PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC OF TÜRKİYE
THE PRESIDENCY OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS

Edition No: 2140
Youth Books : 38

With questions and answers

WHY DO I BELIEVE?

General Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Huriye MARTI

Chief Editor: Cafer Tayyar DOYMAZ

Editorial Coordinator: Fatih KARAZEYBEK

Prepared by: Ayşe Nur ÖZKAN
Dr. Ravza CİHAN
Dr. Nurhayat HARAL YALÇI
Dr. Tuba DURU
Esra BAŞ
İmran ELAGÖZ TAŞKIN

Translated by: Sena GÜLER

Proofreading: Burak YUMAT

Graphic - Design: Emre YILDIZ
Uğur ALTUNTOP

Press: TDV Yay. Mat. Tic. İşl.
Tel: +90 312 354 91 31
Sertifika No: 48058

3rd Edition, ANKARA 2023

High Board of Religious Affairs Decision No: 03.03.2022/40

ISBN: 978-625-435-194-5
2023-06-Y-0003-2140
Certificate No: 12930

© Presidency of Religious Affairs

Contact
Dini Yayınlar Genel Müdürlüğü
Yabancı Dil ve Lehçelerde Yayınlar Daire Başkanlığı

General Directorate of Religious Publications
Department of Publications in Foreign Languages and Dialects
Üniversiteler Mah. Dumlupınar Bulvarı
No:147/A 06800 Çankaya - ANKARA/TÜRKİYE
Tel : +90 312 295 72 81
Fax : +90 312 284 72 88
e-mail: yabancidiller@diyanet.gov.tr

PREFACE

The desire to know brings along research and asking questions. The one who asks questions about the matters s/he is curious to eliminate her/his lack of knowledge has found one of the most important ways of learning. While asking questions, the most essential aspect is to direct the question to the right people. Consulting experts in the field to avoid incorrect and incomplete information on the subject would be the best way to learn the truth. In this respect, Allah (swt) indicates the importance of consulting experts before expressing an opinion on a subject as follows: “…Ask the people of knowledge if you do not know.”1

In today's age of information and communication, access to information has become easier, but accessing the accurate information has become more difficult. Especially the young people, who are confused by false information on faith and belief, experience difficulty in distinguishing between accurate and wrong information. This situation causes them to deviate easily to the wrong paths. The youth's access to the accurate knowledge about faith and belief, which form the basis of Islam, will increase the values of society.

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad, who gave great duties to the young people about living and keeping the Islamic values alive, was also asked about all kinds of matters; from belief to the unseen, worship to daily life. Especially the young generation has directed their lives following the Prophet's answers.

The book in front of you has been brought together based on the questions addressed to the High Board of Religious Affairs of the Presidency of Religious Affairs of Turkey, as well as the questions that occupy the minds of students accommodating at the Higher Education Student Loans and Dormitories Institution. “Am I obliged to believe? What is deism? Does qadar change?” and similar questions that confuse the young people have been answered in light of accurate information. We hope that this work will answer the questions in the minds of all our readers, especially the young brothers and sisters, and we thank everyone who has contributed to it.

1 Nahl, 16/43.

FAITH IN
ALLAH

Am I obliged to believe

All human beings are created pure, without sin, open to development and maturity. The human nature/essence is inclined towards belief in Allah's existence and oneness. This inclination shows itself when one searches sincerely. Being in a suitable circle makes it easier. A believer finds answers to fundamental questions about his own creation, life and death, and especially about Allah. Besides, for human beings, it is a psychological need to believe.

Religion is defined as the divine law that leads people to the good, righteous, and beautiful through their own wishes and desires. The most significant point in this definition is that people accept the religion they choose with their free will without pressure. With the verse “There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion,”1 Allah (swt) stated that everybody has free will in following or not following the call to embrace the religion of Islam.

When we look at the historical process, freedom of religion and conscience were included among human rights much later. Just as no one can be pressured with regard to belief, believers are also given the opportunity to live by their belief freely. Going extreme and putting pressure on people about religion is a behavior that Allah does not deem appropriate. It is stated in the Holy Qur'an as follows: “Had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed - all of them entirely. Then, [O Muhammad], would you compel the people in order that they become believers?”2 Moreover, belief by compulsion makes a person not a believer but a hypocrite.

A person who believes in a powerful being and who trusts him does not feel lonely and finds the help and support of Allah (swt) in solving the problems in his life. Therefore, it must be said that having faith is an essential need for humans.3

Is believing and
knowing the same

Faith is to adopt something with peace of mind and to believe in it sincerely and heartily. According to Islam, faith means to accept the truth of what the Prophet Muhammad brought from Allah (swt) and to sincerely believing in them. Those who have this belief are called Mu'mins, and those who fulfill the requirements of this belief with complete submission are called Muslims. It is significant for a person to know what, how, and why he believes in. Islamic scholars have described faith as an affirmation with heart, confession with the tongue. Faith actually comes from the heart, and it is the confirmation of the heart. However, in order for a person to be treated as a Muslim in social life, he must also publicly utter that he is a believer.

Knowing religious principles very well does not make a person faithful unless it is confirmed by the heart. The best example of this is the Western academicians, that is, the orientalists who study Islam. The vast knowledge of these people who studied the Islamic world in areas such as religion, language, science, thought, art, and history and produced value judgments in this field did not enable them to be faithful. For knowledge to turn into faith, it must be adopted, in other words, confirmed through feelings and hearts.4

Can the existence
of Allah be proved by reason

We mostly reach information about beings through our sense organs and mind. Mind is one of the most significant blessings Allah has given to people. However, it is not possible to reach every knowledge through reason. One of the sources of information of a Muslim is the revelation. Allah (swt) has informed His servants through the prophets and holy books He sent.

There are two basic realms of existence, one perceivable with the senses and the other beyond the senses. We know the beings that can be perceived with our mind and senses. We can reach accurate results by testing the things we want to learn about in the laboratory, if necessary. However, it is not possible to do this in the realm of existence that is beyond the senses. Since Allah (swt) is an existence beyond senses, His entity cannot be understood with the senses. For this reason, the existence of Allah cannot be proved visibly and tangibly. The evidence put forward on this subject is only to warn the person and make him think.

Islamic scholars say that just as the eye is given the ability to see, nature is also given the predisposition to know Allah and to be servants to Him. However, as the eye may be partially or completely deprived of vision due to a disease or a disability, this feature may be damaged when there is a deterioration in the essence/nature of a person.

Allah (swt) says, “Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and earth, and the alternation of the night and the day, and the [great] ships which sail through the sea with that which benefits people, and what Allah has sent down from the heavens of rain, giving life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness and dispersing therein every [kind of] moving creature, and [His] directing of the winds and the clouds controlled between the heaven and the earth are signs for a people who use reason.”5 This infallible harmony and order in the universe are among the most significant proofs of Allah's (swt) existence.

