Knowledge which informs us about the states and actions of spiritual heart (Qalb) and spirit
(Ruh) is called "Knowledge of Ethics." We are informed by scholars about the states and actions
of a person while he is alone in nine sections. In this book we will explain only six of these.
FIRST SECTION
In this section, habits as well as good and evil things will be explained. Habit (Huy) is a faculty
(Malaka) of the spiritual heart and spirit. They, through this faculty, perform actions
spontaneously without considering them consciously. Habits formed permanently are called
faculties, while, a temporary habit is called state (Hal). For example, laughing or being ashamed
are states (Hal). Generosity and bravery are faculties. When we refer to habits, it should be
understood that we mean faculties. Doing good deeds occasionally does not constitute a habit,
but doing them regularly does. If someone does good deeds frequently, he is considered as a
generous person, i.e. generousity is his habit. There is an exception to this rule. For example, if a
person does good deeds regularly by forcing his soul (Nafs), he is not considered a generous
person. If he does good deeds naturally or spontaneously, continually and loves it while doing it,
then he is a generous person.
Habit becomes a means for doing morally good or evil actions. Sometimes, it becomes a cause
for neither good nor evil actions. The first one is called virtue, good nature, or virtue (Fazilat).
Generosity, bravery and gentleness are good examples of this. The second one is called vice,
scandalous behavior, evil nature, or disagreeable habit, such as stinginess and cowardice. The
third one is neither virtue nor vice but is called arts and crafts, such as tailoring and farming. In
this book, we will explain the first and the second cases.
As we have noted at the end of the preface, the spiritual heart and the spirit have two powers.
The first one is the power of comprehension (Quwwat al-alima or mudrika). This is identified
as reason and knowledge (Aql, Nutq). They (Qalb and Ruh) understand things that can be
understood by reasoning via this power. The second is the power that causes things to happen -
causative power- (Quwwat al-amila). Each power has two aspects. The first aspect of the power
of comprehension, which is identified as reason, is called theoretical knowledge (Hikmat alnazari)
and the second aspect is called practical knowledge (Hikmat al-amali). The first aspect
of the causative power (Quwwat al-amila) is appetite (Shahwat), a force which desires
pleasurable and pleasant things. The second aspect of the causative power is self-assertion
(Ghadab), a force that repulses or gets rid of things it does not like. These four powers cause
various actions and works. If the actions and works are in accordance with reason and in the
correct proportion, not in excess or deficient, the habit which performs these actions is called
virtue (Fazilat). The habit which perform actions that are excessive or deficient is called vice
(Razalat). If theoretical knowledge is properly developed, that habit is called wisdom (Hikmat).
If the second power that is the practical knowledge is rightly developed, that habit is called
justice (Adl). If the spiritual heart’s and spirit's causative power appetite is properly developed,
that habit is called chastity or temperance. If self-assertion is properly developed, that habit is
called courage (Shajaat). These four habits are the essence of all good deeds. Justice cannot be
in excessive or deficient proportion but the other three can be in excessive or deficient
proportions. If they are, it is called vice. If theoretical knowledge is in excessive proportions, it is
called deceitfulness (Jarbaza). If it is in deficient proportions, it is called stupidity (Baladat). Aswe have stated earlier, justice cannot be in excessive or deficient proportions but could have the
opposite effect which is called tyranny (Zulm). The chastity which is in excessive proportions is
called debauchery (Fujur). If it is in deficient proportions, it is called laziness (Humud).
Excessive proportion of courage is called rashness (Tahawwur) while deficient proportion is
called cowardice (Jubn). All of the foregoing habits are explained in this manner in the book
Ihya-ul Ulum-ud-din, written by the famous Islamic scholar Imam Al-Ghazali, may Allahu ta’ala
be pleased with him. They are also explained in the book Hadikat-un-Nadiyye written by
Abdulgani Nabulusi, may Allahu ta’ala be pleased with him, [He passed away in 1143 Hijri,
1731 A.D. at Damascus.] This book, originally written in Arabic, was recently published by the
Waqf Ikhlas of Istanbul (Hakikat Kitabevi) in offset printing. According to some scholars,
having a right combination of chastity, wisdom, and bravery gives rise to justice.
A person who possesses a habit of deceitfulness (Jarbaza) utilizes his mind (part of his spirit) for
trickery, backbiting, and clowning. A person who possesses a habit of stupidity cannot
understand reality or differentiate between good and evil. A person who possesses a habit of
rashness (Tahawwur) puts himself into danger by trying to fight against a more powerful
enemy. A person who is a coward cannot practice patience, have steadiness, and therefore cannot
protect his rights. A person who has a habit of debauchery, commits actions that are disliked
(Makruh) in religion or forbidden (Haram) actions with respect to eating, drinking and
marriage and derives pleasures from ugly and despicable deeds. A person who has a habit of
laziness neglects the permissible pleasures and drives, thus resulting either in his own destruction
or extinction of his family tree.
The above mentioned four main habits (virtues) are the essence of all other virtues held by
human beings. Everyone boasts having these four main virtues. Even those who boast with their
ancestors’ nobility are referring to the fact that their ancestors had these four main virtuesSECOND SECTION
We will explain the subcategories of the four main habits in this section. The characters which
spring up from the four main habits are so numerous that it is almost impossible to name them,
let alone explain them. We will mention only some of the famous ones which are covered by
Islamic scholars who are specialists in the study of ethics.
Seven virtues spring up from the wisdom (Hikmat).
1- The first is intellect. It is a faculty, a habit (Malaka). Through the help of this, one derives
conclusions for unknowns from the similarities between the known and unknown subjects. One
can pool together the proofs and then reach a conclusion about the researched topic. Developing
this faculty requires one to study the subject matter which teaches how to arrive a conclusion for
unknown researched subject matter from the known subject matter, or one should solve problems
of mathematics and geometry.
Human beings possess varying degrees of intelligence. The highest degree of intelligence is
called genius. Intelligence is measured by tests. One of the famous psychiatrists of the twentieth
century, American Terman [Terman was still alive in 1380 Hijri, 1960 A.D. while this book was
being written.] says that historically the measurement of intelligence through tests was first
performed by Ottoman Turks. Ottoman armies were moving through Europe, conquering one
country after another. They were at the doorsteps of Vienna. They knew that if they captured
Vienna, it was easy to conquer the rest of Europe. The Ottomans were bringing Islamic
civilization to Europe. Lights of knowledge, learning, and ethics were chasing the darknesswhich was placed by Christianity, and were spreading vitality, humanity, peace, and happiness.
For centuries, Europeans were enslaved by dictators, capitalists, and clergy and became barbaric.
With the introduction of Islamic justice, knowledge, and ethics, Europeans were being liberated
and enjoying human rights. But, the dictators and especially the Christian clergy were putting
their last efforts against the Ottoman armies. One night, Great Britain’s chancellor in Istanbul
sent his historic letter to London. In his letter he wrote: Eureka!...Eureka!..! I have discovered the
reason of success of the Ottoman armies. I have found the way to stop the advancement of their
armies. He also wrote the following:
"Ottomans in conquered lands, without regard the nationality or religion, are testing the
intelligence of the chosen children and selecting those possessing high IQs and educating them at
schools {Madrasas} in accordance with the Islamic ethics. They are further selecting the
brightest among the students of schools {Madrasas} and educating them in the highest sciences
and arts of their times at the "ANDARUN" college, which is a special school at the residence of
the sultan. Military leaders are all graduates of this special school and all possess high
intelligence. Those bright and successful prime-ministers, Sokullus and Koprulus are educated in
this manner. The only way to stop the advancement of the Ottoman armies and to save the
Christianity is to corrupt and degenerate the quality of education at these special schools by
working secretly behind the scene." After this letter the British established a new Ministry of
State for the Colonial Department. The spies which were trained in this department and Christian
missionaries and freemasons concentrated their efforts to recruit some personnel by lies, deceit,
and promise of good life in the Ottoman State. They used their influences in high places so that
these recruits could be appointed to the high key government positions. Through these wretched
puppets they tried to abolish and remove some of the most critical and important courses like
sciences, ethics and advanced religious knowledge at these schools so that the graduates of these
schools would lack the necessary knowledge to manage the affairs of the government
successfully. They accomplished their purpose after the 1839 era. As a result, the Islamic state
was destroyed and the lights of happiness and peace radiated by Islam were extinguished.
2- Quick-wittedness (Surat al-Fahim): quickness in thinking and promptness in action in an
emergency, in response to a challenge in a conversation or debate. This faculty understands how
to respond to a required situation. When it hears something, it quickly grasps its opposite also.
Intelligence is related to thinking and scrutiny. It examines known matter minutely and derives
some unknown results from it. Quick wittedness refers to things other than thinking and scrutiny,
e.g., quickness of grasping relativity of things to the situation at hand.
3- Clariy of mind (Safa al-dhihn) : quick understanding and obtaining desired results.
4- Ease of learning (Suhulat al-Ta’allum) : irrelevant thoughts cannot stop him from attaining
his goal.
5- Observing limits (Husn al-Ta'akkul): staying within the bounds and limits while learning
necessary things ; not overdoing things. One does not leave out necessary things but does not
occupy himself with unnecessary things either and does not waste his time.
6- Retention (Tahaffuz): Not forgetting things. the spirit does not forget things it comprehends
and understands.
7- Recall (Tadhakkur): the ability of remembering things stored in memory whenever one
wants to recall them.ELEVEN VIRTUES THAT ARE THE OUTCOME OF COURAGE
1. Serious mindedness: one having a state of mind in which one is not elated by praise or insulted
by criticism. He holds rich and poor alike and does not differentiate between joy and sorrow.
One's work and effort are unshaken by a change in the environment or in difficult or fearful
circumstances.
2. Bravery (Najdat): having patience and endurance in frightening situations and difficult
circumstances and not complaining and not acting inappropriately in those situations.
3. Having zeal and endeavor (Having Himmat): one does not care about worldly ranks,
positions, promotions or demotions.
4. Perseverence (Thabat): putting up with difficulties on the way toward one's goal; resisting
destructive forces or agencies on the way to success.
5. Mildness (Hilm): the calmness of the spirit. It is being gentle and mild and avoiding anger.
6. Calmness (Sukun): having the necessary strength, perseverance and resistance during a war
while defending the country, the religion, and the nation against the enemy, and not becoming a
laughing stock of the enemy.
7. Being ingenious (Shahamat): strong desire to do good deeds and attain high ranks; also
strong desire to be remembered in good terms and persistent devotion for doing good deeds in
order to earn rewards (Thawabs).
8. Enduring troubles (Tahammul): working patiently to obtain good-nature and good deeds.
9. Humility (Tawazu): maintaining a non boastful attitude toward those who hold lower worldly
ranks than one's self. What one possesses is given to him by the Grace of Allahu ta’ala as a gift.
One does not have the means to obtain those. Those who have attained worldly ranks and
richness should show humbleness and by doing so earn rewards (Thawabs) for it. If one displays
humbleness in order to obtain worldly gains or to avoid worldly difficulty, it is called fawning
(Tabasbus). For example, a beggar's expression of humility is of this kind and it is a sin.
10. Sense of honour (Hamiyyat): not being slack in protecting and defending one’s nation,
religion and honor. Putting one’s all ability, strength and effort into this duty.
11. Compassion (Riqqat): not worrying about the problems that are caused by human beings.
One’s behavior and actions should not change because of the problems caused by other people.
One should not stop doing good deeds because people are causing problems or doing evil things
to him.
CHASTITY (IFFAT) BEGETS TWELVE CHARACTERS
1. Shame (Haya): the feeling of shame when one commits evil deeds.
2. Meekness (Rifq): the literal meaning of this word is pitying and helping others but its special
meaning in the knowledge of ethics is obedience to the rules of Islam.
3. Right guidance (Hidayat): striving to be a good-natured Muslim.
4. Being peacefull (Musalamat): when situation becomes heated during a debate and
disagreement breaks out, a Muslim with this character wants to be agreeable and does not want
to argue or be harsh.
5. Tranquility: having control over soul (Nafs): controlling the desires of the soul when appetite
overcomes him.
6. Fortitute (Sabr): one avoids prohibited actions (Harams) and base desires of the soul (Nafs).
Thus, one avoids actions which would result in disgrace. There are two types of patience. Thefirst is having patience against committing sin. Devil, evil friends, and one's own soul encourage
a human being to commit sin. Not listening them and being patient is very rewarding. The
patience which was meant in this context is of this kind. The second kind of patience is to remain
calm and not cry out when a disaster strikes. Most people understand this type of patience when
patience is mentioned. This type of patience is also rewarding. It is obligatory (Fard) to exercise
both types of patience.
7. Contentment (Qana'at): to be content with the minimum with respect to the necessities of life
(Nafaka) such as eating, drinking, dress and shelter and not asking for more. We do not mean
not accepting a given property. That is called (Taktir) and it is a vice. Neither wisdom nor Islam
likes it. Contentment is a good character or habit.
[The things that are necessary for survival, i.e., to avoid death or to protect one's organs from
being perished are called "Dharurat". Alternately, the things that are in excess of survival but
still necessary for sustenance and protecting the body from distress are called "Ihtiyaj". The
things that are beyond the "Ihtiyaj," i.e., things used for enjoyment or pleasure or for the
protection of one's honor and value are called ornament (Zinat). Using ornaments for
ostentation, being a show-off or to be superior to others is called boasting (Tafahur). It is
obligatory to work for obtaining the necessary amounts to meet the "Dharurat," and "Nafaka." It
is sunnat to work for obtaining the things that are in excess of "Nafaka" but still necessary, e.g.,
obtaining money to pay for the medicine or doctor fees. It is permissible (Jaiz) to obtain
ornaments (Zinat). Boasting is grave sin.]
8. Gravity (Waqar): it is to act with dignity, calmness and not to act with rashness while trying
to obtain necessities (Ihtiyaj) and other valuables. It means acting with dignity. It does not mean
acting so slowly as to miss opportunities or acting in such a way so that others will take away
one's benefits or opportunities.
9. Piety (Wara): it is to abstain from committing prohibited actions as well as abstaining from
the things that are doubtful, i.e. things that could be haram. It is also doing good deeds and other
actions which are helpful to others. It is acting with firmness so that one will not do defective,
incomplete and faulty actions.
