said. Accomplishing
this duty in moderation, with gentleness and tolerance under all circumstances, without
becoming weary is the greatest and most valuable of all gifts.
4. Spiritual Guidance Requires Continuity
The duty of enjoining good, forbidding evil requires continuity and perseverance. The
Quran says the following:
You are the best among all the nations that were raised among mankind-you enjoin
good deeds and forbid immorality and you believe in Allah (Surah Al Imran, 3/110). If we look
at the words in the verse a little carefully, we can understand better that concepts we have
mentioned above are in perfect accord with Quran. The expression kuntum in Arabic means
you became. The choice of a word meaning you became instead of one meaning you were
in the verse is meaningful. In other words you were not so in the past eternity, you became so
later. Moreover, a quality that is owned in the past eternity does not disappear. Only aspects that

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were acquired afterwards go away. So the continuity of that situation depends on the existence of
the conditions, which made that aspect be acquired.

You became the most beneficial of all Umma82. This becoming is an adventitious state
that was acquired afterwards so it can be lost anytime. Because something being beneficial does
not and cannot stem from our essence. There is no difference between the essence of ours and of
someone born in Moscow or somewhere else on earth. We all are beings created from a drop of
water. However, there is a factor and an adventitious effect that makes our spiritual structure and
nature beneficial, which render us different from other human beings. What is meant here by
us is the whole Umma? This Umma was not rendered beneficial in the past eternity. Being
beneficial is not a quality which was placed in his essence and which cannot be separated from
him. There are some conditions that the Umma fulfilled and thus he became beneficial.
However, the fact that he became once beneficial does not guarantee that he will remain so for
ever. If this Umma abandons the conditions that made him beneficial, he will lose the state and
situation he was endowed with.
The first condition for God rendering us beneficial is you are beneficial if you enjoin
good and forbid evil by His expression. Besides, lets try to understand the verse taking into
consideration its opposite sense, which is if you dont enjoin good and forbid evil, you become
the most wicked of all men. Moreover, many hadiths narrated from our Prophet (PBUH) and
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82

The whole community of Muslims bound together by ties of religion

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events regarding the companions confirm this meaning, too. For instance, our nation which used
to give other nations the honor of kissing the stirrup of his horse as a present always remained
powerful as long as he performed the duty of enjoining good. By the time he abandoned this
duty, he became one kissing others stirrups. I think that the main reason underlying the
abjectness that the Muslim world treated with no respect at all in various social platforms has
been subject to must be the negligence of this vital duty.
In case this duty is not performed, the blessings of the Divine Revelation cease, thoughts
get inconsistent, reasoning becomes insufficient, whatever said is plain and insipid, lots of words
having no other charm than being vague are uttered but not even one single drop of reality to be
exercised can be found among these... These are the signs that the blessings of the Divine
Revelation cease. Furthermore, when there are no more Divine inspirations in ideas and
reasoning, retrograding and slipping in terms of culture and technology start. In fact, being a
parasite that needs and depends on others in every field today has been the unchanging destiny of
Muslims deprived of the blessings of the Divine inspirations. Moreover, starting of the fall and
our inner deformation are simultaneous.
This aspect of the issue will later be handled and explained with various examples in a
more detailed way. Lets now come back to the point under discussion in order to mention
expressions in the verse one by one: We emphasized above that the verse You are the best
among all the nations that were raised among mankind-you enjoin good deeds and forbid
immorality points out that the duty of enjoining good, forbidding evil requires continuity. A
hadith confirming this issue says just the following: Whoever sees something evil should change
it with his hand: If he cannot then with his tongue and if he cannot do even that then in his heart.
That is the weakest degree of faith.
Everything Islam thinks ill of is evil. For this reason, the first thing a Muslim will do in
view of something rejected by the religion is to change that evil thing. The way of changing may
vary according to the type of the evil. But what is essential here is to make efforts in order to
change it since this is an issue requiring continuity. What a believer must do first of all is to
change that evil thing with his hand as much as he can; if he cannot do it so with his hand, he
must change it with his tongue-whether orally or in a written way-; if this is not possible, either,

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he must hate this evil thing from the heart, which is the weakest of the faith. Something less than
that cannot be named faith since consenting to an evil has been considered to be a sign of the
lack of faith.
It is possible to perceive the issue of hating from the heart from the following point of
view: One would do everything he could in order not to be in the same place with a person he is
angry with, he would not like to share any thought or idea with him since love and hatred cannot
exist in a heart simultaneously because one cannot feel a tendency towards someone he hates.
When this is the case, a believer hating something evil will have preserved his metaphysical
consciousness. However, being contented with this alone is not all that is asked from a believer.
A feeling of hatred from the heart should be followed by an action either with the tongue or
hand. But even the existence of such little hatred is a sign of considering that evil thing as evil.
No believer can love and approve an evil behavior disapproved by Islam. Even though
the believer has a citizenship relation with those committing that evil act, he cannot ignore this
wrong. Otherwise he will be supposed to have joined them. Therefore, a believer should always
be in a metaphysical consciousness. This is what the verse and the hadith we have mentioned
teach us. There are times when one performs this duty towards his wife and children with his
tongue and hand; both the tongue and hand speak there, but sometimes this duty must be
performed with the tongue at places where the hand cannot speak. This is the method that should
generally be applied face-to-face with the close relatives. If one cannot do this, either, he should
revise his feelings towards them, which can be called a boycott in a sense because the one
committing an evil behavior is supposed to have cut his relationship with his Lord. The believer
will get an attitude of refrainment towards somebody who cut his relationship with his Lord,
which is the expression of his interest and appreciation for Him because he must determine his
relationships with others according to these peoples attachment to God. He must revise his
relationship with someone who cut his relationship with God and His Messenger (PBUH).
The companions used to act as the following. What Umar (R.A.) said while opinions
about the slaves of the battle of Badr were being expressed is very significant from this point of
view: Apostle of God, hand over everyone his relative and let everyone kill his relative on his
own. Hand over Hamza his brother, let him kill him. Let Ali get rid of his brother kil and give

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me my relatives, let me kill them because those who are slaves in our hands today are the ones
who did the most evil to Islam. They mustnt be left alive. Though this opinion would not be
accepted in the consultation, it is worth stressing in terms of showing a believers attitude
towards an evil behavior.
In short, the believer determines his interest and relationship towards a person according
to the relations of this person with God. He cannot have a connection with those indifferent to
God due to this attitude of theirs and cannot be a real friend to them. The smallest evidence of
this is to hate the evil behavior from the heart and this heartfelt anger requires continuity.
Therefore, we have to behave like the companions. If we are to make a choice between the love
of God and His Messenger (PBUH) and the love towards people who are close to us but distant
to God, we must unhesitatingly feel the love of God and His Messenger (PBUH) deep at heart.
This is not only an issue of love, either. One must also prefer the truth and reality to everything
else and perform the duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil using his hand or tongue
where necessary. In case none of these is possible, one must put an end to his cordial relation and
revise his friendship ties with that person. Furthermore, he must keep in mind that if a concern
for someone else is contrary to the concern for God and His Messenger (PBUH), it will always
turn to his disadvantage and consume him.
Another aspect of this duty is its comprehensiveness, in other words in terms of its
continuity, the duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil is among the responsibilities of the
state, too. The state is an institution being in a position to correct the evil acts with its hand. The
state is able to correct with his hand some evil acts such as prostitution, alcoholism, gambling,
profiteering, etc. There are some fields the individual cannot reach; these are within the reach of
the state alone. An individual cannot punish another prostituting, drinking alcohol or gambling;
he cannot prevent this person from committing this evil act. The frame in which the individual
can interfere has been mentioned above. What we speak of here is people unfamiliar to us. In this
case, this holy duty should be performed by the state. In addition, this duty is among the states
duties. The state has to fulfill this duty as long as it remains a state. If the state acts lukewarmly
in fulfilling this duty, the nation warns and reminds it its duty in the elections. This forms
another aspect of enjoining good and forbidding evil in a sense. An event, which took place in

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the era of the Messenger of God (PBUH), is worth mentioning here: Sa'd b. Eb Vakkas (R.A.) is
one of the ten blessed companions who were promised paradise. He was the commander-in-chief
of the army that conquered Iran during the reign of Umar (R.A.) He later became the governor of
province in this country he had conquered. People complained to Umar (R.A.) about a doorman
he had employed in front of his door and asserted that the governor must see the people without a
moderator. When Umar (R.A.) asked them if they had any other complaint, they answered that
Sa'd b. Ebi Vakkas (R.A.) was not offering his prayer according to its rules.
This is certainly their own opinion. It is not possible for us to accept that a companion
such as Sa'd b. Ebi Vakkas (R.A.) was not offering his prayer according to the rules, but what we
want to emphasize here is to show how the people controlled the state. The people control the
state continuously, without interruption. In the same way, the state has control over the people,
too. Thus the balance and justice are preserved and the people along with the state avoid
committing evil acts.
If we evaluate the Muslim world in the frame of these criteria today, we see that neither
the people not the state do this duty of theirs. This non-dutifulness is such that when people
commit all kind of immorality, the state stays indifferent to this and even passes various laws
under different titles intended to protect these people. Today, evil acts made to be committed by
the states themselves in various countries are a good example of this. Besides, preventing
immorality is the main duty of the state. It even must use sanctions in order to fulfill this duty of
its. The individual cannot punish the burglar or someone who committed prostitution. He cannot
use any of the sanctions in his own name. Otherwise, if everyone attempts to punish anyone he
likes, it becomes a state of anarchy, of chaos.
It is possible to infer that enjoining good and forbidding evil has limits belonging to the
state and only the state can operate within these limits. The individual cannot enter there. There
is also a limit belonging to the individual, which is the individuals performing this duty with
their heart and tongue. For example, telling others that acts of prostitution, theft, profiteering,
and usury are bad and trying to prevent such diseases from spreading in the society is a duty and
social responsibility for everyone.

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Therefore, interfering with the hand concerns officials of the state whereas interfering
with the tongue is something concerning all believers. But this duty concerns the intellectuals of
the country more than others and this is rather their duty. Those who are in the third situation, in
other words, those who are contented with hating the evil acts from the heart only are the poor
and miserable ones. If the whole nation is contented with just hating the evil acts committed on
the earth, that nation is supposed to be poor and miserable, too.
This division of duty is also valid for the individual. There are times when the individual
does his duty with his hand. Lets assume that a gambling den is being run and this place has no
license given by the state. Telling the person in charge of this place that he will be complained to
the state against unless he abandons this evil act of his is removing the evil act with the hand in a
sense. If this gambling den has a license and the individual cannot persuade the person to stop
running it, then he should tell him how bad the thing he is doing is. If this is not possible, either,
revising his relationships and breaking up with this person and making others do the same is a
responsibility, and there is not a fourth choice here.
As we have seen in these explanations, the continuity mentioned in the verse, as you
became exists under any circumstances, whichever aspect we approach the issue with. In a time
when the authority does not work, the state does not do its duty in this frame and the whole
nation neglect this holy duty; it is our obligation to perform this duty with our tongue and hand.
However, we should also keep in mind that conquering the civilized can be possible by
persuasion not by coercion.
5. The Benefits of Spiritual Guidance in Individual and Social Relations
Enjoining good and forbidding evil is either a duty performed for the sake of God or a
duty which was imposed by God and which must be done on account of the law among people.
First of all, this responsibility we call guidance for faith or spreading the Word to others is a duty
everyone must perform to God. Therefore, each believing individual must know that he is
charged with this and run also to this duty as if running to the prayer. Especially in a time and
place where evil acts spread all over the world and enjoining good and forbidding evil is
neglected, this duty is even more important than personal obligations. Because, when it is
ignored, it is not possible to speak either of prayer, pilgrimage or zakat etc., they do not exist at

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all. Especially at dark eras when what is good is forbidden and what is evil is encouraged, this
duty is one of those concerning the whole nation.
The effectuality and continuity of the deed depends on sincerity and nonpartisanship. In
case this holy duty is done without sincerity and good faith, it will not produce the desired effect,
let alone evil consequences it will cause to the doer in the hereafter. Therefore, those performing
the duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil must keep in mind that the efforts made in order
to elevate Gods place in the hearts should be for the love of God only and pay attention not to
have any other goal while doing this sincere deed, in accordance with the hadith Whoever fights
in order that God's word prevail, he is fighting in the way of God the Exalted. They must
establish their systems according to this basic principle. Whichever social organizations or
institutions they are planning to establish in the future, their main goal in doing this must always
be performing this holy duty perfectly. Every institution and organization should have a quality
of treating the new generations weak points and restoring their souls original identity and purity
so that disbelief and anarchy can be prevented from developing and spreading among us. Every
effort of us in rendering service must be a safeguard against these. This is the only way of
stopping along with consuming them in terms of idea and action.
It is also important to point out that if we cannot fill in this blank and prevent disbelief
and anarchy with all our strength by telling them This is the blind alley, you cannot pass
through this, our ancestors struggle not to let disbelief enter our country will be of no use. They
had shielded their country from the disbeliefs arms and weapons with their own body and
hundred of thousands of people had been martyred for this. When I say such an important
struggle will be of no use, I refer to our own end. They will certainly get the reward of every
single deed of theirs without any loss. However, if we widely open them all the doors of idea and
morality, will those self-sacrificing struggles our ancestors made at the cost of their life have a
meaning? The duty of about three hundred thousand people of ours men and women-who
fought at anakkale83 and sacrificed everything they had including their life must be taken into
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83

The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign, the Battle of Gallipoli or the Battle of
anakkale (Turkish: anakkale Sava), was a campaign of World War I that took place on the Gallipoli peninsula
in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916 (for more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallipoli_Campaign)

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consideration. The duty of more than two hundred thousand people who had been martyred in
Palandken must be undertaken. Otherwise, thousands of heroes such as Nene Hatun84, St
Imam85 will hold us responsible for this and it is very difficult for us to free ourselves from this
burden. Therefore, we have to show the same self-devotion for a duty they voluntarily sacrificed
themselves in order not to let disbelief enter our country. But the struggle they made in the past
differs from the struggle we have to make now.
Therefore, taking todays circumstances and methods into consideration, we should
establish institutions that will serve for the flourishing of the Islamic thought and of the
exhilaration of worship. Thus, we will take care of new generations raised with these institutions.
Firmly believing that a generation lacking moral character can do no positive contribution for the
next, we will adorn youths inner world with Islamic spirit and consciousness. Because bringing
up people capable of performing the most important deeds in terms of religion depends on these
efforts of ours. If we can work in a systematic way, new statures can be brought up in our age
and generation such as Imam Rabbn, Imam Gazal, ah- Nakibend, Sultan Mehmet the
Second, Sultan Selim the First as well as so many chiefs in thought and sanctity such as Farab,
bn-i Sin, Muhyiddin ibn-i Arab, and Mevln. Those roses can be brought up in our garden
providing that the gardener does his duty properly.
Established principles about the Muslims business and exchange as well as mutual rights
of the individuals are protected in Islamic morality. To make it clear, Islam has a certain morality
of social interaction, business and economy. The Muslim has to make his commercial and
economic dealings in this ethical frame. He cannot give or get interest, practice profiteering or
speculate. He has to avoid all unethical behaviors protecting certain classes and doing away with
middle class, he has to keep balance in his shopping and trade as well. The Muslim cannot accept
anything but what Islam accepts as commodity. He must try to live his own commercial life in
this way. The duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil has such an aspect, too. Thus, the
Muslim will have eradicated usury, black market, profiteering and other evil acts in trade and
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84

Nene Hatun (1857 22 May 1955) was a Turkish folk heroine, who became known for fighting against Russian
forces during the recapture of Fort Aziziye in Erzurum from Russian forces at the start of the Russo-Turkish War of
18771878 (for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nene_Hatun).
85
He was a Muslim Turkish historical figure started consciousness among Muslims of southern part of the Ottoman
Empire against French invasion during the Turkish Independence War.

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things rejected by the religion will not be able to find any opportunity to flourish within that
society.
Islam, like every other system, has principles concerning all fields of life such as trade,
family, social relationships, etc. For example, with reference to family, marriage is essential in
the family. The generation must reproduce through marriage. Prostitution and adultery cannot be
seen in a place where Islam prevails because prostitution and adultery are among the most
terrible diseases destroying the society. And Islam is against all kinds of acts intending to destroy
the social life. Within the family, attitudes, behaviors and responsibilities of parents and children
towards each other are also disciplined by Islamic principles. Islam is very conscientious in
protecting family and home. Therefore, Islam opposes all kind of mentality and understanding
intending to destroy family structure. Moreover, this unity is essential to prevent the generation
from being wasted. As we see, the believer has to try to put into practice principles imposed by
Islam both in his private life and among other individuals as well as remove acts rejected and
forbidden by Islam from his private life and the social life, which is one of the ways of enjoining
good and forbidding evil.
To sum up, when the believer does these duties of his in all these various ways, he will
embellish himself along with the society he lives in with virtues and thus a virtuous nation will
arise. The virtuous man meaning the perfect man, a society composed of these men, one-step
forward and a world made of these societies. This is the world expected by all creation and
weaved by the believer. Establishing such a world also depends on the performing of enjoining
good and forbidding evil.
In such a world we desire to see, individuals always try to be of use towards each other,
nations try to make both the world and hereafter a paradise in their own favor. There is always a
competition in this world, the competition of virtues. In a society and world where a competition
of virtues takes place, it is the concept of us not I that prevails. Thus the stupid and
egocentric idea such as After I die of thirst, it does not matter whether the world remains
rainless or not will vanish for ever and instead the idea that if someone will ever die of thirst, I
must be the first to die will flourish and blessing will prevail everywhere. The understanding of
Let everybody be happy, I can also be happy in my turn, but certainly after everybody else..

143!

will join and connect society and men to each other, a sense of friendship will be felt
everywhere, enmity and opposition will be forgotten.
Essentially, all these already exist in our holy system of thought forming our spiritual
structure. As much as human beings understand and put it into practice by engraving it into their
soul, this world of virtues will suddenly emerge. However, it is necessary that the whole world
knows, learns and even sees this result put into practice and again this will be possible by
enjoining good and forbidding evil. Today such a duty in terms of individual, family as well as
society is waiting for those holy hands that will handle it.
6. Spiritual Guidance and Individual-Community Relations
In one of his hadith the Messenger of God (PBUH) said: A Muslim is he from whose
hand and tongue the Muslims are safe. From this hadith, one can infer that the Muslim cannot
have an evil eye on anybodys property, chastity, honor and dignity and cannot behave in a way
menacing others life, too. Intimate relationship between man and woman is only permissible
through marriage in Islam. A womans privacy can be trespassed only by her husband.
Immodestly dressing is a sin for a Muslim woman for sure; however, this does not necessitate a
Muslim man to look at a forbidden one. Can a Muslim who must sensitively approach this sort of
issue ever be supposed to commit an illicit act regarded as a big sin in Islam, much beyond just
looking? Individual mistakes have always been seen in all societies, it is a matter of intention and
continuation. I have known such young people who would give their limited money as alms with
the hope of being forgiven by God if a prohibited thing caught their eye even while shopping of
necessity. Indeed, every Muslim should be like this in terms of morality as indicated in the above
hadith of the Messenger of God (PBUH).
The Muslim would not touch even a single piece belonging to someone else. If all the
treasures of the world would be next to him that is belonging to someone else, the Muslim would
not and cannot think of taking advantage of one single piece of it since he is a man of confidence
and trust. Moreover, Islamic society is a society composed of such individuals and such society
in which no one is worried. The opposite meaning of the hadith above is that the unbeliever is
the one that others are not safe from his hand and tongue. Today, the humanity has right to feel
discomfort about people of disbelief since none of them gives a feeling of assurance for society.

144!

The historical events are living witnesses of this. However, since Islam adorns its adherents with
virtues, the Muslims moral and spiritual structure is very different from that of others. This is
the way it should be because the society he lives in is supposed to have closed its door to all
kinds of immorality and to be determined to oppose to all kinds of wickedness forbidden by the
religion. Therefore, societies composed of true Muslims are naturally different from societies
where low desires are in abundance and they always diffuse holiness all around them. This is the
primary duty of the Muslims that they first and foremost should be like this and then to spread
the same notion everywhere. This duty must be performed at individual level in the first place,
and then it must be handled through society. There is no doubt that a brilliant society is made and
composed of luminaries. And such a composition attracts not only individuals but also masses
and nations to itself. One of the examples demonstrating and proving this universal truth in the
clearest way is the event of Negus conversion to Islam:
Negus was the king of Ethiopia. He had taken a handful of Muslims who had immigrated
his protection. The king saw their words, behaviors, acts and attitudes as well as the light on their
forehead and the faith in their heart. He sensed the luminous way going to the truth. He had
immediately surrendered the Message of Muhammad (PBUH). This result was not only the fruit
of enjoining good and forbidding evil performed in the Kings palace, but also product of the
Companions sincere actions. In other words, what amazed Negus were the words they had
uttered as well as their virtues they had internalized in their personality, which formed their
spiritual side. The letter Negus wrote to the Messenger of God (PBUH) was an example of
politeness from beginning to end. At the very beginning of his words, he had said To the
Messenger of God (PBUH) from Negus... That is to say he had put the name of the person he
considered to be venerable before his name according to the tradition of his time. The contents of
the letter is worth reading again and again in terms of the courtesy in the expressions as well as
its showing what an excitement it suddenly caused in Negus soul. Especially the following
words of his are noteworthy: O Messenger of God (PBUH), if you like, I will come at once. If
you like, I will stay here and preach Islam to my nation... Another day he had sorrowfully said:
I wish I had been a servant of the Messenger of God (PBUH) instead of an emperor!86
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86

Ebu Davud, Cenaiz, 56; Beyhaki, Dealil, 2/300; Inb-i Kesir, el-bidaye, 3/88; Ebu Nuaym, Delail, 1/252

145!

What made Negus feel like this was the way of life he had seen in a group of the
companions and words of gem they had uttered. The event was narrated in the following way:
Muslims were under pressure in Mecca. Nobody was safe concerning his life, property or
chastity. At this time the perduty of immigrating to Abyssinia was given. Muslims immigrated to
Abyssinia where they encountered an interest much higher than expected and were given a very
friendly welcome. But the disbelievers were determined to put them to torture. They discussed it
among themselves and decided to send a delegation to Abyssinia. The delegation was headed by
Amr b. As (R.A..), who would be a great companion later? They were going to provoke Negus to
oppose to Muslims and he would have stopped protecting them. Thus they would have struck the
Muslims hopes.
The emperor listened to them at length. Disbelievers of Mecca slandered about Muslims
as much as they could and tried to affect Negus. But Negus was the picture of munificence and
benevolence. He would not expel due to such insubstantial pretexts these people who had taken
refuge in him. He told this opinion of his to the delegation from Mecca, too. He clearly expressed
that he would not make a decision without listening to them. Eventually, a group from among the
Muslims was invited to the palace. Jafar ibn AbuTalib (R.A.) who was one of the noblest men
of Mecca and the cousin of the Messenger of God (PBUH) headed the group. He was the big
brother of Ali (R.A.). Muslims had chosen him as spokesman. There was a unity and solidarity
among them as if they formed one single body. This solidarity of theirs was quite evident.
Those who entered the emperors presence used to prostrate themselves according to the
protocol of that time. The Muslims, however, did not prostrate themselves before the emperor
since it was not allowed for a Muslim to prostrate before anyone but God. This behavior of theirs
made the delegation of disbelievers happy. They thought that Negus would get angry and dismiss
them from his presence. But Negus was a real picture of virtues as we mentioned above. I wish
those saying that they represent democracy today could represent it as much as this Abyssinian
did 15 centuries ago. Thus there could have been a piece of truth in what they say!
Negus asked some questions to the Muslims. Jafar answered them: We were an
ignorant nation. We used to drink alcohol, gamble, commit adultery and kill people. We used to
commit all kinds of evil but we did not use to do a single good thing. (The same as the ignorance

146!

of the twentieth century) God appointed a Prophet from among us. He showed us the right way.
He saved us from all evil things and adorned us with all kinds of virtues... Jafar went on
speaking and told many things. Negus was listening to him in ecstasy. He asked him his opinions
about Jesus (PBUH) and Mary, His mother. Jafar recited the Surah Maryam (Mary) in awe.
What was said in the verse had deeply touched Negus. He could not help sobbing bitterly. Then
he stooped, handled a hardly visible chip on the ground and said the following historically
noteworthy words: I swear by God that there is no difference between what was revealed to
your Prophet and what was revealed to Jesus, not even as much as this chip. There was really no
difference since all the revelations of the Prophets had originated from the same source.
Negus sent back the disbelievers along with presents they had brought87. He declared that
he would protect Muslims because he had observed great flashes of virtues in them, even though
he had talked to them for a very short period of time, and it had sufficed him to choose Islam. To
come back to our subject, if the individuals do not perform this high and sacred duty, waiting for
a society of virtues to come into existence is nothing but a dream. Because there is a close
relationship between the individual and society, and the society is composed of individuals.
Therefore, a society composed of individuals adorned with virtues will be virtuous itself, too. On
the other hand, societies must preserve virtues they acquired just like individuals who must also
preserve virtues they already acquired. As we shortly mentioned above, virtues a human being
acquired are not eternal in the past and future. There is a becoming (keynunet) here. Therefore,
the virtue and becoming beneficial that was acquired requires the continuity of the conditions
that made them to be acquired and nobody except the Prophets is under guarantee in this issue.
This guarantee was given to the Prophets as an advance reward for the struggle and victory of
virtue they would obtain with their own will in the future. Because God knew points they would
reach in the future with His Divine knowledge and rewarded them in advance with divine
premiums. Therefore, everybody except Prophets-however great he is- must always try to
preserve ranks and degrees he acquired. Otherwise it is always possible to fall and lose all that
was obtained. Here we can draw the conclusion that virtues that enjoining good and forbidding
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87

Sret bn-i Hiam, 1/358-362; bn-i Kesir, el-Bidye, 3/88; Eb Nuaym, Delil, 1/243-253; Beyhaki, Delil,
2/301-303

147!

evil enabled the individual and society to acquire will be preserved and continue with
enjoining good and forbidding evil also. Otherwise a slow recession will start and this
recession will end up at that faulty societys decaying. In order to avoid such a situation,
metaphysical consciousness must always be kept alive and this is possible with enjoining good
and forbidding evil. In other words, this divine duty is both the life itself and the condition to
protect the life. For this very reason possibly, the Chief of the Prophets (PBUH), while receiving
and accepting some peoples oath of allegiance, had laid down enjoining good and forbidding
evil as a condition. For example he had accepted the oath of Jarir ibn Abd Allah al-Bajali
(R.A..) with this condition. This great companion narrated this fact in the following way:
I made an oath of allegiance to the Messenger of God (PBUH). While getting my oath,
he accepted my oath with those conditions. You will pray, pay zakat and give advice to everyone
you meet88. This clearly meant you will perform enjoining good and forbidding evil.
In addition, this divine duty enables one to partake in virtues of other acts of worship, too, since
someone performing enjoining good and forbidding evil, a hero who fully devoted himself to
this duty is already adorned with virtues and becomes capable of getting motivated to all kinds of
virtues. Secondly he is doing the heaviest, the most difficult of all tasks, a task performed by the
Prophets, a task that is the goal of the Prophets life. He will naturally have certain superiority.
The Quran tells advices the Prophet Lokman (PBUH) gave to his son and points out to
the heaviness of this holy duty:

O my son! Observe prayer, and enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and be patient under
whatever shall betide thee: for this is a bounden duty (Surah Luqman: 31/17). As we see,
Lokman (PBUH) advises his son to pray his prayer properly in the first place and then to perform
enjoining good and forbidding evil as if he means to say: My son, someone who does not
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88

Buhari, man, 42; Mslim, man, 97; Tirmizi, Birr ve Sla, 17; Darim, By', 9

148!

perform prayer cannot make Jihad (striving in the way of Allah), either. Prayer is prerequisite for
all worships being accepted by God. Therefore, first of all, make this worship of yours towards
your God properly and then with this dynamic inside you, try to spread the good and prevent the
evil around you. While doing this, you will certainly be subjected to various troubles and
calamities, be determined to be patient with these, too. It is no surprise for a man striving for his
cause to run into troubles and calamities, on the contrary this is something anticipated. No
exception of this has been experienced so far since this is among the great tasks only great
people can cope with and God can only estimate its reward. These great tasks will elevate them
to the rank of the holy people in the hereafter but here in this world, they will be subject to
troubles and calamites that are their trademark. In this case, they must have the patience proper
to the great and holy ones. The importance and heaviness of this duty was pointed out by our
Prophet (PBUH) in the following hadith of His: The most beneficial of my ummah are the ones
who submit to jihad and calamites among ignorant ones89 Another hadith confirms this fact, too:
The believer who is among people and endures their cruelties wins more battles than the one
who stays away from them and does not endure their cruelties90. Staying in a wicked society and
performing enjoining good and forbidding evil is a higher worship than staying away from
everyone and devoting himself to the worship and prayers. If this holy duty was not more
sublime than personal worships, the Messenger of God (PBUH) would not go out of his house,
would always be busy with opening his heart to the manifestations coming from God and never
join other men. In addition, if this duty was not more beneficial than other deeds, especially
seclusion, our Prophet (PBUH) would not be addressed in the following way:
O thou wrapped up (in the mantle)! Arise and deliver thy warning! (Surat AlMuddaththir/The Cloaked One: 74/1-2) Religion is entirely advice. Religion is enjoining good
and forbidding evil. This is the command given by the Messenger of God (PBUH) to His
companions. When he said, Religion is advice, the companions asked for whom? and the
Messenger of God (PBUH) answered: For God, for His book, for His Prophet, for the imams
(religious leaders) of the Muslims and for all Muslims 91 . Therefore, the believer must
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
89

Deylem, el-Firdevs, 2/174

Tirmizi, Kyamet, 55; bn Mce, Fiten, 23; Msned, 2/43
91
Buhari, man, 42; Mslim, man, 95; Eb Davud, Edeb, 59; Tirmizi, Birr ve Sla, 17; Nese, Bey'at, 31
90

149!

continuously tell of his Lord and the biggest issue of his must be this. He must devote himself to
this task in such a way that he will lose his sleep, his appetite on the day he could not tell of his
Lord and consider that day void. Another big issue of his must also be telling of the Messenger
of God (PBUH). He will tell about all He did, He endured for the sake of this holy duty and
enable the believers to model themselves on Him. Similarly, he will tell of the book of God sent
to him as a letter, an invitation. Our Lord as a guide, a polestar before us, sent this book to us.
Our honor, our personal dignity is proportional to our loyalty to this book. This is what we
understand from all that the history witnessed to. Whenever the Muslim world embraced it and
adopted its principles, it always stayed in the peaks, and whenever this Muslim world gave it up,
it was dragged into disorder.
Here I would like to mention a grief of mine. It is a grief since reporting an event that
makes me so sorrowful is a real grief for me. The Muslim of today is in such a condition that he
cannot understand the language of the Quran, the book of God. He is far away from it. Loyalty
to the Quran became nothing but a formality. People obey to rules of respect towards the
Quran, for instance they warn those who hold it improperly but their way of living is completely
contrary to the principles in the Quran.
Someone who does not protect his Quran, who does not have the ultimate goal of
representing It will be punished in the Hereafter for this attitude of his towards the Quran,
whatever his title. Even if he placed Quran in a case and hangs it on the wall, he will perhaps be
punished by being hanged by his head and feet in the Hereafter and pay for his sin in this world,
God knows. I wish the invisible world became visible for once, and I wish everybody including
preachers, monks (Muslim scholars or Muftis), writers, philosophers, readers and teachers at
school saw the punishment of their being disconnected from the Quran in pictures...However,
such a manifestation is contrary to the secret of the man being in a test in this world since it
means the absence of free will for the human beings.
I spoke of the invisible world becoming visible in order to see the pictures of the
Hereafter, in fact it is enough to think a little bit to see pictures in this world. It is quite obvious
to whom and how we pay for our staying away from the Quran. So what other indignity do we
wait for to make it a reason for our embracing Quran? What big humiliation will make us run

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towards the Quran? This manner of living should be stopped and the whole Muslim world must
know that the only way of salvation is the book of God. The glorious Prophet (PBUH) came to
tell us this and the humanity will rise to humanity as much as he understands Him.
As a result, thanks to this holy duty he performs individually, a person can acquire all
rewards equal to the total of the rewards that the people he contributed to embrace the faith
acquired. In other words, lets suppose that you persuaded a person in issues such as prayer,
fasting, zakat or spiritual guidance and you were instrumental in his performing these deeds.
Therefore, the equal amount of rewards brought about by all these good deeds this person will
perform will be yours because the relieving words Anyone who guided someone to a good deed
is the same as the one who did it92 belong to the Sultan of the eloquence.
Furthermore, rewards a person you guided acquired by guiding others to the right path
will also be recorded into your account of good deeds. Thus, a minor good deed performed with
this intention enables one to acquire such major rewards, which shows how important enjoining
good and forbidding evil is. The Messenger of God (PBUH) expressed this fact from another
point of view in the following hadith of His: If anyone invites (people) to the path of piety then
he will get a number of rewards equal to the rewards earned by all those people who listened to
him and walked on the pious path and performed the pious deeds93. According to this hadith,
this is true for all those following the way he pioneered, whether his relatives or completely
strangers. Because pioneering something good, breathing life into a dead point of our social life
in terms of religion, reviving this point and spreading this to all over the society will make our
account of good deeds remain open even if we are gone. In fact, other kinds of good deeds can
be compared to this, too...
We should keep in mind that we all will be made to mount on an inanimate horse and to
descend into a dark pit one day. We will be covered with dust and a piece of stone will be placed
at the head of our grave. Everyone, including our parents, brothers and sisters, our friends and
even our most beloved ones will leave us there and go away. However, rewards originating from
the good thing we pioneered will flow on us in abundance and form floods of light in our grave
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
92
93

Tirmizi, lm, 14
Tirmizi, lm, 15; Msned, 2/505; bn Mce, Mukaddime, 14; Drim, Mukaddime, 44

151!

and our next world will be bright and luminous. Thus, even if we are dead in terms of our
corporeality, we will be able to have lived until the Judgment Day all alive thanks to the seeds
we sowed while we were in this world. It has been fourteen centuries since the Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) passed away. Nevertheless, who on Earth is more alive than Him with His
account of good deeds that is totally being opened every day and that never closes? He was
followed by those who put golden bricks in the social life-millions have gone through this way
according to their rank- and they all acquired rewards as much as they were instrumental in
others performing good deeds. Gods mercy is wide this much, provided that one enters the way
that will lead him to that mercy.
The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: Everybodys account of deeds is closed and sealed
after his death. But the murabids account of deeds goes on expanding until the Judgment Day94
The murabid is someone who devoted himself to the way of God and who thinks of nothing
else but his duty. He is the one who aims for preventing all possibilities of danger to infiltrate his
country as well as transferring blessings and prosperity he receives to others, too. Such a
persons account of deeds never closes, it goes on expanding for ever. As a matter of fact, in the
Islamic history of guidance for faith, there are such people who sowed thousands of seeds but
passed away without seeing a single smile. But there are also such people, the seeds they sowed
sprouted fifty years later and everywhere became vernal. And the rewards of all these made their
grave a center of light. God augmented their good deeds, protected them from the pains in the
grave and sent there light in streams. In other words, those people died only in terms of
corporeality but they go on living in terms of Gods rewards. Moreover, those people are living
in a more lively way than the so-called alive people who cannot perform such a good deed.
7. Responsibility of Protecting Religion
The religion Islam is under Gods guarantee and it will keep its original purity until the
judgment day. There is the Divine promise in this subject and God will protect His religion.
However, preserving and protecting this religion will be by means of the believers efforts in
protecting their religion. In other words, God set the efforts of Muslims in protecting their
religion for believers as reason to His own preservation and protection. As long as it is the will
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94

Eb Davud, Cihad, 16; Tirmizi, Fedil'l-Cihad, 2

152!

of God and this condition is met, this religion will be protected. Gods promise should rather be
perceived with this way.
Believers must safeguard the religion. If pious ones do not safeguard and preach their
religion, they become depraved of its blessings. This never means that God does not protect the
religion. Maybe they did not apply; they did not request and take action with their will, which is
considered as a condition concerning Gods will. Besides, God destroyed and ruined them or He
made them depraved from the religions blessings. Decline in the religious life today could be
interpreted this way: God will safeguard the religion by means of the believers protection. And
the religion will flourish and prosper as much as its followers convey it to others.
The Messenger of God (PBUH) supported the religion and God protected His religion. It
was supported later for centuries and again God safeguarded this religion. When the support
given to the religion loosened, God destroyed and ruined everybody along with everything. The
Messenger of God (PBUH) treated this subject as the most important issue and tried to warn His
ummah day and night because happiness in the Hereafter depends on ones observing religious
rules. Eventually, the only way of giving a good account of himself on the Judgment Day, on the
bridge of Sirat from this world to Paradise, in the paradise and being able to watch the
manifestation of the Divine perfection is serving the religion, performing good work and pious
deeds and having a trustworthy heart.
The Messenger of God (PBUH) strove continuously to be able to give such a passport to
His ummah. Disseminating the Message to others was the principal issue for Him. It was with
this endeavor and effort that the same consciousness aroused among His community. They, too,
sincerely supported the religion and these efforts of theirs never came to naught because God
responded to these efforts of theirs in the best way and protected the religion. The Companions
were almost competing with each other for spreading messages they got from the Messenger of
God (PBUH) to the four corners of the world. What they knew was a few verses and a few
hadiths but they used to put into practice what they knew as well as try to spread it all over the
world.
The reason that Musab bin Umayr went from Mecca to Medina was just to fulfill this
aim. He had gone to this quite far town all alone. There was no one accompanying him. People

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of Medina had asked the Messenger of God (PBUH) for a teacher to teach them the religion and
He had sent them Musab bin Umayr. Musab was staying in a house as a guest. Everyday a few
people from the notables of Madina used to go to him and he used to tell them about the religion.
Usayd b. Hudayr, Sad bin Ubada and Sad bin Muadh were among those who had gone to listen
to Musab95.
Those who came with swords in their hands were returning with faith in their hearts.
Musab used to behave to these great companions of the future who came with rage in such a mild
way that even the most bad-tempered man could not resist long to his mildest behaviors. Musab
was saying My friend, listen to me first, and then chop off my head if you like. I will certainly
not retaliate... Face to face with such a person whose biggest aim, whose cause is to tell others
about the truth the ice was breaking up and the halo around Musab bin Umayr was expanding
day by day. Until the battle of Badr the life of Musab was spent in disseminating the Message to
others. It was a period of spreading and the duty of the companions on that day was to preach the
religion96.
Spreading the Word is an obligation and protecting it is another. At the battle of Uhud the
companions had grabbed at their swords to fulfill this obligation of protecting. Musab was also
among these heroes of protection. On that day he fought with a sword in his hand until the
evening. He fought in such a way that even the angels envied him. Then he fell face down by a
blow of sword. An angel immediately disguised himself as Musab and continued his fight. As
the Messenger of God (PBUH) addressed him in the afternoon Musab! , the angel said, I am
not Musab, O Gods Messenger. Then it was realized that Musab had already been martyred
Later the Messenger of God (PBUH) and a group of companions went next to Musabs
corpse, but his two arms were torn from his body. The blow of sword on his neck had been so
violent that it had detached his head from his body. It was only a few fibers that connected this
sacred head to the body. And it was as if Musab was hiding his face from something97. The latter
part of the event was told in a weak narration in the following way:

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95

Eb Nuaym, Hlye, 1/107; bn-i Sa'd, Tabakat, 1/220

bn-i Hiam, Sre, 2/77-79; bn-i Kesir, el-Bidye, 3/185-187
97
bn-i Sa'd, Tabakat, 2/42; 3/120,121
96

154!

