FAQ in the category of Knowledge

The GREATEST NAME is the Name which contains the meanings of entire of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah. The supreme Name is the GREATEST which mean “the supreme, the highest, and the most exalted.” According to that, the Greatest Name means the most comprehensive Name among the Divine Names which comprises entire of the Names. It is not known which Name is the Greatest Name definitely. The wisdom in keeping this Name secret is to encourage the remembrance of all Names with the probability that they might be the Greatest Name.  

While that wisdom is mentioned in the Risale-i Nur, the attention is attracted to the point that the night of Al-Qadr in Ramadan, the acceptance hour of prayers in the day of Friday… are kept secret for that wisdom. Besides this, in the Nur Collection, it is stated that every Name has a maximum degree and the saints’ considering the Greatest Name to be apart from each other is explained by stating that the Names they manifest are different. “The real Greatest Name is concealed; the upper class is informed of it. However, every Name has a maximum degree and that degree is considered as the Greatest Name. It is because of that secret why saints find out the Greatest Name as different Names.” (Barla Lahikasi)

The following explanation is made in the Thirtieth Flash from the Risale-i Nur Collection: “The Greatest Name is not the same for everyone; it differs. For example, for Imam Ali (May God be pleased with him) it was the six Names. These are Al- Ferd (Single), Al- Hayy (Ever-Living), Al-Qayyoom (Self-Subsistent), Al-Hakeem (Sapient), Al-Adl (All-Just), and Al-Kuddus (Most Holy). For Imam al-A’zam, it was two Names; Al- Hakeem and Al-Adl. While for Ghawth al-A’zam it was Al- Hayy. For Imam-i Rabbani, the Greatest Name was Al-Qayyoom, and so on; many other people considered the Greatest Name to be different Names.” Badiuzzaman, the author of the Risale-i Nur, reminds that just as the conceal of the night of Qadr in Ramadan and the conceal of time of death in life time, the Greatest Name is concealed among the Divine Names; besides this he indicates that every Name has a “maximum degree” in means of manifestation. (The difference between the manifestation of the Name of Creator in the creation of a minute particle and the manifestation of the Name of Creator in the creation of the entire universe is that degree difference and the second of them expresses a manifestation at the maximum degree.)

 “The Greatest Name is concealed. As conceal of time of death in lifetime, the night of Qadr in Ramadan, conceal of the Greatest Name in Names have a significant wisdom. In our opinion, the real Greatest Name is concealed; the upper class (the elite persons who have a high degree in knowledge) is informed of it. However, every Name has a maximum degree and that degree is considered as the Greatest Name. It is because of that secret why saints find out the Greatest Name as different Names. A eulogy of Imam Ali (May God be pleased with him) called Ercûza takes place in the Mecmuatü'l-Ahzab. He mentions the greatest Name in six Names. Imam Gazali explained those six Names that were mentioned by Hadhrat Ali and that encompassed the Greatest Name and he also declared their special qualities in his treatise called Cunnet’ul- Esma. Those six Names are Al-Ferd, Al-Hayy, Al-Qayyoom, Al-Hakeem, Al-Adl, Al-Kuddus.”

MUNAFIQ, MUNAFIQS (HYPOCRITES)

Author: İslam Ansiklopedisi

A Munafiq (Hypocrite) is a person who has not really believed but appears to be a Muslim; a munafiq conceals his enmity toward Allah, His Messenger and believers due to various reasons and his interest. (al-Baqara, 2/8; Aal-i-Imran, 3/167; al-Maida, 5/41)

"If nifaq is in the heart, it is unbelief; if it is in deeds, it is a crime." (Qurtubi, Tafsir, VIII, 212) Therefore, the state of nifaq in munafiqs are dealt with in two groups as nifaq related to creed and nifaq related to deeds:

1. Nifaq related to creed: It is the state of nifaq that is described in the Quran; the munafiq who is treated as a Muslim in the world will be treated worse than unbelievers in the hereafter when his unbelief becomes apparent. (an-Nisa, 4/145) "It is hypocrisy in belief contrary to the creed." (M. Hamdi Yazır, Hak Dini Kur'an Dili, VI, 4997)

The Quran divides people into three groups as believers, unbelievers and munafiqs (al-Baqara, 2/1-20) and mentions the following characteristics of munafiqs, who are defined as the worst ones among people and two-faced:

They are mischief makers in the Islamic community. “When it is said to them: "Make not mischief on the earth", they say: "Why, we only want to make peace!" ", (al-Baqara, 2/11). " When it is said to them: "Believe as the others believe" they say: "Shall we believe as the fools believe?" Nay, of a surety they are the fools, but they do not know. When they meet those who believe, they say: "We believe" but when they are alone with their evil ones they say: "We are really with you; we (were) only jesting" (al-Baqara, 2/13-14).

The hypocrites who are in two minds between belief and unbelief sometimes pretend to remember Allah. However, they try to deceive Allah and show off. When they stand up to prayer, they stand without earnestness (an-Nisa,4/142-3). They swear to falsehood knowingly in order to obstruct men from the Path of Allah (al-Mujadila, 58/14; al-Munafiqun, 63/2).

The heart of munafiqs are like infertile land (al-A'raf, 7/58), they act based on their interests; they are changeable. (an-Nisa, 4/141; al-Ankabut, 29/10-11) When munafiqs of the Era of Bliss were said, "Spend some money on charity before you come to talk to the Prophet", it was seen that they ran away because it contradicted their material interests. (al-Mujadila, 58/13). Munafiqs do some immoral deeds in order to obtain material interest. As a matter of fact, Abdullah Ubn Ubayy b. Salul forced the female slaves to prostitute in order to earn money. To this end, he had established a brothel. Due to the effort to obtain money through the prostitution of female slaves, the verse that prohibits it was revealed.  (at-Tabara, Tafsir, XVIII, 132; an-Nur, 24/33).

Munafiqs are close with their hands; they have forgotten Allah (at-Tawba, 9/67), when they suffer affliction, they fall into mischief (al-Ankabut, 29/10), they run about among themselves whispering when they fear the misfortune will hit them, (al-Maida, 5/52, 53); if the right is on their side they come to the Prophet with all submission (an-Nur, 24/49); they believe in appearance but reject faith in their hearts (al-Munafiqun, 63/3).

Munafiqs who say "we believe in and obey Allah and the Prophet" (an-Nur, 24/47; al-Munafiqun, 63/1) whisper among themselves for rebellion and enmity against Hazrat Prophet (al-Mujadila, 58/9-10). They are like the evil one (al-Hashr, 59/16); they resist Allah and His Messenger due to their nature (al-Mujadila, 58/20); but they are afraid lest a Surah should be sent down about them, showing them what is  in their hearts (al-Infitar, 82/4-5; at-Tawba, 9/64).

The hypocrites, men and women, who imagine an evil opinion of Allah (al-Fath, 48/6), are close with their hands, enjoin evil, and forbid what is just; they will dwell in the fire of Hell eternally (at-Tawba, 9/67-69). They love to see scandal published broadcast among the believers (an-Nur, 24/19); they rejoice when they commit an evil and love to be praised for what they have not done (Aal-i-Imran, 3/188); They ridicule the verses of the Quran (an-Nisa, 4/140); They stir up sedition and lies in the Islamic community (al-Ahzab, 33/60-61); they swear that they will fight for Allah but then escape when it is time for jihad (an-Nur, 24/63); they feel death due to the fear of enemy (al-Munafiqun, 63/19); they look for a place of concealment (at-Tawba, 9/57). When believers gain a victory, they say: "Were we not with you?" in order to share the success and the booty― But if the Unbelievers gain a success, they say (to them): "Did we not guard you from the believers?" (an-Nisa, 4/141). If there are a lot of martyrs at the end of the war, they say, "Thank Allah I did not take part in the war"; if there is some booty to be divided, they say, "We wish we had some booty" (al-A'raf, 7/72, 73).

Allah warns his Prophet against munafiqs, whose characteristics He mentions in the Quran, as follows: "Do not be deceived by their exteriors; when you see their leaders, they are handsome and their bodies please you; when they speak, they speak nicely and you listen to them. They are as worthless as hollow pieces of timber propped up. They think that every cry is against them." (al-Munafiqun, 63/1-4). They do not accept the true words; all of them will be together with unbelievers in the hereafter (an-Nisa, 4/140), It is equal to munafiqs whether you pray for their forgiveness or not; Allah will not forgive those transgressors. (al-Munafiqun, 63/6).

The Quran tells us that munafiqs will want the interests they received in the world due to being in the Islamic community to continue in the hereafter but that it will not be possible as follows: "One Day will the hypocrites men and women― say to the Believers: "Wait for us! Let us borrow (a light) from your Light!" It will be said: "Turn back to your rear! Then seek a light where you can"; they will see that there is a wall between them and the believers. (Those without) will call out "were we not with you?" They will reply "True! But you led yourselves into temptation."(al-Hadid 57/13-15). Thus, munafiqs and unbelievers will come together in Hell (an-Nisa, 4/140).

In the period of Madinah, the believers are reminded that they should not be friends with munafiqs who make friends with Jewish people (al-Maida, 5/51), and the Prophet is informed by revelation that munafiqs are the real enemies and that he should treat them hard. It is observed that Hazrat Prophet carries out a careful and cautious policy against munafiqs and that he does not treat them in the same way as he treats non-Muslims; on the contrary, he does not alienate them from the Islamic community but he makes them ineffective by the strong authority he has over them.

2. Nifaq related to deeds: The state of Muslims that partly seems to resemble nifaq related to creed due to some of their acts and attitudes but that does not contain explicit nifaq. Nifaq related to deeds is emphasized by the type of munafiq mentioned in hadiths. For instance, this hadith " There are three signs of a munafiq: When he speaks he lies; when he promises, he breaks his promise and when he is entrusted, he embezzles" (Tirmidhi, Iman, 14) and similar hadiths are orders like cautions and warnings to prevent Muslims from approaching nifaq related to creed. When nifaq related to deeds increases, it may cause a Muslim to approach nifaq related to creed in the future. However, nifaq related to deeds does not mean that the person is a real munafiq. Even if a person has a characteristic of a munafiq, he is not regarded a munafiq. Therefore, not every person that has a characteristic of a munafiq can be called a munafiq. Only Allah and those whom He informs can know who are munafiqs.   