10. Order (Intizam): it is to perform one's actions according to an order or discipline or method.
11. Freedom (Hurriyyat): it is to earn money by permissible means and to spend for good
causes. It is to observe everyone's rights. Freedom does not mean to do whatever one wish or
wants.
12. Munificence (Sakha): it is to drive pleasure while spending money for good causes. It is to
spend lovingly for the causes that are ordered by Islam. Munificence means to be generous. It is
one of the best one’s of the virtues. It was praised by the verses of Qur'an and by sayings of our
Prophet.
Munificence gives birth to many virtues. Eight of them are very famous.
1. Generosity (Karam): it is the enjoyment of doing things that are helpful to others and giving
money to others.
2. Giving lavishly (Isar): giving things one need for himself to others who also needs those
things and then to be patient. It is one of the most valued of the virtues. It was praised by verses
in the Qur'an.
3. Forgiveness (Afw): not getting even while one has the means to get even with one's enemies
or with a guilty party. It is to treat those with goodness who do evil things to him. This is better
than forgiveness.
Couplet:
Against the evil things, it is easy to retaliate.For those who do mean things, doing goodness to them is the manliness!
4. Generosity (Muruwwat): it is to love helping others, giving things to those who are in need.
5. Loyalty (Wafa): helping one's friends and acquaintances in their effort to obtain their
livelihood.
6. Charity (Muwasat): sharing one's possessions with friends and acquaintances. Getting along
well with them.
7. Extreme generosity (Samahat): it is to give lovingly things that are not necessary (wajib) to
give.
8. Forgiveness (Musamahat): foregoing things, that are not necessary to forego, willingly in
order to be helpful to others. Another meaning of "Musamahat" is not seeing others' faults.
JUSTICE (ADALAT) GIVES BIRTH TO TWELVE HABITS
1. Sincerity (Sadaqat): it is to love one’s friends. Desiring their happiness and comfort. Trying
to protect them from danger. Trying to make them happy.
2. Amity (Ulfat): it is the harmony among the members of a group with respect to their belief
and worldly affairs and thoughts.
3. Faithful (Wafa): getting along with others and helping each other. Another meaning of
"Wafa" is keeping one’s promise and respecting others’ rights.
4. Compassion (Shafkat): the concern and worrying for others' problems. Working and
struggling in order to save them from their problems.
5. Care of kin (Sila ar-rahm): it is the watching over one’s relatives and close friends and
visiting them and assisting them. In one hadith, Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "I was sent
to abolish the idolatry and to help my relatives."
6. Requital (Mukafat): it is to respond goodness with goodness.
7. Good-fellowship (Husn al-shirkat): obedience to the rules and acting justly.
8. Fair-judgement (Husn al-Qaza): it is acting justly in all affairs and in dealings with others.
Not reminding others the kindness shown to them. Not committing the actions one will be sorry
later.
9. Affection (Tawaddud): it means love and attachment. It is to love one's friend and act in such
a way to induce love in them toward himself.
10. Complete obedience (Taslim): accepting and obeying the commandments, and avoiding
committing prohibited actions and ethics of Islam even when one does not feel the sweetness
while doing them.
11. Reliance (Tawakkul): not worrying for the calamities which are above the human strength
by believing that they were decreed by Allahu ta’ala at pre-eternity and therefore accepting them
with a good disposition.
12. Devotion (Ibadat): carrying out the commandments and avoiding committing prohibited
actions ordered by Allahu ta’ala, who created everything out of nonexistence and who protects
every living creature from all seen or unseen dangers and troubles and who bestows upon all
creatures all kinds of goodness we receive from Him. Striving hard to comply with His
commands, and having a strong desire to imitate exalted people like the Prophets, friends of
Allahu ta’ala (Walis) and the scholars who have received the love and favor of Allahu ta’ala.
[Muslims are of two types: scholars or elites (Hawas) and populous or common people (Awam).
The book Durr al-Yakta, which is written in Turkish, states the following: common people are
those who do not possess knowledge regarding methodology and rules of subjects like "Sarf" and"Nahv" rules of Arabic grammar and Literature. These people cannot understand the books of
"Fatwa" (religious legal decisions).
It is obligatory (Fard) for these people to learn by asking about the knowledge of belief and
worships (Ibadats). It is also obligatory (Fard) for scholars to teach through lectures,
conversations (Sohbats), and writings firstly knowledge pertaining to faith and secondly
knowledge pertaining to five obligatory worships which are the foundation of the religion of
Islam. It is written in the books Zahira and Tatarhaniyya that it is most urgent for every Muslim
to learn first about the knowledge of "Ahl as-Sunnat", i.e., the faith and conditions of belief. For
this reason, the great scholar Sayyid Abdulhakim al-Arwasi, may Allahu ta’ala be pleased with
him, sometime before his death has said, "I have preached for thirty years exclusively the
knowledge of Ahl as-Sunnat belief and the knowledge of beautiful ethics of Islam in all of the
mosques of Istanbul. Ahl as-Sunnat scholars learned these from companions (Ashab al-kiram)
and they in turn learned from our blessed prophet, peace be upon him."
The knowledge of belief is called "Aqaid" or "I'tiqad." For the same reasons, we are also in all
our books communicating the knowledge regarding the "Ahl as-Sunnat belief", ethics of Islam,
and the necessity of helping everyone including government. We are not approving the
methodology of persons who do not follow one of the four schools of thought (Madhhab) like
ignoramuses Mawdudi and Sayyid Qutb and ahl al-bidat or la-madhhabiyya Tablig al-Jamaat
regarding rebelling against governments. Their writings divide Muslim brotherhood and make
Muslims enemies to each other. Our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, "Religion is
under the shadow of the swords" which means that Muslims will live comfortably under the
protection of the laws and rules provided by the government. When the government is strong and
powerful, peace and prosperity flourish. Muslims, who live in non-Islamic countries of Europe
and America, should not disobey the laws of those countries. Because, in those countries, the
government provides freedom of religion through laws. Therefore, every Muslim can practice
their religion freely. Thus, Muslims who have a comfortable lifestyle and freedom of religion
should not incite trouble against the governments that provide them these opportunities. "Ahl as-
Sunnat scholars" are advising us to practice what we have just written above. The highest of all
worships is not to get involved with instigation and not to help or associate with those who rebel
against the governments and anarchy. Instead, one should spend his time for learning the
knowledge of "Ahl as-Sunnat faith" and strive to have a belief according to this faith. One, after
accomplishing these, i.e., learning and acquiring the correct belief and getting rid of the corrupt
beliefs (e.g., having a corrupt belief places that person into one of the seventy-two corrupt groups
which are said to be going the hell), one should also strive to avoid innovations in religious
things (Bidat) with respect to worships. Performing those things by thinking that they are
prescribed commandments but in reality they are not, are called "bidats with respect to
worships". The commandments and prohibitions which are ordered by Allahu ta’ala are called
divine laws (Shari’at). Following the orders of divine laws are called worshiping (Ibadat).
There are four schools of thought (Madhhabs) which teach the correct way of performing
worships. Every one of those four schools of thought is correct. They are the "Hanafi", "Shafi'i",
"Maliki" and "Hanbali". It is necessary for every Muslim to read books which teach prescribed
worships according to one of those school of thoughts and perform his worships accordingly.
Therefore, he would be following one of the correct schools of thoughts. People who do not
follow any one of those four schools of thought are called "la-madhhabiyya" (Person without
"Madhhab"). "La-madhhabiyya" persons are not "Ahl as-Sunnat people". Persons who are not
"Ahl as-Sunnat" are either persons deviated ( ahl al-bidat) from the right path or disbelievers.Hadrat Ali, may Allahu ta’ala be well pleased with him, says that if you see a person who does
not believe in resurrection after death, tell him: "I believe in resurrection after death. If what you
say comes true, I would not be losing anything but if what I say comes true you will be burning
in hell-fire eternally!" In the western world like Europe and America most of the scientists, high
government officials, professors, military commanders do believe in the hereafter and
resurrection after death and go to churches for worshipping. Jews, Brahmans, Buddhists, fire
worshipers, idol-worshippers, civilized people and uncivilized people are all believers. Only
some people who are in charge of Communist governments or in other words cruel and mad
dictators and their followers inside or outside of their country who sold their soul to them for
some worldly benefits do not believe. No one can imagine that these ignorant and stupid people
who advocate irreligiousness for worldly benefits or for their pleasure could ever be correct in
their cause against the believers who make up ninety-percent of the world population. According
to an atheist’s views, he will become nonexistent after his death. But according to a believer he
will be punished eternally in hell. Moreover, as far as a believer is concerned, he will live an
everlasting pleasurable life. But according to unbeliever, he will be nonexistent. Thus, anyone
who has little sense could ever believe or choose what an unbeliever is saying. No one would
ever choose what an unbeliever is saying, would he? The order manifests in worldly affairs and
in the universe informs the people of reason that a creator Allahu ta’ala exists. And in turn
Allahu ta’ala informs us that the life after death exists. Hence, it is necessary for anyone who
possesses intelligence or knowledge to believe in the existence of Allahu ta’ala and life after
death. Not believing would be stupidity and ignorance. Believing in Allahu ta’ala could be
materialized by believing in His eternal attributes like attributes regarding to His Self (Sifat al-
Zatiyya) and attributes regarding to His existence (Sifat al-Subutiyya) and following the
commandments and avoiding committing prohibited actions. A person who follows the orders of
divine laws (Shari’at) would live comfortably and happily in this world and be helpful to
others.]
THIRD SECTION
In this section the vices (vices), or disagreeable nature will be communicated. As we have
explained in the previous sections, the essence of good characters were the four main virtues
(virtues). Similarly, the essence of vices are four main vices.
1. Scandal (Razalat): the opposite of wisdom.
2. Cowardice (Jubn): the opposite of courage (Shajaat).
3. Debauchery (Fujur): to follow the desires of the soul (Nafs) and to commit sin. It is the
opposite of chastity (Iffat).
4. Tyranny (Jawr, Zulm): the opposite of justice.
There are numerous vices (vices) corresponding conversely to every virtue (virtue). The
goodness is defined as the middle way, average or regular-way. To be on the right or left of the
middle means to be on the wrong side, wrong grounds or departing from the goodness. Further
away from the middle-way means being further away from goodness. There is only one correct
path but there are many deviated paths. We could even state that there are infinite deviated paths.
Never departing from the right path after finding it and staying on that path permanently is very
difficult task. The meaning of the 112th verse of the Chapter of Hood of Qur’an is as follows,
"Stay on that correct path which you are commanded!" When this verse was received by
Rasulullah, peace be upon him, he said, "Chapter of Hood caused some of my beards tobecome white." The commandment given in the Hood-Chapter of the Qur'an, "Staying in the
correct path" made many close friends (Walis), sincere ones (Siddiqs), even prophets worry
over and bewilder. This fear made some of the beards of Rasulullah, peace be upon him, to turn
white because, it is very difficult to stay in the correct path. Also, for this reason it was said:
"Sirat-Bridge is thinner than a hair and sharper than the sword." In the opening chapter,
i.e., "Fatiha" of the Qur'an, Allahu ta’ala says, "Ask Allah to guide you to the correct path." It
is most necessary for a believer (Mumin) to be on the correct path. Passing from the "Sirat-
Bridge" in the hereafter depends on being on the correct path in the world.
Leading Sufi Masters said that whatever our Prophet, peace be upon him, communicated,
whether it be punishment or pleasure in the hereafter, is the end result of habits, morals, and
deeds of human beings in this life. They manifest in that manner in the hereafter. Some of the
leading Sufi Masters said that being on the correct path with respect to deeds and good morals
manifest themselves as "Sirat-Bridge" in the hereafter. Those who stay on the correct path and
those who do not depart from Islam in this life will pass the "Sirat-Bridge" quickly in the
hereafter and reach the Paradise of perfection and Gardens of good deeds which are the
manifestations of the good-deeds obtained in this life. Those who are being lax in practicing their
religion will have difficulty passing the "Sirat-Bridge". Those who abandon the correct path
prescribed by Islam and wander onto deviated paths with respect to belief and deeds will not be
able to pass the "Sirat-Bridge" and will fall into the fire of hell.
The meaning of the 36th verse of Chapter of "Zuhruf" of the Qur'an is, "For those persons, who
abandon the religion of Allah by following the desires of their souls, we will assign an
instigating devil for them in the world." Some of the scholars, while interpreting this verse
said that the faculty in man which causes good deeds to be performed is generated by angel
(Malak). The faculty that causes deviation from the middle and causes evil deeds to be
performed is generated by devil. One of those will accompany men in the hereafter. Therefore,
everyone, by observing his moral character and deeds, will know who will be his companion,
whether it be an angel or a devil in the hereafter.
Two meanings can be understood from the middle way. The first meaning is the knowledge
everybody possesses with respect to the middle of something. For example, the center of a circle
is of this kind. The second meaning is being the relative-center of something. In other words, it is
the center of something known. Since it is the center of the known, that does not mean that it is
the center of everything. The middle or center which is used in the subject of knowledge of
ethics is the second meaning. For this reason, the virtues could be understood by everyone
differently. Moreover, its meaning could change according to changing times and places.
Something which is considered as virtue by one community might not be recognized as the same
by another. A habit which is recognized as a virtue at one time could be recognized as something
else at some later time. Therefore, virtue does not mean being right at the middle but means
being on average and the evil comes to mean departing from this average to the two sides. This
meaning is reported in a saying of our Prophet, peace be upon him, as follows, "The best of all
deeds is the middle of those deeds." Hence, there are two vices for each virtue. There are eight
main vices.
1. Deceitfulness (Jarbaza): it is the excessiveness of the wisdom (Hikmat). It is the utilization
of one's habits and capacity to investigate matters in depth in wrong places unnecessarily. For
example, utilizing them for deceiving others or for scheming, plotting or committing prohibited
actions. Using the scientific powers "intelligence" of the spirit in an excessive manner won’t be aevil deed or deceitfulness. Utilizing one’s power of investigation excessively to obtain scientific
or religious information or advancing mathematics would be very good deed.
2. Foolishness (Baladat): it means stupidity or not using one’s brain. It is also called
thickheadedness. One who has this habit cannot discriminate between right and wrong. One's
learning and reaction would be slow and defective.
3. Rashness (Tahawwur): a person with this habit has a quick-temper. It is caused by having
excessive amounts of bravery (Shajaat) in his constitution. One with this habit attempts to do
things that would not be approved by the wise and burdens his spirit and body unnecessarily.
