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…
Read MoreCategory: PILLARS OF FAITH
The existence of God
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;…
Read MoreUnderstanding Islam
“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…
Read MoreHead to head with a Darwinian
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…
Read MoreWhy should I learn the Qur’an?
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…
Read MoreEvidences for the existence of Allah
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…
Read MoreThe spiritual secrets of “la ilaha illallah”
“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 but Allah, alone without partner, His is the kingdom, and His is the praise, He gives life and causes death, but He is Living and does not die, in His hand is all good, and He…
Read MoreA world that is enduring, stable, and perpetual
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…
Read MoreA rewarding transaction and an honourable rank
The sale of one’s self to Allah is the most rewarding of transactions. “The Sixth Word” from the Risale-i Nur Collection In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate إنّ أللّه اشترى من المؤمنين أنفسهم و أموالهم بأنّ لهم الجنّة Surely Allah has bought from the believers their own selves and possessions, that Paradise might be theirs.1 What a rewarding transaction, and how honourable a rank, is the sale of one’s self and possessions to Allah, the Exalted Truth, and one’s becoming a slave and a soldier for Him!…
Read MoreQur’an Copies from Revelation to Ottoman Era
The writing of the Qur’an took its finest form in the 19th and 20th centuries with “Ayat Barkanar” and “Tawafuq” styles. As it’s known, our Holy Qur’an began to be revealed to our Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in Laylat al Qadr in 610. Our Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) dictated all the verses that revealed through 23 years to wahy (revelation) scribes. When the Prophet (pbuh) passed away, all the verses of the Holy Qur’an had been written. As it’s known, during Abu Bakr Siddiq (ra)’s khilafah era, a committee of the companions…
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