It would be an accurate approach to think about the creations and works of our Lord and to reach the existence of Allah (swt) from there. Every human being, whose nature/essence is not distorted and mind is not contaminated with false information and who has no prejudices, was created with a feature to understand His existence by looking at the universe and the works of Allah.6

How do I feel
Allah's existence in my life

Allah (swt) has created humans as a whole in physical and metaphysical dimensions. Humans, existentially, have the capacity of knowing their creator. Islamic scholars explain the creation of humans with an innate feeling of Allah's (swt) existence with the concept of “fitra.” Our Prophet stated this reality by saying, “No child is born except on fitra.”7

When we closely examine the human body, we see that it is created with perfect equipment from DNA structure to neural networks, from cells to the elements in its blood. We also know that this perfect being does not have the ability to come into being by itself. None of the scientific approaches that do not accept Allah's (swt) existence have been able to form a human being nor a single organ of it, in the perfection that He has created. The impossibility of it is stated in the Qur'an as follows: “O people, an example is presented, so listen to it. Indeed, those you invoke besides Allah will never create [as much as] a fly, even if they gathered together for that purpose. And if the fly should steal away from them a [tiny] thing, they could not recover it from him. Weak are the pursuer and pursued.”8

With the following verses from the Qur'an, “Whoever is within the heavens and earth asks Him; every day He is bringing about a matter.”9 Allah (swt) states that all creatures, whether they know it or not, are in a constant relationship with Allah. It is not possible for a person who needs His creation to breathe not to feel Allah's (swt) existence. It is stated in many verses in the Qur'an that we can feel Him at any moment by looking at the creation of the universe10 and humans.11 Just like the Prophet Hud warned the Ad tribe, who insisted on denial despite living a prosperous life in the city of Iram, famous for its magnificent palaces, castles, vineyards, and gardens, by saying, “Fear He who provided you with that which you know, provided you with grazing livestock and children, and gardens and springs.”12

We can easily feel the presence of Allah (swt) just by observing how a human comes into being, is born, grows up, and dies after adulthood. The love in our hearts is the sign of Allah's (swt) mercy on us. Allah (swt) is the One who heals His servants when they are sick, feeds them when they are hungry, and gives them safety when they need trust. In the Qur'an, this truth is best explained through Prophet Ibrahim as follows: “Indeed, they are enemies to me, except the Lord of the worlds. Who created me, and He [it is who] guides me. And it is He who feeds me and gives me drink. And when I am ill, it is He who cures me.”13

Does faith in
Allah make me stronger

It is closely related to the psychological strength of people to lead a balanced and peaceful life and to have a certain motivation to meet their vital needs. People who are spiritually strong are more successful in dealing with challenges they face. Today, the stress caused by the modern life is accepted by doctors as the cause or trigger of many diseases.

Belief in Allah acts as a shield for Muslims. When a person, who is exposed to difficult situations, asks Allah for help and refers the situation (tawaqqul) to Him after doing his best, the presence of a creator who hears him and is omnipotent gives him a sense of trust and security. Our Lord heralds that He will respond to those who pray to Him, and that He will approach them when the servants approach Him: “When My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.”14

Faith in Allah (swt) is a source of strength for those who give fight for rights and justice for sake of humanity. There are many examples in the history showing that believing in Allah gives people a spiritual strength in overcoming difficult times and that troubles are overcome by faith. Faith in Allah (swt) has been one of the most essential pillars of societies, especially in difficult and troubled times. Despite their small number in the Battle of Badr, the believers, thanks to the help of Allah (swt), defeated the polytheists who were more numerous and superior in weapons. They were even heralded that if they showed patience and avoided disobedience to Allah (swt), they would be supported with more.15 It is a historical fact that our ancestors overcame difficulties, believing that the help of our Lord was with them and supported them with auxiliary forces.

Where is Allah (swt),
can I see and hear Him

Being in a place and venue is a feature of creatures. However, our Lord is not a created being. It would not be the right approach to attribute a place, location to Allah (swt) within the realm He created. Allah (swt) is the creator of everyone and everything, and His presence is beyond all our thoughts.

There are many things we cannot see in the world. This is not because they do not exist in the world, but because our eyes do not have the ability to see them. It is not possible for us to comprehend the Almighty Allah (swt) directly through our senses. Our Lord explains this by saying, “Vision perceives Him not, but He perceives [all] vision; and He is the Subtle, the Acquainted.”16 in the Holy Qur'an. Even though we cannot see Him, our Lord is everywhere with the manifestation of His names and qualities - just as the Sun penetrates everywhere with its heat and light.17

Will I see Allah in heaven

According to most of the Islamic scholars, the believers will be able to see Allah (swt) in heaven. This will be the greatest blessing in heaven. Our Lord heralded this to us with the verse, “[Some] faces, that Day, will be radiant, looking at their Lord.”18 According to what we understand from hadiths of the Prophet, the believers will see Allah (swt) in the Hereafter as they see the Sun at noon on a cloudless day, and the full Moon on a cloudless night.19 But we do not know how this event will take place. We can answer the question of if we cannot see Him in this world, how we are going to see Him in the Hereafter, as follows: The conditions necessary for seeing the beings in this world are not valid for heaven. Heaven has different conditions of creation within itself. Besides, the human body will be recreated for heaven, and its abilities and features will be different than in the world. It is not difficult for our Lord, who has infinite power and might, to create our eyes with the capacity to see Him.20

If Allah wanted to be
known why
He keeps Himself mysterious

Our inability to see Allah's (swt) existence in this world with His entity is a matter of faith. It is known and accepted by everyone that there is no such thing as not believing in a creator whose existence is obvious with what He created. For this reason, Allah (swt) has kept his “entity” outside of a perception that we can see. Not only Allah's (swt) entity, but also subjects included in the basis of faith, such as the angels, Hereafter, heaven and hell, are unseen and secret for the believers. Unseen means everything that cannot be perceived through sense organs and is hidden from the eyes.21 Faith in the unseen is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an in the first verses of Surah al-Baqarah, in which the characteristics of believers are described, after Fatiha. Allah (swt), especially mentions the believers who believe in the unseen,establish prayer, and donate as pious people and heralds that they will achieve salvation.22

When we look within this general framework, Allah's (swt) hiding Himself in the world is an entailment of testing. Believing in a creator whose existence can be seen with his entity ceases to be a matter of faith, and in such a case, naturally, people would not have a choice of not believing. Allah (swt) stated that it is obvious and hidden at the same time to those who want to find Himself in the Qur'an: “He is the First and the Last, the Ascendant and the Intimate, and He is, of all things, Knowing.”23 He makes them, those who want to see His presence, feel Him in the deepest way both in their external world and individual lives.24

What does
the omnipresence
of Allah (swt) mean

Despite understanding Allah's (swt) existence with our minds, we cannot comprehend what kind of being He is. Our Lord introduces Himself to us through some attributes and similes. One of these attributes is that Allah (swt) is above the time and place. In other words, besides being all the time and everywhere, He also existed when the time and place were not created. Because the place is created by Allah (swt). It is not possible for a thing that He created to limit Allah (swt). Being in a place basically means being limited. For Allah (swt), no such limitation can be mentioned.

If no place can be mentioned for Allah (swt), what does it mean
for mosques to be Allah's home

The absence of a place for Allah (swt) and the fact that the mosques and the Ka‘bah are the home of Allah do not contradict each other. The place is created by Allah (swt) and it is not possible for the created to encompass, dominate, and limit its creator. Allah (swt) owns all places, and for this reason, He is everywhere. But mosques and Ka‘bah are only special places that we remember, and worship our Lord. These places do not mean that Allah (swt) is inside them.

