What does hidâyah mean?

Question: The Islamic scholars have translated the word hidâyah as the true path for 14 centuries. But hidâyah means reaching Allah in this world, doesn’t it?

ANSWER
It never does. By saying so, you are accusing all Islamic scholars of giving wrong meaning (never!) to hidâyah. However, Allahu ta’âlâ declares, “If you do not know, ask scholars.” Our master the Prophet states, “Scholars are my and the other prophets’ inheritors.”

Thus far, none of the Islamic scholars has declared the meaning of that word to be reaching Allah. Of the such scholars as the founders of four madhhabs (namely, Imâm-i A’zam, Imâm-i Mâlik, Imâm-i Shâfi’î, Imâm-i Ahmad), great scholars within madhhabs (such as Imâm-i Ghazâlî, Imâm-i Rabbânî, Imâm-i Abû Yûsuf, Imâm-i Muhammad, Imâm-i Nawawî) or other awliyâ’ with hundreds of wonders (such as Sayyid Abdul Qâdir Gailanî, Junayd al-Baghdâdî), which one said hidâyah meant to reach Allah? Which mufassir wrote in his tafsîr book that hidâyah was to reach Allah? Out of thousands of scholars, even one scholar cannot be put forth.
What is the reason for the animosity towards Islamic savants? Isn’t the reason for it that they explained hidâyah as Islam and that they conveyed the commandments and prohibitions of the religion exactly as our master Rasûlullah communicated? Why do they not refer to Islamic scholars instead of heretics?
Have the religion of Islam come incompletely until today? Some aberrant people say, “Islam had been incomplete until our master came. He completed it.” Has Islam come to us incompletely for 1,400 years? Or did Allahu ta’âlâ communicate it incompletely (never!)? Or did our master the Prophet communicate and explain it incompletely (never!)?
Hidâyah does not mean a path. That is, it does not mean a way, path or a bridge. Hidâyah means Islam. Islam, on the other hand, means the true path shown by Allahu ta’âlâ. Therefore, hidâyah is explained to be the true path. Its antonym is dalâlah, deviating.
Hidâyah is to see right as right and wrong as wrong and to enter the right path; to keep away from deviating and false path; to have îmân and to become a Muslim.
Hidâyah is the religion and the path that Allahu ta’âlâ wants.
Since the word path explains it well, all Islamic scholars declared hidâyah to be path. All the translations of the Qur’ân on the market, true and wrong ones alike, have given hidâyah the meaning of true path, that is, they have said that it is Islam. They have not fabricated such an odd meaning as “reaching.”
Hidâyah is to become a Muslim, to accept the religion of Islam. Islam itself is the true path. Then hidâyah means the true path. Two âyat-i karîmas purport:
(You cannot make whom you like reach hidâyah. But Allah gives hidâyah to whom He wills.) [Sûrat-ul-Qasas, 56]
(Whomever Allah wills to guide to hidâyah, He expands his breast for Islam.) [Sûrat-ul-An’âm, 125]
Two hadîth-i sharîfs purport:
(Allahu ta’âlâ has sent me as compassion and hidâyah for the worlds.) [Abû Nu’aym]
(It is not within my power to give hidâyah. Shaitan, on his part, shows what Allahu ta’âlâ has prohibited as being ornate and enticing. But it is not within his power to make one deviate, either.) [I. ‘Adiy]

The number of the fundamentals of îmân is not seven
Question: Is it true to say, “It is îmân to have faith in a soul’s being reached Allah. The fundamentals of îmân are seven. Sharr (evil) is not from Allah but from nafs”?

ANSWER
Saying that evil is from nafs means that there are associates in Allah’s Attribute of Creativeness. Allahu ta’âlâ sends us afflictions owing to our sins, but we do not create the afflictions. We deserve them; as a result, Allahu ta’âlâ punishes us. Allah does not oppress His born slaves.
(If any good reaches them, they say, “This is from Allah,” but if any evil reaches them, they say, “This happened because of you.” Say: “Kullun min ‘Indillaah [All things are from Allah].” What is the matter with these people that they do not understand what they are told?) [Sûrat-un-Nisâ, 78]

Question: Isn’t there the expression “reaching Allah before death” at the end of the Arabic hadîth of îmân? Have the translators not added this part?

ANSWER
There has not been a lie of this kind. One cannot reach Allah before death.
The hadîth of îmân in Arabic is as follows:
(Âmantu bi’llâhi wa malâ’ikatihî wa kutubihî wa rusulihî wal-yawm-il-âkhiri wa bil-qadari khairihî wa sharrihî minallâhi ta’âlâ walba’thu ba’d-al-mawt haqqun ash-hadu an lâ ilâha illallâh wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ’abduhu wa Rasûluhu.) [Bukhârî, Muslim, Nasâî]
Sharrihî minallâhi ta’âlâ = Sharr is from Allah.
How can one deny this well-known hadîth?
Its English translation is the following:
(I have belief in Allah, in His angels, in His books, in His prophets, in the Last Day [that is, to have belief in Paradise, Hell, Judgement, Mîzân], in qadar and that good (khair) and evil (sharr) are from Allahu ta’âlâ, in death and Resur-rection. I bear witness that there is no ilâh except Allah and that Muhammad “alaihisslâm” is His born slave and Messenger.) [Bukhârî, Muslim, Nasâî]

Reaching Allah before death

Question: Wherever they see the word “hidâyah” in the Qur’ân, some people, somehow, say it means a soul’s reaching Allah before death. Actually, are there any âyât or hadîths that are in accordance with this definition? What is “reaching Allah”?

