Our book has come to an end here. I think that a person who reads this book carefully will be able to decide without hesitation which one of the holy books of Islam and Christianity is truly the word of Allâhu ta’âlâ. Surely, the Qur’ân al-Karîm, the religion of Islam, and Hadrat Muhammad (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) will be accepted by the reader as a true holy book, a true religion and a true Prophet, respectively. Perhaps someone may have a thought like this: “Even though Islam is the true religion, we see that so many people are not Muslims. Is not Allâhu ta’âlâ able to convert them to Islam?” The answer to this question is given by Allâhu ta’âlâ in the Qur’ân al-kerîm. The blessed meaning of the 13th verse in Chapter Sajda is: “If it had been My will, I would have converted all human beings into Islam. But I have already said that I shall create a place called Hell and I shall fill it with jinn and men.” And the meaning of the 48th verse in Chapter Maida states: “If it had been Allah’s will, He would have made you only one community. But, He willed to distinguish the obedient ones from those rebellious.” That is to say that humanity is being examined by Allâhu ta’âlâ. He has given them wisdom, the most powerful weapon. He has sent them the Qur’ân al-kerîm, the most perfect guide, and the last Prophet (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam), the greatest leader, who communicated His commandments and prohibitions. He granted them “will” and “choice” so that they would be able to follow His instructions. The blessed meaning of the 108th verse in Chapter Yunus states: “Say: Oh! Men! The truth has come to you from your Lord. He who follows the right path follows it for his own sake only. And the one who goes astray prepares himself for his own perdition. I’m not your keeper.”
Thus, we have to choose our path by ourselves, and we have to adapt our behaviour to the book of Allâhu ta’âlâ by ourselves. To do this, we must feed our souls first. The food of the souls is “religion.” There is no difference between an ordinary animal and an atheist who does not feed his soul. This kind of person has no love, no pity, no compassion and no understanding. It is very easy to use such people for the worst purposes. This is because they have no Lord whom they believe and obey and whose words they follow to prevent them from doing evil things. Every one of this type of person is like a dreadful monster. You cannot
imagine when, where, how and who he will bring harm upon. They are capable of committing the worst evils, which incite anxiety throughout the human world.
It is difficult to guide such people to the right path. But it is not impossible. The fundamentals of the real Islamic religion must be instilled in them with great patience, firmness and in a way they understand. Allâhu ta’âlâ ordered His Prophet (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) to teach the religion. The blessed meaning of the 125th verse in Chapter Nahl is: “O! Muhammad! Call men to the path of your Lord with wisdom and kind exhortation! And discuss [things] with them in the politest manner. In fact, your Lord knows best the ones who stray from His path.” Do not forget that it is an obligation upon you to teach others what you have already known in the best way. This task is called “Amr-i ma’rűf.” This is an act of worship. The charity of knowledge is paid by giving knowledge to those who do not know. This is a very good deed. In Islam, the ink of âlims (Islamic scholars) is deemed to be far better than the blood of martyrs, and doing a good deed is deemed to be superior to non-obligatory acts of worship (nâfila).
Even today, the Islamic countries have not developed their heavy industries enough. That is why the religion of Islam is judged to be a regressive religion, not a progressive one by the Christian world; therefore, they claim that civilisation is obtained only by means of Christianity. There is no need to say how nonsensical this claim is.
The Japanese are not Christians. We have already explained above how the Japanese have become superior to the most developed Christian countries. The Israelis have converted desolate land into rich forests and agricultural farms where previously nothing could be found except the desert prairies. They have succeeded in mining bromine from the lake of Lűt (the Dead Sea), and in solidifying liquid bromine —even though German scientists said this was impossible. They now sell it to foreign countries easily. Hence, they have passed the Germans in the bromine trade.