How does Allah (swt)
exist if He is not created

Allah (swt) is the creator of everything. It cannot be thought for a creator to need another creator to exist. It is said in the Qur'an, “Say, ‘He is Allah, [who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge (Samad). He neither begets nor is born. Nor is there to Him any equivalent.’”25 The word Samad in the surah means a being that does not need anyone in terms of existence, and that everything is dependent on Him for its existence and continuation. The existence of Allah (swt) has neither a beginning nor an end. The existence of our Lord is from Himself. The entity of our Lord cannot be perceived through senses as He does not have a material existence. Therefore, trying to explain His existence with the methods of positive sciences will not lead us to the right conclusion.

Our senses provide information/material for our minds and hearts to know our Lord. This material is everything that has been created. The great harmony and order, change, and transformation of all creatures in the universe are evidence of the existence of a creator. So, even though we cannot see Allah (swt) through our eyes, we comprehend His existence with our minds and feel Him in our hearts.

What is the explanation
of the principle of tawhid

The foundation of the religion of Islam is based on the principle of tawhid, namely the belief in the unity of Allah (swt). This principle is summarized in the sentences of Kalima al-Tawhid and Kalima al-Shahada. Kalima al-Tawhid, “La ilaha illallah Muhammadur-Rasul Allah,” means that “there is no god but Allah (swt), and the Prophet Muhammad (saw) is His messenger.” Kalima al-Shahada is the sentence of “Ash-hadu an-La illaha ill Allah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan 'abduhu wa Rasooluh” and it means “I bear witness that there is no god except Allah (swt) and that Prophet Muhammad (saw) is the servant and messenger of Allah.”

The principle of tawhid means that Allah (swt) is One and Unique in His entity, attributes, and actions. The fact that Allah (swt) is One in His entity means that He is the only One, and there is nothing equal, similar nor opposite to Him. The fact that Allah (swt) is One in His attributes means that His qualities are not found in anyone else. For example; The fact that Allah (swt) has the attribute of life and the living things' life is not the same. The life of Allah (swt) is an attribute that is not given by anyone else, has no beginning and end, does not need conditions like breathing and so on. There are also some attributes that belong only to Allah (swt). Like creating out of nothing, having no beginning or end, not needing anything else, and everybody needing Him… The fact that Allah is One in His actions means that it is only Allah who creates and administers the universe from nothing.26

It is against the principle of tawhid to accept gods other than Allah (swt), to pray and worship other than Allah, to believe that anyone other than Allah knows about the future, and to show respect and tribute to other beings that can only be shown to Him.

What is the importance of
Kalima al-Tawhid in our lives

Kalima al-Tawhid, or “La ilaha illallah Muhammadur-Rasul Allah,” is a sentence that summarizes the principle of tawhid, the basic principle of the religion of Islam. Allah (swt) sent all the prophets to convey the meaning expressed by the Kalima al-Tawhid. This situation is explained in the following verse in the Qur'an: “And We sent not before you any messenger except that We revealed to him that, ‘There is no deity except Me, so worship Me.’”27

A person who recites Kalima al-Tawhid by believing in it and accepting its meaning becomes a Muslim. This word essentially contains the basic principles of faith. While faith in Allah (swt) and faith in prophets are included in the Kalima al-Tawhid with words, faith in angels, books, the Hereafter, and fate are also included in the meaning of the sentence. A person, who accepts the existence and oneness of Allah (swt) and that He sent prophets, also accepts other principles of faith that reached him through prophets.28

In this regard, Kalima al-Tawhid includes the most important information that our Lord wants people to know. The reason for the creation of the universe is to declare the words “La ilaha illallah” and to make people follow this sentence. However, faith in the perfect sense does not come about only by affirming the existence of a god that creates and rules. Faith becomes complete by affirming the prophethood of our Prophet Muhammad (saw).29

A person who utters the Kalima al-Tawhid with a heartfelt belief directs all his interest and attention to Allah (swt), surrenders to Him, expresses that he will strive to follow the path He has shown, and strives to present his servitude to his Lord in the best way possible.

Can there be more than one god

Our Lord says in the Qur'an as follows: “Had there been within the heavens and earth gods besides Allah, they both would have been ruined.”30 When we look at the explanation of this verse, we clearly understand that it is impossible to have more than one creator and ruler in the universe. If there were another god or gods rather than Allah (swt) in the realm, the order we see in the universe would not have existed. Because each deity would, no doubt, contradict each other in terms of creation, ruling, and superiority. In this situation, it would be impossible for a realm to exist, let alone to have an order in this realm. If this realm exists and if there is an order in there, it is thanks to the existence of one god.31

However, let us assume that there are two or more deities in the universe. In this situation, all of the deities would lose their attributes of being complete and perfect. A being that is lacking cannot be a deity. In other words, to mention the existence of more than one god in the realm is a contradicting expression, just like speaking of a triangle with four edges. God is one. If it is not one, then it is not a god. If the being that created this world is perfect and omnipotent, it must be unique. Otherwise, in the case of the existence of another god, a situation that is impossible for a god will arise, such as the need for another god due to its weakness.32

In short, it is not possible to have a god other than Allah (swt), whether they are independent of each other or partner with each other. Our book Qur'an also denies the existence of another god but Allah.33

What are the differences
between belief in Allah (swt) in Islam and belief in
Allah in other religions

Since belief in Allah (swt) is in the nature of humans, the need to believe in a Supreme Being and take shelter in Him has manifested itself in different ways since the first human. The Almighty Allah (swt) did not spare His help from humankind in this matter and taught them how to be a faithful person through revelation and the prophets. Throughout the history of humankind, He has sent prophets both to show the right path and to correct the false beliefs that emerged over time and their reflections on social life.

The religion of Islam is the only religion that the Almighty Allah (swt) has sent from the first Prophet Adam till the last Prophet Muhammad (saw). In the religion of Islam, Allah (swt) is the only Creator who is one and unique and has nothing equal or similar; to whom no lacking qualities such as having a child, being mistaken or forgetting would suit; and who has the supreme attributes such as knowing and hearing all things, and being omnipotent. Therefore, since Allah (swt) is the One who creates and shapes everything, it is only Allah that is worthy of worship.

Although the religions of Judaism and Christianity base on divine revelation, both religions have become distorted and deviated over time. The Almighty Allah (swt) said on the disruption of belief in Allah in Jews and Christians as follows: “The Jews say, ‘Ezra is the son of Allah;’ and the Christians say, ‘The Messiah is the son of Allah.’ That is their statement from their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved [before them]. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded? They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah, and [also] the Messiah, the son of Mary. And they were not commanded except to worship one God; there is no deity except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him.”34 In these verses, our Lord makes the minds clear by responding to the slanders that Jews and Christians projected against Him. On the other hand, He expresses that the extreme respect shown to Prophet Isa and rabbis, who are the servants of Allah (swt), has been moved to a level that should only belong to Allah. For this reason, our Lord corrects the misbeliefs about Himself by stressing that there is no god but Him.