Only the Messenger of God (PBUH) had been able to understand why Musab was
hiding his face. He told this to the companions in tears: Do you know why Musab hid his face?
The first reason is that he lost his arms and he was no longer able to protect the Messenger of
God (PBUH). He thought of the possibility of someone attacking the Messenger of God (PBUH)
at that very time and of not being able to help him. The second reason is that he thought Now I
am going to the presence of my Lord, but I must protect the Messenger of God (PBUH) at this
moment. What if they do something to Him, I would be ashamed of going to my Lords presence
like this. So he hid his face98. When the Messenger of God (PBUH) was saying this, he was
voicing thoughts of a very sincere hero of truth. Musab was not the only one who used have this
spirit, all companions used to possess the same spirit and consciousness. God was protecting his
religion because of this bravery of theirs.
This protecting went on for some time and later shakes took place at different times and
places. As the religion was not supported during these periods of shake, God immediately cut the
blessings and prosperity of the religion in part because this religion is our religion as long as we
protect it. If we do not do it, it is inevitable that God will deprive us from those inspirations of
the religion.
When Jerusalem was under occupation of the Crusades Salahaddin Eyyubi never
laughed. Instead, he always cried. One day in the mosque the preacher told about the necessity of
smiling. After the prayer, as the preacher was passing by him, Salahaddin held his hand and said
the following words that would go down in history: I think you referred to me with your words,
but tell me for Gods sake, how can I smile when the masjid from where our Prophet started His
ascension is in the wrong hands? Moreover, that great person had always lived in a tent until he
got back Masjid al-Aksa and he used to say How can I have a house while the house of God is
prisoner.
This is how they protected their religion and the religion became theirs. Now it is our
turn, if we can safeguard the religion like them... Today it is a binding duty for each believer to
support the religion by representing and spreading it. No believer can be kept out of this duty.
Every believer must know the religion in the first place, then he must live this religion and then
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98

Halid M. Halid, Ricln Havle'r Rasul, p. 48

155!

he must tell other people of his religion that he made a part of his life, he must enlighten their life
with this light. According to Islam, every believer is charged with this task.
Here I would like to mention some points I think to be important since I think that they
are not known and emphasized as much as necessary. The fact that Muslims of today have been
subjected to this tragic situation must have certain reasons. The first one is the religion being
neglected gradually, the second is making religious services official, handing them over to the
monopoly of a certain class. This situation is as dangerous for us as the first reason.
First of all the religion cannot be monopolized, it cannot be made property of a certain
class since the religion is the religion of all its followers. Every individual has a connection with
God. Their supporting the religion individually cannot be prohibited, as it is impossible to
remove this private connection of theirs with God. Monopolizing religious services is an
inexcusable mistake and heedlessness. It is not possible to escape from the dramatic situation we
are in until we avoid this heedlessness. Every individual must safeguard his religion so that the
expected salvation can find a way and reach us. Opposite behaviors are obstacles before the
religion which will always appear for certain- showing its own power.
In fact, handing over religious services to a certain organization or class must be a game
of enemies. Such an approach has nothing to do with Islams understanding of religious
endeavor and guidance. Islam is not a religion to be confined to the mosque only. It was sent in
order to make both our world and hereafter prosperous. It is such a whole that it can never be
divided into parts. We will be saved from the misery on the day we handle it as a whole and
internalize it in our spirits because on that day all individual and social issues will get clear under
the illuminating rays of the Revelation and the human being will be saved from faltering in
darkness. In order to reach such a situation, we must turn deep in heart towards the religion
based on that Divine Revelation and glorious expressions of the Messenger of God (PBUH) in
first place and then we must enlighten our inner world with that light. I must tell once more that
unless we change our inner structure, God will not change us, either. This is the case in both
positive and negative terms. What will produce such a result is again the individuals
straightness. As the deviation of the individuals terminates the religious life, the straightness of

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theirs will restore it. Therefore, what is essential is educating the individuals one by one towards
protecting their own religion.
We must keep in mind that sound individuals constitute sound families and sound
families constitute sound societies. The societys basis is the individual firstly and then the
family. A sound society can never be formed without improving these. The sound society is the
one that continues its existence within the limits determined by God and His Messenger (PBUH).
Each heart should be equipped with good qualities and cleaned off bad qualities so that the
society can continue its existence in this line. Individuals are the ones who should do this.
Methods and techniques about this subject were directly communicated and taught us by God
and His Messenger (PBUH).
Religious instruction and guidance, which is not done with these methods, will never
produce desired results because God does not allow us to go in a way other than the one He
determined. Unless He approves something, the whole world accepting it is of no use. Gods
mercy is with us as much as we are with Him. Only holy ones who protect their religion and
have a good relation with God will change our ill fortune. Lets stress once again that this
religion will be ours as much as we protect it.
8. Spiritual Guidance in the Context of Faith and Faction
The believer is the one who sets an example of virtue to the society in which he lives,
starting from his closest relatives. In one respect, this is an inevitable result of being a believer
since other Muslims are safe from his tongue as indicated by the hadith of Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH). According to another hadith, on the other hand, all Muslims are like a body of
organism. What happens in one part in this body would be felt by and impact the whole body.
Similarly, the fact that each organ is perfect and indefectible results in the perfection and
indefectibility of the whole body. Therefore, isnt it quite natural that believers saddened because
of each others pains and pleased with each others enjoyment? They really are like the organs of
a body. Moreover, if this pain or joy is related to the eternal life, how can the believer be
indifferent to his brother going to the paradise or hell? For this very reason, a believer
performing this holy duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil towards another believer is the
sine qua non of his quality of being a believer. The Quran says:

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The Believers, men and women, are protectors one of another: they enjoin what is good, and
forbid what is evil: they observe regular prayers, practice regular charity, and obey Allah and
His Messenger. On them will Allah pour His mercy: for Allah is exalted in power and wise.
(Surat At-Tawbah/The Repentance:9/71)
All believers both men and women are each others allies or friends. This friendship
requires them to enjoin each other towards the good, which Allah approves and to forbid the evil,
which Allah disapproves. Moreover, in no other way can a friend treat a friend. However, the
believer does not neglect himself while doing so. He internalizes Islam and makes it an integral
part of his nature, in the first place. He performs his prayer properly; he pays his zakat rightly
and obeys God and His Messenger (PBUH) in every point. When everybody in the society acts
this way, the society automatically reaches law and order. Gods mercy surrounds that society
and individuals in it totally and an All-Merciful atmosphere around them comes into being.
Quran describes the hypocrites who are just the opposite of the sincere believers of this
high rank in the following way:

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The hypocrite men and hypocrite women are of one another. They enjoin what is wrong and
forbid what is right and close their hands. They have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them
[accordingly]. Indeed, the hypocrites - it is they who are the defiantly disobedient. (Surat AtTawbah/ The Repentance: 9/67)
As we see, the expression friend is not used in this verse, it is only said that they are of
one another since there is no friendship towards nobody among hypocrites. Only mutual interests
unite them. In case they are to lose the smallest interest, a merciless fight starts among them
instantaneously. Therefore, the verse reveals their mindset in a quite concise and miraculous way
and says, they have an understanding with each other, in other words, they are all the same
wicked. Another common characteristic of theirs is that they enjoin evil. Kind of magnetizing
people, they continuously suggest evil to youth with obscene and dirty publications and
broadcasting by means of television and cinema they seized; people kind of obey their
commands because the means of propaganda are as strong as to take people under influence. For
hypocrites, unsteady and bleary-eyed masses mean irrevocable pawns and suitable targets to
exploit. They could engage every compromised and evil instrument against humanity to maintain
their evil existence because hypocrites, as a requirement of their characteristics, enjoin the evil
and forbid the good
For that reason, believers have to be very wary against hypocrisy and conscious about
their responsibilities in order to protect themselves from immoral actions. In order to do this,
they must always enjoin good and encourage each other to do good things along with forbidding
evil and trying to persuade each other to give up evil deeds. Believers should extremely fear
being hypocrite in their own life as well as fear for their friends that they may be subject to such
a disaster and they must keep themselves and their society conscious and cautious. As mentioned
earlier, these are the sine qua non of true believers characteristics.
In addition, even the smallest evil must not be let to survive in a society to maintain
tranquility. Something evil regarded as minor at the beginning spreads all around in a short time
and becomes a contagious disease in such a way that it may become a plague threatening the
entire society, nation and even entire humanity. Social disorders have always resulted from the
spreading of evils that were regarded as minor in first place. When we look at the history from

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this point of view, we can see so many social decays whose recurrence would cause the same bad
result. The following hadith is essential in terms of analyzing this sort of decays historically.
The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: The first defect that permeated the children of
Israel was that a man (of them) met another man and said: O so-and-so, fear God, and abandon
what you are doing, for it is not lawful for you. He then met him the next day and that did not
prevent him from eating with him, drinking with him and sitting with him. When they did so, God
mingled their hearts with each other. He then recited the verse:

Curses were pronounced on those among the children of Israel who rejected Faith, by the
tongue of David and of Jesus the son of Mary: Because they disobeyed and persisted in excesses.
Nor did they (usually) forbid one another the iniquities which they committed: evil indeed were
the deeds which they did (Surah Al-Maidah: 5/78-79).
He then said: By no means, I swear by God, you must enjoin what is good and prohibit
what is evil, prevent the wrongdoer, bend him into conformity with what is right, and restrict him
to what is right99. The situation of some Israelites who let evil is mentioned here and believers
are prevented from and warned against being subject to such a bad consequence like this. Indeed,
there is always wisdom in reporting of this kind of events and there are lessons for believers to
take.
This event can be analyzed as following: An evil act was observed and the person who
warned the one committed this evil act was against this evil. Firstly, he warned the one
committed the evil act. However, this sort of evil act requires continuity and perseverance to be
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99

Eb Davud, Melhim, 17; bn-i Mce, Fiten 20

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healed, but the friend did not act accordingly. As a result, evil acted one insisted in doing so and
the other could not preserve his metaphysical consciousness. He continued to hang out with his
friend without warning him.
Although disapprove of from the heart is the least sign of the existence of the faith into a
believers heart, he could not show even this little vivacity. Thus, as there is nothing to obstruct
it, the evil found a way to spread within the whole society. Finally, Allah matched and equaled
their hearts by mingling them one another. He even created internal conflicts among them and
divided them into groups. Inevitably, they suffered and subjected to many insults as history
witnessed.
Today, the Muslim world is sick, diseased and it suffers in need today. It must shake
itself and return to its essence. Its soul is damaged, its mind is limited, and all its structures are
ill. If it will not be healed rapidly, it will be worse. However, if it is healed well, the task it will
undertake is as wide as the universe. On that day, I hope that Islam will embrace all nations of
humanity on the earth and bring about a new order, harmony, and spirit. One can find much
evidence from the Islamic history indicating that doing the duty of spiritual guidance is a
requirement to be a true believer. Here is one of these events related to Abu Bakr (R.A..). One
day, AbuBakr told those who listening to him in the following way:

You recite this verse O you who have believed, upon you is [responsibility for]
yourselves. Those who have gone astray will not harm you when you have been guided. To Allah
is you return all together; then He will inform you of what you used to do (Surah Al-Maida: 5105), but you misinterpret it. Forasmuch, I heard Gods Messenger (PBUH) saying: There is a
community in which people commit sins, but there are those among them who are able to forbid

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the evil for others. If they will not to do so, coming of Allahs punishment upon them is
inevitable100.
The verse above does not mean dont interfere in others businesses, just guard
yourselves. On the contrary, the inferred meaning of this verse is that one should not forget
him/herself while speaking of others straying and perversions. In other words, self-criticism is
encouraged here. Abu Bakr, one of those who understood this meaning the best, expressed this
hadith he narrated from the Messenger of God (PBUH) as evidence to this understanding. There
are many other hadiths of the Messenger of God (PBUH) about this subject. For instance, in a
hadith narrated by Tirmidhi, Gods Messenger (PBUH) said:
It is incumbent upon you that you should enjoin good and that you should forbid evil
otherwise God will send His punishment on you. Then you will pray to Him but your prayer will
not be accepted101. In another hadith narrated by Tirmidhi, the words above are repeated with
the following addition: ...God will set wicked ones among you to rule you. Then good ones
among you will pray to Him but their prayers will not be accepted102.
Wicked ones are an undisciplined rabble that knows nothing about administration, does
not observe principles of religion, does not care about any sacred values and even do not respect
the holy book or the Prophet. When God sent such people to a nation or state, that nation or state
had no longer had the hope of recovering. God postpones and delays but never neglects. He
postpones punishment of sin, which is not performing enjoining good and forbidding evil to a
later time. However, when the time comes, He grasps people and shakes them. A kind of
punishment He gives is that wicked people take the lead and rule over the nation with despotism,
which would be a deserved punishment for Muslims. Even if good ones fill up the mosques,
continuously supplicate to God, and cry deadly for help; they cannot recover until the time of the
punishment is over. This is a Divine decree and it will never change.
As pointed out above, if you contemplate about what happened to the believers who
failed to maintain the duty of spiritual notification, you will see the same outcome in Muslim
societies throughout history. The situation today is only a part of this perpetual repetition of
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
100

Eb Davud, Melhim, 17; Tirmizi, Fiten, 8

Tirmizi, Fiten, 9; Msned, 5/388
102
Heysem, Mecmeu'z-Zevid, 7/266
101

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history. The fact that God does not accept prayers, wailings, and lamentations in the mosques can
be explained with nothing but the atonement of this sin, which is, as we repeatedly point out, the
neglect or not properly performing of a holy duty.
Indeed, this sin has detached us from God. Enjoining good forbidding evil was our
raison dtre. And it was our aim of creation. Especially those who devoted themselves to the
way of God, If these neglect this vital duty which is the aim of their creation, disasters and
calamities will be more likely to take place. Then, the last thing to do is to supplicate, and the
benefit of the supplications is up to God because being subject to such a situation means being
stuck in destruction. That day is so hard that mercy is veiled, wrath is unveiled and this is a point
of no return.
If you look at the miserable situation the Muslim world is in, points mentioned above will
be obviously seen. If you look at generations who are detached from God, the Prophet, the Book
of God...those who misguided Muslim youththose whose souls and hearts removed and
transformed into creatures consisting of only stomach and intestinesif you look at the wasted
time and the history that was rendered inconceivable because of gaps in it, you will see where the
huge Muslim society was, where it was pushed to and where it is now. And you will shiver. This
glorious but unlucky afflicted group of nations ruled by the rabble is suffering hopelessly in the
hands of wicked ones. What happened the prayers made in the Kabah? Why all the prayers
made in mosques are fruitless? Because they are not the atonement of the sin committed. The
way out from a well is the same way fallen in first place. We have been subjected to this
situation for having abandoned the holy duty; therefore, we will be saved from this condition by
fulfilling it. In other words, the most effective supplication to rescue us from this affliction is an
active prayer, performing this holy duty. For this reason, only verbal supplications are not
enough. No one can gainsay the importance of verbal supplications for mens salvation in
hereafter, but the way to evade from this misery is properly performing the duty of enjoining
good, forbidding evil.
As mentioned earlier, communities and societies may have virtuous people among them.
There may be many very close to God. However, if the duty of enjoining good, forbidding evil
is performed and perpetuated there by means of a systematic way by establishing institutions,

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God turns this society upside down so that society cannot be constant anymore. God Almighty
does not punish the whole because of individuals though. He does not hold whole society
responsible for the crimes a disoriented and anarchic group among them. Nevertheless, if a group
of sincere believers faces evil and does not perform the duty of enjoining good, forbidding evil
even though they are able to do so, sufferings become inevitable for everybody. A hadith
narrated by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal points out to this in the following way:
It used to be that Allah the Most High does not punish the common people for the sins of
the elite; but when the evil is done openly, and they do not repudiate it, they all become
deserving of His punishment103.
The following verse points out to this issue, too:

And fear a trial which will not strike those who have wronged among you exclusively, and know
that Allah is severe in penalty (Surat Al-'Anfl /The Spoils of War: 8/25).
9. Spiritual Guidance And Destruction Throughout History
The duty of enjoining good, forbidding evil can be understood in the context of the
tribes who were destroyed throughout history and reasons for their destruction. In such a
consideration, what we first see is the following: Two main principles are the guarantee of the
believing societies. Absence of these is what determines the unchanging future and destruction of
two classes of people. The same result is reached whether the issue is handled in a positive or
negative way. God does not destroy a society and people if enjoining good, forbidding evil is
actively performed in that society. Again God does not destroy a society if there are some who
perform this holy duty-even if they are small in number- among them and if they are not in a
defeated position. This is the positive way this matter is treated but it can also be considered
from a negative point of view. If there is no one performing enjoining good, forbidding evil in
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103

Msned, 1/2,5; Eb Davud, Melhim, 17.

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a society, God destroys that society. Again if there are many heroes doing this sacred duty in a
community but if they are obviously defeated by the excessiveness and intemperance of the
people, God destroys that community in this case, too. We will later mention this aspect of the
matter in the light of Quranic verses. It is certain that the most effective lightning road to prevent
a nation being destroyed is the believers performing this holy duty with institutions for calling
to faith they establish. A nation can avoid such turmoil only by serious efforts like these. A few
examples here will be beneficial illustrations:
a) The Prophet Noah (PBUH)
The Prophet Noah (PBUH) had spread the Word throughout His life but His people had
always responded to Him with rejection and tortured Him. At that time so few people had
believed Him and Noah (PBUH) had had to confess to God that He had been defeated and had
had to ask for help from God against unbelievers. The prayer of such a Prophet would not
certainly be rejected and it had not been so. The Quran told of this event in a quite detailed way:

Before them the People of Noah rejected (their apostle): they rejected Our servant, and
said, Here is one possessed! And he was driven out. Then he called on his Lord: I am one
overcome: do Thou then help (me)! So We opened the gates of heaven, with water pouring forth.
!

165!

And We caused the earth to gush forth with springs, so the waters met (and rose) to the extent
decreed. But We bore him on an (Ark) made of broad planks and caulked with palm-fibre: She
floats under our eyes (and care): a recompense to one who had been rejected (with scorn)! And
We have left this as a Sign (for all time): then is there any that will receive admonition? But how
(terrible) was My Penalty and My Warning? (Surah Al-Qamar/The Moon: 54/9-16)
Noah (PBUH) was honored with the gift of Prophethood. He was the servant of nobody
but God and He was inviting people to be Gods servant. However, His people used to call Him
mad. In fact, these words of theirs were a sign of the perfection of the Prophets faith because in
that society social scales were tipped and all moral virtues were overturned. When this was the
case, a Prophet would not certainly be considered to be normal according to their values. He
would be called mad and He was called so since this glorious Prophet was trying to restore the
society they had ruined and such a person would naturally be labeled so. Thats why the
Messenger of God (PBUH) had said that a believer being called mad showed the perfection of
his faith104. Upon this, Noah (PBUH) opened His hands and prayed to God: My Lord, I am
defeated, please help me! And God sank His strayed clan in the water; He drowned and
destroyed them all. It was maybe the Atlantis civilization or another one. It does not matter
whether they were sunk in the Atlantic Ocean or in another. What matters is that a civilization
was being sunk though they had a Prophet in their lead and though that Prophet was enjoining
good and forbidding evil all the time. Because that Prophet had declared that he had been
overcome.
After telling of the situation the Prophet Noah (PBUH) and His people were in, after
describing how His people were drowned in the water and how Noah (PBUH) and those who
were with Him had been rescued with a ship, the verse asked: then is there any that will receive
admonition? I would like to make an addition to this and ask is there any that will receive
admonition from the ruins of Sardis? Is there any that will receive admonition from the ruins of
Pergamum and cry? Is there any that will receive admonition from Troy? Is there any that will
receive admonition from all these? Hundreds of ruins on the earth, each of them is the evidence
of a sinful nation, they are evident like a verse. Is there any that will receive admonition?
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
104

Msned, 3/68; 6/18; Tirmizi, Zhd, 39

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b) The Prophet Salih (PBUH)

The people of the Prophet Salih (PBUH), too, had disobeyed their Prophet. God had sent
Him a camel as a miracle and forbidden them to touch it. However, they had acted impertinently
and touched this camel. Not touching the camel may seem strange to us, we may not understand
it at first sight. But men have always had some obligations in every age. Praying, fasting, zakat
are of this kind of obligations. Similarly not drinking alcohol, not committing adultery, charging
and paying interest are obligations, too. Obligations may vary and can sometimes be in the form
of not touching a camel. As a matter of fact, the people of Salih (PBUH) had faced such an
obligation but they had failed this test. The surah Ash-Shams (The Sun) summed up this event in
the following way:

The Thamud (people) rejected (their Prophet) through their inordinate wrong-doing,
Behold, the most wicked man among them was deputed (for impiety). But the Messenger of Allah
said to them: It is a She-camel of Allah. And (bar her not from) having her drink! Then they
rejected him (as a false prophet), and they hamstrung her. So their Lord, on account of their
crime, obliterated their traces and made them equal (in destruction, high and low)!(Surah AshShams/The Sun:91/11-14)
When the Thamud people rebelled against their Prophet, we see that the Prophet Salih
(PBUH) warned them verbally and said, Dont touch her because touching her was looking for
trouble in a sense. However, His people did not listen to Him and someone leading others in
villainy attracted this trouble. In fact, this was the case in all eras. Someone leading in unbelief
appears and others follow him in masses. Those trying to harm our religion in various eras had

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attracted the trouble in this way, too and they had ruined a noble nation. Evildoers who would try
to harm the Quran had also initiated weak points of a nation that had started to collapse. Later
persons would change but the scenario would continue in the same way. Those who would defile
the Kabah and Zamzam105 have always existed and will exist in every age.
Furthermore, the evildoer of the Thamud people leaped up and hamstrung the camel
without listening to the Prophets warning stop, dont do it! Thus, both those who committed
this act and those who kept quiet face to face with it prepared their own end. And God did not
discriminate the good from the evil and destroyed them all. Not only did He make them
subjected to disasters and calamities corporeally, He blackened their name as well. Sometimes
this calamity does not come to the body, for example the transformation happens in the moral
quality not in the appearance. In fact, this kind of calamity is more severe than the one that
comes to the body and disasters that come today are mainly of this kind. A reason that the
disobedience continues in a tremendous way is this because people are not aware of the calamity
hanging over them. The surah ends with;

And for Him is no fear of its consequences (Surah Ash-Shams.The Sun: 91/15) because He is
the owner of the whole creation and everything is at His disposal.
Considering these verses, we see that in a time when the Prophet Salih (PBUH) was
about to be overcome and He could not make His people listen to His message, God completely
ruined and abolished ruined this people. Indeed, God created the whole universe and human
being so that His servants shall know and become aware of Him. This is the worlds aim of
creation. When the believers come to be defeated, this reason is shaken so that God would shake
people of that era and sometimes annihilates them as seen in the Quranic examples above. This
is an unchangeable Divine law.
c) The Prophet Lut (PBUH)
Lut (PBUH), the noble character, was contemporaneous with the Prophet Abraham
(PBUH). He confronted with the pederasty, a sin the humanity had not seen until that time was
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
105

water from the holy well of zamzam

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being committed and this glorious Prophet was fighting against this sin morning, noon and night.
One day, angels dressed up in shapes of beautiful young men came to His house. The excessively
wicked people ran down to Luts (PBUH) house and manifested those deadly feelings of theirs.
The Prophet Lut (PBUH) said almost imploring:

Cover me not with shame about my guests! He proposed His daughters hand, tried to draw
them to the legal side, but all His efforts come to be vain and those importunate people
answered:

Well dost thou know we have no need of thy daughters: indeed thou knowest quite well what we
want!
Lut (PBUH) sighed and said:

Would that I had power to suppress you or that I could betake myself to some powerful
support.(Surah Hd:11/78-80) In fact, He had a powerful support, but it was the difficult
situation He was in that had made Him say these words. Then, the angels dressed up as young
men said that they were angels. Then Lut (PBUH) breathed a sigh of relief.
Here are some parts of this long tale in the Quran:

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When Our messengers came to Lut, he was grieved on their account and felt himself powerless
(to protect) them. He said: This is a distressful day. And his people came rushing towards
him, and they had been long in the habit of practicing abominations. He said: O my people!
Here are my daughters: they are purer for you (if ye marry)! Now fear Allah, and cover me not

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with shame about my guests! Is there not among you a single right-minded man? They said:
Well dost thou know we have no need of thy daughters: indeed thou knowest quite well what we
want! He said: Would that I had power to suppress you or that I could betake myself to some
powerful support. (The Messengers) said: O Lut! We are Messengers from thy Lord! By no
means shall they reach thee! Now travel with thy family while yet a part of the night remains,
and let not any of you look back: but thy wife (will remain behind): To her will happen what
happens to the people. Morning is their time appointed: Is not the morning nigh? When Our
Decree issued, We turned (the cities) upside down, and rained down on them brimstones hard as
baked clay, spread, layer on layer,- Marked as from thy Lord: Nor are they ever far from those
who do wrong! (Surah Hd/Hud: 11/77-83)
Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed and covered by the waters of the Dead Sea.
However, this punishment was not peculiar to the people of the Prophet Lut (PBUH). Tyrants of
every period would be subjected to the same end. Pompeii is the most typical example of this.
There used to be Christians spreading the Word but they were overcome, too. The people were in
such wickedness and depravity that when God made this place a wreck with the eruption of the
mount Vesuvius, they had already joined the dead with their souls. Though some of them had
escaped to the seashores, masses of ash as big as houses had buried them there, too.
God rendered each of those places a museum of signs and evidences so that future
generations draw a moral lesson and that everybody can see there the outcome of his deeds.
Today it is possible to watch the most disgusting obscenity on the walls remaining from Pompeii,
those places where prostitution prevailed though partially-are still full of pictures of warning.
God left them as a picture of warning so that those who have reason look and draw a moral from
them.
d) And Others...
God The Almighty who seized and punished the people who did not believe in the
Prophet Lut (PBUH) with a universal law, executed His judgment over other nations throughout
history, too. For example, a magnificent civilization that lasted eight centuries in Andalusia,
when it underwent an inner change, returned in a degraded way from this place where it had once
entered gloriously with the sword of Ferdinand. During this shameful return, Muslims were

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crying. However, it was too late to cry, in addition they were not crying for what was worth
crying... Though they should be crying over hot baths in Toledo remaining from that time and be
thinking that they had destroyed their raison dtre themselves, they were crying for their own
corpses.
It was this depravation that had destroyed the Abbasside. The Umayyad had collapsed
because of the same degeneration. The Seljuk Empire had experienced the bitter outcome of
living just for pleasure by collapsing. The end of the Ottoman Empire was the result of the same
spiritual collapse. When you enter the Dolmabahce Palace, when you hear that sixteen tons of
gold was spent just for gilding, you will shiver and you, too, will watch tragic pictures of the
collapse on the walls of the palace. This is a Divine law; it has never changed and will not,
either.
It is possible to consider all historical ethnographic museums ranging from the collapse
of the Roman Empire to that of the Sassanid and that of Egypt from the point of view of this rule.
God destroys a city or country where He is not thought and talked of since that place has no
longer its raison dtre. The reason for the occurrence of the doomsday may be this, I think. It is
when Muslims are completely weak and overcome and when atheism is so widespread that God
will turn the whole world upside down. Indeed, it means that the world has no longer its raison
dtre.
When the Quran becomes a book whose language is not understood, one should know
that troubles and calamities are approaching. If the destruction does not come, it is just thanks to
Gods boundless mercy. AbuBakr would sometimes be enraptured of Gods being the AllCompassionate and say How Clement you are my God. He really is Clement, He delays the
sinfuls penalty but once He seizes, He makes him done for106. We must think of the fact that
God introduces Himself to us as the All-Compassionate and the All-Merciful and what we must
do is to know Him this way and to reply to His being the All-Compassionate and the AllMerciful by being a proper and sincere servant to Him, especially by being a trustworthy
religious mentor taking others to God with the promise of faith and security.

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106

Buhari, Tefsir, 5; Mslim, Birr, 61

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In fact the Muslim is a man of confidence above all; no harm can come from him.
Muslims are the security of the humanity; the social life is safe with them. Though this is true in
view of the whole humanity, the Muslim is closer and more intimate with the believers. For this
reason, he is supposed to tell everybody goodness he received from God and His Messenger
(PBUH). He acts in a very sincere and sensitive way while trying to restore the society he lives
in on one hand and protecting it from various harms on the other hand. Those who would not like
to undertake this duty are in fact reacting to the title of believer given to them as a sign of
honor in a sense.
The believer has various duties according to his position ranging from the smallest circlewhich is his heart- to the biggest one. His house, village, city, nation and the whole humanity
will reach-if it will- bright horizons by means of luminous expressions in his hand. Even if
people opposite him do not understand and comprehend, a neglect of his in this issue results in
others being deprived of them, so this is a big sin and loss.
Furthermore, if the disbelief and atheism is not prevented, not only will unbelievers and
atheists be destroyed, the believer himself will be subjected to this destruction as well. Therefore,
he must perform enjoining good, forbidding evil at least for this purpose and prevent a general
disaster. Concerning this point, Gods Messenger (PBUH) said: There are people who do not
transgress the limits (laws) of Allah, and there are others who do so. They are like two groups
who boarded a ship; one of them settled on the upper deck, and; the other on the lower deck of
the ship. So, when the people of the lower deck needed water, they said: ' Why should we cause
trouble to the people of upper deck when we can easily have plenty of water by making a hole in
our deck.' Now if the people of upper deck do not prevent this group from such foolishness, all of
them will perish but if they stop them then they will be saved107.
In fact, these words of the Messenger of God (PBUH) are a symbol, a comparison. Here
the Chief of the Prophets (PBUH) expresses a very important social issue with symbols and thus
puts it into words in a way that is easy for us to understand. In the comparison, their intention of
making a hole in the deck may seem to be innocent at first sight. But the prospective outcome
cannot be regarded as innocent at all.
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107

Buhari, erike, 6; Msned, 4/268,269

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Considering the hadith above, we can say that the world is a ship like Noahs (PBUH) ark
or a steamer. The whole humanity has boarded this ship compulsorily. Everyone in this world
must live on the same earth. In other words, the steamer we live in and travel together is unique.
The order of life in this steamer is put by the One Who made us board here. Others have no right
to break and violate this order. In such a case there is no private life, either.
To protect the steamer we are in, to prevent it from sinking is the duty of ours all. This
duty is an obligation we were made to undertake by boarding the steamer. We cannot tolerate
behaviors that can destroy us and millions of innocent people just in the name of acting
humanely and not interfering in others business. We have to struggle against everyone who
wants to drill the ship and to disturb the social life. Therefore, we have to remove evils and all
kinds of wickedness in the society and protect the humanity from their harm on one hand and
furnish the same society with good acts and virtuous behaviors on the other hand. Moreover, a
society composed of reliable natures is safe from all kinds of evil. However, this is only one
aspect of the issue. The other aspect is to ensure that good things will always be spread out in the
society, which is the duty we undertook for our society. This duty is a holy as well as heavy and
hard one.
The fact that someone who enjoyed the true faith invites others to this delight and
pleasure and that he wants to share these pleasures he enjoyed with them is the requirement of
generosity. The believer is a man of generosity. While he enjoys the spring, he wants others to
enjoy it, too and tries to make it possible for them. In addition, the believer is someone who
gives himself up to the welfare of others. Once the light of the faith enters a heart, it is
impossible for that man to stay where he is and not to take action. It is this impossibility that
makes the believer go from house to house, from shop to shop in order to find familiar hearts.
This is the guarantee of his existence in a sense, the guarantee of preserving the faith in his heart
until the death and departing this life with this faith...The one who does not perform enjoining
good, forbidding evil does not have such a guarantee. Therefore, the believer must absolutely
do this sacred duty at least in order to save himself.

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B. METHODS AND PRINCIPLES

1. Importance of Knowledge in Religious Mentoring

t is essential that those who will enjoin good and forbid evil are equipped with
knowledge because knowledge and spreading the Word are like two faces of the
same truth. Therefore, the spiritual teacher must educate himself very well in terms

of religion before he tells others about his religion and truths it contains. Otherwise, he may
make mistakes, frighten others and cause them to get away from him and the religion. In a sense,
such a consequence is a kind of transgressing rights of both him and others in this world and
hereafter.
In this chapter, first of all, I would like to deal with our understanding of knowledge in
absolute terms and then with the relationship among spreading the Word, knowledge and
practice. Knowledge is an orientation point in the world of the whole creation. It becomes an ark
in the Prophet Noah (PBUH) and becomes Noah in the ark. Knowledge turns into valleys in the
Prophet Abraham (PBUH). They are such valleys that Divine Revelation starts to come down
there in buckets. It becomes the Mount Sinai in the Prophet Moses (PBUH) or Moses in the
Mount Sinai. Therefore, everything that is seen in the universe consists of a form. As to its
essence, it is knowledge.
What is knowledge? Knowledge is to know his Lord by knowing himself. Ones seeing
his Lord by observing himself, his contemplating Gods attributes and names with what he
discovered in his feelings. This is the real knowledge. When Yunus Emre108 said: Knowledge
should mean a full grasp of knowledge. Knowledge means to know yourself, heart and soul. If
you have failed to understand yourself, then all of your reading has missed its call. He wanted
to emphasize the main purpose of knowledge. The expression The one who knows himself
knows his God is an expression told as wisely as to be considered a hadith. It is not a hadith, but
it is a remarkable principle in terms of its meaning and content. The Quran also supports this
content and says:
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108

Yunus Emre, (B.1238-D.1320, Turkey) poet and mystic who exercised a powerful influence on Turkish
literature.

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And be ye not like those who forget Allah; and He made them forget their own souls! Such are
the rebellious transgressors! (Surah Al-Hashr/The Exile: 59/19). If you forget God, God makes
you forget yourself, your own self. When you forget your self, you go away from God. When
you go away from God, you become indifferent to your self and you forget it, too. Thus, a
vicious circle comes into existence. The one who enters such a vicious circle hardly escapes from
it.
In addition, the following meaning can be inferred from the verse: Do not ever forget
God; otherwise, He makes you forget your self. Then you start to be interested in the outer
world. You always watch what is outside of you. You never manage to meditate on and examine
your inner world. You talk about Islam, but you search it outside, you talk about the Quran, but
you expect others to put into practice decrees of Quran. As those in your household obviously
violate Islamic decrees, you ignore them and center your interest and expectations on others.
How tragedy is to go from street to street chanting slogans, but walking behind the devil while
doing so! In order not to be subjected to such a situation, first of all one must examine his inner
world very well and absolutely look over his relationship with his Lord a few times a day.
Therefore, like mountaineers climbing to the peaks, we must pay attention to the point we take
our steps. We must stick the hook of our rope on a very sound ground since a little mistake we
make may cost us our life.
What a pity for a man to forget himself in the temple, masjid or even in the Kabah and
near the tomb of the Messenger of God (PBUH)! I must confess that there are many who forget
themselves even at those places, what a loss it is! The knowledge has an aim; this aim is to result
in the knowledge and the love of God. The knowledge, which does not inflame in the heart love
of God and spiritual delight that is the guarantee of the heavenly favors, cannot be considered to
have reached this aim. However, the knowledge that reached its aim is the source of life for our
senses and it is a vital point for our feelings. Being without it, being deprived of it is a spiritual

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death. Furthermore, the knowledge glorified and encouraged by the Quran and hadiths is
nothing but this. Although our main subject is not solely knowledge, I would like to mention
here some verses and hadiths concerning it, too.

Say: Are those equal those who know and those who do not know? (Surah Az-Zumar/The
Troops: 39/9)
Are those equal the knowledge that takes one to God and the knowledge that imprisons
one in the laboratory? Are those equal the knowledge that takes the man behind the telescope to
God by luminary stairs and the knowledge that sticks his looks to the stars and systems? In other
words, can those who have these different points of view be considered equal? Can the so-called
scientist who wanders in the books like the cellar mice and spends all his life writing footnotes
and commentaries to the books but who reads no single sentence from the knowledge of truth, in
other words the saddle horse laden with books by the expression of the Quran be considered
equal to the perfect man who flies in the sky like the doves even with a single sentence he reads
and who lives another joy of union with God each moment? The difference between these is as
much as the difference between nothing and everything, I think. The knowledge that takes
one to God is everything; the knowledge that makes one lose his way is nothing.

Those truly fear Allah among His Servants who have knowledge (Surah Fatir/Originator:
35/28). It is obvious that knowledge and the learned are glorified in this verse, but this
glorification is in view of a man who is respectful towards his Lord with his knowledge. In
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addition, the knowledge has its certain weight. It is for this reason that the Messenger of God
(PBUH) said that the learned are the heirs of the Prophets109. Prophets are the only ones on the
earth who can see the absolute truth in all respects. However, we can penetrate the inner side of
the truth only by means of rays of light that will be sent by the Prophets. It is not possible for a
man to find the absolute truth without adhering to a Prophet. Maybe one can discover facts close
to truth with his/her own efforts and endeavor, but the absolute truth can be discovered only with
spiritual guidance of Prophets. Consequently, the true heirs of God on earth are the Prophets and
then the righteous servants of God. Moreover, the Quran points out to the righteous servants as
the heirs of the earth, which shows an obvious connection between the expression of our Prophet
(PBUH) and the meaning expressed by this verse. In other words, righteous servants who
deserve to be the viceroy of earth are the learned ones who are heir to the Prophets. The Prophet
is the interpreter of the truth, so someone is heir to the Prophet as much as he interprets the truth.
The Messenger of God said the following in order to explain the virtue of knowledge: The
superiority of the learned man over the devout is like my superiority over the lowest in rank
amongst you110.
A devout has no knowledge can deviate any moment. Deviation is relative; it depends on
the rank one earns to the view of God. There is such people that even if they fail to contemplate
God one single moment, this is considered to be a serious deviation for them. In plain words, he
considers such a state a deviation. Though there is relativeness in this issue, a deviation exists
anyway. However, the learned man who is heir to the Prophet is in continuous contemplation and
self-discipline. He is always vigilant and he is in continuous metaphysical consciousness in view
of the dangers. The learned man who performs his acts of worship knowingly and deals with
every issue in a conscious way is superior to the one worshipping unconsciously as much as our
Prophet (PBUH) is superior to the companions. In fact, this means these two cannot be
compared.
Another aspect of this issue is that the perfect man who is heir to the Prophet misses no
light coming from the holiest blessings. Like a big power plant absorbing radiations coming from
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
109
110

bn-i Mce, Mukaddime, 17

Tirmizi, lm, 19

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the sun, he makes his heart active with all its faculties and tries to receive all holy blessings
coming to him as the manifestation of Gods oneness and perfection and caressing his head as an
evidence of Gods mercy, without missing one single particle.
This is also the expression of his respect towards his Lord and a process of charging
himself. Someone who fills continuously will also empty in a way. This emptying is his
communicating the lights and truths in his soul to others. And there is certainly no scale that will
weigh this deed of his in terms of his inner depths. Therefore, however much the devout deepen
in his worships, it is impossible for him to make worship equal to the deed of the learned man,
the perfect man. In addition, one must absolutely do what he knows since the one who acts
contrarily is threatened by the Quran in the following way:

But some of them conceal the truth which they themselves know (Surah Al-Baqara/The
Cow: 2/146). They know but they do not do it... Like the black holes in the space, they emit no
rays around or no one can make use of the potential of light they possess. In other words, they
cannot be like the sun, which is a stove, a source of light, and a motion of colors at the same
time. The sun caresses the heads of the flowers and sends rays of light to the planets, which are
considered its own flowers. Let us leave the unfortunate people making the light a black hole
alone with their own darkness despite all that power and potential and look at other hadiths of
our Prophet (PBUH) on that matter: Whoever learned knowledge but concealed it, Allah will
make him wear a bridle of fire on the Day of Resurrection111.
The meaning of this holy expression is clear. If one learns something but does not share it
with others, that is to say if he does not discharge after having charged, does not set a good
example with his words and behaviors and does not reflect the truth around him, he will be
punished in the next world by wearing a bridle of fire. There is a quite serious scolding and
reproaching in the hadith since only the animals are made to wear bridle. This means that the
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111

bn-i Mce, Mukaddime, 24; Tirmizi, lm, 3; Eb Davud, lm, 9

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man who conceals his knowledge is compared to animals, which is a quite heavy expression. He
could not esteem the fact that God created him in the most excellent pattern, disregarded his
quality of feeling, thinking and being able to express what he thinks which makes him a
distinguished creature and certainly did not thank God for these virtues He gave him. How just,
how fair is to take back favors given to such a person?
Knowledge and spiritual guidance are two different aspects of the same truth. And
practicing is the sine qua non of them both. These three cannot be separated from one another.
Practicing what he knows is a sign of respect for the things one knows. The fact that someone
who knows his God does not worship Him is disrespect, insensitiveness, blindness and deafness.
Especially defects that those who undertook the duty of serving the faith, the religion have in
their worshipping are more terrible than the damage caused by enemies. The attitude the western
people got, words they said after having seen Muslims who do not live their religion are an
important evidence of this fact. And such an expression, such a statement is about a subject
where the witnessing of the opponent is valid so it is acceptable.
An English man converted to Islam was asked why other English did not wholly embrace
Islam though he himself was converted to Islam: But the English are clever people who have
ruled the world with their politics one added. The Muslim English said nothing and took the
one who asked this question to a nearby masjid. The masjid was quite untidy and inside there
were a lot of people worshipping just with their form. The English answered the question by
showing the masjid and people inside. This means that the western people have a certain attitude
towards religious or unreligious systems that are not put into practice, that are not made a way of
life. In addition, whenever we confronted them in the form of a community who has reached the
harmony of his inner and outer world, of his heart and mind, who knows the Quran quite well,
who acts in conformity with Islam and who has the aim of making the whole humanity find the
path of righteousness, they immediately embraced and will embrace Islam before we invite them.
Why should the western man adhere to an untidy society who does not know his own religion,
his God, who is not familiar with his book? He looks at the practice, at the head and heart of the
Muslim. He attaches importance to people performing his night prayers, continuously praising
God, minimizing the waste of time and spending every moment in useful work. If those

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representing Islam could have been like this, the western people would have run to Islam and
embraced it. As the opposite was the case, the result was the opposite, too. And they went away
from us for the present.
In conclusion, we can say that Islam is a Divine system, which unites the faith with the
practice. One side of it believes, the other side is doing what he believes, putting it into practice.
Telling of and depicting others deeds and worships is good in a sense, it offers a warning, but
being contented with this much alone and not performing the same deeds and worships will
negatively affect the Muslims influence on others. Islam is neither just telling legends of the
Muslim saints nor just listening to them. It is living the depicted life in person and putting it into
practice. Islam means faith and practice. The fact that those who do not consider it this way
speak of serving Islam is just an ineffective idle talk.
2. Knowing Realities of the Time and the Culture of Era
In our time, points of view, ways of considering things and events completely changed.
Today, logic and rationalism have a stronger influence. Disbelief and atheism speak in the name
of science and philosophy. In opposition to this, the Muslim must respond with the same method
and this largely depends on knowing the culture of ones own era. Moreover, this is the real
knowledge and culture in a sense. This knowledge and culture is a distinctive characteristic of
the believer.
The one who does not know his/her era is supposed to be living in a dark corridor. The
fact that such a person tries to tell others something about the religion and faith is a vain attempt
because time and events will make him feeble and ineffective today or later. Therefore, the
Muslim must explain the things that should be explained in a way that is parallel to and in
conformity with the present days level of knowledge and culture and communicate them to
others in the same way. I can certainly say that a religious mentor and teacher who managed to
reach the point I have just mentioned will surpass the saints and other holy people and have a
place behind the Prophets in the hereafter. This duty is so high and honored and reaching this
point is very hard, but it is absolutely essential as well.
The man who does not know his era is no different than those living under the ground
whereas the religious teacher has to travel in the space. He must be contemplating the heaven

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with his heart and senses while he is traveling among stars with his head. His mind must take
him to the laboratory along with Pasteur; make him travel in the depths of the existence with
Einstein. He certainly must always stand with respect behind the Messenger of God (PBUH)
with his soul and he must be endowed with Divine manifestations a few times a day. This is the
real religious teacher according to me.
When we look at the Chief of the Prophets (PBUH), we see that He had confronted His
era in the proper way, so everything He conveyed to people around Him had reflected on them.
Furthermore, no decree coming from God is contrary to events that take place in the universe
provided that one can comprehend the reason and meaning of the existence and make his
spiritual guidance according to it. The companions, too, had performed their call to faith, which
they had learned from the Messenger of God (PBUH) by taking into consideration circumstances
of the time and state of the people opposed them. Therefore, in a very short time, they had
reached a level as powerful and wise as to make the world kneel down. All of the great people
and various pioneers that came later and could be heir to the Messenger of God (PBUH) had
always acted in the same way. Imam Al-Ghazali, Imam Rabbani and Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi
were among those who had organized their spiritual guidance according to the level of
comprehension and culture of their era. For this reason, their influence continued until our time.
Unfortunately, however, when it was our turn, we have turned our back to knowledge like a
prodigal son, totally destroyed rules and customs of being a true Muslim and become the victim
of our ignorance.
Today, everybody is in a tragic situation, but this dramatic state of todays men partially
stems from the miserableness of those attempting to perform guidance for faith since those who
do not know the culture, ideology and style of the era they live in cannot tell something to others.
Nevertheless, we should not think that the duty of enjoining good, forbidding evil is no longer
our duty for it is harmful to tell people something without knowing all these necessary things. If
it had been compulsory to travel to the stars in order to bring the necessary things for calling
people to faith, it would have been an obligatory act to fetch and offer it to those in need.
Our young generation was defeated and overcome with physics, chemistry and
astronomy; therefore, we must not stay hands in our pockets vis--vis this situation. We must use

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the same materials, help our generation, treat their corporeal and spiritual illnesses and elevate
them again. We must do this so that they do not fall, stumble and be crushed under others feet
again. Every event, every object in the universe is a language and a branch. Those who believe in
God must know this language and firmly hang on to these branches. Otherwise, it will not be
possible to perceive the signs of God in the universe. Individuals and nations who do not
understand the signs God put in the universe are bound to stay in the abjectness. However, the
Quran deals with these signs in its own verses and explains them. The person who ignores these
cannot be considered to have read it properly even if he reads the whole Quran everyday. The
Quran was sent so that its verses be meditated and contemplated. Those who say that they
protect it must know this for sure.
However, sacred and holy truths that we explain are, effectiveness of an inculcation that
is done without considering the understanding and style of today is uncertain. Because presenting
the religion and the Quran in a way of presenting some mysterious matters that are impossible to
be evaluated in terms of mind and logic would only serve to confuse the young generation and
increase the unbelief of the unbeliever. Unfortunately we have been watching this tragic picture
for years our eyes full of tears and we have felt deeply hurt.
The companions of the Messenger of God (PBUH) were quite above the cultural level of
their period. They could tell people against them about religious matters in a way that is in
accordance with the cultural level of that time. Certain great people who lived after them were
also the same. For example, face to face with what Imam Al-Ghazali who was considered to be
the renovator of his age used to tell, men of that time were listening in amazement. And this
amazement and admiration went on for centuries. The ideas of western intellectuals such as Har
Gibb, Ernest Renan about him are noteworthy: We have not seen anyone else who knows the
culture of his time as well as him. Al-Imam ar-Rabbani, Mevlana Halid i Baghdadi and many
other great people who enlightened their own century like flowers that blossom in the snow were
all equipped with knowledge and culture surpassing the century they lived in and they used be a
pioneer for their era. Their presenting the religion was also a reflection of their cultural level.
Therefore, things they said used to reflect on the hearts and be welcomed by all.

