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Further more . . .
The Islamic Unity is the most important issue which concerns all Muslims in accordance with their degrees and social positions. Because The Islamic Unity is not a political issue only.
This Unity starts from the bonds and solidarity between two Muslims due to their brotherhood-in-faith and reaches to the cooperation and mutual assistance among all Muslims throughout the entire Islamic World.
Our Religion, our nation, our countries can only be protected from all kinds of dangers and enemies through the enormous Power which will be generated by the religious brotherhood and solidarity of Muslims and this will serve to the general Global Peace.
That is the reason why the enemies who cannot resist against this material and spiritual Power, try to destroy the Unity and the Solidarity of the Islamic World in order to break this power into parts, using all types of trickery and stratagems.
Therefore, we must stay vigilant against the corruptive incitements of such defeatists and learn the meaning and the contents and the importance of
the Islamic Brotherhood which was commanded very seriously by our Religion and we must display zeal to act in accordance with this Brotherhood.
The following verse of the Quran is attracting our attention to the fact that great mischiefs and disasters will happen if mutual assistance and solidarity amongst the Muslims are not achieved. :
"And the unbelievers are allies (protectors) of each other. Unless you do this (protect each other), there would be Tumult and Oppression on Earth, and great Mischief." (Quran, 8:73)
The Religion of Islam has brought important duties and rules which result in Mutual Assistance. For example, the
Pilgrimage (Hajj) is of utmost importance for developing the Spirit of Mutual Assistance and the Unity of Muslims.
THE WISDOM OF THE PILGRIMAGE
A truthful dream (Ru'ya as-Saadiqa) of Al-Ustaz Imam Bediuzzaman gave good-news for the consequences of the First World War, but came to silence about the Pilgrimage regretfully instead of good-news. Imam Bediuzzaman mentions about the Silence of the Dream as follows:
"The dream came to silence at the Pilgrimage. Because, the negligence of the Pilgrimage and the Wisdom in it has attracted , not the calamity, but the (Divine) Wrath and Compulsion (Qahr). And its penalty did not help the expiation of sins, but rather made our sins excessive.
It is the negligence of the High Politics of Islam and the extensive Social Benefits within the Pilgrimage, which comprehends especially the Unity of Opinions through acquaintanceship, and Cooperation through mutual assistance, that negligence paved the way for Enemies to employ millions of Muslims against Muslims.
Look there ! The
Indian killed his Father, supposing him an enemy, and is now wailing sitting next to him...
Look here! The
Tatar and the
Caucasian understood that the person they helped others to kill was their helpless Mother, when it is too late. They are crying now at her feet.
Look ! The
Arab killed his Hero Brother by mistake, and he even cannot cry being perplexed.
Look ! The
African killed his brother unknowingly, now he is raising a cry of lament.
Here !
The World of Islam ! They unintentionally and heedlessly helped others to kill their Flag-bearer Son (the Ottoman Turk), now they are tearing out their hair like mothers in sighs and wailings.
Millions of Muslims have been forced to travel long distances over the World under the enemy flag which is entirely evil, since they did not take a rush departure for the journey of Pilgrimage which is entirely beneficial. (Occurances Improvisations Indications, 52-54)
Hence a great wisdom in Pilgrimage (Hajj) ; it is a kind of Supreme Consultation (Assembly) to be held once a year, in order to protect and perpetuate the independence and security of the World of Islam.
THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF TURKS AND ARABS
Imam Bediuzzaman (R.A.) tells us that the utmost responsibility of this great duty is upon the shoulders of Ottomans (Turks) and Arabs :
Lawful freedom (Hurriyet -ul Shar'iya) and lawful consultation (Mashwarat- ul Mashruah) have demonstrated the sovereignty of our true nationhood. And the foundation and spirit of our true nationhood is Islam. And 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 -
Arab and
Turk, who are like the shell and citadel of the nationhood of Islam, are the sentries of that sacred citadel.
Thus, through the bond of this sacred nationhood, all the people of Islam are like a single tribe.
Like the members of a tribe, the 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. (The Sermon of Damascus, 54)
The prescription for a glorious though unfortunate Continent, an illustrious though hapless State, a noble though ownerless people, is Islamic Unity. (The Letters, 542)
Al Ustaz Bediuzzaman (R.A.) said in an article he published in 1909:
"The greatest obligatory duty in this time is to work for the Islamic Unity. The aim and objective of the Unity are to vibrate such a long Luminous (blessed) Chain that connects the Islamic Centers and Mosques/Masjids and Milieus which are branched out in subdivisions and thereby to awake those who are tied to that Chain and to lead them towards the Path of Development with desire and command of conscience." (Damascus Sermon, 90)
Imam Bediuzzaman was explaining the vital importance of the Islamic Unity in his sermon he delivered in 1911 in the Mosque of Umayyad in Damascus, which was later published as a book named "The Damascus Sermon" :
- Oh Brothers who are listening to these words of mine here in the Umayyad Mosque! And Oh Muslim brothers in the mosque of the World of Islam forty to fifty years later! Do not make apologies, saying, "We do not do any harm, but also we do not 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 Nationhood have done much damage and injustice to yourselves. (The Damascus Sermon, 55)
- And especially, Oh Arabs who are great ,esteemed, and awakened or to be awaikened! First and foremost, I address you with these words. For you were our teachers and leaders, and the teachers and leaders of all the tribes of Islam, and you were the fighters of Islam. It was later that the mighty Turkish nation fully assisted you in that sacred duty .
- Therefore, due to laziness your sin is great. And your good acts and deeds are also great and exalted. And in particular we await with great expectation from Divine Mercy that the different Arab tribes entering into a most exalted position in forty to fifty years' time, like that of the United States of America, and your being successful like in the past in establishing Islamic rule in half the globe, or rather in most of it, which now remains in captivity.If some fearful calamity or a doomsday do not soon erupt, the coming generation shall see this, inshaallah. (The Damascus Sermon, 57)
HOW TO ACHIEVE PEACE AND SECURITY IN THE WORLD
Imam Bediuzzaman stated that the sole means against Anarchy was the Islamic Unity, in a letter of warning to the Government Officials during the rule of the Democrat Party in Turkey (1950s) :
"Communism, Free-Masonry, Atheism and Irreligion are directly resulting in Anarchism. Against these terrible forces of destruction, only and solely The Islamic Unity surrounding the Truths of the Quran can endure. And It is the Only Way to save this Land from the occupation of Foreigners and this Nation from falling into Anarchy and the means to save the Mankind from these dangers." (Emirdag Letters II, 24)
Congratulating the Feast of His students, Imam Bediuzzaman welcomes the positive developments towards the Islamic Cooperation and Unity after 1950s (Regional Cooperations between Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan and Islamic Conferences of the Heads of States) :
"My Dear Truthful Brothers ! We congratulate your Blessed Bairam Feast with all our Souls.