4. Cowardice (Jubn): it is caused by not having necessary amounts of bravery (Shajaat). A
person having this habit scares in those instances where he should not be scared.
5. Debauchery (Fujur): it is caused by having excessive amounts of chastity (Iffat) in one’s
constitution. A person with this habit would be addicted to worldly pleasures and commits
excessive actions not approved by Islam and wisdom.
6. Laziness (Humud): it is caused by not having necessary amounts of chastity. A person having
this habit leaves those pleasures allowed by Islam and wisdom. Thus, he loses physical strength,
becomes ill and his family-tree ends with him.
7. Injustice (Zulm): it means to violate the rights and freedom of others. A person with this habit
violates other people’s rights by stealing their property or by injuring them physically or by
sexual harassment.
8. Indignity: a person having this habit accepts all dishonorable treatment and oppression. It is
caused by not having enough amounts of Justice in his constitution. All the goodness is gathered
in justice. Conversely, all the evils are gathered in oppression (Zulm). For that reason some of
the scholars said that things that would not break others' heart would not be a sin. For example,
Abdullah-i Ansari said,
Couplet:
Travelers of the way of "Haqq" never break hearts,
There would not be such a grave sin!
Abdullah-i Ansari is one of the great one's of the "Sofiyya al-aliyya" {a special group of people
leading the way of Sufism}. He was the leading religious authority (Shaikh al-Islam). He was
born in 396 (Hijri) at Herat and passed away at 481 (Hijri) at his birth place [1088 A.D.] Some of
the deviant people could not understand the meaning of the above couplet. They thught that he
meant the following: as long as you don't hurt anybody else, you can do anything to yourself.
Therefore, they stopped praying and started all kinds of sin and then they bragged by saying that
they were not breaking hearts. Moreover, they said,
Couplet:
Whether you become a disbeliever, or whether burn the Ka'ba
Drink wine if you wish, but never break any heart!
and departed from Islam. However, they could not understand that committing anything
prohibited by the religion is an oppression. Doing it to yourself or to others does not change the
matter. Most of the oppressors are the ones who have lots of money, wealth, and ranks. On the
other hand, most of the oppressed ones are the poor people. Those who have the middle way are
the ones who try to do justice.
All the virtues are in average proportions. Every habit which is in excessive or deficient
proportion becomes a vice. Perhaps many languages do not possess words to describe all the
vices. But, if one contemplates and ponders about it their meaning would become clear.There are some virtues which are necessary for human beings to possess. People assume that
having more of them would increase the goodness. But in reality it is not. Every virtue has its
limits and when limits are crossed, virtue turns into a vice. People recognize more easily that
having virtues less than prescribed average proportions constitute vice. Virtues courage
(Shajaat) and generosity (Sahawat) are good examples of the foregoing discussion. Excessive
proportions of these two habits are rashness (Tahawwur) and spending wastefully (Israf).
Ignorants and especially persons who don't know ethics of Islam think that spending
extravagantly constitutes generosity and thus praise those who do so. They also think of those
who do rashness as braves and courageous persons. But, no one thinks of those who are cowards
or stingy as braves or generous.
There are some necessary habits which humans should possess. People think that having these in
fewer proportions is better than having them in average proportions. Having them in excessive
proportions is recognized by everyone as vice. A good example of this is humility It means not
having conceit (Kibr). If this exists less than necessary amounts, it constitutes excessive
humility (Tazallul). It is difficult to discriminate excessive humility (Tazallul) from humility.
Many people mix up humility of a beggar with that of a scholar (Alim) because they both do not
possess conceit. A scholar has real humility. A beggar don't have any.
FOURTH SECTION
In this section vices (vices) which look like virtues will be explained. We will also show how
they could be distinguished from each other.
Many people cannot differentiate between gold and brass because they are both yellow colored.
Some may think a blue bead is a precious stone. Similarly, they may think a vice is a virtue.
Hence, it is necessary to learn the knowledge of ethics and become a proficient one in order to
distinguish deeds with secret deficiencies from the good deeds, and goodness from the evil in
general.
1. First we will explain the vice or vice which looks like wisdom. There are many people who
pick up few phrases of wisdom or few words relating to the scientific or spiritual knowledge
from others or from newspapers, magazines or radio and repeat them among other less learned
people or engage in debates and arguments with others so to give others a false impression
regarding themselves. Many people are deceived by them and they really think of them as a
valuable person such as a specialist of some branch, wise, knowledgeable or a spiritual leader
(Murshid). In reality these types of persons do not possess the necessary knowledge which they
talk about. All of their knowledge is a few words which they picked up here and there now and
then. They would not know reality of the things they talk about. His resemblance to real scholars
is no more than resemblance of a parrot's speaking like a human being. Because, the habit
wisdom exists in the mind and spirit of a human being. Its effects and lights (Nurs) cannot be
perceived through sense organs. There are many people who present themselves as progressive
and enlightened man but in reality they do not possess any wisdom or any value. They are evil
and mean people with vices. They do not possess any real knowledge or ethics. They never speak
anything valuable regarding to any virtue. But they dress well and they know how to handle
those people who occupy ranks and positions. They go to the parties and dance with those people
and serve them in drinking parties and finally get some rank and position from them.
2. Vice which looks like chastity: persons who possess this vice do not commit evil deeds and do
not run after satisfying their appetites. They seem to be matured and virtues persons who possessknowledge and good morals. Therefore, they are praised and respected everywhere by
everybody. They are treated well by persons who possess wealth and ranks. They are bombarded
by presents and obligatory almsgiving money (Zakat). Their bodies are weakened by doing so
much voluntary prayers (Nafila) in the presence of others but they are slack to perform sunnats
and obligatory (Fard) prayers. Their lower selves (Nafs al-ammara) are very strong. They are
treated by human beings as trustworthy persons. But they are traitors in the sight of Allahu ta’ala.
All these foregoing qualities and descriptions are attributes of pseudo Sufis and religious office
holders who are dazzled by worldly pleasures.
Some of the villagers do not eat the food of the city dwellers. Some others do not purchase good
food because of their stinginess. Some people observing their state of abstaining from food
presumes them as "Darwishes". They give a false impression of being a person of contentment
(Ahl al-qana’at). They are really without any contentment (Qana’at) and chastity (Iffat). All their
doings are for show off, hypocrisy and lie.
3. The vice which looks like generosity: a person who has this habit would be one of those who
doesn't earn his wealth by permissible (Halal) means. For example, he is a smuggler or he got
his money without sweating for it, like from lotto or inheritance. Therefore, he does not
appreciate how hard it is to accumulate wealth by permissible means. Hence, he spends his
money either on prohibited (Haram) things or on unnecessary things. He spends his money on
things not approved by wisdom or Islam. Stupid people seeing him spending a lot, thinks of him
as a generous person. In reality, he does not possess the virtue, generosity. Earning and saving
money or property is like going uphill with a full load on one's back. Spending money is like
letting a spherical stone to go downhill from a mountain top. Not having necessary wealth holds
back many people from becoming better human beings. Many people lose their belief because of
not having the necessary means for livelihood and become apostates (Murtads). In one hadith,
Rasulullah, peace be upon him, communicated, "Poverty is a blessing for my companions.
Being rich will be a blessing for Muslims who will live in later times close to the
Doomsday."
I understood well, after long experience:
Knowledge determines man's value,
Having wealth determines the knowledge!
It is very difficult to earn wealth through trade which is carried out according to the rules of
Islam. Generally very few people earn their wealth by following the rules of Islamic laws.
Permissible wealth comes like rain drops. Conversely, forbidden (Haram) wealth comes like a
rushing flood water. It is a very virtue to be generous (Sahawat) while giving away money.
Being wasteful while giving to charity is a vice and forbidden act. Generosity (Sahawat) means
to give away some portion of one's wealth in order to form the habit of generosity and in order
for getting rid of the habit of stinginess. Giving away some money or wealth by expecting better
return or satisfying desires of one's soul (Nafs) is not generosity (Sahawat.).
4. The vice which looks like courage (Shaja’at): a person who is showing courage, in reality, is
not acting for the purpose of forming the virtue courage and for getting rid of the vices rashness
(Tahawwur) and cowardice (Jubn). Instead, he is doing it, either, to earn fame or to obtain
some rank or worldly possession. He steals the property of Muslims, commits all sorts of illegal
activities and even sometimes puts his life into danger in order to accomplish his goals. Some of
these people, when caught by the authorities while committing their illegal activities, think that
not revealing the names of their accomplices is courage or bravery. Some of them go into the
extent of bearing torture, giving all of their wealth or even lives in order to protect the names oftheir crime-partners. In reality, these lowly people do not possess a tiny bit of bravery. A real
brave person attempts to do actions which are approved by wisdom and Islam. He wants to do
service to nation and government and to earn rewards (Thawabs). He loves and desires to obtain
consent of Allahu ta’ala by forming the virtue bravery (Shaja’at). The attacks of wolves and
panthers look like an act of a hero but it has nothing to do with bravery. They attack because of
their wild nature and cause harm. They do not come forward with good thought and in order to
help others and to earn rewards (Thawab). They attack the weak people who cannot defend
themselves against them. A strong gunman’s attack on gunless, weak, and hungry people is
similar to this example and is not bravery (Shaja’at). Bravery means one's coming to the
conclusion by thinking, and pondering that attacking would be proper. He desires having in his
spirit the virtue bravery and getting rid of the vice rashness (Tahawwur) and cowardice (Jubn),
without thinking any worldly benefits. A person with these intentions never wants to do evil
deeds. He rather prefers dying than committing evil deeds. He considers dying honorably is
superior to living in dishonor. He prefers to be remembered in an honorable way rather than
living with a black stain on his face. Since bravery carries the risk of injury or death, in the
beginning, it may not taste very well but at its conclusion it tastes infinitely sweet because it
concludes with much worldly and other worldly gains and victory. Especially, the superiority of
pleasures obtained by giving one's life in order to protect the religion of Islam or in order to
spread the religion of Rasulullah, peace be upon him, could not be compared to any other
worldly or other worldly pleasures. This meaning was expressed in the Qur'an, Chapter Imran,
verse 169 as follows, "Do not ever think that those who die for the sake of Allah are dead!
They are alive! They have reached the blessings of their Creator." There are innumerable
hadiths which praise the value of bravery. Neither running away from the fight (Jihad) saves one
from death or extends one's life nor staying and facing the enemy causes death. The hour of
death cannot be changed or postponed and one's life-span cannot be changed. In many instances,
escaping from the war causes one to die unexpectedly and resisting and fighting against the
enemy causes one to enjoy the victory. Hadrat Muawiya, may Allahu ta’ala be pleased with him,
says that he was intending to escape during the war at "Siffeen" then he says he remembered the
hadith, "He who perseveres will be safe from the disasters" and stayed and continued fighting
and consequently ended up being the Caliph by his persevering (Sabr).
Essence of bravery is to be content with the decree of Allahu ta’ala and to depend and have trust
in Him. The lion of Allahu ta’ala, the fountain of bravery and the rose of the garden of closeness
to Allahu ta’ala, Hadrat Ali, the son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad at the Siffin war was running
around and attacking, without any protective armament, with his head uncovered and his sleeves
rolled up and reciting the following:
Running away from death won’t be proper in two instances,
If your hour of death is arrived or did not arrive,
If it did arrive, running away will not help!
If it did not arrive, being cautious would not be proper.
Those who commit suicide because either they have lost their property or rank or they become
prisoners of war are coward persons. They do not possess any bravery. Persons who possess
bravery would persevere against the troubles and disasters. They think that by dying they will not
face any trouble or disaster. These stupid people are very ignorant indeed! They do not realize
that bigger troubles and disasters are waiting for them in the next world. According to Islam,
suicide constitutes a bigger sin than killing someone else. They will be punished severely. Thosewho lose their mind and commit suicide are not in this category. If and when one finds himself in
such difficult circumstances, one should pray to Allahu ta’ala for health and mercy.
5. The vice which looks like justice: this habit is similar to the habit which looks like chastity
(Iffat). A person who does not possess the virtue of justice decorates his office or walls of his
home by hanging framed inscriptions praising justice or he talks about justice or writes articles
on the subject. Even worse, he occupies position which is related to justice and associates with
real just persons in order to give an impression that he is one of them. In reality, their real self is
stained with injustice, hatred and revenge. The real meaning of justice is one's habits and deeds
being in accordance with wisdom and religion or to be a person of honesty such that one's real
self is reflected on his deeds. In other words, one behaves among others such a way similar to
while he behaves when he is alone. Being two faced is a sign of hypocrisy which is opposite of
justice.
Couplet:
Worship has to be done with good intention,
If otherwise, it will not do any good, a seed with a hollow kernel.
FIFTH SECTION
ENUMARATING SUPERIORITIES OF JUSTICE
In this section we will explain the meaning of justice. Justice is the most honorable one among
the virtues. A just man is the best of all men. Justice means harmony and equality. Two things
would be equal to each other either through their own self or through their attributes. They are
united with each other with respect to similar parts of each one. Therefore, justice rises out of
oneness and unity. Oneness is the most honorable attribute and most honorable state because all
existing beings became existent through One Being. Every unity that exists in the universe looks
like the only real One Being. As every existent being became existent because of that One Being,
similarly, every oneness is because of that Oneness. With respect to the subject of measurement
and comparison, the most honorable and valuable outcome is equality. Even, the problem of
equality is being studied extensively and in more detail in music. Therefore, justice is the most
honorable among all goodness. Justice means to be in the middle. It is wrong to call one as just if
he has departed from the middle. At three instances justice must exist:
1) While dividing a property for distribution, it must be done justly.
2) It is a must to deal justly during trade.
3) It is a must to do justice during application of punishment. For example, if one acts such a
way to spread fear on others, that person has to be punished same way. [But this punishment will
be imposed on him by the government. If one is attacked by others, one should not try to take the
justice into one's own hand but instead should inform authorities. Muslims both follow the orders
of Islam and the laws of the state and do not commit crime.] When justice prevails over a land,
everyone lives without fear. Therefore, justice means fearlessness.
