What is religion?

Since Prophet Adam (alaihi-salam), they changed and denied the religions revealed in every century by saying that they were the words of ignorant primitive people. Such assertions made by disbelievers are quoted, and answered in many parts of the Quran al-Karim. For example, Allahu Taala says after the thirtieth ayat of Muminun Sura: “They didn’t believe Prophet Nuh (Noah ‘alaihi-salam’), so we drowned them in water. For the people we created after them, we sent a Prophet from amongst them and said, ‘Worship Allahu Taala. There is nobody other than Him to be worshipped. Fear His torment!’ Many of those who didn’t obey, who didn’t believe in the rising after death, and yet whom We had given plenty of worldly blessings, said to others, ‘This Prophet eats and drinks like you. If you believe someone who needs many things like you, you will be deceived and suffer a loss. The Prophet tells you that after dying and after your bones have rotted and turned into dust and soil you will be resurrected and get up from your graves. Is that ever possible? Whatever exists is in this world. Paradise and Hell are all in this world. This is the way it has been and this is the way it goes. There is no rising after death.” Endless Blıss First Fasicle: 41

It is impossible to escape torment in the Hereafter for those who deviate as much as a hair’s breadth from the creed and iman communicated by the Ahl as-Sunna scholars, the great and pious people. It is understood by the human mind, the Quran alKarim, all hadith sharifs and the great religious men’s perceptions through the eye of their hearts. There is no possibility of this being wrong. Words and books of those who deviate as much as a hair’s breadth from what these great people communicated in their books are poisons. Zindiqs who use the religion as a means in order to earn worldly possessions and who, after introducing themselves as men of religion, write whatever occurs to their minds, are thieves of faith. They steal the beliefs of those who read their books and magazines. Those who believe them think of themselves as Muslims and perform salat. However, because their iman has been stolen and lost, none of their prayers, worships or good deeds are accepted, nor will they be of any value in the next world. Concerning those who sell their religion for the world, Allahu Taala revealed the sixteenth ayat of Baqara Sura: “Those that are ignorant and idiots gave away their religion in order to get the pleasures and enjoyments of the world. Selling out their next world, they received the world and what their lusts desired. Abandoning the way to salvation, they ran after perdition. They earned nothing in this act of buying and selling of theirs. They didn’t know the way of trading or earning. They lost a great deal.” Endless Blıss First Fasicle: 36

The first thing necessary for all people is to have iman and the creed of the Ahl as-Sunna scholars as communicated in their books. It is these scholars who have explained the way of our Prophet Muhammad (alaihi-salam), who have comprehended murad-i ilahi (the divine purpose) of the Quran al-Karim, and who have extracted the Prophet’s purpose from the hadith sharifs. It is the way shown by them that will save us on the Day of Rising. It is the Ahl as-Sunna scholars who have transferred the way of Allah Taala’s Prophet and his companions (radiy Allahu taala anhum ajmain) into books and who have protected them against being changed or defiled. 5 – Those scholars in the four Madhhabs who reached the grade of ijtihad and the great scholars educated by them are called the Ahl as- Sunna scholars. The leader and the founder of the Ahl as-Sunna is (Imam azam Abu Hanifa Numan bin Thabit ‘radiy Allahu taala anh). 6 – Sahl bin Abdullah Tusturi (rahmatullahi alaih), one of the great Awliya (plural for wali, one loved by Allahu Taala) who reached the grade of haqiqat (the highest grade in Tasawwuf), says: “If there had been a person like Imam Azam Abu Hanifa (rahmatullahi taala alaih) among the ummats of Prophet Musa and Isa (alaihimus-salatu was-salam), they wouldn’t have turned into Jews or Christians.” 7 – Millions of books written by Imam Azam Abu Hanifa (rahmatullahi taala alaih) and by hundreds of his disciples and by the thousands of great people educated by them, correctly spread and promulgate our Prophet’s way all over the world. Today, there is not a city, a village or a person left in the free world that has not heard about the Islam communicated by our Prophet. Now, Islam can be easily learned anywhere in the world through the internet. Upon hearing about Islam, if someone sincerely wants to learn it correctly, Allah Taala promises that He will grant them true knowledge. There are publications giving the names of the books on Islam that fill the world’s libraries. Endless Blıss First Fasicle: 33-34

Allahu Taala declares in the Quran al-Karim, in the eightieth ayat of Nisa Sura that obedience to Prophet Muhammad (alaihi-salam) is obedience to Him. Then, unless His Messenger is obeyed, He will not be obeyed. In order to make it known that this is absolutely certain and clear, He declared in an ayat Karima: “Of course, it is certainly so.” Thus He gave no opportunity for some people who cannot think properly to see these two orders as obedience different from each other. Again, stating dissatisfaction with those who look on these two orders of obedience as two different things, in the 150th and 151st ayats of Nisa Sura of the Quran al-Karim, Allahu Taala declares: “The disbelievers want to differentiate Allahu Taala’s commands from His Prophets’ commands. They (Jews) say they believe in Musa (Prophet Moses ‘alaihi-salam), but they do not believe in others (Prophet Isa and Muhammed ‘alaihimus-salatu was-salam). They (Christians) say they believe in Jesus (Prophet Isa ‘alaihi-salam) and call him the son of Allah (may Allahu Taala protect us from such an aberrant belief). These beliefs are of no value. All of them are disbelievers. For all of them we have prepared Hell with very bitter torments.” Endless Blıss First Fasicle: 32