Ahmet SEZİKLİ

Makruh (abominable) means acts which are religiously unacceptable and are asked to be quitted and which are better to be uncommitted than committed.

Makruh, according to Hanafi school, is divided into two types.

The first type of makruh is close to haram, that is, makruh tahrimi (strictly abominable), for example quitting a deed that is wajib ( religiously obligatory). Not committing this type of makruh causes to earn thawab (reward for good deeds) whereas there is a possibility for the committer to be punished.

The second type of makruh is close to halal, that is, makruh tanzihi ( religiously lawful or permitted), for instance quitting  the sunnah and regular manners of prayer. Quitting this type of makruh does not cause one to earn thawab while committing does not cause punishment but disapproval.

According to Shafi’i school, there is only one type of makruh. It is what Sharia wants to be quitted without a firm and binding statement. The quitter is praised, earns thawab but the committer is not disparaged or punished.

It is necessary to ponder over it well. The concept “the lesser of the two evils” is valid here too. That is, when a person has to choose between two sins, he/she should choose the one that is considered lighter in terms of Islam.
Accordingly, if a person faces the two alternatives of being raped or committing suicide, the same principle can be used to decide. As a matter of fact, being in such a situation is really grave and dramatic. However, in accordance with the principle “the respect for the truth is high; it cannot be sacrificed for anything else”, we should put our feelings aside and make a decision.
In our opinion, here, committing suicide is a heavier crime because;
a. In Islam, killing someone unjustly is regarded as a heavier crime that fornication. Committing suicide is also a kind of killing; killing that is impossible to be forgiven by Allah.
b. It is very important whether a person’s free will is in question or not in the occurrence of responsibility for doing good or bad deeds. Therefore, a crime that a person is forced to commit should be preferred to committing suicide, which is committed through a person’s free will.
c. As it is seen in the following verse “Anyone who, after accepting faith in Allah, utters unbelief― except under compulsion, his heart remaining firm in Faith― but such as open their breast to unbelief― on them is Wrath from Allah, and theirs will be a dreadful Penalty. (an-Nahl, 16/106), a person who is forced to utter unbelief is regarded excusable and it is guaranteed that his belief in his heart will not be harmed by unbelief and denial uttered by his tongue. In fact, every sin is small compared to unbelief and denying the existence of Allah.
It should be noted that the excuse here is torture, oppression and the fear of death. Allah, who is the most compassionate and the most merciful, knows best the capacity of endurance of the creatures He created. When the person is in that critical point, He does not say “Do not deny! Do not commit suicide!”. On the contrary, he says,”There is no sin for you for the denial that you utter with your tongue so long as you keep your believing heart pure.”
According to the narrations, the verse above was sent about Hazrat Ammar. Hazrat Ammar, who could not bear the tortures of the polytheists, seemingly accepted their offers about unbelief and denial and uttered those words. However, he explained the trouble he suffered to Hazrat Prophet (pbuh). The Prophet said,: “Was your heart sound in terms of belief when you uttered those words?”  Ammar said, “Yes, definitely…”.Then, Hazrat Prophet (pbuh)said, “Then, if you suffer torments like that, you may repeat what they want with your tongue” relieving him. (See Ibn Hajar, XII/312). Then, Almighty Allah sent that verse, confirming His Messenger.

If a person goes to the toilet with a ring on which the name of Allah or the Prophet is written, he should hide his ring. If the ring is on his left hand, he should remove it when he cleanses himself. (Ibn Abidin, V, 317). Accordingly, a person who has a necklace on which the name of Allah is written can go to the toilet by covering the name or turning the back of the necklace. There is no difference between wearing it and a himala (piece of paper containing verses from the Quran or prayers and wrapped usually in the form of a triangle). The himala includes prayers and verses. 

We could not reach any information about the question in the sources. However, there is a weak hadith narration which expresses negative attitude about “Anklet” which is worn on the ankles and makes a sound while walking. (see Kanz al-Ummal, h. no: 45071). 

It is not permissible for men to wear gold adornment –neither on their hands nor on their feet- on any parts of their bodies. Women are permitted to wear gold jewelry and silk made clothes. (see W.Zuhayli, al- Fiqh al-Islam, 3/647). 

In the hadith related by Ahmad b. Hanbal, Nasai and Tirmidhi and having the meaning “Gold and silk are rendered halal (permissible) for the women of my ummah (community) but are rendered haram (forbidden) for the men of my ummah” (Nayl al-Awtar, 1/386), that issue is stated clearly.

However, according to the verse “…they should not display their ornaments..” (Qur’an, The Light (Al-Nour); 31 (24: 31)), it is haram for women to display their ornaments to men with whom they are religiously allowed to marry.   

Adhan, which is recited from the minarets five times a day, is one of the most important signs and symbols of Islam. Whenever adhan is recited, tawhid (oneness) and prophethood are declared, and people are called to prayer, which is the most important truth after belief. Therefore, it is the necessity of the belief of a believer to answer the divine call. 

The meaning of answering the divine call is to perform the prayer of that time. However, it is sunnah to answer the muezzin at that time. Acting upon the hadiths narrated about answering the muezzin, some Islamic scholars say it is wajib to answer the muezzin, that is, to repeat what he recites. However, the view agreed upon by the majority is that it is sunnah to repeat the words of adhan recited by the muezzin. (Nasai, Adhan: 33.)

One should try not be engaged with anything when adhan is being recited. It is necessary to stop talking and doing other things. One should try to listen to adhan with respect and awe. The following is stated in fiqh sources like Badaiu’s-sanai and al-Fatawa’l-Hindiyya:

“It is not appropriate to be engaged with anything other than repeating what the muezzin recites, and to talk.

Even the following sentence is present:

“It is more virtuous to stop reading the Quran and to listen to adhan and to repeat the words of adhan. (Badayi, 1: 155.)

However, it will not be regarded a sin for a person to try to do something that is urgent when adhan is being recited. There is no drawback to listening to adhan while lying down. It will not make a person responsible unless he means to show disrespect to adhan by doing so. It is permissible for a person to mention the name of Allah, to glorify Him and to magnify Him and even to read the verses and chapters of the Quran while lying down. We know that the Prophet sometimes read some verses after going to bed.  

The words of adhan consist of takbirs and shahadahs. They can be listened to while lying down, too. However, it is more appropriate to get up and listen to it by sitting if it is possible.

There is no drawback to entering the toilet for a necessity, or to be in the toilet in order to get ready to make wudu while adhan is being recited. Besides, when a person is in the toilet, he carries out the act of cleanliness from najasah, one of the fards of the prayer.  A natural need is met there. To sum up, when adhan is recited, a person should stop, listen to adhan and repeat its words if he can. (Mehmed Paksu Aileye Özel Fetvalar)

When we look at the fiqh books, we will also see the following regarding the issue of “answering adhan”:

Answering adhan actually means going to perform the prayer; but listening to the words of adhan and repeating what the muezzin says is also a part of answering adhan. Therefore, a person who is in the state of janabah repeats the words of adhan but a woman who is in the state of menstruation or puerperum does not repeat the words of adhan because they cannot perform prayers, which is the real answer to adhan, in those states.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, "When you hear adhan, say what the muezzin says." (Muslim, Salat 7) Accordingly, Hanafis say it is wajib because the order expresses obligation. Some of the Malikis, and Zahiris hold this view, too. According to the majority, among whom are Imam Malik, Shafii, Ahmad and Tahawi from Hanafis, it is not wajib but mustahab (recommended) to answer adhan by words. (Davudoğlu NI/27; lbn Hajar, Fathu'1-Bari, N/92-93; Ayni, IV/280)

A person who reads the Quran and glorifies Allah on his own should stop them and answer adhan. However, if a person reads the Quran in a mosque and if others listen to him, he can go on reading the Quran. 

Can a person who is talking about a religious issue and preaching go on talking?

What a person mentions while preaching is, or rather, should be the explanation of the Quran; therefore, such talks can be continued.

Seen in this light, seminars or panel discussions that examine any institution of Islam or a question of Islam can be regarded like that. Besides, it is stated that it is not makruh (abominable) to talk while adhan is being recited. (see Bilmen, İlmihal 128)

However, it cannot be said that it is unobjectionable not to answer adhan in any form, not to stop or repeat even for a moment. For this, the adhan that is recited must be in accordance with the sunnah; it should not be recited like a song. It is not obligatory to listen to an adhan which is not in accordance with the Quran. (Tahtawi, 162)

Besides, although there are some scholars who say it is necessary to listen to all of the adhans, it is sufficient to listen to the first adhan one hears or the adhan of the mosque he attends. (Hindiyya I/57)

Author: İslam Ansiklopedisi,

Muraqaba is a sufi term that means fear, to inspect, to watch over, to take care of, to control, to look at one’s inner world, to be entranced, to think of the aim at all times, to look at Allah with the heart at all times, to keep the soul under control in order to protect the heart from bad deeds, to know that Lord knows every state of a person, to dismiss everything from one’s mind and be ready to receive inspiration from Allah by kneeling down and closing the eyes.

The real muraqaba is obtaining the habit of worshipping Allah as if one sees Him because our Lords says, " Allah doth watch over all things " (al-Ahzab 33/52).

There is a reference to muraqaba in the hadith of Jibril. Jibril said to Hazrat Prophet (pbuh); "Tell me about ‘ihsan’." The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, "Ihsan means to worship Allah as if you see Him. Even if you do not see Him, he sees you."

Jibril:

"What you have said is true." (Bukhari Iman, 38; Muslim, Iman 1). According to sufism, the muraqaba of ordinary people is the fear of Allah and the muraqaba of the distinguished people is hope. Muraqaba forms the foundation of every good deed and it is related to all phases of life. Thanks to muraqaba, man evaluates the past and corrects the situation he is in, is always on the right path, checks his heart thoroughly in his relations with his Lord and he never forgets about Him; he knows that Allah always watches him and is very close to him, that He sees what he does and hears what he says. Thus, he becomes a useful person for himself and for the society; he becomes happy in both this world and the hereafter.      

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Why Muslims do not eat bacon?