What is justice? It is very difficult to determine the meaning of this concept through human
intelligence. For this reason, Allahu ta’ala by pitying His human creatures sent a yardstick for
justice in order to protect the countries. Through this divine yardstick it became easy to measure
justice. This yardstick is the religions brought by the prophets. Islam is also called as "Honor of
the Divine." Today and for all times to come until the Doomsday, the only yardstick which isordered for us to use is the yardstick which is sent to Muhammad, peace be upon him. Besides
this afore said yardstick, Allahu ta’ala sent a second yardstick. The second one is the judge who
rules over the justice system. It is necessary to have a judge because human beings are created to
live a social life. They have to mix with each other, help one another and live together. Animals
are not created to have a civilized life. In other words, they do not have to live together in cities.
But human beings are created weakly as far as their animal powers are concerned. For example,
they cannot eat raw meat like wild animals do. It is necessary to obtain and prepare nutrition,
clothing and shelter. In other words, they need crafts. Therefore, they are in need of thinking,
researching, investigating, experimenting and laboring. That means science, technology and
crafts are necessary for human beings because of their nature of creation.
[Islam encourages and orders us to occupy ourselves with science, technology, ethics, and work.
Britons and communists basely slander Islam by saying that Islam makes people lazy and slows
down the working life. They trap some base people from the Islamic countries by either giving
them money or by helping them to get a good position or rank in the society and then these poor
creatres become slaves of them and repeat the same phrases. There are many hadiths and verses
in Qur'an which encourages and promotes science, knowledge, and working as well as praising
those who work. These base and immoral slanders look like trying to cover the sun with mud.
Britons are attacking Islam insidiously. They are trying to destroy Islam from within. They are
destroying and annihilating Islamic knowledge and Islamic books in order to deceive the youth
easily by their lies. They established "Department of Colonies" in London for the purpose of
attacking Islam. They prepared treacherous plans and trained thousands of spies there. They, by
spending millions of dollars and weaponry, by tricking and trapping and by getting the
cooperation of the ignorant and degenerate religious men Muhammad bin Abdulwahhab of Najd
and Muhammad bin Su'ud who was the Amir of Dar'iyya, established the "Wahhabi" bidat
group. They destroyed the Ottoman State from within, the state which was the protector and
police of the Muslims. For more information please read the book The confessions of a British
Spy published by Hakikat Kitabevi, a branch of Waqf Ikhlas.
Abdurrashid Ibrahim effendi, may Allahu ta’ala be pleased with him, in the second volume of his
Turkish book Alam-i Islam which was published at Istanbul in 1328 [1910 A.D.], in a chapter
called "The animosity of Britons toward Islam", says: it is the first priority and thought of the
Britons to eliminate the religious state "Hilafat-i Islamiyya". They started the Crimean war and
he;ped Turks over the war. This was a trick for them in order to destroy the religious state
"Hilafat". The Paris peace agreement demonstrates this trick. [They demonstrated their
animosity in the secret articles of Lozan peace agreement signed in 1923.] Every kind of disaster
that came upon the Muslims always came from the Britons no matter under what type of curtain
they are covered and hidden with. The main political aim of British politics is to destroy Islam.
The reason for this policy is because of their fear of Islam. In order to deceive Muslims, they are
using the persons who sell their consciences. They introduce these persons as Islamic scholars
and great personalities. In short and in essence the greatest enemies of Islam are the Britons.
Abdurrashid Ibrahim effendi, died in Japan in 1363 Hijri. [1944 A.D.]
Does Islam ever hinder progress of science, technology and work? Human beings are in need of
everything. They have to work in order to prepare means which would satisfy their needs. These
means are science, crafts and laboring. It is not possible for every individual to learn all the crafts
he needs. Therefore, a division of work and crafts automatically materializes and some learns
this craft, others learn others and they exchange goods and services to satisfy each other’s
necessities. Because of the necessity of division of work, human beings cannot live alone andthey must live in societies. Civilization is "Ta'mir-i bilad and tarfih-i ibad" which means
building or reconstructing cities and towns in order to live a social life. The quality of social life
there would be such that everyone will be free to live their lives the way they choose to live
freely without any cohersion from anyone else in all respects including total religios freedom.]
When human beings live together, the shrewd ones try to attack others' property and rights. Some
others try to oppress the weak because every soul (Nafs) tries to obtain what he likes or desires.
When there are a few of them wanting the same thing, they start to fight among themselves just
like the dogs, which gather around a piece of carcass, show their teeth to each other and start to
bark. A judge with strong powers is necessary in order to enforce law and order among these
fighters. Everyone who trades would claim that his goods are more valuable than others' goods.
Therefore, it is necessary to determine mutual values of goods and services justly. The measure
which determines the mutual value of goods is the gold and silver or in other words it is the
money. Gold and silver are called cash money (Nakdayn). Many nations issue banknotes and
base their currency on gold. The governments having much gold can issue lots of banknotes.
Alternately, if the governments have little gold and issue lots of banknotes, these banknotes will
not have any value. Allahu ta’ala created gold and silver as money. Nothing else can replace the
place of gold. For this reason we were ordered to calculate and pay the obligatory almsgiving
(Zakat) with gold and silver. Hence, it is understood that there is a necessity for a just judge who
would determine the value of the goods justly with gold and silver. This judge which has the
authority is the government. A just government prevents oppression and torture and provides the
justice ordered by Allahu ta’ala and determines the values of the goods justly.
In conclusion it is understood that in order to establish justice among the human beings the
following three things are necessary: 1-"Namus-i Rabbani", 2-"Hakim-Insani", and 3-"Dinar-i
Mezani". Among these three, the strongest and the biggest is the "Namus-i Rabbani" which is the
Islamic religion. Religions are divine laws sent by Allahu ta’ala in order to establish justice. He
sent these divine laws so that the judges would provide justice. The meaning of Chapter Hadid,
25th verse of the Qur'an is as follows, "We have sent them the book and the Scale so that
they may practice justice through them." In this verse "Book" means religion, because
religion is the name for the commandments and prohibitions of the Qur'an. The "Scale" points to
the gold because weight of gold is measured through scale. Those who do not like the
commandments and prohibitions of the Qur'an are disbelievers and hypocrites (Munafiqs).
Anyone who does not obey the judge or government is a rebel. [Muslims do not rebel against the
laws of the countries (Dar-ul-harb) outside of Islamic states and do not commit any crime
against them.] Persons who do not accept the value of gold become a traitor and a thief.
WARNING: a human being firstly should do justice to himself, to his actions, and to his body
organs. Secondly, he should do justice to his family members, neighbors, and friends. Those who
work for the department of justice and members of the government should do justice to the
people. In order to possess the virtue justice, firstly his body organs should possess justice,
secondly, his actions should have justice. One should utilize his strength and his body organs for
a purpose which is in accordance with their creation. One should not change the order of Allahu
ta’ala and utilize his body organs in things that are not approved by wisdom and Islam. If one has
family, he should treat them according to the behavior which is compatible with wisdom and
religion. One should not deviate from the good morals which is shown by the religion and should
strive to obtain the virtues. If one holds a rank or position such as a judge, governor, military
commander or any other kind of a leader, he should observe and perform the worships and he
should let other people working under his command to do their worships too. A person who doesthese things will become the vicegerent (Khalifa) of Allahu ta’ala. He will also enjoy the
blessings which will be given to just people in the next life. A person who behaves as described
above will be such a valuable person that people, animals, even plants who live in his time and
place where he lives will be benefiting from his virtue. In contrast with this, if government
officials of a country are not good natured and just, and oppress people by taking their property,
or by torturing them or by violating their basic human rights, they are unjust people or friends of
the devil.
Couplet:
Don't be deceived by the villas and dresses of dictators,
Gardens of their villas are watered by tears of the oppressed!
People who govern other people cruelly will be treated mercilessly on the Day of Judgement by
Allahu ta’ala. There is a saying which states:
Man, la yarham, la yurham!
which comes to mean, merciless people will not receive mercy! The governments that are made
up of this type of unjust persons are not called governments but they are called bandits and
robbers. These oppressors, in order to live a few years of good life, treat millions of people
cruelly. But, they will never depart from this world until they experience the punishment from
Allahu ta’ala for their cruelty. Even though they have all the necessary things to comfort them,
they still suffer all sorts of troubles. At the end, one of their enemies takes everything away from
them and thus forces them to live in great misery. The meaning of the 80th verse of chapter
Maryam of the Qur'an is, "We will take away everything that he claims to possess or rule
over. He will come into our presence alone." As it is pointed out in this verse, he will be
brought to the presence of Allahu ta’ala at the Court of Justice of the next world with a black
stain in his face. He will not be able to deny all the wrongs he committed, and will be punished
for them severely. All the wrongs and oppressions he committed will manifest themselves as
darkness and will cover him so that he will not be able to see where he is going. He will be
thrown to hell by the angels who are in charge of hell and punished there much more severely
than the punishments and tortures he imposed on people while he was in charge. He will not be
able to obtain the forgiveness of Allahu ta’ala because he had called the laws of the religion as
the laws of the desert and did not believe in the religion of Islam.
S I X T H S E C T I O N
Various kinds of virtues are explained in the sixth chapter of the book Akhlaq-i Alai by Ali bin
Amrullah, may Allahu ta’ala be pleased with him. We will only communicate justice among
them. Justice is divided into three parts:
The first part is to be an obedient believer to Allahu ta’ala. Blessings and favors of Allahu ta’ala
are coming to all creatures all the time. The most valuable one among these blessings is His
showing to his human creatures how to attain to eternal blessings. While no creature had a right
to demand anything, He created all of them in the best fashion and gave them innumerable
eternal blessings. Thanking to such a benefactor Creator for all these blessings by worshiping is a
sure necessity for all creatures. Doing justice requires one to do what is required of him by his
Creator. It is a must and a debt for each creature to worship to the Creator for all the goodness
they receive from Him.
Second part of the justice is the observance of the rights of the human beings. Accomplishing
this requires obeying the laws of the land and to those who are in charge and paying respect toscholars and observing the rules of trading and keeping the given promises and being a
trustworthy person.
Third part of the justice is the observance of the rights of those who lived and passed away and
left us wills to carry out or trusts and foundations to take care. This would be accomplished by
doing whatever they had willed, and by taking care of those trusts and foundations.
When one receives a favor from another, if one has the material means, one should respond with
an equal favor. If one doesn't have the material means then one should thank him by praying
(Dua) for him. If one does not respond to a favor while having the means, he will be mistreated
by everybody because it is a duty for a human being to respond to a given favor with an equal
favor. While this is the case, not responding to the favors of Allahu ta’ala, who has created us out
of nonexistence and gave us best of shapes, has given us necessary organs and powers and made
them work coherently with each other thereby provided us with health, has given us intelligence
and wisdom, and who continually creates our necessities such as mates, children, housing,
clothing, nutrition and all sorts of foods, would be a great fault and deficiency. He has infinite
powers. He creates all these blessings without expecting anything in return from us because He
does not need anything. Therefore, it is a great fault, great injustice and a great stain in our face
not to thank Him. Especially, it is a greater injustice and fault not to believe in His existence or
not to believe that all these blessings come from Him, or conversely believe that they come from
someone else. Let us suppose that a benefactor provides one's necessity by giving him every
month some substantial amounts of money. Wouldn't the recipient of this favor tell this to
everyone and praise him and thank him? Wouldn't he try to gain his love and try to protect him
from all sorts of troubles and even when and if it necessitates, wouldn't he put himself into
danger in order to protect his benefactor? Of course he does! But, let's say if he doesn't do any of
these. Wouldn't everybody blame him for his inappropriate behavior and even try to punish him
because he does not do his human duty to thank to his benefactor? When this is all true for a
benefactor person who does some goodness to others, what about the case for Allahu ta’ala?
Wouldn't it be necessary to thank Him who sends us all sorts of blessings all the time? Surely it
would be most necessary to thank Him by doing the worships and following His commandments.
Because comparing others' favors to His favors would be like the comparison of a drop of water
to the sea. Furthermore, all the blessings come from others actually comes from Him.
Who can enumerate the blessings of Allahu ta’ala?
Who can thank for even one millionth of His blessings?
Question of how men should respond "thank" to the favors of Allahu ta’ala answered in many
ways by different scholars.
According to some, the most important way of thanking Him is to think and contemplate about
His existence.
Masnawi:
Thanks be to Allahu ta’ala who has much blessings,
First, He gave me blessing of existence!
One's power wouldn't be enough to count His blessings,
Power and all kind of superiority is appropriate for Him.
According to others, men can thank Him by understanding that blessings come from Him and by
acknowledging this fact through his speech.
According to some others, thanking Him could be done by practicing His commandments and
avoiding committing the prohibited actions.
According to some, men should first cleanse himself and then approach Allahu ta’ala.According to others, men should try to give guidance (Irshad) to others who are in need of
finding the correct way of living. He should try to help others so that they may become correct
(Salih) persons.
According to some others, there could not be any particular way of thanking Him. Everyone can
follow different ways of thanking Him.
According to scholars who came much later than the time of our Prophet Muhammad, peace be
upon him, men's duty toward Allahu ta’ala can be summarized in three groups: the first one is
the worship he performs by using his body, i.e., "Salat" and fasting; the second one is the duty he
performs through his spirit, i.e., having correct faith [Having a belief according to the
prescription taught by the Ahl as-sunnat scholars]; and the third one is approaching or getting
close to Allahu ta’ala by doing justice among human beings. This could be accomplished by
being a trustworthy person and by giving advice to others and by teaching Islam to others.
We could summarize the worships into three groups: correct belief, correct word and correct
deed. The commandments which are not clearly communicated in the last two categories could
be changed according to the times and places. This change can only be accomplished by Allahu
ta’ala through His Prophets. Human beings cannot change worships by themselves according to
their own understanding. Prophets and Ahl as-sunnat scholars who are the inheritors of the
Prophets communicated in detail the kinds of worships and how they would be performed.
Everyone should learn these and practice them.
I would summarize all of the above sayings by saying that in a nutshell a Muslim's duty toward
Allahu ta’ala is to have the correct belief, to be a trustworthy person and do good deeds (Amal-i
saliha).
Islamic scholars and Sufi leaders communicated that the most necessary thing for a human being
is his having belief, performing good deeds (Amal) and doing them with sincerity (Ikhlas).
Happiness in this world and the next world can only be accomplished by these three pillars.
"Amal" means things that can be accomplished through the spiritual heart, tongue, or body. In
other words, things that could be accomplished through the tongue by repeating, or things that
could be done by utilizing the body. Things accomplished through the spiritual heart are the
ethics or morals. Sincerity (Ikhlas) means doing all the good deeds and worships, for the sake of
Allahu ta’ala and for the sake of obtaining His love and consent.
