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007 The first step to the path of maturity
In one of my previous articles, I had stated that Imam-i Rabbani hazrats ordered that "when a person says "Lailahe illallah" (there is no god, but Allah) by being aware of its meaning, a touch of belief occurs in his heart".[1] The touch of belief that occurs with the word "Lailahe illallah" is the beginning of all goodness for human. Because, the human believes the existence and oneness of Allah and accepts to be subject to the training of his Rab (Allah), in spite of the ego that led him to continuous denial; and so he takes the first step to become mature with this touch of belief. In fact it is the beginning of a severe fight between the wishes of the nafs (ego) and the desires and wishes of Allah. If the person, who will always have to choose between the will of Allah and his nafs, prefers to obey the wishes of Allah (swt), he will become a mature person in harmony with the universe and the society he lives in. The ones, who cannot succeed it, will be worse than the animals, face many difficulties in the world and Hereafter.
Kalima-i tawhid (Lailahe illallah) means entering in the frontiers of Islam by passing over the thin line between unbelief and faith, and taking the first step to mercy ladder which elevates human to maturity. Therefore Allah (swt) and His Messengers have placed particular importance to the word "Lailahe illallah". Rasulullah (s.a.w) ordered that: "The most important word of I and other Prophets said is Lailahe illallah." [Tirmidhi] "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: Lailahe illallah, and whoever said Lailahe illallah, Allah will save his property and his life from me." [Bukhari, Muslim] In the Qudsi Hadith, it is stated that: "Lailahe illallah is my castle. The person who enters my castle is protected from my pain." Reciting "Lailahe illallah" by believing its meaning, the human goes into the borders of Islam and escapes from an eternal Hell fire but it is not enough to become a mature person. A perfect and true faith which is purified from doubts, worship, sincerity and taqwa (staying away from forbidden) is needed in order to be a mature person. The faith in the heart becomes mature in time. Allah (swt) ordered that: "The desert Arabs say, "We believe." Say, "Ye have no faith; but ye (only) say, 'We have submitted our wills to Allah,' For not yet has Faith entered your hearts. But if ye obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not belittle aught of your deeds: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." [Hujurat, 14] Therefore, the people who accept the path of Allah (swt) cannot be totally excellent at first. They become Muslims but the faith hasn't grown in their hearts yet. We must help them to mature their faith and become a perfect believer and develop their goodness. The faith in the heart becomes mature in time which is possible through cleaning the nafs by keeping it away from unlawful practices, doing worship and being obedient to Allah; and purifying the heart from bad thoughts by remembering Allah (swt) all the time.
Dear Readers, In my previous articles, I stated that faith means believing in Gayb (the unknown) and for a true and perfect belief one must believe Allah (swt), His Angels, Holly Books, Messengers, Hereafter and Fate. I would like to explain the statements more. Believing in Allah (swt) means believing in the existence and oneness of Allah (swt) and everything reported by Him and His Messengers, in the way that they wished. Therefore religious scholars state Amentu as follows: "Amentu billahi ve bima cae min indillah, ala muradillahi mucmelen ve mufassalan;" (I believe in Allah and everything from Him in brief and detail in the way He wishes); "Amentu bi rusulillahi ve bima cae min indi rusulillah, ala muradi rusulillahi mucmelen ve mufassalan;" (I believe in Allah's messengers and everything f]rom them in brief and detail in the way they wish.) Amentu billahi ve melaiketihi ve kutubihi ve rusulihi ve'l-yevmil ahiri ve bi'l-kaderi, hayrihi ve sherrihi min Allahi Tealâ, vel ba'su ba'de'l-mevt. Hakkun eshhedu en lailahe illallah ve eshhedu enne Muhammeden abduhu ve resuluhu." (I believe in Allah, His angels, Holly Books, Messengers, Hereafter, Fate and goodness and malice is from Him and life after death. There is no other God but Allah and Mohammed is His servant and prophet.) Therefore amentu must be recited and memorized as it is stated above in order to keep our belief alive.
After Rasulullah (s.a.w) ordered believing Allah (Swt) solely, he asked the people of Abdul Kays that: "Do you know the meaning of believing in Allah solely?" And they answered the messenger of Allah knows it better than us. The Messenger of Allah said: “Bearing witness that Allah is the only true god, and that Muhammad is Allah’s prophet, perfor- ming salaat, and paying Zakat, fasting and giving away one fifth of the booty.” [Bukhari]. As it is clearly understood from the Hadith, believing in Allah (swt) means accepting and ratifying Allah (swt) as the single god, Rasulullah (s.a.w) who was sent by Allah (swt) as the last messenger, and everything notified by Rasulullah without any hesitation and doubts. The hadith clearly shows that the word "Lailahe illallah" means accepting and approving all information that was ordered by Allah (swt) via His messengers besides accepting Allah (swt) as the only true god. In other words, when we recite "Lailahe illallah", we accept the existence and oneness of Allah (swt) and His messengers and everything ordered by them. Be entrusted to Allah. Dr. Ismail Ulukus
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