ANSWERNo, there is not such an âyat or a hadîth. Nor did any Islamic scholars say such a thing.
Hidâyah has these senses: the true path, the righteous path, Islam. Its opposite is dalâlah [going astray, deviating]. Hidâyah is to enter the right path after seeing right as right and wrong as wrong; it is to turn away from dalâlah and wrong path, to have îmân and to become a Muslim.
Al-Hâdî and al-Mahdî, two of the Beautiful Names of Allah, denote the One who provides hidâyah, who guides to the right path.
There is not such an expression as “reaching Allah,” but there is such an expression as “meeting Allah.” However, it does not mean “a soul’s reaching Allah before death.” The scholars of tafsîr explain “meeting Allah” as follows:
(Those who [deny the Resurrection] do not expect to meet Us [to be questioned], who are content with [as they are heedless of the Hereafter] and take comfort [preferring this world to the next] from worldly life, and who are unaware of Our âyât [proofs that show the existence of the Creator] will go to Hell because of what they have committed [because of their sins].) [Sûrat-u Yûnus, 7-8]
(To deny the meeting with Allah after death is to deny the Rising after death.)
The following are the purport of some verses that contain the word hidâyah:
(Inna hudallaahi huwal hudaa = Allah’s path of hidâyah [Islam] is the true path through and through.) The proper English translation of this âyat is: (The true path is only Allah’s path.) [Sûrat-ul-Baqara, 120]
(In-nalhudaa hudal-laahi = The true path is without doubt Allah’s path.) [Sûrat-u Âl-i ‘Imrân, 73]
(Ulaaikal-ladheena hadaahumul-laahu = Those are the ones whom Allah has guided to hidâyah [whom Allah has guided to the true path.) [Sûrat-uz-Zumar, 18]
(Wal-ladheena-h-tadaw zaadahum hudaa = Allah increases the hidâyah of those who have attained it [who have entered the true path].) [Sûrat-u Muhammad, 17]
(Wa man yu’min bil-laahi yahdi qalbahuu = Whoever believes in Allah, Allah guides his hearth towards hidâyah [truth].) [Sûrat-ut-Taghâbun, 11]
(Wa yazeedul-laahul-ladheena-h-tadaw hudaa = Allah increases the hidâyah of those who have attained it [who have attained îmân].) [Sûrat-u Maryam, 76]
(Wallaahu yahdee man yashaau ilaa siraatin mustaqeem = Allah provides hidâyah for whom He wills to the right path [makes him reach the right path].) [Sûrat-ul-Baqara, 213]
(Sayahdeehim = He makes them reach hidâyah [makes them reach the right path].) [Sûrat-u Muhammad, 5]
(Hadaanaa li haadhaa wa maa kunnaa li nahtadee = If Allah had not given us hidâyah, we could not have attained it on our own.) [Sûrat-ul-A’râf, 43]
(Ulaaikalladheena-sh-taraw-ud-dalaalata bil hudaa = Those are the ones who have bought aberration instead of truth.) [Sûrat-ul-Baqara, 175]
(Innaka laa tahdee man ahbabta wa laakin-nallaaha yahdee man yashaau = You cannot make whom you like reach hidâyah [you cannot make whom you like a Muslim]. But Allah gives hidâyah to whom He wills.) [Sûrat-ul-Qasas, 56]
(Wallaahu laa yahdil qawmaZZaalimeen = Allah does not guide the zâlimîn to the hidâyah.) [Sûrat-ut-Tawba, 19]
(Laysa ‘alayka hudaahum = It is not your duty to make them reach hidâyah.) [Sûrat-ul-Baqara, 272]
In addition to them, the purport of some hadîth-i sharîfs is as follow:
(Each of my Ashâb is like a star in the sky. If you follow any one of them, you will attain hidâyah [the true path].) [Dârimî, Bayhaqî, Ibni ‘Adiy, Munawî]
(My Lord revealed: “O My Messenger! Your Ashâb are like the celestial stars. Some of them are more luminous. He who follows any one of them is on hidâyah.) [Daylamî]
(He who causes a person to attain hidâyah [who causes a person to have îmân] goes to Paradise.) [Bukhârî]
(Join the suhba of those pious scholars who strive to make people attain hidâyah and keep them away from dalâlah.) [I. Mâwardî]

The justice of Allahu ta’âlâ

Question: Because what God does is contrary to my reason, I do not believe in Him. God is testing us by force. For example, if I go to school and pass the examinations, I will graduate and receive a diploma. If I do not go to school, I will not graduate. Here I have a choice: I will attend school, or I will not attend it. However, when I was born and when I was put the examination of servitude, I was not asked anything regarding it. If I had been asked, I would in no way have taken it. I may have preferred to be an animal or soil. Is it compatible with justice that I was created without being asked and then I will be called to account? How can such a god be just?

ANSWER
The justice of Allahu ta’âlâ is unlike the justice among human beings. As it is wrongly likened to the justice among humans, the matter cannot be settled.

The justice among humans means to act within the limits of laws and regulations established by someone predominant or a ruler in order to govern a country. And injustice means to go beyond these laws.

Allahu ta’âlâ, who created everything out of nothing, is the Ruler of rulers, the true Owner and the only Creator of everything. He does not have a commander or an owner above Him to hold Him liable to some laws. For this reason, one cannot say, “Allah’s such and such deed is not compatible with justice.”
“To use what is one’s own property” is another definition of justice. And injustice means to trespass on other’s property or possessions.

Since Allahu ta’âlâ is the Creator of the universe and all that is in it, since there is no Creator other than He, since nobody possesses anything, whatever our Rabb does is not an act of trespassing on other’s property or possessions. Concerning the deeds of Allahu ta’âlâ, it cannot be said, “They are incompatible with justice.” He can make a formerly unlawful thing lawful later, and vice versa. Everything belongs to Him, and He can use it at will. No one has any rights to question Him.

If Allahu ta’âlâ had willed, He could have created you to be a cat or a dog. Then would you have had the right to ask the reason why He had created you to be an animal? We buy, for example, sugar at the grocer’s. Some people use this sugar in tea while some others use it to make dessert and eat it. Does sugar have a right to say anything? Can sugar question people why some people use it in tea and why others use it to make dessert? Since sugar is mine, I can use it at will. Nobody has any rights to ask why I have used it in dessert.

Everything, living or lifeless, animals or humans, belongs to Allah. He can use them as He wishes. No one can ask anything. It is He, too, who has bestowed the faculty of speech upon us. He is the Possessor of sovereignty. He, alone, is the Creator of everything from nothing. He says that He will put those who do such and such deeds into Hell and that He will put those who do such and such deeds in Paradise. So He has put us to the test. He will send those who pass the test to Paradise, but He will send those who fail the test to Hell. In fact, He could have put whomever He wills in Hell and whomever He wills in Paradise without testing them at all. It cannot be said to be incompatible with justice because all things are His. If Allahu ta’âlâ put all the created in Hell, it would not be injustice, either. But He, out of His mercy, has declared that He will put those who do such and such deeds in Paradise, which is a favor. If He put us in Hell, could we say anything? Could we raise an objection? Even if we raised an objection, were there anything to be gained?

Some passages from the answer given by Sayyid ‘Abdulhakîm Arwâsî to an atheist are as follows:

by Sayyid ‘Abdulhakîm Arwâsî

As you have not come out of nonexistence to this world of existence by yourself, so you cannot go there by yourself. Your eyes, your ears, your other organs, all the roads you will pass, all the places you will be, in short, all the members and systems connected with your body and soul, all of them, are Allahu ta’âlâ’s possessions and creatures. You cannot misappropriate anything from Him! He sees, knows, hears, and every moment He keeps in existence everything that exists. Even for a moment, He is never unaware of the state of all things, nor does He ever fail to control all of them. He does not let anybody steal His property. He is never incapable of punishing those who disobey His commands.

The purport of a hadîth-i qudsî is as follows:
(If [all of] your ancestors and descendants, the young and the old, the alive and the dead, human beings and genies were like My most devoted, Most obedient human creature, My greatness would not be increased. Conversely, if you all were like My enemy, who opposes Me and despises My prophets, My greatness would not ever decrease. Allahu ta’âlâ is free from needing you; He needs none of you. As for you, in order that you might exist and keep on existing and everything you do, you always need Him.) [Muslim]

Operating the machine of your body, He hands it over to you so that you may use and utilize it conveniently. He does all these things not because He needs you, your will, or help, but to make you happy by giving you a distinguished position and authority among His creatures. If instead of leaving it your hands, your feet, and all your limbs, which you can use according to your wish, He used them without you knowing it, as is the case with the beating of your heart and the circulation of your blood, if He controlled you by force, with reflex actions, with paralyzed hand or feet, if each of your actions were a vibration, what could you do?

