Friday Sermons

Facing saddening days for the past months with natural disasters around the world and endless sufferings of the Ummah, we look forward to Laylatul Qadr [Night of Power], which will be a means of inspiration and peace. On next Monday, we will meet the Night of Power with the grace of Allah (swt).

In our authentic Islamic tradition, which is based on the Qur'an and Sunnah, there is a form of worship called Itikaf. Itikaf, as a word, means to wait in a place, to stop and to close oneself somewhere. We know that before the first revelation was revealed to the Messenger of Allah (saw), retreated to the cave of Hira and was busy contemplating.

In Islam, the most important act of worship after prayer is giving zakat. The word zakat, which means abundance, cleanliness, increase and praise in Arabic, is defined in our religion as "Muslims, who are considered wealthy, to give a certain amount of certain types of goods to places determined by Allah".

The month of Ramadan disciplines our souls with fasting, our will with patience, and purifies our property with zakat and fitra. It reminds us that the poor have a right to the blessings that Allah (swt) has bestowed upon us. Therefore, the blessed month of Ramadan is a season of education and peace in which faith, worship, morality and brotherhood are reinforced. In other words, Ramadan is a month in which the most important reward is to be shaded in the shade of the Throne, to gain the success in the next life and to enter Paradise..[2]

The desire for glory and honour is a feeling that exists in human nature. People who have not reached spiritual maturity try to satisfy these feelings with their ethnicity. They consider the racial unity of blood as the reason for superiority. They despise those other than their own tribe and they think that they can elevate themselves.

The three months we are in are the months of mercy, blessings and forgiveness that Allah (swt) has bestowed upon us. Our Prophet (saw) would enter the three blessed months with a different excitement and preparation. He paid special attention to the month of Sha'ban, increased his worship, and spent most of his days fasting.

The religion of Islam has accepted man as a social and responsible being and has given him some individual and social responsibilities. One of these duties is the feeling of solidarity and brotherhood. For this reason, it is both a religious and a social duty to think about the world and society we live in and to support each other materially and morally.

Again, we are faced with a great challenge. The 7.7-magnitude earthquake, the epicentre of which was Kahramanmaraş on Monday night, caused heavy damage in the surrounding provinces and in Syria. We lost a lot of our people. Collapsed buildings, cities in ruins, those under the rubble… These horrific pictures we saw have burnt our hearts.

Great Islamic scholars generally gave the meaning of "fear of Allah" to Taqwa. Although the word Taqwa includes the meaning of fear, it does not mean to be afraid of something terrible, but to refrain from hurting the heart of a loved one, and a sensitivity to respect and responsibility towards the Creator. In this context, we have had respected scholars who explained Taqwa with the words "consciousness of the responsibilities towards Allah".

Allah (swt) has bestowed the blessing of life on us. Of course, every moment of our given life is precious. However, there are special times when Allah (swt) abundantly bestows His grace and bounty on us. The months of Rajab, Shaban and Ramadan are thus the gates of blessings that open one after the other. These months are beneficial to our material and spiritual success and our eternal peace and happiness.

The first worship of every new day is the fajr prayer. The fajr prayer is the most important of the five daily prayers. The following is stated in the hadith: “Whoever performs the Fajr prayer is under the protection of Allah.”[1] Therefore, Allah (swt) will not leave Muslims who pray alone in this world and in the hereafter. Among the five daily prayers, the fajr prayer has a special place. Because the fajr prayer is more difficult compared to other prayers. Because the day has not yet come to light and people are sleeping comfortably in their warm beds

Allah (swt) did not leave human beings alone and unattended in the world, He sent prophets as leaders and showed them the way by sending divine books. The Qur'an contains issues related to people's knowing and serving Allah (swt), issues related to belief and worship, moral responsibilities, experiences of the past, the nature of the hereafter and many other issues.