Which Islam Do We Adhere To?

WHICH ISLAM DO WE ADHERE TO?

[The addressees of this question, first and foremost are the shaqirds (students of the Epistles of Light written by Said-i Kurdî/Nursî) and the hizmetkârs (Hizmet-volunteers) and all Muslims]

Peace!

In the context of the calamities that have befallen the Hizmet Movement and its volunteers in Turkey, many people who are distant from, or even opposed to this Movement are saying various things and offering us advices. 

Well, since arriving in Switzerland in 2017 and for nearly the last 6 years, I too have been writing to and sharing my thoughts with my Hizmet volunteer friends, brothers and sisters —both those I have known for a long time and those I have met during this compulsory asylum process.

I must state that the criteria and priorities of those who are distant or opposed to the Hizmet Movement are quite, even vastly, different from my own.

To be honest, this difference is perfectly natural and inevitable…

There is a Turkish folk saying, as you know: 

“One searches for another's lost donkey while singing folk songs!"

There is also a Turkish folk song as you know it also well, that goes:

“Janey, Janey, Janey,

(Oh, my soul, my soul, my soul),

Now the truth plays its role.

A friend for the sunny day,

But where are they when it's gray...?”

I believe that these Turkish proverb and folk song, which beautifully summarize FOLK WISDOM, intend to convey the following message :

People;

• Do not approach the troubles and hardships of others with the same seriousness and sincerity as if they were their own,
• They approach the pain of others in a manner far from gravity and genuineness,
• They even act as if they care while maintaining an indifferent attitude—almost as if they are singing songs or whistling!
• Those who appear close to you in your good days treat you with a "kick him while he's down" [vurun abalıya] attitude in your bad days,
• In short, no one takes ownership of your business as much as you do, and no one empathizes with or cares for your troubles as much as you do…!

Let’s get to the point now…

You may have noticed from the shares I have made with you for all this time that I tend to evaluate everyone and every community—including my own individual and personal journey—by taking religion, namely ISLAM, as the sole reference point.

To such an extent that I feel the need to make a definitive and sharp distinction within Islam itself:

• THE REVEALED TRUE RELIGION [İndirilmiş Din] and
• THE INVENTED FAKE RELIGION [Uydurulmuş Din]

I read and perceive these two religions, which are as different as mountains, in two categories:

• THE TRUE ISLAM IN THE QUR’AN and
• THE INVENTED & FAKE UMMAYYAD (Muawiya) ISLAM.

And I believe with all my heart that THE RELIGION we all—shaqirds (students of the Epistles of Light written by Said-i Kurdî/Nursî) and the hizmetkârs (Hizmet-affiliated persons)—MUST LEARN, INTERNALIZE and LIVE is:

• Not the INVENTED & FAKE one,
• But the REVEALED & TRUE religion.

I focus all my tahshidat (concentrated efforts) in this direction.

As much as my tongue can speak and my pen can write, I invite everyone I have known from the past or met during this asylum process (the shaqirds, the Hizmet volunteers, the Muslims), not by overstepping my bounds, but ON THE CONTRARY, AS MY BOUNDEN DUTY, to the REVEALED RELIGION OF ISLAM IN THE QUR’AN.

For I BELIEVE that this task is of the nature of "Enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong" [Emr-i bi’l ma’rûf ve nehy-i an’il münker].

Based on this, I HAVE COME TO BELIEVE WITH ALL MY HEART that the right way, the essential way, and the ideal way is the way of concentrated efforts in this direction.

The conclusion of my words is this: The SOLE GOAL of all Muslims, including the shaqirds and Hizmet volunteers, MUST BE:

• To cleanse themselves as soon as possible from
• the MILLENNIAL FILTH, DIRT AND RUST of the INVENTED UMMAYYAD RELIGION,
• And to turn toward the PURE, CLEAR, AND LIMPID REVEALED RELIGION IN THE QUR’AN.