All of this means that there has been no relationship between civilization and Christianity. On the contrary, it is the religion of Islam that commands us to be civilized. It was clearly understood during the Middle Ages that the Christian religion led mankind into darkness and the religion of Islam illuminated them. During that time, Europe was ignorant, dirty, poor, and afflicted with
various diseases. People were suffering under the cruel leadership of priests. At that time, Europeans knew nothing of a toilet nor of a bath room. In contrast, the Muslims, who had adapted themselves to the commands of Islam, were well developed in science, trade, art, agriculture, literature, and medicine. They represented the greatest civilization of that time. Hârűn Rashîd, the Khalîfa, presented an alarm clock as a gift to Charlemagne, the King of France. When the alarm clock rang, the king and his valet ran away thinking the clock was possessed by a devil. The reason why the Muslims have fallen behind is that they no longer obey the commandments of their religion. We have already explained this several times. Instead of making an honest self-examination of ourselves today, we are still taking pride in the Islamic civilization that took place hundreds of years ago. It is natural to be proud of something that happened in the past. But it is unpleasant to give the same example over and over again. We must make progress today as well. In the year 1225 (1839), Turkey declared herself to be a European country by way of an official edict called “The Reformation Edict.” (This document was prepared by Rashid Pasha, a British-guided freemason. Masonic lodges were opened in many cities.) Up to now, we have followed Europe in the field of pleasure and enjoyment, not in the field of science and knowledge. We have avoided following our ancestors in obtaining knowledge, in studying science, and in teaching our children the good morals of Islam. We have referred to the way shown by Islam and the blessed morality of
Rasűlullah (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) as “retrogression.” The Japanese began to follow the West in the year 1284 (1868), twenty-nine years after us. But they have developed much more than we have. They did not bring any harm upon their false religion until now. Though we were ahead in the race towards civilization, we left knowledge and culture, and followed Satan and our evil desires (nafs) after the (constitutional reforms effected in 1839, during the time of Sultân Abd-ul-mejîd Khan, and called) Tanzîmât. This British opium put the statesmen to sleep. Today, we have to make a great collective effort to cover the distance between the West and ourselves. We must even try to be superior to them. This cannot be accomplished by making long speeches with meaningless words. We must resume the way of our forefathers. The German historian and Turcologist Dr. Friedrich-Wilhelm Fernau, who wrote an important article and prepared a book about Turkey, said: “The Turkish people deem themselves to be Europeans. As a matter of fact, the Hungarians and the Bulgarians have already been Westernized. They are known to
have come from Asia and to be relatives of the Turks. But Turkish people have not been Westernized yet. They are rather different from any other nation. As of today, they are imitating Western industry. They have not entered into the Western world completely.” Now, let us examine what “a civilized person” is. A civilized and educated man, first of all has a high morality and is honest in all his transactions. He has received a higher education, that is, religious training concerning what this world is. He is trustworthy. He does his best at his job until it is completed. If necessary, he works more than normal, working hours without stopping. He gets pleasure from working this way. He never leaves his job even though he has become old. He is completely respectful towards the laws of his country. He obeys his leaders. He never breaks the laws. He carefully obeys the orders and prohibitions of his religion. He never stops worshipping. He wants his children to have the true faith and a high morality. He gives the utmost importance to this matter. He saves his children from bad friends and bad publications. He always abides by his word. Since he knows the value of time, he does his job on time. He always keeps his promises. He never relaxes before he completes his tasks, worldly or heavenly. Let alone putting off today’s work to tomorrow, he does tomorrow’s work today. If we regain these virtues that were expressed in the actions of our forefathers, we will develop both materially and spiritually, succeed in every field, and our Lord will be pleased with us.
Shall we ask this question, “Do the Westerners carry these qualities”? They do not, from the credal and moral points of view. After the Second World War, in especial, there has been an increase in the number of schismatic and fiendish people, who misguide others as well. Today Westerners want their people to have the qualities we have written above, and they are striving for the correction of heresies. As to their apparent cleanliness, the Islamic commandments on cleanliness are being carried out by them perfectly. Even a single piece of rubbish cannot be found on their streets. Their public gardens are like a sea of flowers. Every place, all the shops, and all the people are completely clean. Now, please recall the commandments of Islam and the Qur’an al-kerîm. Are not these the commandments requiring us to be clean, bodily and morally, and to clean everything we use? Therefore, the fundamentals of a real cvilization are in our religion, Islam. That is why the Islamic civilization which is always mentioned with praise occurred in the Middle Ages. What is the matter with us, now? First of all, we are lazy. We do not attach enough
importance to the orders and prohibitions of Allâhu ta’âlâ. We are very fond of pleasure and enjoyments. We become tired shortly after we begin a job. The Bulgarians say, “Begin working like a Turk, but complete the job like a Bulgarian.” We get tired too soon. We say, “Never mind! Do not bother about it! Take it easy!” We build a house, but we do not take the trouble to maintain it. So many enormous and artistic monuments in Turkey, which we have inherited from our ancestors, have been devastated because they have not been maintained or repaired. We want to work little, but earn much. As a result of this, workers are encouraged to strike, and worse, many of our youngsters are led astray. Our degenerated young people are instructed by treacherous foreigners to kill others and to sabotage. Many among us have fallen into their traps and are fed by them. These poor people, who easily get money, prefer killing to working. Other pestilences of discordance that undermine our country are the unreasonable vendettas and the lâ-madhhabî currents.
By the way, let us write again that there are four true madhhabs in Islam. All these four madhhabs have the same belief and faith, which is called the “Ahl-i Sunnat” faith. There is no difference between them on following the things clearly ordered or prohibited by the Qur’ân al-kerîm or the hadîth-i-sherîfs. They are only different in interpreting the meaning of the verses of traditions which cannot be easily and clearly understood. These small differences among them are Allâhu ta’âlâ’s mercy for Muslims. A Muslim worships according to one of the four “fiqh” (canon) books of the four different madhhabs; he adopts one according to his health and living conditions. If there had been only one madhhab, every Muslim would have to follow it. This would have been very difficult for many Muslims, even impossible. A Muslim who follows one of the four madhhabs is called “Ahl-i sunnat.” They are deemed to be brothers with one another. They have never fought against each other in the history of Islam. There is no “sectarianism” among them. They never speak ill of the other (three) madhhabs. They believe that any one of them is a way to Paradise.