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Todays religious mentor and religious teacher must explain the issues from the
perspective of the time he lives in. First of all, he must be aware of the spiritual nature of people
against him as well as the problems stuck in their mind as a poisonous harpoon and speak to
them considering all these so that his ideas would be welcomed and reflected in both the heart
and mind of the people opposite him. Because, today young generations are losing blood but we
inject them with penicillin.
Points I have mentioned so far are not abstract statements but they are facts confirmed by
the Quran and Sunnah. The Quran says:

Read in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher Who created (Surah Al-Alaq/The Clot: 96/1) in
its very first verse and points out to signs in the universe, genesis and creation. All philosophers
from Epicurus to Democritus, from Socrates to Plato and to those who lived in the era of our
Prophet (PBUH), they all dealt with the matter of genesis and tried to analyze it. This means that
everybody at that time had some knowledge about the first creation. They, too, knew that the
human being was originated from a drop of water and that the fetus passed along some stages in
his mothers uterus. However, the Quran treated the subject from a much broader perspective
and said to human beings:

Say: Travel through the earth and see how Allah did originate creation (Surah AlAnkabut/The Spider: 29/20). It said so since no one so far had been able to explain with human
knowledge and thoughts how the creation had started and neither would they in the future. It is
not possible to explain the creation without referring to God. However, the Quran sets out by
explaining this hard and astounding matter no one can explain and thus attracts notice to the
signs in the universe, too. Those signs are an ornamented necklace put on the neck of the
universe by Gods omnipotence and will; they are at the same time an exhibition for us to watch
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184!

and a book for us to read. Besides, we are supposed to analyze and evaluate this book, exhibition
and necklace. We are not supposed to go out of these in perceiving the events. The fact that
religious teachers are trying to uphold their communities with just emotional ties is being in
contradiction with signs in the universe and it is not promising. Being too much optimistic does
not lead one in the right path and shortly leaves him behind. On the other hand, if they can mold
both the mind and heart of their novices and prepare them to adapt themselves to the
circumstances of the day, this tie will never get loose, the time passing will never weaken it and
terrific events will just serve to strengthen this tie and reinforce their wills.
The following terrible picture would astound nearly all of us. In our country and abroad,
there are many religious and pious people whose children are in total unbelief and atheism, and
again there are many unbelievers and atheists whose children are really devout on the contrary.
Some of these even escape from the pressure and violence of their parents and want to live their
religion under more appropriate conditions. I will not mention specific events here I have
witnessed personally since I think that it is no good giving specific examples for the subject, but
these kinds of events are all facts and these facts will take place subsequently, too. Analyzing
this terrible picture points out to the fact that the pious family did not and could not explain Islam
to their own children in a way that fits his spiritual and mental nature. As this child was naturally
raised in a religious atmosphere, he could not ask others about matters for which he needed an
explanation. The religious culture he got from his family could elevate him only to a certain
point, but gaps in his heart and mind, a doubt or hesitation he had in mind caused this child or
young person to lose the way and abandon the religion.
I had been guest to such a family and was talking with the father. He was so devout, so
pure in heart that I had nearly felt ashamed of myself. Then, sometime later his son who was
studying at the university entered the room. When he spoke, I immediately understood that he
was an atheist. It was as if the house fell down on me and I was petrified. I said to myself
addressing to that nice man I wish you had not raised your son as an atheist instead of being
yourself so pure so sinless. As opposed to this, a child raised in an atheist family needs to ask
others problems he cannot deal with. In addition, if someone from outside of the family gives
him a helping hand and solves his problems. The child will love Islam and adopt it, since Islam is

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taught to him according to the circumstances of the day whereas the piety of the former one who
was raised in a pious family is nothing but an imitation. And after some time his imitative faith
loses its function.
3. Unity of Quran and Heart
The heart of the religious mentor must be set according to the Quran. The Quran
expresses this fact in the following way:

Verily in this is a Message for any that has a heart and understanding or who gives ear and
earnestly witnesses (the truth) (Surah Qaf/ The Letter Qaf: 50/37)
The Quran is an advice, a reminding, a praising and a warning. However, in order to be
able to profit from these aspects of the Quran, hearts must be open to it. In order for the heart to
be open, each man must stare at and listen with both ears to the Quran. This is turning towards
the Quran completely; otherwise, it is impossible to profit from it as much as desired because
someone who cannot adjust his conduct in this way cannot definitely see the sparkling
miraculous aspect of the Quran. When he cannot see it, he deems no difference between the
word of God and the word of any human being. Someone whose level of thought has fallen to
such a low degree cannot do anything in terms of Quran. Therefore the Quran says:

This is the Book and adds In it is guidance sure without doubt to those who fear Allah
(Surah Al-Baqara/The Cow: 2/2). The Quran is the word of God, this is for sure. However only
those who fear God can profit from that Quran properly. Someone who fears God is the one
who knows laws of creation the best. An unserious person would not fear God and he cannot
profit from the Quran, either because his heart is no longer alive, it is dead. The following verse
sums up the attitudes of this kind of people towards the Messenger of God (PBUH) in the
following way:
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Those who believe say, "Why has a surah not been sent down? But when a precise surah
is revealed and fighting is mentioned therein, you see those in whose hearts is hypocrisy looking
at you with a look of one overcome by death. And more appropriate for them [would have been]
(Surah Muhammad: 47/20). What can someone who has such a point of view understand from
the Quran and the Messenger of God (PBUH) communicating it? Nothing. However, a person
who tunes his heart according to the Quran hears events that continuously beat like the pulse of
the universe in the beating of his own heart because he formed a unity between the universe and
himself. People who cannot feel the pulse of events cannot do much in terms of spiritual
guidance. In fact, this depends on considering the Quran as a whole in a sense.
If we look at this matter from another point of view, we can say that applying the
objective and subjective signs, namely signs in the universe and in his inner self, to the verses of
the Quran and making a compound of them are a prerequisite the religious mentor can never
ignore. He is successful in his call to faith as much as he manages to do this. Otherwise, it will be
a waste of time for both him and people opposite him. The spiritual teacher must be fully
qualified with Islamic qualities and always behave in this distinctness and superiority of his.
From the ability of analyzing and compounding the objective and subjective signs to
other qualities such as kindness, decency, affection, discipline, all the attributes that make a
believer a truly perfect believer should be the indispensable characteristics of the religious
teacher. To put it another way, not every quality of the infidel is a quality of infidel just as not
every quality of the believer is a quality of believer actually. Maybe the reason underlying the
fact that today infidels are successful in various fields all over the world is that they possess
qualities belonging to the believers. And naturally the reason underlying our defeat is our

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becoming soiled with the attributes of the infidels. However, each believer must attach utmost
importance to almost every quality of believer. Especially religious teachers must excel ordinary
believers in representing these. For example the believer is a man of courtesy, decency; he is a
hero of affection. He considers the universe to be a place of compassion, of brotherhood and this
is the way he should be. His life is in full discipline, so every moment of his passes in a luminous
and bright way. He regards the waste of time as the most terrible loss. He does not frequent
places where people just waste time since the Messenger of God (PBUH) had never been to such
places. Places a Muslim should frequent outside his home are masjids, mosques and other places
where he can struggle for his cause. He is equipped with science and knowledge of God; he is far
from heedless behaviors. He always makes a planning and programming of his affairs. He can
perceive relationships between causes and effects and penetrate the spirit of the things to the
utmost.
As we mentioned above, the western world of today are at their peak at present since they
have got these qualities belonging to Muslims whereas the Muslim world have become a
representer of bad attributes that completely belong to them. The Muslim has come to the masjid
in a way dressed with their attributes and the other one has run to the church with qualities
belonging to the Muslim. In plain words, what is victorious today is not the west itself but
qualities of Muslim they possess. And what is overcome today is not the Muslims but attributes
of infidel they got from the west and they imitated. Therefore, our salvation totally depends on
our integration with the Quran.
4. Using Legitimate Means
The religious teacher must make certain that all the methods he uses are legitimate. A
legitimate aim can only be reached by legitimate means. A legitimate target cannot be reached by
using illegitimate ways and means. Our target is the truth. We are the opponents of the evil.
Therefore, we cannot use the evil ways we are opposed to in order to reach this true target of
ours. Otherwise, we will have contradicted ourselves and everything we do. However, no cause
can be based on lie and those that are so cannot last long. In addition, God removed His favor
and blessings from the work of those who use these means in serving Islam. They may gather
thousands of people in open spaces and deliver discourses to them, but this apparently big crowd

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of theirs would not have as much as favor and blessings as the spiritual guidance a few sincere
servants of God who gathered in a quite modest house make for a small group of people because
the former that is thousand will be one whereas the latter that is one will be thousand with the
Divine blessings.
Hearts are in the hands of God. Making people accept what we say and will say, making
them find the right path can only be done by God. Therefore, if our aim is to make people find
the right path, lies and other similar exaggerated expressions will not contribute to the achieving
of this aim but they will hinder it. We are obliged to do this duty of ours within the limits
determined by Islam. Therefore, we must never exceed the limit and use illegitimate ways while
serving Islam. Especially in our present day when the truth and untruth are considered equal, we
have to speak the truth, act correctly and represent the truth.
5. Expectations and Reward in Religious Mentoring
The religious teacher should not have any expectations for his duty. The reward s/he
would expect whether material or spiritual absolutely impairs ones sincerity and purity of
intention. When the sincerity and purity of intention are impaired, that work loses its
effectualness. Even getting a spiritual pleasure and delight from the spiritual guidance one
performs should worry him let alone doing this work in return for money. If material benefit
enters into it, sincerity totally disappears and the work done can no longer be called a spiritual
guidance. The Holy Quran says as the interpreter of all the Prophets:

No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the Worlds (Surah AshShu'ara/The Poets: 26/109). This verse is a most clear evidence of the fact mentioned above. In
fact, the following moaning lies within these words of theirs in a sense:
I suffer pain for you but you call me mad, you insult and torment me, and you try to
exclude me from the society. I go from door to door trying to spread the Word but you try to
close every door to me. Despite all these pains and torments you make me suffer, I ask from you
nothing in terms of this world and hereafter. My reward will be given only by the One who

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charged me with this duty. These are the words and the understanding of duty of all Prophets
from the Prophet Adam (PBUH) to the Messenger of God (PBUH).
When the disciples of the Prophet Jesus (PBUH) came to Antioch if this is really the
place-, ministers and high officials of that time ordered that they immediately be arrested. The
order was executed and the Disciples were imprisoned. A believer called Habib-i Neccar who is
respected and believed by everybody in this region came running and said to the authorities:

Obey those who ask no reward of you (for themselves) and who have themselves received
Guidance (Surah Ya-Sin, 36/21). While narrating this event, the Quran points out to the two
prerequisites the religious mentor must fulfill, in plain words it points out to two more duties of
his. The first one is the religious mentor being in the right path himself and the second is his
asking nothing from anyone in return for the guidance he performs.
Someone who does not observe daily prayers cannot be a religious teacher because words
a man who is not perfectly performing his worships are not listened to and do not have an effect,
either. Someone who earns money from usury, bribery or other illegal things can never be a
religious teacher. Those who spend an extremely luxurious life squandering need themselves to
be guided cannot guide others. Those who do not regulate their life standards according to the
majority of Muslims cannot be considered as following the path of Prophet (PBUH) and His
bright companions. The religious teacher is like a fixed sign showing the truth. Everybody seeing
his way of life sees on his face as the embodied form of the truth and sincerity.
The Quran is a source of true faith for those who fear God. Someone who does not act
within the frame determined by the Quran cannot profit from this source of true faith. The true
faith is the straight road suggested by the Quran. A person who does not lead a straight life is
not said to have reached the true faith. Such a person trying to guide others to the true faith is a
real contradiction. Therefore, religious teachers must adhere to the Prophets while they are
performing the duty of Prophets. Todays religious mentors must listen more than ever to the
words of a perfect religious teacher who has a heart as illuminated as his head. He said: The
people of misguidance accuse religious scholars of making their learning a means of

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subsistence112. They attack them unfairly, saying: They are making knowledge and religion a
means of livelihood for themselves. It is necessary to show this to be false by action... Truly,
rejecting what the people of misguidance say should be by action. The rest is empty talk and it is
pointless.
There should always be a band of sincere volunteers on earth to serve Islam just for love
of God and these heroes who exist for the happiness of the humanity should teach everybody
how a real religious teacher must be. This band must be so sincere to do this voluntarily that their
only property must be barely sufficient for their shroud when they die and sometimes less than
that. This band would be the great supporters of the great cause. There have been many who
talked about putting Islam into practice until now. The way they behaved always disappointed
and belied this nations expectations. Our nation can no longer tolerate being deceived, I think
and what they are looking now is the action not the words. If things a person says are in
accordance with the way he lives, he is embraced and fully supported. Otherwise, he is not
listened to and respected at all.
To put it another way, you would not consider familiar those who do not live exactly the
same way of life as you and you would not put faith in them. In addition, putting faith in
deviated people totally does not conform to the believers sagacity. If you want to put faith in
someone, you first look at his lifestyle. If he lives in a modest way and things he says do not
contradict things he does, you believe in him and this is quite normal. In fact, believing in and
following a person without evaluating him according to such criteria is not a right thing to do at
all. The history evidenced this with many examples. For this reason, one must believe in the one
whose behaviors are in accordance with Islam not in the one who speaks a lot. Those who pay
attention just to the exterior of the matter and who regard loquacity as a big talent will do nothing
but harm in serving Islam. They are far from us in terms of spirit and we must keep away from
them. Moreover, a person who is under obligation and indebtedness towards a group of people
cannot communicate anything to these people. It is for this very reason that Abu Hanife, el-Leys
b.Sa'd, Imam-iSevri, Fudayl b. Iyaz, Ibrahim ibn A`tham and many more were very scrupulous
in these terms. Again it is for this reason that these people went beyond centuries with their
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
112

Mektubat, 2. Mektup s.13

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words and actions and they reached and affected us with their messages. (It was such a prolific
age that so many people to enlighten the world were brought up in it).
For example, Sufyan-i Sevri was very sad and sorrowful once. When he was asked the
reason of his sadness, he replied: I have been teacher to so many people and I have taught them
the science of hadith, canonical jurisprudence and commentary on Quran. However, I saw later
that most of these people get a post of judge or another position and joins the state. This makes
me very sad. I am worried that I might be accused in the hereafter of the things they do113.
The letter Sufyan-i Sevri wrote to the Caliph Harun al-Rashid is a well-known and
exemplary one. Harun al-Rashid becomes the caliph. He expects Sufyan who is an old friend of
his to come and make an oath of allegiance to him. This is certainly his right to expect it for the
sake of such a friendship, but Sufyan does not agree with him at all. Harun al-Rashid can no
longer wait, sends a letter to Sufyan-i Sevri and reproaching says: Everybody came, made his
oath and got what he wanted. But I have always waited for you. Sufyan does not open and read
the letter himself. He makes a student of his read the letter and says I cannot touch the letter a
tyrant wrote. Then he makes him write the answer on the back of the same paper. His student
does not find it suitable to write a letter to the caliph on a dirty paper and objects to it. This great
person answers him: If this paper is bought with the peoples money, we will have sent it back.
If it is his own money, I have no money to spend for him...
He then dictates the following words and gives him advice: Harun, you became a caliph.
You overspent the peoples money. You call me next to you in order to make me witness this.
Dont forget that one day you will go to the presence of your Lord and account for all these
things you have done... A spectator in the palace of Harun al-Rashid narrates the rest of the
event to us: Harun al-Rashid read the letter and sobbed. He used to ask for the letter at the end of
each prayer and say: A friend like you must have been next to me especially today. Thus I
would have avoided deviating114...
What had encouraged Sufyan in addressing to the caliph this way? It was the fact that he
did not submit to the world and that he overcame the world and vanities of life. If he, too, had
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
113
114

Gazali, hy, 1/48

Gazali, hy, 2/507-509

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clung to the world like his contemporaries, he could not have addressed the caliph this way.
Harun al-Rashid was a person who used to observe his Daily Prayers, keep voluntary fast and
who had gone on pilgrimage and minor pilgrimage. He was tender and softhearted, but he was
warned this way by an old friend of his against some wrong spending he had done. Here, I
would like to give an advice to the generations whom we expect will be the salvation of the
humanity: Hold your head high. Do not yield to certain powers! Even if you work for them for
the sake of your service, always act independently! Never be bound by others restrictions in
spreading the Word! Principles set by God are very important. Be a servant only to Him! If you
do so, your words will have an effect and they will accept things you communicate to people.
Moreover, God Himself guaranteed your words power of affecting. If you expect no
recompense from others, you get it from God. This recompense in this world will be your words
having an effect and being honored with paradise and the perfection of God in the hereafter. If
you do not act so and you expect something from the people, first your words lose their effect,
and then you become deprived of the biggest of all favors.
Worldly posts and ranks are transitory. They are not worth clinging to or being proud of.
Official duty performed today is permitted in case of necessity only. Though an official can
spend the salary he earned for himself and family, not leaving it as inheritance is a sign of virtue
because these salaries are definitely soiled by many doubtful things. However, this point I have
mentioned is valid for the circumstances we are in today. I hope that one day these circumstances
will completely change and everybody will find a legitimate way of earning a living.
Today, we are determined to abandon for the sake of spiritual guidance not only the
worldly posts and ranks but also those pertaining to the next world-supposing we possess them.
We must be able to prefer telling a few people something about God to being a saint if necessary
just as we prefer it to being a parliamentarian since what is essential is to warn and guide people
to the right path. No worldly position or rank can surpass this. Therefore, the religious mentor
using his task of spiritual guidance as a tool in his worldly affairs, his using the reputation he
obtained while spreading the Word for his worldly business would be as stupid as to exchange
gold and diamonds with pieces of glass.

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In a weak hadith, it is narrated that someone who acted this way in the era of the Prophet
Moses (PBUH) was metamorphosed into a pig. Though this person used to speak of the Prophet
Moses (PBUH) and His greatness in every social gathering, God transformed him into the most
abominable of the creation for he used all these for his personal interest. God guaranteed His
Beloved Prophet (PBUH) that metamorphosis in terms of outward appearance was abolished for
this ummah. However, many people have been subjected to the same end as that man in terms of
character. We pray our Lord that He protects all dedicated religious teachers and us from being
subjected to such a bad end. He is the One Who accepts and Who can answer the prayers.
6. Issues Related to Addressees
a) Understanding the Addressee
Those who spread the Word must know the addressees very well and strictly avoid
behaviors and attitudes causing antipathy and hatred towards the Message. Things presented by
the religious teacher are all sacred concepts. Religious mentors duty is to make people love
God, His Messenger, His Book and all other religious values so that s/he should be able to adjust
his/her behaviors accordingly. The Messenger of God (PBUH), for instance, was preaching
Islam to the individuals in a way that He never put them in a psychology of deviance. He never
addressed disbelievers or sinners directly. He never accused people in public. However, He used
to address His words to the whole community. Whenever He wanted to point out an issue or a
mistake, He would ascend the pulpit and speak to the whole audience about it.
For example, a companion was supplicating in a place close to the Messenger of God
(PBUH). He had raised his hands up too much and his voice was too loud. This was against the
manners of the prayer. However, instead of talking directly to him, the Messenger of God
(PBUH) had addressed everyone who was there: O people, show mercy to yourselves for you
are not calling One Who is deaf or absent. Verily, you are calling One Who is All-Hearing (and)
Near to you and is with you115. Once the people had complained to Gods Messenger (PBUH)
about an imam who had elongated the congregational prayer. Some of these said O Messenger
of God! We would almost leave the congregation. The Messenger of God (PBUH) knew the
person who was the imam and He was angry. Nevertheless, He had not warned him directly,
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
115

Buhari, Maazi, 38; Mslim, Zikir, 44,45; Msned, 4/403

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instead He had addressed the whole community in the masjid: O people! Why do you make
people hate? When a person leads a congregation prayer, let him make it short, as there may be
around the weak, the sick and the elderly116.
This was the way the Messenger of God (PBUH) behaved against His ummahs mistakes
because He wanted people reach the salvation and addressed every issue in the easiest and least
painful way. He said O people! Whoever says: L ilaha llallah (there is no god but Allah)
enters Paradise. This was the aim of His duty. In guidance for faith, dealing with people and
trying to tell them about the truth by putting them in a psychology of guiltiness is definitely
wrong. Things to be said must be addressed for whole community or congregation. As
everybody benefits from the rays of sun in proportion to his own disposition, they can benefit
from these luminous words in proportion to their own capacities and talents.
b) Knowing Addressees Ideology
It is noteworthy to mention some focal details here: Religious guides and teachers must
pay utmost attention to the ideology of their addressees. More specifically, it is a fact that there
are various approaches and understandings even among Muslim communities, but approving this
fact is totally different than accepting its existence. Ignoring and rejecting existence of this fact is
futile. Therefore, religious teachers should keep in mind that people listening to them can be
adhered to and connected with one of these communities or another group. They must express
their words bearing this in mind and they must never despise, criticize or backbite any
community or congregation. Along with considering its own path and approach as good and
right, one must also have the ethic of accepting the existence of and tolerating other approaches
and pathways. God does not approve actions contrary to this and He immediately cuts off favor
and blessings from the guidance of those acting in the way He does not approve. All religious
guides and teachers must respect all religious communities and concede the knowledge of others
oppose them. Words they say must be in a way to be accepted or appreciated by everyone
because God does not please and approve those who criticize and treat believers badly, who
break off relation with those who had a connection with Him even if this connection is only the
declaration of Gods unity.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
116

Buhari, Ahkm, 13; Mslim, Salat, 182

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In addition, getting in contact with almost everybody who has a relationship with God
shows a degree of a persons relationship with God. It is also very important to adjust intensity of
our relationships with addressees according to their intensity of relationship with God. Religious
teachers must be cautious about this principle more than anyone else and invite others not to their
pathways or understanding, but to Islam directly. The most important factor that bring people
together and unite believers will be development of this consciousness.
Understanding the addressee is possible through knowing and realizing his/her social
status and cultural background. Also, this situation is vital for the method of conveying the
message. Spiritual guidance or disseminating the message to others is a duty along with knowing
its appropriate methods. For example, if you attempt to respond to an enemy attacking you with
arms and weapons with a piece of wood in your hand, you may be considered responded against
the danger, but you will actually cause a defeat and a fiasco since you have not observed the
appropriate methods. Using the appropriate methods is vital, if such an attempt harms the whole
Muslim world. As we insistently mentioned above, knowing the techniques of religious guidance
is one of its essentials. We already believe in necessity of spiritual guidance, but we have to
admit that spiritual guidance is a technical duty as well. If what we say is quiet above or under
level of an addressee, our efforts do not fit in its proper techniques, so it is less likely to be
successful. For example, the first issue that must be explained to an atheist or someone faltering
in the disbelief is not the virtues of tahajjud prayer (night prayer). Instead, he must be told
about pillars of the faith according to his level of understanding. As today, disbelief originates
from side of science and knowledge; the wording will be employed against it has to be scientific
too. However, so many mistakes are being made towards victims of disbelief because of wrong
diagnoses and wrong methods of treatment. Instead of healing the heart of todays young
generation afflicted with wrongdoings, s/he has been criticized because of their attitudes,
appearance or costumes before looking into their hearts, so they have been scared and made to
escape. Since employing a wrong method during encounters results in people losing the eternal
life, such mistakes in spreading the Word is a vital issue that must be insistently stressed.
While an addressee is speaking of knowledge and science in advance level, you cannot
read him an elementary Muslim handbook, which we do not despise its significance here. The

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point is that while an addressee is continuously rejecting the hereafter, you cannot approach him
by telling legends of saints that would not touch him since human being does not solely consist
of feelings but s/he also has a mind that must be convinced in first place. While telling about the
faith, Sadeddin Taftazani said: You will tell it with evidences and God will fix the light of faith
in his heart. This is the faith. Furthermore, it is such a faith that will drive him to do pious deeds
and to live religious life as a whole. It is always possible that someone who leaped into the
religion with the impulse of his feelings might apostatize in a time when his feelings overcome
him in the opposite way.
The Quran points out scientific and technical issues with hundreds of verses. The Quran
is not a book of physics or chemistry, but it encourages its followers to study these sciences since
they are needed for spiritual guidance in general. One who does not understand anything from
basics of astronomy or who has not read anything from basics of biology cannot properly
understand many Quranic verses because there are such verses whose comprehensibility
depends on even if superficially knowing these sciences. Todays religious teachers and guides
have to follow contemporary science and technology even if it is an encyclopedic learning.
Otherwise, their guidance would not be embracing the all and it would not go beyond a private
conversation.
Moreover, state of addressee sometimes requires teachers and guides descending to his
level by adjusting behavior and speech accordingly. To make it more concrete, it should be
known as a Divine ethic and our Prophet (PBUH) invites us to adhere to the ethic of God. The
Quran is a divine word, which entirely descended to the mind of human being. If the Quran
were not made to descend in accordance with the mind and capacity of the human being, what
would be to become of us?
If God had spoken in His Quran with the words He spoke to the Prophet Moses (PBUH)
on the Mount Sinai, we would not have been able to listen to these words. And again if the
Quran had descended in a style that could only be understood by only people of great intellect
and fertile mind, ninety-nine percent of people would not have been able to benefit from Quran
at all. However, this is just the opposite case: With his Lordship and Magnificence, God
considers the level of his addressees in accordance with their will. His word does not limited to

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Quran alone. Who knows what other kind of ways of speaking Our Lord has, we do not know
them. What we know is He always addressed us according to our level of comprehension and
understanding with the secret of His Oneness (Sirr-i Ahadiyah).
We find in Quran our own level of understanding. The Quran almost addresses
everyone according to his/her level. Whatever his/her understanding and level, everyone feels
that s/he reads his own spiritual state in the Quran while reading. Indeed, one feels in the Quran
as if someone very close to him describes him with all his private features. This is quite normal
since Quran is the word of God Who created the man and Who looks at his heart perpetually.
God created the human being, brought him into being in the corporeal world and gave him a soul
from the world of unconditioned existence. Neither can the soul know exactly the body it
entered, nor can the body know the soul that keeps it erect. The One Who knows both of them
best is the One Who created and united them. And the Quran is His word.
This Divine word is a source of straight path and a guarantee of the right way for human
beings in terms of its content. Also, it is a fountain of guidance for all religious teachers and
guides in terms of its unique rhetoric. We will always look at Quran and learn methods of
addressing from the Quran.
It is true that the Quran addresses to different levels since it is the word of God Who
created and built human being with all his different manifestations. Thousands of scholars
cultivated so far manifested their own levels and differences of understanding in their reflections
and considerations on the Quran. This was also the case in the era of the Messenger of God
(PBUH); in other words, the companions level of understanding and perceiving the Quran was
not the same. And these levels of differences did not become an obstacle to benefiting from the
Quran.
On one hand, just think a bedouin living in the era of the Messenger of God (PBUH) used
to listen to the Quran and benefit from It both spiritually and mentally. On the other hand, great
poets of the time whose poems were hung on the walls of the Kabah also used to benefit from
the Quran in the same way. Lebid was just one of them and he had given up writing poems after
having listened to the Quran. Hansa was a great woman fallen in love with the Quran. She was
one of the best poets of the time. They were face to face with the Quran in this aspect and the

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Quran used to satisfy them both in mind and heart. Many great minds such as Ibn Sina, Ibn
Rushd, Al-Farabi, Imam Al-Ghazali, Fakhreddin Ar-Razi along with Abu Hanifah, Imam Shafi,
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Imam Malik etc. were all face to face with it and instructed by it. This
means that the Quran used to address them in the same way, too.
The Quran considers the intellectual level of human being in every field and addresses
them accordingly. This aspect of the Quran is so colorful that everyone listening to It intently
thinks that he is the only person it addresses. Developments in science and technology are
astonishingly increasing day by day. Stronger scientists are training almost in every field. While
these are training with natural laws, God put in the universe in order to develop their secret
abilities, God put into them, they have Quran, eternally preexistent word of God, as the biggest
helper for them.
Thousands of scientists benefit from the Quran at different levels and consider
themselves under the umbrella of the Quran. A chemist can listen to the Quran as though It
only addresses him. This is the case not only for the chemist but also for physicists, astronomers,
biologists and even mathematicians and geometricians. When they can all listen to the Quran,
they find It speaking in their languages. An agriculturist would find the Quran as though It
mentions agriculture almost from beginning to end. According to a talented doctor, the Quran is
like a transparent, luminously speaking and illuminating guiding center, which is greater than
research centers that pioneer in diagnosis and treatments of diseases. This is applicable to other
fields as well. Consequently, both a farmer plowing and a scientist conquering the space with a
button in his hand can be addressee of the Quran and benefit from It.
The Quran, with its unique quality of being profounder than the profoundest, educates us
in accordance with our distinct conditions. In addition, though the Quran vividly speaks to us of
every branch of science encyclopedically even if it is far more than that. Its only target is the
mankind elevating him to the heavens and from there to the eternity. Doing all these, the Quran
teaches a method too. While speaking, a religious teacher and believer guide, who see and
experience the divine method in the Quran, must consider state and level of addressees. This
task is hard, but it is extremely useful and necessary.

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Those who acquired the habit of speaking in a vague, indefinite and philosophical way in
order to look absolutely serious-minded are in big error because what is essential in spiritual
guidance is the message being received in the best way by the people addressed. Besides, this
depends on giving the message as clear, plain and intelligible as possible. Conversations must be
made in a style that can easily be understood by men of all levels.
Todays youth are totally stranger to religious terms and words. They should be
addressed in a language they can understand. We can compare this to our conforming to
childrens behaviors. While spreading the Word, the understanding of the people addressed must
be taken into consideration just as we conform to the way of walking of a three-year-old child
while we are walking with him, we speak the way he speaks, we laugh the way he laughs and we
behave the way he behaves. Pompous words we use while speaking to children would just make
them laugh but would not increase their knowledge.
While we are telling our young generation about the Islam, we need not the philosophical
styles of Bergson, Pascal, Plato and Descartes but the Prophet Muhammads (PBUH) method of
guidance and preaching Islam. The Messenger of God (PBUH) always used to conform to the
level of understanding of the human being. He used to address in way to include everybody and
behave as a child with children, as a young person with the young and as an elderly person with
the elderly. This system and this Divine ethic are the system and the ethic of the Prophets. The
Sultan of the Prophets said the following and whispered us an indispensable principle in calling
to faith: We, the band of Prophets, were enjoined to always descend to the level of the people
and to speak in a way they can understand us117. In another eye opening hadith of Allahs
Apostle (PBUH) advised religious teachers and guides that Speak to people according to their
intelligence118.
c. Avoiding Debate in Spiritual Notification
If the religious mentor has to make a dialogue with the addressee, he must pay attention
not to turn the conversation into a debating because what speaks in a debate is the self and ego,
not the truth. Therefore, for the truth, such a position is no different from surrendering to the
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
117
118

Zebid, thaf'u Sade, 2/65

Eb Davud, Edeb, 20; Mnv, Feyz'l-Kadir, 3/75

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devil. No matter how persuasive and literary the things we will point out, they will neither have
effect on nor welcomed by the addressee. When we consider this issue from a psychological
point of view, we will see that debating is improper and insufficient. Preparing for the debate, we
try to equip ourselves with ideas and thoughts that will defeat our addressee who suddenly
becomes an opponent; therefore, s/he will do the same. S/he will certainly respond to the
evidences with counter evidences and the conversation will turn into such a vicious circle that no
conclusion will be obtained after so many days of discussion.
Our Prophet (PBUH) had been drawn to the position of debating once or twice and He
had tried to convince the person against Him in this way though119. However, what is remarkable
here is that the demand for the debate totally came from the opposite side. In such a position, our
Prophet (PBUH) would not certainly keep quiet since the religious confidence of those listening
to Him could have been shaken. However, most of these people who had come to the Messenger
of God (PBUH) in order to debate had not been persuaded but the evidences had silenced them
that do not mean the person against us is guided into the true faith.
Even though Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) often encountered with Israelite scholars in a
debating manner, one of these encounters resulted for them in conversion to Islam. Yet, He was a
Prophet for whom the universe was created and to whose heart all inspirations of the earth used
to flow like cascades. He had many miracles. To put it another way, he was always surrounded
by miracles. However, those who had been in the position of debating this way or another could
never be drawn to the true faith. They could not go beyond being silenced by evidences.
Abdullah b. Selam was Jewish who had come to the presence of the Messenger of God (PBUH)
to accept the truth. He had thought, If this is the person whose features are described in the the
Holy Books, I will immediately believe him for certain. As soon as he saw our Prophet (PBUH),
he had understood that there could be no lie on his face and he was converted to Islam120.
Addressee and addresser may not always consider Gods sake in a guidance atmosphere,
which turned into an unnecessary debate because in such a situation both parties would be under
tension of protecting his/her self and egoism instead of seeking Gods sake and approval. In fact,
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119
120

Tirmizi, Daavat, 69; Msned, 4/444; bn-i Hacer, el-sbe, 1/337; bn-i Hiam, Sre, 1/313-318
Tirmizi, Kyme, 42; bn-i Mce, kme, 174

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God does not approve a situation in which His approval is not taken into consideration. As the
true faith is completely in the hands of God, it is certain that His true faith does not exist where
His approval is missing.
d. Setting Standards in Religious Mentoring
Spreading the Word in a society does not only mean a duty, but also mean setting
standards and principles that will be used as a measurement in every aspect of believers lives.
Individuals in that society regulate their actions, organize their days and spend their nights
according to this measurement in order to accomplish this duty. Going to the masjid from time to
time, performing the hajj and participating in religious ceremonies should not be considered as
standards. A good religious teacher must strictly avoid him/herself all behaviors, which can ruin
the consciousness of this sacred duty and turn the cause into a mere formalism and
ceremonialism. Regular religious ceremonies and formal spiritual activities can be a way of
consolation for some, but they cannot be standards of society in which spiritual notification
occur. Essentially, one of the main reasons that corrupt the society and weaken its physical and
spiritual resistance is the lack of performing the duty of enjoining good, forbidding evil in a
conscious and structured way.
This holy duty should be seen as a congenital debt on each believer today because
mischief-making groups firstly penetrates into individuals and communities. Then, this pelage
sieges societies and drag people into devastation. It must be insistently emphasized that this is
primarily a matter of faith. Those who maintained this sacred duty has always become the ones
had strong faith. This became a fact of yesterday and it will be the fact of tomorrow as well.
When we look at our history, the duty of spreading Word started among few strong believers and
then became a movement and sacred burden for many believers.

On one hand, the most

outstanding and characteristic aspect of such a sacred movement is that it was far from
formalism and ceremonialism. On the other hand, a movement that is far away from suffering
and pain cannot go beyond formalism and ceremonialism. Indeed, a tearless, painless,
ceremonial, and formalist movement neither has a firm foundation nor a bright future. Such
movements cannot produce hope, love, sincerity, embracement, and perpetual existence on the
way of this sacred duty, spreading the Word.

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A religious mentor has to regulate his/her behavior and action according to the duty on
his shoulder. In every circumstance, s/he should have the consciousness and awareness of
addressing and acting based upon spiritual guidance. A religious mentor does not go out just for
pleasure or amusement. S/he channels even natural needs towards this cause. Religious mentors
follow the way of the Prophets, saints and martyrs by consciously spending the life knowing that
one day s/he will be called account for every breath. They always tell what they live and they
always live what they tell. As for hypocrites, they tell things they dont live and even ignore the
truth they just speak of. They not only deviate from the true path but also drag others following
them to the destruction.
God addressed Jesus (PBUH) whom He sent as a religious teacher to human beings in the
following way: O Jesus, son of Mary! Give advice to yourself first. Give advice to others after it
takes a warning. Shame on you if you do not do so121! Essentially, this is not only addressing
Jesus (PBUH) as a Prophet. Here the expression O Jesus! was used, for He was in the position
of guidance and spreading the Word with reference to God. Therefore, when a religious mentor
gives advices must practice the advices in his own life first so that s/he will able to convince the
addressees. Quran expresses this fact in a clear way:

Do ye enjoin right conduct on the people, and forget (To practice it) yourselves, and yet
ye study the Scripture? Will ye not understand? (Surah Al-Baqara/The Cow: 2/44). It is
suggested that you to start with yourself, so will you not still think the better of it though you
continuously read these verses? This verse is a direct threat against the Israelites, an indirect
warning to the Muslims and it says, Never ever do this. As we said before, not doing what he
says is a sign of hypocrisy and deception. During periods of decline, we, as the whole nation,
witnessed many times the inefficiency of people who acted so and we saw that people had not
trusted them. There were so many people representing the intellectual side of Islam, explaining
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121

Gazl, hy, 1/78; er-Rislet'l-Kueyriye, 216

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Islam in an academic level and even perpetually producing ideas on this subject. All these efforts
vanished without leaving a trace, for they did not practice what they said. In other words, their
behaviors were not straight and their words did not originate from their faith. However, they
used to tell people about the straight path and they claimed to be guiding people to the truth.
Later a light wind blew; a slight tremor took place and sufficed to ruin these completely. They
forgot what they said and would say. They even denied all they had said and became fiery
supporters of the opposite ideology. Consequently, they were destroyed and vanished, but
unfortunately, they ruined a civilization along with themselves. Shame on them!
e. Purity and Sincerity
The religious mentor must absolutely preserve the state of acting referring purity and
sincerity. The religious mentor must preserve his humility in every stage of life no matter what
higher position or rank he accomplished. In fact, humility is the essence of Islam. In non-faith
systems, relationships among individuals are based on egocentrism. Ego of these people
always bears a hidden arrogance in itself. Therefore, humility is replaced by vanity and modesty
is replaced by arrogance and egocentrism. These kind of egocentric weak points exist in human
nature. Unless these are corrected and replaced by virtues, it will be inevitable for a religious
mentor to loose his/her unique moral characteristic. Therefore, it can be said that someone
bearing vanity and arrogance can be everything, but not be a religious mentor because spiritual
guidance is at odds with these wicked characteristics.
The religious mentor is the person who preserves his state of acting and remains
unchanged all times and under all circumstances, who does not lose his self-control upon any
accomplishment, and who completes the task he undertakes with humility and sincerity from
beginning to the end. Indeed, modesty becomes his irremovable attribute while fulfilling his
sacred duty and he dies with it. Even if he changes the universe, makes worldwide revolutions
and even if everything on earth and in the sky is given to his disposal one day, no change or
corruption in his morality can draw close to him. What we need most today is religious mentors
possessing this quality. What we need is a powerful religious teacher who can lead masses, make
others listen to him, make inspirations of his heart to be reflected around him

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The most outstanding aspect of a sincere and truehearted believer is his humility and
modesty. His life is quite plain. His house and neighborhood are surrounded by the view of his
purity. Indeed, he has taken this praiseworthy quality from Quran and the matchless life of the
Messenger of God since the Sultan of Sultans (PBUH) always acted and lived this way. He
(PBUH) had the same humility on the first day He (PBUH) started addressing the Message in
Mecca as well as on the day He (PBUH) entered Mecca as a conqueror with a great army where
eight years ago He (PBUH) had been compelled to leave from. His (PBUH) head, which was
touching the mane of his camel while He (PBUH) was riding, was the sign of his unique humility
that had deepened day after day. He (PBUH) was thirsty and He asked for a glass of water. There
were glasses for public use around the Well of Zamzam. One of the companions ran to fetch a
clean cup from a nearby house. The Messenger of God (PBUH) immediately stopped him and
said that He (PBUH) wanted to drink water out of the cup used by everyone. He (PBUH) never
wanted to have a privilege and said: I (PBUH) am also a man among men. I should drink out of
the vessel everyone uses. In addition, He (PBUH) had spent His entire life on a mat made of
date palm leaves. He (PBUH) had made His hegira, His (PBUH) departure to the next world
happened on that mat too. They lifted the mat He (PBUH) had slept on and buried Him (PBUH)
under that mat. The Prophets (PBUH) tomb, which is more sacred than the paradise for us, is
where this mat was situated. There was no zigzag in His (PBUH) life at all. The way of spiritual
guidance should not be so?
When Umar (R.A.) was the caliph, ruling a great country. Nevertheless, He, too, had
never changed the life style He had at the beginning of his journey in Islam. He was the poorest
man of Medina when He became the caliph; He was again the poorest when He died. It was
narrated that his garment had more than thirty patches122. Those who looked for Him would
generally find Him leaned His head to a tombstone and thinking in the Baki' el-Gharkad, the
cemetery of Medina123. That was never-changed lifestyle of the great caliph who had enough
power to crown and uncrown kings! This was his the most effective quality, being a grate
example with His actions and unbreakable consistency in modesty and sincerity.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
122
123

ibl Numn, Umar and His State Management, 2/393.

Kandehlev, Hayat's-Sahabe, 3/587.