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COW

He said: "He says a heifer not trained to till the soil or water the fields; sound and without blemish." They said: "Now hast thou brought the truth." Then they offered her in sacrifice and they scarcely did it. (Surah al-Baqara, 71)

The king (of Egypt) said: "I do see (in a vision) seven fat kine whom seven lean ones devour and seven green ears of corn, and seven (others) withered. O ye chiefs! Expound to me my vision if it be that ye can interpret visions." (Surah Yusuf, 43)

And remember Moses said to his people: "Allah commands that ye sacrifice a heifer." They said: "Makest thou a laughing-stock of us?" He said: "Allah save me from being an ignorant (fool)!" (Surah al-Baqara, 67)

They said: "Beseech on our behalf thy Lord to make plain to us what (heifer) it is! He said: "He says: the heifer should be neither too old nor too young but of middling age; now do what ye are commanded!. (Al-Baqara /68)

For those who followed the Jewish Law, We forbade every (animal) with undivided hoof, and We forbade them the fat of the ox and the sheep, except what adheres to their backs or their entrails, or is mixed up with a bone: this in recompense for their wilful disobedience: for We are True (in Our ordinances). (Al-Anaam /146)

PORK

Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah, that which hath been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death; that which hath been (partly) eaten by a wild animal; unless ye are able to slaughter it (in due form); that which is sacrificed on stone (altars); (forbidden) also is the division (of meat) by raffling with arrows: that is impiety. This day have those who reject Faith given up all hope of your religion: yet fear them not but fear Me. This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed my favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. But if any is forced by hunger, with no inclination to transgression, Allah is indeed Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful. (Surat al-Ma'ida, 3)

He hath only forbidden you dead meat, and blood and the flesh of swine, and that on which any other name hath been invoked besides that of Allah. but if one is forced by necessity without wilful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits―then is he guiltless. For Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful. (Surat al-Baqara, 173)

Say: "I find not in the Message received by me by inspiration any (meat) forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat it, unless it be dead meat, or blood poured forth, or the flesh of swine― for it is an abomination or what is impious, (meat) on which a name has been invoked, other than Allah's." But (even so) if a person is forced by necessity, without wilful disobedience nor transgressing due limits― thy Lord is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Al-Anaam /145)

CAMEL

To those who reject Our signs and treat them with arrogance, no opening will there be of the gates of heaven, nor will they enter the Garden, until the camel can pass through the eye of the needle: such is Our reward for those in sin. (Al-Araf /40)

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. (Surat ash-Shu'ara', 155)

"Indeed ye shall drink like diseased camels raging with thirst! (Surat al-Waq'ia, 55)

What Allah has bestowed on His Messenger (and taken away) from them― for this ye made no expedition with either cavalry or camelry: but Allah gives power to His messengers over any He pleases: and Allah has power over all things. (Surat al-Hashr, 6)

"As if there were (a string of) yellow camels (marching swiftly)." (Surat al-Mursalat, 33)

When the she-camels, ten months with young, are left untended; (Surat at-Takwir, 4)

Do they not look at the Camels, how they are made?― (Surat al-Ghashiyya, 17)

But the messenger of Allah said to them: "It is a She-camel of Allah! and (bar her not from) having her drink!" Then they rejected him (as a false prophet), and they hamstrung her. So their Lord, on account of their crime, obliterated their traces and made them equal (in destruction, high and low)! (Surat ash-Shams, 13-14) 

HORSE, MULE AND DONKEY

As if they were affrighted asses, (Surat al-Muddaththir, 50)

And (He has created) horses, mules, and donkeys, for you to ride and use for show; and He has created (other) things of what ye have no knowledge. (An-Nahl /8)

The similitude of those who were charged with the (obligations of the) Mosaic Law, but who subsequently failed in those (obligations), is that of a donkey which carries huge tomes (but understands them not). Evil is the similitude of people who falsify the Signs of Allah: and Allah guides not people who do wrong. (AL-JUMUA/ 5)

And (He has created) horses, mules, and donkeys, for you to ride and use for show; and He has created (other) things of what ye have no knowledge. (AN-NAHL / 8)

"And be moderate (or show no insolence) in your walking, and lower your voice. Verily, the harshest of all voices is the braying of the ass." (LUQMAN /19)

Fair in the eyes of men is the love of things they covet: women and sons; heaped-up hoards of gold and silver; horses branded (for blood and excellence); and (wealth of) cattle and well-tilled land. Such are the possessions of this world's life; but in nearness to Allah is the best of the goals (to return to). (Aal-e-Imran / 14)

Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into (the hearts of) the enemies of Allah and your enemies and others besides whom ye may not know but whom Allah doth know. Whatever ye shall spend in the cause of Allah, shall be repaid unto you, and ye shall not be treated unjustly. (Surat al-Anfal, 60)

Behold there were brought before him, at eventide, coursers of the highest breeding; and swift of foot; And he said "Truly do I love the love of good, with a view to the glory of my Lord"― Until (the sun) was hidden in the veil (of Night):  (Surah Sâd, 31-32)

What Allah has bestowed on His Messenger (and taken away) from them― for this ye made no expedition with either cavalry or camelry: but Allah gives power to His messengers over any He pleases: and Allah has power over all things. (Surat al-Hashr, 6)

By the (Steeds) that run, with panting (breath), And strike sparks of fire,  (Surat al-'Adiyat, 1-2) 

LION

As if they were affrighted asses, Fleeing from a lion!  (Surat al-Muddaththir, 50-51) 

FLY

O men! Here is a parable set forth! Listen to it! Those on whom besides Allah, ye call cannot create (even) a fly, if they all met together for the purpose! And if the fly should snatch away anything from them, they would have no power to release it from the fly: feeble are those who petition and those whom they petition! (Surat al-Hajj, 73) 

MOSQUITO

Verily, Allâh is not ashamed to set forth a parable even of a mosquito or so much more when it is bigger (or less when it is smaller) than it. And as for those who believe, they know that it is the Truth from their Lord, but as for those who disbelieve, they say: "What did Allâh intend by this parable?" By it He misleads many, and many He guides thereby. And He misleads thereby only those who are Al-Fâsiqûn (the rebellious, disobedient to Allâh). (Surat al-Baqara, 26)

BEE

And thy Lord taught the Bee to build its cells in hills, on trees, and in (men's) habitations; Then to eat of all the produce (of the earth), and find with skill the spacious paths of its Lord: there issues from within their bodies a drink of varying colours, wherein is healing for men: verily in this is a Sign for those who give thought. (Surat an-Nahl, 68-69) 

ELEPHANT

Seest thou not how thy Lord dealt with the Companions of the Elephant? (Surat al-Fil, 1)

CALF

And remember We appointed forty nights for Moses and in his absence you took the calf (for worship) and ye did grievous wrong. (Surat al-Baqara, 51)

And remember Moses said to his people: "O my people! Ye have indeed wronged yourselves by your worship of the calf so turn (in repentance) to your Maker and slay yourselves (the wrong-doers); that will be better for you in the sight of your Maker." Then He turned toward you (in forgiveness); for He is Oft-returning Most Merciful. (Surat al-Baqara, 54)

"Then he brought out (of the fire) before the (people) the image of a calf: it seemed to low: so they said: `This is your god and the god, of Moses but (Moses) has forgotten!' " (Surah Ta Ha, 88)

Then he turned quickly to his household, brought out a fatted calf. (Surat adh-Dhariyat, 26)

There came to you Moses with clear (Signs); yet ye worshipped the Calf (even) after that, and ye did behave wrongfully. And remember We took your Covenant and We raised above you the mount (Sinai): (saying): "Hold firmly to what We have given you, and hearken (to the Law)"; they said: "We hear, and we disobey"; and they had to drink into their hearts (of the taint) of the calf because of their faithlessness. Say: "Vile indeed are the behests of your faith, if ye have any faith!"  (Surat al-Baqara, 92-93)

There came Our Messengers to Abraham with glad tidings. They said "Peace!" He answered "Peace!" and hastened to entertain them with a roasted calf. (Hud / 69)

And remember We appointed forty nights for Moses and in his absence you took the calf (for worship) and ye did grievous wrong. (Al-Baqara / 55)

CROW

Then Allah sent a raven, who scratched the ground, to show him how to hide the shame of his brother. "Woe is me!" said he: "Was I not even, able to be as this raven and to hide the shame of my brother?" Then he became full of regrets. (Surat al-Ma'ida, 31)

BIRD

"And (appoint him) an Messenger to the Children of Israel, (with this message): I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, in that I make for you out of clay as it were the figure of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by Allah's leave; and I heal those born blind, and the lepers and I quicken the dead by Allah's leave; and I declare to you what ye eat, and what ye store in your houses. Surely therein is a Sign for you if ye did believe.   (Surah Al 'Imran, 49)

Then will Allah say: "O Jesus, the son of Mary! recount my favour to thee and to thy mother. Behold! I strengthened thee with the holy spirit, so that thou didst speak to the people in childhood and in maturity. Behold! I taught thee the Book and Wisdom, the Law and the Gospel. And behold! thou makest out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, by My leave, and thou breathest into it and it becometh a bird by My leave, and thou healest those born blind, and the lepers, by My leave. And behold! thou bringest forth the dead by My leave. And behold! I did restrain the Children of Israel from (violence to) thee when thou didst show them the Clear Signs, and the unbelievers among them said: `This is nothing but evident magic'. (Surat al-Ma'ida, 110)

There is not an animal (that lives) on the earth, nor a being that flies on its wings, but (forms part of) communities like you. Nothing have We omitted from the Book, and they (all) shall be gathered to their Lord in the end. (Surat al-An'am, 38)

Seest thou not that it is Allah Whose praises all beings in the heavens and on earth do celebrate, and the birds (of the air) with wings outspread? Each one knows its own (mode of) prayer and praise. And Allah knows well all that they do. (Surat an-Nur, 41)

We bestowed Grace aforetime on David from Ourselves: "O ye Mountains! sing ye back the Praises of Allah with him! and ye birds (also)! and We made the iron soft for Him (Surah Saba', 10)

And the birds gathered (in assemblies): all with him did turn (to Allah). (Surah Sâd, 19)

And the flesh of fowls, any that they may desire. (Surat al-Waqi'a, 21)

Do they not observe the birds above them, spreading their wings and folding them in? None can uphold them except (Allah) Most Gracious: truly it is He that watches over all things. (Surat al-Mulk, 19)

And He sent against them flights of Birds, (Surat al-Fil, 3) 

QUAIL

And We gave You the shade of clouds and sent down to you manna and quails saying: "Eat of the good things We have provided for you"; (but they rebelled); to Us they did no harm but they harmed their own souls. (Surat al-Baqara, 57)