The belief of the one and only Allah (swt) in Islam and the belief of “one God in three persons” expressed as “Trinity” in Christianity constitute one of the most fundamental differences in the imagination of Allah. The Father, the first element of the Trinity, is the creator of the universe. The Son embodied and qurbanid himself on the cross to save humankind from original sin. The Holy Spirit is the one who instills divine love into humans' hearts.35

In Holy Qur'an, the Almighty Allah (swt) states the falseness of the belief of Trinity in Christianity as follows: “They have certainly disbelieved who say, 'Allah is the third of three.' And there is no god except one God. And if they do not desist from what they are saying, there will surely afflict the disbelievers among them a painful punishment.”36 As it is understood from the verse, the belief of Trinity is not a teaching of Prophet Isa but a doctrine formed by Christians later on. As He does not have a child according to the belief in Allah (swt) in the religion of Islam, Gabriel, who is named the Holy Spirit in Christianity, is also an angel. Prophet Isa, who has no divine feature, is the servant and prophet of Allah (swt). Neither Prophet Isa nor the Holy Spirit can have anything common with the Almighty Allah (swt).

The main difference between the belief in Allah (swt) in polytheistic religions and Islam is hidden in the emphasis on the unity of Allah. While introducing Himself in the Holy Qur'an, Allah (swt) emphasizes His attributes, especially that there is no other god other but Himself, and invites people to think. One of the verses on this subject in the Holy Qur'an is as follows: “Allah has not taken any son, nor has there ever been with Him any deity. [If there had been], then each deity would have taken what it created, and some of them would have sought to overcome others. Exalted is Allah above what they describe [concerning Him]. [He is] Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, so high is He above what they associate [with Him].”37 It rejects all the beliefs that denies the unity of Allah (swt) and that associates partners to Him in different appearances.

As a result, the difference between the belief in Allah (swt) in the religion of Islam and other religions is the unity of Allah.

Can people from different religions and cultures be convinced
about the existence of Allah (swt)

The belief in Allah (swt) is inherent, innate in people. Different descriptions have been made about fitra.38 But in line with our Prophet's statement of “No child is born except on fitra. Then his parents make him Jewish, Christian or Magian...,”39 we can say that fitra is the positive abilities and predispositions, such as the tendency to know his creator and soul cleansing, which are bestowed by Allah (swt) on human nature during the creation40. In short, fitra means the creation of human beings with an inclination to accept the truth.

Based on the fact that belief in Allah (swt) is inherent, a person can reach the existence of Allah with common sense, that is, the mind that protects his inner self, no matter what religion and belief he follows. In this regard, both kalam/aqaid and some proofs in the Islamic philosophy were brought to the agenda and processed in resources as the mental ground of the existence of Allah (swt). For example, in the logical structure named as proof of order, every rational person who sees a magnificent oil painting thinks that there is a master painter who made the painting, and accepts his existence. Likewise, the perfect order in the universe (macro-realm) and humans (micro-realm) lead a person to a creator, Allah (swt), who establishes and preserves this order.

Those who live in a Jewish and Christian environment or as a member of one of the Ibrahimic religions (whether in the past or today) can reach the existence of Allah (swt). In all of these religions, there is the belief in Allah (swt) - even though they are not the same. Other belief systems have different perceptions about the thought of Allah/creator. Therefore, those who adopt these belief systems have to show individual effort to reach the existence of Allah (swt).

What are the criticisms of
denialist movements
towards faith in Allah (swt)

While pagan beliefs have become widespread among people from ancient times to the present, there have also been movements of thought that completely reject belief in Allah (swt), although relatively less. Atheism, deism, agnosticism, positivism, materialism, nihilism, evolutionism, and Freudian psychoanalysis can be mentioned among the common denialist movements of our age.41

While atheism completely rejects the existence of a God that is the creator, deism accepts the belief in God but denies His interference in human life through prophets and books. In agnosticism, it is claimed that the existence or absence of God cannot be known. Since only experiment and experience are accepted as the source of information in positivism, the existence of God is not accepted. Because God is not a being that comes under the field of experiment and observation. Since the advocates of materialism regard substance as eternal and do not accept any other reality than that, they place it at the center of thought. Therefore, there is no place for the idea of God in the materialist movement. Nihilism stands against the idea of God and God's rules as they approach the existing thoughts, values, and beliefs with doubt and criticism. In the thought of evolution, it is claimed that everything evolved from lower to upper forms and that this happened by coincidence and as the idea of creation in the Ibrahimic religions is rejected, coincidental happening of everything also deactivates belief in God. According to the psychoanalytic method developed by Sigmund Freud, it is the feeling of sexuality and fear in the subconscious that guides human behavior. Belief in God, which emerge with the pressure of these two emotions, is a diseased condition that occurs with these internal conflicts of the person and does not exist in reality.

When we look at the denialist movements mentioned above, we see that they display a common attitude in not recognizing the authority of Allah (swt). The need for Allah (swt) and the thought of being responsible for Him are not included in any of those movements. Therefore, while limiting the horizons of people by putting only this world in the center, they also do not undertake any function in making life meaningful. However, with the truths He sends to humankind through His prophets and books, Allah (swt) both provides an environment where people will feel mentally safe, find convincing answers to their questions, and expands the horizons of people by making life meaningful with the existence of the Hereafter and sets bigger goals in front of them. The movements in question cannot prove the absence of Allah (swt) with their sources of knowledge, nor can they present the world of meaning and value system that He presents to people.

What is deism

Deism is defined as “the philosophical school that accepts the existence of Allah who is perceived only through reason by denying all kinds of revelation, inspiration and therefore Allah - who is notified in revelation - religion, and determination, and rejects the simile (analogy to human), the Trinity (the understanding of the triple God).”42

Deism is a philosophical thought that emerged as a reaction against the church in an environment dominated by Christianity in Europe. Therefore, the criticisms they direct to prophets and holy books are not independent from the attitude of the church. In addition, it is not possible to mention one type of deism. As there are deists that accept a God, who perfectly created the universe but has no connection with the universe, there are also the ones who believe that God takes care of the universe, but He is not involved in the moral field. There are also deists who accept the moral attributes of God but believe that they do not function between God and human beings. Although some deists accept the religious truths, they think that they should be reasoned out.43

In deism, the understanding of natural religion is advocated.44 Deism criticizes organized religions claiming that they split people through debates of faith and render idle abilities such as the reason that make human beings into who they are. The reason is stressed more in deism, and the understanding of reward and punishment is criticized.45

The role of reason and conscience are, no doubt, very significant in human life. However, we see in deism that both are valued more than they deserve. There is also a side of humans that consists of personal desires and wishes. Therefore, in social life, we often see that the conscience is suppressed in order to satisfy the desires, and the reason can undertake a legitimizing function.

The thought of a God who creates but does not interfere with his creatures means ignoring his attributes such as wisdom, justice, and mercy. The rejection of God's guidance through prophets and books deprives people of a great blessing. The human mind is not perfect, it can make mistakes and can be wrong. But it is not possible for Allah (swt), who knows and sees everything, to make any mistakes. Therefore, surrendering to Allah (swt) rather than one's own mind makes the person feel safe. On the other hand, deism fails to answer the question of “What is the meaning and purpose of human life” and to put forward great ideals for human. Deism rejects belief in the Hereafter and narrows people's horizons as it limits human life only with the world.