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Hatam-Al-Asam, one of the great scholar in hadith, had heard that Muhammad b. Muqatil
who was also a great scholar of hadith and tafsir was ill. Upon one of his friends suggestion, he
decided to pay him a visit. He went to the house of Muhammad b. Muqatil with his friend but
this was not a house, rather a small palace. In the first place, Hatam hesitated entering the house.
He could not resist his friends request and he entered, but he regretted doing so since the interior
part of the house was more gorgeous than the outside of it. Muhammad b. Muqatil was laying on
his bed in his wonderful bedroom and a servant standing was continuously fanning him to make
him cool. Previously surprised Hatam was shocked now. Muhammad b. Muqatil was not an
ordinary man but a great scholar. He must have absolutely been performing his night prayers and
his prayer rug must have been wet with tears. But he, too, was in need of being guided because
of his weakness in desiring to spend a luxurious life. Hatam-Al-Asam was a true person who
could perform this duty and could tell him some thing. He wanted to do so and started to speak: -Through which chains of narrators do the hadiths you narrate reach you? Muhammad
b. Muqatil thought this was an ordinary question of hadith origin and answered:
-All of the dignitaries I narrate from are reliable people. For example, I narrate from so
and so. This is a trustworthy person. And he added: My sheikh is so and so. Hatam continued
asking:
-Who is his sheikh? Who does he narrate from?
-He narrates from so and so.
-Who does he narrate from?
-From Ali ibn AbuTalib.
-Who does he narrate from?
-From our Prophet (PBUH).
-Who does our Prophet (PBUH) narrate from?
-Naturally from Jibreel.
-Who does he narrate from?
-From our Lord certainly. Hatam-Al-Asam made a witty retort here and said:
-This means that hadiths reach you through so reliable chains of narrators. Can you tell
me now whether any one of these hadiths reaching you includes a narration about the virtues of

206!

living in such a mansion, among such servants and in such a warm bed? The more he spoke, the
more Muhammad b. Mukatil became embarrassed. His illness got suddenly aggravated. People
around him said to Hatam Stop talking, you will kill the man but he replied in a more severe
way: It is you who kill him by acting so124. The real harm and actual killing is to stay quiet
against those who initially set out for spiritual guidance but later change their lifestyle because of
favor shown by people and the world. Hatam-Al-Asam had done the best what he had to do at
that moment.
One day Hatam paid another visit to Imam Al-Tanafisi who was among big scholars of
his era. He was living a luxurious life, for he had a close contact with state officials. Hatam-AlAsam said to him: Sir, would you check my performing ablution and warn me if I have a
mistake and he starts performing ablution, but he washes his face four times instead of three.
Al-Tanafisi immediately interrupted him: You will wash it three times. The fourth is
squandering. These words were what Hatam expected to hear. He stopped performing ablution
and said: You say washing my face one more time, my using a handful of water more is
wasteful. Isnt it a squandering spending your whole life in this palace, in this pomp and
magnificence, on these carpets? Or did Islam forbid us squandering only for ablution?125.
Tenafisi, too, was a great scholar and a virtuous person, but his close contact with state officials
had engaged him to such a life perception. As this life does not suit the lifestyle of the religious
teacher, Hatam had decided to warn and guide him.
Those who live such a luxurious life today is unfortunately slipping through this deadly
position generally because of a wrong consideration. They are not aware of the fact that these
people who could not discover their true essence want to make up for the deficiencies in their
character with a luxurious life. A person who is unified with his character would not deign to use
such simple means. The religious mentor is a person who is unified with his character above all.
Therefore, he is not supposed to be asking for such a luxurious life.
Humility is a sign of grandeur. One learns how to be a human being when he learns how
to be an ordinary human being. Those who grow with casual causes tend to be nothing when
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124
125

Eb Nuaym, Hlye, 8/80,81.

Eb Nuaym, Hlye, 8/81.

207!

these causes disappear. If it is his wealth, property and rank that make a person grow, losing all
these means a complete collapse and devastation for him. However, a persons value should
originate from his inner self and from his essence so that casual situations do not harm his
personality, so that he always remains as himself. Casual causes cannot decay a person who is
steady on his sacred way. Even his death cannot destroy him. Hearts of thousands of people
would be an eternal palace for him, no matter he has no home on earth, no matter he spends his
life on a mat, and even no matter there is no tombstone indicating his name
Consequently, religious teachers must live a plain and pure life. Whatever the point they
eventually reach and the level they arrive to in the social life, they must pay attention not to spoil
their purity.
f. Persistency
Persistence in the sacred duty is a way of gaining Gods approval and earning His sake.
At the same time, it is religious mentors sign of sincerity. It is the secret of effectively
convincing the addressees about the Message. Persistency is a significant parameter indicating
the Messages true meaning and importance. In fact, God pays importance to human beings
saying La Ilaha illAllah Muhammadun Rasullulah (There is no lord worthy of worship except
Allah. Muhammad is the messenger of Allah) and wants it to have place in mens heart. Because
the religious mentor devotes himself to what Allah pays importance and strives to make this
declaration of Gods unity to take root in hearts, he responds in the same way to the thing God
considers important. This is what a religious mentors insistence means.
In addition, respecting and considering important what God considers important is a sign
of devotion (Taqwa), of fear of God in the heart. The Quran says:

Such (is his state): and whoever holds in honor the symbols of Allah, (in the sacrifice of
animals), such (honor) should come truly from piety of heart (Surah Hajj, 22/32). The
Messenger of God (PBUH) exalted the declaration of Gods unity in His hadith by Whoever
says La ilaha illAllah at heart enters Paradise126 and always indoctrinated His companions by
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
126

Mslim, man, 52; Tirmizi, man, 17; Heysem, Mecmeu'z-Zevid, 1/18

208!

it. For instance, our Prophet (PBUH) had honored Khalid bin Walid with the title of The Sword
of God. Thus, this was as if the Messenger of God (PBUH) had congratulated Khalid (R.A..) on
his prospective conquests from the beginning. During a battle, whatever the reason was, Khalid
(R.A..) had killed his opponent who said La ilaha illallah. Our Prophet (PBUH) became so sad
because of what Khalid did. Then, He heartbrokenly had raised His hands and supplicated His
Lord saying O Lord, I take refuge in You from what Khalid has done127. In the light of Our
Prophet (PBUH)s attitudes against such event, how dare a believer can favor violence in the
name of Islam?
The religious mentor must insist on what God pays importance. This shows how sincere
and devoted he is for his cause. Someone who does not devote all his life to his cause cannot be a
religious mentor and a mentor in religion. The religious teacher should explain the Message
again and again even hundred times if needed in a tireless way. He strategically should
contemplate about any developments would affect addressees level of acceptance. Also, he
should try to catch the right time and place to deliver the message effectively. A religious mentor
should insist on spreading the Word throughout his life without being hurt and offended just like
the Prophets who had conveyed the Message persistently. Throughout Twenty-three years in His
prophethood, the Messenger of God (PBUH) perfectly and ceaselessly represented this
consciousness. Who knows how many times He (PBUH) warned Abu Jahil? He (PBUH)
organized countless gatherings persistently invited Meccans to His dining in order to notify them
about His Message 128 . His Companions and companions successors presented the same
consciousness. Insistence had been their trademark.
Persistence is a natural result of perceiving spiritual guidance as a sacred duty. Religious
mentor should know very well that his duty is to explain only because converting people is
neither something he has in his power nor his duty. For a religious mentor, earning the sake of
Allah is not depending on the addressees acceptance but only delivering the Message
appropriately and persistently. Such noble understanding of the religious mentor is the secret of

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127

Buhari, Ahkm, 35; Cizye, 11; Nese, Kudt, 17; Msned, 2/151; bn-i Esir, sd'l-be, 2/110.
Msned, 1/111; 1/159; Tefsr- bn-i Kesir, 6/178,179; Kandehlev, Hayat's-Sahabe, 1/108,109; Beyhak,
Delil'n-Nbvve, 2/179,180.
128

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acceptance of the truths he conveyed because expecting the result from God is a sign of the
purity in intention, which is the essence and wisdom of all worships.
10. Having Foresight in Actions and Conformity with Laws of Nature
The religious mentor or religious teacher should never challenge laws of nature and he
should always be discreet. Because the human nature is determined with these laws (Ayat AlTakweeni), the Message cannot be effectively delivered without considering these laws. In other
words, characteristic differences in human nature must be taken into account while fulfilling the
sacred duty. If not, no matter how brilliant and how attractive words you spend to the addressee,
it may not be welcomed or your addressee may find your words bizarre or too idealistic.
To elaborate the point above, every human being has inclination to love. Ignoring this
fact, you cannot ask people not to love. Even if you do so, people will definitely deny. Instead,
the religious mentor should find a way to channel this love towards worldly and transitory
matters into the eternal and everlasting ones by suggesting and teaching it to his addressee. If
love is directed to the transitory ones, it becomes the source of calamity. However, if love is
directed to God, it becomes the source of happiness in both worlds. Therefore, it would be right
to ask people to love the Eternal One and love other things because of His sake, instead of asking
them not to love.
Similarly, every person has the feeling of obstinacy, which could be a great source of
clash and conflict among people as we witness many examples from our own lives. The
existence of this feeling bring about rage and violence and its absence brings balance and order.
Having many negative aspects on the surface, obstinacy was given to the human being on
purpose. For example, obstinacy can be a great source of steadfastness in the way of truth. Lack
of obstinacy may result in disloyalty in religion under a pressure or difficult circumstances; as a
result, directing this sentiment into positive way more likely results in very good outcomes for
believers. Therefore, it is more useful to tell people to use obstinacy in keeping persevering in
the truth and in the way of God instead of telling them to give up obstinacy.
Again, the human being has the feeling of eternity. Having a beginning and an end,
however, he is not eternal in terms of physical being. Even though his existence gives signals to
the death from very first time in the womb of his mother, he is not able to eradicate his feelings

210!

of eternity. In that sense, this sentiment is given to him for a higher purpose, which is to earn his
eternal life. Human being should use this unique sentiment in order to earn Allahs sake, stay in
the paradise forever, and watch Allahs perfection in the hereafter. Otherwise, this sentiment
could become a source of nihilism and despair and one afflicted with despair and nothingness
cannot be expected to be peaceful and balanced in his life.
We can discuss about various sentiments illustrating the main idea we try to shed light
on. Understanding and discovering the feelings of addressees and redirecting his or her
sentiments into positive way are religious mentors responsibilities. A religious mentor must
have the insight to deal with revealing the addressees powerful sentiments and direct them into
beneficial ways.
Suffering and pain are the fate of this way. For this reason, the religious mentor has to
resign himself to suffering and pain just from the beginning as the Prophets, saints, martyrs and
all pious spiritual teachers did. Sacred supporters of this divine cause are definitely to follow the
way these people followed and they will definitely suffer what they were subjected to. If this
way is a natural one, deviating from this way means deviating from the goal, from the target. The
one deviating from the goal cannot be called a religious mentor.
Noah (PBUH) suffered this pain for ages. Abraham (PBUH) was expatriated for this
cause and was thrown in the middle of the fire again for this cause. Moses (PBUH) suffered a lot
from the Israelites. Yahya (PBUH) was cut into two; the Messiah (PBUH) was subjected to
many troubles because this is a heavy cause. This is a hard cause and the fight is with the will
power in this cause, which is the hardest of all struggles. Those who cannot love this fate, who
cannot endure pains in this way willingly, cannot follow this path of the Prophets. Their will
weaken at some point, they will stumble and fall
Hris b. Hris (R.A..) tells the following: My father and I were going to Baytullah (the
House of Allah, Kabah). I was a little boy at that time. When we approached Baytullah, I saw
that a big crowd was incessantly beating a person they had surrounded. I asked my father whom
they were beating; he answered a Sabean (idolater). I had not understood the meaning of this

211!

that day, but later I saw that the person who was being beaten was Gods Messenger (PBUH)
who was continuously saying: O people, say La ilaha illallah, reach the salvation129.
This kind of events that were engraved in the childhood memory of Haris b. Haris (R.A..)
had been a part of all Muslims, and mostly of Gods Messengers everyday life during the
Meccan era. Once, they had attacked and beaten the Messenger of God (PBUH) again. At that
moment, His daughter Fatima (R.A..) had run there and started cleaning the blood on her fathers
face and crying simultaneously. However, the Messenger of God (PBUH) was consoling His
daughter even in that situation and saying Dont cry my daughter; God would not sacrifice your
father130.
Another day, the Messenger of God (PBUH) was offering prayer in the Kabah. Ibn Ebi
Muaid who was the biggest evildoer of his tribe came from behind and started to throttle Him.
AbuBakr (R.A..) hearing about it hastened to help Him and said: Will you kill a man because he
says My Lord is God? And AbuBakr God knows how many times he had been beaten and
fainted somewhere in Mecca streets and had been dragged home by a few people who knew him.
The first words of his when he opened his eyes were: How is the Messenger of God?131
While the bodies of Ammar, his father Yasir and his mother Sumayyah were being
branded with melted iron at different corners, the faith of this path was being engraved in the
historys marble memory132. While Bilal al-Habashi (R.A..) was moaning uttering Ahad, Ahad
(God is One) under the stones, he seemed to prove deserving to be the first muazzin (caller to
prayer) of the Holy Prophet (PBUH)133. While his hands and feet tied, his mother was dragging
Talha ibn Ubaydullah (R.A..) along the streets134. While Zubayr ibn al-Avvam (R.A.) was
wrapped in a mat and burnt135, they were all reflecting the fate of this sacred way.
Another example is Abdullah Ibn Huzafa al-Sahmi (R.A..) who was captured by the
Romans. He had been tortured for days and forced to convert to Christianity. When he refused to
do so, they had decided to execute him. He cried while walking towards the gallows. When he
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129

bn-i Esir, sd'l-be, 1/384; bn-i Hacer, el-sbe, 1/275.

Kandehlev, Hayat's-Sahabe, 1/252.
131
bn-i Kesir, el-Bidye, 3/29,30.
132
bn-i Hiam, Sre, 1/342; bn-i Sa'd, Tabakt, 3/246-248
133
bn-i Hiam, Sre, 1/339,340
134
bn-i Hacer, el-sbe, 3/410.
135
bn-i Hacer, el-sbe, 1/545; Heysem, Mecmeu'z-Zevid, 9/151.
130

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was asked the reason, he answered: I wish I had now as many heads as my hair so that I could
sacrifice one of them for the sake of God every day. I am sorry for not having been able to reach
such an honor and I have shed tears for this reason136.
The first narrative tells the peak moment of his legendry life, a second one describes this
last moment of his: While Abdullah Ibn Huzafa al-Sahmi (R.A.) was walking towards the
gallows with a smiling face, a priest who was watching approached him and asked the soldiers
the perduty to talk to him for a few minutes. He said to Abdullah Ibn Huzafa al-Sahmi (R.A.):
My son, you will be executed a few minutes later. I asked the perduty to talk to you. If I can tell
you at this moment about the Christianity, the true religion, you will obtain the hereafter even if
you lose your present world. In that way, you may please the king and he will forgive you...
Abdullah Ibn Huzafa al-Sahmi (R.A.) answered him in a serious and dignified way: Dear
priest! I dont know how to thank you now. If my religion had not forbidden it to me, I would
kiss your hands because you have saved me from a big trouble. I was very sorry of being to die
without telling anyone about the truth, but now you have given me this opportunity. If I can tell
you about Islam, the true religion, in these few minutes, I wont be grieved even if I die because
this will probably help you to save your eternal life!
Everyone who was there along with the priest was thunderstruck to hear these words
since none of them could understand this love of disseminating the Message in him. The ardor
and enthusiasm of the religious mentor must always be like a sun that never sets and illuminating
the surroundings must become the goal of his life. The way to success passes through pain and
suffering. When compulsory pain comes to an end, optional pain starts. The following is an
example to this:
When the public treasury was full of spoils, Gods Messenger (PBUH) was experiencing
His optional suffering. Sometimes it would be one week and He did not use to eat a morsel. Abu
Hurayrah (R.A.) narrates: One day I entered Gods Messengers house. I saw that He was
offering the prayer in a seated position. After the prayer, I asked Him whether He was ill. He
answered, No, Abu Hurayrah, I am not ill. But hunger made me feeble. I started to cry and He

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136

bn-i Hacer, el-sbe, 2/296,297; bn-i Esir, sd'l-be, 3/212.

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consoled me saying, Dont cry AbuHurayrah! Those suffering of hunger in this world will not
be subjected to severe punishment in the hereafter.137
Islam, with all its magnificence, had been established on the roots of such a life. And if it
is to prevail in hearts again, it will do so by rising on the shoulders of the heroes possessing and
representing the same spirit. This great task is not something that can be accomplished by men of
bureaucracy and those who know nothing about pain. This universal truth can be seen in the
advice the Prophet Lokman (PBUH) gave to His son, in other words to the young who are the
great representatives of the great cause. The Quran confirms this advice of Him as an eternal
principle and presents it to us:

O my son! Observe prayer, and enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and be patient under
whatever shall betide thee: for this is a bounden duty (Surah Lokman, 31/17). The verse
expresses that the one observing prayer, enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong will
definitely be subjected to calamities and disasters. This is like the two different faces of the same
truth in a sense. The person who does one of these has caught only one face of this truth, the one
who does both of them has caught both faces of it and is supposed to be on the right way to God.
As for the truth here, it has three faces and being a perfect man depends on representing all the
three of these. The path of the great men is this one, I think. For this reason, those who are the
candidates for shouldering the cause of the Prophets must go through the same way. What those
acting otherwise do is nothing but an adventure. One should always take refuge in God from
being dragged to such adventures with unknown future.
I had mentioned that not opposing the laws of nature, considering insight and sagacity to
be the basis of his guidance, knowing the people to be employed in that task were very important
points. The best example to us in this matter is again the Messenger of God (PBUH). One of the
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137

Kenz'l-Ummal, 7/199; Eb Nuaym, Hlye, 7/109.

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evidences to His Prophethood which is closely relevant to our subject-is His employing every
man in a service that suits his talent. And this is the sign of His sagacity and shrewdness in
knowing the people. Whoever He employed in what position, He never regretted it. This insight
He showed throughout His whole life is among the most important evidences of His
Prophethood. For example, He used Hassan Ibn Sabit (R.A.) in polemics towards the
disbelievers138. Hassan threw each line of his poetry like a poisonous arrow and always defeated
the person against him. If that Hassan Ibn Sabit (R.A.) had been employed in the battlefield and
given the position of commander in chief there, this companion so successful in the fight of lines
of poetry might have caused a crushing defeat in the fight of swords.
Those He sent for guidance were companions such as Musab bin Umayr, Muadh bin
Jabal, Ali ibn AbuTalib (R.A.) and some others. And they used to obtain an incredible success in
terms of disseminating the Message wherever they went. However, if the same task had been
given to Khalid bin Walid, he would probably not have been able to do it similarly. Because he
had been created to terrify the lions in the battlefield and the Messenger of God (PBUH) had
always employed him in such places.
Using individuals according to their talents is among the most important aspects of a
religious teacher. The successes of those who do not know the human being with his weaknesses
and virtues and do not act accordingly are always disputable. Moreover, it is not possible to
prevent the waste of men unless every single man is used properly. The religious teacher is the
one who accomplishes this with his insight. He manages to succeed in the heaviest tasks by
acting in accordance with the laws of nature and reaches a speed beyond his power and strength
in his successes.
11. Adjusting the Relationships with Statesmen and the Rich
The religious mentor should not be unnecessarily close with statesmen and intelligentsia
except for the necessity of guidance and preaching Islam. The Messenger of God (PBUH) stated
in a hadith that the wicked of the religious teachers and scholars are those who frequently visit
governors and that the most beneficial of the governors are those who frequently visit the
scholars. Religious mentors must owe no favor to anyone. Those who become slaves of their
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138

Mslim, Fedil's-Sahabe, 151-156.

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stomach, who frequently visit state officials and fawn over them, cannot truly fulfill the spiritual
duty because the human feel to have a responsibility to repay. If the rich and state officials go to
the presence of the religious mentors -provided that there is no exploitation-, this would be an
approved behavior because the real religious teacher can guide and make them feel breaths in his
own atmosphere reminding of the hereafter. This would be a breath of air for someone who got
depressed in the social, commercial and administrative life.
When Umar ibn AbdulAziz was the caliph, there always used to be a group of scholars
near him. Though Umar was living a more ascetic life, he would never neglect consulting with
them. Reca b. Hayve was among these: There were also some people he used to go listening to.
He would say: I deem that one hour I pass near Ubaydullah b. Abdullah is worth a lifetime. He
would always listen to the words of the luminaries very carefully and try to profit from them as
much as possible. Yet, Umar ibn AbdulAziz was as erudite as these people he would go listening
to. This was what had made him Umar ibn AbdulAziz. For this reason, though he was the caliph
for nearly two years, he made achievements of at least fifty years.
However, there are some who said that they frequented the governors to preach Islam to
them but who, some time later, strayed and lost all their gifts bestowed by God, let alone failed
to guide them. However, frequenting intelligentsia and coming together with only these people is
not the way of the Messenger of God (PBUH). This must be done when necessary but the
distance must be kept in order not to compromise the essence. Even at the Meccan Era, the
dignitaries of the Quraish had asked the Messenger of God (PBUH) to devote a day to them. On
that day, people such as Ammar, Bilal, Suhayb (R.A..) would not be present in that assembly, the
Messenger of God (PBUH) would be talking to this intelligentsia only. A verse had been
immediately revealed and what they had asked had been strictly forbidden:
And keep thy soul content with those who call on their Lord morning and evening,
seeking His Face; and let not thine eyes pass beyond them, seeking the pomp and glitter of this
Life; no obey any whose heart We have permitted to neglect the remembrance of Us, one who
follows his own desires, whose case has gone beyond all bounds (Surah Al-Kahf/The Cave,
18/28).

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Moreover, His high soul was quite far from accepting such a proposal. In addition,
keeping his soul content here means ones continuing the way he is. Therefore, God tells our
Prophet (PBUH) that the state He is in is positive and that He must continue to be this way. As a
matter of fact, the Messenger of God (PBUH) had no tendency to accept the proposal of the
disbelievers of Mecca.
Consequently, our Prophet (PBUH) is a religious teacher and the Quran is a book
teaching us methods and principles exemplified in the character of the most perfect religious
teacher. One of the principles taught by the Quran is to keep his distance to the rich, elite,
governing body and intelligentsia, not to owe a favor to them and to continue the guidance
without compromising ones independence of soul. If the humanity finds religious teachers like
this, he will have found a lot. As long as he, on the contrary, remains deluded by the so-called
religious teachers, this nation will continue to wait for religious teachers and religious mentors
for years.

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D. CHARATERISTICS OF THE RELIGIOUS MENTOR

1. Tell What You Live

ne the most important principles of the religious mentor is to tell what he

lives and to live what he tells because convincing people about the Message
is possible only through living or practicing it his own life. Besides, this

principle is a necessity of being a true believer. The true believer is supposed to be a man who
has the unity of character and appearance. In such a mans life, there is no contradiction between
his inner and outer world. A dual living is a real sign of hypocrisy. In addition, the religious
mentor must know that words, advices that are not put into practice will have no positive effect
on addressees. God will bestow no blessings, favor and effect on words and behaviors that are
not sincere. Though sometimes efforts of some insincere or half-sincere people in serving the
religion have certain temporary effect and success, which totally stems from the lack of
alternative. The fact that such a situation sometimes takes place is just because more sincere
people do not exist or because sincere ones cannot form a center of attraction at that time.
For this reason, the fate of the insincere ones is to vanish when the day comes. The
Divine law has come about this way. Therefore, temporary successes of these half-sincere or
insincere people should not misguide believers and wise people. For example, some temporary
successes in both capitalistic and communist fronts in the last two centuries can be seen as the
systems emerged as the alternative of the other. These orders of hypocrisy and deception
flourished at a time when a better and more sincere formation did not exist. However, today, it
can be said that events are closely being followed and under the control of the sincere and openeyed people. From now on, only the sincere ones will be able to find customers to sell their
goods in the world market. The time for the insincere ones to be run out of this Divine market
has come. On one hand, dysfunctional systems, which had been believed as a hope for
humanitys future, have come to their end due to lack of sincerity in their nature. On the other
hand, it can be obviously seen that true believers and their actions are the only alternative for
humanitys future and the world needs sincere actions of true believers today more than ever.
For a religious mentor, telling what he lives or living what he tells will be possible by
self-judgment and personal check-balance. It is impossible to stay away from a dual life by being

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slave of carnal desires and without reaching out maturity. These spirits cannot behave as they are
and they could never be as they behave. They have never been welcomed by people around them
since qualities of these pretend to have in society such as dignity, maturity and stability are
nothing but totally artificial behaviors. These are quite light-minded and frivolous when they are
alone. This refers to a kind of crudeness, insufficiency and inconsistency, and removing all these
from ones life certainly depends on a firm belief, a sound trust and a serious obedience to God.
The religious teacher should be very careful about this subject. When he is alone he
should continue to behave the same way he behaves when he is among others and try to be
sincere in all his behaviors. He should try to do this to such a degree that he should show no
contradiction in his individual and social behaviors. His night should be as luminous as his day
and his day should be so luminous as to give luster to the sun. A sincere religious guide cannot
be careless about even a small mistake. After missing even a night prayer, he should feel
ashamed to speak of prayer in the morning. When he commits a small sin with his eyes, he
should wipe out the dirt with his tears and moans. Even a bite from haram or doubtful food
should cause him stomachache for days and a little deviation should be felt in his soul as the
flames of the hell.
No matter how attractive and necessary the thoughts and the ideas for life, which are not
put into practice, they will not be welcomed by society because these ideas are not reflected in
the conscience of the person who said them. Expecting an idea to be settled in societys
conscience is depending on settling it in individuals conscience.
2. Spiritual Notification and Ordeal
The fact that the duty of spreading the Word is intermingled with suffering and pain is a
Divine decision because only things that are hardly obtained can be preserved with utmost care
and attention. Richness that is not obtained through difficulty, hard work and fatigue can run out
any moment. So much so that running out of the duty of spreading the Word means
disappearance of the humanitys most essential goal on earth and humanitys guarantee of
existing in the world. In other words, humanity loose its meaning of existence in the absence of
spiritual notification which requires hard work, perseverance, pain and ordeal.

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Some time ago in Turkey, groups of people were exiled from jail to jail. Their countrys
prisons became their homes. They suffered all kinds of pains and insults. Many among them did
not return home after they had left in the morning. Many of them had to say goodbye to their
wives and children before leaving the house because the place they would have been taken was
unknown. Their lives were full of pain and struggle and their future were unknown just like what
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and His companions experienced. However, these pure and sincere
efforts and necessity endeavors in the name of Allah started to bring about good results later. The
level that is achieved today has been accomplished by the suffering of these few sincere and
sorrowful people who received Gods support. Therefore, no one has the right to waste this holy
heritage, which has been carried out with a great care, sufferings, and sincere endeavors. And,
this holy heritage will be carried out to the next generations through the same care, sufferings,
and sincere endeavors.
We had previously said that this is a matter of faith. Every individual who preserves the
faith must also be determined to keep it alive. He should care about his religion as much as he
cares about his job, home, and household. Otherwise, it is inevitable to have the fate, which the
Israelites, as clearly mentioned in the Quran, previously had. The religious mentor should often
remind himself that he must stand up to all hardships. Also, he should know and believe deep in
heart that he will not be able to successful unless he is subjected to troubles and calamities that
happened to others who spread the Message. He must always be ready for the hardship in this
way. If he meets something easy, then he must thank God and continue his way faster.
The believer is a sincere person. Doing what he says or saying what he lives is a sign of
sincerity. The opposite situation is considered a characteristic of a liar and a hypocrite. The life
of a person speaking of the faith, the religion, and the Quran should be attuned according to the
principles and standards of what he tells. There should be no space for sin and it should be
regarded as the source eternal suffering. If he had committed a sin, he should spend the rest of
his life with great regret and ordeal.
The religious mentor does not look at the haram, touch the haram and walk into haram.
His night is as luminous as his day and his prayer rug is in love with his prostrations at nights.
He would never say, I missed my morning prayer throughout his life. If he missed it

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unintentionally, he spends the rest of his day moaning in a deep suffering. The lack of appetite
can be seen on his behaviors all day.
3. Proximity to God
The more the religious guide is sincere, the more his words and behaviors are effective. If
there is no sincerity, beauty and magnificence of the expressions do not produce any positive
result. It can even be said that being guided into the true faith does not have much to do with the
explanation. First of all, it is God Who can guide one into the true faith. If He does not want and
will, no one is able to guide another into the true faith. The Quran says:

Indeed, [O Muhammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills. And
He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided. (Surah Al-Qasas/The Stories: 28/56). Therefore, the
only matter is to be in connection with The Sultan of sultans because the key to all secret and
open treasuries is in His hands. Besides, the true faith is the biggest treasure, so it is essential that
the religious teacher lean on Gods omnipotence while he is disseminating the Message with all
his sincerity. In that, many magnificent minds having very high level of art of speaking and
eloquence could not succeed in spreading the Message. They could not even tell the truth to few
people because of lack of sincerity. They regarded themselves cause of every good development
and positive result. Even though they could drag thousands of people behind them, they could
not get any positive result because they were afflicted with the hypocrisy. Some of them used to
enjoin people towards prayer even though they did not pray. Some of them used to mention
virtues of Islam although they did not practice them in their lives. Their tongue was as capable as
a nightingales, but their heart was beating with hatred and evil. Therefore, Quran probably
treated the hypocrisy as the most horrible and disgusting of all degrees of corruption. Therefore,
every sincere religious mentor should prostrate before God fifty times in a day, always take
refuge in Him from prospective hypocrisy, and bag Him for sincerity. The true faith is in the
hands of God. He is the One Who not only gives the strength in human body but also bestows

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sincerity in his heart. Therefore, the religious mentor should claim ownership for none of these
and should not say, I did it, I made it
The unity of faith, statement, and deed is the ideal form of believers according to the
Quranic perspective. Maintaining this equilibrium is an important factor in effectiveness. The
statements such as the one who strives in the path of God may not practice what he tells others;
even if he does not avoid sins, he explains the good and the truth, so this will be enough for
him are the whisperings of the devil and have nothing to do with the Mohammedan soul.
Many strange and modernist minds and thoughts appeared in our time who are as capable
as showing white as black. Even though they always tell about the religion everywhere, there are
not even a few sincere believers among them due to lack of sincerity. They say a lot of things
and even they struggle, but they have not been able to digest the faith and the religion as much as
they present it. They alienate masses while trying to guide them as well as they alienate
themselves from their own society as a result of (or in a nicer way: unintended consequence of),
knowing the religion insufficiently and lack of deed-statement unity, which can be considered as
opposing or betraying the religion intentionally or unintentionally. The Quran illustrates this
point in the Prophet Shuaib (PBUH)s speech in the following way:

He said, "O my people, have you considered: if I am upon clear evidence from my Lord and He
has provided me with a good provision from Him... ? And I do not intend to differ from you in
that which I have forbidden you; I only intend reform as much as I am able. And my success is

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not but through Allah. Upon him I have relied, and to Him I return (Surah Hud: 11/88). He
means: I am not thinking of profiting from what I forbade you. I am not thinking of taking
interest or bribery while I am saying it is unlawful to take interest and bribery. While describing
the society He lives in, the Prophet Shuaib (PBUH) tells these as the guarantee of His own
veracity. This is also the guarantee of every Prophets veracity. It is not possible to see a Prophet
acts in the opposite of what he suggest his ummah.
Certainly, these are essential points for everybody who performs the duty of spiritual
guidance. While the Prophet Shuaib (PBUH) is struggling with the society He lives in, He is
telling us something at the same time. He talks about essentials for the cause and spiritual
guidance. Then, the Quran demonstrates these once again with His ageless expression.
The Messenger of God (PBUH) was a magnificent spirit who used to practice a few times
more than what He told others. No one was superior to Him in worship. He was assigned to the
prophethood and servanthood. He was given this unique incomparable honor. However, while
elevating to the heavens, He had ascended with His servanthood. His servanthood had almost
surpassed His Prophethood and it became His first principle as Quran had ordered Him to do so:

And worship your Lord until there comes to you the certainty (death) (Surah Al-Hijr/The
Rocky Track: 15/99). He observed this order of the Quran throughout His life and never stopped
worshipping. As a result, everything He said was finding place in publics opinion and
conscience. He used to tell what He lived, things He lived in the hardest way. To give an
example, the mother of the believers, Aisha narrated:
O Aisha, will you allow me to be with my Lord tonight? He asked. And I replied: O Gods
Messenger! I like to be with you but I like what you like more. Upon this, he performed ablution
and started the prayer. That night, he shed tears till morning and offered prayer139. He was
certainly a Prophet. He was also a preacher and a religious teacher. His deepest side was the
unreachable depths of His servanthood. In His last period of life, which He was suffering from
sicknesses and experiencing the hardest circumstances, He wanted to continue all of His
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
139

Tefsir- bn-i Kesir, 2/164

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worships as he started in first place. He had all of ummahs responsibilities along with His own
family matters on His shoulder. No one could carry such heavy responsibilities except Him.
Despite all these, He did not want to give up even His supererogatory worships He had
previously started. These were such prayers that even one rakah (a unit of the prayer) would last
hours sometimes. Even though He had no strength to stand up, he used to offer them sitting
instead of giving them up140. What a devotion, what a dignity, what a sincerity, and what a
fidelity it was! He was an example of seriousness and fidelity that would last until the Hour, until
the death, the judgment day comes.
An important aspect of the spiritual guidance is the proximity to God. In addition, if this
proximity does not exist, one will live in emptiness. The person who falls to emptiness on such a
slippery slope stays with only his personal pleasures and delights.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was the one who combined proximity to God and the
guidance in the best way. He was perfect in His duty of preaching Islam as well as He was
perfect and deep in His relationship to God. The time He used to offer His prayers in such a way
that those behind Him would think it would never end. His supplications were in the same way.
His hands would be raised for supplication as if they would never get down.
Once Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud had met one of the supererogatory prayers He used to offer.
He had immediately started the prayer in order to profit from the blessings of the prayer the
Messenger of God (PBUH) was offering. He narrates the rest of the event: I started the prayer.
It was a two rakah-prayer, but the Messenger of God (PBUH) was continuously reciting. He
finished reciting surah Al-Baqara. I thought He would bow, but He started to recite the Al
Imran. He finished it, I thought again He would bow, this time He started to recite the An-Nisaa.
He finished it, too. As I was thinking He would bow, He started the surah Al-Maida and He
finished it, too. He recited these four surahs in the first rakah. Something bad even came to my
mind for an instant Those listening to Ibn Masud asked him: What came to your mind?
He answered: I thought to give up the prayer because it was insupportable141.As we see, the
Messenger of God (PBUH) who told people about servanthood used to practice this servanthood
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
140
141

Buhari, The Azan, 51,82

Buhari, Teheccd, 9; Mslim, Msafirn, 204; Msned, 1/385-396.

224!

himself more than anyone else. He was so superior in this issue that even a leading companion
such as Ibn Masud could not bear the two-rakah-prayer He was offering.
In a period of time He was spending the last moments of His life, like a sun that was
about to set, He had put His head on His wife Aishas knees and was staring at the world of
angels. He was quite weary and rather close to the next world. He would faint from time to time
and when He was poured water down His head, He would come to Himself and open His eyes.
As soon as He opened His eyes, He would ask: Did the congregation offer the prayer?142 He
had lived telling continuously about the prayer and passed away telling about prayer too. His
congregation was also telling about the prayer, they were continuously thinking of the prayer and
were living in full consideration of the prayer.
He was a perfect man and imam in all aspects, a magnificent chief, and a just and patient
ruler. Gods Messengers (PBUH) modest way of living and His being together with His
companions in all matters are among noteworthy points in terms of spiritual guidance. When it
was a matter of building a masjid, He used to carry bricks with everyone; when it was a matter of
digging a ditch, He used to help His friends and break stones143. He used to order others to be a
man among men and practice it Himself before anyone else.
If He invited people to be ascetic, He would try to excel everyone in this matter. There
would be times when no soup was cooked in His house for months, when there was no bed to
have a rest on144. He was more cautious than anyone else towards the haram. He had gotten very
scared when His grandchild Hassan put in his mouth one of the dates given as sadaqah and He
had immediately run and taken it out of his mouth145. Even though Hassan was a five or six-yearold boy at that time, sadaqah was unlawful for both the Messenger of God (PBUH) and His
descendants.
Again, one night He had not been able to sleep and He had continuously moaned till the
morning. His wife Aisha asked in the morning: O Messenger of God! Why have not you slept
tonight, were you ill? The Messenger of God (PBUH) answered: I found a date in the room, I
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
142

Buhari, The Azan, 51; Mslim, Salat, 90.

Msned, 2/381; bn-i Kesir, el-Bidye, 3/215; 4/96; Vakid, Maazi, 2/446.
144
Buhari, Rikak, 17; Mslim, Zhd, 28; Eb Davud, Libas, 42.
145
Buhari, Zakat, 60; Mslim, Zakat, 161.
143

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ate it. Then I thought it could be a date of sadaqah. This was the reason for my pain146.
However, that date was probably one of His personal dates since He would put dates of sadaqah
in a separate place. His cautiousness is an outstanding example in terms of qualities a perfect
believer and religious mentor should possess.
4. Compassion
First of all, the religious mentor should be a hero of affection. He should not have
recourse to making people accept the truth by brute strength. In addition, making the faith in God
prevail in the heart is not possible by this way. Affection in the guidance melts the hearts and
makes the heart of the addressees ready to accept God and His Messenger (PBUH).
The religious mentor persuades the addressee, molds him with his knowledge and attracts
him to himself by his virtues. The fact that everyone who sees and gets to know the religious
mentor considers him to be an exemplary character equipped with virtues is obviously effective
in their accepting what he says. Masses who are frightened would be afraid of those who present
matters in a despotic manner as well as of truths these want to convey to them. However, warm
and appealing are the truths communicated, coldness of the people telling about them will have a
negative effect on the listeners. Such a behavior does no good, it just does harm; and nobody has
the right to keep people away from Islam because of their mistakes.
Affection got peaked in the Messenger of God (PBUH) as all other virtues did. He based
His big cause on important fundamentals including affection and always made His guidance in
the warm atmosphere of affection. A person who said I am to you as a father is to his
children147 is not supposed to be otherwise.
This is certainly true since He had said my ummah as soon as He had born. This is
similar to a very affectionate fathers embracing his beloved child, the fruit of his heart, saying
my child. The Prophet Jacob (PBUH) had only Joseph (PBUH) as His dear one whereas every
member of His ummah was a Joseph for Gods Messenger (PBUH)
He used to open His bosom to each member of His ummah with the affection of a father
to his child and every member of His ummah used to love Him more than his own parents, even
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
146
147

Msned, 2/183,193
Eb Davud, Taharet, 4; Nese, Taharet, 35.

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more than himself. Therefore, a behavior responded with love and respect originating from
affection must be a sine qua non of the religious mentor, because there is no love and respect
where affection does not exist. It is possible to make people obey something by forcing them, but
it is not possible to make them love the truths you tell them by force. There is no such door the
affection cannot open. Ice that does not melt with affection cannot be melted by anything else.
Therefore, if you want to connect people to each other with a warm love, you must behave to
them with affection in the first place to accomplish this aim.
No individual and social problem can be solved unless you forgive peoples mistakes and
unless you show them the truth with affection. For this reason, our Prophet (PBUH) describes
His attitude towards His ummahs mistakes in the following way: The example of me and you is
the example of a man who made a fire. Once the fire is built it gave light to its surroundings. And
butterflies and other living things started falling in the fire and he is trying to prevent them but
they beat him and fall in the fire. This is like me and you. I am preventing you from falling into
the fire and calling you away from it, but you beat me and fall into it148. Thus Gods Messenger
(PBUH) opens before us a big way in terms of guidance and disseminating the Message and
reminds us that the Message can be received by masses if this way is followed and that opposite
ideas and actions will corrupt the matter and cause some people to go to the pit of hell.
If you can handle the heart of todays man with affection, you will have listened to
almost everybody like a saddened and sorrowful heart, because nobody can be happy while
sunken in sins and misery. No one except those whose conscience is totally blackened and whose
spiritual world is completely decayed is staying in this filthy life willingly. He must have made a
mistake and fallen in this state and he can find no way to get out of it. Your helping hand of
affection will show him the way out he is searching for.
A person who is treated with affection in this way and who is told the matters in an
affectionate and moderate way-even if he does not accept what you say at that moment- will
always regard you and the matters you talk about positively. The fact that people who are most
unlikely to embrace the true faith did so at the most unexpected time is a reality that has had
hundreds and thousands of examples until today. Moreover, as those people have embraced the
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148

Buhari, Rikak, 26; Mslim, Fedil, 17-19.

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faith by your means, they will carry this feeling of indebtedness towards you until the end of
their life and naturally as many good deeds as they did will be recorded in your account, too.
Let us give an example to clarify the subject. Let us suppose that there is a fire and
someone you do not like at all is burning there along with all his family. Or let us suppose that a
ship has sunken; people unfamiliar to you are in the sea waiting for a helping hand. You would
immediately take action to save that person you do not like at all or those people you do not
know, you would even risk your life for this. You would not listen to anyone trying to dissuade
you since the voice of your conscience would be more effective than any other voice at that
moment. Rescuing these people from the fire or from being drowned is a point related to their
worldly life of fifty or sixty years. So what should be our attitude towards those who are to be
rescued in terms of their eternal life? The whole point is being able to comprehend this. Not
reproaching people in that state for things they do-let alone getting angry towards them-is an
obligation for every person of conscience.
While the whole humanity is suffering from material and spiritual disasters concerning
his present and next world, religious teachers of today have to consider this subject from this
point of view and interfere in events accordingly where necessary. Beating, showing anger or
violence does not suit the religious teacher. Political interests and telling lies are far away from
him. The religious teacher exists as a hero of love and affection and this is what the hearts in
need of guidance wait for. Gods Messenger (PBUH) is our guiding light in this subject. Look at
the things He endured and suffered for making people say la ilaha illallah for once! People
who stoned and wounded Him, who throttled Him or put tripe on His head while praying, who
put thorns on His way; Gods Messenger (PBUH) always wanted these people to embrace Islam
and He always wanted even His enemies to go to paradise. He expected no favor from them for
Himself. He had been stoned in Taif and had sought refuge in a vineyard His face in blood.
Zayd (R.A.) was with Him. The Angel rushed and said he could cause the two mountains
surrounding Taif to fall upon them if He wished. But that picture of mercy raised His hands and
said, No, for I hope that there shall be among their children those who will worship Allah alone,
and will worship none besides Him149.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
149

Buhari, Bed'l-Halk, 7; Mslim, Cihad, 111; bn-i Kesir, el-Bidye, 3/166-168

228!

Again in the battlefield, when His tooth was broken and a piece of His helmet was thrust
on His face, at the moment the blood would be shed from His face, He had immediately raised
His hands as if trying to prevent the Divine wrath with prayer. He had prevented a disaster
probable to fall to disbelievers by saying My Lord, guide my people because they dont know
(me)150, each word of which is obviously an abundance of affection.
Here I would like to retell an event I had previously narrated many times for it is relevant
to the subject. A young man who has recently embraced the true faith finds himself among
brilliant people and continuously frequent gatherings of those bright people. Once, when the
incredible violations of the opposite side are mentioned, an excited young man says: They must
all be beheaded. The one who has recently embraced the true faith suddenly grows pale and
says to his excited friend in a screaming way: Dont speak so, my friend. If you had made such
a decision and executed it just a few days ago, I would not have been today here among you and
I would have been a poor man who deserved the eternal hell, but as you see, today I am among
you. People of that opposite front also need that soft treatment I have seen. Otherwise, we will
just have destroyed their eternal life and this will do no good neither for them nor us...
These words I tried to express in summary are as if told in the name of the whole youth
suffering from disbelief. Like that young man, I would like to scream at the top of my voice that
the poor young suffering from disbelief needs your affection. It is not possible to obtain anything
by brutal actions. We have to act with our mind and logic, not with our feelings. What is
essential is to persuade people we say to be against us and guide them to the world of heart.
For a religious teacher, even silencing the person opposite by argument must not be a method to
use unless necessary.
A generation of young has been destroyed; obstacles of desires have been set up on the
ways to masjids. Corporeality has been made to be his ultimate goal. Nothing has been taught to
him in the name of religion, faith and Quran. This generation is struggling desperately in a
whirl, which is a normal and expected result. This poor young generation is not the one to get
angry towards. Those who really deserve the malediction of the believers are the ones who
pushed them to this adventure. If there is a fault, it is theirs. I do not claim that the young are
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150

Buhari, Enbiya, 54; Mslim, Cihad, 105; Kad yaz, if, 1/105.

