ISSUE 23 – The Pen Magazine

Malicious Envy

17/08/201501/12/2016 İdris Tüzün

Hasad (envy) leads to unhappiness, bad morality, mischief and even disbelief. The cure: do not envy the worldly things, which are transient; and do not envy the matters of the Hereafter, where there is no room for jealousy. ______ A sultan meets two villagers on his way. He says to one of them, “Ask for anything you want from me! But whatever you want, I will give your friend twofold.” However, this villager is a very envious one. He thinks to himself: if he wishes for a horse, his friend…

Dua’ in the Qur’an and its importance

17/08/201530/11/2015 Enes Çalık

Man’s basic duty is iman (belief) and dua’ (supplication). In this piece, we will quote the verses that show how important dua’ (supplication) is in the sight of Allah Subhanahu Wa Taʽala. We will also include the verses where our Lord teaches us the right way to pray. The importance of dua’ قُلْ مَا يَعْبَأُ بِكُمْ رَبِّي لَوْلَا دُعَاؤُكُمْ “Say, “What would my Lord care for you if not for your supplication?””1 Every dua’ is responded وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِي سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ…

How to Arouse Curiosity of the New Generation?

17/08/201502/05/2016 Hasan Hüseyin Yıldırım

Curiosity, which urges children to learn, must be promoted in education. Since the fact that ‘curiosity is the teacher of knowledge and need is the master of advancement’ can not be really understood today, genius minds don’t awake, inventors are not raised and ideas cannot be generated. For this reason; officials usually cannot resist giving in to big problems we face about technology and methodology, the trouble of being dependent on the West and abroad, and terror issues. The educational system, which does not create demand while not giving any…

Repentance from secret sins of the heart

17/08/201508/11/2016 Cemal Ersen

We must recognize the sins of our hearts -which are, in fact, the cause for many other sins- and repent to our Lord in sincerity. When repentance and asking for forgiveness are the subject matters, mostly the sins that are committed by body and action come to mind. We do not even think of the sins which we commit in our hearts. This is a big heedlessness. It is possible that, because of this heedlessness, even the believers who abstain from major sins face a great spiritual danger. This danger…

The Food of Lower-Self: Sins

17/08/201501/12/2016 İbrahim Yardım

We must constantly be on alert against the sins that feed the lower-self. _______ Sins are like poisonous honey. It tastes sweet at first, but then it gives pain. Illicit indulgence and enjoyments, like poisonous honey, have seeming pleasure. But the result of the illicit is pain, torture, vanishing (of pleasure) and finally a slap. Sins are like fire. If it is not extinguished and suppressed, even a single sin might cause a big destruction, like the fire of a single match causing big fires and damage. Even a single…

Virtue of justice

17/08/201524/11/2015 Dr Mirza Akmescidli

True justice, giving the right holder what he deserves by protecting his right, cannot be achieved through absolute equality. Today, we are in need of the feeling of justice in all areas of life. Ranging from our personal life to family life, from our work life to all layers of social life, we need virtue of justice. It is obvious that the whole society will collapse if the persecution, the opposite of justice, prevails in life. History of mankind is already full of countless examples of this. Since justice is…

Dangers in Supermarket Juices

17/08/201502/05/2016 A.Hayreddin İşbilir

Fruit juice production is quite problematic. It is necessary that every substance used in production process must have a reliable halal certificate. If you think that supermarket juices are only fruit juice, you are certainly wrong. If they were really only fruit juice, there would be no problem except the danger of alcohol that might be formed in fruit juices. Unfortunately, however, many additives and various substances besides fruits are used in supermarket juices; and this is a grave risk in terms of both our belief and health. As a…

Fashion: Waste and Arrogance Combined

17/08/201502/05/2016 Lâle Yârâ

Fashion harms the meaning of tasattur that serves the dignity of human being and prevents many social problems. The order of tasattur ( covering) of Islam aims at various purposes such as protecting the mental health, dispositional structure and honour of individuals; observing the balance in between species and humans; and making a good life for family befitting human dignity. Man and woman’s being subject to different rulings of tasattur is a differentiation made according to the two kind’s creation qualities. That is a good answer to the question “Why…

My Journey through Risale-i Nur

18/06/201514/10/2016 Nahid Isa Muhammadayn

Risale-i Nur explains the divine truths of the Qur’an and Sunnah in a clear and convincing way. Almighty Allah says in the Qur’an, “Allah is the nur (light) of the heavens and the earth. The example of His nur is like a niche within which is a lamp; the lamp is within glass, the glass as if it were a pearly [white] star lit from [the oil of] a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire.…

Tajdid Duty of Risale-i Nur

18/06/201514/10/2016 The Pen

Risale-i Nur is a mujaddid that has done the duty of revival in terms of preserving the tenets of faith. Altınbaşak Academic Research Board Imam Bediuzzaman Said Nursi and Risale-i Nur introduced the Qur’an and its effectiveness in a way suitable for understanding in this century. He and Risale-i Nur deserve the title given by Prophet (pbuh) in this hadith “Allah (swt) shall raise for this Ummah at the head of every century a man who shall renew (or revive) this religion.” 1 Imam Said Nursi states in his dream which…