Death is a gift to the Believer

Dear readers,

Death is an absolute phenomenon will happen to every living being. It is impossible to run away from it. We should not be unwary from it. Death is the beginning of a new life. Afterlife is a new divine order where the divine justice shall be fulfilled. Allah notifies us through His Book and Prophet that all of us will be present on Judgment Day in this new order and He warns us:

"Assuredly it is thy Lord Who will gather them together."  [Hijr, 25]

"Therefore, by thy Lord, We will, of a surety, call them to account,  For all their deeds."  [Hijr, 92-93]

“Closer and closer to mankind comes their Reckoning: yet they heed not and they turn away.”  [Anbiyaa, 1]

For this reason, people who have at least some faith in his heart for Allah and afterlife should not be unwary. He should not ruin his eternal life in the afterlife by being connected with this temporary, mundane life. It is ordered in the hadith that:

"Those who have a love for the world will harm his afterlife, and those who have a love for afterlife will harm his life in this temporary world. Prefer the eternal one to the temporary!”  [Bayhaqi]

# Obey Allah, not your nafs (ego, desires)

Earthly desires are the primary reason for troubles in the world as well as in afterlife. One should try to obey the divine provisions that will bring goodness at the world and afterlife, instead of his nafs.

"A smart man worships instead of following his desires. A fool follows his nafs and then expects Allah’s mercy”. [Tirmidhi]

It is not an easy affair to get rid of the desires of the nafs. This can only be achieved by putting the love of Allah in your heart, instead of the love for the world. The methods of this are riyazat (avoiding the sins), mudjahada (worshipping and praying) and zikr (remembering Allah).

One should not hate death by thinking it is a bad event. If we have such feelings in us, it means that we have a love for the world by heart. If the case is so, one should want to reach Allah. It is ordered in the hadith:

 “Allah will not wish to reach those people who do not wish to reach Allah”  [Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi].

This hatred will vanish once a man puts away the love for world and instead have love for his Creator. Thus, he will perceive death as a bridge to the Loved one.

"Death is a precious gift to the Believer. [Taberani]

"Death is a bridge that unites friends and lovers to one another”

Dear readers; mankind should pursue a life in accordance with Allah’s will.

# Live by the sword, die by the sword

Rasulullah (s.a.w.) ordered:

"You shall die according to the way you live; you shall be judged according to the way you die”

However, living according to the will of Allah is not an easy affair for us. We are incapable servants who have nafs. We cannot pursue a purified life without committing any sins. That is why, we are always bashful before our Rab. But this shall not lead us into hopelessness. It is ordered in a Quran verse:

"and never give up hope of Allah's Soothing Mercy: truly no one despairs of Allah's Soothing Mercy, except those who have no faith."  [Yusuf, 87]

No matter how sinful, a man should never give up hope from the mercy of Allah. Even if he has committed murder, adultery, shirk (to associate partners with Allah),  kufr (unbelief) etc… Many of the companions of the Prophet were polytheists, but then they repented, pledged and declared their loyalty to Allah and his Prophet, therefore became the best man of the world. It is ordered in a verse from Quran:

"Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." [Zumar, 53].

It is ordered in the hadith:

"A Muslim who remembers Allah once in his lifetime or is fearful towards him shall get out of Hell.”  [Tirmidhi]

Thus, those who have even little faith in their hearts should never ever give up hope from the grace of Allah. Only heretics abandon hope from the Divine Grace. However, one should not underestimate his sins, he should repent immediately, not delay repentance, refresh his faith with Kalima-i-Shahada and try to die faithful. It is ordered in the hadiths:

"Die as a Muslim and think no more about it!”  [Daylami]

“The believer sees the angels before dying and does not feel any pain. His soul gets out easily and reaches blessings.”  [Bazzar]

May Allah grant us a death with faith.

# Death is a divine fate

Dear readers,

The one who is eternal is only Allah. Every living thing is mortal. Almighty Allah is the one who determines how trillions of facts in this universe emerge, endure and perish and it is He who determines the way how they will happen. All these are connected to a divine program (destiny). The birth, life and death of each living being, like other facts, happen within the framework of this destiny. In short, death is a divine fate. There is no creature on this universe whose death does not come from the permission of Allah. Every living thing will taste death one day.