229!

totally innocent but shouting their fault to their face in anger does no good in terms of rescuing
them. We hope that the whole generation can get out of this whirl as soon as possible. This is our
goal of existence and ideal and we have no idea or thought beyond this.
5. Self-Sacrifice
I would like to mention a few points about this subject that must actually be treated and
analyzed per se just to give you an idea. Self-sacrifice, too, is one of the most important aspects
of the religious mentor. Those who do not and cannot venture self-sacrifice from the very
beginning can never be a man of cause. Those who are not a man of cause cannot be successful.
Those who are ready to sacrifice without thinking their property, their life, even their family,
position and status, which are things most people are greatly attached to and aim for, and the
cause supported by these will ultimately reach the peaks for sure.
The Messenger of God (PBUH) also had inculcated this spirit of self-sacrifice to
everybody who supported His cause, primarily to Himself and to His close relations and had
been an example to them by putting it into practice. For example, Khadija (R.A.nha), the
Prophets (PBUH) first wife, had spent all she had got for the cause she believed in without even
putting Gods Messenger (PBUH) in the trouble of asking for it. She met all the costs of the
banquets organized in order to tell disbelievers of Mecca about Islam. This woman, who was one
of the richest of Mecca before Islam, had probably no money to buy even a shroud after her
death.
For every man of cause, along with his spending his possessions, his abandoning the
place he was born into in order to be able to live his religion, idea, freedom and humanity in a
better way, in other words his hegira (migration) is another aspect of his self-sacrifice. All the
companions-whether rich or poor, young or old, woman or man- primarily AbuBakr, Umar,
Uthman, Ali (R.A.), almost all of them migrated. And while leaving their motherland, they left
all their possessions to violent and cruel people of Mecca and were able to take with them only a
little that could be provisions for their journey. When the emigrants (muhajirun) performed such
self-sacrifice in order to represent and communicate the cause they were adhered to, the helpers
(ansar) who welcomed and embraced them responded to them with another dimension of the

230!

self-sacrifice. The helpers, though they were poor and lived on farming, welcomed their Meccan
brothers with open arms and treated them with utmost generosity.
Religious mentors of today also have to put into practice this understanding of selfsacrifice represented by the companions and disciples of the Prophet (PBUH) always considered
to be a high society in all fields and show the same performance as they did. Otherwise, as we
previously mentioned, these people cannot be successful in tasks of guidance.
6. Supplication
The supplication aspect of the religious teacher is not less than his other qualities. He
expects his words being effective and influential only from God. He is the Owner of everything,
of the kingdoms of heaven, earth and hell. Hearts take all forms in His omnipotence. The Divine
command

What has My Lord to do with you if you do not call on Him? (Surah Al-Furqan/The Criterian:
25/77) always makes him turn towards Mecca and supplicate. There are such people who are not
affected even by the most eloquent and elegant words and who embraced the true faith by means
of sincere supplications made at heart. The supplication is the believers weapon as well as the
first and ultimate refuge of the religious teacher. He first takes refuge in supplication, then
communicates his message. His doing so does not mean he goes away from the mind and logic.
On the contrary, this means he comprehends the function of both better. Here are a few examples
to illustrate what a wonderful elixir the supplication is:
Gods Messenger (PBUH) tried all legitimate ways to guide people to the true faith but
never gave up supplicating. For example, He continuously supplicated to God for Umar (R.A.) to
be guided and finally one day, at an unexpected time, God bestowed true faith on Umar (R.A.).
This can be considered to be the blessing of Gods Messengers supplication, too151.
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151

bn-i Kesir, el-Bidye, 3/31; bn'l-Esir, sd'l-be,4/148; bn-i Sa'd, Tabakat, 3/268.

231!

One another day, Abu Hurayrah (R.A.) came to the Messenger of God (PBUH) and asked
Him to supplicate for his mother. Because, until that day he could find no way to his mothers
heart. Upon AbuHurayrahs (R.A.) demand, Gods Messenger (PBUH) opened His hands and
made the supplication: My Lord, guide AbuHurayrahs mother. AbuHurayrah left the masjid
happily and ran home. As he was about to open the door, he heard his mothers voice Stay
where you are, dont come in. While AbuHurayrah (R.A.) was waiting outside, he heard sound
of water coming from inside and thought her mother was probably having a bath. A little while
later, this elderly woman opened the door, got out and recited the Shahadah (There is no God but
Allah, and Muhammad (PBUH) is His Messenger.) AbuHurayrah (R.A.) was astonished to hear
that his mother was reciting the Shahadah and announcing that she converted into Islam. The
Prophets (PBUH) supplication to God had sufficed to this woman for whose guidance so much
effort had been shown so far152.
He suggested all His ummah and companions to adhere to the supplication and warn
them with Say: What has My Lord to do with you if you do not call on Him? He used to recite
so many supplications such as before sleeping, after getting up, while eating or drinking
something, before and after entering the water closet, while performing ablution, it is not
possible to show another person who is so unified with supplication on earth. There is no other
person who remembers God, who takes shelter in God, who looks for Gods approval in every
step he takes.
It is this unique and exemplary life that has attracted the attention of people of every level
in the Muslim world for fifteen centuries and He has always been followed with interest.
Besides, this interest has not fallen to anybody elses lot on earth so far. His entire life from His
eating and drinking to His way of dressing up, from the way He speaks to His style, from His
social and political behaviors to His international practices were recorded in the social
consciousness and in the public memory as a movie and this magnificent life has been the
guarantee of the Muslim societies existence.
Every moment of the sublime life of the Messenger of God (PBUH) was related to God.
In this relation of His, there was no gap, no single frame detached from God because all of His
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152

bn-i Sa'd, Tabakat, 4/328; bn-i Hacer, el-sbe, 4/241.

232!

behaviors including worshiping, eating, drinking and, sleeping were in relation with God. It was
for this reason that all He said and all His behaviors reflected among the Companions.
The utmost care of the companions in living the religion was essentially originated from
the care of the Messenger of God (PBUH) in this subject because they had seen their religious
teacher and guide acting so:

When the verse meaning O ye who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared was revealed,
the companions completely lost their appetite. How would it possible to fear God in accordance
with His Majesty? The verse continued and die not except in a state of Islam (Surah Al
Imran/The Family of Imran:3/102) and it pointed out that it would be very difficult to die as a
Muslim unless one feared God this way.
For this reason, nobody was going to the bazaar, they were just coming to the masjid at
times of prayer and then they were isolating themselves at home continuously worshipping and
praying. After a few days they had all lost weight, almost starving. The Messenger of God
(PBUH) was aware of this situation but He did not know the reason for this sudden change in
them. They did not tell their problem, either. They were afraid of opposing the order. Later,
another verse was revealed, too:

So fear Allah as much as you are able and listen and obey and spend [in the way of Allah]; it is
better for your selves. And whoever is protected from the stinginess of his soul - it is those who
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233!

will be the successful (Surah At-Tagabun/The Mutual Disillusion: 64/16). After the revelation
of this verse, the companions were partially relieved153. The Companions were so careful face-toface with Gods verses and were putting them into practice in this way because their leader used
to act so. Essentially, this state continued this way for three centuries after them.
One should also keep in mind that unless the way of understanding and living Islam
which was put into practice and lived to the smallest details is not treated with the companions
heedfulness, the duty of spreading the Word cannot be considered to have been properly
performed. Like other responsibilities, the duty of spreading the Word also may be handled as
a separate subject. However, differently from other subjects, the issue of spreading the Word
has a peculiarity. It must be within the life, with the life. It must be lived and explained so. It
must not be built on imaginary ideas. Bright spirits who have showed us the light with their life
in this subject and others for fifteen centuries, have all acted this way. Furthermore, God made
them successful because of this sincerity. Therefore, if we want to be successful like them, the
only thing we should do is to follow their way. Umar ibn al-Khattab was a good example in this.
When he was lying comatosely with a dagger in his bosom during his martyrdom, he was
naturally eating or drinking nothing. When the companion serving him asked O Umar! Would
you like to eat or drink something? he would say no with his eyes. He had no strength even to
open his mouth, but when the same companion whispered to his ear Umar! It is time for
prayer, that comatose person would suddenly sit up and say My prayer because this was what
he had seen in the Messenger of God (PBUH). That great person was stabbed during his prayer
and he had died uttering prayer154.
Another example in this issue is from the mother of believers, Aisha. One day, she was
crying. When the Messenger of God (PBUH) asked why she was crying, she answered: I
remembered the hell, thats why I have cried155 because she had known and seen the Messenger
of God (PBUH) like this every night. The Messenger of God (PBUH) had molded and educated
her with such guiding. It was not a matter of prayer only. They were showing the same
carefulness they had for the prayer towards other principles of the religion and faith too because
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153

Tefsir- bn-i Kesir, 8/166.

Heysem, Mecmeu'z-Zevid, 1/295; bn-i Sa'd, Tabakat, 3/350,351.
155
Eb Davud, Snne, 25; Mstedrek, 4/578.
154

234!

each of them was a religious mentor like the Messenger of God (PBUH). Therefore, the religious
life must be lived as carefully as He did, as they did so that guidance can be effective.
In addition, the task and action of disseminating the Message must never cause us to
neglect other practices; on the contrary, it must hearten us and we must do what we tell others in
a much more enthusiasm than them so that we can be convincing. Different states, behaviors, and
words that do not justify attitudes are a sign of deception and it means for one destroying his own
credit. When we look at the Chief of the Prophets, Muhammad (PBUH), we see that He showed
no negligence in practicing the religion though he had many occupations. Though He was fully
occupied with many things from His establishing a great state in such a short time as twentythree years to His being closely concerned with all members of His ummah and to His personally
dealing with all problems of His household, there was no decrease or negligence in His practices.
Moreover, God wanted Him to ask for forgiveness and to pray more in return for the conquests
and victories and He always acted in accordance with His Lords orders156.
While AbuBakr (R.A.) was intensely struggling against events of apostasy and while his
temples were throbbing with pain day and night, he would never give up his night prayers, he
would never neglect reading the Quran in tears157. Umar (R.A.) had defeated the Byzantine
Empire and the Sassanid Dynasty, but he had never neglected defeating his ego too158. While
Uthman (R.A..) was dealing with so much mischief, he used to continue fasting and avidly
reading the Quran even so. Essentially, he had died while he was doing so and he had been
martyred. He was also fasting that day. The blood shedding from his temples were dripping on
the leaves of the Quran he was reading like the seal of eternity. In addition, the verse on which
the blood was dripping was very meaningful. The verse seemed to tell him: God suffices
you159.

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156

Surah An-Nasr/The Divine Support, 110/1-3.

Kandehlev, Hayat's-Sahabe, 3/143; Eb Nuaym, Hlye, 1/30.
158
Eb Nuaym, Hlye, 1/48,49; bn-i Esir, sd'l-be, 4/157; bn-i Sa'd, Tabakat, 3/293.
159
Musned, 1/72; bn-i Esir, sd'l-be, 3/594; Kandehlev, Hayat's-Sahabe, 3/286.
157

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Ali (R.A..) was the Lion of God in battlefields. But he was always spending his nights writhing
in prostration. When he heard the azan, he would grow pale and tremble as if of malaria. And all
these people would perform the duty of spiritual guidance without negligence160.
The person who does the duty of guidance for faith, whatever the age and profession,
should be serious and sincere in doing what he tells. This person may be a sheikh, imam or
preacher in a great mosque having numerous congregations, a teacher at school, and an instructor
at university as well as a worker in a factory or a student at school. Everyone should fulfill this
responsibility according to his social, scientific and functional situation and perform this duty
perfectly. While doing the duty of guidance for faith, the sincerity and earnestness of the
religious teacher is as important as the subject. The most evident sign showing the sincerity of
the religious teacher is his feeling things he says in his deepest conscience and his living them in
the most perfect way. Guidance, which is not associated with sincerity and practice-however
successful it is-, is shallow and inconsistent; it has no effect or its effect is short-term.
This task has also an aspect regarding the hereafter, this is Gods punishing. The
Messenger of God (PBUH) describes a scene of hereafter regarding this matter in the following
way: During the night of my ascension, I passed by a group of people. Their lips were being
severed with scissors of fire. I said, O Jibreel (as)! Who are these people? He said, They are
the preachers from your Ummah that would say other than what they would do161. It is all clear.
This is the situation of people who forget themselves and do not do what they say while trying to
guide others.
What needed today are people who act upon their knowledge and their words, not those
who just talk. Obstacles before these can only overcome our horizon of salvation. Those saddled
with books or chatterboxes talking day and night can do nothing in terms of the nations
deliverance. While the Ottoman Empire was collapsing, there were hundred thousands of books
in the libraries. But these books could not prevent a great empire from collapsing. Books in those
libraries are no different in quality from the load of information stored in a persons memory.
What is essential is whether one is acting upon his knowledge or not.
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160

bn'l-Cevz, Sfat's-Safve, 1/128.

Musned, 3/120,231,239.

161

236!

The Messenger of God (PBUH) points out to this issue in a hadith of His: What I fear
most in my ummah is the hypocrisy of the scholars and the contention of the hypocrites162. If the
scholar acts in a double-faced and double-tongued way; and the hypocrite deceives people
around him with demagogy, this ummah is done for.
Everyone who is in the position of religious teacher must be very careful about this point.
Unfortunately, in the duty of spiritual guidance, this is our biggest defect we often fail to notice
as individuals and institutions. It would be useful to keep this in mind while considering Gods
treating us.
7. Being Logical and Realistic
The religious teacher is a man of logic and reality at the same time. While evaluating
events as well as telling the addressees about the truth, he should take notice of the level of the
addressees and try to persuade him accordingly. The religious teacher would not be held for odd
in the society as much as he is logical and things he says are welcomed correspondingly. What is
meant here is not to encourage him to be a man of mere logic, but along with the aspects
mentioned above, the religious mentor must have the quality of being logical too. Here is an
outstanding example from Gods Messenger (PBUH):
Julaybib (R.A.) was a young man who had a weakness for women. This state of his used
to make other companions sad, but they could not dissuade Julaybib. One day, they told about
this to Gods Messenger (PBUH). Our Prophet (PBUH) called him to His presence. Later, the
following conversation took place between them. Gods Messenger (PBUH) asked, Julaybib
(R.A.) answered:
O Julaybib! I have heard that you molest women. Tell me now; would you agree that someone
should do such a thing with your mother?
O Gods Messenger, I do not agree with that.
Dont forget that the one you molest is someones mother! Would you agree that someone
should do the same with your sister?
No, O Gods Messenger!

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162

Msned, 1/22,24; Mnv, Feyz'l-Kadir, 1/221; Heysem, Mecmeu'z-Zevid, 1/186.

237!

Dont forget that the one you molest is someones sister! And Gods Messenger (PBUH) cited
him his other relatives. He asked, Would you agree that the same be done to your aunt? He
answered No to all of them. Gods Messenger (PBUH) repeated His words:
The one you molest is someones aunt...
This conversation was enough to convince Julaybib (R.A.). Then Gods Messenger
(PBUH) raised His hands and supplicated for Julaybib. The companions swore, Julaybib
became a model of chastity in Medina163.
Soon after, he was martyred in a battle. While everybody was looking for somebody in
the battlefield, the Messenger of God (PBUH) was looking for someone. He asked those close to
Him Do you have any loss? When answered No, O Gods Messenger, He said But I have
one! showing Julaybib in tears. Julaybib (R.A.) was lying among seven people. Gods
Messenger (PBUH) said: Firstly, he killed seven people, and then he has been killed. Then He
gives good news that would suffice to Julaybibs all descendants until the judgment day:
Julaybib is of me, and I am of Julaybib164. Logic and supplication had winged Julaybib in such
a way that he had been the stock dove of the next world with these two wings.
8. Tolerance
The religious teacher is tolerant. In fact, tolerance is broad-mindedness in a sense and it
never means to compromise ones cause. For instance, what the Messenger of God (PBUH) told
during the conquest of Mecca to people who had previously run Him out of Mecca and subjected
all Muslims to most violent torments is a noteworthy example of tolerance. That day, our
Prophet (PBUH) asked the Meccans what they expected from Him. They answered: You are
very munificent. What we expect is munificence only. And they were responded with
munificence. The expression This day let no reproach be (cast) on you (Surah Yusuf, 12/92)
is narrated in the Quran as the words the Prophet Joseph (PBUH) told His brothers. However,
Gods Messenger (PBUH) showed this tolerance to those who are not His relatives. His
munificence was much more than Josephs.

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163

Musned, 5/256,257.
Musned, 4/420,421; Heysem, Mecmeu'z-Zevid, 9/368.

164

238!

9. Sensitiveness
The religious teacher is in pain because people are going astray. Peoples violation of
Gods commands and disobedience grieves him to the heart. Apostasies make his heart bleed and
moments when he is helpless in terms of guidance annoy him and make him feel exasperated.
While the Quran addresses our Prophet (PBUH):

Perhaps, [O Muhammad], you would kill yourself with grief that they will not be believers
(Surah Ash-Shuara/The poets: 26/3). It describes the pain Gods Messenger (PBUH) was in
behalf of guidance and His state of mind originating from this pain. Essentially, this state of
mind exists and should exist in all men according to the nature of their anxiety.
Apostasy means abandoning ones religion and faith. The apostate is the person who
rejects all the sacred principles he once believed in and who betrayed Muslims in a sense. The
one who betrayed once may always betray. Therefore, according to some, the apostate has no
right to live. However, in accordance with the system formulated by the scholars of Islamic law,
depending on the matter because of which the apostate practiced apostasy, he will be told that
matter thoroughly in the first place. He will be followed for some time and tried to be persuaded
in the points he has doubt about. When all these attempts prove to be vain and it becomes clear
that this person is a danger for Islam, he will be treated accordingly165.
However, no believer can stay indifferent to the apostasy of another because Islams
understanding of benevolence is against this. Maybe every believer hearing about the event of
apostasy gets sad and feels pain according to his level of consciousness. However, the pain of the
religious mentor is deeper than that of everybody because making people embrace the true faith
is his raison dtre. The following is Gods Messengers (PBUH) state of mind face-to-face with
an event that happened to Khalid bin Walid (R.A.). Khalid hurried in evaluating principles of the
religion concerning apostasy and killed a man. When this news reached Gods Messenger (R.A.),

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165

Buhari, Diyat, 6; Mslim, Kasme, 25; Serahs, Mebsut, 10/98; Ksn, Bed's-Sana, 7/134.

239!

He got very sorry about it and supplicated to God: O Lord, I take refuge in You from what
Khalid has done166.
This sensitiveness of the Messenger of God (PBUH) reflected on people around Him in
the same way. For example, Umar (R.A.) asks to someone returning from Yemame battle if there
is anything serious. The person coming from there says there is nothing serious but that someone
from among them practiced apostasy. Umar (R.A.) stands up his heart beating and asks What
have you done to him? When the man answers, We have killed him, Umar (R.A.) sighs just
as Gods Messenger (PBUH) did and says to the man: Did you not have to imprison him and
wait for a while? Then he raises his hands and supplicates to his Lord: My God, I swear that I
was not with them while they were doing this and I swear that I have not been satisfied when I
heard what they did167.
10. Spiritual Depth
The religious teacher is a lover of God having the spiritual depth at the same time
because the words of a religious teacher reflect on the addressees proportionally to his spiritual
depth only. As much as he approaches God, God makes him closer to Himself and becomes his
ear with which he hears, his eye with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and the basis
of all his actions in a sense. In other words, every action of that religious teacher starts to take
place under the confirmation of God. As much as he practices what he knows, God teaches him
what he does not know and always makes him reach the truth. Thus he can solve even the most
complex matters quite easily. As he continuously acts this way, he excels in the society and
becomes the representative of the straight road. Someone who has reached this level begins to
perpetually receive the most sacred blessings from God. As long as he continues his guiding
activities by means of his appeal within the magnetic field caused by these blessings, his
surroundings become a Divine shade hundreds of people run towards.
That wonderful appeal of the great religious teachers originates from this spiritual depth
of theirs. The religious teacher becoming so is considered to have reached the full certainty of
the truth and obtained the charming effect of the certainty. Obtaining the certainty means to have
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166
167

Buhari, Maazi, 58; bn-i Hiam, Sre, 4/72.

Muvatta, Akdiye, 58.

240!

reached the perfection point in the faith because Gods Messenger (PBUH) said: Certainty is
completely faith168. Certainty is the human mind being equipped with evidences, the mind
being improved by meditation, ideas and thoughts being illuminated by inspiration, the carnal
self being melted with worship and prayers and the heart becoming a polished mirror where
Gods Names, Attributes and Acts are reflected by self-control and contemplation.
Certainty means reaching the Divine Oneness. The one who obtains the certainty neither
fears from others nor expects something from them. Everything he has is from God because he
firmly believes that God decides everything, good or bad. A person who has reached the
certainty this way is fearless and undeterred. He welcomes the death smiling in such a way that
he experiences the hereafter while he is still living in this world. He believes that he will see
some places he misses when he will get on the mount of death. For this reason, he is always
happy. In the translation of a hadith the people of conviction are described as the following:
Among my ummah, there are such brave people that, they stay smilingly among people-which is
the expression of bespeaking Gods favors. They spend their nights in sighs and laments-which is
the expression of their fearing Gods punishment. Their corporeality is in this world; their
spiritual nature is in the heavens169.
To be a person of certainty taking into consideration the world and hereafter together and
thus reaching the consciousness of Gods unity must be a goal for every religious teacher. This is
the type of religious teacher we expected and longed for. This is such a religious teacher that he
has no inclination at all towards the world for its worldly aspect and who would not think of
staying in this base world for a moment if there were not the duty of guidance. These are the
Messiah-like religious teachers having the Mohammedan virtues. Essentially, every religious
teacher has to be like this.
Tahir-ul Mevlevi who wrote a commentary on Mevlanas Mesnevi narrates: I was
together with Atif Effendi of Iskilip in the prison. Atif Effendi was a literate who was cognizant
of the culture of his era. He had prepared a very serious written defense for the last hearing in the
court. The next day, he would be tried and the decree about him would be decided. After the
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168
169

Buhari, man, 1.
Mstedrek, 3/17; Beyhak, ub'l-man, 1/478.

241!

Morning Prayer, Atif Effendi tore the text of defense he had prepared into pieces and threw it to
the garbage can. I asked him Whats the matter, why have you torn it? He replied: Last night,
I saw the Glory of the World (PBUH) in my dream. I was writing my defense. He said to me:
why is this eagerness of yours? Dont you want to come to us? I answered: Sure I do, o
Messenger of God! This means it is time I meet Him, there is no need for defense!
At the hearing that day, the execution of Atif Effendi was decided but he was in a deep
peace and welcomed the decree of execution Because, the decree was going to enable him to
meet the Messenger of God (PBUH). Why should a person provided with such a mount not be
happy? Why should a person following the path he believes to be true, who seeks for Gods
approval in all aspects, who believes to be approaching God and His Messenger (PBUH) in
every step he makes not be in peace? Such a hero can be killed but he can never be defeated. In
sum, the religious mentor must always preserve this purity that will ultimately lead him to
success.
The one who devotes himself to God and who tries to gain only His approval will
definitely reach every desire of him in this world or in the next one. What does the one who finds
Him lose? On the contrary, if one could not find Him, what would be the cost of the whole world
if it were his? Furthermore, what is essential is to meet the Lord with a pure ad safe heart. Why
then attaching so much importance to several trivialities causing disorder? What we ask from
God is to preserve our heart clean and pure until the eternity, until the time we meet Him. We
know that His mercy prevails over His wrath. What we desire is His approval, His pleasure and
His mercy
11. Purity of Heart and Spirit
Spreading the Word, the religious mentor should be in utmost purity of heart and spirit.
In other words, he should bear a heart as clear as his cause. Otherwise, his relations with God
will be broken in proportion to the turbidity in his spiritual life and therefore, his effect will
become null. To put it another way, the religious teacher must aim for nothing but Gods
approval and satisfaction in his guidance. As long as he does so, he manifestly finds God, the
spirituality of His Messenger and the support of the blessed ones at his back. No one should have
a doubt about it. Moreover, if one desires to obtain Gods blessings in his efforts, he must lean

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on the Divine power that will make it possible. Having recourse to other means brings nothing
but loss.
Essentially, our understanding of Divine Oneness requires this, too. God has no partner in His
Divine Being as well as in His actions. He is the One Who will create the true guidance and
deviation. He is the One Who makes one estimable or contemptible according to His wish. He
makes one succeed or fail according to His wish again.
It is true that struggling to live a pure life is difficult but the palace to be reached beyond
this impassable hill is really sacred. For example Abu Hanifah refused the position of judge
offered to him just in order to be able to preserve his purity of heart and spirit. He had moaned
and groaned bitterly under the blows of whip but had not accepted this offer he had considered to
be a trap to his soul170.
Imam Shafi, too, had showed every effort he could in order not to be face-to-face with
such a proposal171. He had accepted to live like a pariah among his kinsmen and refused all kinds
of positions and status to be given by the state despite every pressure on him. Therefore, he had
had to spend the rest of his life in trouble. He tried not to make known where he was and not to
be subjected to the difficulties that happened to Imam Azam Abu Hanifah.
The history will never forget the struggle Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal made for the sake of
the Quran. He said, Quran is not a creation and insisted on this idea of his throughout his
whole life172. If he had talked diplomatically and used allusive words, he would have easily
managed to get out of it, but he had not deigned to use any of these. He narrates a memory of his:
On the first days, I was crying out in pain when I was being whipped on my back. One day, a
criminal was brought to prison. He said to me: O imam! You have been brought here for a cause
you think to be true and you are crying out while being whipped. But, I have been brought here
for a crime which is not true, and I dont say anything though they whip me as much as they
whip you. From now on then, whenever they started to whip me, the words of that criminal used
to come to my mind. Then I was trying to endure it and not to say anything even at times I was
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170

Zeheb, Tezkirat'l-Huffaz, 1/168; bn-i Hallikan, Vefeyt'l-yan, 5/407; Hatip El-Badad, Tarih-i Badat,
13/326-328.
171
bn-i Hacer, Tevli't-Te'sis, 77-84; Abdu'l-ani, Ed-Dakr, mam- afi, 380,381.
172
Zeheb, Siyer, A'lm'n-Nbel, 11/239,240; Eb Nuaym, Hlye, 9/206.

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subjected to most violent blows of whip. This great imam spent how many days and months in
this pain, God knows. He was trying to show his will power even at times when he was the most
powerless. He displayed a legendary heroism without compromising a word from what he had
said on the first day. On those days, Imam Shafi, too, was living a secret life. One night, he saw
our Prophet (PBUH) in his dream. Gods Messenger (PBUH) said to him: Send my greetings to
Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Tell him to bear it for some more time. He will soon come to me173. Imam
Shafi immediately sent one of his men to the prison because it was impossible for him to go
there. He also sent a shirt with the person who went and said Tell the imam to wear this shirt on
his naked body and let his holy skin touch this shirt. The man came went near Ahmad ibn
Hanbal and told everything. Ahmad ibn Hanbal who heard that Gods Messenger (PBUH) sent
him greetings forgot about everything he suffered and started to shed tears of happiness.
Meanwhile, Imam Shafi who received back the shirt he had sent started to rub it on his face and
said: I hope the fire of hell will not touch the face which is rubbed with the shirt Ahmad ibn
Hanbals skin touched174.
12. Enthusiasm
The religious teacher must perform the task of disseminating the Message in zeal and
enthusiasm and spreading the Word must be an irresistible passion for him. This quality is the
most necessary one that should be aroused in a religious mentor. However, it is obviously very
difficult to do so and it takes place quite late.
Unless our Prophet (PBUH) aroused this feeling among His community in the first place,
in other words unless he made them lovers of spreading the Word, it would not have been
possible for His ummah to realize this big duty in terms of means and causes. Khalid bin Walid
(R.A.) is a good example to this. When he came face-to-face with the Byzantine commander,
first of all he proposed him to convert to Islam175. Such a guidance attempt before making the
swords speak can be explained with nothing but the ardor of disseminating the Message
prevailing over everything else. This ardor and enthusiasm has a very big effect on almost all

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173

bn-i Askir, Tarih-i Dmak, 3/250.

bn-i Kesir, el-Bidye, 10/331.
175
bn-i Kesir, el-Bidye, 7/13.
174

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companions traveling and migrating all over the world in order to preach Islam. The following
is another example to this:
Hubayb (R.A.) was caught and taken to Mecca. After having been made to wait in prison
for days, he was being taken to the place of martyrdom in the tumult of Mecca of that time. He
was sad and sorrowful because he had had no opportunity to perform the duty of guidance the
Messenger of God (PBUH) had assigned to them. And now he was being taken to the gallows
hands tied and unable to speak. He was continuously looking around and searching for someone
he could preach Islam to. He could not see someone suitable for this. Though there were
companions of the future among them, their heart was not open to receive the Message at that
time. Hubayb offered two rakahs of prayer and said, I would like to prolong that last prayer of
mine if I did not fear you would say, He fears death, thats why he prolongs the prayer. Then
he was made to mount the gallows. The last moment for him had come. Moving heads of spear
was a sign of it. Hubayb was continuing looking around but he was definitely not searching for
someone to rescue him. He was thinking whether he could find someone whose eternal life he
could save even at the last moment and for this reason he was looking around. What an inferior
thing for them was dying without doing anything in behalf of guidance and spreading the Word!
At this very moment, an unexpected opportunity rose for him. A dignitary among the Meccan
unbelievers asked him a question. Whatever the question was, it was important since he would
give him an answer full of wisdom and he would have disseminated the Message in this last
moment of his. A spark of thought he would produce there would set on fire of faith in how
many peoples heart in the future-God knows. The question was: Do you wish that Muhammad
were in your place so that you could be saved now?
Such a question could not certainly be asked to a Muslim, especially to someone like
Hubayb, but he was trying to take the last opportunity he caught with this question. He was
bubbling over with excitement and trying to say something with a feeling mixed of happiness
and sorrow. Besides, he knew that the answer he would give to this question had to be as short as
his last prayer. He had to put the whole life in a single sentence. He had to speak in such a way
that the history would be speechless and listens to him, and the time would take it as an advice.
He had to say his last words this way and take the last opportunity in behalf of guidance. And he

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said: Absolutely not. I do not wish for even a thorn to hurt his blessed foot in exchange for my
being saved!176. What a high example of loyalty he was!
When Hubayb (R.A.) told these, the trouble he felt a few minutes ago for not having been
able to perform the duty of guidance had probably come to an end. He was now relieved. With a
last duty he would do, he would send a greeting of goodbye to Gods Messenger (PBUH) and
walk to the paradise. He did not even think whether the greeting would go from Mecca to
Madina because the person he would send greeting to was Gods exalted Prophet. His last words
on the gallows were Assalamu Aleykum O Messenger of God. Gods Messenger (PBUH) was
sitting in Medina with His companions. He suddenly stood up and said Ve aleykum salam o
Hubayb177. Every man of cause should reach out the same ardor and enthusiasm which Hubayb
(R.A.) had so that he can interfere in this wrong course of the time, put it in its real course and
deserve to be Gods viceroy on earth.
13. Egoism
Egoism is a factor that prevents the true faith along with its blessings for both the
religious mentor and the addressees. Therefore, the religious mentor must free himself from this
harmful feeling and convey his message in a humble way. This is his humility that saves the
person the addressees from prejudice and obstinacy. In fact, nobody has a right to be selfish and
egoistic, because it has been observed many times that the religious teacher could affect nobody
at times when he used all kinds of eloquent and rhetorical words of wit and logic. However, he
had been greatly effective at times when he was ill at ease and hardly expressing a few words
and God made him an instrument for others to find the true faith.
14. Fear Of Hypocrisy
Self-supervision and self-criticism are principles that always stimulate the religious
teacher. The religious guide must always introspect, observe his feelings and thoughts and try to
fix and establish in his ego first things he tells others. The religious teacher must avoid telling
and advising to others matters he does not criticize in his inner self. This avoiding does not
prevent the disseminating of the Message; on the contrary it stimulates ones consciousness of
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176
177

bn-i Kesir, el-Bidye, 4/65; bn-i Hiam, Sre, 3/181.

bn-i Kesir, el-Bidye, 4/66-69.

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spiritual guidance and calling to faith. Fear of falling into the hypocrisy and resembling the
hypocrite makes him approach sincerity more and more.
The Messenger of God (PBUH) addresses to those seeing the spiritual guidance and
advising as only small talk or dialectic with the following frightening words: What I fear most
about my ummah is the hypocrites who speak elegant words178. The heart of a person who hears
this bright and notable expression cannot avoid trembling. Because whatever the position one
has, he will occasionally need to tell others something about God and religion. Essentially this
threat and other similar ones will prevent the spiritual guidance from being corrupted.
Though there are many factors of threat about this matter, we often meet corrupted
people in hypocrisy. This kind of people continuously speaks on TVs and newspaper columns
but they look like unbelievers. They talk about the faith and Quran but their forehead is dirty
and far from being prostrate and their heart is insincere and sinister. These poor spirits do not
know that ninety-nine percent of the religion is related to the individual himself. Unless the
individual pays attention to these, he is considered to be a mere windbag or a fervent dialectician.
While the Quran lists basic characteristics of the religious teacher, It also reminds features of the
hypocrite. Because, what a good religious teacher must avoid and keep away from is as
important as what he must do and which characteristics he must have. Furthermore, while the
Quran describes the hypocrites, It uses a style that will keep the believers away from these
characteristics. It emphasizes this matter to such a degree that It draws attention to the hypocrites
with their inner contemplations, innermost feelings and intentions. It even describes their
outward appearance and sometimes their character and bad temper. Look at the style in the
following verse for example:
And when you see them, their forms please you, and if they speak, you listen to their
speech. [They are] as if they were pieces of wood propped up - they think that every shout is
against them. They are the enemy, so beware of them. May Allah destroy them; how are they
deluded? (Surah Al-Munafiqun/The Hypocrites: 63/4).

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178

Msned, 1/44.

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As we see here, they are described in consideration of their general characteristics giving
away their nature. In other words, the Quran pictures them very well with their manner,
attitudes, behaviors, and way of speaking. They know how to gather people around them with
their gestures, eloquence, rhetoric and magniloquence and drag masses of people behind them.
However, they are like pieces of timber, in other words they are the enemies. The Quran uses
these words for every rhetorician- new or old- who speaks a lot in the name of religion and
patriotism but who does not do anything. The Quran addresses this kind of people in serious
way of threatening: Do not clear the path for falsehood in the way of God, do not cause mischief
on your side!
These behaviors described as the sign of hypocrisy are the characteristics every religious
teacher serving the truth would be afraid of. These adversities one can always be subjected to
unconsciously can happen to everybody. Therefore, those who are in the circle of spiritual
guidance must be very careful and mindful.
15. Flexibility
The religious mentor should be able to preserve his flexibility. Sometimes he will go
down the abysses and sometimes rise up to the skies because the addressees might be at one of
these points. This is possible only through cultural flexibility. Those who are culturally strict
cannot sufficiently fulfill the duty of spreading the Word. Therefore, they become unfortunate
ones blocking their own ways to reach out those in need of the Message.
A true believer cannot be unmindful of faithless young generation. The religious
mentors heart should crumble into pieces against those suffering in unbelief. Those not having
the same feeling in their hearts and not suffering against faithless generation are not eligible to

248!

spread the Word. A true religious mentor is a hero knowing all conditions of his time very well
and despising everything related to the world. Pursuing only Allahs sake, the religious mentor is
as sincere as to forget about his rewards in hereafter and try to do every duty on his shoulder in
such a consciousness and understanding. He should act this way so that he might be honored
with Gods assistance to be able to persuade people around him.
As one of the vital responsibilities of the religious mentor, the necessity of knowing the
needs of addressees had been previously pointed out. No one can gainsay that trying to heal the
addressees without identifying the points he suffers from is as wrong as maybe worse than trying
to treat patients without diagnosing their diseases. Is it necessary to explain that every medicine
would not cure every disease?
In todays world, so many people are completely preoccupied with materialistic gain.
They continuously emphasize on significance of various enterprises and importance of the
industrial development. They think that the salvation of the humanity depends only on
materialistic developments. Even though these ideas are asserted in the name of Islam, they are
nothing but being a simple copy of ideas of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. These ideas that
failed and that have no more adherents today cannot maintain even their existence. How can
these ideas, which are nothing but the originals imitation, revive the humanity and what kind of
person drag people into such unpromising adventure based on these deceased ideas? It is really
hard to accept such deception. Unless you deal with young generations spiritually, you elevate
them spiritually and morally and you make them flourish with the consciousness of the hereafter,
neither the industrial developments nor materialistic discourses will be of use to save the young
peoples future. If perplexed generations are not disciplined with the religion, these masses that
are not satisfied spiritually cannot be contended with luxury or materialistic ideas. Therefore, the
real heedlessness is to think that the young generations pains can be relieved by economic
solutions.
As today, since the Muslim world lost his ability to speak in accordance with necessities
of the era, it has been overthrown from the position of addressing the societys problems. Today
he is in a state of just listening without ever speaking. I wish, at least, it could make a synthesis
of the things he has listened so far. Then it could probably rise again to the level of speaking and

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making others listen to him. But unfortunately, the Muslim world has not been able be even a
useful listener. This negative picture has reflected in the private attempts of serving Islam and
private organizations in the same way. They also felt the same ineffectiveness towards the
addressees.
However, we have Quran the Miraculous Expression in our hands that challenges the
whole universe having the capacity to address to the whole humanity. Furthermore, we have in
hand the immortal sunnah of the Messenger of God (PBUH) who explained us the Quran in the
best way. Unfortunately, we have not been able to properly benefit from them so far. We have
not been able to form our heart and mind harmoniously and dive into the ocean of Quran.
Therefore, the Quran and the sunnah remain silence. As long as we continue stay in this dire
condition, their silence as well as todays Muslims chaos will continue. The world is changing
as science and technology are, but the things we say are not in conformity with scales of the
developing world. We are stuck with the style of three centuries ago and far away from being
able to address todays generation, so no one listens to us.

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D. THE ROLE OF THE SPIRITUAL GUIDE

uestion: Some see it as an obligation to follow a certain murshid (spiritual master) and
assert that it is not possible to be saved without pledging allegiance to such a master.
Could you state your opinions on this?

Answer: There are two meanings for the word murshid, the first being a general term and
the second being associated with a Sufi context. In its general sense, murshid denotes a guide
who averts people from straying to ominous trails and shows them the righteous path, who
awakens hearts to the Divine, who opens minds, feelings, eyes, and ears to certain truths, and
thus who guides them to the horizons of the heart and spirit. In this respect, it is possible to see a
person giving a sermon in a mosque or giving a religious talk in a circle as murshid. In the same
way, a shopkeeper who pours the inspirations of his heart into anothers by talking with a visitor
to his shop about the truths of faith can, in a way, be seen as a murshid, or spiritual guide, as
well.
As for the more specific meaning of murshid in a Sufi context, it refers to a person who
had initially become the disciple of another murshid, who went through rounds of forty-day
retreats (chila), who ate and drank little, who slept little, and who passed different levels at
spiritual journeying. That is, murshid is a person who experienced astonishment before the
Divine (hayra) and annihilated his carnal soul in God (fana), who attained a certain spiritual rank
on the path to find Him, and who in the end was entitled as a new spiritual master by his own
master to guide others to the Truth and convey the Divine messages to them. This entitlement is
named khilafa (vicegerency) and the person who is entitled is named a khalifa (successor or
vicegerent). I think the initial question was related to this Sufi sense of the word murshid;
therefore, I would like to elaborate on it a bit further.
Perspicacity of the Murshid and the Potential of the Initiate
From past to present, there have been so many great figures who were raised by
following one of the Sufi paths that lead to truthNaqshbandi, Qadiri, Shadhili, Rifai, Badawi,
and the like. Particularly, when some people with potential and ability find a perfected master,
they experience a metanoia and become radiant light sources. For example, when Muhammed
Ltfi Efendi of Alvar and his father Hseyin Kndi Efendi, who were from the lineage of the
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251!