Do you think of your state before and after you were born?
Where were you, in what were you, during the creation of this globe, on which you live, eat and drink, go about, amuse and divert yourself? On this planet, you have discovered the means that are remedies for your diseases and the ways of defending yourself against the attacks of your enemies and the harms of wild and poisonous animals. Where were you while the stones and soil of this globe were being baked on fires in the ovens of creation and while its water and air were being distilled in the chemistry laboratories of the Omnipotence? Have you ever thought: Where were you while the lands, which you claim to be yours today, were gliding away from the seas, while mountains, rivers, plateaus and hills were being laid down? Where and how were you while, with Allahu ta’âlâ’s omnipotence, the salty waters of the seas evaporated and formed clouds in the sky, while the rains, falling from those clouds, took substances [of nourishment prepared by lightning and waves of power and energy in the sky] into the motes of burnt, dried soil, and while these substances, stirred, vibrated and nourished the cells of life?

How should Allah be loved and feared?

Question: How should Allah be loved and feared?

ANSWERJust as love is of different kinds, so is fear. The love of Allah is different from the love of parents, children, a wife, and the nature. Likewise, the fear of Allah is a far cry from the fear of enemies. It is declared in the Qur’ân al-karîm, “Fear Allah as He should be feared” (Sûrat-u Âl-i ‘Imrân, 102).
The fear felt for Allah the way He wants is termed taqwâ. Taqwâ is to believe in Allah, to love Him, to be a servant to Him, that is, to observe His commandments and prohibitions. It is not taqwâ to fear enemies, for enemies are not believed in. Nor do they have the authority to put people in Hell or Paradise. One fears enemies only because they may do harm. Then there is a world of difference between these two types of fear. Again, it is declared, “If you have believed, do not fear them [enemies], but fear Me” (Sûrat-u Âl-i ‘Imrân, 175).
A lover is afraid of upsetting his or her beloved in any way. Not only we must love our Rabb much, who has created us from nothing and has conferred various favors upon us, but also we must be very much afraid of losing this love. As a matter of fact, the Qur’ân al-karîm purports:
(Fear Allah! Know that Allah’s torment is extremely severe.) [Sûrat-ul-Baqara, 196]

(Fear Allah, so that you can attain to salvation.) [Sûrat-ul-Mâ’ida, 100]

Fearing Allah should not be supposed like fearing a cruel person. It is the fear combined with reverence and love. In poems which lovers wrote to their darlings there are many couplets telling about similar fear in them. A lover who regards his darling much higher than himself does not deem himself worthy of this love and explains his feelings in such a fear.

Certainly, the fear of Allah is out of the question for disbelievers. As for the Believers, they must love Allah greatly and be very much afraid of becoming a disbeliever so that they can get the taste of îmân. A hadîth-i sharîf declares:
(A person who loves Allah and His Messenger more than everything else, who loves only those whom Allah loves, and who is afraid of becoming a disbeliever more than he is afraid of being burnt in fire relishes îmân.) [Bukhârî]

Most of the scandals and crimes arise mainly from lack of chastity. Most people cannot refrain themselves from indulging in the things of the wrong path even though they may know the result of being unchaste. The remedy that can lead them to right path in the face of this strong feeling is an educational and ethical matter. Religion means ethics. A person who fears Allah cannot be unchaste. Consequently, it must be our primary duty to try to teach our children the fear of Allah.

In order to fear Allahu ta’âlâ, one should know Him very well. To know Allahu ta’âlâ well, we must learn His grandness and attributes. To fear Allah is a matter of knowledge, work, and effort. It will not emanate from a vacuum.

The wings taking people to happinessFear of Allah and love of Allah are like two wings taking people to salvation and happiness. Our master the Prophet said:
(If a person fears Allah, everything fears him. If he does not fear Allah, he fears everything.) [Abushshaikh]

(The wisest of you is the one who fears Allah most and who observes commandments and prohibitions best.) [Ibni Muhbar]

(The extent of a person’s intellect will be evident in the extent of his fear of Allah.) [I. Mâwardî]

A Believer who obeys Allahu ta’âlâ’s commandments loves his Rabb immensely. It is purported in the Qur’ân al-karîm:

(The Believers’ love of Allah is very strong.) [Sûrat-ul-Baqara, 165]

(A Believer is such that his heart feels fear when the name of Allah is mentioned.) [Sûrat-ul-Anfal, 2; Sûrat-ul-Hajj, 35]

It is not possible for people to love or fear what they do not know. Those who love Allah much and know Him well fear Him very much. Since the one who knows Him best is our master the Prophet, he is certainly the one who fears Him most. As a matter of fact, he stated:
(It is I who, among you, fear Allah most.) [Bukhârî]

After prophets, people who know Allahu ta’âlâ best are savants, who are prophets’ inheritors, and those who are close to them. It is purported in the Qur’ân al-karîm:
(Only ‘ulamâ’ fear Allah among His servants.) [Sûrat-u Fâtir, 28]

(Those who obey Allah and His Messenger and those who fear Allah and guard themselves against violating His commands are the ones that will be saved on the Day of Judgement.) [Sûrat-un-Nûr, 52]

When our master the Prophet was asked concerning the people mentioned in the sixtieth verse of Mu’minun Sûra that reads (in English) “Their hearts beat with fear as they will return to their Rabb” whether they are thieves or fornicators, he answered:
(They are the ones who perform namâz, who fast, and who give zakât. And they fear whether their acts of worship have been accepted.) [Tirmudhî]

The fear of Allah is highly useful for sustenance as well. Our master the Prophet declared, “The sustenance of a person whose capital is the fear of Allah comes to him without trading or capital,” and then recited [the second and third verses of Talaq Sûra, which purport] “Whoever fears Allah, He grants a way out for him and sends him sustenance from places which he does not expect.” (Tabarânî)

The fear of Allah is a great blessing that makes people attain endless bliss. It is purported in âyât (verses):
(There are two Paradises for the person who fears his Rabb.) [Sûrat-ur-Rahman, 46]

(He who fears Allah receives warning.) [Sûrat-ul-A’lâ, 10]

(Fear only Me.) [Sûrat-ul-Baqara, 40]

(Do not fear human beings but fear Me.) [Sûrat-ul-Mâ’ida, 44]

Furthermore, it is declared in ahâdîth:
(The sins of a person whose heart shivers with the fear of Allah fall off just like leaves falling off a tree.) [Bayhaqî]

(He who remembers his sins and cries over them will enter Paradise without any questioning.) [I. Ghazâlî]

(He who weeps out of the fear of Allah will not enter Hell.) [Nasâî]

(If you feared Allah thoroughly, you would attain knowledge that does not contain ignorance.) [Ibni Sunnî]

The love of Allah is one of the conditions of îmân. The following ahâdîth declare:
(Îmân is to love Allah and His Messenger more than everything else.) [I. Ahmad]

(You will not be considered to have îmân unless Allah and His Messenger are more beloved to you than everything else.) [Bukhârî]

Why did she become Muslim? Mrs. MES' DA STEINMANN - (G.B.)