"Nor can a soul die except by Allah's leave, the term being fixed as by writing." [Al-i Imran, 145]

"Every soul shall have a taste of death" [Anbiyaa, 35]

Therefore death is inevitable for all beings. The time of death is up to Allah (swt):

"To every People is a term appointed: when their term is reached, not an hour can they cause delay, nor (an hour) can they advance (it in anticipation)."  [Araf, 34]

"We have decreed Death to be your common lot."  [Waqia, 60]

Given the fact that death is inevitable and its timing is determined by Allah, then we all should be prepared for it. A sane, logical person does not ignore a certain fact that is to come eventually.

Dear readers; responsibilities of man towards Allah starts since he reaches puberty. We call this “responsibility” since we regard it as a kulfat (inconvenience), but in fact this is not a responsibility; this is a mukallafiah (obligation, undertaking). Mukallafiah is an Arabic term meaning to accept the offer (taklif). What is offered (recommended) to us is to believe in His existence and accept His teachings. Namely, it is a religious training. It is "the correct way of living" that shall bring us goodness. We shall appreciate it… It is a burden for those who follow his own desires, it is a kulfat (trouble, inconvenience).  The root of the Arabic term “taklif (offer)” and “kulfat” come from the same root. Interesting, isn’t it? One of them represents the perspective of a sincere believer, and the other represents the perspective of a person whose religion is weak.

# The offer should not be regarded as a burden

Dear readers; let us not regard the offers of Allah that are meant for our goodness as a burden. Allah (swt) eases the burdens.

"But whoever believes, and works righteousness,- he shall have a goodly reward, and easy will be his task as we order it by Our command."  [Kahf, 88]

Life is a process that starts from birth and moves through death swiftly. The moment in which we shall encounter death is unknown. Only Allah determines it. We should always be ready for it. Being prepared for death is possible only by always following Sirat al-Mustaqim (the straight path). But who can live like that? We are weak servants who have nafs. Under this circumstance, is it easy to live our religion in a completely correct way? That is why, we all need to evaluate this situation and reform ourselves accordingly.

We are responsible for teaching our children before they reach puberty that they should follow the straight path which means we should teach them not to lie, gossip, cheat, steal, waste time and our belongings as well as teach them to be away from bad habits like alcohol, cigarettes, drugs; teach them not to be dedicated to earthly belongings; teach them to fast, perform salat (prayer), give zakat (alms, charity) if we are wealthy, serve for the good of the people and most importantly to do all these things only “for Allah’s sake”. We should raise our children as the servants of Allah. If we do not do so and comply with all their wishes and make them the servants of their “own selves”; then we turn them into servants of money, wealth and the servants of other servants;  if that happens, it means we prepare their troubles both in the world and in afterlife.

But, the door to repent is always open to sinful believers. It is ordered in a Quran verse:

"and pray for His Forgiveness: for He is Oft- Returning (in forgiveness)." [Nasr, 3]

But a person should be able to dare for repentance and for asking for forgiveness! Spiritual wounds that are made out of mistakes do not heal easily. Mankind holds this spiritual pain throughout his life in his conscience. For this reason, we should try to pursue a life in accordance with Allah’s will.

Be entrusted to Allah.

Believing in afterlife is mandatory for a complete faith

Dear readers,

One of the religious obligations for an absolute faith is to have faith in afterlife. It is ordered in a Qur'an verse:

"Any who denieth Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messenger, and the Day of Judgment, hath gone far, far astray." [Nisaa, 136].

In the famous hadith that every Muslim knows by heart, which is known as a "amantu", it is ordered:

"I believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His Prophets, in the Last Day, and that Fate, good and bad is given by Allah, and the life after death.”  [Bukharî, Muslim, Nasai]

Even so, many people have doubts about afterlife, including our Muslim brothers. Now when you read my lines, you may ask “How can you know, did you see through their hearts?” I shall answer this with a word from a dear friend of mine: “Would there be any evil in this world if people completely had faith in afterlife?”