Prophet, arrived at Sheikh Kufrawis Sufi lodge in the province of Bitlis, the sheikh paid
attention to them and treated them as special guests, probably since he discovered their potential.
Eventually, he entitled both of them as spiritual masters. On witnessing this, the disciples who
had served the sheikh until then accosted the two newcomers at night. Suddenly the door burst
open; Sheikh Kufrawi came in and brought them to their senses: You disciples! Hseyin and
Muhammed Ltfi Efendis did not need me. It was their perfection that led them here. Some
people have such a God-given potential that they are ready to give light without a touch of fire,
as it is referred to in the verse (translated as), The oil almost gives light of itself though no fire
touches it, they can rocket to certain spiritual ranks by a single puff. And there are certain
initiates who, in spite of having potentials to thrive elsewhere, prefer to serve loyally to their
sheikh. For example, in spite of having completed his education at Islamic disciplines, Mawlana
Khalid al-Baghdadi served as a sweeper at Abdullah Dahlawis lodge for twenty years, and then
returned to Baghdad. As it is known, Khalid al-Baghdadi is accepted as the reviver (mujaddid1)
of his time. With respect to his character and way of guidance, he resembles Bedizzaman Said
Nursi very much. When we study his letters, we see that he invited his students to sincerity,
brotherhood, and dignified contentment (ghina): Never ask for posts and positions for which
you would most certainly pay a price and refrain from becoming obliged to anyone, do not
establish relations with authorities (in order to gain material benefit from them), do not covet
what somebody else possesses, and be indifferent to anything inviting you to worldliness In
terms of their main approach, these pieces of advice coincide with the points Bedizzaman
makes in his epistles on Sincerity2 and on Brotherhood3. Such a great figure humbly served as a
sweeper at a Sufi lodge for twenty years.
Even if the Murshid is a Perfected One
Getting back to our main topic, in Sufi tradition there is a rank of being murshid in its
true sense. The important figures who attained this rank appraised the people who became their
followers very perspicaciouslysometimes from their faces, looks, and even from the irises of
their eyesand discovered their aptitudes and capacity. Accordingly, they guided their disciples
to realize their spiritual potentials and commissioned them to guide others in different places
when the time came. In this respect, if there are any guides like Abdul Qadir al-Jilani, Mawlana

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Khalid al-Baghdadi, Muhammad Bahauddin Shah an-Naqshband, Alaaddin Attar, and Abul
Hasan ash-Shadhili, who are truly profound in every aspect, then it is very important to benefit
from their guidance in order to realize ones spiritual potentials. But it should not be forgotten
that God Almighty appointed different persons to guide others through different methods
according to the conditions and needs of their time. In this respect, it can be said that had the
great guide Abdul Qadir al-Jilani been alive today and used the same methods he used for
guiding people in his time, which was inspired from the original teachings of the Prophet, it
probably would not help much for curing the troubles of our time. In the same way, if a great
figure like Imam al-Ghazali, who was honorably referred as the Proof of Islam, were to suggest
the same arguments he used against the anti-Islamic discourses of his time as a prescription to
cure todays troubles, it would not suffice against todays complicated problems. I am not trying
to make any comments with negative connotations about those great masters, let me not be
misunderstood; those exalted figures complied perfectly with the requirements of their age and
even transcended it.
However, the point I wish to highlight is that the Divine message always comes in
accordance with the addressees level of cognition, comprehension, and needs. For this reason, I
only tried to express a reality. Surely, todays people have a lot to learn from those great guides
and their very valuable works in terms of broadening their horizons of spiritual knowledge.
However, struggling against the contemporary form of hypocrisy and antagonism toward faith
under the guise of science and philosophy requires relevant background knowledge and
arguments. There must be a murshid who can see and read our era correctly, who uses his means
accordingly, who distills facts as he should, and who can write appropriate prescriptions so that
he can derive appropriate cures for the troubles of our day. When such a guide is found,
following him is very significant in the name of taking wing toward the horizons of the heart and
spirit. If people remain loyal to such a perfected guide, he can broaden their horizons, clear up
the way before them, and thus they can travel in a faster and safer way in their journey toward
God. But in my opinion, even if they find a perfected guide who comprehends his age
perspicaciously and suggests important solutions for the troubles of the time, people should
refrain from reducing and narrowing the issue down only to this person. If you adopt a

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pressurizing attitude toward other believers and dare to say, If you do not take a pledge of
allegiance to that guide, obey what he says, and read what he writes, then you are misguided,
you will have reduced the issue to bigotry and subscribed to a horrible view about other
believers. This is because another person who does not exactly think like you and who has
adopted a different line of spiritual journeying can, by Gods grace, walk behind the Messenger
of Godthe ultimate murshid and the most perfected guideand can enter Paradise. For this
reason, even though it is important to love the circle one is affiliated with, taking the matter to
the degree of being unable to stand others and even becoming antagonistic toward them is
absolutely wrong.
The Blow on the Spirit of Unity
Since this humble servant also spent his childhood in different Sufi lodges, I occasionally
witnessed some people make such remarks. For example, some people quote out of context a
saying ascribed to Bayazid al-Bastami, the murshid of someone without murshid is Satan.
They misinterpret this saying with a narrow understanding and assert that it is obligatory to
follow a sheikh from a particular Sufi tradition. In my opinion, this saying of that perfected
master stresses the significance and necessity of the issue, but interpreting it in such a narrow
frame will mean reducing this statement to a disagreeable one that conflicts with the universal
and encompassing nature of Islam, which can give way to subscribing to negative opinions and
partisanship. We have the essential disciplines of the Quran and the Sunnah in our hands; they
possess the immensity and inclusiveness to embrace all of the hearts that believe in them.
Bedizzaman stated that narrow-mindedness stems from loving ones own carnal soul
in other words, a persons attempt to orient everything toward his or her own ideas is a kind of
egotism. A different form of this is partisanship of a religious circle, which means seeing the
absolute truth as limited to the particular Sufi order, religious group or movement that one
belongs to and believing that others are striving in vain. Again, it should be noted that such an
approach means subscribing to a horrible view of other believers, which can lead one to a total
downfall.
If a persons arrogance is based on taking pride in being affiliated with a certain religious
group, it grows stronger. Those who are affiliated with a certain Sufi tradition, a religious group,

254!

or a movement will naturally think they have chosen the right guide and love that person
profoundly. On the other hand, they must shun from being unfair about others and condemning
them to fallacy. Otherwise, they will have strayed to a devilish path while trying to walk on the
righteous one. This danger is possible for everyone. If one of the great figures I admiresuch as
Imam al-Ghazali, Izz ibn Abdis-Salam, Fakhruddin ar-Razi, Najmaddin al-Kubrawere alive
today and gave such a mistaken counsel to the people around them, I would humbly put my head
under their feet, kiss their soles, and say, Sir, you are mistaken on this subject.
In sum, believing that salvation can only be possible through affiliation with a certain
Sufi order, religious group or movement, seeing it as compulsory to follow a certain traditional
Sufi master, and seeing those who do not follow that person as misguided is absolutely wrong; it
denotes losing in a zone of winning. May God protect believers from such deviations and
disasters in these days when we are in such dire need of solidarity and unity.

&
&
&

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Chapter 4
Positive Action
A. Interpretation: Surah Al-Kahf
B. Consultation
C. Lifelong Contentedness
D. Essentials for Fruitful Criticism

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A. INTERPRETATION: SURAH AL-KAHF

his srah was revealed in the Makkan period of the Messengers mission, at a time
when the polytheists had begun to escalate their opposition to the preaching of Islam.
Searching for a way to stop this preaching, the Makkans occasionally made contact

with the People of the Book, in particular with the Jews in Madnah and neighboring lands, in
order to get from them questions they could put to the Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings. This srah apparently was revealed in response to questions about the People of the
Cave; the story of Moses, upon him be peace, and his companion (reported to have been Joshua);
and Dhul-Qarnayn. It also contains the parable of two friends who owned vineyards. It is as if
this srah has drawn a road map for us to follow in the preaching of Islam.
The srah takes its name from the ninth verse, where the People of the Cave are
mentioned. It consists of 110 verses.
In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate.
1. All praise and gratitude are for God, Who has sent down on His servant the Book and
has put no crookedness in it (so that it is free from contradiction and inconsistency, and anything
offensive to truth and righteousness).
2. (He has made it) unerringly straight, to warn of a stern punishment from Him and give
the believers who do good, righteous deeds the glad tidings that for them is an excellent reward
(Paradise),
3. Abiding therein forever,
4. And to warn those who say: God has taken to Him a child179.
As has been generally accepted by Qurnic commentators, the Companions of the Cave,
whose exemplary story will be told in the following verses, were among the monotheistic
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179

1. It is clear that in the early years of Islam, some among the Jews and Christians supported the Makkan
polytheists in their hostilities. The previous srah ends by declaring that God has not taken to Himself a child, and
this srah begins by declaring the same truth. By pronouncing that God has not taken to Himself a child, the Qurn
is saying that God has no offspring, and it categorically rejects the polytheists who claim that He has taken angels
for daughters; the Christians who assert that Jesus is the son of God; and the claim of some Jews that Ezra is the son
of God.

257!

followers of Jesus. The fact that the srah begins by rejecting the notion of Divine fatherhood
may be meant to underline the truth of this view.
5. Of that they have no knowledge (on which to base such an assertion), nor did their
forefathers. Dreadful as a word is (that assertion) coming out of their mouths180. Indeed they
speak nothing but falsehood.
6. Yet it may be that you (O Muhammad) will torment yourself to death with grief,
following after them, if they do not believe in this Message181.
7. We have surely made whatever is on the earth as an ornament for it (appealing to
humanity), so that We may try them (by demonstrating it to themselves) which of them is best in
conduct.
8. Yet, We surely reduce whatever is on it to a barren dust-heap (and will do so when the
term of trial ends).
9. Or do you reckon the People of the Cave and the Inscription182 as something strange
among Our signs (manifesting the truth, and too extraordinary to believe)?

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180

The original word translated as forefathers means fathers, as well, and also implies the Fathers of the Church who
established the Christian creeds. The usage of word in Dreadful as a word is (that assertion) coming out of their
mouths, also implies this. Those Fathers did not base their claim that Jesus was the son of God on any knowledge,
and their followers have tragically done nothing more than blindly imitating them. Their assertion is mere words
uttered out of ignorance and myth-making.
181

Any Prophet is, in a way, obsessed with how he is to perform his duty. To this end, he considers all
circumstances and does everything permitted. Many Prophets lived and died with only a handful of people, or less,
accepting their Message. However, they did not lose heart, weaken in resolve, or resort to means not permitted by
God, like violence, terror, or deception, despite having to suffer every kind of hardship and torture of the most
pitiless sort. Every Prophet conveyed Gods Message to his people without becoming weary or daunted. The harsh
reactions of people could not hinder a Prophet from his duty.
The communication of the Divine Message was the most essential characteristic of Gods Messenger, upon him
be peace and blessings. We are troubled whenever we are hungry or thirsty, or when we have difficulty in breathing;
but he was troubled if a day passed when he could not find someone to whom he could convey the Divine Message.
There was nobody left in Makkah whom he had not invited in public or in private to Gods path. He had called
some, like Ab Jahl, who was extremely stubborn, at least fifty times. He was so concerned about the guidance of
people, and so physically pained by unbelief, that God advised him in this verse to take care of his health.
182

According to some of the interpreters of the Qurn, ar-Raqm (translated here as Inscription) is the name of the
district where the Cave is located. Others are of the opinion that it is the epitaph, which was placed at the Cave as a
monument to the People of the Cave.

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10. (Events came to the point) when the young men183 took refuge in the cave and said:
Our Lord! Grant us mercy from Your Presence and arrange for us in our affair what is right and
good!
11. Then We drew a veil over their ears (causing them to go into a deep sleep) in the cave
for a number of years.
12. Then We raised them up (and dividing into two groups, they discussed how long they
had remained in that state). We willed to make known which of the two groups were (more
consciousness of time with the events in it, and therefore) better in computing for what period
they had remained (in this state).
13. It is We who relate to you their exemplary story with truth. They were young men
who believed in their Lord, and We increased them in guidance (so they adhered to the truth
more faithfully).
14. And We strengthened their hearts, (and a time came) when they rose up (against
association of partners with God and other injustices in the society), and they proclaimed: Our
Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, and we never invoke any deity apart from Him; if
we did so, we would certainly have uttered an enormity (a monstrous unbelief).

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183

5. The word used to mean young (fat) has a special meaning and usage in Islamic literature. Its infinitive form,
futuwwah, meaning youth and chivalry, is a composite of virtues, such as energy, revolutionary vigor, heroism,
generosity, munificence, modesty, chastity, trustworthiness, loyalty, mercifulness, knowledge, humility, and piety.
Futuwwah also signifies an altruistic character that enjoys helping others, wishing no one any harm. It is an
important, indispensable dimension of good conduct and a significant aspect of humanity.
Derived from fat meaning young man, futuwwah has become a symbol of rebellion against all kinds of evil
and of sincere servanthood to God as the way to attain true freedom.
Some have summed up the descriptions made for futuwwah in the following cardinal virtues, in addition to
those mentioned above:
Forgiving when one is able to punish.
Preserving mildness and acting mildly and gently when one is angry.
Wishing well for all, including ones enemies, and doing good.
Always being considerate of the well-being and happiness of others first, even when one is needy.
The signs of one being a fat (young, chivalrous one) are that their spirit, which was created with the potential
to accept Divine Unity and Islam, has utmost conviction of Divine Unity and urges them to live according to the
requirements of this conviction, and that, without being captivated by carnal or bodily desires, they live a pure,
spiritual life, always aiming to please God in all acts, thoughts, and feelings. It is not possible for one who cannot be
saved from the temptations of their carnal soul, from Satan, from bodily appetites, or from a love of the world and
the attachment to worldly life, to climb up toward the peak of futuwwah (Key Concepts, 1: 8183).

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15. These people of ours have adopted deities other than Him, although they cannot
bring any clear authority for them. And who is more in the wrong than he who fabricates
falsehood against God?
As pointed out in note 1 above, the verses also reject the polytheists assertion that God has
taken angels for daughters.
16. (Events developed to the point that they had to leave their society. They discussed
what they should do and concluded:) And now that you have withdrawn yourselves from them
and all that they worship instead of God, then seek refuge in the Cave. Your Lord will lay out for
you of His mercy, and He will arrange for you in your affair a comfort and support.
17. (They entered the Cave and fell into a deep sleep.) You would have seen the sun,
when it rose, moving away from their Cave to the right, and when it set, turning away from them
to the left, while they lay in a spacious hollow in the Cave. That was one of Gods signs184.
Whoever God guides, he alone is rightly guided; and whoever He leads astray, you will never be
able to find for him any friend and guardian to guide him to the right way.
18. You would have thought them awake though they were asleep. We caused them to
turn over to the right and the left, and their dog lay outstretching its two forelegs on the
threshold. Had you come upon them unprepared, you would certainly have turned away from
them in flight, and would certainly have been filled with awe of them185.
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184

The position of the cave was such that God protected the young men from sunlight and protected their skin tone
from changing and their clothes from fading. Although they remained in the Cave for many years asleep, when they
awoke, nothing about them had changed; they had not even grown beards. This shows that either they entered a
death-like sleep or that God guarded their bodies against any changes; this situation, whichever scenario is correct,
should be investigated by science, as there will be some beneficial factors hidden in this event. The fact that they
remained asleep for a long time without suffering any alterations in their appearance is an exceptional sign of God.
185
It can be understood from this verse that their eyes were open. The Almighty caused them to turn from their right
to their left and from their left to their right, preventing sores on the body, and the eventual decay of both their
bodies and their clothes. Such movement prevented their bodies from becoming weak and listless. The sight of a
number of people lying down, yet with their eyes openpeople who are repeatedly turning over, inside a cave in a
mountainous area, and who are guarded by a dog, would surely have presented an awesome spectacle. Thus, it is
highly probable that there were other factors that would cause fear in those who saw them.
Who were these young men, and where did their experience actually take place? Before proceeding to
answer this question, we should remember that the Qurn is not a history book, and that it recounts past, exemplary
events in the most proper way to guide people to the pillars of the Religion, to establish these pillars in the minds
and hearts of people. It does not usually mention the names of the people involved, nor does it designate time or
place. Similar events may well have taken place, and may take place, in other places at other times.

260!

19. Such being their state, We raised them up so they began to ask questions of one
another. One who spoke said: How long have you stayed? They (some among them) answered:
We have stayed a day, or part of a day. The others said: Your Lord knows better how long
you have stayed. Now (we must deal with our hunger. So) send one of you to the city with this
coin of yours: let him see what food is most pure there (and so lawful), and bring a supply from
it. But let him behave with utmost care and guarded courtesy, and by no means make anyone
aware of you.
20. Indeed, if they should find you out, they will stone you to death or turn you back to
their way of belief and life by force; then you will never attain prosperity ever hereafter186.
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According to considerably more reliable narratives, as the message of Jesus, upon him be peace, spread across
neighboring lands, six youths from the royal class of the Romans in Syria-Jordan region gave up idol-worship,
accepting God as the only Deity and their True Lord. It was the years when the followers of Jesus faith were being
subjected to great tortures and persecutions. The Emperor Trajan (98117 CE) had issued a decree that any follower
of Jesus, upon him be peace, would be tried as a traitor and sentenced to death. He was visiting the region when
these six youths openly and fearlessly proclaimed their faith in his presence, saying that the Lord of the heavens and
the earth was their One and only True Lord. The emperor gave them three days respite to revert to their old faith.
But they managed to leave the city secretly in 112 CE. A shepherd from a neighboring village joined them, with his
dog following them up to the cave, despite their efforts to dissuade it. They took shelter in a deep cave, with the dog
sitting at its mouth. Soon they fell into a deep sleep.
There are different views about which cave it was in which they took shelter. In 1963, near the village Rajb, 80
kilometers from Amman, the capital of Jordan, a cave was excavated. When this cave was discovered, Rafiq Waf
al-Dujn wrote his book entitled Iktishfu Kahfi Ahl al-Kahf (Discovery of the Cave of the People of the Cave). It
was then seen that the cave and its neighboring land correlates with the Qurnic description.
Due to the fact that the question about the People of the Cave arose from some Jews who lived during the
Prophets time, some commentators, like Ibn Kathr, present another opinion that the People of the Cave lived
before the time of Jesus, upon him be peace, even though similar events may have taken place after Jesus, upon him
be peace. There are several caves in the world, each of which is claimed to have belonged to the People of the Cave.
As we pointed out above, the Qurn is not a history book and it usually recounts past, exemplary events for its main
purposes. So what is important is that we should draw the intended lessons from them.
186
Since the Qurn is never concerned with events for their own sake, it does not go further in narrating what
happened in the city. But the words used enable the reader to guess what might have happened.
This was at a time when Christianity had long ago been accepted as the official creed of the Roman Empire, and
the Christians were fiercely divided on the question of life after death. Many people refused to believe in the
Hereafter, at least in the bodily resurrection. The Emperor was keen to find some means whereby he could persuade
the people to give up this denial. He was so concerned about the matter that, on one occasion, he earnestly prayed to
God to show a miraculous sign that would make people believe in the bodily resurrection and afterlife. It was under
such circumstances that the People of the Cave awoke from their sleep. According to the narratives, the one who
was sent to the city went to a shop to buy bread and paid for it with an ancient silver coin. There was an altercation
as the man was trying to pay with a three-hundred year old coin, and this drew a crowd. The crowd, amazed, took
the man to the governor. The things that he saw in the city confused the young man. Everything had changed. The
city they had had to leave was now a Christian city, Christianity having been adopted as the official creed of the
Empire. He reported his story to the governor (or, according to another account, to the Emperor Theodosius the
Younger (418450 CE)). Greatly amazed, the governor (or the Emperor) followed the young man to the Cave,
followed by a crowd. Seeing that the words of the young man were true, they marveled at Gods power and

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21. And in this way, We disclosed them to the people so that they might know that the
promise of God is true, and that there can be no doubt about (the coming of) the Last Hour187.
When they (the people) disputed about their affair, they said: Build a structure over them (to
hide them, and leave them to their rest). Their Lord knows best about them. Those who
prevailed (in the long-disputed matter) said: We will most certainly build a place of worship
over them188.
22. (Instead of reflecting on the lesson to be learnt from the People of the Cave, people
concentrate their interest on the details of the event.) Some will say they were three, the dog
being the fourth among them; and some will say they were five, the dog being the sixth all
guessing at random at (something related to) the Unseen. Still others will say: They were seven,
the dog being the eighth. Say (O Messenger): My Lord knows their number better; it is but few
that know (the truth about) them. So do not argue about them, being content with what is
obvious (to you through Revelation), nor ask any of them (who argue even among themselves) to
give you an opinion about them189.
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providence. At that point, God took their souls from the Cave, and belief in revival after death, a matter over which
the people had been disputing for many years, was firmly planted in the hearts of the people.

187

The experience of the People of the Cave is significant in two important ways: One is that God has promised that
He will make successful those who believe in Him sincerely and strive in His way, helping His Word to prevail,
even if they are weak and oppressed at the beginning. This is a matter over which people have been disputing since
the time of Adam, and over which the People of the Cave rose against the ruler and his people. While the People of
the Cave themselves remained in the Cave, their resistance on behalf of their faith ended in victory. The second
point is, as in the case of the man whose experience is narrated in 2: 259, who remained dead for a hundred years
and then was raised to life by God as a sign for the people (so that they might understand how He created them and
how He will restore them to life after their death) that the experience of the People of the Cave became a manifest
sign for the coming of the Last Hour and the Resurrection, over which there had been a fierce controversy until the
time they awoke.
188
Despite this manifest sign, many did not refrain from doubting the Resurrection and the afterlife, and even
disclosed their denial of, at least, their doubts about God by saying, their Lord, not our Lord. This shows that if
one does not have a sincere intention to believe, one can refuse to believe, even in the face of miracles.
189

This verse shows that at the time of the revelation of this srah, a number of stories were in circulation about the
People of the Cave among the People of the Book i.e., the Christians and the Jews who had persuaded the Makkan
polytheists to ask the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, about them. Rather than concentrating on the
lessons this experience teaches, they only debated about its details, such as the number of the men and how long
they had remained in the Cave. Those who said they were three, the dog being the fourth among them, or that they
were five, the dog being the sixth, or that they were seven, the dog being the eighth, were the People of the Book.
The verse using the tense denoting the near future should not mislead us. It points to the fact that people will keep
arguing about their number, just as they argued following the death of the People of the Cave. The Qurn orders the

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23. And do not say about anything (you intend), I will do it tomorrow,
24. Without (adding), If God wills.190 And remember and mention Him (straightaway)
should you forget (to do so, when expressing an intention for the future). And say: I hope that
my Lord will guide me to what is nearer to right conduct than this (forgetfulness of mine)191.
25. And they stayed in their Cave three hundred (solar) years, and added nine (for lunar
years).
26. Say: God knows better how long they stayed. To Him belongs (absolute dominion
and full knowledge of) the unseen of the heavens and the earth192. How perfect is His seeing and
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believers to be intent primarily on the lessons given and not to ask anybody from among the People of the Book
about these matters.
There is a subtle point here concerning the number of men in the cave in this Qurnic narrative. Naturally, it is
not forbidden to investigate into details, without restricting the historical events to the details. Verse 19, which
informs us of the mens conversation concerning how long they had remained in the Cave, mentions one person who
asked about how long they had been there, with two different groups expressing their opinions. It uses the plural
form in reference to these two groups. In Arabic, the plural is applicable to at least three persons. Therefore, we can
conclude that there were two groups of at least three people, plus the man who posed the question, making at least
seven People of the Cave, with the dog being the eighth. In addition, this last verse (22) does not criticize those who
say they were seven, the dog being the eighth, for guessing at random at (something related to) the Unseen, while it
does criticize the others who say they were three and those who say they were five.
By narrating the experience of the People of the Cave, the Qurn also dispels the false belief that the
apparent complex of causal relationships, which people call laws of nature, is unalterable. What we call the laws
of nature are, in fact, the usual ways in which God lets things happen. He is not bound by any such laws. He can
cause someone to remain asleep for hundreds of years and then rouse him, while preventing this long period from
having any effect on that persons age, appearance, or health.
190

Although human beings are free to make plans for the future and endowed with the necessary equipment to do
what they plan, what they will do in the future, even in the present, is not dependent on their willpower exclusively.
There are many other factors that must be taken into consideration. No one knows whether they will be able to do
what they have planned and intended. In fact, no one knows what lies in store even one minute later. Nor does
anyone have the absolute power to do whatever they will. In addition, one does not know for sure whether what they
intend to do is for their own good. So, we must do what we should according to Gods Will and commands, taking
the necessary measures and making the required preparations, placing our trust in God, and then referring to Him
whether our intention will be realized or not.
191

This part of the verse should not only be taken in connection with the previous one. Although it is evident that it
demands that, in case we forget to refer the realization of our future intentions to His absolute Will, we should
mention him when we remember, this verse should also be viewed in a more general sense in the light of the
following, and other similar, Divine declarations:
And do not be like those who are oblivious of God and so God has made them oblivious of their own
selves (59: 19).
Those who keep from disobedience to God in reverence for Him and piety: when a suggestion from Satan
touches them they are alert and remember God, and then they have clear discernment (7: 201).
Remember and mention your Lord within yourself (in the depths of your heart), most humbly and in awe,
not loud of voice, at morning and evening. And do not be among the neglectful (7: 205).
192
According to some commentators, the People of the Cave took refuge in the Cave in 112 CE during the reign of

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how perfect is His hearing! And they have apart from Him no guardian, and He allots to no one a
share in His absolute authority.
27. Recite (and teach) that which has been revealed to you from the Book of your Lord.
There is none who can change His words (whatever the unbelievers may say or desire), and you
will never find, apart from Him, any refuge.
The Reasons Why God Has Created Natural Laws and Causes
In the next world, the realm of Power, God will execute His Will directly without the
medium of causes, so that everything will happen instantaneously. The Divine Name, the AllWise, requires that in this world, which is the realm of Wisdom, Divine Power should operate
from behind the veil of causes and laws. The following reasons may be given for this:

Opposites are mingled in this world: truth with falsehood, light with darkness, good with
evil, white with black, and so on. In this world, God tests humankind, in whose nature
there are ingrained inclinations towards both good and evil, to mark out whether we will
use our free will and other faculties in the way of truth and goodness or not; and in order
that our potential may develop and that we may attain perfect humanity, Divine Wisdom
has required that the veil of causes and laws should be drawn before the operations of
Divine Power. If God had so willed, He could train the planets with His Hands in a
way that would be observable by us, or He could have them administered by angels
whom we could see openly, and we would then not be speaking of the laws of causes,
such as gravity. Or, in order to communicate His Commandments, He could, without
sending any Prophets, speak to each individual directly; or, in order to compel us to
believe in His existence and Oneness, He could write His Name with stars on the skies.
But in this case, human earthly existence would be meaningless.

Like the two sides of a mirror, existence has two aspects or dimensions, one visible and
material: the realm of opposites and (in most cases) imperfections, and the spiritual realm

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Trajan. They argue that the Qurnic statement, God knows better how long they stayed, is a confirmation that they
stayed 300 (solar) years, with 9 more for lunar years, that is, 300 solar or 309 lunar years, and that this is a statement
answering those who put forth different opinions. However, God knows best the truth for, to Him belongs (absolute
dominion and full knowledge of) the unseen of the heavens and the earth. We must remain intent on the lessons to be
drawn from historical events, and not become distracted by details, the knowledge of which will not assist us in
learning or applying those lessons.

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which is transparent, pure and perfect. There can be, in the material dimension, events
and phenomena which appear disagreeable to human beings. Those who are unable to
perceive the Divine Wisdom behind all things may go so far as to criticize the Almighty
for those disagreeable events and phenomena. In order to prevent this, God has made
natural laws and causes a veil to fall before His acts. For example, so that people should
criticize neither God nor His angel of death for the loss of their beloved ones or for their
own death, God has placed between Himself and the phenomenon of death (among other
agents or causes) diseases and natural disasters.
Again, on account of the essential imperfection of this world of test and trial, people
encounter and suffer from many deficiencies and shortcomings. In absolute terms,
whatever God does or decrees is good, beautiful, and just. Injustice, ugliness, and evil
arise from the errors and abuses of humankind. For example, a court may pass an unjust
sentence on you; but you should know that Destiny permitted that judgment because of a
crime which had remained hidden. Whatever befalls people is usually because of selfwronging, an evil they themselves have done. However, those who lack the sound
reasoning and judgment necessary to understand the Divine Wisdom behind events and
phenomena may attribute the apparent ugliness or evil, and the imperfections and
shortcomings that they experience in this worldly life, directly to God. But God is
absolutely free from any kind of defect or imperfection.
Therefore, to prevent people from ascribing to God the ugliness and evil they encounter
in life, His Glory and Grandeur have required that natural causes and laws should be a
veil before His acts, while belief in His Unity demands that any kind of creative power
should not be ascribed to those causes and laws.

If God Almighty were to act in the world directly, without the medium of causes and
laws, humankind would not have been motivated and enabled to develop scientific
knowledge, and to live free from fears and anxieties. It is thanks to the fact that God acts
from behind natural causes and laws that human beings are able to observe and study
patterns in phenomena. Otherwise, each event would be perceived as a miracle. The
regularity within the flux and mutability of events and phenomena makes them

265!

comprehensible to us, therefore awakening in us the desire to wonder and reflect; this is a
principal factor in the establishment of sciences. It is for the same reason that we are able,
to some degree, to plan and arrange our affairs in advance. Consider how complicated life
would be if we had absolutely no idea at all whether or not the sun would rise tomorrow!

God has absolute beauty and perfection; all His Names are absolutely beautiful without
any defect. If He manifested His Names and Attributes directly, without the medium of
causes and laws, we would not be able to endure them; and more than that, lost in these
manifestations, we would not be able to know Him. It is impossible for us to know
something that is infinite. It is only by putting a limit to a thing that we can recognize it.
The Almighty manifests His Names and Attributes and His Perfections from behind
causes and laws, and by degrees within the confines of time and space, so that the world
and life might have a regularity with which we can build a connection by perceiving and
reflecting. The gradual manifestation of the Divine Names and Attributes is also a reason
for our curiosity and wonder about them.

These four constitute only some of the reasons why God acts through the medium of
natural laws and causes.
28. And keep yourself patient, along with those who invoke their Lord morning and
evening, seeking His Face (His eternal, good pleasure, and the meeting with Him in the
Hereafter); and do not let your eyes pass beyond them, desiring the beauties of the life of this
world (by the participation of those of leading positions among people in your assemblies). And
pay no heed to (the desires of) him whose heart We have made unmindful of Our remembrance,
who follows his lusts and fancies, and whose affair exceeds all bounds (of right and decency)193.
29. And say: The truth from your Lord (has come in this Quran). Then, whoever wills
(to believe), let him believe; and whoever wills (to disbelieve), let him disbelieve. Surely, We
have prepared for the wrongdoers a Fire, its billowing folds encompassing them. If they beg for
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193

Gods Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, nearly tormented himself to death with grief over those who
rejected faith in the Quran peoples prosperity in both worlds lay in faith in the Quran and its rejection would bring
their doom. So, without showing any trace of weariness, he called people to it. However, the chieftains in Makkah
implored him to dissociate himself from the lowly believers as a condition for their participation in his teaching
circles. The Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, categorically rejected such demands. This verse condemns
such demands and emphatically expresses that no follower of the Quran can repulse a believer.

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water, they will be given water like molten metal that scalds their faces. How dreadful a drink,
and how evil a couch to rest on!
30. Surely, for those who believe and do good, righteous deeds We do not leave to
waste the reward of any who do good deeds, aware that God is seeing them.
31. Those are they for whom are Gardens of perpetual bliss through which rivers flow,
adorned therein with armbands of gold, and they will dress in green garments of fine silk and
rich brocade; they recline there upon thrones194. How excellent a reward, how lovely a couch to
rest on!
32. Set forth to them the parable of two men: for one of them, We had made two
vineyards and surrounded both with date-palms, and placed between them a field of grain.
33. Each of the two vineyards yielded its produce, without failing in anything. We had
also caused a stream to gush forth between the two.
34. So the man had fruit (in abundance), and one day he said to his companion, while he
was conversing with him: I am more than you in wealth, and mightier in manpower (children
and those working for me).
35. He went into his vineyard while wronging himself (in his vain conceit). He said: I do
not think that this will ever perish.
36. Nor do I think that the Last Hour will ever come. Even if (it should come, and) I am
brought back to my Lord, I will surely find something even better than this as a resort195.19
37. His companion said to him, while he was arguing with him: Do you (expressing
such ingratitude) disbelieve in Him Who created you from earth, then out of a mere drop of
seminal fluid, then fashioned you into a perfect man?
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194

18. In the past, kings used to wear bracelets or armbands and garments of the finest silk and brocade. What
people usually yearn for in the name of the worldly happiness is such royal prosperity. So the verse presents the
enjoyment in Paradise in the terms of that prosperity, which is the greatest that people can imagine. However, the
verse can also be taken with its literal meaning, without forgetting that the garments mentioned are particular to
Paradise.
195
This is a very typical mood of many worldly people. They attribute whatever they have in the world to
themselves. Because of this, they do not like anyone else, for example, the poor and the needy, to have any share in
it. They are so puffed up by their worldly things that they deceive themselves into believing that God is their Lord in
particular, and He is ready to welcome them under any circumstances. Such people are usually ignorant upstarts
with crude manners.

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38. But (for my part I believe that) He is God, my Lord, and I do not associate with my
Lord any partner.
39. If only you had said, on entering your vineyard, Whatever God wills (surely has and
surely will come to pass); there is no strength (to achieve anything) save with God. Though you
see me with less wealth and offspring than you (I have no complaint at all, for it is God Who
does as He wills, and He is All-Compassionate toward His servants).
40. It may well be that my Lord will give me something better than your vineyard, and
send on it (your vineyard) a calamity from heaven, so that it becomes a barren waste.
41. Or its water comes to sink (so deep) into the ground, that you will never be able to
seek it out.
42. And (as it happened) his produce was encompassed by ruin, and he set to wringing
his hands with grief over all that he had spent on it, when it was now all ruined on its trellises,
and he was saying: Oh, would that I had never associated anyone with my Lord as partner!
43. And he had, apart from God, none, no troop of men, to help Him, nor could he be of
any help to himself.
44. For thus it is: all power to protect belongs to God, the True. He is the Best for reward,
and the Best for the outcome.
45. And strike to them a parable of the present, worldly life: (it is) like water that We
send down from the sky, and the vegetation of the earth mingles with it (flourishing abundantly).
Then it turns into dry stubble which the winds scatter about. God is absolutely able to do all
things196.
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196

After the experience of the People of the Cave, the parable of the two men is significant on two points. One is
that a religious movement, or faith movement, which is based on sincerity, altruism, self-sacrifice, and trust in God,
usually requires donations from its followers. Even though those followers do not have considerable wealth, they
prefer the continuation of the movement to a prosperous life. This movement usually encounters fierce opposition
from those in power and the self-indulgent, capital-owning segment of society. With the sole aim of living a
luxurious worldly life, those wealthy ones do not wish to accept a power above them that will interfere with their
way of earning and spending and, therefore, prefer a life outside the fold of the Divine Religion. So great are their
successes and attainments in their own eyes that they identify their prosperity with happiness in Paradise and cannot
see any real reason to strive for Paradise in the Hereafter.
Another point to which the parable draws our attention is that among those who lead the faith movement, or
rather those who have taken part in it in the later stages and who have not had to bear any misfortunes, there may
appear some who have tasted the riches of the world and who are attached to the worldly life at the cost of the goals
of the faith movement. Such people attribute their attainments to their own abilities, consciously ignoring God as the

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46. Wealth and children are an adornment of the present, worldly life, but the good,
righteous deeds (based on faith and) which endure are better in the sight of your Lord in bringing
reward and better to aspire for.
47. (Bear in mind) the Day when We set the mountains in motion, and you see the earth
denuded, and We raise to life and gather them together (all those who are content with
themselves, deluded by the charms of the world), leaving out none of them.
48. They are arrayed before your Lord (Whom they disregarded in the world), all lined up
(without discrimination of wealth or status as in the world, and they are told): Now, indeed, you
have come to Us (divested of all worldly things) as We created you in the first instance though
you used to suppose that We had not appointed for you a meeting with Us.
49. And the Record (of everyones deeds) is set in place; and you will see the
disbelieving criminals filled with dread because of what is in it, and they will say: Alas, woe is
ours! What is this Record? It leaves out nothing, be it small or great, but it is accounted! They
have found all that they did confronting them (in the forms thereof particular to the Hereafter).
And Your Lord wrongs no one.
50. And (recall) when We said to the angels, Prostrate before Adam! and they all
prostrated, but Ibls did not; he was of the jinn (created before humankind, from smokeless,
scorching fire), and transgressed against his Lords command197. Will you, then, take him and his
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sole Giver of all that one has. They forget thankfulness and gradually take a prosperous worldly life as the sole aim
of their existence, remaining in oblivion of the other life. When they are reminded of Paradise, they are in a mood in
which they see their worldly prosperity as being identical with Paradise and, even worse, they regard themselves as
the only ones who deserve Paradise. This is the stage where a civilization founded upon the pillars of the faith
movement begins to decline. So, by telling the parable of the two men, the Qurn both urges the believers to spend
in Gods cause, for the sake of reforming themselves as well as the society, and warns both these and the other
believers, who have managed to carry the movement to the stage of founding a civilization, against the corruption
which comes with being defeated by the charms of the world.
197
This means that Satan was not of the angels, as the Qurn openly declares that the angels are sinless, always
doing what they are commanded by God and never disobeying Him (16: 4950; 66: 6). Satan belongs to the species
of jinn, which, like humankind, have free will and can either obey or disobey God.
If it is asked why God also ordered him to prostrate before Adam, upon him be peace, after having made the
same order to the angels, the answer is: the prostration of the angels was an action signifying that they affirm the
degree of knowledge and superiority of Adam, upon him be peace, and the fact that he deserves the vicegerency of
the earth. Among the angels, there are many that are charged with life on the earth and aiding humankind in many
aspects of their lives. Therefore, their prostration also means that God commanded them to help humankind to
perform our duty on the earth. Those angels are also the representatives of the earthly creatures in Gods Presence,
and humans are the masters of these creatures. Satan, who belongs to the jinn, is an earthly creature who has duties
toward humankind. When our Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, took the oath of allegiance from the jinn in

269!

offspring for guardians (to rely on and refer your affairs to) rather than Me, when they are an
enemy to you? How evil an exchange for the wrongdoers!
51. I did not make them (Ibls and his offspring) witnesses to the creation of the heavens
and the earth, nor of the creation of their own selves, nor did I (being absolutely beyond need)
ever take as helpers those that lead (humankind) astray198.
52. The Day (will come when) He will say, Now call upon all those whom you alleged
to be My partners. Thereupon they will invoke them, but they will not respond to them, and We
will place between them an unbridgeable gulf.
53. And the disbelieving criminals will see the Fire and know certainly that they are
bound to fall into it, and they will find no way of escape from it.
54. Assuredly We have set out in diverse ways for humankind in this Qurn all kinds of
parables and comparisons (to help them understand the truth); but humankind is, above all else,
given to contention.
55. What is there to keep people from believing when guidance has come to them, and
from imploring their Lord for forgiveness unless it be that they follow the way of the (sinful)
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the valley of Batn an-Nakhlah, he wanted them to appear to his community either in their own form or in other
agreeable forms, not in the forms of harmful animals like dogs and scorpions. He also warned his community,
saying: When you see any vermin in your house, say to it three times: For the sake of God, leave here! For it may
be from your jinn friends. If it does not leave, it is not from the jinn. Then you are permitted to kill it, if it is
harmful. The jinn who gave allegiance to Gods Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, promised him: If
your community recites basmalah (the formula In [and with] the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the AllCompassionate) before anything they do, and cover all their dishes, we will touch neither their food nor their drink.
We do not know how they eat of our food, or drink of our beverages. Another Tradition says: (When you have
relieved yourselves) do not clean yourselves with bones and dried pieces of dung, for they are among the foods of
your jinn brothers. (at-Tirmidh, Tahrah, 14; al-Bukhr, Manqib al-Ansr, 32; Muslim, Salm, 139, 140)
All these Traditions show that there is an important relation between humankind and the jinn, and this relationship is
a requirement of human earthly life, which is why God also ordered Satan to prostrate before Adam, upon him be
peace. But he refused and, despite being eternally excluded from Gods Mercy, he was granted respite until the Day
of Judgment as a dimension of humankinds being tested on the earth, and he was given the ability to whisper to
humankind in order to mislead us.
The verse also mentions Satans offspring. This may mean either that Satan has a wife and begets children or, as
mentioned in 17: 64, that he has a share in the children of human beings, or both. Some human beings become like
Satan.
198
What right do Ibls and his offspring satans (devils) have to be taken as guardians, whom humankind should
obey and refer their affairs to, seeing that they themselves are created beings in absolute need of God and not their
own masters? Neither the satans of humankind nor of the jinn, in fact, no created being, has the right to impose his
rules and views upon others. Such a being is not even his own master; nor does he play the least part in his coming
into existence, the choice of his family, brothers and sisters, the place and date of his birth and death, or his color
and physique. Therefore, he has no right to impose his rules and views upon others.

270!

people of olden times (as if wishing for their fate to come upon them), or the punishment (which
they did not believe in but asked their Prophet, in derision, to bring down upon them) comes and
confronts them? (Then, indeed, they would have no opportunity to implore forgiveness or hope
for relief.)
56. We send the Messengers (not as bearers of punishment) but as bearers of glad tidings
(of prosperity in return for faith and righteousness) and warners (against the evil consequences of
misguidance), whereas those who disbelieve contend on the basis of falsehood in order to refute
the truth thereby; and they take My Revelations and that (the punishment) of which they are
warned in mockery.
57. Who is more in the wrong than he who has been reminded of his Lords Revelations
and signs, yet turns away from them and forgets all that his hands have forwarded (to the
reckoning in the future life). Surely, over their hearts We have laid veils (made up of their illintention, wrongdoing, and arrogance, which caused them to lose the ability to believe,) so that
they do not grasp (the Qurn with faith and understanding), and in their ears, a heaviness (so
they do not hear the Qurn). And if you call them to guidance, they will never even then accept
guidance.
58. Your Lord is the All-Forgiving, having infinite Mercy. If He were to take them
immediately to task for what they have earned, surely He would hasten on the punishment for
them; but for them is an appointed time-limit, beyond which they will never find an escape (from
Gods punishment).
59. And (that was the case with) all those townships that We destroyed when they were
given to wrong. We had surely appointed a time fixed for their destruction.
60. (Now relate to them, O Messenger, the experience of Moses) When Moses said to his
(young) attendant: I will not give up (journeying) until I reach the junction of the two seas,
though I may march on for ages.
61. When they reached the junction of the two (seas), they forgot their fish, and it took its
way amazingly through the sea as in an underground channel.
62. So when they had passed further on, Moses said to his attendant: Bring us our
morning meal; assuredly we have endured much fatigue in this journey of ours.

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63. He (the servant) said: Would you believe it? When we betook ourselves to that rock
for a rest, I forgot about (our cooked) fish and none but Satan caused me to forget to mention it
(to you) and it took its way into the sea in an amazing way.
64. He (Moses) said: That is what we have been seeking! So they retraced their
footsteps.
65. And they found (there) one of Our servants to whom We had granted a mercy as a
grace from Us and taught a special knowledge from Our Presence199.
66. Moses said to him: May I follow you so that you may teach me something of the
knowledge of guidance which you have been taught?
67. He said: You will never be able to have patience with being in my company.
68. How could you be patient about something that you have never encompassed in your
knowledge?200
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199

23. As we know, the Prophet Moses, upon him be peace, is one of the five greatest Messengers (42: 13) to whom
God granted a Book as a guidance for all aspects of peoples lives. As Gods Last Messenger, upon him be peace
and blessings, stated, once one from among Moses community asked him if there was any of Gods servants on
whom He bestowed more knowledge than him. The Almighty informed him of the existence of one of His servants
on whom He bestowed a special mercy and special knowledge from His Presence (al-Bukhr, Kitb at-Tafsr,
18).
This means that that servants knowledge was not of the kind which everyone can possess. Even the Prophet
Moses, upon him be peace, did not have it. In reports from the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and
blessings, that servant was called al-Khadr or al-Khidr. Al-Khadr, which must have been a title he had been given,
means the green one and the name signifies life. As quoted in note 2: 120 from Bedizzaman Said Nursi, human
life consists of five degrees, and al-Khadr possesses the second degree of life, which is free to some extent from the
necessities of our life. He can be present in different places at the same time. The revival of the cooked fish implies
al-Khadrs special mission and represents enduring life.
Existence does not consist in only the visible, material world. Beyond it, like the appearances in facing walls of
mirrors, there are many other worlds or dimensions of existence, each inner one being more refined than the outer
one before it. Although we accept that Moses, upon him be peace, and his attendant traveled on the earth until
reaching a point where two seas met, this journey had a spiritual aspect and, therefore, was like a spiritual journey
toward God. So the point Moses, upon him be peace, and his young servant reached signifies the junction of the
material and spiritual worlds. The revival of the fish suggests that they had just entered the field of al-Khadr, where
everything is enduringly alive in some way. This journey is truly a tiring one. In order to attain some of the
knowledge that had been specially given to al-Khadr, Moses, upon him be peace, had to make this journey, a
journey which corresponds to the spiritual journey to God Almighty.
According to some reports from Gods Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, the young, virtuous
servant (fat, for the meaning of which see note 5 in this srah) was Ysh (Joshua) son of Nn, who would later
succeed the Prophet Moses, upon them be peace.
200

These verses are stating that the knowledge taught to al-Khadr is not of the kind which had been taught to Moses,
upon him be peace, up until that point. That was because the Prophet Moses, upon him be peace, was a Messenger
whose mission was to guide or lead people in life according to Gods commandments. That is, he was the leader or
guide of (his) people living on the earth: he was responsible for their guidance, and they were a people greatly varied

272!