We, Muslims, have faith in the one and only Allah (swt), who created the realms perfectly and continues to create them at every moment. Our Lord, owner of wisdom, sent us to the world for a purpose and revealed this purpose to us through His prophets and holy books. He chose His prophets from among the most reliable people, and through them, He taught us how we would achieve the purpose of our lives in this world. When the lives of the prophets are examined, we see that they called to believe in the oneness of Allah and to live virtuously as required by this belief. At the same time, all of the prophets are the first practitioners of the truths they revealed. Therefore, we, Muslims, have many reasons to trust prophets. The sources of knowledge accepted by deism fall short of proving that prophets and holy books are not reliable.

Why did Allah (swt) create
the universe and the people

There is a two-way answer to this question; in terms of Allah (swt) and humans. When we think in terms of our Lord, we can say as follows: Allah (swt) has not acquired any of His attributes later on. All of His attributes and qualities have always been with Him, and they will continue to be there. One of the attributes of our Lord is Khaliq, which means the Creator. Allah (swt) is the Creator and He created the universe and human beings. It cannot be asked a being “why did you create” when He created out of nothing. It is something like asking the Sun why it has light. The Sun is a being that spreads light, and it has lights for that reason. An artist produces works of art due to his artistic nature, and he is known as an artist when his art becomes known by others. He cannot be asked why he is an artist and why he produces works of art. As an intelligent, thinking being, the human being can think about any planet. When he thinks about it, he cannot be asked why he thinks about planets. If he wants to think, he will think. When he does not think, it does not eliminate the fact that he is a thinking being. Allah (swt) has created the universe and people as a result of the attribute of creating, and as an inseparable part of being a creator. If He did not wish to create, it would not eliminate His attribute of creating.

Another attribute of our Lord is Rahman, which means the one who prefers the best and mercy for creatures. Allah (swt) has created human beings as a result of being the owner of infinite mercy. Existence is a blessing. If all people in the world were asked, almost all of them would prefer existence over absence. Our Lord has honored people with existence and valued them. This is a result of His mercy.

When we think in terms of humans, according to the Qur'an, they are created as the caliphs on earth.46 We can perceive humans' being the caliph on earth as living in Allah's property in accordance with His will and instructions. Our Lord states that He would not give responsibility to anyone out of his capability.47 People are held responsible for protecting the order of Allah (swt) on earth with “trust” which means his mind and will.48 He has been assigned to realize the will of Allah on earth and has been made superior to other creatures in the category of being: “And We have certainly honored the children of Adam and carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of the good things and preferred them over much of what We have created, with [definite] preference.”49

Our Lord has differentiated people, who have a will, from other beings. While beings other than humans and jinns constantly glorify Allah (swt) as a requirement of their creation, human beings were left free to make a choice, and they were asked to know Allah by their free will and to prefer to serve Him. Besides, humans are created to know, recognize and serve Allah (swt). Allah (swt) clearly states in the Holy Qur'an that He has created humans and jinns only to worship Him.50 Servitude comprises the efforts to know and learn. Therefore, when a person does not make this effort and leads a life contrary to this, he acts against his creation. Thus, he would feel discomfort and other options would not satisfy him. In another verse, our Lord says that He created death and life to see which people will behave the best.51 So people are created to be tested.

As a result, creation is associated with a purpose and meaning in the Qur'an. Our Lord states that He did not create the universe and humans in vain, without a meaning, and52 to leave them idle, but He created them for a purpose and within a meaning.53

Why does Allah keep me responsible despite not
asking me while creating me

Existence is a blessing. Allah honored human beings by granting them existence. He also bestowed mind and will to people and held them responsible as they can make preferences. Anyone who asks why he is responsible must first consider his position in the universe, his both physical and spiritual structure and purpose that differ from other beings. Human is different from the other beings for having the will/choice and naturally taking responsibility for his choice. While the angels carry out the orders of Allah without any hesitation, satan disobeyed Allah's (swt) orders and rebelled, and humans were left free to obey Allah's orders and prohibitions in line with his will and choice. A person who decides whether or not to do something of his own free will has to bear the consequences of these choices.

There are also things that people cannot choose in their life. For example, we can show where and when he will be born and die, which nationality and family he will belong to, and some physical characteristics such as his gender, hair, and eye color. No person is exempt from this. It happens with the will of Allah (swt). Our Lord creates and chooses whatever He wishes. Human beings do not have a chance to choose in this matter.54

We should not forget that this state of limitation depends on our position in front of Allah (swt). The position of human beings is very different when compared to other living things. Human beings can fly higher than birds and dive deeper than fish, thanks to their strengths of mind and will. They can carry out advanced studies in science, art, and engineering. Although invisible to the eye, they can perform advanced studies by using the speed of light and energy waves by inventing special tools. When people are not stuck with things that cannot be changed and when they realize that they are equipped with superior talents and abilities than other beings, they also realize the meaning of life. Our Lord, who bestowed all these blessings to us, did not leave His servants alone and helped us make the right choices by guiding us through His prophets and books. Therefore, human beings who are equipped with will and mind are held responsible.

Why is there cruelty, injustice
and evil in the world?
How can we explain these
events in the context
of Allah's (swt) mercy

The life in this world is a place of test where the actions of people will be tested and every good and bad deed will be evaluated in the Hereafter.55 Allah (swt) has created the universe and has given us all kinds of blessings that will facilitate our testing.56 In return, He wants us to carry out our servitude in the best way, to construct the earth, and to stay away from all kinds of cruelty, corruption, and bad behavior.57

Every person who knows that he has come to this world for testing knows that there are certain rules to be tested. Having mental faculties and free will is the most basic right of the people to be tested. If Allah (swt) had not given us the ability to use our will, then we would easily say that the creator is the only one responsible for every good or bad behavior of us. However, everyone, whose ability to choose is not taken away from him, knows it very well that the cruelty, injustice, and evil in the world are only caused by what people have done with their own hands.58 No teacher interferes with his student's answers during the exam. If Allah (swt) prevented the cruelty and injustice of the wicked people, the will of the people would disappear and the world would lose its feature of being a place of testing. In such situation, everyone would have faith, and heaven and hell would have no meaning.

When we think the question backwards and assume that Allah (swt) prevents all kinds of cruelty, injustice, and evil, everyone will necessarily be good. In this case, a person programmed for good will not have reason and will, and there will be no need to create options such as good and bad. However, Allah (swt) has created everything with the opposite. Every situation that is opposite allows us to understand the value of the good and directs us to that. Where there is evil, the value of good; where there is ugly, the value of beauty; where there is hell, the value of heaven is understood. In addition, thinking about the cruelty, injustice, and evil in the world independently from the Hereafter cannot satisfy us mentally. Allah (swt), who sees everything, is aware of the cruelty of the cruel and the pain of the oppressed. The verse, “And never think that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers do. He only delays them for a Day when eyes will stare [in horror],”59 clearly states that a day will come when the behaviors of the people who are tested in this world will find its actual response.

When it comes to explaining the existence of evil with Allah's (swt) mercy, we should firstly know that Allah has made it a principle for Himself to show mercy:60 “When Allah completed the creation, He wrote in His Book which is with Him on His Throne: My Mercy overpowers My Anger.”61 The fact that Allah's mercy overpowers His anger shows that His mercy is primary in everything He created. In this case, there are benefits that we can and cannot see in the background of events that we perceive as evil. While Allah's (swt) mercy can sometimes come with His grace, sometimes it can come with events that seem evil. Understanding Allah's (swt) mercy in seemingly unfavorable events requires seeing the hidden cause in the background.