InshaAllah you live long enough to see the Great Feast of the World of Islam too. There are many signs and indications that the Quran Al Hakeem -which is the source of the Holy Constitution of the United Republics of Islam- will rule completely in the Future and will bring a True Feast to the Mankind." (Emirdag Letters II, 76)
"We congratulate ...the Great Feast of Islam on account of that
the Islamic Unity -which is starting to develop in Asia and Africa for the moment and making 400 million Muslims brothers to each other and Assistant both materially and spiritually- is under establishment within the newly-formed Islamic States and that the Sacred Laws of the Quran Al Hakeem are becoming the Constitutions of those new Islamic States." (Emirdag Letters II, 101)
"Yes, the ill-treatments and oppressions of those Foreigners like wild beasts, has accelerated the currents of Freedom, Independence and the Islamic Unity in the World of Islam. Consequently they have resulted in the formation of Independent Islamic States.
InshaAllahu Taala, the United Republics of Islam will also come into existence and Islam will rule in sovereignty all over the world. We strongly hope and ask this from the Divine Mercy." (Conference, 54)
In a letter he wrote in 1945, Imam Bediuzzaman warned against the great dangers and harms to the Islamic Unity and Brotherhood due to the Muslim World feeling an aversion for the Muslim Turkish nation if the Truths of the Quran are not advocated in Turkey instead of European Civilization.:
"The Turkish Nation which rejoiced the World of Islam with its heroism for a thousand years and protected the Unity of Muslims and served as a great means to save the World of Humanity from Absolute Infidelity and Corruption and the Brethren of those who are Turkified !
Should you not stand now as protector of the Quran and the Truths of Belief heroically as in the Old Times and advocate the Truths of the Quran and Belief directly, instead of propagating the (Western) Civilization at the harm of the Religion,
I am informing you - patriots - and I can prove with definitive evidence that :
The World of Islam will show enmity and a dreadful hatred, instead of Love and Brotherhood, towards the Turkish Nation which is its Heroic Brother and the Commander and this Turkish Nation will be defeated by Anarchy (and Terror) covered by Atheism which is now trying to destroy the World of Islam. The citadel and the Glorious Army of the Muslim World, this Turkish Nation will be divided into pieces and will be invaded by the Dreadful Dragon coming out of the North East.
Yes, indeed this Hero Nation can only endure
against the two external dreadful currents with the Strength of the Quran. This Nation -which has been blended and united with the Truth of Islam and found all its Honour in the past within the Circle of Islam- can only stop the Current (
Communism ) which is coming forcefully by using the Absolute Infidelity (Atheism), Absolute Despotism, Absolute Dissoluteness and by offering the Wealth of the Honest People to the Vagabond. The patriots and the nationalists of this Nation can stop that Current, inshaAllah, by accepting as the foundational rule and the guiding principle the Truths of the Quran which are like a great artery for that combined united Nationhood.
The Second Current : This one has become succesful to a degree up until now, through a Strategy which involves accusing the Strong Islamic Centrality in this country with Irreligion in order to warm itself to its Colonies in the Muslim World, and thereby to bond them completely; and disconnecting the Spiritual ties of the World of Islam and transforming their brotherhood with this Nation (Turks) into enmity.
If this current acts in reason, it will have much benefits and might keep its great victories to a degree if it changes this dreadful Strategy and flatters the Religion of Islam in this Center just like it flattered the other parts of the Muslim World. And so this Country and this People can escape from a terrible disaster....
...Besides, a Muslim cannot be compared to the people of the other nations (religions). If he gives up his Religion, he would become an Anarchist. He would not accept to live under any restriction or law. He cannot be administered by any educational or supervisional methods but absolute despotism and total bribery." (Emirdag Letters I, 218-219)
THE TWO WORDLY DUTIES OF THE RISAALE-I NOOR
Therefore, we , through Risaale-i Noor (The Treatises of Light), have been struggling to ward off the two greatest dangers of this country and its future and in fact we have achieved this partly and proven this with many evidences at the Court :
The first danger:
Anarchy which is trying to enter into this country forcefully from abroad. We build a wall before this.
The second one:
The hatred of the 350 million Muslims. Our duty is to turn this hatred into Brotherhood and thereby to ensure the greatest point of support for this Country. (Emirdag Letters I, 128)
"Yes, Those who are attacking the Risaale-i Noor (*) behind the scene are those who are covertly establishing the Atheism by making the Politics an instrument for Irreligion in order to destroy
the favorable inclination and Love and Brotherhood of the Muslim World which are the Greatest Power of the People in this Country and to turn them into hatred. They deceived the government and the Justice twice and claimed that Risaale-i Noor and its Students may use the Religion as an instrument for politics, and they may act harmfully for the general security."
"O Malicious Ones ! Although the Risaale-i Noor is not concerned with the Politics, but since it destroys the Absolute Infidelity (Atheism), it also destroys and rejects in principles the Anarchism which is the foundations of the Atheism and the Absolute Despotism which is the roof of the Atheism." (The Rays, 281)
(*) Risaale-i Noor is the name of the Collection of the Quranic Commentary authored by Imam Bediuzzaman.
REFRAINING FROM INTERNAL HOSTILITIES
It grieved Imam Bediuzzaman (R.A.) to see the disagreements and conflicts continuing, even if partly, in the World of Islam despite the fact that there were many reasons that would lead to the Islamic Unity in the face of the ongoing Global circumstances.:
"A regrettable social condition and an awesome disease affecting the life of society, fit to be wept over by the heart of Islam:
To forget and abandon internal enmities when foreign enemies appear and attack is a demand of social welfare recognized and enacted even by the most primitive peoples. What then ails those who claim to be serving the Islamic community that at a time when numberless enemies are taking up positions to attack, one after the other, they fail to forget their petty enmities, and instead prepare the ground for the enemies' attacks?
It is disgraceful savagery, and treason committed against the social life of Islam." (The Letters, 318)
EMPHASIZING THE COOPERATION WITH THE WORLD OF ISLAM
RATHER THAN EUROPE
Üstad Bediüzzaman was recommending to the Statesmen and the Government that it is a necessity that they must consider seriously the establishment of the Islamic Union , rather than turning towards Europe :
"Since, these strange moral bribes have been given in return for the Policies of the Foreigners and their insignificant temporary aids, because of the weakness and lack of Power due to lack of this Alliance. And there is a meaning in Power as if the brotherhood of the four hundred million brothers and the path of the billions of our ancestors have not been considered seriously....They give bribes in the form of high salaries (to the state officials) thinking that thereby they are obliged to obtain Strength so that the security and their policies would not be harmed, through so much wasteful expenditure without considering the poverty of the nation.
The present Politicians in this Country must certainly and definitely give a very big gift and a harmless bribe to the four hundred million brothers who are equivalent to
the future United Republics of the Islamic World, for the benefits of the Country and the nation and this Muslim State, a bribe ten times as much as the political and moral bribe they gave to the West and the Foreigners.