There is not a single other religion to equal Islam in its simple comprehensibility or in its reassuring smoothness. Islam is the one and only one religion which infuses a sense of peace and tranquillity into the human soul, blesses man with a life of contentment, and guides him to eternal happiness and salvation after death.

Man is one of the various creatures of Allahu ta'ala. Naturally, there is some connection between him and the other creatures. Allahu ta'ala created man in the most perfect form. What gives him this singular virtue is the soul that he possesses. Man's soul continuously endeavors to take him up to higher and higher levels. And the only source to feed the soul is religion.

What kind of a connection is there between man and the Almighty Being who creates him? No doubt, religion explains this. I studied the statements made about religion by various scholars. The following are a few examples:

(Paraphrased) from Carlyle's work 'On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History':

"A person's religion is his heart's belief, and it is, therefore, his most prominent characteristic. Religion is such that it goes directly into one's heart. It adjusts one's activities in the world. It shows the way one should follow and determines one's destination."

(Paraphrased) from Chesterton's book 'If One Should Think':

"Religion expresses the most sublime fact which a person obtains concerning his and others' existence."

(Paraphrased) from Ambroce Bierce's work 'The Satan's Dictionary':

"Religion is a source that teach people what they do not know and which infuses both fear and hope into them."

(Paraphrased) from Edmunde Burke's book 'The French Revolution':

"The common commandment of all true religions is to obey the commandments of Allahu ta'ala, to be respectful of his canon, and thereby to be closer to His love."

(Paraphrased) from Swedenborg's work 'Doctrine of Life':

"Religion means doing good. The essence of religion is goodness."

(Paraphrased) from James Harrington's book 'The Ocean':

"Everybody has more or less some connection with religion, whether as a source of fear or as a means of consolation."

Everybody in the world encounters various situations which they do not know, cannot understand, and cannot explain. It is only religion that explains to them and which infuses into them a sense of definite belief and trust.

Why do I believe that Islam is the most perfect of the world's religions and that it is the true religion? Let me explain:

First of all, the Islamic religion states that there is no god besides the one Allah, who is great, that He is not begotten and does not beget, either, and that there is not another creator like Him. There is not another religion to explain the existence, the unity, and the grandeur of Allahu ta'ala in the magnificence worthy of Him. The fourth ayat of Hud sura purports, "[O my born slaves], your return shall be to Me, alone. Allah is Almighty." The fifty-fifth ayat of Isra Sura purports, "Allahu ta'ala has the best knowledge of the celestial and the terrestrial creatures." Moreover, many chapters of Qur'an al-karim state that "He is the only creator," that "He is everlasting," that "He is eternal," that "He is omniscient," that "He is the absolute judge who makes the truest decision," that "He is the greatest helper," that "He is the Creator, who is the most compassionate," and that "He is the most magnanimous forgiver." I could not explain how strongly a person is attracted towards Allahu ta'ala, how he melts before Him, and how he surrenders himself to His Grace, as he reads these lines. Allahu ta'ala declares, as is purported in the seventeenth ayat of Hadid Sura, "Know ye (all) that Allahu ta'ala giveth life to the earth [with rains] after its death [with drought]. [Likewise, He gives life to dead hearts with dhikr and tilawat]. Already We have shown the signs plainly to you, that ye may learn wisdom." The Nas Sura purports, "[O Muhammad 'sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam'!] Say: I seek refuge with my Owner, the Cherisher of mankind, the King (or Ruler) of mankind, the Judge of mankind, (who sends them what they need and protects them against horrors), from the mischief of the whisperer (of evil), who withdraws after his whisper), -(the same) who whispers into the hearts of mankind,- among Jinns and among Men."


When a person reads these exalted statements, how could it ever be possible for him not to believe in that great Creator and not to seek refuge in Him? Aren't all these enough for a person to bask in the consciousness of a merciful creator who will protect him as long as he lives, and thus to abide by the right way?

Islam plainly states that it is the most genuine religion and that it has accumulated in itself all the correct aspects of those religions previous to it. It says that all the rules written in the Qur'an al-karim, Islam's Holy Book, are plain, clear, logical principles intelligible to everyone. These are extremely true facts. Indeed, if we really wish to establish a consistent relationship between Allahu ta'ala and the born slave, to unite the corporeal and spiritual components in harmony with each other, and to maintain peace both in this world and in the Hereafter, it is indispensably incumbent on us to accept the Islamic religion. Our spiritual and physical progress depends only and only on Islam's support.

Christianity busies itself only with spirituality and conscience and overloads every individual Christian with spiritual and conscientious burdens far beyond the human capacity. Christianity prejudges man as a sinful creature and demands from him preposterous expiations he could never understand. The Islamic religion, on the other hand, is based on mere love. A very deep research into Christianity carried on by a group of highly competent scientists might finally find a tiny particle of love of Allah among the plethora of heavy burdens only after an arduous ransack in the people's various moods. And then the group would sit and lament over the fact that that tiny particle of love has been lost for good in today's Christianity, which is awash in superstitions. Coleridge states in one of his books, "It is a reality that a person who loves Christianity very much becomes gradually alienated from Christianity and begins to love the church more, and at the end he loves himself the best." On the other hand, Islam commands us to respect and love Allahu ta'ala, to obey His commandments only, and at the same time to use our own reason and logic. Christianity still contains some truth. In Islam, on the other hand, everything rests on truth. In the Qur'an al-karim, Allahu ta'ala addresses to all His born slaves, regardless of their races and colors, as is purported in the hundred and eighth ayat of Yunus Sura, "Say, O mankind! Truth hath come to you from your Rabb (Allah). He who hath taken the right path hath done so only for his own good, and he who hath lapsed into aberration hath inflicted a loss only on himself. I am not your guardian." After reading all these facts and fully comprehending the tenor of the Qur'an al-karim, I saw that Islam contained the truest answers to my queries, and I willingly became a Muslim. Islam showed me the right way and heartened me. The only way of attaining peace and comfort in the world and salvation in the Hereafter is to embrace Islam.

from the book: WHY DID THEY BECOME MUSLIMS?

Why did she become Muslim? Mrs. AMINA MOSLER - (German)

Why did I become a Muslim?


