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022 Following Rasulullah is a religious duty for all
It is our duty to believe that all of our prophets have been sent by Allah. It is our duty to believe that all the knowledge notified by them are true and real. It is ordered in the verse from the Quran that: "The Messenger believeth in what hath been revealed to him from his Lord, as do the men of faith. Each one (of them) believeth in Allah, His angels, His books, and His messengers." [Baqarah, 285] Prophets are the true sources of the divine mercy. None of the communities on the earth are deprived of this mercy: "We (also) sent (Our messengers) to Peoples before thee; " [Nahl, 63] "there never was a people, without a warner having lived among them (in the past)." [Fatir, 24] Rasulullah (s.a.w.) is the last prophet. "Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Messenger of Allah, and the Seal of the Prophets:" [Ahzab, 40]
Divine mercy has not ended with Him. It continues with his successors who are awliya and it shall continue until Qiyamat (doomsday). Recently, the lord of our universe has created hundreds of devices such as telephones, telegraphs, televisions, computers, internet, mobile phones, news and magazines, news portals and other smart media through His intelligent, experienced and talented servants in order to spread His grace to a wider audience more quickly. Therefore verses from the Quran, hadiths, prayers, religious conversations reach to remote places. Everybody can be informed about the divine provisions and morals that are taught by prophets as well as know about the crimes and rewards of their deeds that are to be assigned by Allah. Therefore, a person can no longer have an excuse of not being informed. "Messengers who gave good news as well as warning, that mankind, after (the coming) of the messengers, should have no plea against Allah." [Nisaa, 165] People no longer have an excuse to evade or pretend not to see the teachings of Islamic religion.
Dear readers; hadiths explain Quran and consist of the words and deeds of Rasulullah. The vague sections of the Quran are explained by Rasulullah; the obscure parts about his words and deeds are mutually detailed by the companions of Prophet Mohammad and with the ijtihad (diligence) of our scholars. All these constitute “Islam”. In our time, there are some people who claim that “Qur'an is enough for us, we do not need other sources”. People who have a “we do not accept anything but Qur'an” approach are in fact those who wish to interpret Quran at their own will. Those who follow their personal wishes/desires cannot get rid of trouble. See how Allah warns people who wish to keep a path between denial and faith by separating Him from His prophets: "Those who deny Allah and His messengers, and (those who) wish to separate between Allah and His messengers, saying: "We believe in some but reject others": And (those who) wish to take a course midway. They are in truth unbelievers;" [Nisaa, 150-151] "To those who believe in Allah and His messengers and make no distinction between any of the messengers, we shall soon give their (due) rewards." [Nisaa, 152]
It is also everybody’s duty to be subject to prophets after having faith that prophets and their teachings are real and true and that they are sent by Allah. Because prophets live and carry on all the teachings of Allah and they act according to the revelations with honesty. They personally live the life that Allah asks us to pursue with a “good way of living” and they are the best examples of man in their own time. That is why we are all obliged to have faith in all prophets; have faith in Rasulullah who is the last prophet; to love him; to depend on him; to follow him and to live like him. It is ordered in the verses from Quran that: "follow him that (so) ye may be guided." [Araf, 158] "He who obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah." [Nisaa, 80] "So take what the Messenger gives you, and refrain from what he prohibits you." [Hashr, 7] "Say: If ye do love Allah, Follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you your sins:" [Al Imran, 31].
Dear readers, Love refers to sincere bonds. First, love emerges with simple interests. Then, in time it turns into fondness. And then emerges passion and dependency. This passion and dependency in a heart attributes another value to the loved one/thing. The more there is love, the more that value to the loved escalates. It makes the loved one priceless. That is why Mawlana ordered that “Through love, all that is copper will be gold”. Rasulullah regarded love as the source and basis of absolute faith and ordered: "Without faith, you shall not enter paradise. Without loving each other, you cannot have true faith” [Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi] These values that emerge out of love most of the time do not have logical and scientific explanations. Because these are value judgments. These are spiritual facts that are based passion and dependency. Love is not only limited to what is loved. Once a man loves, the loved one/thing and all the related things to it get into the scope of this love on its own. Remember the old Turkish movies. Remember those lovers who would wipe their face with the handkerchief that his lover had dropped and how he would kiss and smell that handkerchief. Remember those young boys who would keep a piece of his lovers’ hair for many years.
Dear readers; “faith” is very important. It is the basis of Islam. May Allah grant us absolute faith in our last breath? The essence of "faith" is the approval, acceptance and faith that a person has regarding the divine order by believing in it and being attached to it by heart. “Islam” is the outcome of this attachment; it means leading a life according to Allah’s will by being subject to His commands. In another words; it means preferring the will of Allah to his/her own desires and wishes. This is called Sirat al-mustaqim” (the straight path). When there is a heartfelt bondage to Allah, its most important outcome becomes the essence of faith which is the love and respect felt for the Holy Creator. This is the “heavenly light of faith”. When a person lives Islam in accordance with Allah’s will, he begins to better understand what a great blessing the divine grace is. In time, the love and respect that person has for his Creator evolves and exalts. Hence, this is what leads a man into perfect faith: love. As love grows in heart, its extent also escalates. Whatever is about Allah gains more importance. Allah and things about His religion are referred to as “Sheairullah” (Symbols of Allah). Everything such as prophets, Quran, salah, prayer, fasting, azan, harameyn, kaaba, mosques, minarets etc. are all sheairullah. Sheair means symbols, signs, insignias, tokens etc. According to Abdulhaq Al-Dahlawi, “everything that reminds of Allah is sheairullah”. Loving these are mandatory for an perfect faith. A person should pay respects to the symbols of Allah on the universe and be fond of them even if some other things are not conducted.
It is ordered in the verse from Quran: "… and whoever holds in honor the rites of Allah, such (honor) should come truly from piety of heart." [Hajj, 32]. Rasulullah also ordered: "Unless you love me more than you do your mother, father, children and anybody out there, you shall never become a true believer." [Bukhari, Muslim] Abdullah bin Hisham (r.a.) narrates: We were with Rasulullah. At that moment He was holding Umar Khattab’s hand. Umar told him: "Oh the Prophet of Allah, indeed I love you more than anything, except for my soul (my own self)". Rasulullah ordered: “O Umar, your faith will never be complete until you love me more than yourself.” Umar said: "O Rasulullah, now I love you more than myself". The Prophet replied: “Now Umar, now you have it!” [Bukhari] It is understood that loving the Prophet is a very important sign for the love of Allah and it comes from faith. Great man of heart, darwish Yunus Amra, has extended the limits of love in such a way that embraces the entire universe by saying: “We love the creatures for the Creator’s sake”. If only we could all love Allah with such a deep love and that our love would embrace the entire universe!... Be entrusted to Allah. Dr. Ismail Ulukus
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