And that bribe which is acceptable, necessary, very beneficial, lawful and obligatory, is : to take as the Guiding Principle and the Code of Laws of the following :
Indeed the believers are brothers. (Quran 49-10)
And hold fast all together to the bond of Allah, and be not divided among yourselves...(Q 3-103)
Every soul is accountable for itself, no bearer of a burden bears the burden of another..(Q 6-164)
Do not engage in disputes with one another, lest you lose courage and become insignificant and your Power depart...(Q 8-46)
which are the foundations of the Islamic Mutual-Assistance and a Divine Rule and the bond and the Holy Constitution of the Gift of the Quran." (Emirdag Letters-II, 83)
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE NATIONALISM
There are some prerequisites for the realisation of the Islamic Unity. One of these is to base on the principle of Islamic Nationality and to refrain from Negative Racism and Tribalism which are the root-causes of Disunion and Disintegration. Al-Ustaz Bediuzzaman authored many articles regarding this matter for warning and guidance, some of which are taken herebelow:
O mankind! We created you from a single pair of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other. (Quran, 49-13)
That is,
"I created you as peoples, nations, and tribes, so that you should know one another and the relations between you in social life, and assist one another; not so that you should regard each other as strangers, refusing to acknowledge one another, and nurturing hostility and enmity,"
This Topic contains seven Matters.
FIRST MATTER
Since the elevated truth expressed by the above verse concerns social life, I have been compelled to write it in the tongue, not of the New Said, who wants to withdraw from social life, but of the Old Said, who was involved in the social life of Islam; it is written with the intention of serving the Qur'an of Mighty Stature and forming a shield against the unjust attacks against it.
SECOND MATTER
In order to explain the principle of
"knowing and assisting each other" which the verse indicates, we say this:
An army is divided into divisions, the divisions into regiments, the regiments lnto battallions, companies, and then into squads, so that every soldier may know his many different connections and their related duties; then the members of the army may truly perform a general duty governed by
the principle of mutual assistance, and their social life be guarded against the attacks of the enemy. This arrangement is not so that divided and split up, one company should compete with another, one battalion be hostile to another, and one division act in opposition to another.
In just the same way, Islamic Society as a whole is a huge army which has been divided into tribes and groups. But it has a thousand and one aspects of unity.
Its groups' Creator is one and the same, their Provider is one and the same, their Prophet is one and the same, their qibla is one and the same, their Book is one and the same, their country is one and the same; alI the same, a thousand things are one and the same.
Thus, this many things being one and the same requires brotherhood, love, and unity. That is to say, being divided into groups and tribes is for mutual acquaintance and mutual assistance, not for antipathy and mutual hostility.
THlRD MATTER
The idea of nationalism has greatly advanced in this century.
The cunning European tyrants in particular awaken this Idea among Muslims in negative fashion, so that they may divide them and devour them.
Furthermore, in nationalism is a thrill of the soul, a heedless pleasure, an inauspicious power. For this reason those occupied with social life at this time cannot be told to give up the idea of nationalism. However, nationalism is of two kinds. One is negative, inauspicious, and harmful; it is nourished by devouring others, persists through hostility to others, and is aware of what it is doing. It is the cause of enmity and disturbance.
It is because of this that the Hadith states:
Islam has abrogated what preceded it, and put an end to the Tribalism of the Ignorance State. (Bukhari-Ahkam 4, Imara 36,37; Abu Dawood, Sunna 5; Tirmidhi-Jihad 28, Ibn-i Majah-Jihad 39)
And the Qur'an decrees:
While the unbelievers got up in their hearts, heat and cant - the heat and cant of Ignorance - God sent down His tranquillity to His Prophet and to the believers, and made them stick close to the command of self- restraint; and well were they entitled to it and worthly of it . And God has full knowledge of all things.(Quran 48-26)
Thus, the above Hadith and Verse reject in definite terms any negative nationalism and racialism. For the positive, sacred Islamic nationhood leave no need for them.
What race is there that has three hundred and fifty million (now 1.2 billion) members? And which racialism can gain for those who subscribe to it so many brothers - and eternal brothers - in place of Islam? Negative nationalism has caused untold harm in history.
I n S h o r t : Due to their combining some ideas of nationalism with their politics,
the Umayyads vexed the World of Islam, and in addition drew many calamities on themselves. Also, the European nations have advanced the idea of racialism much this century; the ghastly events of
the Great War showed how harmful for mankind is negative nationalism, as well as the perpetual and ill-omened enmity of the French and Germans.
And with us,
in the Second Constitutional Period (1908-1909), - like the "many tongues" at the destruction of the Tower of Babel, known as the "ramification of peoples," which resulted in their being divided and scattered - various refugee societies known as "Clubs" were formed, chiefly by
the Armenians and Greeks, due to the idea of negative nationalism, which were the cause of division. And from that time to now, the state of those who have been devoured by the Europeans due to those Clubs, and of those made wretched by them, has demonstrated the harm of negative nationalism.
And as for the present, when the peoples and tribes of Islam are most in need of one another, arid each is more appressed and more poverty-stricken than the others, and they are crushed beneath European domination, to regard one another as strangers due to the idea of nationalism, and to consider one another to be enemies, is such a calamity that it cannot be described.
It is quite simply a lunacy like turning one's back on dreadful serpents so as not be bitten by a mosquito and struggling with the mosquito - due to the idea of nationalism, to attach no importance to
the European nations, which are like huge dragons, at a time when with their insatiable greed their grasping hands are open, indeed, to in effect help them and to nurture enmity against fellow-citizens in the Eastern Provinces or brother Muslims to the South, and to take up positions opposed to them, is extremely detrimental and dangerous.
In any event there are no enemies among those to the South so that they should be confronted. What comes from the South is the light of the Qur'an; the Light of Islam came from there; it is present among us, and is found everywhere.
Thus, to be hostile towards those fellow Muslims is indirectly harmful to Islam and the Qur' an. And hostility towards Islam and the Qur' an is hostility of a sort towards the lives in this world and in the Hereafter of all those fellow-citizens.
To think one can serve their social life in the name of patriotism while destroying the foundations of their two lives, is not patriotism but stupidity!
FOURTH MATTER
Positive nationalism arises from an inner need of social life and is the cause of mutual assistance and solidarity; it ensures a beneficial strength; it is a means for further strengthening Islamic brotherhood.
This idea of positive nationalism must serve Islam, it must be its citadel and armour; it must not take the place of it. For there is a hundredfold brotherhood within the brotherhood of Islam which persists in the Intermediate Realm and World of Eternity. So however strong national brotherhood is, it may be like a veil to it. But to establish it in place of Islamic brotherhood is a foolish crime like replacing the treasure of diamonds within the citadel with the citadel's stones, and throwing the diamonds away.
And so, O Sons of this Land, who are the people of the Qur'an! Challenging the whole world, you have proclaimed the Qur'an as its standard-bearers, not for six hundred years, but for a thousand years since the time of the Abbasids. You have made your nationhood the citadel to the Qur'an and Islam. You have silenced the whole world and repulsed awesome attacks, confirming the verse:
Soon Allah will produce a people whom He will love as they will love Him, humble towards the believers, and stern towards the unbelivers, and will fight in the way of God.(Quran 5-54)
Now you must refrain from succumbing to the stratagems of Europe and the dissemblers who imitate them, thus confirming the meaning at the beginning of this Verse; you must be frightened of doing such a thing!