My son was asking me various questions, and I was unable to answer them. When he asked me, for instance, "Mummy, why are there three gods?" I was at a loss as to what to say because I myself did not believe in trinity, and yet I could not find another answer to convince him. Eventually, it was sometime during the year 1346 [C.E. 1928], and my son had reached a maturer age, when, one day, my son came to me, his eyes welling up with tears. He begged, "Mummy, I have been studying Islam. They believe in one creator. Their religion is the truest one. So I have decided to become a Muslim. Join me!" Upon his request, I, too, began to study the Islamic religion. I went to the Berlin mosque. The imam of the mosque gave me a cordial welcome and told me the essentials of Islam. As he spoke, I saw how right and logical his words were. Like my son, I, too, began to believe in the fact that Islam was the truest religion. First of all, Islam rejected trinity, which I had never been able to understand or accept since my youth. After examining Islam thoroughly, I realized the absurdity of such things as redemption, looking on the pope as an innocent being never prone to sin, baptism and many other rites of the same sort, I rejected all these falsities and embraced Islam.

All my ancestors were fanatical Catholics. I was raised in a Catholic monastery. I grew up totally under Christian education. Yet this sheer religious education that I had received helped me to choose the true religion that would guide me to Allahu ta'ala. For, all the good things that I had been taught throughout my education I found not in Christianity, but in Islam. I am so lucky to have accepted Islam.

Today I am a grandmother. I am so happy because my grandchild has been born as a Muslim. I know that Allahu ta'ala will always guide those people whom He has brought to the right way.

from the book: WHY DID THEY BECOME MUSLIMS?

What else could they want?

Ibrahim ibn Ad’ham (quddisa sirruh) was asked, “Allahu ta’ala declares, ‘O My human creatures! Ask Me! I will accept, I will give’ However, we ask but He does not give?” Hadrat Ibrahim said:

“You entreat Allahu ta’ala, but you do not obey Him. You know His Prophet (sall-Allahu ta’ala ’alaihi wa salam), but you do not follow him. You read the Qur’an al-karim, but you do not follow the way it shows. You utilize Allahu ta’ala’s blessings, but you do not thank Him. You know that Paradise is for those who worship, but you do not make preparations for it. You know that He has created Hell for the disobedient, but you do not fear it. You see what happened to your fathers and grandfathers, but you do not take warning. You do not see your own defects, and you search for defects in others. Such people must be thankful because it does not rain stones on them, because they do not sink into the earth, and because it does not rain fire from the sky! What else could they want? Would not this suffice as a recompense for their prayers?”

Allah will be seen in Paradise

Question: Will the blessings of Jannah (Paradise) be only for the body? Will Believers see Allahu ta’âlâ in the Hereafter and in Paradise?

ANSWERIt is wrong to assume that the blessings of Paradise are only for the body. Once a soul starts making progress in the world, it will carry on its progress even after it leaves the body and also until the Day of Judgement. In Paradise the body will be reconstructed so as to lead an eternal life and will be different from the one on earth. Life after death will start with the reunion of that exalted soul and that physical body modified for eternity. In Paradise the body and the soul will have very different blessings and pleasures. People with loftier spiritual acumen will give priority to the pleasures of the soul in Paradise as well. The pleasures of the soul will be much more different and much more than the enjoyments of the body. Seeing Allahu ta’âlâ in His attribute of Jamâl (Beauty) will be the ultimate and sweetest pleasure for the soul.

Relishing the pleasures in Paradise does not necessarily require having undergone troubles beforehand because the construction of the body in Paradise will not be like the construction of the earthly physical body. The earthly body is created with a construction which is good for a temporary life. It can last approximately one hundred years. The body we will have in Paradise will have a construction which will last forever. The similarity between the two is like the similarity of a person to his or her reflection in the mirror. The human mind cannot visualize the creatures in the Hereafter. The mind can comprehend only the things which it perceives through the sensory organs and can visualize only things which are similar to them. It would be tragically misleading to pass judgement on the pleasures and flavors of Paradise, which we do not know at all, by comparing them to worldly pleasures, which are what we know in the name of enjoyment. It is null and void to draw analogy for the unknown from the known.

It is possible (jâiz) to see Allahu ta’âlâ with the eyes of the head in this world, but no one ever has. During the Mi’râj (The Prophet’s ascension from Jerusalem to the heavens), our master the Prophet went into the next world and saw Him in the next world.

At the gathering place (mahshar) on the Day of Judgement, Allahu ta’âlâ will be seen by disbelievers in His Wrath and Glory, that is, as a Punisher, and by pious Muslims in His Kindness and Beauty, that is, as a great blessing and pleasure. In Paradise He will be seen in His attribute of Jamâl (Beauty).

The Holy Qur’an declares clearly that in the Hereafter Believers will see Allahu ta’âlâ before and after they enter Paradise:
(Faces shining brightly [Believers] on the Day of Resurrection will look at their Rabb.) [Sûrat-ul-Qiyâmah, 22-23]

The purport of a well-known hadîth-i sharîf is as follows:
On a fourteenth night (of the lunar month), our master the Prophet looked at the full moon and said:
(As you see that moon in the sky clearly, you [Believers] will see your Rabb in such a clear manner [in Paradise].) [Bukhârî, Muslim, Ibni Mâja, Tirmudhî, Abû Dawud, Nasâî, Imâm-i Ahmad, Ibni Huzayma, Ibni Hibbân]

Our master Rasûlullah explained the phrase “even more than it” that appears in the 26th verse of Yûnus Sûra, which purports as follows, “For those who do good deeds is Husnâ [Paradise] and even more than it” as ru’yat (seeing Allahu ta’âlâ) and stated, “You will see your Rabb clearly on the Day of Judgement as you see the full moon” (Bukhârî).
Disbelievers will be deprived of the blessing of seeing Allah in His attribute of Jamâl. The purport of an âyah (Qur’anic verse) is as follows:
(They [disbelievers] will be deprived of seeing their Rabb [in His attribute of Jamâl] on that Day.) [Sûrat-ul-Mutaffifîn, 15]

Seeing Allahu ta’âlâ in His attribute of Jamâl is a great favor, which is superior to all favors in Paradise. Disbelievers will be debarred from this great favor because they will not enter Paradise. Disbelievers will see Allahu ta’âlâ in His attribute of Wrath. But this seeing will not be a favor, but a great torment.

Such great scholars as Imâm-i Shâfi’î and Imâm-i Mâlik, who were madhhab owners, said, “This âyah is proof that Believers will see Allahu ta’âlâ in His attribute of Jamâl. If the case were otherwise, it would not have been said, “Disbelievers will not be able to see.” It is not said “no one” but said “Disbelievers will not be able to see.” (Hazin)
The 143rd verse of A’râf Sûra reveals that Mûsâ ‘alaihis-salâm wanted to see Allahu ta’âlâ. This is also another proof that Allahu ta’âlâ will be seen, for it would be out of place, even ignorance, for a prophet to request something impossible from Allahu ta’âlâ. It is contrary to prophethood not to know proper and improper things about Allahu ta’âlâ.

Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî states:
“Ahl as-Sunnah scholars declared unanimously that Allahu ta’âlâ cannot be seen in the world” (Vol. I, Letter 283).

Hadrat Mawlânâ Khâlid-i Baghdâdî states:
“A person who says that he or she has seen Allahu ta’âlâ in this world is a zindîq. The observation of awliyâ’ through the eyes of their hearts is not ru’yat but shuhûd” (I’tiqâd-namâ).