We divided them into twelve Tribes or nations. We directed Moses by inspiration, when his (thirsty) people asked him for water: "Strike the rock with thy staff": out of it there gushed forth twelve springs: each group knew its own place for water. We gave them the shade of clouds, and sent down to them manna and quails (saying): "Eat of the good things We have provided for you": (but they rebelled): to Us they did no harm, but they harmed their own souls. (Surat al-A'raf, 160)

O ye Children of Israel! We delivered you from your enemy, and We made a Covenant with you on the side of Mount (Sinai) and We sent down to you Manna and quails: (Surah Ta Ha, 80)

FISH

But when they reached the Junction, they forgot (about) their Fish, which took its course through the sea (straight) as in a tunnel. (Surat al-Kahf, 61)

He replied: "Sawest thou (what happened) when we betook ourselves to the rock? I did indeed forget (about) the Fish: none but Satan made me forget to tell (you) about it: it took its course through the sea in a marvelous way!" (Surat al-Kahf, 63)

Then a (big) fish swallowed as and he had done an act worthy of blame.  (Surat as-Saffat, 142) 

So wait with patience for the command of thy Lord, and be not like the Companion of the Fish― when he cried out in agony. (AL- QALAM /48)

SNAKE

He threw it, and behold! it was a snake, active in motion. (Surah Ta Ha, 20)

"Now do thou throw thy rod!" But when he saw it moving (of its own accord) as if it had been a snake, He turned back in retreat and retraced not his steps: "O Moses" (it was said) "Fear not: truly in My presence, those called as messengers have no fear― (Surat an-Naml, 10)

"Now do thou throw thy rod!" But when he saw it moving (of its own accord) as if it had been a snake he turned back in retreat, and retraced not his steps: "O Moses!" (It was said) " Draw near, and fear not: for thou art of those who are secure. (Surat al-Qasas, 31)

Then (Moses) threw his rod, and behold! it was a serpent plain (for all to see)! (Al-Araf / 107)

So (Moses) threw his rod, and behold it was a serpent, plain (for all to see)! (Ash-Shuara / 32)

LOCUST

They will come forth― their eyes humbled― from (their) graves, (torpid) like locusts scattered abroad, (Surat al-Qamar, 7)

So We sent (plagues) on them; wholesale Death Locusts, Lice, Frogs, and Blood: signs openly Self-explained; but they were steeped in arrogance, a people given to sin. (Surat al-A'raf, 133)

EWE

"This man is my brother; He has nine and ninety ewes, and I have (but) one: Yet he says `Commit her to my care' and is (moreover) harsh to me in speech." (David) said: "He has undoubtedly wronged thee in demanding thy (single) ewe to be added to his (flock of) ewes: truly many are the Partners (in business) who wrong each other: not so do those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, and how few are they?"... And David gathered that We had tried him: he asked forgiveness of his Lord, fell down, bowing (in prostration), and turned (to Allah in repentance).  (Surah Sâd, 23-24) 

SHEEP

(Take) eight (head of cattle) in (four) pairs: of sheep a pair and of goats a pair; say hath He forbidden the two males or the two females, or (the young) which the wombs of the two females enclose? Tell me with knowledge if ye are truthful. (Al-Anaam/143)

GOAT

(Take) eight (head of cattle) in (four) pairs: of sheep a pair and of goats a pair; say hath He forbidden the two males or the two females, or (the young) which the wombs of the two females enclose? Tell me with knowledge if ye are truthful. (Al-Anaam/143)

SPIDER

The parable of those who take protectors other than Allah is that of the Spider, who builds (to itself) a house; but truly the flimsiest of houses― is the Spider's house if they but knew.  (Surat al-'Ankabut, 41)

WORM

Then, when We decreed (Solomon's) death nothing showed them his death except a little worm of the earth, which kept (slowly) gnawing away at his staff: so when he fell down, the Jinns saw plainly that if they had known the unseen, they would not have tarried in the humiliating Penalty (of their Task). (Surah Saba', 14)

LIVESTOCK

And so amongst men and crawling creatures and cattle, are they of various colours. Those truly fear Allah, among His Servants who have knowledge: for Allah is Exalted in Might, Oft-Forgiving. (Surah Fatir, 28)

He created you (all) from a single person: then created, of like nature, his mate; and He sent down for you eight head of cattle in pairs: He makes you, in the wombs of your mothers, in stages, one after another in three veils of darkness. Such is Allah your Lord and Cherisher: to Him belongs (all) dominion. There is no god but He: then how are ye turned away (from your true Center)? (Surat az-Zumar, 6)

(He is) the Creator of the heavens and the earth: He has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs among cattle: by this means does He multiply you: there is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees (all things). (Surat ash-Shura, 11)

WOLF

 (Jacob) said: "Really it saddens me that ye should take him away: I fear lest the wolf should devour him while ye attend not to him." They said: "If the wolf were to devour him while we are (so large) a party, then should we indeed (first) have perished ourselves!" (Yusuf 13/14)

They said: "Oh our father! we went racing with one another, and left Joseph with our things: and the wolf devoured him. But thou wilt never believe us even though we tell the truth." (Yusuf/ 17)

FROG

So We sent (plagues) on them; wholesale Death Locusts, Lice, Frogs, and Blood: signs openly Self-explained; but they were steeped in arrogance, a people given to sin. (Al-Araf/ 133)

MOTH

(It is) a Day whereon Men will be like moths Scattered about, (Al-Qaria/ 4)

APE

And well ye knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath; We said to them: "Be ye apes despised and rejected." (Al-Baqara/ 65)

Say: "Shall I point out to you something much worse than this, (as judged) by the treatment it received from Allah? Those who incurred the curse of Allah and His wrath, those of whom some He transformed into apes and swine, those who worshipped Evil;― these are (many times) worse in rank and far more astray from the even Path! (Al-Maeda/ 60)

LICE

So We sent (plagues) on them; wholesale Death Locusts, Lice, Frogs, and Blood: signs openly Self-explained; but they were steeped in arrogance, a people given to sin. (Al-Araf/133)

DOG

If it had been Our will, We should have elevated him with our signs; but he inclined to the earth, and followed his own vain desires. His similitude is that of a dog: if you attack him, he lolls out his tongue or if you leave him alone, he (still) lolls out his tongue. That is the similitude of those who reject Our signs; so relate the story; perchance they may reflect. (Al-Araf/176)

ANT

At length, when they came to a (lowly) valley of ants, one of the ants said: "O ye ants get into your habitations, lest Solomon and his hosts crush you (under foot) without knowing it." (An-Naml/ 18)

HOOPOE

And he took a muster of the Birds; and he said: "Why is it I see not the Hoopoe? Or is he among the absentees? (An-Naml/ 20)

WILD ANIMALS

When the wild beasts are herded together (in human habitations); (Surat at-Takwir, 5)

“Science gave man the telegraph, electricity, diagnosis and cure for some diseases. Religion gave individuals spiritual tranquility and moral balance.

Science and religion are two real keys that we use to open the treasures of the universe. Man benefits from science but he lives with religion.”

(William James)

“Every formula that expresses a law of nature is a hymn that praises God.”

(Maria Mitchell)

“Everybody who is involved in science seriously, no matter in which branch, will read this writing on the door of the temple of science:  “Believe!” Belief is a quality that a scientist cannot give up.”

(Max Planck)

“Belief in the Creator of the Universe is the strongest and noblest stimulating power of the scientific research.”

(Albert Einstein)

“The light of the conscience is religious sciences. The light of the mind is modern sciences. Reality manifests by the combination of the two. With those two wings, the student flies. When they are separated, the former gives birth to fanaticism and the second to deception and doubt.”

(Badiuzzaman)

“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”

(Albert Einstein)

“Science and religion do not deny each other; on the contrary, they complement each other. One of them is the light of the mind and the other the heart. Man does not consist of mind only or heart only. On the contrary, he owns both a mind and a heart. Science without religion may satisfy the mind but it definitely darkens the heart. And religion without science illuminates the spirit and the heart but it leaves the mind in the darkness.

Therefore, the advantage and benefit of man does not depend on being occupied with science only as it is today nor being occupied with religion only as it was in the Middle Age. It depends on being occupied with both.”

(Ali Fuad Başgil)

“The scientists who study the beings that Allah created understand His greatness better than other people.”

(Fakhraddin Razi)

Wudu for Salah (Ablution for Prayer): Every Muslim needs to make wudu in order to pray five times a day. It is an important means of cleaning.
Ghusl (Full Ablution): Ghusl ablution made in order to be freed from janabah enables a person to clean all of his/her body. It is also sunnah to perform ghusl and clean oneself every Friday.
Taking care of hair and beard: It is sunnah to comb one’s hair and beard and to take care of them. 
Cleaning the private parts: The hair in the private parts must be removed at least once in forty days. Thus, the formation of microbes and the dirty smell can be prevented. Those parts can be cleaned every week or every other week.       
Cleaning for worshipping: There must not be any dirt on the clothes and body of Muslims in order to be able to perform prayers. Therefore, Muslims need to have clean clothes and a clean body during the day.
Cleaning the mouth: Islam gives great importance to the cleaning of the mouth, recommending to clean the teeth with miswak (or a tooth brush). It is an important sunnah. Besides, Muslims are asked not to go to mosque when their mouths smell bad; they are asked to go to mosque after removing the bad smell. 
Cleaning the hands and feet: It is sunnah not to lengthen nails and take care of them.
Cleaning after going to toilet: It is necessary to clean the private parts after urination and defecation.

There is not a certain criterion in exchanging presents. The presents do not have to have the same value. A person can give another person a present based on his financial situation. It is not appropriate for a poor person to buy an expensive present by putting himself into financial difficulty.

It is necessary not be extravagant when buying presents; it is better to buy one that will not cost a person more than he can afford and one that will be used. The intention in receiving and giving presents should be to fulfill the order of the Messenger of Allah, ”give and receive presents…”; it should not be to show off.

Hazrat Prophet (pbuh) showed us by his exemplary deeds how the attitude of a Muslim should be regarding the issue of exchanging presents as he did in every other issue.

Our Prophet returned even the simplest favor. He always returned favors and he advised his ummah to do so. In a hadith, he said, “Return the favors. If you cannot find anything to give to a person, pray for him so that it will be known that you have returned his favor." (Abu Dawud Zakah 8).

