.jpg "Introduction To Islam - Part I")
Daily Life In The Tracks of the Prophet
Religion Is Tough for Whom?
How the man has challenged the nature throughout history and struggled to subjugate it, he also manipulated the revelation; he twisted it, distorted it and tried to make it fit into his liking. Except for the final revelation.
read more | 16.03.2017, ThursdayReligion Is Tough for Whom?
(1).jpg)
Mountains, seas, forests, deserts are all there regardless of whether we like them or not. You may choose not to go see them or live near them, but you cannot change the fact that they exist out there. Same applies to the truth. As a reality outside of you, it stays there quietly, and it maintains its rule even if you turn away from it with dislike or close your eyes whenever it catches your eye. You are cold in winter time; you sweat in summer time. Because you feel cold or you sweat, it doesn’t mean that these seasons are doing anything wrong. They continue to do their jobs disregarding your grievances. They continue to do the favors you do not immediately realize. We manage to have a peaceful, healthy, and satisfying life as long as we live in harmony with the nature and stop complaining and trying to transform it. Otherwise, if we confront it and go out of the way, the moment we think we have corrected one problem, we find out that we have had tons of new problems.
I believe the same is true for religion. How the order in nature keeps running free from our self-centered whining and complaints (thankfully), so does the revelation –which explains the spiritual, moral, and social order of existence-, keep declaring the truth, independent of how our egos will judge it. How the man has challenged the nature throughout history and struggled to subjugate it, he also manipulated the revelation; he twisted it, distorted it and tried to make it fit into his liking. Except for the final revelation. Who knows, perhaps the Lord of the universe took the final revelation under His protection since the world of existence is taking its final turn now. He thus helped the man once again, at a time when standing before Him is so close, and He made guidance possible for those who wish to be guided by untouched truth.
Truth is tough. Because it doesn’t always please us. It hurts. It leaves us hang in midair. On one side, there is the desire to live in limitless freedom doing whatever we want, and on the other side there are necessities and responsibilities that come with the truth. A hiker cannot sleep until noon; a farmer cannot go on a holiday on the warmest days of summer, and so on. Of course you may choose to sleep until noon, and spend the winter skiing and the summer swimming. In that case then, that will mean you are not going to aspire to the harvest.
From this point of view, religion is tough, too: It demands you to manage your time, your wealth, your desires. It demands you to overcome your weaknesses, fill up your heart with faith, and trusting Allah, let go of your worries. There is no other way of constructing your piety.
In the beginning, declaring the truth of the religion in all its purity and simplicity was hard on the Prophet (pbuh), too. He has felt this pain for months, and with the guidance of our Lord (swt), he did not let the delicacy and kindness of his personality overshadow the message of Allah. He kept this delicacy and kindness within the frame of interpersonal relationships, yet whenever declaring the truth is concerned, he succeeded in not aiming at earning anybody’s sympathy whatsoever.
O today's man who considers feeling good as a standard of truth! You are not the measure of truth. You are a part of the truth. When you accommodate yourself to its integrity and seek the truth instead of placing yourself above it, only then will you be able to rise in accord with the existence; otherwise, you will tumble down from one pit to the other. Perhaps this is what is called "gayyah" [Quran 19/59] and tumbling down has already started.
Fatma Bayram
Ask an Expert
All question and answers
What They're Saying
Dr Mustafa Cerić
We are now discovering history, you and me, and the Turkish people, and the Bosnians, we are discovering Islam now; you are discovering Prophet Muhammad through Lastprophet.info… We are all discovering ourselves…We are together in this boat of discovery.
Grand Mufti (Reis-ul-Ulema) of Bosnia-Herzegovina
We are living in a world of people with weary hearts. All those weary hearts are in need of the breath of Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace, which is full of love and mercy. Our view of the human being has changed much; we are in need of his mercy-laden vision. We all need to hold onto his vision of the universe and that sacred hand embracing nature.
Thus, the launch of a web portal Project to introduce the Prophet of Islam in the most accurate way to the entire world, correct the misinformation about him and dispel prejudice by a group of women who are devotees of the Prophet is a significant step.
Prof Mehmet GörmezFormer Director of Turkish Religious Affairs
Prof Hayrettin Karaman
Not only the Muslims but also the whole humanity is in need of knowing the Prophet. For, according to Holy Qur’an and our belief as Muslims, he has been sent as a mercy not only to the material universe, but to all the worlds – material and spiritual, physical and transcendental. Therefore, introducing the Prophet to humanity is one of the most important services to humankind. Many means had been used to this end in the past. The contemporary world is identified as the age of information and communication wherein new means, methods and channels, hitherto unconceivable, have been discovered to transmit knowledge. So we must use all of these channels as a means to properly acquaint both Muslims and humanity with the beloved Prophet. As such, I welcome this web portal project as a very significant project of the modern age.
Professor of Islamic law and Daily Columnist
A great success! The Meridyen Association’s achieving such success in just a year’s time gives us all great happiness and hope for the future.
Meridyen Association presents a model project for us all with its web portal project, Lastprophet.info. I congratulate them.
Prof Mustafa ÇağırıcıFormer Grand Mufti of Istanbul
Prof Seyyed Hossein Nasr
I think that the lastprophet.info web portal will be very successful as long as it emphasizes, in an authentic fashion, the most universal and spiritual teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, and especially the ethical norms by which he lived, taught and set an example.
Professor of Islamic Studies at the George Washington University, Washington D.C.
Ertuğrul Günay
Through the Lastprophet.info project our friends are attempting to re-inform the world of our heritage and revive a “second era of teaching,” taking the Qur’an as reference, and using all available technology.
Former Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism
Lord Nazir Ahmad
Websites like the lastprophet.info and any other academic works that teach about Islam and the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace, particularly providing accurate information that challenge some of the myths which have been deliberately placed into the heart of western society, whether it be in terms of the Prophet’s teachings or his personal life, are crucial at this time.
Member of the UK House of Lords
I congratulate Meridyen Association, because this step has a great significance. Its impact will not remain limited to Turkey; this step will be the milestone of a project that will be reflected throughout the entire world. I believe that Lastprophet.info will be the transmitter of accurate and reliable information.
I pray that this meaningful project will yield positive results.
Recep Tayyip ErdoğanPresident of Turkey
Al-Mahabba Awards
1st Global Congress for Muslim Public Relations Practitioners