69. He (Moses) said: You will find me patient, if God so wills and allows me to, and I
will not disobey you in anything.
70. (Al-Khadr) explained: Well, if you go with me, do not ask me concerning anything
(that I may do) until I myself make mention of it to you.
71. So they set forth201 until, when they embarked on the boat, he (al-Khadr) made a hole
in it. He (Moses) said: Have you made a hole in it in order to drown its people (who would be
using it)? You have certainly done an awful thing!
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in intelligence and understanding. Guiding people in life and teaching them how to live according to Gods
commandments in order to please Him is the greatest mission, and the knowledge inherent in this is the most
valuable and important of all. As for al-Khadr, although it has not been established if he was a Prophet or a saintly
person, Gods referring to Himself using the first plural form of noun while mentioning him (one of Our servants to
whom We had granted a mercy as a grace from Us and taught a special knowledge from Our Presence verse 65
above), and al-Khadrs using the same form in explaining his actions (verse 81 below) and referring them to God
(verse 82), suggest that, even though not in the special sense of the concept, he was also a Messenger or an envoy
with special mission. However, he had knowledge on some special matters which we will examine in the following
verses; these do not interest the majority of people and they are not compulsory to learn. For this reason, it was not a
defect on the part of Moses, upon him be peace, that he did not have such knowledge, nor did the fact that al-Khadr
had the knowledge mean that he was superior to Moses, upon him be peace. The Prophet Muhammad, upon him be
peace and blessings, sheds light on this matter, saying: Al-Khadr told Moses: I have a kind of knowledge that you
do not have; and you have a kind of knowledge that I do not have. (al-Bukhr, Kitb at-Tafsr, 18).
201

It is highly interesting that there is no mention of Moses young attendant after Moses, upon him be peace, met
with al-Khadr, and that just the two of them made the mysterious journey. When we take into consideration Moses
experience in its totality and the identity of al-Khadr, along with the knowledge given to him, we can conclude that
this journey did not take place in the corporeal realm. Many people can have dream-like experiences while awake,
which are called mushhadah (vision, witnessing). The spirit enters the incorporeal realm of forms, ideas, or
symbols (al-lam al-Mithl), and has a vision of some truths. This vision resembles true dreams, with the
exception that dreams are experienced while asleep, whereas people have such a vision or experience while awake.
Like dreams, the mushhadah is quite brief. Although there may be other people next to the one who is having such
an experience or vision, they remain unaware of it. For this reason, while Moses, upon him be peace, and al-Khadr
had this mysterious journey, Moses young attendant did not accompany them, even though he was with them.
So, the journey that Moses, upon him be peace, and al-Khadr took resembles the spiritual vision we have just
described. However, God favors even common believers with such visions. Therefore, Moses, upon him be peace,
and al-Khadr may have made this mysterious journey in the incorporeal realm of forms or ideas with both their
spirits and bodies; their bodies had temporarily gained the degree of refinement of the astral body, energetic form, or
envelope of the spirit (see Appendix 12). There is resemblance between this journey and the Ascension of the
Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, as well as that of Jesus being taken from the world; the
differences being that this journey may have been made in the world of ideas or forms. The Prophet Muhammad,
upon him be peace and blessings, made the Ascension in all the higher dimensions or worlds of existence with his
spirit and his body, which became so refined as to be almost identical with the astral body of the spirit. After the
Ascension, he preferred to return to the world to continue to guide people and to complete the preaching of Islam.
As for the Prophet Jesus, upon him be peace, since his mission as a Messenger had ended, he was taken from the
world with his spirit and body, which also became identical with the astral body of his spirit and remained in
heaven where he had been elevated. (God knows best.)

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72. He said: Did I not tell you that you would never be able to bear patiently with my
company?
73. He (Moses) said: Do not take me to task because I forgot, and do not overburden me
in my affair (in what you ask of me).
74. So they went on until, when they met a young boy, he (al-Khadr) killed him. (Moses)
said: Have you killed an innocent soul (not in lawful retaliation but) without his having killed
anyone? Assuredly you have done a horrible thing!
75. He said: Did I not tell you that you would never be able to have patience with being
in my company?
76. (Moses) said: If I should ever question you about anything after this, keep me no
more in your company. You have already received (full) excuse from me.
77. So they went on until when they came upon the people of a township, they asked its
people for food, but they refused them hospitality. They found there a wall which was on the
verge of tumbling down, and he (al-Khadr) restored it. (Moses) said: If you had wished, you
could have taken payment for it.
78. He (al-Khadr) said: This is the parting of ways between me and you. I will tell you
the meaning of what you were unable to bear patiently.
79. As for the boat, it belonged to some destitute people who worked on the sea and I
wished to damage it, for there was a king after them who was seizing every boat by force.
80. And as for the young boy, his parents were believers, and we feared lest he should
oppress them with rebellion and unbelief.
81. So we wished that their Lord would grant them in his place one better than him in
purity and nearer in affection (to his parents).
82. And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and beneath it was a
treasure belonging to them. Their father had been a righteous man. So your Lord willed that they
should come of age and bring forth their treasure as a mercy from your Lord. I did not do this

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(any of the actions that you witnessed) of my own accord. This is the meaning of all (those
events) with which you were unable to have patience.202
83. And they ask you (O Messenger) about Dhul-Qarnayn203. Say: I will recite to you a
mention of him (quoting the Almighty).
84. We surely established him with power in the land, and for everything (that he rightly
purposed), We granted him a way (the just means appropriate to just ends).
85. One such way he followed,

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202

Any event, which takes place in life, has an apparent meaning and reason pertaining to the people involved in it,
and a true meaning and reason pertaining to Divine Destiny. Destiny takes into consideration both the whole of
creation and events from the time of Adam, upon him be peace, to the Last Day, and each individual person and
event at the same time. It never wrongs anybody: it always does justice, and this justice usually dwells on mercy.
Whatever good reaches one, it is because of the Divine Mercy, although a person has little share in it; but whatever
one suffers is completely due to ones own errors. However, the Almighty forgives many of His servants errors and
never hastens to punish; He gives respite so that people may mend their ways. But if He punishes a servant, it is
absolutely what that servant deserves. As Said Nursi reminds us, a court may pass a sentence on us because of a
crime we did not commit and thus carry out an injustice; but Destiny allows this sentence to be passed on us because
of another crime which we did commit, yet which has remained unknown.
We understand from the Prophet Moses experience with al-Khadr that the latters mission is in connection with
the inner, true meaning and reasons of events. But we judge according to the apparent reasons; this does not mean
that we are not obliged to investigate the truth. But we cannot judge according to future expectations. Even if we
have foreknowledge about something which will take place in the future, this cannot be a basis for our judgment.
For this reason, those events may, as pointed out above, have taken place in the world of forms or ideas in which the
Prophet Moses, upon him be peace, journeyed in the company of al-Khadr. According to the religious rules and laws
that God has laid down for our worldly life, Moses, upon him be peace, was right to make his objections. But what
al-Khadr did was not wrong; his mission pertained to the world of Destiny. God may have desired to teach Moses,
upon him be peace, the true nature of Destiny and the true meaning of events, many of which people are unable to
grasp. Whatever God does is absolute justice, and everyone gets what they deserve. Moreover, God is the AllCompassionate and overlooks many of His servants errors (42: 30, 34).
By recounting the experience of the Prophet Moses, upon him be peace, with al-Khadr after the stories of
the People of the Cave and the orchards of the two men, the Qurn is suggesting that for a faith movement, spiritual
profundity and discovery of the inner meaning of existence and events are important.
203
There are different views about the identity of Dhul-Qarnayn. It is not of great importance who he really was in
history. What is important is what the Qurn intends to teach by this narration.
Like al-Khadr, it is not certain whether Dhul-Qarnayn was a Prophet or not, but Gods referring to Himself with the
first plural form of the noun while narrating His speech to him (verse 86 below) can be seen as an allusion to DhulQarnayn having a special mission. The expression of the Divine Revelation with the word say also suggests
Messengership, if it is not used to mean inspiration; while when it is expressed with the verb reveal, it can suggest
Messengership, Prophethood, or sainthood. For example, Gods revelation to a bee (16: 68) is Divine guidance and
direction, while it is inspiration when it is sent to someone like Moses mother, who was not a Prophet or Messenger
(28: 7). However, what is clear concerning Dhul-Qarnayn is that, as reported by Ali, the beloved close companion
of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, and fourth Caliph, he was a righteous servant of God who loved
and was loved by God (Yazr, 5: 3279).

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86. Until, when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he saw it setting in a spring of hot
and black muddy water204, and nearby he found a people. We said: O Dhul-Qarnayn! You can
either punish them or you can treat them with kindness. (Which way will you choose?)
87. He said: As for him who does wrong (by disbelieving in Him, or associating partners
with Him and oppressing others), we will punish him; and then he is brought back to his Lord,
and He punishes him in an indescribable manner.
88. But as for him who believes and does good, righteous deeds, for him the recompense
of the best is due, and we will speak to him an easy word of Our command (we will charge him
with easy tasks).
89. Then he followed another way,
90. Until, when he reached the rising-place of the sun and found it rising on a people for
whom We had provided no shelter against it.
91. So it was (such was their state and the extent of Dhul-Qarnayns power). We
assuredly encompassed all concerning him in Our Knowledge205.
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204

The Qurn, which was revealed fourteen centuries ago, and is valid until Judgment Day, pursues four main
purposes: it seeks to establish in minds and hearts the Existence and Unity of God, Prophethood, bodily
Resurrection, and the worship of God and justice. It addresses all times and places, and it is aimed at all levels of
understanding. It is an accepted fact that the people of average understanding in every community, in every age,
constitute its great majority. Therefore, in order to guide everyone to the truth and to its basic purposes, the Qurn
considers the level of that majority, who usually follow eye-perceptions. However, this never means that it ignores
the existence of knowledgeable ones among humankind. So, it uses such styles that an ordinary person with average
intellect can benefit from the Qurn, while prominent scientists, no matter in which field of science they have
expertise, can also benefit from it. It sometimes uses symbolic language and frequently resorts to metaphors,
allegories, comparisons, and parables. Those who are well-versed in knowledge (3: 7) know how to approach the
Qurn and benefit from it, and they conclude that the Qurn is the Word of God.
So, by the setting-place of the sun, he saw it setting in a spring of hot and black muddy water, the Qurn means
that Dhul-Qarnayn marched a long way toward the west and went as far as the point where he (probably) saw a sea
or ocean, appearing like a spring. The description of the sea or ocean as a spring of hot and black muddy water
suggests that he had reached that point in the hottest days of summer when vaporization was at its greatest.
The expressions the setting-place of the sun and the rising-place of the sun (verse 90 in the srah ) also denote that
Dhul-Qarnayn made long military trips toward the east and west.
205

Verses 8991 mean that Dhul-Qarnayn went forth eastward and, conquering one land after another, he reached
the farthest territory of the then civilized world. Those living in that territory were primitive people who had no
clothes or buildings to protect them from the sun. God Almighty does not inform us of how Dhul-Qarnayn treated
them. However, it may be inferred from the verses that being a beloved servant of God and a just, righteous
conqueror equipped with every kind of correct means to attain all correct ends, Dhul-Qarnayn may have invited
them to the right path and they may have made some advances in the way of civilization. The observations of some
Western writers on the changing power of Islam can give us a clue in this respect.

276!

92. Then he followed another way,

93. Until, when he reached (a place) between two mountain-barriers, he found before
them a people who scarcely understood a word.
94. They said: O Dhul-Qarnayn! Gog and Magog206 are causing disorder in this land.
May we pay you a tribute so that you set a barrier between us and them?
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Below are the impressions of the influence of Islam on native Africans, as written by a Westerner in the nineteenth
century:
As to the effects of Islam when first embraced by a Negro tribe, can there, when viewed as a whole, be
any reasonable doubt? Polytheism disappears almost instantaneously; and magic, with its attendant evils,
gradually dies away. The general moral elevation is most marked; the natives begin for the first time in their
history to dress, and neatly. Squalid filth is replaced by some approach to personal cleanliness; hospitality
becomes a religious duty; drunkenness, instead of the rule, becomes a comparatively rare exception...chastity
is looked upon as one of the highest, and becomes, in fact, one of the commoner virtues. It is idleness that
henceforward degrades, and industry that elevates, instead of the reverse. Offences are henceforward
measured by a written code instead of the arbitrary caprice of a chieftain a step, as everyone will admit, of
vast importance in the progress of a tribe. The Mosque gives an idea of architecture at all events higher than
any the Negro has yet had. A thirst for literature is created and that for works of science and philosophy, as
well as for commentaries on the Qurn (al-Ezzati, quoting from B. Smith, Muhammad and Muhammadism,
111-112, 117-118, 231).
And Isaac Taylor, in his speech delivered at the Church Congress of England about the effects and influence of
Islam on people, said the following:
When Muhammadanism [an inaccurate name for Islam given by some Westerners as the result of an
incorrect comparison of Islam with Christianity A] is embraced, paganism, fetishism, infanticide and
witchcraft disappear. Filth is replaced by cleanliness, and the new convert acquires personal dignity and selfrespect. Immodest dances and promiscuous intercourse of the sexes cease; female chastity is rewarded as a
virtue; industry replaces idleness; license gives place to law; order and sobriety prevail; blood feuds, cruelty
to animals and slaves are eradicated... Islam swept away corruption and superstitions. Islam was a revolt
against empty polemics... It gave hope to the slave, brotherhood to mankind, and recognition to the
fundamental facts of human nature. The virtues which Islam inculcates are temperance, cleanliness, chastity,
justice, fortitude, courage, benevolence, hospitality, veracity and resignation... Islam preaches a practical
brotherhood, the social equality of all Muslims. Slavery is not part of the creed of Islam. Polygamy is a more
difficult question. Moses did not prohibit it. It was practiced by David and it is not directly forbidden in the
New Testament. Muhammad limited the unbounded license of polygamy. It is the exception rather than the
rule... In resignation to Gods Will, temperance, chastity, veracity and in brotherhood of believers, they (the
Muslims) set us a pattern which we should do well to follow. Islam has abolished drunkenness, gambling and
prostitution, the three curses of the Christian lands. Islam has done more for civilization than Christianity.
The conquest of one-third of the earth to his (Muhammads) creed was a miracle (Ezzati, 235237).
206
Gog and Magog (Yajj and Majj in the Qurn) are also mentioned in the Bible (Genesis, 10: 2; Chronicles, 1:
5; Ezekiel, 38: 2; 39: 6; John, 20: 8). They were wild tribes that probably inhabited the north-eastern region of Asia.
They constantly carried out raids against civilized lands, overrunning the primitive people found on the way. The
Mongols that invaded the Muslim lands and reached as far as the Central Europe in the 12 th and 13th centuries were
regarded as Gog and Magog by both the Muslims and the Europeans. The Qurn states that the strong rampart
which Dhul-Qarnayn built would collapse, and that those peoples would invade the civilized world once more
before the end of time (18: 98; 21: 96). Reports from Gods Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, regard this
invasion as one of the signs of the approach of the Last Hour. Bedizzaman Said Nursi remarks that like the locusts
that fly in great swarms and, then, after destroying crops and vegetables, disappear, Gog and Magog are wild
peoples that invade the civilized world at times and then disappear (ualar [The Rays], 453454).

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95. He said: What my Lord has established me in (the power that He has granted me on
this earth) is better (than what you offer). So help me with strength (manpower), and I will set a
strong rampart between you and them.
96. Bring me blocks of iron. Then, after he had filled up (the space between) the two
steep mountain-sides, he said: (Light a fire and) work your bellows! At length, when he had
made it (glow red like) fire, he said: Bring me molten copper that I may pour upon it.
97. And they (Gog and Magog) were no longer able to surmount, nor were they able to
dig their way through (the barrier).
98. Dhul-Qarnayn said: This is a mercy from my Lord. Yet when the time of my Lords
promise comes, He will level it down to the ground; and my Lords promise is ever true.
99. On that day, We will leave people to surge like waves on one another207; and the
Trumpet will be blown, then We will gather them all together.
100. And on that Day, We will place Hell before the unbelievers, plain to view,

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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It is clear that Dhul-Qarnayn made great conquests toward the west, east and northeast, throughout the civilized
world, as far as the natural limits, such as the sea, deserts and mountain ranges. By recounting his conquests after
the narration of the Prophet Moses journey with al-Khadr, which followed the stories of the People of the Cave and
the orchards of the two men, the Qurn is referring to a natural outcome. What is more important than this is that
a faith movement can and must be represented by perfect, righteous people. In particular, those who lead it after the
Last Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, must be true, perfect successors to the mission of the Messengers,
except that they are not Prophets and they do not receive Revelation that came to the Prophets.
There have also been different opinions concerning where the rampart which Dhul-Qarnayn constructed was
located. Some have suggested that it was built among the mountains in the range between the Caspian Sea and the
Black Sea; while others suggested that the rampart was the Iron Gates near Bukhara, which stood between
Transoxiana and Mongolia; and still others suggest that the rampart was the Great Wall of China. What is of interest
in this respect is that it was a barrier, which kept the wild, aggressive tribes of Gog and Magog from attacking the
civilized world. For centuries, there was no such barrier. However, if the latest assaults of Gog and Magog were not
the Mongol invasion on the great part of the Muslim world and eastern Europe in the 13th century, then, as suggested
by the Qurn (verse 99 in this srah, and 21: 96) and Prophetic reports, the civilized world will witness the greatest
destruction of all human history at some time in the future. If we understand that the word sadd (barrier) in verse 94
also means a spiritual barrier, it is possible to think that prior to this latest destruction, a spiritual barrier will have
been erected.
Some Prophetic Traditions say that memorizing (and reciting on every Friday) ten verses from the beginning or
end of this srah may enable one to be safe from the corruption and evils of the Dajjl (the Anti-Christ, in the
Christian tradition) the man, or collective personality or movement, expected to appear toward the end of time,
which will try to eradicate Islam from the social life of Muslims (Muslim, Salt al-Musfirn, 257). So the stories
narrated in this srah must have close relevance to, or implications for, the world-wide events that are expected
before the end of time.

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101. Those whose eyes are veiled from My Book and any remembrance of Me, and who
cannot bear to hear (them).
102. Do they who disbelieve reckon that they can (rightly and justifiably) take any of My
servants as guardians (to own and protect them) besides Me? Assuredly, We have prepared Hell
to welcome the unbelievers.
103. Say: Shall We inform you who are the greatest losers in respect of their deeds?
104. Those whose endeavor has been wasted in this world (because it is directed only to
this-worldly ends, and so it is bound to be wasted hereafter also) but who themselves reckon that
they are doing good208.
105. They are those who disbelieve in the signs and Revelations of their Lord, and in the
meeting with Him. Hence, their deeds have come to nothing, and on the Day of Resurrection, We
will not accord to them any weight.
106. That will be their recompense Hell because they have disbelieved and taken My
signs and Revelations and My Messengers in mockery.
107. Surely for those who believe and do good, righteous deeds, their welcome is
Gardens of the highest level of Paradise.
108. Therein will they abide, without desiring any change therefrom.
109. Say: If all the sea were ink to write my Lords words (the acts, decrees, and
manifestations of all His Names and Attributes), the sea would indeed be exhausted before my
Lords words would be exhausted, even if We were to bring the like of it in addition to it.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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This verse contains a great threat and several warnings. First of all, if a person thinks that he or she is doing good,
this does not mean that he or she is actually doing good. What is good is that which is acceptable to God and,
therefore, what God has declared to be good. So, doing good depends on knowledge that is, knowing what pleases
God in every case, and doing it in the way approved by Him. This requires either having the knowledge, insight,
sagacity, and ability to distinguish good and evil in all cases, or in following a true guide who has these
characteristics.
The first part of the verse has several meanings.
Unbelievers and/or polytheists can do some useful things for the worldly life. But their being of use with
respect to the afterlife depends on true belief. So, whatever unbelievers and/or polytheists do is bound to
be wasted with respect to the afterlife.
If there are true believers who form a formidable community and strive in Gods cause, whatever
unbelievers do to defeat them is bound to be in vain.
Throughout history, unbelievers may, at times, have or have hadthe upper hand against the believers.
However, the end always belongs to the believers.

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110. Say: I am but a mortal like you, but it is revealed to me that your God is the One
and Only God. So, whoever is looking forward to meeting his Lord, let him do good, righteous
deeds, and let him not associate any partner in the worship of His Lord.

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B. CONSULTATION
uestion: What are the method and manners of consultation in Islam?
Answer: The Quran clearly mentions consultation as an indispensible quality of
Muslims that leaves no place for interpretations in any other way, and commands

believers to practice consultation in all units of life as an essential that cannot be relinquished.
For example, in the chapter ash-Shura: And those who answer the call of their Lord and obey
Him (in His orders and prohibitions), and establish the Prayer in conformity with its conditions;
and whose affairs are by consultation among themselves; and who spend out of what We provide
for them (to provide sustenance for the needy, and in Gods cause) (ash-Shura 42:38). This
Divine verse mentions consultation together with Prayer and spending for the sake of God and
thus reminds of the fact that it is one of the most vital qualities for a society of believers and an
act of critical importance to the degree of worship. It is so meaningful that the chapter is named
The Consultation. Another verse where consultation is openly commanded is the following (as
translated): It was by a mercy from God that (at the time of the setback), you (O Messenger)
were lenient with them (your Companions). Had you been harsh and hard-hearted, they would
surely have scattered away from about you. Then pardon them, pray for their forgiveness, and
take counsel with them in the affairs (of public concern); and when you are resolved (on a
course of action), put your trust in God. Surely God loves those who put their trust (in Him) (Al
Imran 3: 159).
Consultation, Even When You Have Been Offended!
As it is known, this verse was revealed during the Battle of Uhud right after the
Companions temporary wavered at a very critical moment. Gods Messenger consulted with his
Companions before the war on the course of action they should take. By taking their opinions
into consideration, he decided to face the approaching enemy on battleground. As some of the
Companions had failed to grasp the finer points of doing as commanded, they failed to pay full
respect for orders and thus experienced there a temporary waveringI am specially avoiding
calling it a rout. God almighty revealed this verse at a time when the Messenger of God received
a wound that spilled his blessed blood from his face and when so many Companions were
martyred. In this verse, God Almighty first compliments our noble Prophet: It was by a mercy

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from God that (at the time of the setback), you (O Messenger) were lenient with them (your
Companions). Had you been harsh and hard-hearted, they would surely have scattered away
from about you (Al Imran 3:159). If we try to paraphrase this verse, we can say: My Beloved
servant, you cannot be harsh and hard-hearted; you are not so. If you had been, these people
would not gather around you at all, not come to the battleground, and they would have scattered
away from you. O My beloved servant! They made a mistake of judgment. Therefore, forgive
them and ask forgiveness from God for them. Then once again bring the issue to consultation
and discuss what needs to be done with the people around you.
At a moment when a temporary wavering caused havoc, as the heart of the noble Prophet
could be broken as any human being, and many other hearts were upset as well, God demands
the issue to be re-discussed in consultation with a very gentle command. Actually, the beloved
Prophet did not need consultation at all. In the words of Abu Bakr, he was in communication
with the heavens day and night. God Almighty directly let him know the words he should say,
the steps he should take, and what he should do. He was never at a total impasse in his life.
When it appeared that it would happen, God Almighty paved the way for him, rendered narrow
footpaths into wide roads, and told him to walk on. Consultation was not simply an issue of his
time; the Messenger of God consulted matters with the Companions as an act of guidance for all
his followers to come, who are responsible for emulating his example. Through the language of
his state, he was saying, You may be a mayor, ambassador, or president no matter who you
are, do not act upon individual considerations alone. Consult over every issue.
Consultation Helps Everyone Accept What Needs To Be Done
Consultation is very significant to decisions and acts that concern all, in terms of maintaining
general acceptance. When people add their own ideas to an issuebe it of even a very minor
levelthey see themselves as connected to it and lend a helping hand if needed, even if the task
is heavy. But if their ideas and suggestions are not included in the decisions made on an issue,
then they do not have stake in it and do not want to undertake any task with respect to it. What
needs to be done is for the tasks to be perceived as similar to carrying a heavy treasure, where
many people contribute their ideas in order to lighten the overall task for everyone. In this
respect, we can say that when consultation is neglected within the family, it causes familial

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unease and problems. When it is neglected in a committee or group, then the collective will
suffers the harm. When it is neglected in state affairs, it causes nationwide unrest, complications,
and problems of very serious kind. Given that the Truthful Messenger stated, Whoever takes
counsel, does not regret it in the end,1 this essential needs to be practiced in all aspects of life,
beginning with the smallest sphere.
Manners of Debate and Discussion
Having briefly covered the necessity of consultation, now let us come to the issue of how
an ideal consultation should be carried out. Let me point out firstly that an individuals making a
decision on ones own, taking it like a fixed essential, and then trying to weave all matters to be
discussed at the consultation according to his preconceived plan is an expression of not knowing
the spirit of consultation. Instead, in order not to involve emotions, not to take personal fancies
and desires as reasoning, it is necessary to note down the considerations that come to mind about
the matters to be discussed at the consultation by evaluating them with ones inner faculties,
along with sound reason, sound feelings, and a sound heart. Only then should one determine the
frame of the issues to be discussed, before bringing the issue to consultation. In addition, even if
we believe that our ideas and suggestions are original, we cannot expect them always to be
accepted at a consultation. In this respect, with respect to our ideas and suggestions offered to the
consultative collective, we must be able to say at appropriate times, I did not understand this
issue thoroughly or My knowledge was mistaken, thus not insisting or showing obstinacy at
the fixed ideas in ones mind. In fact, the method to be followed at consultation is debate and
discussion. But debate and discussion do not in any way mean quarreling and brawling. Many
works have been written on the Islamic manners of debate and certain principles are thoroughly
established, such that the debate develops around the axis of the Quran and Sunnah. Actually,
debate means mutually stating opinions about an issue in question. For example, if a matter
about the economy is being discussed, all of the opinions will be centered around the economy
and will naturally resemble one another. The real target here is making the truth emerge in a
crystal clear fashion: The flash of truth is born from the confrontation of ideas.2 Disputes,
however, do not give way to sparkles of truth but to disintegrations and factions. Also, it is an
essential to be fair and to respect the other sides opinion at a constructive debate because

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arguing can include acting obdurately and disgracing the other side. Indeed, the one proven to be
wrong has no loss on a ground of mutual discussion, because that person gains by seeing that his
or her view is mistaken and learns the truth. As for the one proven to be right, that person will
only have repeated self thoughts. Such a person is even under the risk of giving into pride and
haughtiness thinking, See that, what I said has proven to be right.
The Consultation Must not be the Place of Asserting our Own Ideas
An important principle for evaluating issues with criteria of the conscience is the
following fact that the Quran states: whoever does an atoms weight of good will see it; and
whoever does an atoms weight of evil will see it (Az-Zilzal 99:78). Namely, concerning the
opinions stated on a certain issue, a view whose evil side has a grains weight of dominance over
its good side should be put aside, and a view whose good side has dominancebe it of a grains
weightover its evil side should be taken as basis. That is, given that goodness has superiority
over evil at the weighing of deeds and that God Almighty judges His servants accordingly, then
this principle must be prevalent at our consultations as well. If goodness has an atoms weight of
dominance in one of the opinions stated, neither seniority, nor title, nor status, nor being a
personage of esteem can be a factor for making another persons opinion more credible. On the
contrary, when the truth has become manifest, giving weight to these others factors and using
them for pressure means destroying the spirit of consultation. There must absolutely be no
impositions at consultation. According to Islam, the most ideal person in this respect is the one
who says to the other oneperhaps as much as ten times a half an hour during consultation
You are very right on this subject. I agree with every word you are saying. Besides this,
however, such and such thought came to my mind. What do you think about it? This is the
person who protects the honor of consultation, who is a monument of honor. Otherwise, the
person who does not show the respect to listen to the other side, but continuously sees his own
opinions as right, is a poor one who has made his own carnal soul into an idol. Even if such a
poor person who prostates himself before his carnal soul thinks he is speaking for the sake of
religion and serving God, in reality he speaks in the name of his carnal soul. Therefore, the
thoughts he reveals will always receive a negative reaction. It is for this reason that during the
consultation a person must give up firmness at ones manner, acts, and thoughts, file away the

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sharp sides of ones ideas, and thus make them easier to welcome. A consultation where firmness
of matters is not broken, thoughts are not voiced in a soft manner and harshness exists will give
way to cracks and breakings.
Not Seniority or Superior Status But Where the Right Lies
Sometimes flawed people try to take advantage of their seniority or credit and make
impositions. This way, even though unaware, they openly abuse the services they carry out in the
name of faith for the sake of their seniority and status. However, no one has the right to eliminate
the fruitfulness of the consultation with egotistic and selfish attitudes. I would like to relate an
example about this subject. Once, the great saint and scholar Hasan al-Basri was among the
people who were listening to some Companions of the Prophet. People who attended the
gathering were asking the Companions their questions and consulting with them as they were
supposed to do, since the Companions had been in the presence of the Messenger of God, peace
and blessings be upon him, and were imbued with the hue of that presence. I think being in the
Prophets presence, even once, yields abundant blessings as if one read the entire Quran ten
times from the beginning to end, for the noble Prophets every attitude reflected the Truth. In his
looking, giving ear to something, opening his mouth, or moving his tongue or lips, the truths of
sound belief in God would be seen all the time. A poet expressed this state by saying that every
time he prostrated himself, it was a Divine manifestation. That is to say, a person who looked at
him fully felt as if he were in the presence of God by recognizing how his person virtually
vanished from sight. This has nothing to do with attempting to imagine the Divine Essence. On
the contrary, this is an emphasis of how our beloved Messenger reminded of God in all of his
attitudes and behaviors. Thus, the Companions who were honored with being in the presence of
such a blessed Prophet undoubtedly had a very different experience of imbuing. Particularly,
considering the fact that those people who were wholeheartedly attached to the noble Prophet
tried not to neglect being in his presence a few times every day, surely they were people to be
listened to and consulted with. In addition, the economic, administrative, and social lives in those
times were completely oriented to religion and were run according to religious principles.
Therefore, in order to solve real-life problems people implemented the unshakeable and stable
guidelines of religion. It was for this reason that the people who lived at the time of Hasan al-

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Basri sought out the then living Companions, who had learned religion from its source. At such a
gathering Hasan al-Basri also attended, they asked a question to a Companion and he answered
it. After the Companion finished speaking, Hasan al-Basri, who was about 30 years old at the
time and was sitting somewhere at the back, was consulted. As he spoke, the Companion
admired him. As he was so fair and righteous thanks to the virtuous qualities he had acquired
from the beloved Prophet, the Companion asked the people around him, Why are you asking
your questions to me while you have this man here? As it is also seen in this example, the
Companion of the Prophet did not even use his honorable status and credit as a means of
imposition. Before a young man whom he thought to be endowed with more effective speech and
stronger judgment, he directed the attention to that young man and believed that letting him
speak would be better. I think such an approach is very significant at the issue of grasping the
spirit of consultation. Unfortunately, such a degree of righteousness is not shown in our time. A
person who has certain seniority wants to be the one who talks all the time and expects others to
listen to him in complete silence. In addition, instead of listening to the person speaking, the
individuals who make up the consultation group are preparing certain answers in their mind as
counterarguments. And sometimes people show unnecessary obstinacy and feel obliged to say
something for the sake of objecting to what another person says. And sometimes they even begin
to scheme in a devilish fashion for the sake of refuting the other persons opinion. For this
reason, even if the words spoken at the consultation are truthful, they yield no benefit.
On the other hand, Bedizzaman said, Respect for justice is sublime, and should not be
sacrificed for anything. Therefore, all words and attitudes must be accorded with truth and
righteousness. That great personage also told his students not to accept something for the sole
reason that he says it to them, for he could be mistaken too. One needs to have this degree of
immensity. As none of us is a prophet who receives Divine revelation, everybody can be
mistakenone must never forget that.
What Speaks Should Only Be the Truth
A person should not be disturbed when the truth surfaces by means of somebody else. If
there is another person to voice a sensible and acceptable consideration, cherishing thoughts as,
Let me be the one who speaks and receives appreciation by expressing these good ideas, is an

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improper attitude for a believer. However, if others have nothing to say about a matter that must
be settled, and if keeping silent is likely to cause certain people to suffer loss, then one must
speak for the sake of righteousness. In such a situation, it is necessary also to consider whether
the collective is likely to accept the words to be spoken, so that no negative reaction is evoked. It
is more sensible to be silent in a place where opinions are not respected and is a necessity of
respecting the thought one wants to state. Because, even if the words spoken are truthful, it
becomes very difficult to accept them later on if the people addressed react against them initially.
People who leave that place in the face of such a situation can even devise new pretexts later in
order not to let that idea be practiced. In this respect, one must speak at a moment when the
general mood of the collective seems likely to show respect for the truth, so that everybody
benefits from it. At the same time, everybody who joins the consultation must be very righteous.
Particularly, figures of esteem whose words are listened to must act very carefully in this respect,
for whatever such people say their words will be respected. However, there can also be faults and
mistakes in the words those people say. At this point, esteemed ones should, as soon as they
realize that what they said was mistaken, be able to step back from their mistake immediately
and be very comfortable doing so. In addition, allowing others who do not deserve to speak,
instead of a person who deserves to speak, will result in ignoring beneficial ideas and
unnecessary gossiping.
It Is Necessary to Avoid Backbiting at All Costs
Another one of the most important points that needs to be considered is acting
scrupulously to avoid backbiting during consultation and not condemning others unnecessarily.
Otherwise, we might become a loser in a zone of winning. At the moment we think we are
serving on the path of truth, we contaminate our tongue, which gains priority over our heart, and
thus extinguish our spiritual life. In this respect, it is necessary to show utmost care to avoid
backbiting. If backbiting is committed by mistake, it is then necessary to go the person who has
been backbitten and ask forgiveness for having violated his or her rights. The boundaries must be
very clear while talking over certain matters, so that people will not be misled and no doors will
be opened for thinking negatively about certain individuals. In order to prevent such situations
from arising, even the people who speak truthfully must remain silent. They must remain silent

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and first ask themselves, I wonder how I can express this truth without offending anyone?
Only then should they reveal their thoughts after thinking more deeply. Concerning a believer,
silence should be reflection and speaking should be wisdom. That is, it is necessary to speak if
there is some wisdom in the words to be spoken, or one must keep silent. As a Sufi poet
expressed, Either tell about the Beloved, or hush! If there is a likeliness of chattering about
subjects that will not take people to ways leading to God, nor pave the ways leading to His
Prophet for them, or do not convey anything in the name of religious truths, that useless tongue,
which is given priority over the heart, must be bitten and the person should keep silent. If the
person does not bite ones tongue when necessary, he or she will bite others. It must never be
forgotten that wounds caused by bayonets can be treated and cured, but it is very difficult to
mend hearts wounded by words.

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C. LIFELONG CONTENTEDNESS
uestion: It has been stated that one of the most important dynamics in the spirit of
devotion in regards to serving humanity is istighna (contentedness, feeling no need for
anyone but God, indifference to and independence from anything, but God). What are

the ways to keep up an attitude of istighna for a lifetime in all aspects of life?
Answer: Firstly, let me state that istighna is such a treasure, that one who has internalized
it can challenge the entire universe. Since a person who takes wing with istighna closes up all
doors of material and spiritual expectations, he does not feel obliged to bow down to anybody
but God.
However, it should not be forgotten that the concept isnt merely an attitude against
seeking material gain; istighna is the term for taking a resolved and upright stance against every
kind of position, status, appreciation, praises, and all other kinds of temptations of the carnal
soul. For example, if ten people insist that you become a manager, consultant general, or senator,
you need to ask yourself whether you can keep up the spirit of istighna in the position
mentioned. In other words, you need to make a self-critique, questioning yourself whether
initiating such a process stems from any egoistic wishes or from an intention to serve people for
the sake of God. If egoistic concerns seem dominant, then you should strive to resist against that
wish. One may wonder whether things will be left unattended if we become indifferent to certain
positions. If there are any competent people due for that position, then your stepping forth will
cause rivalry, jealousy, and conflict. For example, if there are ten people in a place of worship
who are eligible to lead a prayer, expressing your wish to lead the prayer will bring more harm
than benefit with respect to that duty. One of those ten people will end up carrying out the task
regardless. As Bedizzaman also underlined in The Gleams, we better prefer being a follower to
leadership, which brings responsibility and therefore is risky. Being an imam is tricky business,
since he bears the responsibility of all the people he leads in prayer. A mistake made by the
imam is not an individual one. The same goes for a governor. Such a person takes on the
responsibility of all the people in his jurisdiction in a case that he makes a mistake. Similarly,
when a person leading the state makes a mistake that affects the entire nation, he bears the
responsibility of all those people before God. In result of this, instead of wishing to be elected, it

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is wiser to prefer to remain as a voter. Regarding those that are ambitious to get elected, there is
no single individual who does not make serious mistakes. On the other hand, few people make
mistakes among who say, It does not matter who holds office, as long as they are competent.
The Most Difficult Form of Istighna
The top level of istighna is becoming a self-effacing person, who feels discomforted by
praise from others. Even though the carnal soul enjoys being praised, the conscience of ideal
believers must take compliments as if they were insults. When they receive praises, they should
ask themselves, Why are they offering me a reward in this world that is to be received in the
afterlife? Is it me who made them think this way? Then they should take the humble path of
acknowledging their impotence and poverty before God and pray, My Lord, allow me to forget
about my own self and help me dislike talking about myself. A person may be indifferent to
wealth and not care about holding office. However, istighna in the face of recognition and praise,
is most difficult. Therefore taking a firm stance against applause and praise from the very
beginning, not cherishing any instances of this kind whatsoever, and even interrupting people,
who are about to praise us, bear great significance.
The Unsung Heroes
I see the contributing teachers of the Turkish Olympiad competition as the most selfsacrificing people of our time, because they went to different corners of the world to raise
students in order to serve on the path of love and humanity. However, as their students were
applauded by millions of people, they humbly remained anonymous. May God not prove us
wrong in our good opinion of them. May God let them keep up their work with heartfelt
modesty. They present exemplary behavior. After sowing seeds in the soil and completing our
various tasks, we need to be able to walk away without seeking to be noticed. We should not
hold on to any expectations about witnessing the harvest. Naturally, all Muslims wish to see that
the message of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, to humanity reaches
everywhere and that the truths he taught are welcomed by the people. Even a simple man like me
is no exception. In spite of such a wish, if you had a little bit of contribution to this ideal, you
need to say, My Lord, you know how I wish to see those days, but I do not wish to see anyone
praising me for any contributions I may have made. I wish to see that after I pass away. They

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should also target attaining a genuine feeling of istighna to make them sincerely say, If I am
also included in this process, who knows what troubles I will cause. It is better for me to watch
the blessings of God in the other world.
Indifferent to the World, Turned toward God
Actually, the most important means to keep up the spirit of istighna is leading ones life
with an ethics of altruism (ithar), preferring others to ones own self. The devoted ones should
make altruism a part of their nature and be able to prefer others to their own selves not only at
material benefits, but even in spiritual blessings and inspirations. They should think that saintly
wonderssuch as viewing the Kaba during prayerare happening to others, and become
indifferent to everything else but God Almighty. This is the spirit of altruism and the stance of
istighna in the true sense. Above all, we need to adopt such an outlook in our time.
To conclude, we should be indifferent to material gains, praise, and their worldly benefits. We
need to strive not to cherish even otherworldly expectations, but expect possible rewards to come
in the afterlife as extra blessings out of Gods infinite grace. People can obtain nothing valuable
if God does not grant it. They can neither enter Paradise, nor be saved from Hell. All of these can
only be maintained by Divine mercy, providence, and grace. Also, God opens numerous doors to
somebody who turns away from everything else, but Him. Try closing your doors to worldliness
and you will see a thousand others opened by God Almighty, the Opener of Doors. That is, He is
the only one who opens doors. Thus, if you wish His door of providence, good pleasure, and
appreciation to open to you, then you must keep your doors closed to all worldly expectations for
a lifetime.

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C. ESSENTIALS FOR FRUITFUL CRITICISM

uestion: What do we need to be careful about while making constructive criticism,
which is an important means of seeking the better at everything, so that it will be
effective and fruitful? What are the essential points to be observed both by those who

make and receive criticism?

Answer: Criticism means criticizing a statement or behavior, revealing its negative and
positive sides, and making a comparison between what is and what should be; it is one of the
important scholarly essentials that facilitates progress toward the ideal. In this respect, it has been
employed since the early generations of Muslims. For example, in the methodology of Hadith, a
given report would be evaluated with a critical approach in terms of its text and the reliability of
its chain of narrators. Indeed, criticism took its place in the methodology of Islamic disciplines
from the beginning, in order to unearth the truth at issues such as finding the right meaning to be
derived from Divine commandments and interpreting them correctly. This scholarly discipline of
criticism served as a sound filter against alien elements incompatible with Islam. As the
discipline of munazara (comparing and discussing ideas) also developed, the new interpretations
that emerged as a consequence of fruitful discussions were also put to criticism, tested with
established criteria, and sparkles of truth were attained in the end.
Particularly at questioning the reliability of the chain of narrators in the field of Hadith,
there was a serious accumulation of literature. Numerous volumes of work sought to help
authenticate whether statements reported as Hadith genuinely belonged to the Prophet, blessings
and peace be upon him. But even while making judgment and evaluation at such an important
issue, scholars showed the utmost sensitivity at refraining from excessive remarks. For example,
Shuba ibn Hajjaj, one of the important Hadith scholars of the classic period who systemized the
subject of criticism (naqd) for the first time, once used an interesting term while referring to the
critical evaluation of narrators. Addressing a fellow scholar, he said, Come, let us make some
backbiting on the path of God, drawing attention to both the necessity of doing this vital task
and that it must solely be done for the sake of God.
The method of criticism was successfully employed particularly during the first five
centuries of the Islamic calendar in the fields of both religious and positive sciences, for the sake

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of reaching the most appropriate. Therefore, this scholarly method can be employed in our time
as well, given that fairness, respect, and mindfulness are maintained. At this point, lets refer to
the manners and method of criticism briefly.
Adopting a Fair Attitude and Soft Style
The issue criticized must be presented in a very sound style and utmost care must be
shown at using a polite manner of speaking. That is, the criticism is not meant to evoke a
negative response, but to be easily welcomed. When you present your alternative thoughts and
plausible approaches for solving certain matters, you will be shown respect if you do it in
agreeable politeness. For example, suppose that you are stating your opinion on a certain subject
and the person you are addressing thinks the opposite. If you say, This is what I knew about the
matter, but I see that it has a different side as well, that person will likely come to you after a
while and confess that your opinion had been more appropriate. And this time, you will respond
by thanking that person for being so fair. In this respect, one should know how toto some
degreedismiss ones ego, experience, and knowledge for the sake of upholding righteousness.
In other words, if you expect the reasonable to be met reasonably, you should even evaluate
others not-that-reasonable thoughts within their own reasonability, adopt a welcoming attitude
toward them, and form an atmosphere of sincerity where people can be welcoming toward truths.
Making General Statements without Targeting the Person
History has witnessed that, in whatever field, those who do not show respect to others
thoughts and who continuously dismiss others as worthless, ruin so many worthy things without
even noticing it. For this reason, whatever is the nature of the element before us, we should adopt
the principle of treating them all with a certain degree of respect. This is a very appropriate
means of making people before us accept the truths that we present. Otherwise, no matter how
great the projects that we offer, statements slammed on others heads will not be welcomed.
When criticism is not expressed politely, it will inevitably be received negatively, even if the
matter that we criticize is an obvious mistake of someone that conflicts with the decisive and
established teachings of religion. For example, you might witness that your friend has gazed at a
forbidden sight. If you jerk into telling his embarrassing mistake to his face in a direct way and
reproach him, he may respond by trying to justify some devilish considerationsGod forbid! In

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particular, if the individual in front of you is not ready for a criticism of his attitudes and
behaviors, then every criticism of yours will evoke reactionary behavior and disrespect against
truths, or even make that person hostile against his own values. Even if such people understand
what they hear is true, they will do their best to devise new arguments to get the better of the
person before them, owing to the trauma of receiving that criticism like a mighty blow on their
head; they will be continuously imagining the best way to answer the criticisms directed toward
them, even when they retire to their bed at night.
Thus, matters need to be told indirectly, without taking individual persons as targets.
Indeed, when the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, witnessed a persons
wrong, he did not directly criticize that person. Instead, he gathered people together and spoke
about that act in general, which allowed the doer to hear the lesson. On one occasion, for
example, a man who had been commissioned to collect taxes said, This amount is the tax I have
collected and these were given to me as presents. Upon hearing this, the Prophet addressed his
followers from the pulpit and made a general statement about when he commissions a person to
carry out a certain commandment of God and that person states that a part of what he collected
belongs to the state and the rest is a present to him. To show how mistaken this idea was, the
Prophet asked whether those gifts would have been presented had he sat in his parents home209.
The issue of who makes the criticism is also very important. If something needs to be told
to someone, one should not be too eager to do that personally, but rather leave the issue to
another person whom the one to receive criticism loves very much. In such a situation, even
criticism from a beloved friend will be taken as a compliment. If it seems likely that a criticism
you need to make will receive a reactionary response, you should leave it to someone else
because what really matters is not who voices the truth but whether the truth meets with a
heartfelt acceptance.
At this point it is useful to relate a relevant parable of the two grandsons of the Prophet, blessings
and peace be upon him. Although this parable about Hasan and Husayn does not take place in the
reliable sources of Hadith, it conveys important lessons.