The Messenger of Allah, who returned even the simplest favor, would definitely give a present to someone who gave him a present. He advised his friends and relatives to do so, too. Hazrat Aisha said, “The Messenger of Allah received presents and gave presents in return."

If the person who gives the present is someone that expects something in return, he needs to be given something. For instance, when the slave gives his master a present or when a poor person gives a rich person a present. Imam Malik and Imam Shafii hold this view.

If the person who gives the present does not expect a return or if he does not lay a condition like that, it is not necessary to give him something according to Abu Hanifa and Imam Shafii. However, Imam Malik holds the view that it is wajib to give something in return for a present based on the following verse: "Ye have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct)." (al-Ahzab, 33/21)

We learn the attitude of the Prophet regarding the issue from a hadith reported by Hazrat Aisha.

A Bedouin gave the Prophet a present and the Prophet gave him a present in return. It is narrated by Ibn Abbas. Those who draw a conclusion from this hadith believe that it is wajib to give a present in return for a present that you receive. Thy show this thought and the Sunnah as evidence.

In another hadith, the Prophet says, "exchange presents so that your love toward each other will increase."

Our Prophet is the greatest example for all Muslims. There are many lessons that Muslims need to take from him. The Messenger of Allah always gave something in return for a present. That is what a Muslim needs to do.

The reason why something is given in return for a present is not because it is obligatory but because it will increase love and respect among people. (see Şâmil İslam Ans., Hediye item)

One of the most important elements that ties man to life is dreaming. If God had not given people the possibility of dreaming, their life would have been too bad. When we look at the miserable state of a disappointed person, it will not be hard to estimate the miserableness of people who have never had dreams.

God gave man not only the ability to dream, which has many good functions, but also the mind in order to keep dreams within bounds. If a person who has a good sense regards each dream as something that must be realized, he is bound to be mad one day.

Every drug has some side effects but it is necessary to use some drugs; similarly, many nice spiritual elements, feelings and thoughts that man has do have some side effects. The mind is very nice but if you load on it too many things that it cannot carry, you will cause it to go astray.

Many clever philosophers turned out to be foolish materialists because they used the mind out of its boundaries and tried to understand the principles of belief through their mind, without needing the light of revelation.

It is understood from this explanation that the existence of dreaming is a great bounty; it has no manufacturing defects but there are some usage errors. As a matter of fact, those who use dreaming wrongly are called daydreamers or stargazers.

The messenger of Allah impressed the seal of “Muhammad Rasulullah” under his letters and gave them to the ambassadors given below and sent them to deliver the letters to given kings: Amr b. Umayya ad-Damri, to the king of the Ethiopia, Ashama ibn Abjar; Dihye b. Halife el-Kelbi, to the emperor of Byzantine, Heraklious; Hatib b. Ebi Beltea, to the king of Alexandria, Mukavkis; Abdullah b. Huzafe es-Sehmi, to the king of Persian, Kisra; Shuca b. Vehb el-Esedi, to the king of Balka, Haris b. Ebi Shemyr el-Gassaniye; Salita b. Amr el-Ameer to Havze b. Ali or to Sumama. Such ambassadors conveyed the message and invitation of the Messenger of Allah to the kings of the countries they went. As some of the kings tore the letters up, some of them accepted the invitation of the Prophet and became Muslim.

Expressing an opinion on the mistakes of others is speculation, which has a negative effect such as misleading pure minds. For this reason, we are going to evaluate this judgment with logical reasoning which is nourished with belief.

Absolute Truth: is the existence of something’s actual identity with its true nature and reality in Nafsul-Amr; Allah’s knowledge. According to some philosophers who retired from the faculty of reasoning such as sophists, human mind and knowledge cannot find or know the absolute truth. According to them, there is neither absolute truth nor true knowledge. All things are assumption. We are going to prove the wrongness of such ideas with one or two example.

The accuracy of the most of the data that the positive sciences have put forward is not only perceived by reasoning but also with eyes. For example, all of the details about solar and lunar eclipse of the sun and the information given long before exactly come out after a period of time. This shows the accuracy of the scientific evaluations about the existence of the solar system’s absolute truth such as its actual position, working system, system components and the relation between them.

Likewise, the medical developments of nowadays, can truly evaluate most of the facts such as how organs work and function which belong to the absolute truths of human body. Treatment methods yielding positive results, various medical operations, organ transplantation, peculiar characteristics of RNA-DNA, genetic passwords, fingerprints and other discoveries mean the evaluation of absolute truths related with human’s physiologic, biological, organic and genetic structure. The seeing ability of the eye, the hearing ability of the ears and the tasting ability of the tongue are examples of the absolute truth. Islamic scholars also indicated the existence of the absolute truth saying, “The essence of things is fixed”.

Besides, are the existence and oneness of Allah (SWT), the existence of Jinn, the miraculousness of the Qur’an, narrations and rational proofs that supported the truths such as the unique personality of Hz. Muhammad (PBUH) not absolute truths?

Do we not have the right to be suspicious of the existence of the mind of a person who says the existence of man, animals, plants, the moon and the sun that we see with our eyes, let alone unseen things, is not absolute truth and is the brainlessness of such a person not an absolute truth?,

They are only a few examples; we can give tens of more examples.

The concept of a single truth has absolute and relative aspects.

According to absolute truth, there is only one single truth because one thing cannot be two different things at the same time. Two opposites do not come together. For instance, the only truth of the sunny time when the sun rises is the day. The only truth when it is dark and when the sun sets is the night.

However, there are some relative truths of the day and night. For instance, when we say it is daytime or night now as people who live in Turkey, what we say is true for Turkey but it is not the only truth for the world. When it is night here, it is day in some other countries and vice versa. To sum up, the relative qualities that are called relative truths are not the single truth but relative truths that have many true aspects.

Similarly, water is a single truth that forms by the combination of oxygen and hydrogen. However, in terms of people drinking it, water has a pluralistic truth parameter from the point of view of medicine.

For instance, the same water can have five different judgments depending on the states of five different patients. It is obligatory for a patient who has lost a substantial amount of water to drink water. It is harmful like poison for a patient who has just had an operation. It is haram for him in terms of medical science. It is partly harmful for another patient; it is abominable for him to drink water in terms of medical science. It is neither harmful nor useful for another patient. It is permissible for him to drink it in terms of medical science. As it is seen, the truth has multiplied here. Is it possible to say, “Water is medicine only; it is obligatory to drink it; there is no other judgment”? (See Sözler 27. Söz/Hatime)

The information implied here are primarily religious sciences and the ibadah is not fard (obligatory) ibadah but nafila (optional) ibadah. Fard ibadahs cannot be skipped in order to get educated; it has great responsibility. That hadith can be explained as follows; Learning religious sciences is favorable than ibadah such as nafila salat (prayer), nafila sawm (fasting) and dhikr (remembrance).   
Some hadiths which illuminate that issue can be presented as follows:
-There are many hadiths about the virtues of knowledge and scholars. A few of them are presented below:
“A scholar is seventy degrees superior to a worshipper. The gap between every degree is as long as the distance between the heaven and the earth.” (Majmau Az-Zawaid; 1/122)
“In the presence of Allah, being occupied with knowledge all the time is superior to having jihad for Allah’s cause.” (Kanzu’l-Ummal, h.no: 20240)
“The most virtuous deed is getting the knowledge of Allah/ the science teaching His Divine essence, attributes and names. Certainly, both few and many deeds with knowledge benefit you. However, neither few, nor many deeds with ignorance benefit you.” (Kanzu’l-Ummal, h.no: 28731)       
 -The fact that knowledge is superior to worship is so clear that there is no need to explain it, because;
Knowledge can be without worship, but no worship can be without knowledge. Getting knowledge is also worship itself.
As it is mentioned in the hadith “If someone blazes a good trail, an equal amount of rewards that the persons following that trail gained are written in the register of the actions of the person that has blazed that trail.”(Muslim, Zakat 69. Also refer to Nasai, Zakat 64), it is not difficult to understand how being occupied with knowledge one hour is superior to worshipping for years when we give thought to the reward, which thousands or millions of people, who convert into belief, pay heed to halals (permissible) and harams (forbidden), have high ethics and worship favorably because of the knowledge of a person who explains a rule of the religion, cause that scholar in question to win.   

It is an international organization of advantage. Freemasons, who include distinguished people with special qualities and have a widespread organization, have been very effective in almost everywhere in the world.
Freemasonry is a secret organization of Judaism. All of its ranks and symbols come from the distorted Torah. The entry ceremonies are carried out in accordance with the doctrine of The Torah.
Freemasons continuously deny their relations with Jews and claim that they have no connection with them. They know that if their connections with Jews are revealed, they will not be welcomed by the society. They try to show themselves as an organization of charity, a society of fraternity and solidarity, instead.