# Allah and afterlife are emphasized together

Probably as a result of this weakness to believe in afterlife, Allah (swt) has mentioned about it along with His name in his Book.

"This instruction is for all amongst you, who believe in Allah and the Last Day." [Baqarah, 232]

"Of the people there are some who say: "We believe in Allah and the Last Day;" but they do not (really) believe." [Baqarah, 8]

"any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord;"  [Baqarah, 62]

There are hundreds of verses from the Qur'an that mentions afterlife and life in the afterlife. I checked the index and tables of a Qur'an translation and encountered nearly 160 verses mentioning afterlife. And yet, why is this weakness to believe in afterlife? The primary reason for this, I assume, is not knowing Allah enough and not having a complete faith in Him with all His attributes.

Allah (swt) is an absolute being. His existence is known through reason and descriptions of himself in His books. He cannot be seen with the seeing mechanisms of living organisms in this material world that He created. Because these mechanisms are only designed to perceive in this material world. All the visible and invisible worlds He created are relative and ephemeral beings that endure only through His creation, management, development, initiation and termination. He can sustain some things forever, upon his will.

"He is the First and the Last, the Evident and the Hidden:" [Hadid, 3]

#  Is the Creator incapable of recreating the similar creatures?

Allah (swt) is the creator and owner of everything. He is the one who gives power and energy to every being. He knows every hidden and apparent thing. He is the only sovereign of the universe. He does not resemble any of His creatures. He owns all the perfect attributes. He is far from deficiencies and flaws. He has an absolute power to do everything. He is never tired of creation. He does not sleep or doze off.  If he wishes, he can destroy everything and recreate them.

"Allah is the Creator of all things" [Zumer, 62; Mu’min, 62]

"His are all things in the heavens and on earth." [Baqarah, 255]

"the Living, the Self-subsisting, Supporter of all." [Baqarah, 255]

"But Allah knows all that is in the heavens and on earth:" [Hujurat, 16]

"He hath power over all things." [Tauba, 39; Hud, 4; Furqan, 54; ...]

"It is Allah Who created you in a state of (helpless) weakness, then gave (you) strength after weakness" [Rum, 54]

"To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth." [Shura, 49]

"and the sun, the moon, and the stars, (all) are subservient by His Command. Verily, His are the Creation and the Command" [Araf, 54]

"O ye men! It is ye that have need of Allah. but Allah is the One Free of all wants, worthy of all praise. If He so pleased, He could blot you out and bring in a New Creation." [Fatir, 15-17]

"See they not that Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth, has power to create the like of them (anew)?" [Isra, 99]

"Were We then weary with the first Creation, that they should be in confused doubt about a new Creation?" [Qaf, 15]

Dear readers; we shall not have any doubt about the power of Allah who has the power to destroy and recreate all His creations. If He wishes, He can destroy this order in which we live in and He can create a brand new universe with new rules. This is not a hard affair for Him.

# Pretending not to see does not change the fact

Dear readers,

The most distinctive characteristics of the Almighty Creator that makes Him different than creatures are the Qidam and Baqa (Eternal existence in the past and future) attributes of Him. The one who is eternal is only Allah. Every creature is mortal. Even the most durable things vanish in time. Stars fade, mountains become hills, buildings collapse, cars crash. There are no scientific or logical excuses in materialist philosophy to assume the universe as immortal. On the contrary, all evidence shows that the universe and everything that lies in the universe are mortal and ephemeral. Everything has a beginning, middle and an end. Allah is the one who determines how things emerge, endure and perish. He is the reason of reasons.

Living creatures are the best examples for this phenomenon. Every living thing is born, every living thing lives and dies. There are no refutations against this. Everybody witnesses this reality. Although mankind celebrates birth and life, he never wants to accept death. Mankind avoids it. It has always drawn my attention: once the subject matter is about death in a family meeting, people intend to change the topic and feel depressed. Nobody wishes to speak of death.