A Noteworthy Situation:
Being the most numerous of the Islamic peoples, wherever throughout the world there are Turks, they are Muslims, They have not become divided into Muslims and non-Muslims like the other peoples. Wherever there are Turks, they are Muslims. Turks who have abandoned Islam or who are not Muslims, are also no longer Turkish. Like
the Hungarians. Even among small peoples there are both Muslims and non-Muslims.
O my Turkish brother! You watch out in particular! Your nationhood has fused with Islam and may not be separated from it. If you do separate them, you wiIl be finished! All your glorious deeds of the past are recorded in the book of Islam's deeds. Since these glorious deeds cannot be effaced from the face of the earth by any power, don't you efface them from your heart due to the evil suggestions and devices of Satan!
FIFTH MATTER
Embracing the idea of Nationalism, the peoples awakening in Asia are imitating Europe precisely in every respect, and on the way sacrificing many of their sacred matters.
However, every nation requires a dress suitable to its particular stature. Even if the material is the same, the style has to be different. A woman cannot be dressed in a gendarme's uniform. And like an elderly hoja (Muslim teacher) cannot be cIothed in the dress of a tango-dancer, blind imitation also very often makes people into laughing-stocks. This is so for the following reasons:
F i r s t l y : If Europe is a shop, a barracks, Asia is like an arable field and a mosque. A shopkeeper can go to the bafl, but a peasant cannot. The situation of a barracks and that of a mosque cannot be the same.
Moreover,
the appearance of most of the prophets in Asia, and the emergence of the majority of philosophers in Europe, is a sign, an indication, of Pre-eternal Divine Determining that what will arouse the Asian peoples and cause them to progress and to govern, are Religion and the Heart. As for philosophy, it should assist religion and the heart, not take its place.
S e c o n d l y : It is a grievous error to compare the religions of Islam and Christianity, and to be indifferent towards religion like Europe. Firstly, Europe has its religion. The fact that European (Western) leaders like foremost
Wilson, Lloyd George, and
Venizelos, are bigoted in their religion like priests, testifies that Europe has its religion, and is even bigoted in one respect.
T h i r d l y :
To compare Islam with Christianity is a false comparison and wrong.
For when it has been bigoted in its religion, Europe has not been civilized; it has become civilized on giving up its bigotry.
Furthermore,
religion caused three hundred years of war amongst them. And since it was the means of despotic tyrants crushing the common people, the poor, and thinkers who were in their power, they all felt a temporary disgust at religion.
However, in Islam, history testifies that apart from one occasion, religion has not been the cause of internal war.
Also, whenever the people of Islam have adhered in earnest to their religion, they have advanced proportionately, achieving great progress. Witness to this is the greatest master of Europe,
the Islamic state of Andalusia.
And whenever the Islamic community has been slack in religion, it has fallen into wretchedness, and declined.
Furthermore, since Islam has protected the poor and the common people with compassionate measures like enjoining the payment of Zakat (Obligatory Tax) and prohibiting usury and interest; and since, in accordance with phrases like,
So will they not think, * So will they not reason, * So will they not ponder on it,
It has called on and encouraged reason and knowledge and protected scholars, Islam has always been the stronghold and place of recourse of the poor and the people of Learning. There is therefore no reason to be vexed at Islam.
The underlying reason and wisdom of Islam's differing in various respects from Christianity and other religions is this:
The basis of Islam is the pure affirmation of Divine Unity; it attributes no actual effect to causes and intermediaries, affording them no value in regard to creation and position. Christianity, however, since it has accepted the idea of Jesus being the Son of God, it gives some value to causes and intermediaries; it cannot break egotism. It quite simply ascribes a manifestation of Divine Dominicality to its saints and great ones, thus confirming the verse:
They take their priests and their anchorites to be their lords in derogation of God.(Quran 9-31)
It is because of this that, together with maintaining their pride and egotism, those Christians who occupy the highest worldly ranks are religious and bigoted, like
the former American president, Wilson.
In Islam, the religion of pure Divine Unity, those in the highest worldIy positions either give up their egotism and pride, or they give up their religion to an extent. For this reason, some are neglectful, or even irreligious.
SIXTH MATTER
To those who exceed the bounds in ideas of Negative Nationalism and Racialism we say this:
F i r s t l y : The face of the world and especially this country of ours (Ottoman State) has since ancient times seen numerous migrations and changes of population. In addition, after the Centre of IsIamic Rule was set up in this country, other peoples were drawn to it, and settled here.
As a consequence,
only when the Preserved Tablet is revealed will the races truly be distinguished from each other.
So, to construct movements and patriotism on the idea of true race is both meaningless and extremely harmful. It is for this reason that one of the Leaders of the Nationalists and those who support Racialism, who is very neglectful toward reIigion, was compelled to say:
"If language and religion are the same, the nation is the same."
Since that is so, what will be taken into consideration will be relations of language, religion, and country, not true race. If the three are the same, that certainly is a strong nation. And if one is absent, it is still within the bounds of nationalism.
S e c o n d l y : I shall describe as examples, two of the hundreds of advantages the Sacred Nationhood of Islam has gained for the sociaI life of the sons of this land:
T h e F i r s t : What enabled this Islamic state, while only numbering twenty or thirty million, to preserve its life and existence in the face of all the large states of Europe was the following idea, which arose from the light of the Qur'an in this State's Army:
"If I die, I shall be a martyr; and if I kill, I shall be a ghazi."
They met death with complete eagerness and longing, laughing in its face. They always made Europe tremble.
What in the world can be shown that will give rise to such elevated self-sacrifice in the spirit of a simple-hearted soldier? What patriotism can be instilled in its place? What can make him willingly sacrifice his life and all his world ?
T h e S e c o n d : Whenever
the dragons (large states) of Europe have dealt a blow at this Islamic state, they have made three hundred and fifty million Muslims weep and cry out. So in order not to make them weep and suffer, those
Colonialists have drawn back their hands; they have lowered them, even while raising them to strike.
What power can be established in place of this constant moral support which in no way may be belittled? Let them show it! Yes,
that huge moral (Spiritual) Strength must not be offended by Negative Nationalism and independent patriotism.
SEVENTH MATTER
We say to those who display excessive patriotism in negative Nationalism:
If you truly love this nation and are compassionate towards it, be patriotic in such a way that the compassion is directed towards the rnajority of them. For if you serve the temporary heedless social life of the minority, who are in no need of compassion, in a way that is the reverse of compassion for the majority, that is not patriotism.
For patriotic works performed with the idea of negative racialism may be temporarily beneficial for two out of eight. They receive the compassion arising from that patriotism, of which they are not worthy.
While the remaining six out of eight are either elderly, or sick, or afflicted with tribulations, or are children, or are weak, or are pious people thinking seriously of the Hereafter; these people want a light, a solace, compassion, in the face of the life of the Intermediate Realm (Barzah after death) and the Hereafter, towards which they are turned, rather than worldly life;
they are in need of a blessed, patriotic hand.