First of all, it will be useful to say that the Torah is an ideology and doctrine book of Jews. The name of that ideology in the field of politics is Zionism. Zionism and Freemasonry are the examples of the application of the philosophy originating from the Torah. 
In the changed and distorted Torah, the forms of savagery and massacre that the Jewish race is ordered to apply to the nations of the world are explained in detail; secret and unobtrusive methods are also explained in detail and various methods are shown. When those methods are applied, the nations will be destroyed from inside but they will not notice it; nobody will hear the name of Jews about it.
Freemasonry, whose connections with Judaism is stated only in their own secret resources, is one of the branches of Judaism that adopts the doctrine of the Torah and acts secretly.
Freemasons find it necessary to keep their relations with Jews secret because it is more useful for them to use charity organizations as a screen and serve their target disguising themselves as charitable people instead of telling people that the have the same aims as Zionism.  
Freemasonry is, indeed, a method of training some people who are not Jewish under a secret society in order to make those people serve Judaism and the ideals of Jews in any field.
Thinking that the targets of Zionism can intimidate people at first, Zionists, along with the concept of Judaism, have carried out their activities with successful, rich and prestigious people having good jobs using favorable concepts like fraternity, friendship and peace through clubs within the structure of Freemasonry.  Thus, they have realized their aims of not putting Zionist targets forward and making people who are not Jews serve the ideals of Judaism. (Ali Uğur, Masonluk, Soruşturma Dış Politika dergisi, p. 3).
Freemasonry, which claims to have adopted cosmopolitan principles like humanity, world citizenship, internationalism in a form of utopia but which regards only the members of the same organization as brothers and which help the people in the organization which carries out the struggle of the liberty of belief and conscience but which wants to make people adopt the belief of Freemasonry which seems democrat but which is actually liberal, capitalist, privileged and oligarchic which prefers the fraternity of Freemasonry to the principles of competence, worthiness and virtue which has an organization of abundant finance and staff and which is disciplined, authoritarian and international, has some mysteries traditions and symbols. It is stated in the publications of Freemasonry that those symbols (triangle, light, star with six corners, acacia, masonry, hiram form of temple, etc) are based on ancient Egyptian and Jewish traditions. Freemasonry has received criticism and protest in the lodges because it regards only its members as brothers although it says Freemasonry wants to see humanity as a whole because it protects and defends people due to their membership not due to qualifications like capability, worthiness, etc, because it tries to help its members during a danger or when help is wanted even if those members are against their nation, because of its cosmopolitan structure, because of regarding the principles of Freemasonry as the only truth and because of the unfavorable attitude towards religion and nationality from time to time, because Jews and converts hold the important positions, because it is used as a means of establishing a Jewish state based on Jewish aims and ideals and because the protection of Judaism is always in the background. (Ömer Rıza Doğrul, Eski Mısır'da Masonluk İzleri, Selâmet Mahfilinde Dört Konferans, İstanbul 1930, p. 4).
Although its origin is very old, Freemasonry was established and developed in England in 1717; Freemasonry, together with the British Jews and British colonialism, developed by having agents, sympathizers, deceived and mistaken people everywhere, and they were made to serve as the satellites of the British. Likewise, Jews absolutely direct the Freemasonry lodges in the USA. Those who want to have commercial, economic and political positions are in need of the help of Freemasonry there.
When the Constitution that was declared between 1822 and 1884 and the minutes of the parliament during the elections following it are examined, it will be seen how Greeks, Armenians and other minorities worked for their interests and the division of the State. Mithat Pasha, who played an important role regarding the issue, has a very interesting identity. Mithat Pasha, who is the son of a Hungarian rabbi, started to make improvements in the Turkish state. He opened schools based on Jewish principles and taught revolutionary doctrines there. Mithat Pasha also established the political party of Young Turks. In Europe, he acted upon the instructions of Simon Deutch, who was his confident friend. The murder of Sultan Abdulaziz was committed in fromt of the eyes of Mithat Pasha. (Kemal Fedai Coşkuner, Yakın Tarihimiz ve Siyonizm, Orta Doğu, 10 January 1976).
The Rescript of Gülhane (political reforms) was announced by the attempts of Mustafa Rashid Pasha, who benefited from the inexperience of Sultan Abdulmajid on November 3, 1839. Thereupon, the foreign organizations and minorities strengthened. Those who adopted those reforms named it as “the Good Reforms”. Cosmopolitanism, foreign effect and inferiority complex spread. Therefore, some people named it as “the Evil Reforms”. Mustafa Rashid Pasha, who announced the Rescript was a member of the Scottish Freemasonry lodge. (Prof. Dr. Hikmet Tanyu, Siyonizm ve Türkler, İstanbul Bilge Yayınları, p. I, 281)
The concept of God in Freemasonry is a deist concept. Deism occurred as a reaction to the belief of Allah in heavenly religions like Islam, Christianity and Judaism. According to that concept, there is a being that exceeds the universe. However, man cannot know him fully. Therefore, that being is not prayed; nothing is asked from him; he is not expected to love and test human beings. Thus, the thought of the hereafter and resurrection after death are annulled. When the concept of deism is furthered, you will reach the concept of atheism. Besides, that concept is common among the members of the French Freemasonry lodge (Yesevizade, Soruşturma, Masonluk, Dış Politika, issue 3, p. 109).
The word Zion means “the kingdom of Allah”. The verses about the superior race in the Torah form the foundation of the idea of Zionism.
The origin of the rumors that Jews are the nation that have been chosen by Allah take place in various chapters of the Torah. Two of them are as follows:
" I said, 'You are "gods"; you are all sons of the Most High. Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance " (Psalms Chapter 82, Verse. 6-8 p. 598).
" For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people " (Deuteronomy Chapter 7, Verse 6 p. 184).
It is possible to add hundreds of more verses that are wrong and contrary to religion of the so-called Torah like the ones above. They all show that Freemasonry is an organization that make the educated people of nations serve in accordance with the Zionist political interests of the desperate Jews in order to realize its ideals.
Sami ŞENER

As it is known, the first man, Hazrat Adam (pbuh), is also the first prophet. The principal duty of a prophet is teach people the oneness of Allah and the belief of oneness. According to what the Quran tells us, every nation, every community was definitely sent a warner, a prophet throughout history. Prophets also died when their time of death came like other human beings. It is possible that another prophet was not sent just after the death of a prophet because the religion brought by the prophet that died was effective after his death for a certain time.    

The period between two prophets is called the period of interregnum. In those periods, on the one hand, people were affected by ignorance and on the other hand, they tried to fill the religious gap in their nature. When they could not find the truth, they tried to satisfy their needs ignorantly.

The feeling of worshipping Allah is probably the strongest element of conscience in the nature of man. Therefore, when they lost the belief of oneness and the real deity – in order to satisfy the natural feeling of worshipping – they started to look for new deities. They imaginarily attributed some attributes of Allah like power, knowledge and mercy to those deities so that they would serve the purpose; and they assumed deities that were in compliance with those attributes.     

As a matter of fact, all of the wrong totems in mythology are connected with something sacred. The sun, the moon, plants, seas, cows were all regarded as a divine beauty, majesty, perfection or source of bounties; and they were regarded as sacred because of their connection with Allah. However, the generations that followed transformed them into deities.   

As a matter of fact, according to the information given in hadiths, the idols that the nation of the Prophet Noah (pbuh), the second father of the mankind, worshipped and whose names are given in the Quran (Nuh, 71/23) were righteous people. The respect shown to their spiritual ranks were transformed into extreme commitment by ignorant generations and they were promoted to divinity. (see Tabari, Ibn Kathir, the interpretation of the mentioned verse).

We can think that there exist similar reasons behind other kinds of idolatries.

Menstruation is a natural type of blood that flows at regular intervals from a woman’s uterus after puberty. God has laid down certain rules in connection with this, as a concession to the woman, in consideration of her condition.

Menstruation usually lasts 3 to 10 days and nights, varying from woman to woman. Most women have a regular number of days for their monthly menstrual period. The number of days may fluctuate and the period might come a little early or a little late. So when a woman sees menstrual blood, she should consider herself to be menstruating. When it stops, she should consider herself clean. If more blood appears after her menstrual period has ended, but does not have the same color as menstrual blood, it should not be considered as menstruation.

So, after 4 days of menstruation if the bleeding stops, a women can perform gusl and continue with daily prayers, she doesn't have to wait for 7 days.

click for detail explanation

Lying is a habit of telling too many lies. Lying is hiding the truth and telling the opposite of what is known. Lying is a very abominable habit. Our religion prohibited lying severely and made it haram.

Lying is a disease in one’s soul. Muslims should protect themselves from it. Children should be trained to tell the truth when they are still young and they should be explained why lying is harmful.

Although Allah the Glorious ordered “Avoid lying” (al-Hajj, 22:60), there are people who lie for simple worldly interests. Especially, perjury (false testimony) is a very abominable behavior and this is counted amongst major sins. A true Muslim should tell the truth and refrain from lying, even though it may be against his own good. Allah the Supreme said:

“O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for God can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily God is well-acquainted with all that ye do.” (al-Nisa, 4:135).

The Reverend Prophet also emphasized that lying and perjury is amongst major sins. (Riyazu’s-Salihin, III, 138). Moreover, he stated that lying is an indicator of being hypocrite. (Muslim, Faith, 107).

Lying is permitted in three situations in our religion:

a) Someone imposed to cruelty and injustice can lie in order to save his/her life, property and honor from being harmed.

b) Lying is permitted when it is used in order to reconcile between spouses who are offended with each other; because the Messenger of Allah said: “He is not a liar who reconciles between people and who says or narrates good words for this reason.” (Muslim, Birr, Sila, 27).

c) Lying is permitted during war in order to defeat enemy.

As for the perversity of lying, the Prophet (pbuh) said:

“Lying leads to perversity and perversity leads to Hell. By lying again and again, one is eventually recorded as a liar by Allah.” (Bukhari, Adab, 69; Muslim, Birr, 103-105). This is the most important negativity of lying. That is to say; it is the fact that it alienates one from pleasing Allah and eventually leads to Hell. Moreover, lying puts people at odds with each other. It destroys trust between people, causes chaos in society, ends friendships and gives rise to enmity. For a lie will be noticed sooner or later, liars become people who are not trusted, not respected and not loved. In summary, lying leads one to devastation both in this world and the otherworld.

Firstly, it is not permitted to dispute about Islamic issues. During disputes one needs to be silent. If your friend knows better than you, then you can trust his knowledge. Still, you should search and learn about these subjects either from our site or from other trustable Islamic sources.

Even if your friend is well-learned about many topics, of course it is not possible for him to know every topic to great details. One should especially be much cautious about giving information on religious subjects. It is a sign of the perfection of faith to remain silent about the topics we don't know for sure.

Ahmed b. Hanbel (death 241, of Hegira,/855 AD) says that for a person to be a 'mufti' (religious authority) he must possess the following five qualities:

a) having a benign intention and aiming only at Allah's acceptance. For malign intention also makes thinking malign,
b) possessing knowledge, prudence, dignity and seriousness,
c) being sure of oneself and one's knowledge,
d) getting the community to accept his authority,
e) knowing people as individuals and as a community.

As is understood by these conditions, the religious authority should take the psychological state of the one who asks for a religious decree into account, should be respectable in the eyes of the public, should be discreet, and should be capable of comprehending the effects of the religious decree that he gives on the individual and the public. (Muhammad Abu Zahra, Islam Hukuk Metodolojisi, Trans. Abdülkadir Şener, Ankara 1973, p.391 et al.)