______________________________________________________
(Ruh) is called "Knowledge of Ethics." We are informed by scholars about the states and actions
of a person while he is alone in nine sections. In this book we will explain only six of these.
FIRST SECTION
In this section, habits as well as good and evil things will be explained. Habit (Huy) is a faculty
(Malaka) of the spiritual heart and spirit. They, through this faculty, perform actions
spontaneously without considering them consciously. Habits formed permanently are called
faculties, while, a temporary habit is called state (Hal). For example, laughing or being ashamed
are states (Hal). Generosity and bravery are faculties. When we refer to habits, it should be
understood that we mean faculties. Doing good deeds occasionally does not constitute a habit,
but doing them regularly does. If someone does good deeds frequently, he is considered as a
generous person, i.e. generousity is his habit. There is an exception to this rule. For example, if a
person does good deeds regularly by forcing his soul (Nafs), he is not considered a generous
person. If he does good deeds naturally or spontaneously, continually and loves it while doing it,
then he is a generous person.
Habit becomes a means for doing morally good or evil actions. Sometimes, it becomes a cause
for neither good nor evil actions. The first one is called virtue, good nature, or virtue (Fazilat).
Generosity, bravery and gentleness are good examples of this. The second one is called vice,
scandalous behavior, evil nature, or disagreeable habit, such as stinginess and cowardice. The
third one is neither virtue nor vice but is called arts and crafts, such as tailoring and farming. In
this book, we will explain the first and the second cases.
As we have noted at the end of the preface, the spiritual heart and the spirit have two powers.
The first one is the power of comprehension (Quwwat al-alima or mudrika). This is identified
as reason and knowledge (Aql, Nutq). They (Qalb and Ruh) understand things that can be
understood by reasoning via this power. The second is the power that causes things to happen -
causative power- (Quwwat al-amila). Each power has two aspects. The first aspect of the power
of comprehension, which is identified as reason, is called theoretical knowledge (Hikmat alnazari)
and the second aspect is called practical knowledge (Hikmat al-amali). The first aspect
of the causative power (Quwwat al-amila) is appetite (Shahwat), a force which desires
pleasurable and pleasant things. The second aspect of the causative power is self-assertion
(Ghadab), a force that repulses or gets rid of things it does not like. These four powers cause
various actions and works. If the actions and works are in accordance with reason and in the
correct proportion, not in excess or deficient, the habit which performs these actions is called
virtue (Fazilat). The habit which perform actions that are excessive or deficient is called vice
(Razalat). If theoretical knowledge is properly developed, that habit is called wisdom (Hikmat).
If the second power that is the practical knowledge is rightly developed, that habit is called
justice (Adl). If the spiritual heart’s and spirit's causative power appetite is properly developed,
that habit is called chastity or temperance. If self-assertion is properly developed, that habit is
called courage (Shajaat). These four habits are the essence of all good deeds. Justice cannot be
in excessive or deficient proportion but the other three can be in excessive or deficient
proportions. If they are, it is called vice. If theoretical knowledge is in excessive proportions, it is
called deceitfulness (Jarbaza). If it is in deficient proportions, it is called stupidity (Baladat). Aswe have stated earlier, justice cannot be in excessive or deficient proportions but could have the
opposite effect which is called tyranny (Zulm). The chastity which is in excessive proportions is
called debauchery (Fujur). If it is in deficient proportions, it is called laziness (Humud).
Excessive proportion of courage is called rashness (Tahawwur) while deficient proportion is
called cowardice (Jubn). All of the foregoing habits are explained in this manner in the book
Ihya-ul Ulum-ud-din, written by the famous Islamic scholar Imam Al-Ghazali, may Allahu ta’ala
be pleased with him. They are also explained in the book Hadikat-un-Nadiyye written by
Abdulgani Nabulusi, may Allahu ta’ala be pleased with him, [He passed away in 1143 Hijri,
1731 A.D. at Damascus.] This book, originally written in Arabic, was recently published by the
Waqf Ikhlas of Istanbul (Hakikat Kitabevi) in offset printing. According to some scholars,
having a right combination of chastity, wisdom, and bravery gives rise to justice.
A person who possesses a habit of deceitfulness (Jarbaza) utilizes his mind (part of his spirit) for
trickery, backbiting, and clowning. A person who possesses a habit of stupidity cannot
understand reality or differentiate between good and evil. A person who possesses a habit of
rashness (Tahawwur) puts himself into danger by trying to fight against a more powerful
enemy. A person who is a coward cannot practice patience, have steadiness, and therefore cannot
protect his rights. A person who has a habit of debauchery, commits actions that are disliked
(Makruh) in religion or forbidden (Haram) actions with respect to eating, drinking and
marriage and derives pleasures from ugly and despicable deeds. A person who has a habit of
laziness neglects the permissible pleasures and drives, thus resulting either in his own destruction
or extinction of his family tree.
The above mentioned four main habits (virtues) are the essence of all other virtues held by
human beings. Everyone boasts having these four main virtues. Even those who boast with their
ancestors’ nobility are referring to the fact that their ancestors had these four main virtuesSECOND SECTION
We will explain the subcategories of the four main habits in this section. The characters which
spring up from the four main habits are so numerous that it is almost impossible to name them,
let alone explain them. We will mention only some of the famous ones which are covered by
Islamic scholars who are specialists in the study of ethics.
Seven virtues spring up from the wisdom (Hikmat).
1- The first is intellect. It is a faculty, a habit (Malaka). Through the help of this, one derives
conclusions for unknowns from the similarities between the known and unknown subjects. One
can pool together the proofs and then reach a conclusion about the researched topic. Developing
this faculty requires one to study the subject matter which teaches how to arrive a conclusion for
unknown researched subject matter from the known subject matter, or one should solve problems
of mathematics and geometry.
Human beings possess varying degrees of intelligence. The highest degree of intelligence is
called genius. Intelligence is measured by tests. One of the famous psychiatrists of the twentieth
century, American Terman [Terman was still alive in 1380 Hijri, 1960 A.D. while this book was
being written.] says that historically the measurement of intelligence through tests was first
performed by Ottoman Turks. Ottoman armies were moving through Europe, conquering one
country after another. They were at the doorsteps of Vienna. They knew that if they captured
Vienna, it was easy to conquer the rest of Europe. The Ottomans were bringing Islamic
civilization to Europe. Lights of knowledge, learning, and ethics were chasing the darknesswhich was placed by Christianity, and were spreading vitality, humanity, peace, and happiness.
For centuries, Europeans were enslaved by dictators, capitalists, and clergy and became barbaric.
With the introduction of Islamic justice, knowledge, and ethics, Europeans were being liberated
and enjoying human rights. But, the dictators and especially the Christian clergy were putting
their last efforts against the Ottoman armies. One night, Great Britain’s chancellor in Istanbul
sent his historic letter to London. In his letter he wrote: Eureka!...Eureka!..! I have discovered the
reason of success of the Ottoman armies. I have found the way to stop the advancement of their
armies. He also wrote the following:
"Ottomans in conquered lands, without regard the nationality or religion, are testing the
intelligence of the chosen children and selecting those possessing high IQs and educating them at
schools {Madrasas} in accordance with the Islamic ethics. They are further selecting the
brightest among the students of schools {Madrasas} and educating them in the highest sciences
and arts of their times at the "ANDARUN" college, which is a special school at the residence of
the sultan. Military leaders are all graduates of this special school and all possess high
intelligence. Those bright and successful prime-ministers, Sokullus and Koprulus are educated in
this manner. The only way to stop the advancement of the Ottoman armies and to save the
Christianity is to corrupt and degenerate the quality of education at these special schools by
working secretly behind the scene." After this letter the British established a new Ministry of
State for the Colonial Department. The spies which were trained in this department and Christian
missionaries and freemasons concentrated their efforts to recruit some personnel by lies, deceit,
and promise of good life in the Ottoman State. They used their influences in high places so that
these recruits could be appointed to the high key government positions. Through these wretched
puppets they tried to abolish and remove some of the most critical and important courses like
sciences, ethics and advanced religious knowledge at these schools so that the graduates of these
schools would lack the necessary knowledge to manage the affairs of the government
successfully. They accomplished their purpose after the 1839 era. As a result, the Islamic state
was destroyed and the lights of happiness and peace radiated by Islam were extinguished.
2- Quick-wittedness (Surat al-Fahim): quickness in thinking and promptness in action in an
emergency, in response to a challenge in a conversation or debate. This faculty understands how
to respond to a required situation. When it hears something, it quickly grasps its opposite also.
Intelligence is related to thinking and scrutiny. It examines known matter minutely and derives
some unknown results from it. Quick wittedness refers to things other than thinking and scrutiny,
e.g., quickness of grasping relativity of things to the situation at hand.
3- Clariy of mind (Safa al-dhihn) : quick understanding and obtaining desired results.
4- Ease of learning (Suhulat al-Ta’allum) : irrelevant thoughts cannot stop him from attaining
his goal.
5- Observing limits (Husn al-Ta'akkul): staying within the bounds and limits while learning
necessary things ; not overdoing things. One does not leave out necessary things but does not
occupy himself with unnecessary things either and does not waste his time.
6- Retention (Tahaffuz): Not forgetting things. the spirit does not forget things it comprehends
and understands.
7- Recall (Tadhakkur): the ability of remembering things stored in memory whenever one
wants to recall them.ELEVEN VIRTUES THAT ARE THE OUTCOME OF COURAGE
1. Serious mindedness: one having a state of mind in which one is not elated by praise or insulted
by criticism. He holds rich and poor alike and does not differentiate between joy and sorrow.
One's work and effort are unshaken by a change in the environment or in difficult or fearful
circumstances.
2. Bravery (Najdat): having patience and endurance in frightening situations and difficult
circumstances and not complaining and not acting inappropriately in those situations.
3. Having zeal and endeavor (Having Himmat): one does not care about worldly ranks,
positions, promotions or demotions.
4. Perseverence (Thabat): putting up with difficulties on the way toward one's goal; resisting
destructive forces or agencies on the way to success.
5. Mildness (Hilm): the calmness of the spirit. It is being gentle and mild and avoiding anger.
6. Calmness (Sukun): having the necessary strength, perseverance and resistance during a war
while defending the country, the religion, and the nation against the enemy, and not becoming a
laughing stock of the enemy.
7. Being ingenious (Shahamat): strong desire to do good deeds and attain high ranks; also
strong desire to be remembered in good terms and persistent devotion for doing good deeds in
order to earn rewards (Thawabs).
8. Enduring troubles (Tahammul): working patiently to obtain good-nature and good deeds.
9. Humility (Tawazu): maintaining a non boastful attitude toward those who hold lower worldly
ranks than one's self. What one possesses is given to him by the Grace of Allahu ta’ala as a gift.
One does not have the means to obtain those. Those who have attained worldly ranks and
richness should show humbleness and by doing so earn rewards (Thawabs) for it. If one displays
humbleness in order to obtain worldly gains or to avoid worldly difficulty, it is called fawning
(Tabasbus). For example, a beggar's expression of humility is of this kind and it is a sin.
10. Sense of honour (Hamiyyat): not being slack in protecting and defending one’s nation,
religion and honor. Putting one’s all ability, strength and effort into this duty.
11. Compassion (Riqqat): not worrying about the problems that are caused by human beings.
One’s behavior and actions should not change because of the problems caused by other people.
One should not stop doing good deeds because people are causing problems or doing evil things
to him.
CHASTITY (IFFAT) BEGETS TWELVE CHARACTERS
1. Shame (Haya): the feeling of shame when one commits evil deeds.
2. Meekness (Rifq): the literal meaning of this word is pitying and helping others but its special
meaning in the knowledge of ethics is obedience to the rules of Islam.
3. Right guidance (Hidayat): striving to be a good-natured Muslim.
4. Being peacefull (Musalamat): when situation becomes heated during a debate and
disagreement breaks out, a Muslim with this character wants to be agreeable and does not want
to argue or be harsh.
5. Tranquility: having control over soul (Nafs): controlling the desires of the soul when appetite
overcomes him.
6. Fortitute (Sabr): one avoids prohibited actions (Harams) and base desires of the soul (Nafs).
Thus, one avoids actions which would result in disgrace. There are two types of patience. Thefirst is having patience against committing sin. Devil, evil friends, and one's own soul encourage
a human being to commit sin. Not listening them and being patient is very rewarding. The
patience which was meant in this context is of this kind. The second kind of patience is to remain
calm and not cry out when a disaster strikes. Most people understand this type of patience when
patience is mentioned. This type of patience is also rewarding. It is obligatory (Fard) to exercise
both types of patience.
7. Contentment (Qana'at): to be content with the minimum with respect to the necessities of life
(Nafaka) such as eating, drinking, dress and shelter and not asking for more. We do not mean
not accepting a given property. That is called (Taktir) and it is a vice. Neither wisdom nor Islam
likes it. Contentment is a good character or habit.
[The things that are necessary for survival, i.e., to avoid death or to protect one's organs from
being perished are called "Dharurat". Alternately, the things that are in excess of survival but
still necessary for sustenance and protecting the body from distress are called "Ihtiyaj". The
things that are beyond the "Ihtiyaj," i.e., things used for enjoyment or pleasure or for the
protection of one's honor and value are called ornament (Zinat). Using ornaments for
ostentation, being a show-off or to be superior to others is called boasting (Tafahur). It is
obligatory to work for obtaining the necessary amounts to meet the "Dharurat," and "Nafaka." It
is sunnat to work for obtaining the things that are in excess of "Nafaka" but still necessary, e.g.,
obtaining money to pay for the medicine or doctor fees. It is permissible (Jaiz) to obtain
ornaments (Zinat). Boasting is grave sin.]
8. Gravity (Waqar): it is to act with dignity, calmness and not to act with rashness while trying
to obtain necessities (Ihtiyaj) and other valuables. It means acting with dignity. It does not mean
acting so slowly as to miss opportunities or acting in such a way so that others will take away
one's benefits or opportunities.
9. Piety (Wara): it is to abstain from committing prohibited actions as well as abstaining from
the things that are doubtful, i.e. things that could be haram. It is also doing good deeds and other
actions which are helpful to others. It is acting with firmness so that one will not do defective,
incomplete and faulty actions.
10. Order (Intizam): it is to perform one's actions according to an order or discipline or method.
11. Freedom (Hurriyyat): it is to earn money by permissible means and to spend for good
causes. It is to observe everyone's rights. Freedom does not mean to do whatever one wish or
wants.