Dear readers; avoiding, indeed, will not change the reality. It is ordered in a Qur'an verse that:

 “The Death from which ye flee will truly overtake you: then will ye be sent back to the Knower of things secret and open:”  [Jumua, 8]

# Death is the fate of every living creature

Death is the fate of every living being. It is the beginning of afterlife for mankind. Avoiding speaking of it will not change this concrete fact and it will even turn you into a unwary being. On the contrary,  the reality of death should be considered every time. Mankind should be ready for his own death and for the Judgment Day. Rasulullah (s.a.w) ordered:

 “It is surprised that person, he aspired to the world, death aspired to him..”  [Abu Nuaim]

"Remember death that spoils your appetite and hope; remember it often!”  [I. Hibban]

"Remembering death protects from sin and distracts you from the world.”  [Ibn Abid-Dunya]

"Those who think of death twenty times a day reaches to a martyr rank.”  [I. Ghazali]

"Think of death a lot; he who remembers death, his heart shall recover and have a peaceful death.” [Daylami]

“Remembering death is a good deed like sadaqah (charity).”  [Daylami]

“Hearts rust out with sins just like steel becomes rusty. Recovery of hearts is possible through remembering death and reading Qur'an.”  [Bayhaqi]

# Attachment of heart to the world shall not make you forget death

Dear readers; attachment of heart to the world resembles the bondage of oxygen and hydrogen in water. This bondage is so strong that mankind does not even realize how this love for the world drifts him toward a disaster. He can only realize this after he knows his nafs (ego). Getting to know the nafs is like a beginning to know Allah. The Prophet (s.a.w) ordered:

"He who knows his nafs, knows Allah."  [Imam al-Munawi, Daylami]

The very beginning of knowing your nafs is the moment when you restrain your earthly desires in your heart, which means the beginning of faith. That is why, although many people are unaware, “faith” is like the source of life. Faith eradicates the earthly desires in your heart.  Instead, it puts the love of Allah who everything is in need of his mercy. Before this light touches his heart, man cannot draw a lesson from what he witnesses. He won’t understand or hear Allah’s word. Guidance would not work on him. Visiting the sick or attending to the funeral of the dead will not help the people who have dedicated their life to mundane desires. If such a person attends to a funeral of his relative, he would talk about the heritage and material issues even during the burial of the death. It is not an easy affair to disconnect these strong bonds between the world and the heart. Once these attachments are broken off, then the person may reach to an absolute faith level.

Only those who even have a bit of faith in his heart shall be guided and aided by Allah. Thus, man enlarges this love in him through being remembered of Allah (swt), much remembering the death and reading Qur'an. And this gradually enables the heart to get rid of all mundane desires, worldly attachments and self-indulgence; in return to be replaced by the love of Allah.

May Allah Grant us the chance to become servants who draws a lesson from death and give us the power to get prepared for afterlife.

Be entrusted to Allah.

Following Rasulullah is a religious duty for all

Dear readers,

It is our duty to believe that all of our prophets have been sent by Allah. It is our duty to believe that all the knowledge notified by them are true and real. It is ordered in the verse from the Qur'an that:

"The Messenger believeth in what hath been revealed to him from his Lord, as do the men of faith. Each one (of them) believeth in Allah, His angels, His books, and His messengers."  [Baqarah, 285]

Prophets are the true sources of the divine mercy. None of the communities in the universe are deprived of this mercy:

"We (also) sent (Our messengers) to Peoples before thee;"  [Nahl, 63]

"there never was a people, without a warner having lived among them (in the past)."  [Fatir, 24]

Rasulullah (s.a.w.) is the last prophet.

"Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Messenger of Allah, and the Seal of the Prophets:"  [Ahzab, 40]

# Divine Mercy endures until doomsday

Divine mercy has not ended with Him. It continues with his successors who are awliya and it shall continue until Qiyamat (doomsday). Recently, the lord of our universe has created hundreds of devices such as telephones, telegraphs, televisions, computers, internet, mobile phones, news and magazines, news portals and other smart media through His intelligent, experienced and talented servants in order to spread His grace to a wider audience more quickly. Therefore verses from the Qur'an, hadiths, prayers, religious conversations reach to remote places. Everybody can be informed about the divine provisions and morals that are taught by prophets as well as know about the crimes and rewards of their deeds that are to be assigned by Allah.

