Muslims try to learn, teach and do the things which Allâhu ta’âlâ commands. They search for knowledge even if it is possessed by disbelievers. It has always been so in the course of history; those who could not think of mankind as a superior being have borne hostility against the Islamic religion, have tried to deceive youngsters and, at a time they did not expect at all, they themselves died, leaving their worldly pleasures, which they had been clasping so tightly, and went to Hell. The names of many of them have been forgotten, with no fame, no sign of them having remained behind them, whereas the Islamic sun has continued to spread its light all over the world.
Disbelievers embrace the comfort and beauty of the world which is sweet outwardly but bitter inwardly, sequinned outside but poisonous inside, pleasing in the beginning but unworthy in the end. Muslims should embrace the commandments of the Qur’ân, which is the way of our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, and should ceaselessly struggle to improve in this way. They should beware from bid’ats, which have appeared later in Islam and have been concocted by enemies of the Islam,by Islam’s reformers, and by ignorant, stupid people.
The young human being, a mere child as he is, begins to wonder from whence and how the things he sees around him came into existence. As he grows older, he better realizes and thus marvels at what a tremendous masterpiece the earth is, whereon he lives. When he becomes a highly educated adolescent, his wonder turns into admiration as he begins to learn of the elaboration involved in the things and beings seen around us every day.
When Allâhu ta’âlâ created man, He granted him aql (intellect) and the power of mind and thought. Islamic scholars (rahimahum-Allâhu ta’âlâ) called man “Haywân-i nât›q” and the expression in Cartesian philosophy, “I think, therefore I am,” clearly expresses this fact.
The major factors distinguishing man from other creatures are: He has a soul besides his body; he can think, assess all events with his mind; he can decide by using his mind and carry out his decisions; he can distinguish good from evil; and he can realize his errors and repent for them, and so forth. But the question is: Can man use this most powerful weapon given to him without a guide, or can he find the right path and understand Allâhu ta’âlâ by himself?
Allâhu ta’âlâ sent Prophets (’alaihimu’s-salâm) to teach His human slaves how to use the powers of mind and thought, to teach them about His Oneness, and to distinguish good from evil. Prophets (’alaihimu’s-salâm) were human beings like us. They ate, drank, slept and felt tired, too. What distinguished them from us was that their intellectual and assessment abilities were much greater than ours. Moreover, they had pure moral qualities and, hence, the ability to communicate Allâhu ta’âlâ’s commandments to us. Prophets (’alaihi mu’s-salâm) were the greatest guides. The final and highest Prophet (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam), who communicated the Islamic religion, is Hadrat Muhammad and his holy book is the Qur’ân al-kerîm.
The guiding utterances of Hadrat Muhammad (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallâm) are called al-Hadîth ash-sherîf. They have been collected in many valuable books. Besides the Qur’ân al-kerîm and the Hadîth ash-sherîfs, there are great religious scholars who also provided us with guidance. But there are people who slight and disregard these religious scholars, saying, “Why should such scholars be necessary? Cannot one find the right way and become a good Muslim by reading Islam’s book, the Qur’ân al-kerîm, and by studying the Hadîth as-sherîf?” This presumption is false. A person who has no knowledge about the fundamentals of the religion cannot properly comprehend the deep meanings in the Qur’ân al-kerîm. Even the most perfect athlete will look for a trainer when he prepares to climb a high mountain. A big factory employs master workmen and foremen, as well as engineers. A worker who begins to work in such a factory learns the basic aspects of his job first from this master workman and then from his foreman. If he tries to see the chief engineer before learning them, he will not understand anything from the engineer’s words and calculations. Even the best gun expert cannot correctly use a new gun given to him unless he is first taught how to use it. It is for this reason that in matters pertaining to religion and belief, besides the Qur’ân al-kerîm and the Hadîth ash-sherîfs, we should utilize the works of those great religious scholars whom we call “Murshid-i kâmil” (perfect guide). The highest ones of the murshid-i kâmils in Islam are the imâms (leaders) of the four madhhabs. They are al Imâm al-a’zam Abû Hanîfa, al-Imâm ash-Shafi’î, Imâm Mâlik and Imâm Ahmad bin Hanbal (rahmatullâhi ’alaihim ajma’în)
These four imâms are Islam’s four pillars. We have to read the books of one of them to learn the correct meanings of the Qur’ân al-kerîm and the Hadîth as-sherîf. Thousands of scholars have explained the books of each of them. He who reads these explanations will understand the Islamic religion correctly and well. The beliefs revealed in all these books are the same. This correct belief is called “the belief of the Ahl-as-sunna.”
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Islam and Christianity
http://www.hakikatkitabevi.net/book.php?bookCode=022
One of the Believers of Mûsâ (Moses) ‘alaihis-salâm’ prayed for thirty years. The shadow of an overhanging cloud was protecting him against the sun. One day the cloud did not show up, so that he had to stay under the sun. When he asked his mother what the reason could be, she said that he probably committed a sin. When he said that he had not committed any sins, his mother inquired, “Didn’t you look at the skies, or at flowers? When you saw them, didn’t you think of the greatness of the Creator?” “I did look at them,” he replied, “but I was remiss in the business of pondering.” There upon she said, “Is there any other sin bigger than this? Make tawba right away.”
A sensible person should not forget about the duty of pondering. Is there anyone who has any guaranty that he will not die tomorrow? Allâhu ta’âlâ did not create anything without any use. The uses which men have so far been able to discern are by far more numerous than those which they have not.
Pondering can be done in four ways, according to (Islamic) scholars.
- Pondering about the beautiful arts of Allâhu ta’âlâ which manifest on human
beings causes one to believe Him and love Him.
- Pondering about the rewards promised by Him for the worships causes one to perform those worships.
- Pondering about the punishments informed by Him causes one to be afraid of Him and thereby inhibits one from wronging others.
- Pondering about one’s having enslaved oneself to one’s nafs and committing sins and living in a state of heedlessness regardless of all the blessings bestowed by Him causes one to have shame towards Allâhu ta’âlâ.
Allâhu ta’âlâ loves those who observe the terrestrial and celestial creatures and take lessons from them. It is stated as follows in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “No other act of worship is so valuable as meditation.” And another hadîth-i-sherîf reads: “A momentary meditation is more useful than sixty years’ worship.”
The book Kimyâ-i-sa’âdat, in Persian, by Imâm Ghazâlî ‘rahimahullâhu ta’âlâ’ contains a lengthy discourse on tafakkur (meditation, pondering).