12. Munificence (Sakha): it is to drive pleasure while spending money for good causes. It is to
spend lovingly for the causes that are ordered by Islam. Munificence means to be generous. It is
one of the best one’s of the virtues. It was praised by the verses of Qur'an and by sayings of our
Prophet.
Munificence gives birth to many virtues. Eight of them are very famous.
1. Generosity (Karam): it is the enjoyment of doing things that are helpful to others and giving
money to others.
2. Giving lavishly (Isar): giving things one need for himself to others who also needs those
things and then to be patient. It is one of the most valued of the virtues. It was praised by verses
in the Qur'an.
3. Forgiveness (Afw): not getting even while one has the means to get even with one's enemies
or with a guilty party. It is to treat those with goodness who do evil things to him. This is better
than forgiveness.
Couplet:
Against the evil things, it is easy to retaliate.For those who do mean things, doing goodness to them is the manliness!
4. Generosity (Muruwwat): it is to love helping others, giving things to those who are in need.
5. Loyalty (Wafa): helping one's friends and acquaintances in their effort to obtain their
livelihood.
6. Charity (Muwasat): sharing one's possessions with friends and acquaintances. Getting along
well with them.
7. Extreme generosity (Samahat): it is to give lovingly things that are not necessary (wajib) to
give.
8. Forgiveness (Musamahat): foregoing things, that are not necessary to forego, willingly in
order to be helpful to others. Another meaning of "Musamahat" is not seeing others' faults.
JUSTICE (ADALAT) GIVES BIRTH TO TWELVE HABITS
1. Sincerity (Sadaqat): it is to love one’s friends. Desiring their happiness and comfort. Trying
to protect them from danger. Trying to make them happy.
2. Amity (Ulfat): it is the harmony among the members of a group with respect to their belief
and worldly affairs and thoughts.
3. Faithful (Wafa): getting along with others and helping each other. Another meaning of
"Wafa" is keeping one’s promise and respecting others’ rights.
4. Compassion (Shafkat): the concern and worrying for others' problems. Working and
struggling in order to save them from their problems.
5. Care of kin (Sila ar-rahm): it is the watching over one’s relatives and close friends and
visiting them and assisting them. In one hadith, Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "I was sent
to abolish the idolatry and to help my relatives."
6. Requital (Mukafat): it is to respond goodness with goodness.
7. Good-fellowship (Husn al-shirkat): obedience to the rules and acting justly.
8. Fair-judgement (Husn al-Qaza): it is acting justly in all affairs and in dealings with others.
Not reminding others the kindness shown to them. Not committing the actions one will be sorry
later.
9. Affection (Tawaddud): it means love and attachment. It is to love one's friend and act in such
a way to induce love in them toward himself.
10. Complete obedience (Taslim): accepting and obeying the commandments, and avoiding
committing prohibited actions and ethics of Islam even when one does not feel the sweetness
while doing them.
11. Reliance (Tawakkul): not worrying for the calamities which are above the human strength
by believing that they were decreed by Allahu ta’ala at pre-eternity and therefore accepting them
with a good disposition.
12. Devotion (Ibadat): carrying out the commandments and avoiding committing prohibited
actions ordered by Allahu ta’ala, who created everything out of nonexistence and who protects
every living creature from all seen or unseen dangers and troubles and who bestows upon all
creatures all kinds of goodness we receive from Him. Striving hard to comply with His
commands, and having a strong desire to imitate exalted people like the Prophets, friends of
Allahu ta’ala (Walis) and the scholars who have received the love and favor of Allahu ta’ala.
[Muslims are of two types: scholars or elites (Hawas) and populous or common people (Awam).
The book Durr al-Yakta, which is written in Turkish, states the following: common people are
those who do not possess knowledge regarding methodology and rules of subjects like "Sarf" and"Nahv" rules of Arabic grammar and Literature. These people cannot understand the books of
"Fatwa" (religious legal decisions).
It is obligatory (Fard) for these people to learn by asking about the knowledge of belief and
worships (Ibadats). It is also obligatory (Fard) for scholars to teach through lectures,
conversations (Sohbats), and writings firstly knowledge pertaining to faith and secondly
knowledge pertaining to five obligatory worships which are the foundation of the religion of
Islam. It is written in the books Zahira and Tatarhaniyya that it is most urgent for every Muslim
to learn first about the knowledge of "Ahl as-Sunnat", i.e., the faith and conditions of belief. For
this reason, the great scholar Sayyid Abdulhakim al-Arwasi, may Allahu ta’ala be pleased with
him, sometime before his death has said, "I have preached for thirty years exclusively the
knowledge of Ahl as-Sunnat belief and the knowledge of beautiful ethics of Islam in all of the
mosques of Istanbul. Ahl as-Sunnat scholars learned these from companions (Ashab al-kiram)
and they in turn learned from our blessed prophet, peace be upon him."
The knowledge of belief is called "Aqaid" or "I'tiqad." For the same reasons, we are also in all
our books communicating the knowledge regarding the "Ahl as-Sunnat belief", ethics of Islam,
and the necessity of helping everyone including government. We are not approving the
methodology of persons who do not follow one of the four schools of thought (Madhhab) like
ignoramuses Mawdudi and Sayyid Qutb and ahl al-bidat or la-madhhabiyya Tablig al-Jamaat
regarding rebelling against governments. Their writings divide Muslim brotherhood and make
Muslims enemies to each other. Our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, "Religion is
under the shadow of the swords" which means that Muslims will live comfortably under the
protection of the laws and rules provided by the government. When the government is strong and
powerful, peace and prosperity flourish. Muslims, who live in non-Islamic countries of Europe
and America, should not disobey the laws of those countries. Because, in those countries, the
government provides freedom of religion through laws. Therefore, every Muslim can practice
their religion freely. Thus, Muslims who have a comfortable lifestyle and freedom of religion
should not incite trouble against the governments that provide them these opportunities. "Ahl as-
Sunnat scholars" are advising us to practice what we have just written above. The highest of all
worships is not to get involved with instigation and not to help or associate with those who rebel
against the governments and anarchy. Instead, one should spend his time for learning the
knowledge of "Ahl as-Sunnat faith" and strive to have a belief according to this faith. One, after
accomplishing these, i.e., learning and acquiring the correct belief and getting rid of the corrupt
beliefs (e.g., having a corrupt belief places that person into one of the seventy-two corrupt groups
which are said to be going the hell), one should also strive to avoid innovations in religious
things (Bidat) with respect to worships. Performing those things by thinking that they are
prescribed commandments but in reality they are not, are called "bidats with respect to
worships". The commandments and prohibitions which are ordered by Allahu ta’ala are called
divine laws (Shari’at). Following the orders of divine laws are called worshiping (Ibadat).
There are four schools of thought (Madhhabs) which teach the correct way of performing
worships. Every one of those four schools of thought is correct. They are the "Hanafi", "Shafi'i",
"Maliki" and "Hanbali". It is necessary for every Muslim to read books which teach prescribed
worships according to one of those school of thoughts and perform his worships accordingly.
Therefore, he would be following one of the correct schools of thoughts. People who do not
follow any one of those four schools of thought are called "la-madhhabiyya" (Person without
"Madhhab"). "La-madhhabiyya" persons are not "Ahl as-Sunnat people". Persons who are not
"Ahl as-Sunnat" are either persons deviated ( ahl al-bidat) from the right path or disbelievers.Hadrat Ali, may Allahu ta’ala be well pleased with him, says that if you see a person who does
not believe in resurrection after death, tell him: "I believe in resurrection after death. If what you
say comes true, I would not be losing anything but if what I say comes true you will be burning
in hell-fire eternally!" In the western world like Europe and America most of the scientists, high
government officials, professors, military commanders do believe in the hereafter and
resurrection after death and go to churches for worshipping. Jews, Brahmans, Buddhists, fire
worshipers, idol-worshippers, civilized people and uncivilized people are all believers. Only
some people who are in charge of Communist governments or in other words cruel and mad
dictators and their followers inside or outside of their country who sold their soul to them for
some worldly benefits do not believe. No one can imagine that these ignorant and stupid people
who advocate irreligiousness for worldly benefits or for their pleasure could ever be correct in
their cause against the believers who make up ninety-percent of the world population. According
to an atheist’s views, he will become nonexistent after his death. But according to a believer he
will be punished eternally in hell. Moreover, as far as a believer is concerned, he will live an
everlasting pleasurable life. But according to unbeliever, he will be nonexistent. Thus, anyone
who has little sense could ever believe or choose what an unbeliever is saying. No one would
ever choose what an unbeliever is saying, would he? The order manifests in worldly affairs and
in the universe informs the people of reason that a creator Allahu ta’ala exists. And in turn
Allahu ta’ala informs us that the life after death exists. Hence, it is necessary for anyone who
possesses intelligence or knowledge to believe in the existence of Allahu ta’ala and life after
death. Not believing would be stupidity and ignorance. Believing in Allahu ta’ala could be
materialized by believing in His eternal attributes like attributes regarding to His Self (Sifat al-
Zatiyya) and attributes regarding to His existence (Sifat al-Subutiyya) and following the
commandments and avoiding committing prohibited actions. A person who follows the orders of
divine laws (Shari’at) would live comfortably and happily in this world and be helpful to
others.]
THIRD SECTION
In this section the vices (vices), or disagreeable nature will be communicated. As we have
explained in the previous sections, the essence of good characters were the four main virtues
(virtues). Similarly, the essence of vices are four main vices.
1. Scandal (Razalat): the opposite of wisdom.
2. Cowardice (Jubn): the opposite of courage (Shajaat).
3. Debauchery (Fujur): to follow the desires of the soul (Nafs) and to commit sin. It is the
opposite of chastity (Iffat).
4. Tyranny (Jawr, Zulm): the opposite of justice.
There are numerous vices (vices) corresponding conversely to every virtue (virtue). The
goodness is defined as the middle way, average or regular-way. To be on the right or left of the
middle means to be on the wrong side, wrong grounds or departing from the goodness. Further
away from the middle-way means being further away from goodness. There is only one correct
path but there are many deviated paths. We could even state that there are infinite deviated paths.
Never departing from the right path after finding it and staying on that path permanently is very
difficult task. The meaning of the 112th verse of the Chapter of Hood of Qur’an is as follows,
"Stay on that correct path which you are commanded!" When this verse was received by
Rasulullah, peace be upon him, he said, "Chapter of Hood caused some of my beards tobecome white." The commandment given in the Hood-Chapter of the Qur'an, "Staying in the
correct path" made many close friends (Walis), sincere ones (Siddiqs), even prophets worry
over and bewilder. This fear made some of the beards of Rasulullah, peace be upon him, to turn
white because, it is very difficult to stay in the correct path. Also, for this reason it was said:
"Sirat-Bridge is thinner than a hair and sharper than the sword." In the opening chapter,
i.e., "Fatiha" of the Qur'an, Allahu ta’ala says, "Ask Allah to guide you to the correct path." It
is most necessary for a believer (Mumin) to be on the correct path. Passing from the "Sirat-
Bridge" in the hereafter depends on being on the correct path in the world.
Leading Sufi Masters said that whatever our Prophet, peace be upon him, communicated,
whether it be punishment or pleasure in the hereafter, is the end result of habits, morals, and
deeds of human beings in this life. They manifest in that manner in the hereafter. Some of the
leading Sufi Masters said that being on the correct path with respect to deeds and good morals
manifest themselves as "Sirat-Bridge" in the hereafter. Those who stay on the correct path and
those who do not depart from Islam in this life will pass the "Sirat-Bridge" quickly in the
hereafter and reach the Paradise of perfection and Gardens of good deeds which are the
manifestations of the good-deeds obtained in this life. Those who are being lax in practicing their
religion will have difficulty passing the "Sirat-Bridge". Those who abandon the correct path
prescribed by Islam and wander onto deviated paths with respect to belief and deeds will not be
able to pass the "Sirat-Bridge" and will fall into the fire of hell.
The meaning of the 36th verse of Chapter of "Zuhruf" of the Qur'an is, "For those persons, who
abandon the religion of Allah by following the desires of their souls, we will assign an
instigating devil for them in the world." Some of the scholars, while interpreting this verse
said that the faculty in man which causes good deeds to be performed is generated by angel
(Malak). The faculty that causes deviation from the middle and causes evil deeds to be
performed is generated by devil. One of those will accompany men in the hereafter. Therefore,
everyone, by observing his moral character and deeds, will know who will be his companion,
whether it be an angel or a devil in the hereafter.
Two meanings can be understood from the middle way. The first meaning is the knowledge
everybody possesses with respect to the middle of something. For example, the center of a circle
is of this kind. The second meaning is being the relative-center of something. In other words, it is
the center of something known. Since it is the center of the known, that does not mean that it is
the center of everything. The middle or center which is used in the subject of knowledge of
ethics is the second meaning. For this reason, the virtues could be understood by everyone
differently. Moreover, its meaning could change according to changing times and places.
Something which is considered as virtue by one community might not be recognized as the same
by another. A habit which is recognized as a virtue at one time could be recognized as something
else at some later time. Therefore, virtue does not mean being right at the middle but means
being on average and the evil comes to mean departing from this average to the two sides. This
meaning is reported in a saying of our Prophet, peace be upon him, as follows, "The best of all
deeds is the middle of those deeds." Hence, there are two vices for each virtue. There are eight
main vices.
1. Deceitfulness (Jarbaza): it is the excessiveness of the wisdom (Hikmat). It is the utilization
of one's habits and capacity to investigate matters in depth in wrong places unnecessarily. For
example, utilizing them for deceiving others or for scheming, plotting or committing prohibited
actions. Using the scientific powers "intelligence" of the spirit in an excessive manner won’t be aevil deed or deceitfulness. Utilizing one’s power of investigation excessively to obtain scientific
or religious information or advancing mathematics would be very good deed.
2. Foolishness (Baladat): it means stupidity or not using one’s brain. It is also called
thickheadedness. One who has this habit cannot discriminate between right and wrong. One's
learning and reaction would be slow and defective.
3. Rashness (Tahawwur): a person with this habit has a quick-temper. It is caused by having
excessive amounts of bravery (Shajaat) in his constitution. One with this habit attempts to do
things that would not be approved by the wise and burdens his spirit and body unnecessarily.
