PILLARS OF FAITH – The Pen Magazine

Obedience to Divine Law and obedience to egoistic caprice

25/12/201724/05/2018 The Pen

The happiness of this world lies in worship and in becoming a soldier of Allāh, as does the happiness of the Hereafter. “The Third Word” from the Risale-i Nur Corpus O people! Worship your Lord (Qur’an: al-Baqarah, 2:21) If you wish to truly understand that worship (1) is an immense gain and happiness, and that open sin (2) and debauchery are ultimately massive loss and ruin, then direct your attention to this short allegory. Listen! [The allegory of the two roads – the road of Divine Law and the road…

A window of reflection opened to the knowledge of Allah

25/12/201724/05/2018 Muhammed Said Arpacı

“The seven heavens and the earth and whatever is in them exalt Him.” (Isra, 17:44) A work lets you know its artist Although you have not seen the architect Sinan in person, you know that he is a great architect. This is because Selimiye and Suleymaniye mosques, with their amazing domes, huge columns, great arts, perfect mastership and engineering, tell us about Sinan the architect. An orange tree that is about to bear its fruit, a daisy that adorns our garden and smiles at us, they both let us know…

Life after death

22/12/201625/12/2017 The Pen

Will your consciousness survive your own bodily death? Will there still be a “you” after you die – which is to say, will you continue to have conscious experiences in an incorporeal state (in a similar state, for example, to dream-consciousness)? Moreover, if the “heart” of human consciousness does survive the cessation of the beating of the physical heart, will the state in which it subsequently finds itself be determined by the way that your individual consciousness had, in life, interacted with others in the physical world, and by the…

The existence of God

22/12/201603/10/2017 The Pen

Islam teaches belief in one god, and that this God is not some arbitrarily chosen god amongst other gods, but the beginninglessly eternal reality, the Only God, Who did not beget, nor was He begotten. The seven heavens and the earth, and all that is in them glorify Him; and there is nothing but that it proclaims His praise, but you do not understand their glorification. Surely He is All-clement, All-forgiving. (Qur’an, “the Chapter of the Night Journey” 17:44) He is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward;…

Understanding Islam

19/11/201615/07/2017 Hasan Spiker

“ISIS”, “Al-Qaida”, suicide bombing, “Muslim” intolerance and all the rest of it: anyone with an even elementary knowledge of Islamic learning and culture will know how strange and alien, indeed how “extreme” and unfamiliar the picture so often painted of Islam today is, especially when viewed in the context of the vast sweep of Islam’s great civilisational history, where it has been a paragon of peaceful coexistence, cultural diversity, scientific learning, broadmindedness and deep spirituality quite unparalleled elsewhere in human history. Inherited and media prejudices The first obstacle that some…

Head to head with a Darwinian

19/11/201622/03/2017 Muhammed Zakir Çetin

We were in a program in Sav madrasa in Isparta. One evening an elder brother, Hafiz Bekir, called me and said, “I have an atheist nephew. He is a teacher, and he is with me now. He is an outspoken man and says, ‘If you prove me the existence of Allah, I will believe.’” This elder brother wanted me to meet his nephew; and I said OK. We met in our senior brother Süleyman Semiz’s house at 9 pm. With a deep compassion and affection towards this man, we started…

Why should I learn the Qur’an?

04/08/201604/08/2016 The Pen

Our Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) says in his hadith; “The best amongst you is he who learns the Qur’an and teaches it.” (Bukhari, Fadhail ul Qur’an, 21) In another hadith; “A believer, who recites the Qur’an and acts on it, is like an orange (utrujjah) which tastes nice and smells nice. And the example of the believer who does not recite the Qur’an but acts on it is like a date that tastes sweet but has no smell. And the example of the hypocrite who recites the Qur’an is like a sweet…

Evidences for the existence of Allah

04/08/201621/11/2016 İdris Tüzün

İdris Tüzün Islam, with its whole truths, is based on the principles of faith; the principles of faith are based on “faith in Allah” which is the very first and the most important one. The faith in Allah (swt) underpins all the religious matters. 1- Importance of proving the existence of Allah Throughout the history of humanity, even though people worshiped the Sun, stars, stones and idols, it has been hardly seen that they denied the existence of Allah (swt). All the prophets from Adam (puh) to Muhammad (pbuh) fought…

The spiritual secrets of “la ilaha illallah”

21/04/201601/03/2018 The Pen

In this miserable world amongst these miserable, lost people and in a fruitless life, what is powerless, destitute man worth without an owner and protector, even were he to become the king of the entire world? “The Tenth Proof of Faith” from the Risale-i Nur Corpus بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم لااله الا الله وحده لا شریك له له الملك وله الحمد یحیی ویمیت وهو حی لایموت بیده الخیر وهو علی كل شیء قدیر والیه المصیر In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate There is none worthy of worship…

A world that is enduring, stable, and perpetual

24/11/201508/11/2016 The Pen

It is by no means possible that our Creator should possess this world resembling a temporary guest house, but not possess another, perpetual world that is stable, and that is the locus of the manifestation of His sublimity. From the Fourth Indication of the Tenth Word It is in no sense possible that the Ever-Abiding Creator of this transient world should bring this world into existence yet not bring into existence a world that is enduring. And it is impossible that the Eternal Artful Maker of this unique and transient…