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209

Sahih al-Bukhari, Ayman, 3

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Accordingly, the two boys came to make ablutions somewhere and they saw a man who
splashed water all around but did not wash his limbs properly as required for a valid ablution.
These two young talents of keen insight sought a way to show him the way without humiliating
him. With this intention, they asked the man to tell them which one of them made ablutions
correctly. They made ablutions exactly as they had learned from their blessed father Ali ibn Abi
Talib, may God be pleased with him. When they were done, they asked which one of them did it
better. With the ease of being free from humiliation, the man calmly replied that they both did it
so well and that his own way was wrong. Therefore, it is important to reiterate that the style we
use at correcting wrongs bears great importance in terms of acceptance.
Educating Individuals to Accept Criticism
Additionally, making people able to accept criticism and evoking a righteous feeling of
respect in them constitute a separate dimension of the issue. The Companions, who had attained
an ideal level of righteousness, could comfortably warn one another about any wrong that they
had committed without causing any negative reaction at all. For example, during a sermon, Umar
ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him, reminded people that it was necessary to keep
bridal dues (mahr) within affordable limits and told them not to ask for too high amounts. What
he suggested was a reasonable solution to prevent possible abuses. Even today, an understanding
attitude of this issue will definitely fulfill an important function at solving a social problem.
While Umar was drawing attention to this fact, an old woman spoke up and asked the caliph, O
Umar, is there a Quranic verse or hadith on this issue that you know and we do not? The Quran
commands, But if you still decide to dispense with a wife and marry another, and you have
given the former (even so much as amounts to) a treasure, do not take back anything thereof
(an-Nisa 4:20), thus not setting a limit to the amount of bridal dues. In spite of being the caliph
governing a great state that challenged the two superpowers of the time, Umar said aloud to
himself, O Umar, you do not know your religion even as much as an old woman.210 This
degree of righteousness caused Umar to be referred as al-waqqaf indal haqq (one who halts
when he meets the truth). That is, when he faces a righteous argument, he stops like a car that
suddenly comes to a halt while moving downslope. It is necessary to effect this feeling in people.
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210

Al-Bayhaqi, As-Sunanul-Kubra, 7/233

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For this reason, we should make a deal with a certain friend and authorize him or her to
comfortably criticize any wrong that arises in our personal attitudes and behaviors.
In conclusion, a person who intends to criticize, or rather to correct certain matters, must
first understand the issue well and make a serious effort in terms of making the correct remark.
Secondly, the other persons feelings must be taken into consideration and fathom whether that
other person is ready to welcome what we are about to say. If a negative reaction seems likely,
one should not think, I definitely want to be the one who expresses this truth, but instead leave
the criticism to another person whose remarks will be more influential. Considering the
circumstances of our time, when arrogance has become so prevailing and people cannot tolerate
even a little criticism, these principles have gained a greater importance. As for those who
receive criticism, they should uphold righteousness above everything else and respond to
criticisms with gratitude instead of reacting negatively. Bedizzaman advises us: if someone
warns us about a scorpion on our back (in other words, one who warns us about our wrongs), we
should only express gratitude, which is an indication of maturity.

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Chapter 5
Obstacles to and Ethics of Morality
A. Hujumaat-i Sittah
B. Worldly Means and The Criteria for Planning the Future

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A. HUJUMAAT-I SITTAH
Human and Satanic Intrigues (A warning to the Qurans students and servants against

delusions.)
n the name of God, the All Merciful, the All Compassionate. Do not incline toward those
who do wrong lest the Fire should touch you (11:113). This fourth section negates the six
human and Satanic intrigues and blocks six routes of assault.
FIRST INTRIGUE: Having learned their lessons from Satan, human devils seek to

delude the Qurans self-sacrificing servants through love of fame, post and position, hoping that
this will cause them to abandon that exalted service and spiritual holy struggle.
Everyone has some ambition for fame, love of position, desire to acquire status. They
may even sacrifice their lives if they can gain some fame there- by. This desire is dangerous for
the people of the afterlife and destructive for the people of this world. It engenders many bad
morals and is the weak- est point in the human character. By exciting this desire for public
recogni- tion, human devils can subdue people and attach them to themselves. What I fear most
for my followers is that the unbelievers will attack that weak spot. This troubles me greatly, for
already they have deceived some of my insincere friends and put them in danger211.
O fellow servants of the Quran, tell such intriguing worldly agents, heralds of
misguidance, and disciples of Satan: Gods approval, the All Mercifuls compliments, and the
Lords acceptance is so great a station or posi- tion that, in comparison, peoples favor and
commendation mean almost nothing. If God likes and approves us, peoples approval or
commendation may be acceptedprovided it reflects Gods approval. Otherwise it should not be
desired, for it will not benefit us at the graves gate.
If you still cannot overcome these desires, try to direct them toward a spiritual reward or
use them to earn other peoples prayers (by helping them) and so that our service for the Quran
and belief may have a good effect on others. The following comparison clarifies this, as follows:
Imagine the Hagia Sophia mosque full of pious worshippers, some idle children and
vagabonds standing at the gate or the antechamber, and some foreigners, seeking amusement,
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Mistakenly believing that they can be with their teacher in heart, they think they are not at risk. However, people
carried along by unbelievers, open to being used as unwitting spies, and who even support such people are like those
who, when praying, cannot help passing wind and say: How can I be ritually impure, for my soul is purified!

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and looking through the windows. If someone enters and beautifully recites a page of the Quran,
all pious, truth- loving worshippers in the mosque will welcome, approve, and commend that
person, who will gain spiritual reward by their calling Gods blessing upon him. Only those on
the outside would disapprove of this person. But if he or she chants obscenities or dances
violently in the mosque, idle chil- dren will be amused, vagabonds delighted (and incited to more
indecencies), and foreigners pleased to witness the misery of Islam and Muslims. But each
member of that huge blessed congregation will dislike and condemn such a person and consider
him or her to be of the lowest rank.
The mosque corresponds to the whole Muslim world in Asia and Africa (and even in
Europe). The believers and people of truth are the congregation. The idle children represent
foolish people, the immoral vagabonds stand for the irreligious and heretical imitators of the
West, and the foreigners are journalists who spread foreign [un-Islamic] ideas.
Every Muslim, especially those of piety and perfection, has a place in the mosque and a
position in the eyes of Muslims according to how well he or she observes Islam. If such people
sincerely adhere to Islams sacred truths and the Qurans commands for Gods good pleasure,
the basis of Islamic life, and display the meaning of Quranic verses through their conduct, they
are included in the supplication: O God, forgive all believers, always said by all Muslims. This
establishes brotherly and sisterly relations with all of them. Only some people of misguidance far
below the rank of humanity, or simple-minded people who may be regarded as bearded children
(adults in appearance but children in mind and character), disapprove of them.
But if people break with their (righteous Muslim) ancestors (the means of honor and
pride) and from the illustrious way of righteous precedents (a spiritual source of support) to
follow whims and fancies, and pursue irreligious novelties for show and fame, people of belief
and truth view them as the lowest of the low. All believers, regardless of their ignorance and
ordinariness, unconsciously turn away in disgust from such vainglorious people due to: Fear the
believers insight, for he [or she] looks with the light of God.
Those who try to please worldly people and unbelievers for such reasons fall to the
lowest level in the eyes of most Muslims. Their transient and inauspicious position is limited to a
very small minority of deluded and ridiculed people. According to: Friends on that day will be

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foes one to another, except the pious who refrain from disobedience to God (43:67), they find
false friends who will harm them here, cause them torment in the Intermediate World of the
grave, and be their foes in the Hereafter.
If those who desire public recognition prefer to recite the Quran in the mosque, they
achieve a considerable and beneficial spiritual position that gratifies this desire but only if they
act sincerely and for Gods good pleasure, and do not see the resulting fame and position as their
main aim. Compared to what they win, what they lose is insignificant. They may lose a few
snake- like people, but will find so many blessed friends supplicating for them that Divine
blessings will flow to their souls, like the water of life, from all over the Muslim world. Such
blessings are added to their record of deeds.
Once a public figure assumed a very important worldly post and became a laughing-stock in the
eyes of Muslims because of the grave errors he com- mitted in his quest for fame. I preached this
lesson to him most forcefully. It shook him, but since I could not rid myself of the love of
position, my warning was ineffective.
SECOND INTRIGUE: Fear is a most basic human emotion. Intriguing wrongdoers,
agents of the worldly, and heralds of misguidance play upon it to inculcate fear and anxiety
within ordinary people and particularly religious scholars. Suppose such a person goads an
anxious, fearful person on the roof, through groundless suspicions and anxieties, until he falls
and breaks his neck. Similarly, worldly people cause Muslims to sacrifice many important things
by arousing groundless fears and anxieties.
An important man (may Gods mercy be upon him) was afraid to travel by boat. One
evening, we went to Galata bridge to take the ferry to Eyup. He did not want to get on, saying
that he feared he would drown. When I asked him how many boats were in the Golden Horn, he
replied that there might be as many as one thousand. When I asked him how many boats sank
each year, he replied usually one or two, and sometimes none.
I made this analogy: Since a year has 365 days, your chance of drowning is 1:365,000.
Why does such a small chance scare you? I asked: How much longer do you expect to live?
He answered: Maybe 10 years; I am old already. I continued: As there are 3,650 days in 10
years, your chance of dying today is 1:3,650. But since we do not know when we will die, you

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could die at any time. So repent and weep! Write your last will and testament!
Seeing the truth in my words, he got on the boat even though trembling. On the boat, I
told him: God Almighty placed fear in our nature so that we might preserve our life, not ruin it.
He did not give us fear to make life an unbearable burden full of pain and torment. If there is a
risk of 1:2 or 1:3 or 1:4, or at most 1:5 or 6, it may be permissible and tolerable to fear and avoid
the risk. But to fear a chance of 1:20, 1:30, or 1:40 is groundless suspicion, a sort of paranoia that
changes life into a torment.
Therefore, dear brothers [and sisters]! If sycophants and unbelievers use fear to tempt you
into abandoning your struggle in His cause, say: We are people of the Quran, and, according to
Gods declaration: We sent down the Quran and We will guard it (15:9), we are within its
stronghold. God is sufficient for us. How good a Being He is to trust in and rely on, and our trust
is a strong citadel around us. Your urging us to fear a danger, even though there is only a 1:1,000
chance that it will affect us during this short transient life cannot lead us to follow a way that is
100 percent harmful to our eternal life in the Hereafter.
Also tell them: Has Said Nursi ever harmed anyone belonging to the people of truth? He
is our companion in serving the Quran, our teacher in carrying out this sacred service. Has one
of his sincere disciples ever suffered such a misfortune that we should worry about ourselves?
He has thousands of brothers [sisters] and friends in religion. Before, when he spent more than
20 years in active public life, we never heard of any of his friends suffering harm. They claim
that his participation in the March 31 [1925] revolt led to some of his friends being crushed.
But this soon was proven false, for he had nothing to do with the revolt. His friends were
harmed only because of what they had done by themselves. In fact, he saved many of them from
misfortune. At that time he held the mace of politics, which he threw away a long time ago in
order to hold the light of the truth. Thus such human devils like you should not think that you can
deprive us of an eternal treasury for fear of a danger that has only a 1:1,000 chance of
happening.
Talk like this to those who fawn on the people of misguidance, and tell them: We do not
fear a misfortune that has almost no chance of happening. Even if this way held a danger, we
would never desert him, for misfortune happens first to those who betray their master in a time of

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danger. Such people are pitilessly punished, condemned as base people, and some suffer physical
as well as spiritual death. Their punishers feel no compassion for them, for they think: Since
they betrayed their faithful and affection- ate master, they must be of the basest character and so
deserve this.
When a cruel, unjust person throws someone to the ground to trample him or her to death,
the victim first will die spiritually by kissing the tyrants foot and then, after losing all honor and
dignity, will die a degrading death. Displaying helplessness in such a situation encourages a
tyrant to crush the person to death. But if the victim spits in the tyrants face, he or she dies as a
martyr and remains spiritually alive in honor and dignity.
When British forces invaded Istanbul and destroyed the cannons at the Bosphorus, one of
their religious representatives asked six questions of the office of the Shaykh al-Islam, then
Turkeys highest religious office. As I was a member of the House of Islamic Wisdom (Dar alHikma al- Islamiyya), they asked me to reply. This person wanted the questions answered in 600
words. I replied: Not with 600, nor with 6, nor with even one word. I will answer them with a
boo. For you see how, when a nations government puts its foot on our neck, its religious officer
gets up to ask us some questions in a boastful way. Thus his due is a boo!
Now I say: Dear brothers [sisters], even though it was 100 percent dangerous to respond
in that way to the tyrannical invaders of Istanbul, the Quran was enough to protect me. It will be
enough to protect you against any danger that has only a slight chance of happening at the hands
of those insignificant wrongdoers.
Also, dear brothers, most of you have completed your military service. Those who have
not joined the army must have heardif they have not, let them hear it from methat those who
flee the battlefront receive many more wounds than those who persevere. The verse: The death
from which you flee will meet you (62:8), hints that those who flee actually hasten to meet death.
THIRD INTRIGUE: Greed deceives many people. Based on decisive proofs from the
Qurans verses and clear explanations, I have written that lawful provision comes according to
ones poverty and impotence, not ones capacity and willpower. I present only a few of this
truths countless signs and evidences, as follows:
Trees are living creatures that need provision. As they are stationary, their needed

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provision comes to them. Animals are not provided with food in such a perfect manner, because
they seek their food impatiently. Fish are fed perfectly and usually become fat, although they are
the least intelligent animals, whereas such clever and strong animals as apes and foxes are mostly
weak due to insufficient nutrition. This also shows that provision is based on need or destitution,
not power or ability.
Animal and human infants are fed very well and extraordinarily via their mothers breast
milk, the best food and sweetest gift of Mercys treasury. It is bestowed on them in an
unexpected way out of His concern for their weakness and incapability. In contrast, wild animals
usually have to be content with the scarce food they obtain through tiring effort. This also
illustrates how lawful provision is based on impotence and poverty, not intelligence and
capability.
Among all people, the Jews are generally the most passionate pursuers of worldly
provision and, as a result, are famous for their greed. No other people have suffered such
privation, poverty, and humiliation. Even rich Jews live in misery and under stress. Their wealth
does not refute this general argument, for they obtain it through such unlawful means as usury.
The poverty of many literary figures and scholars and the richness of many ignorant
people also show that weakness and need, and not intelligence and ability, attract provision.
Other ways of attracting provision are relying upon God and petitioning Him verbally and
through ones disposition and lawful effort. The verse: God is the All-Provider, the Possessor of
Strength; the Steadfast (51:58) is so strong and firm a proof that all vegetation, animals, and
babies announce it. Every living species needing provision recites it through the tongue of their
disposition.
Since God Almighty, the All Compassionate and All Munificent, predetermines and
supplies all provision, it is extreme folly to humble one- self in a way that derides His Mercy and
belittles His Munificence or to offer ones conscience and sacred things in return for some
wealth.
Worldly people, especially the misguided, loan money to get a high return. In exchange
for some wealth that might contribute to a years livelihood, they may cause people to lose the
Hereafters eternal life. Unfortunately, there are always some who attract Divine wrath through

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their disgusting greed and by trying to please the misguided.

Dear followers! If those who fawn on misguided worldly people and hypocrites seek to
capture you through greed, consider my words and follow my example. Only thrift and
contentmentnot wages or salariesallow you to preserve your life. If they lend you unlawful
money, they will demand a high rate of return. Your involvement in their world may hinder your
serving the Quran, each hour of which can open the gates of an eternal treasury. Being deterred
from this service is so great a loss that no salary or wage can ever be a sufficient compensation.
NOTE: People of misguidance and hypocrites cannot present viable alter- native ideas
and arguments or defend themselves against the Qurans truths and their dissemination. Thus
they try to deceive my friends through love of position, greed, and fear. They also conjure up
false imputations to present me as unreliable. Although we always act positively in our service,
we occasionally have to act negatively to remove obstacles put in the way of our service. And so
I warn my followers against these three mentioned above, and try to repel the attacks made on
them.
They also attack me personally, saying: Said is a Kurd. How can you hold him in such
high esteem and follow him so warmly? To silence them, I feel compelled to add a fourth
Satanic intrigue in the language of Old Said.
FOURTH INTRIGUE: Instigated by Satan and inspired by the people of misguidance,
some high-level unbelievers accuse me falsely and, trying to deceive and arouse my followers
national zeal, say: You are Turkish. The Turks, God bless them, have many scholars in every
field and people of perfection. Said is a Kurd. How can you reconcile cooperating with a nonTurk with your national zeal?
ANSWER: O unfortunate heretics! Praise be to God, I am a Muslim and belong to the
holy nation of Islam, which has hundreds of millions of members. I take refuge in God from
sacrificing those brothers and sisters, among whom are most Kurds, for the sake of racism and
negative nationalism. There is an eternal bond between all of them and me, and they help me
through their prayers. I seek refuge in God from securing the support of a few Kurdish atheists or
heretics at the expense of those countless blessed Muslim brothers and sisters.
O unfortunate unbelievers, your corrupt logic dictates that the eternal bonds of a huge,

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illustrious community composed of hundreds of millions of true brothers and sisters should be
sacrificed for the sake of a temporary, useless friendship with a few apostates who are considered
as belonging to the Turkish race.
I refer the reader to The Twenty-sixth Letter for my discussion of the nature and injuries
of negative nationalism. Here, I elaborate upon a truth briefly discussed therein, as follows: To
those unbelievers who, although enemies of the Turks, hide behind Turkish nationalism. I have a
deep and true connection with this countrys believers through a genuine bond and belonging to
the same Muslim nation. In the name of Islam I support, love, and take pride in the children of
this country who carried the flag of the Quran victoriously for nearly 1,000 years.
As for you, O hypocrites who falsely claim Turkish nationalism! Your ulterior motives
involve displaying a short-lived bond with the Turkish people to make them forget their true
national honors! Is the Turkish nation made up of only fanciful and heedless young people
between 20 and 40 years old? Does their interest lie in, and the service to be given to them in the
name of nationalism require, a system of education which will increase their heedlessness,
habituate them to immorality, and encourage them to commit sinful acts? Does serving them
mean amusing them so that later in life they will wail and suffer?
If your version of nationalism, progress, and happiness require such things, and if you
call yourselves Turkish nationalists of this sort, know that I have nothing in common with you
and do not desire your company. If you have a trace of conscience left, some true national zeal,
and even a little fair-mindedness, consider the following discussion and then answer me: The
Turkish nation comprises six groups of people: the people of piety and righteousness, the
afflicted and the ill, the elderly, the children, the poor and weak, and the youth. Are the first five
groups somehow undeserving of your brand of national zeal? Would true nationalism wound
their feelings and deprive them of their means of consolation to amuse the sixth group?
According to the principle of The majority is considered when rendering a judgment, one who
harms the majority is an enemy to them, not a friend.
I ask you: Where does the interest of the people of piety and righteous- ness lie? In
blindly imitating the corruptions of civilization, or in finding true consolation through the way of
the truth, to which they are attached passionately because of their belief in eternal happiness?

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Your misguided and false claim of national zeal would extinguish their light; deprive them of
their consolation, and present death as absolute annihilation and the grave as a gate to infinite
separation.
Will the interests of the afflicted, the ill, and the hopeless be served by imitating the
irreligious and immoral aspects of the modern civilization? Rather, they hope for consolation and
desire some return for their suffering. They seek vengeance upon those who wronged them and
wish to enter the grave happily. Nevertheless, your false nationalism wounds the feelings of
those in dire need of care, hope, and consolation. You restrain them and drive them without pity
to absolute despair. Is this what national zeal really requires?
The elderly are one-third of the nations population. Every day they move away from this
world and toward death. They prepare for it by gradually breaking with this life. Does their
interest or consolation lie in listening to the dreadful adventures of certain supposedly Turkish
tyrants and your movements self-proclaimed progress, which is no more than your neglect of
the Hereafter, attachment to this world, and inevitable spiritual decay? Can people at the movies
find a light with which to illuminate their other world, or find true consolation at the theater?
I seek refuge in God from your type of national zeal, for you use it to deceive the elderly
(who expect due respect from national zeal) into believing that death is absolute annihilation and
the grave (which they consider a gate to mercy) resembles a dragons mouth into which they will
be thrown. Is this true national zeal?
Children expect mercy and care from national zeal. Being feeble and impotent, they can
become spirited and develop their potential only by recognizing an All Merciful and Powerful
Creator. They can look at life lovingly and hopefully only if inspired with belief in, reliance on,
and submission to God. Only this way helps them resist the futures awful circumstances and
calamities.
Given this, does their interest and happiness lie in attaching themselves to a material
progress in which they have only a superficial interest, and to the principles of materialistic
philosophy that will demoralize and dispirit them? If we were only biological entities like
animals, beings without intellect, that education you call a national education for civilization
might meet some of their worldly interests and temporarily amuse them as a new toy amuses a

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child. But since these innocents are human beings, and since they will experience tumults while
alive, they will cherish long-term desires and have great objectives.
To compensate for their weakness and impotence, we must care for them by establishing
in their souls a strong belief in God and the Hereafter as a point of support and an inexhaustible
source of help. This is what true mercy and care demands. Otherwise, like an insane mother
slaughtering her child with a knife, we will kill them spiritually by intoxicating them with
national zeal. Or we will commit a monstrous crime like feeding them their own brains and
hearts.
National zeal cannot ignore the poor, whom poverty crushes under lifes heavy burdens,
or the weak, who are affected by lifes terrible convulsions. Does their share in national zeal lie
in your degenerative movements which you institute in the name of civilization but which only
increase those poor ones in suffering and hopelessness, and serve some dissolute wealthy people
to satisfy their lusts and fancies, and some powerful, tyrannical ones to gain notoriety and
commit more crimes? Poor peoples poverty cannot be solved by racism, but only by the
medicine in Islams sacred medicine store. Islamic zeal and sacred Islamic nationalism, not
materialistic philosophy that attributes everything to coincidence and chance, give the poor and
weak the resistance and strength they need to survive.
The sixth group is the young. If youth were permanent, your wine of negative
nationalism might be of some temporary use for them. But when they recover in old age from the
drunkenness of youth, when they awake in the morning of old age to lifes pains and realities, the
wine-induced troubles will make them weep bitterly. The pain coming from that sweet dreams
end will drive them to regret, saying: Alas! Youth has gone, life is almost ended, and I approach
the grave without good deeds. If only I had been sensible and prepared for this event!
Given this, does national zeal require that the youth should experience lengthy regret for
a transient merriment? Or do happiness and pleas- ure lie in spending their youth on the Straight
Path, thanking God for the blessing of youth, using their transient youth to gain permanence
through worship, and securing eternal youth in the World of Happiness by spend- ing their youth
in belief and good deeds?
In short, if the Turkish nation were composed of only the young, and if youth were

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permanent and there was no other world, your imitation of the modern civilization in its
dissipated aspects under the guise of Turkish nationalism might be considered true national zeal.
You might have a right to say of me, a man who gives little importance to worldly life and gross
nationalism, who tries to prevent the young from indulging in sins and who was born in another
province: He is Kurdish, so do not follow him!
But since the people of this Turkish nation consist of six groups, it is sheer enmity for the
nation to harm five groups in order to amuse the sixth for a limited period, intoxicating its
members now so that their old age will be full of regret and despair.
They do not consider me a Turk, although I have spent my life working, with deep
affection and brotherly feelings, for the benefit of righteous Turks, the old and afflicted, the poor
and weak, and children. I have tried to direct the youth away from sinful acts that poison their
worldly life and ruin their next life, that cause one to weep for a year in exchange for an hours
pleasure. My publications, published over the last 20 years and all in Turkish, are all in the open.
All praise be to God that, through these works derived from the source of the Quranic lights, the
old are offered the light of which they are in such dire need.
The most useful remedy for the afflicted and the ill is shown to be found in the Quran.
The grave is shown to be a gate opening onto infinite mercy, not eternal annihilation. The Quran
offers children a strong point of sup- port against lifes misfortunes and satisfies their desires and
ambitions. In addition, the Quranic truths of belief relieve the weak and the poor of lifes
crushing burdens.
I feel a heartfelt unity with righteous youth. However, I do not recognize as Turks those
who embrace heresy and want to break with the Muslim nationality, the real source of Turkish
national pride. I consider them hos- tile foreigners disguised as Turks. They cannot deceive the
people of truth even if they claim repeatedly that they are Turks and Turkish nationalists, for
their acts and attitudes contradict them.
Now, O you who try to make my true brothers [sisters] chilly in their relations with me!
How do you benefit this nation? You extinguish the light of the people of piety and
righteousness. You deepen the injuries of the ill and afflicted, who deserve compassion and
attention. You deprive the elderly of their means of consolation and drive them to despair. You

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demoralize the children, who so need such care, and extinguish their humanity. By destroying
the hopes of the poor and weak, who are in such need of help and con- solation, and by drying up
their source of help, you make them see life as more dreadful than death.
Lastly, you intoxicate the youth, who should be warned and awakened from the sleep of
youth, with such a wine that the resulting drunkenness is extremely painful and dreadful. Thus
your national zeal sacrifices many of this nations sacred things! Does your Turkish nationalism
benefit the Turks in the ways mentioned? I seek refuge in God from your Turkism or Turkish
nationalism!
Gentlemen! I know you resort to force when you are defeated on a point of truth.
According to the principle that right is might and not might is right, I will never bow my
head before you, for I am ready to sacrifice it for the Qurans truths. Also, I inform you that
even if thousands of such people like you, all of whom the people dislike, were to antagonize me,
I would not care about them or give them any more importance than I do to harmful creatures.
What can you do to me? You can kill me or impede my service. I have relations only
with my life and my service of the belief and the Quran. The appointed hour of death never
changes. So if I am martyred by your hands, this is what I have been expecting eagerly. As I am
already old and probably will not live more than another year, it is the most exalted objective and
aim of those like me to exchange one year of life for eternal life through martyrdom. As for my
service, all praise be to God Almighty, He has provided me with such friends and followers in
this task, now done in only one center, that they will carry it out in many other centers after my
death. If death silences me, many others will speakand speak louderon my behalf and
continue this service. A seed dying underground grows into an elaborate tree yielding thousands
of seeds in exchange for one. I hope that the same will be true of my death, much more so than
of my life.
FIFTH INTRIGUE: Supporters of the misguided desire to use human egotism to separate
my brothers [sisters] from me. A persons most dangerous temperament and weakest spot is
egotism. By exciting this sentiment, they urge people to do very bad things.
Dear brothers [sisters], do not let them captivate you through egotism. Know that the
people of misguidance, carried by their ego, have gone astray. The people of truth must forsake

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their ego to serve the truth, even if sometimes they are justified in using it, for using their ego
will make them resemble the people of misguidance. Serving the Quran, which is our purpose,
has no room for egotism; rather, it demands cooperation in sincere unity.
You must have been convinced that I did not come forward to satisfy my ego or to invite
you to serve it; rather, I presented myself to you as an egoless servant of the Quran. I have
chosen self-denial and altruism, and have proven to you that the works put forward for the
peoples benefit are derived from the Quran and belong to everyone. No one can claim to own
them or attribute them to himself or herself.
Imagine the inconceivable that they belong to me. Then, as one of my followers said,
once this gate of Quranic service is opened, the people of perfection and knowledge should not
hesitate to follow these works, giving no consideration to my defects and shortcomings.
The works of righteous precedents and scholars of truth are a great treasury that benefit
everyone and cure every intellectual or spiritual disease. But regardless of such greatness,
sometimes one key can open several treasuries. Those who have a forceful ego based on
knowledge understand that each treatise of The Words is a key to the Qurans truths and a
diamond sword with which to strike those who deny these truths. Those people of knowledge
and perfection who boast of their knowledge should know that following my works will make
them disciples of the Quran, not of me, and that I am their fellow student.
Suppose the impossiblethat I claim mastership. Since the Risale-i Nur removes all
believers doubts about the truths of belief, those scholars either should find a better way to
remove doubt or instruct people in the truths expounded by the Risale-i Nur. Many sound
Traditions warn scholars who use knowledge or conceal the truths they know for selfish or
worldly interests, so let them be careful.
Suppose that my enemies, who claim that I do this service to satisfy my egotism, are
correct. Even so, at a time when many people forsake egotism to pursue worldly aims around a
Pharaoh-like person with total loyalty and close cooperation, would I have the right to ask you to
forsake egotism and form a strong unity around the Qurans truths, instead of around me? Are
even your greatest scholars correct in rejecting this request?
Dear brothers [sisters], envy is egotisms most harmful aspect. If our service is not purely

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for Gods sake, envy intervenes and adulterates it. Just as your hands are not envious of each
other, and your eyes do not envy your ears and your heart does not compete with your intellect,
each of us is like a member or a sense of our collective body. Thus we should take pride and
spiritual pleasure in each others merits, instead of entering into rivalry with each other.
Something else must be mentioned here, something that is most harm- ful to our service.
Some of you or your friends might feel envious of me. Among you are some important scholars.
Some scholars may boast of their knowledge. Even if they are humble, they find it hard to get rid
of the egotism caused by being knowledgeable. However devout and faithful they are in heart
and intellect, their carnal selves want others to know that they are knowledgeable and to be
aware of their merits. Moreover, they might want to compete with the Risales (Treatises).
Although they consciously like and approve of them, their carnal selves want to see them
devalued so that their own works might become as widely read, or even more so, than the
Risales.
I feel compelled to inform you that the Risale-i Nur comes directly from the Quran, and
that that we, the students of the Risale-i Nur, are duty-bound to find out and pronounce the truth
in matters of belief. Thus we should assume, according to the principle of the division of labor,
that each person has a different duty. So, those following this way of learning from the Quran
through the Risales, even if they may be scholars or jurists of the highest degree, should
endeavor to offer these drops of the water of life to those in need by explain- ing and
expounding, as well as by designing and arranging, the Risale-i Nur.
SIXTH INTRIGUE: This involves using laziness, exploiting each persons fondness for
comfort and ease, and giving new duties to the most active. Devilish people and jinn attack from
every direction. When they see our friends who are steadfast, faithful, sincere, zealous, and
persevering in service, they adapt a new strategy. To interrupt our service and abate our zeal,
they exploit our laziness and natural desire for an easy life. They find jobs for some of us that
will leave us no time for service, or give us extra work. They show some of us the worlds
attractions to stir up our worldly desires and aspirations, hoping to make us lazy when it comes
to the service. As it would take a long time to explain all of their methods, I refer the rest to your
insight and understanding. Dear brothers [sisters]! Be alert! Your duty is sacred, and the service

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is exalted. Each hour spent in the service is as valuable as a whole days worship. Be aware of
this so that you do not miss this opportunity.
O you who believe! Be patient and vie and help each other in patience. Be steadfast and
try to gain piety in awe of God so that you may prosper. (3:200)
Do not sell My revelations for a trifling price. (2:41)
Glorified be Your Lord, the Lord of Glory, above that they describe. Peace be upon the
Messengers, and all the praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds. Glory be to You. We have no
knowledge save what You have taught us. You are the All-Knowing, the All Wise.
O God, bestow blessings and peace upon our master Muhammad, the unlettered Prophet,
Your beloved, most esteemed and noble, and of the highest rank, and on his Family and
Companions. Amen!

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B. WORLDLY MEANS AND THE CRITERIA FOR PLANNING

THE FUTURE
uestion: The Messenger of God enjoined being like a stranger or traveler in this fleeting
world. Some Muslims of the early period regarded even planning what to eat the
following day as a form of cherishing long-term worldly objectives and delusion of

eternity. Considering the conditions of our time, however, making certain plans about the future
is deemed as necessary, particularly at issues such as choosing which schools to attend and what
profession to learn. How can we strike the balance at making plans for the future?
Answer: As it has been mentioned in the question as well, the noble Prophet, peace and
blessings be upon him, did enjoin being like a stranger (gharib) or traveler (abiru sabil) in this
world.212 The term gharib used in the Prophetic saying denotes a person who somehow leaves
his or her hometown and migrates to somewhere else, thereby staying there for a while as a
guest, and who has thus no deep relation with the things and people around. And the other term
or phrase is abiru sabil. The root of the first word is ubur, which denotes journeying or
crossing a road. As a matter of fact, every individual is a traveler journeying from the mothers
womb to childhood, from there to youth, maturity, to old age from there to the gravean
intermediate realm between this world and the next, and finally (rise up from the grave to go) to
the Plain of Great Gathering for judgment. Thus, the beloved Prophet counsels taking the journey
of worldly life as if passing from one side of the road to the other.
The noble Prophet pointed to this same fact another time when he rested on a plain rough
mat, which made marks on his body. With eyes full of tears, Umar ibn al-Khattab mentioned
how the Sassanid and Roman kings lived (in luxury) and implied that the Prophet could benefit
from worldly blessings. It is reported that the Messenger of God replied that he did not have
anything to do with this world. The noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, compared
his position in this guesthouse of the world to a traveler who takes shade under a tree for a while

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
212

Sahih al-Bukhari, Riqaq, 3

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and then continues on his way.213 All of us know that had he wished so, the Companions would
have brought anything they could find to make him feel comfortable. However, the Pride of
Humanity, peace and blessings be upon him, likened himself to someone who stops temporarily
under a tree for a rest and then goes on his journey, and this was the scope of his relation to the
worldly life. He maintained this understanding until his blessed soul passed to the next world.
Fortunes Spent for the Sake of God When the issue is seen with a holistic view and the
commands of religion are taken as a whole, we understand that the noble Prophet does not tell us
to absolutely neglect the world, but rather to refrain from indulging in worldliness in pursuit of
lowly pleasures and delights. The following verse, for example, decrees that the Messenger of
God, peace and blessings be upon him, is authorized to handle one-fifth of war gains: And know
that whatever you take as gains of war, to God belongs one fifth of it, and to the Messenger, and
the near kinsfolk, and orphans, and the destitute, and the wayfarer (one devoid of sufficient
means of journeying) (al-Anfal 8:41). Even if the noble Prophet chose to take only one tenth out
of the one fifth of the war gains for himself, he could have led a very prosperous life and lived in
palaces. However, he preferred to lead his blessed life in a little cell instead. It was so little that,
as his wife Aisha reported, when the Messenger of God stood in the Prayer at night and before
prostration, he would touch his hand to the feet of Aisha, and only after our blessed mother
receded her feet did he have enough space to prostrate.214 Imagine, he could not even find
sufficient room for prostrating in his celllet our souls be sacrificed for that cell. However, as
we take into consideration the riches allocated to his use we see that he had the means to equip
an entire army. He spent them for the sake of God and preferred to live an austere life. In terms
of his personal life and abstention from worldly pleasures, he acted in such a careful, cautious,
and measured way that he fulfilled the due of the virtuous conduct God Almighty demanded
from him: Pursue, then, what is exactly right (in every matter of the Religion) as you are
commanded (by God) (Hud 11:112).
The Representatives of Dignified Contentment (Istighna) Undoubtedly, the Messenger of
God, peace and blessings be upon him, was a transcendent person with respect to his relation
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
213

Sunan at-Tirmidhi, Zuhd, 44

Sahih al-Bukhari, Salat, 22

214

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with God, his position, state, profundity, and immensity. He had such a lofty and different nature
that he expressed how he felt delight in worship, as other people take delight in physical
pleasures. To relieve his aching for worshipping his Lord, the Prophet would frequently ask his
wives to be excused and get up in the middle of the night to be nourished from the fount of
worship and devotion. In this respect, let alone comparing him to ourselves, even comparing him
with the Companions is not right: no other person can be compared to him. And I dare say that
even comparing the Archangel Gabriel with him is a mistake. As an angel, Gabriel did not bear
any burdens related to carnal desires and physicality. In spite of bearing the burdensome side of
human nature, the Prophet was far beyond angels in spiritual progress. It is for this reason that as
the Prophet, millions of blessings and peace be upon him, returned from the Ascension back to
live among us, he descended from his high horizons to the level of ours to convey objective
truths for our understanding and spiritual life. When we look into the matter within these criteria,
although nobody can be compared to him, we can say that believers should lead their personal
lives in dignified contentment, in compliance with his teaching. Indeed, all the great figures who
were true to his path preferred to live this way. For example, if you study the life of
Bedizzaman, you see that dignified contentment is one of the important principles he held
throughout his life. He would sometimes spend his days on his little platform on a tree;
sometimes he would stay in the mountains for months, and sometimes he resided in a wood
cabin, which was not really suitable for habitation. In short, he preferred to live a very austere
life until the end of his life. Actually, not only people from the Muslim tradition, but also
followers of others teachings who changed the fate of the societies to which they belonged,
similarly lived a life of dignified contentment. In this respect, we can say that such virtues, which
can be taken as a sign of greatness with respect to universal human values, are the same in
almost everyone, but with one differencein believing hearts, this virtue is more soundly
established and it promises permanence, because they have Divine approval behind them. For
some others, even though they temporarily possess virtues becoming of believers such as
dignified contentment, self-sacrifice, and altruism, they do not necessarily promise continuity
and permanence. And one thing that needs to be known is that God Almighty grants success in
this world to anyone who possesses characteristics and qualities becoming of believers, because

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He treats His servants according to their good character and conduct. Therefore, even if someone
is a saint flying miraculously in the air, God Almighty will not treat him in a way that becomes
true believers, given that he acts in a lethargic or lazy way, or becomes a selfish one who runs
after personal benefits; those who act thus fail to fulfill the meaning of being human in the true
sense. Indulging in worldliness, leading a physical-oriented life, and acting upon animal desires
are unacceptable for a believer, who should be proceeding toward realizing the God-given
spiritual potential for human perfection. Obviously, such a lifestyle is not the way of the Prophet.
The Way to Eternalize Transient Means
Surely, todays believers need not push aside everything about the world and live like
ascetic dervishes in retreat. This is contradictory to the ideal of becoming a powerful community
upholding justice; Muslims must try to have worldly means as much as they can. However, they
must make use of the means they acquire in a benevolent way to eternalize them. At this point, I
would like to express a feeling of mine: sometimes I imagine and wish that when I step into the
room I find a great amount of money, out of nowhere, and distribute it to the people volunteering
for benevolent services for humanity so that they can establish schools and cultural centers in
different corners of the world and thus conquer hearts of people. This is just a dream of course.
Since it is a dream, I realize no practical goodness with it. But let me point out that if such a
dream did not belong to me but to a friend of mine, and if he shared this consideration with me, I
would tell him that even such an imaginary action can bring you manifold rewards and blessings
to be gained at worship. Sharing the inspirations of our heart with others, illuminating worlds
with the torch in our hand, taking the beauties we learn from the Prophet to everywhere the sun
shines upon, exerting ourselves with this thought, and becoming oriented to such a lofty goal
even in our dreams are all very important.
Returning back to our main subject, though, let us reiterate that as far as worldly means
are used correctly, there is nothing wrong with having them. However, adoration for ones
worldly goods, status, home, children, or carnal pleasures as if one worships them, leads a person
toward worldly and otherworldly disaster. A person must adore and worship God Almighty only
and love anything else solely for His sake. He must be the One to be remembered at the
beginning and end of something and everything must be attached to Him. Otherwise, when we

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act in the name of physicality and our carnal side, everything will be condemned to our own
narrowness and it will mean wasting ourselves and our God-given spiritual potential. A human
being, who is as worthy as all the worlds and who is endowed with a vast potential to ascend to
otherworldly ranks as great as the earth and sky, should not be condemned to such narrowness I
think. One the contrary, he or she must run after eternity and seek His good pleasure all the
timeso much so that a title of conqueror should not be anything desirable as far as it does not
take one to God, as such a thing does not bear any meaning on its own. What makes an action
valuable is the depth of a persons sincere intention. An accomplishment will be truly valuable as
far as it is meant to gain the rewards heralded by the noble Prophet, to hold Islam in esteem, and
to share the values we learn from the Prophet with the entire world.
Intention as a Determining Factor The same point holds true for the efforts directed to
graduating from certain schools and performing certain jobs. In other words, if a person wishes
to do something for the sake of their lofty ideals and pass through certain stages, they will
naturally carry out what they need to do. For example, a student who wishes to have a good
education must say, I cannot go to the university without finishing high school. I cannot reach a
good position to serve my people without finishing the university. I cannot be welcomed and
respected without having such means to serve others. And if I do not become worthy of respect, I
cannot do anything serious for the sake of my people and lofty ideals. And a student must make
such an intention from the very beginning.
We cannot stop ourselves from questioning previous generations and blaming them for
having failed to see certain things, leaving gaps in certain fields, and losing continuously. But if
we do not wish the next generation to question us in the same way, we must exert ourselves to
fill the gaps left by the earlier ones and not let new gaps appear. We have to take certain pains in
order not to receive righteous criticism from our children and grandchildren. What needs to be
done first is to have a strong faith and to try not having any flaws in our worship, and then to
attach everything we do to a sincere and sound intention. If this can be realized, a persons
studying at high school, finishing the university, and every other achievement they plan to do
will be counted as worship and gain them blessings; because, whatever is the intention of
attaining a goal, the means used to obtain it will assume the hue of that very intention. In this

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respect, everything that is done must be woven according to the pattern of a sound intention.
In conclusion, true believers never doand must not doanything in order to receive
praise from others or for worldly concerns. They always strive for conveying the heavenly values
distilled from their spiritual roots to others and make continuous efforts so that the
representatives of these high values gain an esteemed status in the world. For this sake, they
sometimes face difficulties, experience pain, and bend in two with suffering. But they know that
their troubles and suffering for the sake of a sublime ideal will gain them so many blessings that
such progress could not be attained even through a process of spiritual journeying.

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