Therefore, a person can no longer have an excuse of not being informed.

"Messengers who gave good news as well as warning, that mankind, after (the coming) of the messengers, should have no plea against Allah." [Nisa, 165]

People no longer have an excuse to evade or pretend not to see the teachings of Islamic religion.

# People who attempt to separate Allah and His messengers

Dear readers; hadiths explain Qur'an and consist of the words and deeds of Rasulullah. The vague sections of the Qur'an are explained by Rasulullah; the obscure parts about his words and deeds are mutually detailed by the companions of Prophet Mohammad and with the ijtihad (diligence) of our scholars. All these constitute “Islam”. In our time, there are some people who claim that “Qur'an is enough for us, we do not need other sources”. People who have a “we do not accept anything but Qur'an” approach are in fact those who wish to interpret Qur'an at their own will. Those who follow their personal wishes/desires cannot get rid of trouble.

See how Allah warns people who wish to keep a path between denial and faith by separating Him from His prophets:

"Those who deny Allah and His messengers, and (those who) wish to separate between Allah and His messengers, saying: "We believe in some but reject others": And (those who) wish to take a course midway.  They are in truth unbelievers;" [Nisa, 150-151]

"To those who believe in Allah and His messengers and make no distinction between any of the messengers, we shall soon give their (due) rewards." [Nisa, 152]

# Depending on prophets is a duty

It is also everybody’s duty to be subject to prophets after having faith that prophets and their teachings are real and true and that they are sent by Allah. Because prophets live and carry on all the teachings of Allah and they act according to the revelations with honesty. They personally live the life that Allah asks us to pursue with a “good way of living” and they are the best examples of man in their own time. That is why we are all obliged to have faith in all prophets; have faith in Rasulullah who is the last prophet; to love him; to depend on him; to follow him and to live like him. It is ordered in the verses from Qur'an that:

"follow him that (so) ye may be guided."  [Araf, 158]

"He who obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah."  [Nisa, 80]

"So take what the Messenger gives you, and refrain from what he prohibits you."  [Hashr, 7]

"Say: If ye do love Allah, Follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you your sins:"  [Al-i Imran, 31].

# What makes you love Rasulullah and all other believers is Faith

Dear readers,

Love refers to sincere bonds. First, love emerges with simple interests. Then, in time it turns into fondness. And then emerges passion and dependency. This passion and dependency in a heart attributes another value to the loved one/thing. The more there is love, the more that value to the loved escalates.  It makes the loved one priceless. That is why Mawlana ordered that “Through love, all that is copper will be gold”. Rasulullah regarded love as the source and basis of absolute faith and ordered:

"Without faith, you shall not enter paradise. Without loving each other, you cannot have true faith” [Muslim, Abu Davud, Tirmidhi]

These values that emerge out of love most of the time do not have logical and scientific explanations. Because these are value judgments. These are spiritual facts that are based passion and dependency.

Love is not only limited to what is loved. Once a man loves, the loved one/thing and all the related things to it get into the scope of this love on its own. Remember the old Turkish movies. Remember those lovers who would wipe their face with the handkerchief that his lover had dropped and how he would kiss and smell that handkerchief. Remember those young boys who would keep a piece of his lovers’ hair for many years.

# The heavenly light of faith is the love of Allah

Dear readers; “faith” is very important. It is the basis of Islam. May Allah grant us absolute faith in our last breath? The essence of faith is the approval, acceptance and faith that a person has regarding the divine order by believing in it and being attached to it by heart. “Islam” is the outcome of this attachment; it means leading a life according to Allah’s will by being subject to His commands. In another words; it means preferring the will of Allah to his/her own desires and wishes. This is called "Sirat al-mustaqim” (the straight path).