What patriotism would permit the extinguishing of their light, the destruction of their solace?
Alas! Compassion for the nation, Self-sacrifice for the nation, where are they?
Hope in Divine Mercy must not be lost. For Almighty Allah will not cause to perish through temporary set-backs the Magnificent Army and Mighty Community of the People of this Land, whom He has employed for a thousand years in the service of the Qur,an, appointing them as its standard-bearer. He will once again kindle that Light and cause them to continue their duty.
He (the Turkish Armed Forces)
will not strike with his Sword at his own foot, he will strike at his foe's. He will make it servant to the Quran. He will rejoice the World of Islam that sheds tears.
(The Letters, 26th Letter, Bediuzzaman)
THE IMPORTANCE OF SHURA (COLLECTIVE CONSULTATION)
The second requirement for the realization of the Islamic Unity is a genuine and virtuous Collective Consultation within the framework of Sharia.
The Consultation which will be carried out by the gathering of
the Genuine Scholars and Spiritual Guides in the World of Islam and will be based on the Methods of Sharia, can become a legitimate and competent Authority as in the meaning of
the Consensus of the Nation's Scholars (Al-Ijmaa al-Ummah) for all the Muslims. This Council determines the rules of activity and organization of the Consultation and the Islamic Union.
The Islamic States which unite around the Holy Constitution of the Quran as explained above, are to form the
"United Republics of Islam" as designated by Imam Bediuzzaman (R.A.).
Expressing the importance of the Council of Consultation and the top-necessity of its establishment, Bediuzzaman was explaining the properties of the required Council at the Office of the Sheikh-ul-Islam of the Ottoman Empire. In Sunuhat, published in
1919, he discussed the setting-up of a Learned Body made up of specialists in different fields and based on the principle of Consultation, to tackle the problems facing not only the Ottoman Empire, but the Islamic World as well.
Having stated that the Sultanate and Caliphate were inseparable, and that the Office of Grand Vizier represented the former and the Office of Sheikh-ul-Islam the latter, he pointed out that in modern, complex society and in the face of the myriad problems facing the Islamic World, it was beyond the capacity of a single individual to perform the duty of Sheikh-ul-Islam effectively. A voice of such strength and authority was required at that time that it could only be supplied by a Learned Council such as one described above. He suggested that with the addition of further Ulama (Scholars), both Ottoman and from other parts of the Islamic World, an up-graded Assembly of Islamic Scholars (Dar al Hikmat-al Islamiya) could form its basis.
"We are not living in the Old Times. In old times, the Ruler was a single person. The Mufti (the official expounder of the Holy Law) of that Ruler was also an individual person. He was able to correct and modify His (the Sultan's) Opinions.
Now the present is the time of community. The Ruler should be a Collective Personality which arose from the spirit of the community, a little specialist, a little deaf (not influenced easily) and resistant, and the Councils represent that Spirit...
The individual , even if he is a Genius, can be regarded as a mosquito as compared to the Collective Personality of the community....The word of a Sheikh-ul-Islam who rely upon such a Consultative Assembly would either cause the greatest genius to abandon his Jurisprudential interpretation (Ijtihaad), or restrict his opinion to himself.
Every competent person, though, can interprete the Law (in detail matters). However, his Jurisprudential Opinion , in order to be a guiding principle, must be met with approval by a kind of Consensus of the Scholars or the confirmation of the public....
In the Illustrious Holy Law, the Consensus (Ijmaa) and the Public Opinion/Referendum (Ray ul-Jumhur) are always the sources of the Fatwa...
The natural members of the Consultative Council will be the Religious Leaders and Directors of the Departments in the Office of the Sheikh-ul-Islam and select Scholars of the Islamic World - fifteen or twenty of them for now - who had earned the trust and confidence of the Muslims due to their piousness and good moral qualities...(Sunuhat, 31)
The establishment of
the Supreme Council of Islam will be based upon the Islamic Caliphate (Khilafat) which will be supported by the Islamic Unity. When Bediuzzaman put forth the proposal of the Consultative Council mentioned above, the Caliphate and the Office of the Sheikh-ul-Islam were existing in Istanbul, that is, the foundation was ready for a Supreme Council of Islam. Only the expansion and the reinforcement over the World of Islam was needed then.. Whereas,
now, such a Council can be formed within the framework of the Islamic Union which should be realized by the United Republics of Islam.
Imam Bediuzzaman stated the necessity of the Consultation in one of his works, as follows:
- The key to Muslims' happiness in Islamic social life is the collective consultation enjoined by the Shari'a (Al Mashwarat-al Shar'iyya). The verse,
- Whose rule is consultation among themselves. [Qur'an 42:38]
- orders consultation as a fundamental principle. Just as the consultation of the ages and centuries that mankind has practised by means of history, a conjunction of ideas, formed the basis of the progress and sciences of all mankind, so too onereason for the backwardness of Asia, the largest continent, was the failure to practise that true consultation.
- The key and discloser of the continent of Asia and its future is collective consultation. That is to say, just as individuals should consult one another, so must nations and continents also practise consultation. For it is the freedom resulting fromthe Shari'a, which is born of the consultation enjoined by the Shari'a, 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 Muslims. It is that lawful freedom which, adorned with the customs and observances of the Shari'a, will cast out the evils of dissolute Western civilization. The freedom born of the Shari'a, which arises frombelief, 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 slave 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 Shari'a is a bounty of Almighty God through the manifestation of His Names All-Merciful and All Compassionate; it is a characteristic of belief.(The Sermon of Damascus, 60)
- If it is asked: Why do you attach this much importance to Consultation (Shuraa)? And how can the life and progress of mankind, in particular Asia, and particularly Islam, come about through Consultation?
- We would answer: As is explained in the Twenty-First Flash of the Risale-i Nur, the Treatise on Sincerity, because just consultation results in sincerity and solidarity, three 'alifs' become one hundred and eleven. Thus, three men betweenwhom 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 men. Man's needs are endless and his enemies innumerable, and his strength and capital insignificant, and the number of destructive, harmful humans who have become like monsters through lack of religion is increasing. Just as, in the face of those endless enemies and innumerable needs, man's personal life can continue onlythrough the point of support and point of assistance that proceed from belief,so, too, can his social life endure only through the Collective Consultationenjoined by the Shari'a, that again proceeds from the truths of belief. It is only thus can he halt those enemies and open up a way to secure those needs.(The Damascus Sermon, 62)
REFRAINING FROM DISPUTES AMONG THE RELIGIOUS GROUPS
The third condition for the realization of the Islamic Unity is that:
The Religious Groups and Communities which are the point of support of the Islamic Unity, must take the Principles and the Essentials of the Religion as the foundation of the Cooperation and must not dispute over the detail issues of the Religion and of their Paths.
According to Bediuzzaman, it is essential to unite on the basic principles of the Sharia:
"Question:
What is the solution that will correct the disunity and disagreements in the Islamic World?