First of all, the most important point is that all the Ahl-i sunnat people are brothers. The differences of madhhab do not prevent them from being brothers. The differences between the Ahl as-Sunna and non-Ahl as-Sunna can be settled by scientific means through a discussion in a scientific way, but not by the power of a gun.
It is an obligation for us to obey the laws of our country and to respect the elders among the people. It would be the worst folly to try to abolish the laws. A country where the laws are not dominant will be in a state of terrorism and will soon disappear. To be a member of the communist world is the worst calamity. Today, communist countries themselves have already realized how harmful communism is. Consequently, they are trying to gradually free themselves from this ideology and return to freer conditions. Today’s Russian people are demanding back the rights of inheritance, private home ownership, and even a summer house, and so on. Polish people were given the right to strike. Moreover, fanatical communist China has at last been returning to the life styles of the free countries. So much so that they brought experts from France to learn new art methods. They have also been returning to a “mixed economy” as practised in democratic countries. The mosques, razed by communists before, are now being restored.
As it is known, some establishments are run by the state, but others by the private sector in a mixed economy. Support from the state is necessary for some heavy and expensive industries, such as iron and coal. This method is being used in Turkey, too. Nowadays, the communist countries are trying to return to this method gradually, and they have already opened some parts of the industry to the people. Surely they will get their freedom of belief and thought in the near future. Human rights will be acknowleged all over the world. Contrary to some foolish thoughts, social justice does not mean to distribute the properties of those who work to those who do not work and thereby make them rich. Nobody gives even a penny to a lazy person who does not work day and night. Even though the people in communist countries work continuously, they hardly get enough food. Most of their earnings are taken away from them by a happy minority. Risking their lives, they are struggling for their freedom. As we have written above, this administration based on exploitation and torture, and this irreligious style of life, will end by itself. On the one hand, communist states spread propaganda to keep the people irreligious, which is a fundamental of communism. On the other hand, those who have deviated from the true path of the Ahl as-Sunna are trying to lead true Muslims astray. Khomeini of Iran is a graring example to caution against the harms that such heretical and bigoted Muslims may cause to their country. In addition to these, Wahhâbîs are trying to practise their faith,
which is prohibited by true Islamic scholars, with laws that are completely arbitrary. As a result, they cause people all over the world to have a misunderstanding about Islam. According to Islam, “the commands which have not been proven by nass[1] can be changed over time. “A rule deemed to be perfect one thousand years ago may not be appropriate for the conditions in our time. That is why the great scholars, that is, the mujtahids (rahimahumullâhu ta’âlâ), were given three important powers called “Aql” (wisdom), “Ilm” (knowledge), and “taqwâ” (fear of Allah) by Allâhu ta’âlâ to enable them to make the necessary changes. These late scholars studied the ijtihâds[2] performed by the early scholars a thousand years before their time and selected the rules appropriate for the time.
We have to learn first the true faith reported by Ahl as-Sunna scholars (rahima-humullâhu ta’âlâ). Then we have to believe according to them. One whose faith is corrupt cannot attain the compassion and approval of Allâhu ta’âlâ. He will remain deprived of His mercy and help. He will not have comfort and peace. After we have corrected our faith we must correct our morality. We must hold fast to Islamic laws. That is, we should obey the orders and the prohibitions of Allâhu ta’âlâ and our Prophet (sall Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam). We must clean our hearts by doing the things ordered by Him and reported through His Prophet Muhammad (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam). We must make our lower selves (ego) abstain from prohibitions and harmful things. We must maintain our health. The heart of a person who behaves like this always wants to do good things. He never thinks of doing evil. If the soul and heart were clean and the body strong, it would be easy to work brotherly, collectively and honestly. We must not be deceived by the words and propaganda of the enemies of Islam, the hypocrites, and the non-sectarians. If we become true Muslims and do good deeds, Allâhu ta’âlâ will be pleased with us and help us, as we have seen above in Sűra Tîn of the Qur’ân al-kerîm. If we do not correct our faith, and do not follow the religion taught by Hadrat Muhammad (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam), and abstain from good deeds, and struggle for the false faiths, and go astray to obtain personal opportunities, Allâhu ta’âlâ will make us the lowest of the low. If so, woe unto us!
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[1] A general term for an âyat (verse) or a hadîth (tradition)
[2] Ability to understand the symbolic, hidden meanings in the Qur’ân al-kerîm. Conclusions reached and rules established thereby.