Also, Hadrat Imâm-i Ghazâlî says, “It is not possible to see Allahu ta’âlâ in the world” (Ihyâ).

Since it is impossible to see Allahu ta’âlâ in the world, Hadrat Âisha said, “He who says that the Messenger of Allah saw Allahu ta’âlâ has told a lie” (Bukhârî).

Some exalted scholars, such as Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî, Hadrat Mawlânâ Khâlîd-i Baghdâdî, and Hadrat Sayyid ‘Abdulqâdir-i Ghaylânî, said that our master the Prophet saw Allahu ta’âlâ during the Mi’râj but this seeing was not a worldly seeing but a seeing that took place in the next world.

Sayyid ‘Abdulqâdir-i Ghaylânî, who was a mujtahid scholar in fiqh and hadîth branches and who was one of the greatest of awliyâ’, stated:
“We believe that the Messenger of Allah saw Allahu ta’âlâ with the eyes of the head on the Mi’râj Night and that this seeing was not through his heart or in his dream. For Jâbir bin ‘Abdullah reported that our master the Prophet said, ‘I certainly saw my Rabb’ and ‘I saw my Rabb at Sidratu-l-Muntahâ. It was such that His nûr became manifest for me,’ concerning the 13th and 14th verses of Najm Sûra, which reads (in English), “Verily, he had previously seen Him yet another time near Sidratu’l-Muntahâ.”
Hadrat Ibni Abbas expresses in the tafsîr of Isrâ Sûra that Allahu ta’âlâ showed Himself to His beloved [Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm] on the Mi’râj Night. He further states: “The Messenger of Allah saw Allahu ta’âlâ with worldly eyes twice on the Mi’râj Night. Hullat was for Hadrat Ibrâhîm; kalâm, for Mûsâ ‘alaihis-salâm; and ru’yat, for Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm” (Gunya).
[Hullat means friendship; kalâm, speaking; ru’yat, seeing with the eyes of the head.]

Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî writes the following:
On the Mi’râj Night, that Sarwar [Master of Prophets, Best of Humankind] saw his Rabb not in this world but in the next world because that Sarwar transcended the usual limits of time and place on that night. He found eternity in the past and eternity in the future as a moment. He saw the beginning and the end as a dot. He saw on that night those people who are to enter Paradise thousands of years later in the state that they entered and were living in Paradise. Look! Seeing in that grade is not like seeing in the world. It is a seeing taking place in the next world. To say, “He saw Him in the world,” is a metaphoric expression. Because he went there from this world and saw Him and came back to this world again, it was described as “He saw Him in the world.” (Vol. I, Letter 283)

Allahu ta’âlâ cannot be seen in the world. If this blessing were attainable in this world, Hadrat Mûsâ would have seen Him before anybody else. Our master the Prophet was honored with this good luck during the Mi’râj. Yet it did not happen in this world. He went into Paradise. He saw Him there. That is, he saw Him in the Hereafter. While being in the world, he went out of the world, went into the next world, and saw Him. (Vol. III, Letter 17)
Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî explains the 17th verse of Najm Sûra, which purports, “His eyes did not swerve, nor did they exceed the limit,” as “On the Mi’râj Night, he never took his eyes off Allahu ta’âlâ.” And he also declares that he saw Allahu ta’âlâ in the next world with worldly eyes. (Vol. I, Letter 129)
Hadrat Mawlânâ Khâlîd-i Baghdâdî says:
“The Messenger of Allah saw Allahu ta’âlâ during the Mi’râj. But this seeing was not like seeing in the world” (I’tiqâd-nâma).

Seeing Him in a dream is not seeing Him in the world. Our master the Prophet related in a hadîth-i sharîf written in Al-Jâmi’ As-Saghîr that he saw Allahu ta’âlâ in his dream. There are also those among Islamic scholars who saw Him in their dreams.

Hadrat Imâm-i Nawawî says, “The meaning of the statement ‘The eyes cannot reach Him’ that appears in the 103rd verse of An’âm Sûra is ‘The eyes cannot comprehend or encompass the essence of His Dhât.’ Otherwise, ru’yat is haqq (truth, fact).”

On the basis of 103rd verse of the An’âm Sûra, which reads (in English), “The eyes cannot reach Him,” some of the heretical sects asserted that it was impossible to see Allah in both the world and the Hereafter. However, the Qur’ân al-karîm and ahâdîth make it known that their assertion is wrong. (Baydâwî)
Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî says the following when he explains the 103rd verse of the An’âm Sûra:
“Believers will see Allahu ta’âlâ in the Hereafter and in Paradise” (Vol. III, Letter 44 and 90).

Hadrat Imâm-i A’zâm says:
“Allahu ta’âlâ will be seen in the Hereafter” (Fiqh-i Akbar).

The Qur’anic verse, “He who is blind in the world will be blind in the Hereafter, too,” refers to disbelievers. Believers will see Allahu ta’âlâ in the Hereafter. (Barîqa)
Those who are devoid of îmân in the world will be devoid of ru’yat in the Hereafter. (Madârik)
In the Hereafter Believers will see Allahu ta’âlâ before and after they enter Paradise. (Nuhbat-ul-La’âlî)
Ahl as-Sunnat scholars declare unanimously that Believers will see Allahu ta’âlâ, but disbelievers will not see Him in Hell. There is consensus on that Allahu ta’âlâ will be seen in the Hereafter. Those who disbelieve it argue that:
“There are five conditions to be met for being able to see something: (1) the seen must be in a place; (2) it must be opposite the one who sees it; (3) it must not be too close or too distant; (4) the rays coming out the eyes must reach the seen; (5) it is also a condition that there should be light between the seen and the seer. These conditions, however, cannot be a matter of discussion for Allah, so it is impossible to see Him.”

These conditions are worldly restrictions. The affairs of the next world, however, are nothing like the worldly affairs. A blind person who is in the western part of the world can see an ant that is in the eastern part of the world by Allahu ta’âlâ’s omnipotence. One must not doubt His omnipotence.

Furthermore, there is not an Islamic scholar who says that He will be seen as an object or with delimitation within any given limit.

Hadrat ‘Abdulhaqq-i Dahlawî says:
“As Allahu ta’âlâ is known in the world in an incomprehensible manner, so He will be seen in the Hereafter in an incomprehensible manner” (Takmîl-ul-Îmân).

Also, Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî says:
“In Paradise Believers will see Allahu ta’âlâ without a direction, without a mode, without likening Him to anything, and without finding any reminiscence in Him” (Vol. I, Letter 266).

Answer to a university student

The following is the simplified translation of a letter written as an answer to a university student by Sayyid ’Abdulhakîm Efendi while he was the senior professor of tasawwuf at the Madrasa-tul-mutassisîn (the Faculty of Theology), which was located in the garden of the Sultân Selîm Mosque in Istanbul:
Go out of the area of the omnipotence of Allahu ta’âlâ with all your strength, if you can! But you cannot. Outside of this area is nonexistence. And the realm of nonexistence is also under His omnipotence!