When there is a heartfelt bondage to Allah, its most important outcome becomes the essence of faith which is the love and respect felt for the Holy Creator. This is the “heavenly light of faith”. When a person lives Islam in accordance with Allah’s will, he begins to better understand what a great blessing the divine grace is. In time, the love and respect that person has for his Creator evolves and exalts. Hence, this is what leads a man into perfect faith: love. As love grows in heart, its extent also escalates. Whatever is about Allah gains more importance. Allah and things about His religion are referred to as “Sheairullah” (Symbols of Allah). Everything such as prophets, Qur'an, salat, prayer, fasting, azan, harameyn, kaaba, mosques, minarets etc. are all sheairullah. Sheair means symbols, signs, insignias, tokens etc. According to Abdulhaq Al-Dahlawi, “everything that reminds of Allah is sheairullah”. Loving these are mandatory for an perfect faith. A person should pay respects to the symbols of Allah on the universe and be fond of them even if some other things are not conducted.

# Loving the symbols of Allah is a result of taqwa (piety)

It is ordered in the verse from Qur'an:

"… and whoever holds in honor the rites of Allah, such (honor) should come truly from piety of heart."  [Hajj, 32].

Rasulullah also ordered:

“Unless you love me more than you do your mother, father, children and anybody out there, you shall never become a true believer."  [Bukhari, Muslim]

Abdullah bin Hisham (r.a.) narrates: “We were with Rasulullah. At that moment He was holding Umar Khattab’s hand. Umar told him:

‘Oh the Prophet of Allah, indeed I love you more than anything, except for my soul (my own self)'. Rasulullah ordered:

“O Umar, your faith will never be complete until you love me more than yourself.”

Umar said: “O Rasulullah, now I love you more than myself”. The Prophet replied:

“Now Umar, now you have it!”  [Bukhari]

It is understood that loving the Prophet is a very important sign for the love of Allah and it comes from faith.

Great man of heart, Darwish Yunus Amra, has extended the limits of love in such a way that embraces the entire universe by saying: “We love the creatures for the Creator’s sake”. If only we could all love Allah with such a deep love and that our love would embrace the entire universe!...

Be entrusted to Allah.

The sole duty of prophets is to proclaim the divine message

Dear readers,

In my previous articles, prophets that appear in the Qur’an were listed. It should have drawn your attention. Almost all of Allah’s prophets that are elected to notify the divine mercy are males. For some reason, women are not assigned as prophets. This situation is stated in the verse from Quran as:

"And before thee We sent none but men, to whom We granted inspiration:"  [Nahl, 43]

But throughout history, some female figures appear such as Rabia al-Adawiyya who was spiritually and morally superior. She was a saintly dame who was raised in Basra.

# Door to Grace is always open

One day, Rabia al-Adawiyya tells to a praying person who asks Allah to open the doors to grace and mercy: “Oh ignorant, why do you ask Allah to open the doors to mercy? They are already wide open. But, not every heart is open to enter there. Pray for your heart to be open for it”.

Dear readers; truthfully, the door to grace and mercy of Allah (s.w.t) are always open. Yet, only those who are predestined are granted to this.

Many people are interested in reading the tabloid news and gossip topics of magazines every day, but they never care to read even two verses from the Qur’an in which the word of Allah is preached. Many people are not curious about the word of Allah who created us; who provides us with the air we breathe; who gives us our daily bread and grants us our welfare and well-being with tens of thousands of physiological events that occur to our body. Many people usually skip TV channels in which a religious conversation is going on, and instead prefer to watch entertainment shows in another channel that lasts for hours and hours.

# What guides us towards divine mercy

Dear readers; “faith” is what guides us towards our Rab and towards His divine mercy. If you are reading these lines right now, be assured that you are faithful. Those who do not have faith in them turn their face and leave the place right away once Allah (s.w.t) is being mentioned as if an ordinary commodity was in question. It is ordered in the verse of Qur’an that:

"Believers are those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a tremor in their hearts,"  [Anfal, 2]

Nobody, including our Prophets, can help those who lack faith as can be recalled in the cases of Noah (a.s.) to his son, David (a.s.) to his wife, Rasulullah (s.a.w.) to some of his uncles. Therefore, Allah (s.w.t) ordered to our Prophet who exerted every effort for the salvation of the people around him:

"If thou art anxious for their guidance, yet Allah guideth not such as He leaves to stray, and there is none to help them."  [Nahl, 37]

"It is true thou wilt not be able to guide every one whom thou lovest; but Allah guides those whom He will and He knows best those who receive guidance."  [Qasas, 56]