4. Cowardice (Jubn): it is caused by not having necessary amounts of bravery (Shajaat). A
person having this habit scares in those instances where he should not be scared.
5. Debauchery (Fujur): it is caused by having excessive amounts of chastity (Iffat) in one’s
constitution. A person with this habit would be addicted to worldly pleasures and commits
excessive actions not approved by Islam and wisdom.
6. Laziness (Humud): it is caused by not having necessary amounts of chastity. A person having
this habit leaves those pleasures allowed by Islam and wisdom. Thus, he loses physical strength,
becomes ill and his family-tree ends with him.
7. Injustice (Zulm): it means to violate the rights and freedom of others. A person with this habit
violates other people’s rights by stealing their property or by injuring them physically or by
sexual harassment.
8. Indignity: a person having this habit accepts all dishonorable treatment and oppression. It is
caused by not having enough amounts of Justice in his constitution. All the goodness is gathered
in justice. Conversely, all the evils are gathered in oppression (Zulm). For that reason some of
the scholars said that things that would not break others' heart would not be a sin. For example,
Abdullah-i Ansari said,
Couplet:
Travelers of the way of "Haqq" never break hearts,
There would not be such a grave sin!
Abdullah-i Ansari is one of the great one's of the "Sofiyya al-aliyya" {a special group of people
leading the way of Sufism}. He was the leading religious authority (Shaikh al-Islam). He was
born in 396 (Hijri) at Herat and passed away at 481 (Hijri) at his birth place [1088 A.D.] Some of
the deviant people could not understand the meaning of the above couplet. They thught that he
meant the following: as long as you don't hurt anybody else, you can do anything to yourself.
Therefore, they stopped praying and started all kinds of sin and then they bragged by saying that
they were not breaking hearts. Moreover, they said,
Couplet:
Whether you become a disbeliever, or whether burn the Ka'ba
Drink wine if you wish, but never break any heart!
and departed from Islam. However, they could not understand that committing anything
prohibited by the religion is an oppression. Doing it to yourself or to others does not change the
matter. Most of the oppressors are the ones who have lots of money, wealth, and ranks. On the
other hand, most of the oppressed ones are the poor people. Those who have the middle way are
the ones who try to do justice.
All the virtues are in average proportions. Every habit which is in excessive or deficient
proportion becomes a vice. Perhaps many languages do not possess words to describe all the
vices. But, if one contemplates and ponders about it their meaning would become clear.There are some virtues which are necessary for human beings to possess. People assume that
having more of them would increase the goodness. But in reality it is not. Every virtue has its
limits and when limits are crossed, virtue turns into a vice. People recognize more easily that
having virtues less than prescribed average proportions constitute vice. Virtues courage
(Shajaat) and generosity (Sahawat) are good examples of the foregoing discussion. Excessive
proportions of these two habits are rashness (Tahawwur) and spending wastefully (Israf).
Ignorants and especially persons who don't know ethics of Islam think that spending
extravagantly constitutes generosity and thus praise those who do so. They also think of those
who do rashness as braves and courageous persons. But, no one thinks of those who are cowards
or stingy as braves or generous.
There are some necessary habits which humans should possess. People think that having these in
fewer proportions is better than having them in average proportions. Having them in excessive
proportions is recognized by everyone as vice. A good example of this is humility It means not
having conceit (Kibr). If this exists less than necessary amounts, it constitutes excessive
humility (Tazallul). It is difficult to discriminate excessive humility (Tazallul) from humility.
Many people mix up humility of a beggar with that of a scholar (Alim) because they both do not
possess conceit. A scholar has real humility. A beggar don't have any.
FOURTH SECTION
In this section vices (vices) which look like virtues will be explained. We will also show how
they could be distinguished from each other.
Many people cannot differentiate between gold and brass because they are both yellow colored.
Some may think a blue bead is a precious stone. Similarly, they may think a vice is a virtue.
Hence, it is necessary to learn the knowledge of ethics and become a proficient one in order to
distinguish deeds with secret deficiencies from the good deeds, and goodness from the evil in
general.
1. First we will explain the vice or vice which looks like wisdom. There are many people who
pick up few phrases of wisdom or few words relating to the scientific or spiritual knowledge
from others or from newspapers, magazines or radio and repeat them among other less learned
people or engage in debates and arguments with others so to give others a false impression
regarding themselves. Many people are deceived by them and they really think of them as a
valuable person such as a specialist of some branch, wise, knowledgeable or a spiritual leader
(Murshid). In reality these types of persons do not possess the necessary knowledge which they
talk about. All of their knowledge is a few words which they picked up here and there now and
then. They would not know reality of the things they talk about. His resemblance to real scholars
is no more than resemblance of a parrot's speaking like a human being. Because, the habit
wisdom exists in the mind and spirit of a human being. Its effects and lights (Nurs) cannot be
perceived through sense organs. There are many people who present themselves as progressive
and enlightened man but in reality they do not possess any wisdom or any value. They are evil
and mean people with vices. They do not possess any real knowledge or ethics. They never speak
anything valuable regarding to any virtue. But they dress well and they know how to handle
those people who occupy ranks and positions. They go to the parties and dance with those people
and serve them in drinking parties and finally get some rank and position from them.
2. Vice which looks like chastity: persons who possess this vice do not commit evil deeds and do
not run after satisfying their appetites. They seem to be matured and virtues persons who possessknowledge and good morals. Therefore, they are praised and respected everywhere by
everybody. They are treated well by persons who possess wealth and ranks. They are bombarded
by presents and obligatory almsgiving money (Zakat). Their bodies are weakened by doing so
much voluntary prayers (Nafila) in the presence of others but they are slack to perform sunnats
and obligatory (Fard) prayers. Their lower selves (Nafs al-ammara) are very strong. They are
treated by human beings as trustworthy persons. But they are traitors in the sight of Allahu ta’ala.
All these foregoing qualities and descriptions are attributes of pseudo Sufis and religious office
holders who are dazzled by worldly pleasures.
Some of the villagers do not eat the food of the city dwellers. Some others do not purchase good
food because of their stinginess. Some people observing their state of abstaining from food
presumes them as "Darwishes". They give a false impression of being a person of contentment
(Ahl al-qana’at). They are really without any contentment (Qana’at) and chastity (Iffat). All their
doings are for show off, hypocrisy and lie.
3. The vice which looks like generosity: a person who has this habit would be one of those who
doesn't earn his wealth by permissible (Halal) means. For example, he is a smuggler or he got
his money without sweating for it, like from lotto or inheritance. Therefore, he does not
appreciate how hard it is to accumulate wealth by permissible means. Hence, he spends his
money either on prohibited (Haram) things or on unnecessary things. He spends his money on
things not approved by wisdom or Islam. Stupid people seeing him spending a lot, thinks of him
as a generous person. In reality, he does not possess the virtue, generosity. Earning and saving
money or property is like going uphill with a full load on one's back. Spending money is like
letting a spherical stone to go downhill from a mountain top. Not having necessary wealth holds
back many people from becoming better human beings. Many people lose their belief because of
not having the necessary means for livelihood and become apostates (Murtads). In one hadith,
Rasulullah, peace be upon him, communicated, "Poverty is a blessing for my companions.
Being rich will be a blessing for Muslims who will live in later times close to the
Doomsday."
I understood well, after long experience:
Knowledge determines man's value,
Having wealth determines the knowledge!
It is very difficult to earn wealth through trade which is carried out according to the rules of
Islam. Generally very few people earn their wealth by following the rules of Islamic laws.
Permissible wealth comes like rain drops. Conversely, forbidden (Haram) wealth comes like a
rushing flood water. It is a very virtue to be generous (Sahawat) while giving away money.
Being wasteful while giving to charity is a vice and forbidden act. Generosity (Sahawat) means
to give away some portion of one's wealth in order to form the habit of generosity and in order
for getting rid of the habit of stinginess. Giving away some money or wealth by expecting better
return or satisfying desires of one's soul (Nafs) is not generosity (Sahawat.).
4. The vice which looks like courage (Shaja’at): a person who is showing courage, in reality, is
not acting for the purpose of forming the virtue courage and for getting rid of the vices rashness
(Tahawwur) and cowardice (Jubn). Instead, he is doing it, either, to earn fame or to obtain
some rank or worldly possession. He steals the property of Muslims, commits all sorts of illegal
activities and even sometimes puts his life into danger in order to accomplish his goals. Some of
these people, when caught by the authorities while committing their illegal activities, think that
not revealing the names of their accomplices is courage or bravery. Some of them go into the
extent of bearing torture, giving all of their wealth or even lives in order to protect the names oftheir crime-partners. In reality, these lowly people do not possess a tiny bit of bravery. A real
brave person attempts to do actions which are approved by wisdom and Islam. He wants to do
service to nation and government and to earn rewards (Thawabs). He loves and desires to obtain
consent of Allahu ta’ala by forming the virtue bravery (Shaja’at). The attacks of wolves and
panthers look like an act of a hero but it has nothing to do with bravery. They attack because of
their wild nature and cause harm. They do not come forward with good thought and in order to
help others and to earn rewards (Thawab). They attack the weak people who cannot defend
themselves against them. A strong gunman’s attack on gunless, weak, and hungry people is
similar to this example and is not bravery (Shaja’at). Bravery means one's coming to the
conclusion by thinking, and pondering that attacking would be proper. He desires having in his
spirit the virtue bravery and getting rid of the vice rashness (Tahawwur) and cowardice (Jubn),
without thinking any worldly benefits. A person with these intentions never wants to do evil
deeds. He rather prefers dying than committing evil deeds. He considers dying honorably is
superior to living in dishonor. He prefers to be remembered in an honorable way rather than
living with a black stain on his face. Since bravery carries the risk of injury or death, in the
beginning, it may not taste very well but at its conclusion it tastes infinitely sweet because it
concludes with much worldly and other worldly gains and victory. Especially, the superiority of
pleasures obtained by giving one's life in order to protect the religion of Islam or in order to
spread the religion of Rasulullah, peace be upon him, could not be compared to any other
worldly or other worldly pleasures. This meaning was expressed in the Qur'an, Chapter Imran,
verse 169 as follows, "Do not ever think that those who die for the sake of Allah are dead!
They are alive! They have reached the blessings of their Creator." There are innumerable
hadiths which praise the value of bravery. Neither running away from the fight (Jihad) saves one
from death or extends one's life nor staying and facing the enemy causes death. The hour of
death cannot be changed or postponed and one's life-span cannot be changed. In many instances,
escaping from the war causes one to die unexpectedly and resisting and fighting against the
enemy causes one to enjoy the victory. Hadrat Muawiya, may Allahu ta’ala be pleased with him,
says that he was intending to escape during the war at "Siffeen" then he says he remembered the
hadith, "He who perseveres will be safe from the disasters" and stayed and continued fighting
and consequently ended up being the Caliph by his persevering (Sabr).
Essence of bravery is to be content with the decree of Allahu ta’ala and to depend and have trust
in Him. The lion of Allahu ta’ala, the fountain of bravery and the rose of the garden of closeness
to Allahu ta’ala, Hadrat Ali, the son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad at the Siffin war was running
around and attacking, without any protective armament, with his head uncovered and his sleeves
rolled up and reciting the following:
Running away from death won’t be proper in two instances,
If your hour of death is arrived or did not arrive,
If it did arrive, running away will not help!
If it did not arrive, being cautious would not be proper.
Those who commit suicide because either they have lost their property or rank or they become
prisoners of war are coward persons. They do not possess any bravery. Persons who possess
bravery would persevere against the troubles and disasters. They think that by dying they will not
face any trouble or disaster. These stupid people are very ignorant indeed! They do not realize
that bigger troubles and disasters are waiting for them in the next world. According to Islam,
suicide constitutes a bigger sin than killing someone else. They will be punished severely. Thosewho lose their mind and commit suicide are not in this category. If and when one finds himself in
such difficult circumstances, one should pray to Allahu ta’ala for health and mercy.
5. The vice which looks like justice: this habit is similar to the habit which looks like chastity
(Iffat). A person who does not possess the virtue of justice decorates his office or walls of his
home by hanging framed inscriptions praising justice or he talks about justice or writes articles
on the subject. Even worse, he occupies position which is related to justice and associates with
real just persons in order to give an impression that he is one of them. In reality, their real self is
stained with injustice, hatred and revenge. The real meaning of justice is one's habits and deeds
being in accordance with wisdom and religion or to be a person of honesty such that one's real
self is reflected on his deeds. In other words, one behaves among others such a way similar to
while he behaves when he is alone. Being two faced is a sign of hypocrisy which is opposite of
justice.
Couplet:
Worship has to be done with good intention,
If otherwise, it will not do any good, a seed with a hollow kernel.
FIFTH SECTION
ENUMARATING SUPERIORITIES OF JUSTICE
In this section we will explain the meaning of justice. Justice is the most honorable one among
the virtues. A just man is the best of all men. Justice means harmony and equality. Two things
would be equal to each other either through their own self or through their attributes. They are
united with each other with respect to similar parts of each one. Therefore, justice rises out of
oneness and unity. Oneness is the most honorable attribute and most honorable state because all
existing beings became existent through One Being. Every unity that exists in the universe looks
like the only real One Being. As every existent being became existent because of that One Being,
similarly, every oneness is because of that Oneness. With respect to the subject of measurement
and comparison, the most honorable and valuable outcome is equality. Even, the problem of
equality is being studied extensively and in more detail in music. Therefore, justice is the most
honorable among all goodness. Justice means to be in the middle. It is wrong to call one as just if
he has departed from the middle. At three instances justice must exist:
1) While dividing a property for distribution, it must be done justly.
2) It is a must to deal justly during trade.
3) It is a must to do justice during application of punishment. For example, if one acts such a
way to spread fear on others, that person has to be punished same way. [But this punishment will
be imposed on him by the government. If one is attacked by others, one should not try to take the
justice into one's own hand but instead should inform authorities. Muslims both follow the orders
of Islam and the laws of the state and do not commit crime.] When justice prevails over a land,
everyone lives without fear. Therefore, justice means fearlessness.
What is justice? It is very difficult to determine the meaning of this concept through human
intelligence. For this reason, Allahu ta’ala by pitying His human creatures sent a yardstick for
justice in order to protect the countries. Through this divine yardstick it became easy to measure
justice. This yardstick is the religions brought by the prophets. Islam is also called as "Honor of
the Divine." Today and for all times to come until the Doomsday, the only yardstick which isordered for us to use is the yardstick which is sent to Muhammad, peace be upon him. Besides
this afore said yardstick, Allahu ta’ala sent a second yardstick. The second one is the judge who
rules over the justice system. It is necessary to have a judge because human beings are created to
live a social life. They have to mix with each other, help one another and live together. Animals
are not created to have a civilized life. In other words, they do not have to live together in cities.