I can list the FIRST STEPS of turning from the invented religion toward theREVEALED RELIGION as follows:

• We must stop PRONOUNCING (telaffuz) the Qur’an from its Arabic original like a parrot, without UNDERSTANDING ANYTHING at all. This is certainly not equivalent of RECITING/READING the Qur’an. 
• We must abandon our habits of PERFORMING QUR'ANIC PRONOUNCINGS (so-called KHATIMS) merely by pronouncing the words (telaffuz) like a parrot and under the guise of gaining "thawab" (spiritual merit) or blowing those Qur’an pronouncings upon the souls of our deceased to "gift" them.
• For the Qur’an is not a BOOK OF THE DEAD to be pronounced, blown, and gifted to the souls of the departed.
• On the contrary, it is the BOOK OF THE LIVING.
• We must realize that such pronouncings (telaffuz) of the Qur’an will NOT BENEFIT the souls of our deceased even BY A SINGLE PENNY.
• We must read the Qur’an from RELIABLE TRANSLATIONS written in our MOTHER TONGUES, which we learned from our beloved mothers, in order to LEARN WHAT OUR BELOVED LORD IS SAYING TO US.
• We must maintain these Qur’an readings in our own native language—be they much or little—regularly and consistently, and EVERY DAY if possible.
• If we can master and dominate our "inner selves" (nafs) and achieve this, we will realize BEFORE LONG that the Qur’an is not a BOOK that is impossible for us to understand.
• In the meantime, we should be curious about WHAT KIND OF MONSTROSITY this invented religion actually is.
• In this regard, we must be able to overcome the stubbornness and selfishness of our inner selves and our rote-learned habits.
• To recognize and learn about this FABRICATED and MONSTROUS religion, we should read books covering the FOLLOWING TOPICS and listen to TRUE and TRUSTWORTHY religious scholars who explain them :

• ISLAM IN THE QUR’AN
• HOW WAS ISLAM CORRUPTED?
• DECEIVING WITH GOD (ALLAH)
• THE TREACHERY THAT GNAWS AT HUMANITY: RELIGIONISM
• THUS COMMANDED CHAPTER AL-MA'UN; GOD'S STRIKE AGAINST TYRANNY MASKED AS RELIGION
• HOW WERE THE REASON AND THE QUR’AN EXCLUDED FROM THE ISLAMIC WORLD?
• DO WE KNOW THE QUR’AN? HAVE WE EVER READ IT IN OUR MOTHER TONGUE?
• SHIRK (POLYTHEISM) : ENMITY TOWARD GOD MASKED AS RELIGION
• SATANISM FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE QUR’AN
• GLOBAL CATASTROPHES FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE QUR’AN
• ABU HANIFA (IMAM-I A'ZAM), THE PIONEER OF RATIONALISM AGAINST ARABISM; A LEADER WHOSE CORE IDEAS HAVE BEEN OVERSHADOWED
• GREAT SINS IN ISLAM
• PHARAOH: THE PIONEER OF DYNASTICIST RELIGIONISM
• ISLAM IN 400 QUESTIONS
• THE FUNDAMENTAL COMMANDS OF THE QUR’AN
• THE SOCIETY OF EVIL ACCORDING TO QUR’ANIC DATA
• ABU DHARR: THE PIONEER OF THE STRUGGLE AGAINST UMAYYAD RELIGIONISM

If we can begin to take these above-summarized “FIRST STEPS of turning from the invented religion toward the REVEALED RELIGION,” we CAN then BEGIN to gradually learn the REAL & REVEALED ISLAM IN THE QUR’AN—by Allah’s help and grace—and practice it gradually in our lives as we learn.

This is how I think, and I make my shares while being locked onto this goal.

We must all ask the following question to our inner selves, without any hesitation:

• Which religion do we belong to?
• The REVEALED RELIGION IN THE QUR’AN?
• Or the FAKE religion INVENTED afterwards?

I consider this question and its CORRECT ANSWER to be VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. 

This is where I stand, my dear Friends and Brothers and Sisters…!

With respect and affection,

Abdullah Erdemli