# Salvation is from Allah

Dear readers; salvation comes from Allah. Nobody can help those who are not granted salvation by Allah. The duty of our prophets are not to grant salvation to people, but to tell them about Allah (s.w.t) and spread them His word by letting know of the divine grace; in short, to notify Islam. It is ordered in the verses from the Qur’an that:

"O Messenger! proclaim the (message) which hath been sent to thee from thy Lord. If thou didst not, thou wouldst not have fulfilled and proclaimed His mission."  [Maida, 67]

"But if they turn away, thy duty is only to preach the Clear Message."  [Nahl, 82]

"Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and beware (of evil): if ye do turn back, know ye that it is Our Messenger's duty to proclaim (the message) in the clearest manner."  [Maida, 92]

"The Messenger's duty is but to proclaim (the message)."  [Maida, 99]

"Thy duty is to make (the Message) reach them: it is Our part to call them to account." [Rad, 40]

# Prophets do not know of  Al-Ghaib (The Unknown)

Dear readers,

The term “Prophet” refers to “Paigambar” in English. This term also has the meaning of “diviner”. As I have noted earlier, prophets of Allah born with extraordinary qualities; but they are not diviners as Englishman regard. They are the Man of Haq (Truth). Whatever Allah (s.w.t) reveals to them from the Truth, they know it and they explain it to people. It is ordered in the verses from the Qur’an that:

"Say: I tell you not that with me are the Treasures of Allah, nor do I know what is hidden, nor do I tell you I am an angel. I but follow what is revealed to me."  [An'am, 50]

"They say: Why is not a sign sent down to him from his Lord? Say: The Unseen is only for Allah (to know), then wait ye: I too will wait with you."  [Yunus, 20]

"Say: None in the heavens or on earth, except Allah, knows what is hidden:"  [Naml, 65]

Dear readers; Al-Ghaib refers to the knowledge about the spiritual organization of Allah or about the past and present that mankind cannot reach to as well as to visible and invisible realms that Allah (s.w.t) has created. This knowledge can neither be learned through observation and experimentation nor can be calculated through quantitative data. Knowledge about the invisible and visible realms is only limited to what Allah (s.w.t) grants us.

# Man can only know to the extent Allah permits us to learn

It is ordered in the verse from the Qur’an that:

"He knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He willeth."  [Bakara, 255].

Just like other man, our prophets do not know more than Allah (s.w.t) allows us to apprehend. It is ordered in the verses from the Qur’an that:

"Say: I have no power over any good or harm to myself except as Allah willeth. If I had knowledge of the unseen, I should have multiplied all good, and no evil should have touched me: "  [Araf, 188]

"Nor will He disclose to you the secrets of the Unseen. But He chooses of His Messengers (for the purpose) whom He pleases. "  [Al-i Imran, 179]

"He (alone) knows the Unseen, nor does He make any one acquainted with His Secrets. Except an messenger whom He has chosen:"  [Jinn, 26-27]

It is ordered in the Hadith that:

"None has the knowledge of the unseen but Allah” [Tabarani].

# None has the knowledge of the unseen but Allah

Again in another hadith narrated by Khalid al-Madani Abu Husain (r.a) it is transmitted that the daughter of Muauwidh, ar-Rubai has claimed:

“Rasulullah (s.a.w.) was with me on the mid-morning of my wedding day. In the meantime, some girls were beating the tambourine and recalling the memories of their fathers who were martyred in the Battle of Badr. One of them said: “There is a Prophet among us who knows what will happen tomorrow”. After that Rasulullah (s.a.w.) ordered: “Do not say so. Because nobody knows what will happen tomorrow except Allah”. [Bukhari, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah]

Dear readers; it is understood that nobody can know "the Unseen" except Allah who has the ultimate and infinite knowledge about everything, including the prophets. But Allah (s.w.t) has enlightened His elected messengers through revelations. The divine revelation is only a small drop that is granted for us from the unknown, from the Creator’s sea of infinite knowledge. Human knowledge is limited, but Almighty Allah keeps extending the limits of knowledge to the caliphs He appointed. The developing man, with the will of Allah, figures out many dark and complicated questions in life. With the development of information technologies, the level of human knowledge pushes the limits of libraries. But still, this knowledge is nowhere near to this sea of infinite knowledge that Allah holds.