The Answer: Firstly, to look at the High Purposes agreed unanimously. For, Our Allah is one and the same, our Prophet is the same, our Quran is one and the same, we all are in unanimity.
The details outside of the Essentials of the Religion or differences in modes of interpretation or ways of perception cannot upset this Unity and Union, and cannot be preferable...If "Al Hubbu Fillah" (the Love in the way of God) is taken as a guiding principle and if the Love of Truth governs all our actions (which Time is also helping much), then disagreements and disputes can be channelled towards a sound direction." (Sunuhat Tuluat Isharat, 83)
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". (The Letters, 550)
When you know your way and opinions to be true, you have the right to say, "My way is right and the best."
But you do not have the right to say, "Only my way is right." According to the sense of "The eye of contentment is too dim to perceive faults; it is the eye of anger that exhibits all vice;" your unjust view and distorted opinion cannot be the all-decisive judge and cannot condemn the belief of another as invalid.(The Letters, 314)
"Question: What do you say about the dreadful disputes amongst the Scholars of the Islamic World? What is your Opinion?
The Answer: I reflect upon the Islamic World and consider it as a disorderly or out-of-order Parliament and a Council of Consultation. We hear and read in the Holy Law that the Opinion of the Learned is such and such and the fatwa is based on this etc. Therefore,
the opinion in this Parliament is similar to the majority.
The assertions other than the Public Opinion (Majority Vote), if they are not empty of truth and essence, should be left to the opinions of the competent individuals....(Sunuhat Tuluat Isharat, 71)
"Question: We wonder if this Supreme Majlis of Islam may ever get into order in this bewildered Global City in the Universe ?
The Answer: I have great faith and confidence in that : The entire Islamic World will become like a Sacred Parliament within the Nation of HumanBeings and the Tribe of Adam.
Ancestors and descendants, looking at each other over the centuries, will form a Council of Consultation amongst each other. However, the first group - the old fathers - will listen silently and praisefully..." (The Debates-Munazarat, 73)
"Obstinacy and partisanship are extremely harmful in social life.
If it is said : "There is a Hadith which says:
"Difference among my people is an instance of Divine Mercy", and difference requires partisanship.
The sickness of partisanship also delivers the oppressed common people from the oppressor elite, for if the elite of a town or village join together, they will destroy the oppressed common people. If there is partisanship, the oppressed may seek refuge with one of the parties and thus save himself.
It is also from the confrontation of opinions and the contradiction of views that truth becomes apparent in its full measure."
The Answer:
To the first part of the question, we say:
The difference intended in the Hadith is a positive difference.
That is, each party strives to promote and diffuse its own belief; it does not seek to tear down and destroy that of the other, but rather to improve and reform it. Negative difference is rejected by the Hadith, for it aims in partisan and hostile fashion at mutual destruction, and those who are at each other's throats cannot act positively.
To the second part of the question, we say: If partisanship is in the name of truth, it can become a refuge for those seeking their rights. But as for the partisanship obtaining now, biased and self-centred, it can only be a refuge for the unjust and a point of support for them. For if a devil comes to a man engaged in biased partisanship, encourages him in his ideas and takes his side, that man will call down God's blessings on the Devil. But if the opposing side is joined by a man of angelic nature, then he will - may God protect us! - go so far as to invoke curses upon him.
To the third part of the question, we say: If the confrontation of views takes place in the name of justice and for the sake of truth, then the difference concerns only means; there is unity with respect to aim and basic purpose. Such a difference makes manifest every aspect of the truth and serves justice and truth. But what emerges from a confrontation of views that is partisan and biased, and takes place for the sake of a tyrannical, evil-commanding soul, that is based on egotism and fame-seeking-what emerges from this is not the "flash of truth" but the fire of dissension. Unity of aim is necessary, but opposing views of this kind can never find a point of convergence anywhere on earth. Since they do not differ for the sake of the truth, they multiply ad infinitum, and give rise to divergences that can never be reconciled. The present status of the World is a witness (proof) of this... ,
I n S h o r t : If one does not make of the exalted rules,
"Love for the sake of Allah, dislike for the sake of Allah, judgement for the sake of Allah" the guiding principles of one's conduct, dispute and discord will result.
If one does not say,
"dislike for the sake of God, judgement for the sake of God" and take due account of those principles, one's attempts to do justice will result in injustice. (The Letters, 317)
According to a noble Hadith of the Prophet (PBUH}, noxious and awesome persons like Sufyan (Anti-Islam) and the Dajjal (Anti-Christ) will come to lead the hypocrites and atheists at the end of time, and exploiting the greed, discord and hatred amongst the Muslims and Mankind, they will need only a small force to reduce humanity to anarchy and the vast world of Islam to slavery.
O people of faith! If you do not wish to enter a humiliating condition of slavery, come to your senses and enter and take refuge in the citadel of:
"Indeed the believers are brothers..."
to defend yourselves against those oppressors who would exploit your differences!
Otherwise you will be able neither to protect your lives nor to defend your rights. It is evident that if two champions are wrestling with each other, even a child can beat them. If two mountains are balanced in the scales, even a small stone can disturb their equilibrium and cause one to rise and the other to fall.
So O people of belief! Your strength is reduced to nothing as a result of your passions and biased partisanships, and you can be defeated by the slightest forces. If you have any interest in your social solidarity, then make of the exalted principle of
"The believers are together like a well-founded building, one part of which supports the other" your guiding principle in life!
Then you will be delivered from humiliation in this world and wretchedness in the Hereafter. (The Letters, 319)
THE FAMILY OF THE PROPHET
AND MAHDI
In the narrations are various different prophecies about the M
In the narrations of Hadith are various different prophecies about the Mahdi (May Allah be pleased with Him), who is one of the signs of the End of Time (the last two centuries of the World) and will be from the Family of the Prophet (Ahl-ul Bayt). In fact, some scholars and saints stated long ago that he had appeared..
God knows best what is right, one interpretation of these various narrations is this:
The Great Mahdi will have numerous functions. He will carry out duties in the world of politics, the world of religion, the world of government, and in the many spheres of the world of jihad.
Similarly, since every century at a time of despair people are in need of a sort of Mahdi to strengthen their morale or for the possibility of a Mahdi appearing at that time to assist them, through Divine mercy, every age or perhaps every century a sort of Mahdi has appeared from among the Prophet's (PBUH) descendants, and preserved his forefather's Sharia and revived his Sunna.
The narrations about the Mahdi are various because Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) saw persons who would perform some of the Great Mahdi's works; for example, the Abbasid Mahdi in the world of politics, and Gawth al-Azam (Shaykh AbdulQadir Gilani), Shah Naqshband, the four spiritual poles (Ahmad al Rufai, Ahmad al Badawi, Ibrahim al Dassuqi, Abul Hasan al Shazali), and Twelve Imams in the world of religion. For this reason some of the people of reality said that he had already appeared.. Anyway, since this matter has been explained in the Risale-i Nur, we refer discussion of it to that and here only say this:
There is no family in the world so mutually supportive, nor a tribe in such agreement, nor so enlightened a community or society as the family, tribe, community and society of the Prophet's Family.