What is the situation of a person who is faithful
but does not worship

Deeds are not a part of the faith. A person who accepts the existence of worship but does not fulfill them cannot be called an unbeliever.62 A person would not abandon the religion due to the lack of deeds unless he denies the basic principles, orders, and prohibitions of the religion that are included in the Qur'an and sunnah. However, he becomes a sinner and someone that does not obey Allah's (swt) orders. If our Lord pleases, He would forgive or punish him. Although worship is not a part of belief, it is special rituals and the fruit of belief that remind people that they are servants of Allah (swt). A person can show his devotion to the creator he believes in only through prayers, and his faith becomes stronger by persisting in worshiping. A person becomes closer to Allah (swt) through worship and feels the power of believing.

If faith is a seed planted in the soil, its water, sun, and air are worship. Just as the planted seed dries without watering, aeration of the soil, and adequate sunlight, it stays under the soil without displaying its existence and absence, and perhaps disappears over time, the faith in the heart also weakens without prayers, and in time, it can bring the person to the limit that would distract his direction from the line of faith. Worship is necessary for faith to blossom and bear fruit.

The expression “those who believe and do good”63 is used in many parts of the Qur'an. The emphasis on showing the right behavior and doing good deeds right after believing indicates that believing only through the heart will not be enough to be a servant devoted to Allah (swt). If a person strives to be a servant worthy of Allah (swt) with his prayers and morals as a requirement of his faith, Allah will cover up his evil deeds for his efforts and even reward him with better things than his deeds.64

Why is shirk the greatest sin?
Why does Allah
(swt) not forgive shirk

Shirk which is a noun meaning “to be an associate,” “association,” and “to associate” in the dictionary means blasphemy. One who associates Allah (swt) with others is called a polytheist. As a term, it means “believing that Allah (swt) has an associate, equivalent or similar in his essence, attributes, deeds or worshiping Him.”65

To associate Allah (swt) with others is the worst of all wrongs66 and the biggest slander against Him. Therefore, it is the biggest sin, and our Lord would never forgive it. “Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allah has certainly fabricated a tremendous sin.”67

It is a pity that after a person reaches the idea that there is a power that rules everything in the world, he does not know this power properly and seeks qualities of being a deity - which only belong to Allah (swt) - in other being/beings. Why does a being that create and manage everything, acquire another being that will associate with Him or allow it to intervene? Such a thought is both against the concept of god in the Qur'an and the belief in Allah (swt).68 Our Lord has repeated this reality clearly in many verses: “There is nothing like unto Him,”69 “...there is no deity except Him, the Creator of all things,”70 “Nor is there to Him any equivalent.”71

In addition, He has also invited people to understand how weak beings they believe to be deities by addressing their minds directly. “Indeed, those you invoke besides Allah will never create [as much as] a fly, even if they gathered together for that purpose. And if the fly should steal away from them a [tiny] thing, they could not recover it from him.”72

Allah (swt) has created human beings with intelligence. He both declared that there was only one Creator in the world and sent prophets and books so that people could understand this truth properly, and He explained in these books why there could not be another creator in the world. After all this, if a person chooses to remain as a polytheist, he will be infected with shirk, which is a great sin. Shirk, in this sense, is equivalent to blasphemy. For, it means a person, who associates other things with Allah (swt), has not been able to understand Him properly and has fallen into denial. In this sense, shirk equates with blasphemy and turns into a situation that Allah will (swt) never forgive.73

Will Allah (swt) forgive
me when I commit a great sin

There is only Allah (swt) free of mistake and lacking. As a person is created with a tendency to the good and bad,74 he can make mistakes throughout his life. He can also make mistakes and be ungrateful towards his Lord. Allah (swt) is forgiving, He clearly states in the Qur'an that His forgiveness and grace are abundant and that He will forgive all sins other than shirk.75

In the verse, “O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful,”76 it is good news that Allah calls those who sin and go to extremism as “my servants” and advises them not to give up hope of His mercy.

A person who thinks that he committed a great sin, first of all, should know that there is no sin that our Lord would not forgive. No matter how great the sin is, the door of repentance will not be closed on anyone's face. The door of repentance is also open for those who commit major sins such as adultery, drinking alcohol, and theft, known as crimes that destroy human dignity. The essential thing is to regret mistakes and sins and to ask forgiveness from Allah with sincere repentance and prayers.77

Sincere repentance that relieves the person, who is despaired in the face of mistakes, erases the traces of past experiences and becomes worship. Thus, Islamic scholars have highlighted certain issues for the acceptance of repentance, which will lead to the forgiveness of sins. The first condition for repentance to be accepted by Allah (swt) is to realize and regret the wrongdoings. Abandoning the sin and being determined not to commit it again show one's sincerity in repentance. It is also advised to display good deeds to compensate for past mistakes.

There are things to be done for the forgiveness of sins according to the nature of the sin committed. If the sin is a situation where duties for Allah (swt) are violated, such as the abandonment of obligatory worship, efforts should be made to fulfill the abandoned worship. If the sins that one asks for forgiveness are for people or society, it is necessary to ask people, whose rights have been violated, to make their rights halal on you and to compensate for the harm.78

Sometimes I have delusions about the existence of Allah (swt).
Would it make me an apostate

Such thoughts that come to the human mind involuntarily and disturb the person are called “waswasa.” These thoughts are the imbues of the human soul or the devil. It disturbs the person extremely, because it is against religious beliefs and understandings. These bad thoughts that come to the human mind involuntarily, that is, waswasa do not harm his faith unless a person approves them in his mind.79

The subject of waswasa was also an issue that disturbed the companions of Prophet Muhammad (saw). Some of them came to our Prophet (saw) and complained that they had waswasa that they would not even dare to say. Our Prophet told them not to worry and that this situation was the sign of their pure faith.80 As stated in another hadith, a person is not responsible for the bad thoughts and waswasa that come to his mind unless he reflects them into practice.81

1 Baqarah, 2/256.

2 Yunus, 10/99.

3 Bekir Topaloğlu, “Din,” DİA, v. 9, p. 322-325.

4 Mustafa Sinanoğlu, “İman,” DİA, v. 22, p. 212-214.

5 Baqarah, 2/164.

6 Bekir Topaloğlu, “Allah,” DİA, v. 2, p. 473-477.

7 Bukhari, Tafseer, (Rum) 2.

8 Hajj, 22/73.

9 Rahman, 55/29.

10 Nahl, 16/11, 12; Rum, 30/22; Fatir, 35/41; Ya-Sin, 36/38-40; Qaf, 50/6.

11 Mu’minun, 23/14; Ya-Sin, 36/77; Jathiyah, 45/4.

12 Shu‘ara, 26/132-134.

13 Shu‘ara, 26/77-80. Also see: Surah Quraysh.

14 Baqarah, 2/186.

15 Al ‘Imran, 3/123-125.

16 An‘am, 6/103.

17 https://kurul.diyanet.gov.tr/Cevap-Ara/7/allah-nerededir? For details, see: Bekir Topaloğlu, “Allah,” DİA, v. 2, p. 471-498.

18 Qiyamah, 75/22-23.

19 Bukhari, Tawhid, 24; Muslim, Iman, 299, Zuhd, 16.

20 Temel Yeşilyurt, “Rü’yetullah,” DİA, v. 35, p. 312-314.

21 İlyas Çelebi, “Gayb,” DİA, v. 13, p. 404.