On an occasion, somebody asked [the great Walî] Ibrâhim ibn Ad’ham (quddisa sirruh) for advice. He said: “If you accept six things, nothing you do will harm you. These six things are as follows:

“1. When you mean to commit a sin, do not eat the food He gives! Does it befit you to eat His food and to disobey Him?

“2. When you want to rebel against Him, go out of His Domain! Does it befit you to be in His Domain and to be in rebellion against Him?

“3. When you want to disobey Him, do not sin where He sees you! Sin where He does not see you! It simply is unbecoming to be in His Domain, to eat His food and then to sin where He sees you!

“4. When the Angel of Death comes to take away your soul, ask him to wait till you repent! You cannot turn that angel back! Repent before he comes, while you are able, and you have the chance at this very hour, for the Angel of Death comes unexpectantly!

“5. When the two angels Munkar and Nakîr come to question you in the grave, turn them back! Do not let them test you!”

“It is impossible,” said the person who asked for his Advice. Shaikh Ibrâhîm said, “Then prepare your answers now!

“6. On the Day of Resurrection, when Allahu ta’âlâ orders: ‘Sinners, go to Hell!’ say that you will not!”

The person said, “Nobody will listen to me,” and then repented, and he did not break his repentance till death. There is Divine Effect in the words of Awliyâ’.

Ibrâhîm ibn Ad’ham (quddisa sirruh) was asked, “Allahu ta’âlâ declares, ‘O My human creatures! Ask Me! I will accept, I will give’ However, we ask but He does not give?” Hadrat Ibrâhîm said:

“You entreat Allahu ta’âlâ, but you do not obey Him. You know His Prophet (sall-Allahu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa salam), but you do not follow him. You read the Qur’ân al-karîm, but you do not follow the way it shows. You utilize Allahu ta’âlâ’s blessings, but you do not thank Him. You know that Paradise is for those who worship, but you do not make preparations for it. You know that He has created Hell for the disobedient, but you do not fear it. You see what happened to your fathers and grandfathers, but you do not take warning. You do not see your own defects, and you search for defects in others. Such people must be thankful because it does not rain stones on them, because they do not sink into the earth, and because it does not rain fire from the sky! What else could they want? Would not this suffice as a recompense for their prayers?”

[In the sixtieth âyat of the Sûrat-ul-Mu’min, Allahu ta’âlâ declares, “Pray to Me. I will accept.” There are 5 conditions for a du’a [prayer, supplication] to be accepted: you must be a Muslim; your creed must be in accordance with the creed of Ahl as-Sunnah; you must abstain from committing harâm, especially from eating or drinking harâm things; you must perform the fards, especially the five daily namâzes, Ramadân fasts, and zakât; you must learn the means of the thing for which you implore Allahu ta’âlâ and look for that means. Allahu ta’âlâ creates everything through some means. When one begs Him for something, He sends its means and gives effectivity to that means. Humans use that means and thus obtain what they desire. However, when the awliyâ’ supplicate or when one supplicates Allah through the Awliyâ by making them intercessors, He suspends His law of causation temporarily for the sake of His Awliyâ and gives what is wanted directly as karâmat without any means.]

As you have not come out of nonexistence to this world of existence by yourself, so you cannot go there by yourself. The eyes with which you see, the ears with which you hear, the organs with which you perceive, the intellect with which you think, the hands and feet which you use, all the roads you will pass, all the places you will be, in short, all the members and systems connected with your body and soul, all of them, are Allahu ta’âlâ’s possessions and creatures. You cannot misappropriate anything from Him! He is Hayy and Qayyûm, that is, He sees, knows and hears, and every moment He keeps in existence everything that exists. Even for a moment, He is never unaware of the state of all things, nor does He ever fail to control all of them. He does not let anybody steal His property. He is never incapable of punishing those who disobey His commands. It would not make any difference if, for instance, He had not created any human being on this globe, as He did not on the Moon, on Mars or on other planets; His greatness would not have diminished for this reason.

A hadîth-i qudsî says,
(If [all of] your ancestors and descendants, the young and the old, the alive and the dead, human beings and genies, were like My most devoted, Most obedient human creature, My Greatness would not be increased. Conversely, if you all were like My enemy, who opposes Me and despises My Prophets, My Greatness would not ever decrease. Allahu ta’âlâ is free from needing you; He needs none of you. As for you, in order that you might exist and keep on existing and in everything you do, you always need Him.) [Muslim]

He sends light and heat by means of the sun. He makes the moon reflect waves of light. Out of black soil, He creates many vivid-colored, sweet-scented flowers and beautiful appearance. From the breeze, He pours out the breath which gives relief to hearts. From the stars that are at a distance of many years’ way, He makes it rain haloes on the earth, out of which you came about and under which you will be buried in the end. Through many vibrations, He creates effectivity in particles. [On the one hand, by turning dirt, which you dislike and are disgusted with, into soil by means of His smallest, most trifling creatures (germs), He turns this soil, which you tread on, into a white-of-egg-like substance, protein, the constructive matter of your body, through the factory of plants. On the other hand, by combining the water in the earth with the suffocating gases in the air, again in the factory of plants and by storing in them the energy which He sends from the sky, He creates starchy and sugary substances and oils, the source of energy, that will operate the machine of your body.] Thus, in plants, which He causes to grow in fields, deserts, mountains, in rills, and in animals, that He enables to live on the earth and under the seas, He prepares food which will go into your stomach and nourish you. By establishing chemistry laboratories in your lungs, He isolates poison from your blood and puts the useful matter of oxygen in its place.

By establishing physics laboratories in your brain, the information coming from your organs of perception, through your nerves, are taken there and, as He has placed a magnetic power into the stone of iron, so with the effect of intelligence, which He has placed into your brain and other immaterial powers, which He has placed into your heart, various plans, commands and actions are prepared simultaneously through His creation.

By making your heart work through very complex mechanisms, which you consider very extraordinary, He makes rivers of blood flow in your blood vessels. He weaves many a dumbfounding net of roads through your nerves. He conceals stocks in your muscles. By means of many other phenomena, He equips and completes your body. He establishes and fits all of these in an order and harmony to which you give such names as the laws of physics, chemical reactions or biological events. He places centers of power within you. He projects the necessary precautions into your soul and conscience. He also gifts a treasure called the intellect, a gauge named reason, a means named thought, and a key which you call will. In order that you might use each of these correctly, He gives you sweet enticements and bitter warnings, hints, inclinations and goals. And as a greater blessing, He clearly sends instructions through faithful and dependable prophets.