Yes, the Prophet's Family has raised hundreds of sacred heroes, and produced thousands of spiritual leaders of the Umma, and has been nurtured with the leaven of the reality of the Qur'an and the light of belief and honour of Islam, and has thus been perfected. It is therefore totally reasonable that through reviving the Sharia of Muhammad (PBUH) and his Sunna and the reality of the Qur'an at the end of time, and proclaiming them and putting them into practice, they should display to the world the perfect justice and veracity of the Great Mahdi, their Commander-in-Chief. This is also both necessary and essential and demanded by the principles of human society. (The Rays, 111-112)
The extraordinary compassion the Most Noble Prophet (PBUH) showed towards
Hasan and
Husain in their childhood and the great importance he gave them was not only due to love arising from natural kindness and family feeling,
it was rather because they were each the tip of a luminous thread of the function of prophethood, and the source, sample, and index of a community of great consequence which would receive the legacy of prophethood.
Indeed, the Most Noble Prophet (PBUH) used to take
Hasan (May God be pleased with him) tenderly into his arms and kiss his head for the sake of the luminous, blessed,
Mahdi-like descendents who would spring from him, like
Shah Geylani-
Ghawth al-A'zam, who would be the inheritors of prophethood and would bear the sacred Shari'a of Muhammed. He saw with the eye of prophethood the sacred service and duty they would perform in the future, and approved and applauded them. He kissed
Hasan's head as a sign of approval and encouragement.
Also, he embraced
Husain and showed him great importance and tenderness on account of the illustrious Imams like
Zaynu'l-Abidin and
Ja'far al-Sadiq, and the numerous
Mahdi-like luminous persons, true inheritors of prophethood, who would spring from his effulgent line, and for the sake of the religion of Islam and functions of prophethood.
Since with his heart which had
knowledge of the Unseen, the Prophet Muhammed's (PBUH) luminous vision and future-penetrating eye observed from the Era of Bliss in this world the Assembly of the Resurrection on the side of post-eternity, and from the earth saw Paradise, and watched events which had occurred since the time of Adam and were concealed in the dark veils of the past, and even received the vision of the All-Glorious One,
he surely saw the spiritual poles and the Imams, who were the inheritors of prophethood, and the Mahdis, who would follow on in the lines of Hasan and Husain. And for sure he would kiss their heads in the name of all of them. Yes,
Shah Geylani has a large part in his kissing
Hasan's head.
According to one interpretation, the meaning of the verse:
Say: I ask of you no recompense save love of my close kin..(Q 42-23)
is that
"the Most Noble Prophet (PBUH) wants no reward for carrying out the duty of prophethood; he wants only love for his family."
If it is said : "According to this meaning, it seems there is an advantage to be gained from a family relationship. Whereas, according to the meaning of:
The most honoured of you in the sight of God is the most righteous of you..(Q 49-13)
it is not in regard to family relationships that prophethood functions, but in regard to closeness to God,"
T h e A n s w e r :
With his vision which penetrated the Unseen, the Most Noble Prophet (PBUH) saw that his Family would become like a light-giving tree within the world of Islam. The overwhelming majority of those who would perform the duty of guides instructing every level of the World of Islam in human attainment and perfection would emerge from his Family. He divined that his Community's prayer for his Family in the final section of the prescribed prayers: "O God, grant blessings to our master Muhammed and to the Family of our master Muhammed, as You granted blessings to Abraham and to the Family of Abraham; indeed, You are Worthy of Praise, Most Exalted" would be accepted. That is to say, like the vast majority of the luminous guides among the people of Abraham were prophets of the family and line of Abraham, he saw in his Community also,
the spiritual poles of the Family of Muhammed performing the great duties of Islam, and in most of the paths and Sufi orders, like the prophets of Israel. Therefore, being commanded to say:
Say: I ask of you no recompense save love of my close kin, he wanted his Community to love his Family.
There are numerous narrations corroborating this fact. He repeatedly decreed:
"I leave you two things. If you adhere to them, you will find salvation: one is God's Book, the other is my Family." (Tirmidhi-Manaqib 31, Musnad-III 14,17,26).
For those who were the source and guardians of the Prophet's Practices, and were charged with complying with them in every respect, were his Family.
Thus, this is why this truth was made known in Hadiths under the heading of following the Book and the Prophet's Practices. That is to say, what was required from the Family of the Prophet in respect of the function of prophethood were the Practices of the Prophet.
Just as someone who abandoned the Prophet's Practices could not truly be a member of his Family, so too such a person could not be a true friend to them.
Also, the reason he desired his Community to gather round his Family was that, with God's permission, he knew his Family were going to become very numerous with the passing of time, and that Islam was going to become weak. Therefore an extremely strong and numerous mutually supportive group of people was necessary so that it could be the means to and centre for the spiritual and moral progress of the World of Islam. With Divine permission, he thought of this, and desired that his Community should gather round his Family.
Indeed, even if the members of the Prophet's Family were not greatly in advance of others in matters of belief and faith, they were still greatly ahead of them in regard to submission, partiality, and partisanship. For they were followers of Islam by nature, birth, and temperament. Even if natural partiality is weak and unworthy, or unjustifiable even, it cannot be given up. So, would it be possible for a person to give up his support for a truth to which all his forefathers -who were most strong, most constant and true, and most illustrious- had been bound, and through which they had won glory, and for which they had sacrificed their lives, a truth he felt clearly to be so fundamental and natural? Thus, due to this
intense partiality and
natural submission, the Family of the Prophet accepted the least hint in favour of the religion of Islam as though it was a powerful proof. For they were partial by nature. Others become partial after some powerful proof. (The Flashes, 37,38)
There are, for example, varying narrations concerning the Mahdi, each with different details and descriptions. However, as was explained in a section of the Twenty-Fourth Word, Allah's Messenger (SAW) gave the
tidings, relying on revelation, of a Mahdi who would come in every century to preserve the faith of the Muslims, help them not to fall into despair in the face of disasters, and link the hearts of the believers with the people of the Prophet's Family (RA) that constitute a luminous chain in the world of Islam.
Similar to the Great Mahdi (AS) who is promised to come at the end of time, one or more Mahdis from the Prophet's Family (RA), have been found in every century. Indeed, one of them, was among the Abbasid Caliphs who were the descendants of the Prophet's Family, and had many of the characteristics of the Great Mahdi. The reason, then, for
the apparent variance between the different narrations (concerning Mahdis) is that the qualities of the Great Mahdi (AS) were confused with those of the Revivalists (mujeddids) who precede him. (The Letters, 126)
Out of His perfect mercy, every time the Muslim community has been corrupted, Almighty God has sent a Reformer (Muslih), or a Regenerator (Mujaddid), or a Vicegerent of High Standing, or a Supreme Spiritual Pole (Qutb ul-A'zam), or a Perfect Guide, or blessed persons resembling a Mahdi, as a mark of His protecting the Sharia of Islam until eternity; they have removed the corruption, reformed the nation, and preserved the religion of Muhammed (PBUH).