22 Baqarah, 2/3-5.

23 Hadid, 57/3.

24 Fussilat, 41/53.

25 Ikhlas, 112/1-4.

26 For the principle of tawhid in the Holy Qur'an, see: Şaban Ali Düzgün, “Kur’ân’ın Tevhid Felsefesi,” Kelam Araştırmaları, 3:1 (2005), p. 3-21.

27 Anbiya, 21/25.

28 Commission, İlmihal, TDV Yay., Ankara, 2006, v. 1, p. 70.

29 Abu Hamid Muhammad b. Muhammad el-Ghazali, İhyâ, Cümle Yay., İstanbul, 1989, v. 1, p. 229.

30 Anbiya, 21/22.

31 Commission, Kur’an Yolu Türkçe Meal ve Tefsir, Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı Yay., Ankara, 2017, v. 3, p. 672.

32 Recep Ardoğan, Sistematik Kelam ve Güncel İnanç Sorunları, Klm Yay., İstanbul, 2018, p. 53.

33 Al ‘Imran, 3/2; Anbiya, 21/22.

34 Tawbah, 9/30-31.

35 Yaşayan Dünya Dinleri, ed: Şinasi Gündüz, DİB Yay., Ankara, 2016, p. 95.

36 Ma'idah, 5/73. Also see: Nisa, 4/171.

37 Mu'minun, 23/91-92.

38 Hayati Hökelekli, “Fıtrat,” DİA, v. 13, p. 47-48.

39 Bukhari, Tafsir, (Rum) 2; Muslim, Qadar, 22.

40 Hayati Hökelekli, “Fıtrat,” DİA, v. 13, p. 47.

41 For more information on the topic, see: Temel Yeşilyurt, Çağdaş İnanç Problemleri, DİB Yay., Ankara, 2018.

42 Süleyman Hayri Bolay, Felsefe Doktrinleri ve Terimleri Sözlüğü, Ankara, 2004, p. 204.

43 Şaban Ali Düzgün, “Deizm: Öncü İsimler ve Temel Doktrin,” Din Karşıtı Çağdaş Akımlar ve Deizm, Van, 2017, p. 3-13.

44 Süleyman Hayri Bolay, Felsefe Doktrinleri ve Terimleri Sözlüğü, p. 204.

45 Şaban Ali Düzgün, “Deizm: Öncü İsimler ve Temel Doktrin,” p. 3-13.

46 Baqarah, 2/30.

47 Baqarah, 2/286.

48 Ahzab, 33/72.

49 Isra, 17/70.

50 Dhariyat, 51/56.

51 Mulk, 67/2.

52 Dukhan, 44/38-39; For similar statements, see: Anbiya 21/16.

53 Yunus, 10/5; Mu'minun, 23/115; Qiyamah, 75/36.

54 Qasas, 28/68.

55 Mulk, 67/2.

56 Baqarah, 2/29; Jathiyah, 45/13.

57 Nahl, 16/90.

58 Shura, 42/30.

59 Ibrahim, 14/42.

60 An‘am, 6/12.

61 Bukhari, Bad al-Halq, 1.

62 İlmihal, v.1, p. 72.

63 For the verses that clearly includes the expression “those who believe and do good,” please see: Baqarah, 2/25, 62, 82, 277; Al ‘Imran, 3/57; Nisa, 4/57, 122, 173; Maidah, 5/9, 69, 93; Aʻraf, 7/42; Ankabut, 29/58; Talaq, 65/11 and so on.

64 Ankabut, 29/7.

65 Mustafa Sinanoğlu, “Şirk,” DİA, v. 39, p. 193.

66 Luqman, 31/13.

67 Nisa, 4/48.

68 Bekir Topaloğlu, Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, İlyas Çelebi, İslam’da İnanç Esasları, Çamlıca Yay., İstanbul, 2016, p. 83-86.

69 Shura, 42/11.

70 An‘am, 6/102.

71 Ikhlas, 112/4.

72 Hajj, 22/73.

73 Mustafa Sinanoğlu, “Şirk,” DİA, v. 39, p. 193-198.

74 Shams, 91/8.

75 Nisa, 4/116; Shura, 42/25, 30; Hijr, 15/49-50.

76 Zumar, 39/53.

77 Commission, Islam Through Hadiths, Ankara, 2013, v. 2, p. 100.

78 Adil Bebek, “Günah,” DİA, v. 14, p. 283.

79 Mustafa Çağrıcı, “Vesvese,” DİA, v. 43, p. 70-72.

80 Muslim, Iman, 209.

81 Bukhari, Talaq, 11.

FAITH IN
ANGELS

Are there angels,
what kind of beings are they

Fain angels is a principle of faith of Islam. In addition to angels, their characteristics and duties, faith in the existence of angels is also mentioned in many verses of the Quran. “The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah, and His angels, and His Books, and His messengers...”1 It is also stated that people have to believe in angels. “O you who have believed, believe in Allah and His Messenger and the Book that He sent down upon His Messenger and the Scripture which He sent down before. And whoever disbelieves in Allah, His angels, His Books, His messengers, and the Last Day has clearly gone far astray.”2

When our Prophet (saw) was asked “What is faith?” he replied: “That you affirm your faith in Allah, His angels, His Books, His meeting, His Messengers and that you affirm your faith in the Resurrection hereafter.”3 We understand the necessity of faith in angels and the existence of angels from the clear expressions in the Qur'an and hadiths. Everything stated in our book, which is sent by Allah (swt), is right and true. The information that our Prophet (saw), who did not lie throughout his life, gave us about the existence of angels are based on revelation. Thus, the existence of angels is definite with verses and hadiths.

We cannot see them but the prophets met with angels. They received the divine revelation through Jibril (Gabriel), who is an angel. This situation goes for all the prophets. And for this reason, belief in angels exists in all Ibrahimic religions.

It is not possible to bring evidence for the existence of angels as in positive sciences, because angels are far from being visible and perceived by senses. However, the mind is responsible for understanding the reality of the subject in such matters of faith. Although the mind cannot find a proof for the existence of angels, it can understand whether they exist or not. In that case, the first reference point is that Allah is capable of creating such beings. After all, even in our own physical existence, our Lord has created so many beings that we cannot see. Just like life, mind and so on... Such beings can be created in the realm as well. The existence of angels is possible for the mind. It does not perceive it as impossible. In short, just like we have a mind, soul, and life, there are angels too.4

As angels are such beings that we cannot see through eyes, we can learn information about them via the Qur'an and hadiths. As stated in the Qur'an and hadiths:

1- Angels were created from light.

2- They do not have human characteristics, such as being male or female, eating and drinking, and getting tired or getting bored, etc.

3- They carry out the duties assigned by Allah to them. They do not go beyond Allah's (swt) order.

4- They are extremely powerful beings and they can move swiftly.

5- They cannot be seen through eyes under normal circumstances.

6- With Allah's permission, angels can take on different shapes and disguises. In such situations, they can be seen by human beings.