[Allahu Taala declares in many places of the Quran al-Karim that this is so. For example, He declares in the thirty-first ayat of Ali Imran Sura: “Oh my beloved Prophet (sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam)! Tell them, ‘If you love Allahu Taala and if you want Allahu Taala to love you in turn, adapt yourselves to me! Allahu Taala loves those who adapt themselves to me’.”] Allahu Taala does not like any of the things that are incompatible with the Ahkam Islamiya. Is it possible that rewards will be given for the things that are disliked? Endless Blıss First Fasicle: 32

To have iman means to begin following Prophet Muhammad (alaihi-salam) and to enter through the door of bliss. Allahu Taala sent him to invite all the people of the world to bliss and declared in the twenty-eighth ayat of Saba Sura: “Oh my beloved Prophet! (sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam) I sent you to humanity so that you should give the good news of endless bliss to all the people in the world and to guide them along this way to happiness.” Endless Blıss First Fasicle: 31

It is called ibadat (worship) to do the fard and sunna and to avoid the haram and makruh, that is, to observe the rules of Islam in order to attain Allahu Taala’s love and receive thawab (rewards in the hereafter). There is no worship without an intention. In other words, it is necessary first to have iman and then to learn and observe the rules of Islam in order to follow Prophet Muhammad (alaihi-salam). Endless Blıss First Fasicle: 31

Then, the thing which is of the highest necessity, which is the most important fard for every Muslim, is to learn iman, the fard and the haram. There is no Islam unless these are learned. Iman cannot be maintained, the debts to Allahu Taala and to human beings cannot be paid, intentions and morals cannot be corrected and purified unless the basic principles of Islam are learned. Unless correctly intended, no fard will be accepted. It was declared in a hadith in ad-Durr-ul-Mukhtar: “Learning or teaching knowledge for one hour is more blessed than worshipping until morning.” The author of the book Hadarat-ul-quds states on the ninety-ninth page: “I studied the books Bukhari, Mishkat, Hidaya and Sherh-imawaqif under Hazrat Imam Rabbani’s (rahmatullahi alaih) supervision. He would encourage young people to acquire knowledge. ‘Knowledge first, and tariqat next,’ he would say. Noticing my shirking from knowledge and taking pleasure from tariqat, he pitied me and advised me, ‘Read books! Acquire knowledge! An ignorant pious muslim will be a plaything in the hands of the devil,’ [that is, the rank of knowledge is the highest of all ranks.]” Endless Blıss First Fasicle: 30-31

It is written in the seventy-third page of the book Mir’at ulMaqasid concerning an intention for an abdast (ritual ablution, wudu) in Ibni Abiddin (rahmatullahi alaih) and in the fifty-fourth page in the translation of Milal-Nihal that there are three kinds of actions: The first is masiyyat, that is, sinful actions. These are the actions which Allahu Taala dislikes. It is masiyyat not to do what Allahu Taala has commanded to be done, or to do what He has prohibited. The second one is taat, those actions which Allahu Taala likes. They are also called Hasana. He has promised that He will give Ajr, that is, thawab (blessings in the Here-after) to a Muslim who performs taat. The third group of actions are called Mubah, which have not been declared to be sinful or taat. They are taat or sinful depending on the intention of the person who does them. Sins are not exempted from being sins if they are committed with or without a good intention. The hadith, “Actions are good or bad depending on the intention,” declares that the taat and mubah actions will be given rewards in accordance with the intention. If a person, in order to please someone, offends another person, or gives alms from someone else’s property, or builds mosques or schools with haram money, they will not be given rewards. It will be ignorance to expect rewards for these efforts. Cruelty and sins are still sins even if they are committed with goodwill. What is blessed about such actions lies in not doing them. If one does them knowing that they are sins, it will become a grave sin. If one does them without knowing, it will be a sin also not to know or not to learn the things that are known by most Muslims. Even in Dar alharb (those countries not under Islamic rule) it is not an excuse, but a sin, not to know the Islamic rules which are widely known. When the taats are done without an intention or intended for Allahu Taala’s sake, blessings are given. Endless Blıss First Fasicle: 28-29

Religion means the way prescribed by Allahu Taala in order to guide people to endless bliss. The unwholesome ways which people make up under the name of religion are not called religion; they are called irreligiousness and disbelief. Since the time of Prophet Adam (alaihi-salam), Allahu Taala has sent mankind a religion by means of a Prophet every thousand years. These Prophets (sall-Allahu alaihi ajmain) are called Rasul. On the other hand, in every century, by making the purest person the Prophet, He has strengthened the religion through him. These Prophets who followed the Rasuls are called Nabi. All the Prophets have taught the same iman; they have asked their umma (community of followers of a prophet) to believe in the same tenets. Yet, since their Sharias, that is, the things that are to be done and avoided through the heart and body, were different, they were different in being Muslims. Those who have iman and adapts themselves to the Ahkam Islamiya is a Muslim. Those who want to adapt the Ahkam Islamiya to their desires and pleasures are disbelievers. They don’t understand that Allahu Taala has sent religion in order to break the desires and pleasures of the nafs (a force in people that is enemious to Allahu Taala) and to prevent their excessive indulgence. Every subsequent religion (religious system, devine order) has abolished or changed the religion previous to itself. The latest religion that has changed all the religions prior to it, which has assimilated all the previous Sharias within itself, and which will never change until the end of the world is Prophet Muhammad’s (alaihi-salam) religion. Today, the religion which Allahu Taala likes and loves is the Islamic religion, which is based on these rules and essentials. To those who perform the fard and abstain from the haram, which this Sharia communicates, Allahu Taala will bestow blessings and favors in the Hereafter. That is, they will receive thawab (rewards in the Here-after). For those who do not perform the fard and do not abstain from the haram, there are punishments and suffering in the next world. Endless Blıss First Fasicle: 26/27