Since His custom has proceeded in this way, certainly, at the time of the greatest corruption at the end of time, He will send a luminous person as both the greatest Interpreter of the Law, and the greatest Renewer, and Ruler, and the Mahdi, and as guide, and spiritual pole, and that person will be from the Family of the Prophet.
Almighty God, Who fills and empties the world between the heavens and earth with clouds, and in an instant stills the storms of the sea, and in an hour in spring creates samples of the summer and in an hour in summer creates a winter storm, such an All-Powerful One of Glory can also scatter the darkness of the World of Islam by means of the Mahdi. And He has promised this, and certainly He will carry out His promise.
If considered from the point of view of Divine Power, it is most easy. And if it is thought of from the point of view of causes and Divine Wisdom, it is again so reasonable and necessary that thinkers have asserted that even if it had not been narrated from the Bringer of Sure News (s.a.w.), it still should have been. And it will be.
It is like this: All praise be to God, the prayer, "
O God, grant blessings to our master Muhammed and to the Family of our master Muhammed, as you granted blessings to Abraham and to the Family of Abraham, in all the world; indeed You are worthy of all praise,
exalted!", which is repeated by all the Muslim community five times every day in all the obligatory prayers, has self-evidently been accepted.
For like the Family of Abraham (Upon whom be peace),
the Family of Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace) have assumed such a position that they stand as commanders at the head of all blessed chains in the assemblies of all the regions of the world in all centuries. (Just one of them is
Sayyed Ahmad al Sanusi, who commands millions of followers. Another is
Sayyed Idris, who commands more than one hundred thousand. Another Sayyed like
Sayyed Yahya commands hundreds of thousands of men. And so on. Just as among the individuals of this tribe of Sayyeds there are numerous outward commanders, so too there are the Heroes of Spiritual Heroes, like
Sayyed AbdulQadir Gilani,
Sayyed Abul Hasan al-Shazali, and
Sayyed Ahmad al Badawi.).
And they are so numerous that all the commanders together form a mighty army. If they took on physical form and through their solidarity were formed into a division, if they awakened the religion of Islam and bound it together in Unity, which would be like a sacred nationhood, no nation's army could withstand them. Thus,
that numerous and powerful army is the Family of the Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace), the most select army of the Mahdi.
Yes, today in the world there is no family distinguished by such high honour and elevated qualities and nobility in its descendents, in unbroken succession and well-documented genealogy, which is as powerful and important as the line of Sayyeds of the Family of the Prophet. Since early times it is they who have been at the heads of all the groups of the people of truth, and they who have been the renowned leaders of the people of perfection. And now it is a blessed line whose numbers exceed millions. Vigilant and circumspect, their hearts full of belief and love of the Prophet, they are distinguished by the honour of their world-renowned lineage.
Momentous events which will awaken and arouse that sacred force within a vast community such as that shall occur... Certainly, the elevated ardour in that huge force will surge up and the Mahdi shall come to lead it, driving it to the way of truth and reality. We await from the Divine law and Divine mercy that it should be such - and its being such, like we await the coming of spring after winter; and we are right to await it...
The Mahdi's Luminous Community will repair the destruction of the innovative regime of the secret society of the Sufyan (Anti-Islam), and will restore the Prophet's glorious Sunna. That is to say, the secret society of the Sufyan will try to destroy the Shari'a of Muhammed (PBUH) in the World of Islam with the intention of denying his Prophethood, and will be killed and routed by the Miraculous Immaterial Sword of the Mahdi's Community.
Moreover, in the world of humanity, the secret society of the
Dajjal (Anti-Christ) will overturn civilization and all mankind's sacred matters, with the intention of denying the Godhead. And a zealous and self-sacrificing community known as a Christian community but worthy of being called "Muslim Christians," will work to unite the true religion of Jesus (Upon whom be peace) with the reality of Islam, and will kill and rout that society of the Dajjal (Anti-Christ), thus saving humanity from
Atheism. (The Letters, 514, 515)
TO DISPEL ANY FEARS
(The Volkan Newspaper-Istanbul, No.90, 31.March.1909)
I shall reply to nine groundless fears voiced about the 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."
Secodly: Since in Constitutionalism (Republic or Democracy in later texts) sovereignty belongs to the nation, the nation's 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 Ittihad-i Muhammadi (Muhammadan Union) which is
Islamic Unity, is the unity between all believers, whether potential or actual. It does not refer to the Society in Istanbul or Anatolia.
The 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 Madina; 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 Society's eternal press organ are all Islamic books, and its constant one is foremost the Quran and all Quranic Commentaries (and at this time Risale-i Nur, which is a Quranic Commentary), as well as all moderate religious papers and journals whose aim is to uphold the Word of Allah.
Its membership consists of all believers, and its Leader is the Glory of the World (Peace be upon Him).
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 Allah, and its way is to wage the "greater Jihad" with one's own soul, and to guide others.
Ninety-nine percent of the endeavors 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 this Union ?
The Answer: Those who consider this to be a possibility are themselves perturbed. For it is refuted by the Europeans praising Islam in lectures (by Bismarck, Carlyle and others) and describing its elevatedness, in the very centers of their bigotry.
Also it is not they who are our enemies...What has in reality brought us this low is
our opposition to the Sharia, as a result of
ignorance, thus preventing us from upholding the Word of Allah...and
poverty and its fruits of immorality and bad conduct...and
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 inrespect 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 (S.A.W.), 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-commanding 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 woman's 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:
First Condition: That they preserve the Freedom which is in accordance with the Sharia and public order.
Second Condition: That they act out of love, and do not smear other groups for self-advantage. If any are in error, they should refer it to the Religious Authorities, who collectively constitute the Mufti of the Ummah.
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 be 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 to blind imitation and causes people to say: "What is it to me? Let others do the thinking..." (The Damascus Sermon, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, 83)
- The prescription for a sick age, an ailing nation, an ill member, is to follow the Quran.
- The prescription for a Glorious though unfortunate Continent, an Illustrious though hapless State, a Noble though ownerless People, is Islamic Unity.
- The Revival of Religion is the Revival of the Nation. The Life of Religion is the Light of Life.
- As Time grows older, the Quran grows younger...Its signs become apparent.
- Anyone who is capable may make interpretations of the Law for his own self; but he cannot make the Law.
- Calling others to accept an idea is dependent on acceptance by the Ulama (Scholars); otherwise it is innovation, and should be rejected.
- Since early days, this Islamic State (Ottoman Empire) took on itself the upholding of the Word of Allah, the maintenance of Independence, and Jihad for Islam - an obligation which 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.
So its disaster now will be made up for by the future Prosperity and Freedom of the Islamic World. For this calamity has speeded up in wondrous fashion the growth of Islamic Brotherhood, the leaven of our lives. (The Seeds of Reality, The Letters, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, 547)
(This Compilation -The Islamic Unity- has been prepared by the
Ittihad Strategic Research Board - Istanbul - Turkey. First published in Turkish in 1980, Second published in 1992. Published in Arabic 1992. English Translation published in March 1999.)
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