# Miracles of Prophets are genuine

Dear readers,

We live in a material world. Our sense organs have the mechanism to work accordingly in this material world. But attributing meanings to these perceived senses is totally another issue. And everybody perceives these senses in accordance with their own spiritual values such as personal history, accumulation of knowledge, level of intelligence, evaluation of the world and worldview etc. An avaricious man perceives everything in relation with material wealth and money. A dervish like Yunus Amra perceives everything by looking through meaning… Indeed, perception and their meanings are formed through these approaches.

Human is in a material world. Emerging perception through the sense organs are based on the material mechanisms, but they become ideas and convictions of that person by being processed in his brain. These signification and interpretations are formed the essence of human's spiritual life. Our hearts are a passage in the midst of material and meaning, where these spiritual values are reformed with religious knowledge.

The material world is a realm in which everything occurs with certain reasons, where tangible objects, situations and events occur under the certain rules. For this reason, everybody who lives in this world, whether it be scholars or ignorant, are conditioned to find a reason behind everything. Because people witness all the time that any occurrence emerges as a result of certain causes. Any occurrence that takes place against the rules of the material world is extraordinary. These extraordinary occurrences always interests people. This is the reason behind why many people go after fortune-tellers and sorcerers that claim to be revealing the unknown.

# Prophets are mistaken for fortune-tellers and sorcerers

In history, people have mistaken prophets (who were the people of truth and were calling people to truth, justice, honesty and morality) to fortune-tellers and sorcerers as these prophets were giving news from the future with the permission of Allah and most of the time they have asked for extraordinary things in order to believe in prophets.

"They said: Thou art only one of those bewitched! Thou art no more than a mortal like us: then bring us a Sign, if thou tellest the truth!"  [Shuara, 153-154]

"Say those without knowledge: "Why speaketh not Allah unto us? or why cometh not unto us a Sign?" So said the people before them words of similar import."  [Baqara, 118]

Dear readers; Allah (s.w.t) has, most of the time, supported his prophets with extraordinary miracles, but the unfaithful still did not believe.

"He said: "Here is a she-camel: she has a right of watering, and ye have a right of watering, (severally) on a day appointed. Touch her not with harm, lest the Chastisement of a Great Day seize you." But they ham-strung her: then did they become full of regrets. But the Chastisement seized them. Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe."  [Shuara, 155-158]

Similar requestes were also made to Rasulullah (s.a.w.).

"Ye they say: Why are not Signs sent down to him from his Lord? Say: The signs are indeed with Allah: and I am indeed a clear Warner."  [Ankabut, 50]

"And is it not enough for them that we have sent down to thee the Book which is rehearsed to them?"  [Ankabut, 51]

# Deniers will not believe even if they witness miracles

Yet the deniers will resist to believe even though they witness miracles. The situation of these deniers are summarized in the following verse from the Quran:

"Even if every Sign was brought unto them,- until they see (for themselves) the penalty chastisement."  [Yunus, 97]

Dear readers; miracles of the prophets are epitomized in the Qur'an. It is unnecessary to make a list of these miracles here. These miracles of Allah are extraordinary cases that sometimes happen within the limits of the rules of the material world, and sometimes happen by exceeding those limits. The miracles of prophets are true. A true believer should believe, acknowledge and approve these miracles to have an absolute faith. Allah (s.w.t) has created the universe from nothingness. The Creator has given qualities to the every living and lifeless things and has organized them in his own will. In this order, He changes, develops and organizes the universe at any moment with quadrillions of events whose number can only be known by Him. That being said, is He incapable of creating some extraordinary phenomena like in the example of a small drop from the oceans?  Can you not see; even His impotent servants are in the capacity to be able to do wonders in electronic devices invented by them by doing little changes on their softwares? Is Allah (s.w.t), who taught them everything and created them as well as their deeds, more impotent and incapable than his servants??!!

Be entrusted to Allah.