In conclusion, operating the machine of your body and giving you the necessary instructions, He hands it over to you so that you may use and utilize it conveniently. He does all these things not because He needs you, your will or help but to make you happy by giving you a distinguished position and authority among His creatures. If, instead of leaving it to your hands, your feet and all of your limbs, which you can use according to your wish, He used them without you knowing it, as is the case with the beating of your heart, the expansion of your lungs and the circulation of your blood, if He controlled you by force, with reflex actions, with paralyzed hands or feet, if each of your actions was a vibration and every movement was a twitch, could you claim to possess yourself and the things He has lent you? If He made you move under the influence of external powers, like the lifeless, or irrational and senseless exterior and interior powers, like pack animals, and if He put into your mouth a morsel of the blessings—which you take in large amounts to your houses now—could you take and eat that morsel?

Do you think of your state before and after you were born? Where were you, in what were you, during the creation of this globe, on which you live, eat and drink, go about, amuse and divert yourself. On this planet, you have discovered the means that are remedies for your diseases and the ways of defending yourself against the attacks of your enemies and the harms of wild and poisonous animals. Where were you while the stones and soil of this globe were being baked on fires in the ovens of creation and while its water and air were being distilled in the chemistry laboratories of the Omnipotence?

Have you ever thought: Where were you while the lands, which you claim to be yours today, were gliding away from the seas, while mountains, rivers, plateaus and hills were being laid down? Where and how were you while, with Allahu ta’âlâ’s omnipotence, the salty waters of the seas evaporated and formed clouds in the sky, while the rains, falling from those clouds, took substances [of nourishment prepared by lightning and waves of power and energy in the sky] into the motes of burnt, dried soil, and while these substances, stirred [by the influence of the rays of light and heat], vibrated and nourished the cells of life?

Today, they say that you have descended from monkeys, and you believe it. When they say that Allahu ta’âlâ created you, gave you life, will cause you to die and that He alone makes everything, you don’t want to believe!

O man! What are you? What were you in the veins of your father? At one time, in the veins of your father, whom you insult with such terms as imbecile, old-fashion and retrogressive, you used to make him feel uncomfortable. Who made you move then, and why did you disturb him? If he had wished, he could have thrown you into a rubbish-heap, but he did not. He hid you like a deposit. While he was so kind as to entrust you to a chaste woman, where you would be nourished unsparingly, and struggled to protect you for a long time, why do you insult your father by holding him responsible for your inconveniences, instead of reserving a share of thanks for him and your Creator for the blessings you were given? Moreover, why do you throw your own deposit into the rubbish-heaps dirtied by everybody?

When people around you follow your wishes and desires, you believe that you are creating everything with your intellect, knowledge, science, power and strength, and that you are inventing all accomplishments. You forget about the task which Allahu ta’âlâ has assigned to you, and you refrain from that high official duty and attempt to claim ownership of the deposit. You want to regard and introduce yourself as the owner and dominant one. On the other hand, when those around you do not follow your desires, when the external forces seem to overcome you, you can see inside you nothing but regret and frustration, incapacity and despair. You claim that you own no will or option, that you are under the slavery of everything, that you are like a machine, automatic but with a broken spring. You understand fate not as al-’ilm al-mutaqaddim (the eternal knowledge) but as al-jabr al-mutahakkim (the despotic compulsion). While saying this, you are not unaware of the fact that your mouth is not like a record-player.

When your favorite meals do not come to your table, you hold out your hand and tongue and eat the dry bread which you are able to obtain, though you are free to eat or not and die of hunger. You eat the dry morsels that are not crammed into your mouth by force! You eat but also think that you are deprived of doing everything. You do not think that your hand and mouth have moved under your own control, and it has not been caused by involuntary movements. But, though you possess your self-control even at such times as this, when you have to, you deem yourself compelled, a slave, in short, nothing against external effects.

O man! Which of these are you? You claim to be “all” when you thrive well and when success and victory are with you, and “nothing” under the force of fate when the affairs turn out bad and contrary to your wishes? Are you “everything” or are you “nothing”?

O mankind! O man who is floating on deficiency and stupidity! You are neither “all” nor “nothing”! At any rate, you are something between these two. Yes, you are far from being inventive, dominant and victorious over everything. But you have an irrefutable freedom and option and a wish and choice rendering you authoritative. Each of you is an official undertaking individual and collective duties under the command of Allahu ta’âlâ, who is the Unequalled Authority and Absolute and Unconditional Owner without a partner! You can do your duties under the rules and regulations established by Him, within the limits of your ranks assigned by Him, within your responsibilities and means which He has created and entrusted to you as deposits. He alone is the Sole Commander, the Unique Ruler and the Single Owner. There is no other commander besides Him, nor a ruler resembling Him, nor a partner with Him. Unless the aims and purposes which you lay claim to and rush upon so zealously, the struggles which you set about, the glories which you take pride in, and your accomplishments are for Him, they are false and vain. Then why do you give a place to lies in your hearts and turn towards polytheism? Why do you not obey the commands of Allahu ta’âlâ, the Unequalled Ruler, and know Him as the Creator? But instead you run after thousands of imaginary idols and get drowned in distress? Whatever you run towards, isn’t it an idea, an option or a belief that drags you on? Why do you look for that ideal belief in someone other than Allahu ta’âlâ? Why do you not direct your belief to Allahu ta’âlâ and place your option in this belief and in the deeds which are the results of this belief?

When you know Allahu ta’âlâ as the Absolute Ruler and work without violating this trust and responsibility, indeed, you will love one another and be attached brothers! What will not the Mercy of Allahu ta’âlâ create from this brotherhood? Every favor you gain is the result of a brotherhood produced by the belief in Allahu ta’âlâ and of His mercy and benevolence. And every trouble or calamity you experience is the result of fury, resentment and hostility, which are infused in you as a retribution for not paying attention to Allahu ta’âlâ, for cruelty and injustice. And this is the result of attempting to make laws by yourselves or by following others who will compete with Allahu ta’âlâ, in short, of not believing only in Allahu ta’âlâ with a real belief in His Oneness.

Briefly, the chief reason for the suffering of humanity is the crime of polytheism committed against Allahu ta’âlâ. The darkness of corruption that has surrounded the horizons of humanity, despite the improvements in knowledge and science, is the result of polytheism, disbelief, lack of belief in Allahu ta’âlâ’s Oneness and lack of mutual love. Unless they love one another, however hard human beings may try, they will not escape sufferings and disasters. And, unless they know Allahu ta’âlâ, love Him, regard Him as the Absolute Ruler and worship Him, men cannot love one another. Whatever might be thought of other than Allahu ta’âlâ and the path of Allahu ta’âlâ, all of them are paths leading to divisiveness and wretchedness. Can’t you see that those who attend the mosque love one another and those who haunt the tavern fight?

Whatever you give your heart to, or whomever you worship besides Allahu ta’âlâ, each of them can be opposed and equated. And all of them are under the omnipotence and will of Allahu ta’âlâ. He is the Single Ruler who does not have a partner, match, like, opposite or equivalent, and He alone is the One whose equivalent is non-valid, false, a nonexistent equivalent, the existence of which is impossible.

Whatever you follow, worship, love or regard as the absolute ruler besides Allahu ta’âlâ, be it known that it will burn together with you. (Endless Bliss)