Friday Sermons

In terms of the principles laid down by Islam, there is no superiority among people due to physical reasons such as colour, gender and geographical differences. To humiliate people's ancestry and gender differences means ignoring the wisdom of Allah (swt) in creating them.

Man, the most honorable being that Allah (swt) has created on earth, is a social being. As soon as he is born, he is born in need of the attention and affection of his parents. As he grows up and gets older, it becomes a part of a belonging that extends from close relatives to distant relatives. A development of a healthy personality depends on the strong relations established with relatives. Individuals who are distant from their relatives suffer from loneliness due to the weakening of their social bases and lose their resistance in the face of life's difficulties.

It is a human necessity for a man to marry a woman and a woman to marry a man in order to meet their needs, to share life's difficulties, sadness and joy. In an old saying, “Aloneness is only for Allah ”. It is both a right and a duty for every person who does not have a disability to marry, to get rid of the feeling of suffering that loneliness will bring and to start a family.

Today, individualism has become a characteristic that harms our relations. In the negative sense, individualism, which means prioritising one's own interests, makes people selfish. It weakens the sense of sacrifice and loyalty. Families, which are the core of the society, suffer the most from this situation. We are going through a period when family ties are weakened and people are faced with loneliness.

Allah (swt) created man as the caliph [leader], builder and protector of the earth. Caliph means an intelligent, conscious, and powerful being who structures the earth in accordance with Allah's will. Our environment is a gift to us. For this reason, we have responsibilities such as not to cause mischief and not to harm living and non-living things.

إِنَّ مِنْ قَضَايَا الْعَصْرِ الْحَدِيثِ الَّتِي تَزُجُّ الْإِنْسَانَ فِي الْمَأَزَقِ؛ ثَقَافَةُ ‏الْإِشْهَار، اَلَّتِي أَصْبَحَتْ نَمَطَ حَيَاةٍ لِكَثِيرٍ مِنَ النَّاس. وَنَعْنِي بِثَقَافَةِ ‏الْإِشْهَارِ؛ أَنْ يُظْهِرَ الْإِنْسَانُ وَيُعْلِنَ مَا مِنْ شَأْنِهِ أَنْ يُكْتَمَ وَلَا يَطَّلِعَ عَلَيْهِ ‏النَّاس. فَالْبَشَرِيَّةُ اِنْحَطَّتْ عَنْ مُسْتَوَى "أَنَا أُفَكِّر، إِذَنْ أَنَا مَوْجُود"، إِلَى ‏مُسْتَوَى "أَنَا مُلَاحَظٌ وَمُشَاهَد، إِذَنْ أَنَا مَوْجُود". فِي حِينِ أَنَّ السَّتْرَ سُنَّةٌ ‏أَخْلَاقِيَّةٌ أَكَّدَ عَلَيْهَا جَمِيعُ الْأَنْبِيَاء، اِبْتِدَاءً مِنْ آدَمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام، إِلَى سَيِّدِنَا ‏رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ؐ. وَيَدْخُلُ فِي إِطَارِ السَّتْرِ وَالتَّسَتُّرِ هَذَا؛ اَلْخُصُوصِيَّةُ ‏الشَّخْصِيَّةُ لِلْإِنْسَان. بِمَعْنَى الْحِفَاظِ عَلَى خُصُوصِيَّةِ جَمِيعِ شُؤُونِهِ الَّتِي ‏يَنْبَغِي أَنْ تَبْقَى خَاصَّةً بِهِ وَلَا يَطَّلِعَ عَلَيْهَا غَيْرُه.

The concepts of halal and haram are among the most important concepts of our religion, Islam. In general, actions that are religiously permissible are called halal, and actions that are religiously forbidden are called haram. A Muslim who observes Allah's orders and prohibitions tries to stay away from what is haram and in search of what is halal throughout their lives.

We have to pay attention to the Islamic brotherhood, which is commanded by Allah (swt). We should not withhold our material and moral support to our brothers and sisters, both near and far. Wherever they are in the world, we should worry about the problems of Muslims. We must protect our brothers and sisters who are victims and oppressed and never leave them alone. Let's not forget that the prayers we perform such as zakat, charity, fitra and qurban reinforce our brotherhood. We should not show any laziness in fulfilling these worships.

We have left the month of Ramadan behind however we are experiencing two joys at once. The first of these is to be able to fulfill our prayers in Ramadan in health and well-being, and the other is to be able to attain the reward that our Allah (swt) will give as a result. Alhamdulillah we have attained these two blessings together with the help Allah (swt). As Allah (swt) promised to his servants, every human being has only the reward for what he works for, and Allah (swt) does not waste the effort of any servant.

Ramadan had reminded us about mercy, sharing, forgiveness, redemption, and the ways of salvation. Ramadan reunited believers, whose relationship with the Qur'an had weakened. With the tarawih prayer, which is the resurrection of the nights of Ramadan, which is a means of purification from sins, the state of being with Allah (swt) at all times and the consciousness of ascension were regained.

“Indeed, We sent it [i.e., the Qur’ān] down during the Night of Decree. And what can make you know what is the Night of Decree? The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months.The angels and the Spirit [i.e., Gabriel] descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter. Peace it is until the emergence of dawn.” [1] 

We have come to the middle of the month of Ramadan, whose beginning is mercy, whose middle is forgiveness, and whose end is salvation from the punishment of hell. By using the spiritual atmosphere of this blessed month, we aim to mature our spiritual world. We pray that Allah (swt), the Most Merciful, would forgive our sins. We take refuge in Him with the fasts we kept and the worship we made.