To give a newborn child a nice name as soon as possible is one of the most important duties of the parents. The name given to the child is valid both in this world and in the hereafter. The Messenger of Allah was interested in the names of not only children but also adults. The Prophet changed some names that he regarded as bad. He gave information about the names that need to be given to babies; he sometimes gave names to children himself.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) explains the importance of giving nice names as follows: “On the Day of Judgment, you will be called by your names and your fathers’ names. Thus, give your children nice names.” (1)

The act of calling will be carried out by an angel appointed by Allah with the permission of Allah. Nobody would like to go to the presence of Allah with a name that Allah will not like. Therefore, it is necessary not to give bad names to babies.

If the children were given the names of non-Muslims or unpleasant names, it is necessary to change them.

According to the explanations made by the Messenger of Allah, the best names are as follows: As boys’ names; Abdullah, Abdurrahman, Muhammad, the names of prophets, Hasan, Husayn and the names of other great people of Islam are recommended. For girls’ names, the following names and the like are nice: Aisha, Fatima, Zaynab, Khadijah, Jamilah, Zahra.

In the Gathering Place (mahshar) every child will be called by the name given to him. If the name of the child is a non-Muslim name, the child will be embarrassed due to his name and will complain about the person who gave him that name by saying,

'Allah created me as a Muslim by birth; why did you give me such a bad name?’ Due to the importance of the meanings of the names, our Prophet changed the foreign names that had bad meanings with good Muslim names; for instance, he changed the name Abdul-Uzza (the slave of Uzza: an idol) with Abdullah (the slave of Allah). He changed the name Jamrah (piece of fire) with Jamilah (beautiful girl) and the name Harb (war) with Hasan (handsome, beautiful, good). That is, what is meant by a Muslim name is that the meaning should not be bad.

- Most of the Islamic scholars agree that the first qibla of Muslims, al-Aqsa Mosque is Bayt al Maqdis (in Jerusalem), whose surroundings are blessed.

In some of the historical sources, it is stated that Jerusalem was devastated in 70 A.D.  also Bayt al Makdis was destroyed during this incident. However, this place was known as a mosque and its remnants were protected.  And our Prophet gave us some information about these remnants.

At present, the wall which is called “Wailing Wall” by Jews and “al-Buraq Wall”by Muslims is the remnant of the old mosque.

After Jerusalem was conquered in the reign of Umar (r.a.) in A.D. 638, al-Aqsa Mosque was built in the place of Bayt al Maqdis. Umar’s (r.a.) adopting it as a mosque was because of this place’s sacredness and significance.

Afterwards, al-Aqsa Mosque was extended in the reign of Abdulmalik bin Marwan, one of the Umayyad caliphs. The octagonal Qubbatu's-Sahra, which is next to al-Aqsa Mosque and which is supposed as al-Aqsa Mosque by Turkish Muslims, was built by Abdulmalik bin Marwan too.

Today, the claims stating that al-Aqsa Mosque is not the mosque mentioned in the first verse of Sura al-Isra are not accepted by Islamic tafsir scholars. All well known tafsir scholars agree unanimously that the mosque mentioned in the Sura al-Isra is al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. However, it is certain and true historically that there was not a mosque like now in Jerusalem at that time and there were only the remnants of the building mentioned as “Temple” in some verses of the Quran.

This place is named as “Baytu’l-Maqdis. And all well known tafsir scholarsstate that the place visited  by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is Baytu’l-Maqdis.

For example, while “al-Aqsa Mosque” is explained in Tafsir of Qadi Baydawi, the following  is stated: “It is Baytu’l-Maqdis that is implied here.  For, at that time there was not a mosque there.” We see the same expression in the Tafsirs of Nasafi and Hazan. The tafsir narrated by Ibn Abbas is like that. The following explanation is given about “al-Aqsa Mosque”in the tafsir of Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır: “Al-Aqsa Mosque is the Baytu’l-Maqdis in Jerusalem. In fact, in the hadith of Isra the following is stated:  “I rode on Buraq and arrived in Baytu’l-Maqdis.” And its surroundings means Jerusalem and its neighbourhood.” (Elmalılı, Hak Dini Kur’an Dili, 5/276)

For the Isra Incident mentioned here, see Bukhari, Bad'u'l-Khalq, 6; Muslim, Iman, 259, 264; Nasai, Salat, 10; Tirmidhi, Tafsiru surati’l-Isra 2, 17; Ahmad b. Hanbal, III/148, IV/208, V/387, 392,394.

- There are tens of tafsirs in which the word “Baytu’l-Maqdis” implying Jerusalem is used in tafsir resources to explain al-Aqsa Mosque. (As examples, see Tabari, Zajjaj/Maani’l-Qur’an, Mawardi, Tha’labi, Baghawi, Zamakhshari, Razi, Tafsir of the mentioned ayah)

- Muhammad Hamidullah prefers the view stating that al-Aqsa Mosque meaning    “the farthest mosque” mentioned in the first verse of Sura al-Isra cannot be the mosque in Jerusalem but must be an Abrahamic mosque (existing in the skies). However, it is clear for us that this view is not true.

First of all : There is not any information about a mosque named “al-Aqsa Mosque” in the sky in verses but or hadiths.

Secondly : In the event of Miraj-Isra, there are lots of sound hadiths giving information about the travel of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem. Of course, it is not possible to admit a comment contradicting this information, accepted by the Ummah unanimously.

Thirdly : When al-Aqsa Mosque is mentioned in the relevant verse of Sura al-Isra, its location is also described and there is no doubt that this place is Jerusalem: “Glory be to HIM WHO carried HIS servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Distant Mosque, the environs of which WE have blessed, that WE might show him some of OUR Signs.” In a hadith, our Prophet says: “Allah has made the place between the Sky and Euphrates sacred (fertile) and has made especially Palestine sacred.” (Muslim, Iman, 282) The sacred characteristic of Jeruselam described in that hadith is also mentioned in the ayah. So, this shows that the place where al-Aqsa Mosque is is Jerusalem.

The sacredness of al-Aqsa Mosque’s surroundings, its having fertile land, rivers, trees and greens, and also its being the qibla of the prophets mean that such things cannot be considered for the skies.

Fourthly : In the 7th ayah of Sura al-Isra, there are following statements: “Now, if you do good, you will do good for your own souls; and if you do evil, it will be to your own loss. So when the time for the fulfillment of the latter warning came, WE raised a people against you that they might cover your faces with grief, and that they enter the Mosque, as they entered it the first time, and that they might destroy utterly all that they conquered.”In this ayah, in the statement meaning “they enter the Mosque”, a known mosque is mentioned. In its Arabic form, “al-Masjid” is used with the definite article “al”.

According to the Arabic grammar rule, the definite article at the beginning of “al-Masjid” points to a place mentioned before. Its meaning is like this : “the mosque you know”. In this sura, two mosques are mentioned before. One is Masjid Al Haram belonging to Mecca, the other is al-Aqsa Mosque. In this ayah, as the addressed people are Israelites, this shows that the known mosque in Jerusalem is al-Aqsa Mosque.

- According to some scholars, al-Aqsa Mosque is Ji’rana Mosque. Ji’rana is a region between  Taif and Mecca, 9 km away from Mecca, and famous for being the place where the booty of Hunayn Battle was distributed. There is a mosque in Ji’rana built to remember the memories of the events experienced in the distribution of the booty. It is irrational to think that the expression “al-Aqsa Mosque”, which means “the farthest Mosque” is used for a place just 9 km away.  Moreover, the existence of such a mosque in Mecca at that period is not mentioned in any historical resources.

- As some people recorded rightfully, they tried to be rational in their claim stating that there was no mosque in Jerusalem.  We hear that some people entitled “theologians” are trying to stand out as if they discovered something scientific or reached some new information. However, these claims are not only irrational but they are also such claims that make the works of Zionist occupiers, who are trying hard to eliminate al-Aqsa Mosque. For, Zionist occupiers aim to break the ties of love of Muslims with al-Aqsa Mosque in order to be able to do this.

A boy or a girl reaches youth from childhood through adolescence.

Adolescence becomes visible with the appearance of some physical signs in the child. Having wet dreams for a boy, menstruation and becoming pregnant for a girl are signs of adolescence. It is called natural puberty. In religious terminology, a boy who has reached the age of puberty is called a "baligh" and a girl is called a "baligha".

According to the majority of the fiqh scholars of Islam, the start of the age of puberty is the age of 12 for boys and 9 for girls. The end of this period is the age of 15 for both genders.

When a person reaches the age of property, he/she attains the mental level to understand the orders and prohibitions of the religion.

Man can differentiate between the good and the bad , the true and the wrong only after becoming baligh; therefore, our Lord calls us to account for worshipping like prayer and fasting beginning from the day we become baligh. Thus, our religious responsibilities start after the age of puberty.

Beginning from the first day when this human and sexual feeling, which becomes manifest in the form of wet dreams in boys and menstruation in girls, starts, each order of Allah is recorded in the book of deeds of everybody as "fulfilled" or "not fulfilled".

However, the age of maturity (rushd) and puberty (bulugh) is not the same thing.

Maturity (rushd) is an Islamic legal term meaning to find the right path, to act cleverly, to be mature mentally and spiritually, to have the quality to attain good deeds, to take necessary measures to protect one's property and to prevent extravagance. A person who has these qualities is called rashid. The opposite of rashid is safih. Safih means a person who is sane and has the power to discriminate but who uses his money and property irrationally and illogically. (Ibn Abidin, Raddul-Mukhtar, V, 95; Majalla, item 946, 947).

Rushd means reaching the experience and maturity to control and manage his own property. This state can occur before or after the age of puberty or at the same time based on one's personal education, the conditions of the environment or one's ability.

Islamic law does not impose a certain age limit for rushd but it usually occurs after bulugh. Determining a standard age for rushd is left to the conditions of the era, climate, and the level of the education and culture of the people.

The following is stated in the Quran:

"Make trial of orphans until they reach the age of marriage; if then ye find sound judgment in them, release their property to them…" (an-Nisa, 4/6).

According to this verse, the property of a child is not given to him as soon as he reaches the age of puberty; it is necessary to search whether he is rashid or not.

According to Abu Hanifa, when a person reaches the age of puberty, the financial restriction on his money and property is lifted and he becomes free to use his money and property even if he is safih and extravagant. However, his money and property are not handed over to him as a precaution until he becomes rashid or 25 years old. According to the majority of the Islamic scholars, his money and property are not handed over to him until he becomes rashid regardless of his age.

