DECEIVING humanity WITH using the name of ALLAH (GOD)

SUMMARY OF THE BOOK "DECEIVING humanity WITH using the name of ALLAH (GOD)"

Below is the link and the English text transcript of the 6-minute YouTube video containing the summary in Turkish of Prof. Dr. Yaşar Nuri Öztürk’s valuable book titled "THE TREASON GNAWING AWAY AT TURKIYE : DECEIVING WITH ALLAH", with the hope that it will be of good use to you.

Abdullah Erdemli

Lucerne / Switzerland

https://youtu.be/TBdHHspLKAw?is=4GT1M3-4ePYFwXoW

Summary:

"Recently, I read Yaşar Nuri Öztürk's book DECEIVING WITH ALLAH.

When I finished this book, I thought about the following: 

Yaşar Nuri Öztürk is actually seeking an answer to the question, 'WHY ARE PEOPLE COOLING OFF AND DISTANCING THEMSELVES FROM RELIGION?'

But he does this not by blaming people, but by warning them calmly. 

Think of it like this; 

Some people come forward and say, 'Allah wants it this way.' 

But you say to yourself: 

'Is this really what Allah wants, or does it just suit someone else’s interest?'.

This is exactly where the book begins. 

What Does DECEIVING WITH ALLAH Mean? 

According to Yaşar Nuri Öztürk, DECEIVING WITH ALLAH is this: 

A person taking his/her own interest, fear, power, or tradition and slapping the label 'ALLAH COMMANDS THIS' on top of it. 

In other words, it is not just the lie itself, but presenting the lie in a religious packaging. 

And this is indeed a very dangerous thing; because people usually fear Allah. But THEY MUST NOT FEAR other fellow HUMANS [ALLAH’s other SERVANTS like themselves].

Let me give you a simple example: 

Let's say someone stands up somewhere and says: 

'Do not question this! Because religion wants it this way!' 

But you can’t help yourself asking: 

'Well, does it really say so in the Qur'an?' 

If the person across from you gets angry, tries to silence you, or frightens you when you ask this, Öztürk says:

'Stop and think here! Because ALLAH IS NOT AFRAID OF BEING QUESTIONED! But people are'. 

This book does neither shout, nor it does insult. 

It seems more like it is saying: 

'My friend; use your intellect! Do not silence your conscience! ALLAH IS NOT UNCOMFORTABLE WITH YOUR THINKING!' 

And believe me this is a very comforting language. 

Why Is Religion Used So Easily? 

When answering to this, Öztürk says something VERY HONEST here: 

Because religion is one of the easiest and fastest ways to control people. Through fear, through guilt, through the threat of hell... 

But when you look at the Qur'an, you see this:

ALLAH ADDRESSES HUMAN BEINGS WITH THEIR INTELLECT, THEIR CONSCIENCE, AND THEIR FREE WILL. 

In other words, if someone is constantly frightening you, silencing you, and saying 'do not ask', it might be some other authority speaking there, not Allah. 

This happens even within the family, look, this is a very important point. 

For example, a parent says to their child: 

'You will do this! Because religion is like this!' 

But the child is unhappy, frightened, and crushed. 

Öztürk says: 

'If a behavior crushes and belittles a human being, one needs to stop and think again there. Because THE PURPOSE OF RELIGION IS NOT TO CRUSH HUMANS, BUT TO HONOR THEM'. 

The Concepts of Women, Politics, and Worship 

The book also touches upon the issue of women a lot.

There is this clear message in the book: 

Most of the practices that humiliate, silence, and disregard women come from TRADITION, not from the Qur'an.

And these traditions have been presented like religion over time. 

Öztürk is very clear here; 

'This is precisely one of the most common forms of deceiving with Allah, all throughout the history of mankind‘.

Let's come to the relationship between politics and religion…

Look, this part is a bit heavy, but it's bare the truth. 

Think of a leader; he mentions Allah in every speech, but he is UNJUST. 

Öztürk says the following: 

The name of Allah might be mentioned a lot, but if there ain’t no justice, there is a problem there ;

- Do you know with which attribute Allah introduces Himself the most in the Qur'an? 

- With the ATTRIBUTE OF HIS JUSTICE. 

WHEN IT COMES TO THE ISSUE OF WORSHIP; 

The book is not against worship. On the contrary, it says it must be done. 

But it also says this: 

If worship (rituals) does not make you more merciful, more honest, and more just, something might be going wrong there. 

A religiosity that performs prayers yet violates the rights of others [kul hakkı], and fasts yet crushes people...!

According to Öztürk, this is also an obvious kind of deception. 

So What Are We Going To Do? 

At the end of the book, there is a VERY CALM CALL: 

'Do not believe everything you hear!' 

'Do not surrender immediately when it is said 'Allah said so'!' 

'Look at the Qur'an, do not deactivate your intellect, do not silence your conscience!' 

In other words, the book does not say 'become a super scholar!'. It just says 'become conscious people!'.

It does not write exactly like this in the book, but the sentiment of it is this: 

ALLAH IS NOT YOUR ENEMY. 

Allah does not want you to be slaves either. 

Allah wants you to live like human beings.

That's why the book disturbs some people; because their orders built upon fear are being shaken… 

Religion exists not to silence human beings, but to raise them up. 

If religion produces fear, produces oppression, and covers up injustice somewhere, one needs to stop and think there. 

In order NOT TO BE DE-CEI-VED WITH AL-LAH, ONE MUST TRY TO TRULY KNOW ALLAH. 

And this knowing happens with the intellect, with the conscience, and with sincerity. 

• Perhaps the REAL SIN is pretending to defend Allah while crushing people. 
• Perhaps the GREATEST WORSHIP is being able to say 'NO!' to injustice. 

Think deeply, develop your consciousness, be a righteous person! 

This is the most important thing! 

https://youtu.be/TBdHHspLKAw?is=4GT1M3-4ePYFwXoW