But human beings are created weakly as far as their animal powers are concerned. For example,
they cannot eat raw meat like wild animals do. It is necessary to obtain and prepare nutrition,
clothing and shelter. In other words, they need crafts. Therefore, they are in need of thinking,
researching, investigating, experimenting and laboring. That means science, technology and
crafts are necessary for human beings because of their nature of creation.
[Islam encourages and orders us to occupy ourselves with science, technology, ethics, and work.
Britons and communists basely slander Islam by saying that Islam makes people lazy and slows
down the working life. They trap some base people from the Islamic countries by either giving
them money or by helping them to get a good position or rank in the society and then these poor
creatres become slaves of them and repeat the same phrases. There are many hadiths and verses
in Qur'an which encourages and promotes science, knowledge, and working as well as praising
those who work. These base and immoral slanders look like trying to cover the sun with mud.
Britons are attacking Islam insidiously. They are trying to destroy Islam from within. They are
destroying and annihilating Islamic knowledge and Islamic books in order to deceive the youth
easily by their lies. They established "Department of Colonies" in London for the purpose of
attacking Islam. They prepared treacherous plans and trained thousands of spies there. They, by
spending millions of dollars and weaponry, by tricking and trapping and by getting the
cooperation of the ignorant and degenerate religious men Muhammad bin Abdulwahhab of Najd
and Muhammad bin Su'ud who was the Amir of Dar'iyya, established the "Wahhabi" bidat
group. They destroyed the Ottoman State from within, the state which was the protector and
police of the Muslims. For more information please read the book The confessions of a British
Spy published by Hakikat Kitabevi, a branch of Waqf Ikhlas.
Abdurrashid Ibrahim effendi, may Allahu ta’ala be pleased with him, in the second volume of his
Turkish book Alam-i Islam which was published at Istanbul in 1328 [1910 A.D.], in a chapter
called "The animosity of Britons toward Islam", says: it is the first priority and thought of the
Britons to eliminate the religious state "Hilafat-i Islamiyya". They started the Crimean war and
he;ped Turks over the war. This was a trick for them in order to destroy the religious state
"Hilafat". The Paris peace agreement demonstrates this trick. [They demonstrated their
animosity in the secret articles of Lozan peace agreement signed in 1923.] Every kind of disaster
that came upon the Muslims always came from the Britons no matter under what type of curtain
they are covered and hidden with. The main political aim of British politics is to destroy Islam.
The reason for this policy is because of their fear of Islam. In order to deceive Muslims, they are
using the persons who sell their consciences. They introduce these persons as Islamic scholars
and great personalities. In short and in essence the greatest enemies of Islam are the Britons.
Abdurrashid Ibrahim effendi, died in Japan in 1363 Hijri. [1944 A.D.]
Does Islam ever hinder progress of science, technology and work? Human beings are in need of
everything. They have to work in order to prepare means which would satisfy their needs. These
means are science, crafts and laboring. It is not possible for every individual to learn all the crafts
he needs. Therefore, a division of work and crafts automatically materializes and some learns
this craft, others learn others and they exchange goods and services to satisfy each other’s
necessities. Because of the necessity of division of work, human beings cannot live alone andthey must live in societies. Civilization is "Ta'mir-i bilad and tarfih-i ibad" which means
building or reconstructing cities and towns in order to live a social life. The quality of social life
there would be such that everyone will be free to live their lives the way they choose to live
freely without any cohersion from anyone else in all respects including total religios freedom.]
When human beings live together, the shrewd ones try to attack others' property and rights. Some
others try to oppress the weak because every soul (Nafs) tries to obtain what he likes or desires.
When there are a few of them wanting the same thing, they start to fight among themselves just
like the dogs, which gather around a piece of carcass, show their teeth to each other and start to
bark. A judge with strong powers is necessary in order to enforce law and order among these
fighters. Everyone who trades would claim that his goods are more valuable than others' goods.
Therefore, it is necessary to determine mutual values of goods and services justly. The measure
which determines the mutual value of goods is the gold and silver or in other words it is the
money. Gold and silver are called cash money (Nakdayn). Many nations issue banknotes and
base their currency on gold. The governments having much gold can issue lots of banknotes.
Alternately, if the governments have little gold and issue lots of banknotes, these banknotes will
not have any value. Allahu ta’ala created gold and silver as money. Nothing else can replace the
place of gold. For this reason we were ordered to calculate and pay the obligatory almsgiving
(Zakat) with gold and silver. Hence, it is understood that there is a necessity for a just judge who
would determine the value of the goods justly with gold and silver. This judge which has the
authority is the government. A just government prevents oppression and torture and provides the
justice ordered by Allahu ta’ala and determines the values of the goods justly.
In conclusion it is understood that in order to establish justice among the human beings the
following three things are necessary: 1-"Namus-i Rabbani", 2-"Hakim-Insani", and 3-"Dinar-i
Mezani". Among these three, the strongest and the biggest is the "Namus-i Rabbani" which is the
Islamic religion. Religions are divine laws sent by Allahu ta’ala in order to establish justice. He
sent these divine laws so that the judges would provide justice. The meaning of Chapter Hadid,
25th verse of the Qur'an is as follows, "We have sent them the book and the Scale so that
they may practice justice through them." In this verse "Book" means religion, because
religion is the name for the commandments and prohibitions of the Qur'an. The "Scale" points to
the gold because weight of gold is measured through scale. Those who do not like the
commandments and prohibitions of the Qur'an are disbelievers and hypocrites (Munafiqs).
Anyone who does not obey the judge or government is a rebel. [Muslims do not rebel against the
laws of the countries (Dar-ul-harb) outside of Islamic states and do not commit any crime
against them.] Persons who do not accept the value of gold become a traitor and a thief.
WARNING: a human being firstly should do justice to himself, to his actions, and to his body
organs. Secondly, he should do justice to his family members, neighbors, and friends. Those who
work for the department of justice and members of the government should do justice to the
people. In order to possess the virtue justice, firstly his body organs should possess justice,
secondly, his actions should have justice. One should utilize his strength and his body organs for
a purpose which is in accordance with their creation. One should not change the order of Allahu
ta’ala and utilize his body organs in things that are not approved by wisdom and Islam. If one has
family, he should treat them according to the behavior which is compatible with wisdom and
religion. One should not deviate from the good morals which is shown by the religion and should
strive to obtain the virtues. If one holds a rank or position such as a judge, governor, military
commander or any other kind of a leader, he should observe and perform the worships and he
should let other people working under his command to do their worships too. A person who doesthese things will become the vicegerent (Khalifa) of Allahu ta’ala. He will also enjoy the
blessings which will be given to just people in the next life. A person who behaves as described
above will be such a valuable person that people, animals, even plants who live in his time and
place where he lives will be benefiting from his virtue. In contrast with this, if government
officials of a country are not good natured and just, and oppress people by taking their property,
or by torturing them or by violating their basic human rights, they are unjust people or friends of
the devil.
Couplet:
Don't be deceived by the villas and dresses of dictators,
Gardens of their villas are watered by tears of the oppressed!
People who govern other people cruelly will be treated mercilessly on the Day of Judgement by
Allahu ta’ala. There is a saying which states:
Man, la yarham, la yurham!
which comes to mean, merciless people will not receive mercy! The governments that are made
up of this type of unjust persons are not called governments but they are called bandits and
robbers. These oppressors, in order to live a few years of good life, treat millions of people
cruelly. But, they will never depart from this world until they experience the punishment from
Allahu ta’ala for their cruelty. Even though they have all the necessary things to comfort them,
they still suffer all sorts of troubles. At the end, one of their enemies takes everything away from
them and thus forces them to live in great misery. The meaning of the 80th verse of chapter
Maryam of the Qur'an is, "We will take away everything that he claims to possess or rule
over. He will come into our presence alone." As it is pointed out in this verse, he will be
brought to the presence of Allahu ta’ala at the Court of Justice of the next world with a black
stain in his face. He will not be able to deny all the wrongs he committed, and will be punished
for them severely. All the wrongs and oppressions he committed will manifest themselves as
darkness and will cover him so that he will not be able to see where he is going. He will be
thrown to hell by the angels who are in charge of hell and punished there much more severely
than the punishments and tortures he imposed on people while he was in charge. He will not be
able to obtain the forgiveness of Allahu ta’ala because he had called the laws of the religion as
the laws of the desert and did not believe in the religion of Islam.
S I X T H S E C T I O N
Various kinds of virtues are explained in the sixth chapter of the book Akhlaq-i Alai by Ali bin
Amrullah, may Allahu ta’ala be pleased with him. We will only communicate justice among
them. Justice is divided into three parts:
The first part is to be an obedient believer to Allahu ta’ala. Blessings and favors of Allahu ta’ala
are coming to all creatures all the time. The most valuable one among these blessings is His
showing to his human creatures how to attain to eternal blessings. While no creature had a right
to demand anything, He created all of them in the best fashion and gave them innumerable
eternal blessings. Thanking to such a benefactor Creator for all these blessings by worshiping is a
sure necessity for all creatures. Doing justice requires one to do what is required of him by his
Creator. It is a must and a debt for each creature to worship to the Creator for all the goodness
they receive from Him.
Second part of the justice is the observance of the rights of the human beings. Accomplishing
this requires obeying the laws of the land and to those who are in charge and paying respect toscholars and observing the rules of trading and keeping the given promises and being a
trustworthy person.
Third part of the justice is the observance of the rights of those who lived and passed away and
left us wills to carry out or trusts and foundations to take care. This would be accomplished by
doing whatever they had willed, and by taking care of those trusts and foundations.
When one receives a favor from another, if one has the material means, one should respond with
an equal favor. If one doesn't have the material means then one should thank him by praying
(Dua) for him. If one does not respond to a favor while having the means, he will be mistreated
by everybody because it is a duty for a human being to respond to a given favor with an equal
favor. While this is the case, not responding to the favors of Allahu ta’ala, who has created us out
of nonexistence and gave us best of shapes, has given us necessary organs and powers and made
them work coherently with each other thereby provided us with health, has given us intelligence
and wisdom, and who continually creates our necessities such as mates, children, housing,
clothing, nutrition and all sorts of foods, would be a great fault and deficiency. He has infinite
powers. He creates all these blessings without expecting anything in return from us because He
does not need anything. Therefore, it is a great fault, great injustice and a great stain in our face
not to thank Him. Especially, it is a greater injustice and fault not to believe in His existence or
not to believe that all these blessings come from Him, or conversely believe that they come from
someone else. Let us suppose that a benefactor provides one's necessity by giving him every
month some substantial amounts of money. Wouldn't the recipient of this favor tell this to
everyone and praise him and thank him? Wouldn't he try to gain his love and try to protect him
from all sorts of troubles and even when and if it necessitates, wouldn't he put himself into
danger in order to protect his benefactor? Of course he does! But, let's say if he doesn't do any of
these. Wouldn't everybody blame him for his inappropriate behavior and even try to punish him
because he does not do his human duty to thank to his benefactor? When this is all true for a
benefactor person who does some goodness to others, what about the case for Allahu ta’ala?
Wouldn't it be necessary to thank Him who sends us all sorts of blessings all the time? Surely it
would be most necessary to thank Him by doing the worships and following His commandments.
Because comparing others' favors to His favors would be like the comparison of a drop of water
to the sea. Furthermore, all the blessings come from others actually comes from Him.
Who can enumerate the blessings of Allahu ta’ala?
Who can thank for even one millionth of His blessings?
Question of how men should respond "thank" to the favors of Allahu ta’ala answered in many
ways by different scholars.
According to some, the most important way of thanking Him is to think and contemplate about
His existence.
Masnawi:
Thanks be to Allahu ta’ala who has much blessings,
First, He gave me blessing of existence!
One's power wouldn't be enough to count His blessings,
Power and all kind of superiority is appropriate for Him.
According to others, men can thank Him by understanding that blessings come from Him and by
acknowledging this fact through his speech.
According to some others, thanking Him could be done by practicing His commandments and
avoiding committing the prohibited actions.
According to some, men should first cleanse himself and then approach Allahu ta’ala.According to others, men should try to give guidance (Irshad) to others who are in need of
finding the correct way of living. He should try to help others so that they may become correct
(Salih) persons.
According to some others, there could not be any particular way of thanking Him. Everyone can
follow different ways of thanking Him.
According to scholars who came much later than the time of our Prophet Muhammad, peace be
upon him, men's duty toward Allahu ta’ala can be summarized in three groups: the first one is
the worship he performs by using his body, i.e., "Salat" and fasting; the second one is the duty he
performs through his spirit, i.e., having correct faith [Having a belief according to the
prescription taught by the Ahl as-sunnat scholars]; and the third one is approaching or getting
close to Allahu ta’ala by doing justice among human beings. This could be accomplished by
being a trustworthy person and by giving advice to others and by teaching Islam to others.
We could summarize the worships into three groups: correct belief, correct word and correct
deed. The commandments which are not clearly communicated in the last two categories could
be changed according to the times and places. This change can only be accomplished by Allahu
ta’ala through His Prophets. Human beings cannot change worships by themselves according to
their own understanding. Prophets and Ahl as-sunnat scholars who are the inheritors of the
Prophets communicated in detail the kinds of worships and how they would be performed.
Everyone should learn these and practice them.
I would summarize all of the above sayings by saying that in a nutshell a Muslim's duty toward
Allahu ta’ala is to have the correct belief, to be a trustworthy person and do good deeds (Amal-i
saliha).
Islamic scholars and Sufi leaders communicated that the most necessary thing for a human being
is his having belief, performing good deeds (Amal) and doing them with sincerity (Ikhlas).
Happiness in this world and the next world can only be accomplished by these three pillars.
"Amal" means things that can be accomplished through the spiritual heart, tongue, or body. In
other words, things that could be accomplished through the tongue by repeating, or things that
could be done by utilizing the body. Things accomplished through the spiritual heart are the
ethics or morals. Sincerity (Ikhlas) means doing all the good deeds and worships, for the sake of
Allahu ta’ala and for the sake of obtaining His love and consent.
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