- Such questions are asked one after another. Why does youth exist? I wish people always stayed as children. Why does childhood exist? I wish people were like 20 year-old boys in two days. I wish people were created directly from the soil like Adam instead of birth as a baby from the mother’s womb, etc. 

Such questionsare the considerations stimulated by the delusion of people. They may seem to be innocent, –even if without the consciousness of faith- but in fact, behind the sensual impulses, they lead to the criticism of an issue which is regarded as appropriate by Allah, who has infinite knowledge, wisdom, mercy and power.

For this reason, we should not let such delusions affect our mind. It means we play into the hands of delusion’s power which is both the receiving and transmitting ear and tongue of the devil disguised behind the veil of researching wisdom. For, it is possible that there is a risk of not being satisfied with the given answer. Or after that, another question may come to the mind. Therefore,as a general principle, we think that it is better not to care such questions that come to mind.

As for the real answer to the problem, 

- Old age is a sign of liveliness. Considering that even the nails of people always grow, it is not possible for the other parts of their body not to grow. That is, first of all, Allah’s law of life and birth are in effect. Every living thing develops, grows up in a certain period, grows old, wilts like a rose and dies.

- Old age is a fact reminds death. Old age is a sign of Allah’s infinite power and will. Although man eats the same food and he is also fed better, the aging of man shows us the choice/will of Allah. Thus,apparent causes actually have nofunctions. It is “Allah” who creates, brings up, feeds and ages people and makes them strong or weak.

- In terms of the test of religion, old age is an opportunity given to people. It reminds people the mortality of the world of and the migration to the hereafter through death and motivates people to worship more.

- Although the biological power of people weakens at old age, his spiritual, mental and hearth faculties will increase. This will enable people to follow the right route.

- Since old age shows the troubles of the world, it soothes the grief of death for both the dead and his relatives. Moreover, both sides sometimes become happy with the death of old people.

- Those who make use of these opportunities given through old age gain extra rewards and the points of those who cannot make use of these opportunities are decreased.   

The advice given by the following hadith points to this wisdom of old age: “The worst person among the old people is the one who resembles young people by pursuing his desires and ambitions. The best person among the young people is the one who resembles the old by acting prudently.“ Munawi, (Faydu’l-Qadir, 3/487)

 - The following hadith states that old people along with the other weak people are a means of abundance for the community: “You are helped and given sustenance because of the weak among you.” (Bukhari, Jihad, 76)  

- “Respect for old people comes from respect to Allah.” (Abu Dawud, Adab, 20) The hadith above shows from which source the roots of respect for old people come.

You may handle the subject from this point of view and increase the number of examples. And it is possible to reach the wisdom of old age by using the steps of the stairs like those ones.

Imperialism is the tendency to establish an empire. That is, the policy of expanding the borders of a state. The tendency to establish an empire dates back to the old ages of humanity. However, this tendency still exists. The imperialistic characteristic of empires has been more evident since the 15th century. The reason why they want to expand the borders is to grab the sources of wealth of other countries and to force people to work for them.   

Imperialism expresses the tendency to gather different peoples in terms of ethnicity and culture together under the authoritarian administration of a central power.    

It has various types like political imperialism, demographic imperialism, religious imperialism, cultural imperialism and economic imperialism. Political imperialismis based on an emperor's desire of expanding the borders of his country. Demographic imperialism expresses going toward other countries in order to settle the extra population in other countries. Religious imperialismis applied with the intention of spreading a religion. Cultural imperialismaims to spread a certain lifestyle and imperialism. The target of cultural imperialism is to replace a culture with another culture. Economic imperialismoriginates from the search of raw materials and commercial demand. Economic imperialism is a product of modern ages. It emerged with capitalism.

From the historical viewpoint, no kind of imperialism is seen in isolation. States generally use various models of imperialism together in order to realize their aims. Cultural imperialism helps the other types of imperialism to apply and complement them. 

European countries attempted intense imperialistic activity beginning from the 16th century due to the effect of especially the mercantilist movement. The Industrial revolution increased the desire of imperialism.

Wars are very expensive and they do not conform with the idea of freedom today; therefore, a subtler and masked form of imperialism is applied nowadays. This form, which is called modern imperialism, obtains interest by making a country dependent on another country in terms of economic and cultural life. Developed countries make developing countries dependent on them using this method and bring up the people of those countries through their culture and ideology; thus, they want to make those people unable to separate from them in terms of philosophy, political view and lifestyle.  

Imperialism made use of the mischief of nationalismthe most in order to break up the Islamic world in the last century. In addition, it has used various movements and policies. In order to realize the policies of mischief, it makes use of spies and "native" people that it recruits by providing them with certain financial advantages. These "native" people may seem to work in various fields; for example, some of them may be writers and try to incite people. Some of them may be involved in politics and try to direct the psychology of the community toward the interests of the imperialistic powers. They may become administrators and try to influence those who make decisions.   

First, imperialism eliminated the institutions that represented the oneness of the Islamic ummah in order to be able to break up the ummah. Then, it placed some insurmountable walls between Muslims using some Muslims. Thus, the relationships between Muslim communities were cut off or reduced to a minimum. The minimal relationships are at a level that cannot exceed the interests of imperialism and far away from the principle of "the oneness of the Islamic ummah". Besides, imperialism did not find this situation enough and made the Muslim communities that it drove away from one another by insurmountable walls separate from one another.

One of the worries of the West in the period of colonization was how to keep Islam under control. A solution presented to the French administration by Baron Carra De Vaux was "to break up the Islamic world by using ethnic and political differences and to make efforts to break Muslims' spiritual unity". This principle, known as "Divide and Rule", was used by all imperialistic powers and it is still used.

The period of colonization gave rise to new areas of hostility between Christians and Muslims. Western missionaries started to swarm to the Islamic land that was colonized. The West never forgot losing Istanbul to Turks in 1453. (That is why they call it "Constantinople" though so many centuries passed.)  Missionaries were determined to make the whole Anatolia a Christian land.  

Imperialism in the economic field was more obvious. Raw materials were bought at very cheap prices from the Islamic countries and taken to the West. After being processed, they were exported to Islamic countries at astronomical prices. Thanks to the multinational institutions like the World Bank and IMF, which were established afterwards, all of the countries were forced to join the Western economical system and many Islamic countries along with some other non-Muslim countries underwent debt crises. Many Middle East research centers were established in the West especially in the USA in order to acquit this economic imperialism. In addition to them, many centers and institutes of international relations and research were set up. Besides, private universities and schools were opened in many Islamic countries so that Western scientists would get experience on the spot and they would bring up new researchers having the western mentality. Social scientists classified the communities that they studied under the light of "Modernism" as "Modern" (Western countries) and "Traditional" or "Underdeveloped" (non-Western countries).

In conclusion, the war waged by the West against Islam should not be underestimated. In Middle Ages, Islam struggled against Christianity only. Crusades are not preferred today. There are some minor clashes between Christians and Muslims only in Lebanon, Egypt and Sudan. 

The threat from the secular West to the Islamic world is serious and the real cause of it is the fact that the strategic, military, economic and political interests of the Western world are strongly settled in the Islamic world. These kinds of interests with the packets of modernism took westernization and the western interpretation of Islam to those countries, causing serious problems. It is not possible to understand the anti-western attitude in the Islamic world without taking into consideration the anti-Islamic tradition in the West. The anti-Islamic tradition in the West prevented Islam from being understood, dishonored it in every occasion and hence misinformed the masses. If the West wants to establish sincere relations with Islam and Muslims, it needs to revise its understanding of Islam.   

References:

1. Yeni Ansiklopedi, Timaş Publications.

2. Asaf Hüseyin, Batının İslamla Kavgası,  Pınar Publications.

When ilm (science) is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is the sciences related to Allah and principles of belief. Therefore, Abu Hanifa called his book in which he explained the principles of belief “Fiqh al-Akbar (the Greatest Fiqh).

The works a Muslim does with a good intention are also regarded as worshipping. When yeast is put into milk, it turns milk into yoghurt; similarly, a person who puts his yeast of belief and worshipping into his work and study can turn his work and study into worshipping. Therefore, all of the works done with good intention, belief and worshipping in one's life can be regarded as worshipping.

The statement “Every seed is a tree” is true. However, if a seed is not sown in accordance with certain conditions though it has the program of a tree, it cannot be a tree. Similarly, each science has a secret that leads man to Allah and causes man's sins to be deleted. However, there are certain conditions, for this secret, which is like a seed, to be revealed. A person who fulfills the conditions like belief, worshipping, intention and avoiding harams will open this secret like a tree; thus, it will be a means of deleting his previous sins. Otherwise, it will remain as a seed and will not be able to produce anything. He will also be held responsible because he spent his life in wrong places.

What makes a chandelier valuable is its electricity. A golden chandelier without electricity cannot save you from darkness. Similarly, our works and benefits to humanity are like a chandelier. What illuminates and enlightens it is belief and worshipping. Therefore, the work of a person who has no belief is not regarded as worshipping. He will benefit from it only in this world.

Ilm (science) is divided into two: If some sciences are known only once or thought once or twice, it will be enough. Man has to think of other sciences all the time like bread and water. He cannot say I have understood it; it is enough. Sciences of belief are in this group.

Islam has never contradicted science. On the contrary, it encourages science. Religious resources are full of the best examples of it. The Quran and the universe are books of Allah. The former comes from His attribute of kalam (speech) and the latter from his attribute of qudrah (power).

Scientists read the book of the universe and interpret the Creator's works whether they believe in religion or not.

Every science mentions Allah with a tongue peculiar to it. For instance, the science of botany tells us about the properties of a tree. It shows us how the tree gets the food in the soil, how it carries the food to its leaves, how fruits form and how growth takes place. Thus, we see a perfect machine consisting of cells and having a root, trunk, branches, leaves, flowers and fruits. In addition, it is alive. Let us think conscientiously: How can simple soil, which lacks mind, consciousness, knowledge, will and power, create such a wonderful machine? Botanists have not been able to make a single leaf in giant laboratories.

Similarly, the science of zoology opened the door to the inner world of an animal for our mind. We realized that each animal was a wonderful factory. The bee makes honey; the handless silk worm weaves silk; the sheep produces milk. Each of them is a divine factory. They do not make those artistic miracles attributed to them with their own knowledge, will and power.

It is possible to increase examples.