7- Angels do not know the unseen. They can only know the information Allah gave to them.5

What are the duties of angels

The Almighty Allah (swt) has not created anything in vain. Thus, the creation of angels also has a purpose and duties assigned to them in line with this purpose. Among the duties of angels are to glorify Allah (swt) with praise and prostrate to Him,6 to support prophets and believers in difficult times as in the Battle of Badr,7 to reprimand the unbelievers and herald the believers with heaven during death,8 to carry out duties assigned to them by Allah,9 to greet prophets and to invoke forgiveness for believers.10

Some angels have more special duties. Jibril is assigned as a messenger between Allah and His prophets. Azrael is assigned to take the lives of people when the time comes, Mikail (Michael) is assigned to manage natural events, and Israfil (Raphael) is assigned to blow the last trump by the command of Allah when Doomsday comes.11 Recording angels, who are also called Kiraman Katibin, are assigned to record everything that human beings do by staying on their right and left.12 While Munkar and Nakir are tasked with the questioning in the grave,13 there are angels who are responsible for meeting believers in heaven and hell14 and making people, who will go to hell, taste the torment they deserve,15 and angels who are assigned to carry the arsh (the ninth heaven) and turn around the arsh.16 As a result, angels fulfill whatever duty Allah has assigned to them. If Allah wishes, He can assign an angel more than one duty.17

Since we acquire knowledge about angels from the Qur'an and sunnah, the above information is chosen as an example from those that are reported to us in these two sources. Only Allah knows how many angels there are, whose names and duties we do not know.

Can we see angels

Angels are metaphysical beings. They are created from light. We cannot see and perceive them with our sense organs. We cannot see them not because they do not exist, but because our eyes are not created with the capacity to see them. However, angelswere seen by prophets in their actual forms.

With Allah's permission, angels can take on different shapes and disguises. It is possible for them to be seen by other people, if they come out of their original form and take on another material shape, for example, human shape. For instance, Jibril who is an angel was seen as a human by the companions of the Prophet in the hadith known as the Jibril hadith, in which the definitions of the concepts of faith, Islam and beneficence were made.18 In the Qur'an, it is said that the angels disguisedas humans and gave the good news to Prophet Ibrahim that he will have a son.19 It is also stated in the Qur'an that Jibril appeared as a human to Maryam20 even though she was not a prophet.21

Can we think of angels
as artificial intelligence?
Are angels such beings
like robots or radio waves

Angels are such beings that we cannot perceive with our sense organs. Therefore, we get information about them only from the Qur'an and sunnah. In the 30th verse of the Surah al-Baqarah, the Almighty Allah says: “And [mention, O Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels, 'Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority.' They said, 'Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and sanctify You?' Allah said, 'Indeed, I know that which you do not know.’” From this verse, we clearly understand that Allah created angels before human, and that angels are conscious beings who worship Allah. Since artificial intelligence and robots are designed and produced by human beings, it is not possible to think of angels as artificial intelligence. As angels are conscious beings, they cannot be thought as radio waves, as well.

Comparing beings whose nature we do not understand to beings perceived by our sense organs leads us to false beliefs. Since our only source of information about angels is revelation, we have to believe in angels, as far as Allah informs us, without likening to any being that we perceive. There is no evidence in the Qur'an and sunnah that we can rely on to accept angels as artificial intelligence or radio waves.

How does faith in angels contribute to my daily life

Beings created by Allah are not limited to those in the realm of senses. Angels are metaphysical beings. Faith in angels makes it easier for people to understand that the universe is not only made up of the material world and that Allah (swt) has created a metaphysical world outside of the physical world. Anyone who realizes that he was created with body and spirit, and that he has both material and spiritual existence, will see that he is too weak to breathe on his own if Allah (swt) does not create and does not grant. With this awareness, he makes an effort to be a servant worthy of Allah (swt) and prepares for the life in the Hereafter.

The existence of angels who watch over and protect humans gives him a sense of security. Anyone, who believes that Allah (swt) protects and supports him with invisible helpers, feels loved by Allah and tries to do his best to deserve this love. Knowing that angels are by their side as supporters of goodness against the devil's efforts to mislead gives comfort and power to human beings. Considering that angels do not go beyond the orders of Allah (swt) in any way and that there are angels whose only duty is to glorify Allah throughout their lives prevents a person from going towards things that keep him away from servitude. A person, who is aware that he is constantly watched by Allah (swt), and his actions are recorded, acts cautious about committing a mistake. He avoids making mistakes by thinking that what he has done will be shown to him in the Hereafter and will shape his life there.

Does not believing in
angels harm my faith

Accepting the existence of angels is one of the pillars of faith. There are many verses about it: “The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers.”22 Denying the angels whose existence is clearly stated in the Qur'an makes people apostate. For, not believing in angels means denying the prophet, the book brought by the prophet, and the religion he conveyed. Because religious decrees were sent down to prophets through angels.23

If Allah (swt) is omnipotent,
why does He make
angels do His work

Allah wished to create a variety of beings that are conscious, unconscious, alive, and lifeless. Among these beings, angels belong not to the physical world but the metaphysical world and they do not have a will and do only what is ordered. Allah (swt) has made angels witness to the creation adventure of humans24 and assigned them some duties within the order of the universe. The existence of other beings with different nature than human beings shows not the weakness of Allah (swt), but the greatness of His power and might.

Despite being very diverse, this harmony between beings - called “cosmos” by scientists - shows the perfection in the realm. Although we cannot fully comprehend the details of the order in the universe, it is one of the most significant proofs of Allah's (swt) existence and greatness. Allah (swt) has created the universe and the beings inside to make His glory known.25 For our Lord, there is no difference between the creation of humans, angels, or other beings. Because Allah (swt) does whatever He wishes,26 and no one can question Him for something He has done. Only He questions other beings for what they have done.27

Our Lord has established an order among His creatures as He wishes, and in this order, He has given humans some responsibilities and angels some tasks. Within this order, He assigned various duties to the angels, and some of them were commissioned to witness the deeds of humans not to let them deny while being questioned about their actions: “Or do they think that We hear not their secrets and their private conversations? Yes, [We do], and Our messengers (angels) are with them recording.”28 Because when He wants something to happen, He just says “be” and that thing happens.29

If Azrael takes the lives of everyone, who takes the lives of people who die at the same time

Azrael is the angel who takes the lives of people whose time of death has come, that is, the angel of death as stated in the Qur'an: “Say, 'The angel of death will take you who has been entrusted with you. Then to your Lord you will be returned.’”30

There are two explanations about how Azrael takes the lives of people who die at the same time. According to the first one, there is not one angel of death. In some verses of the Qur'an, angels who take people's lives are mentioned in plural form.31 In this case, Azrael performs his duty not alone but together with other angels assigned to the same job. In other words, Azrael has many helpers. This view is prefered more.32

According to another explanation (as we stated at the beginning of the faith in angels chapter), angels are highly equipped and powerful beings. It is possible for them to have very different features depending on their duties. Therefore, taking the lives of people who die at the same time is not difficult or impossible for Azrael. While it is impossible for humans to be in two places at the same time and to travel long distances in very short times, it would be a wrong comparison to think that this is the same for angels. Therefore, Azrael can easily perform this task assigned to him with his superior equipment.33

Why are angels always
portrayed as winged
girls, do they have a gender

Angels have no gender. Our Lord criticizes the perception of angels as girls and as daughters of Allah (swt) in the Qur'an: “Then, has your Lord chosen you for [having] sons and taken from among the angels daughters? Indeed, you say a grave saying.”34 In another verse, it is said, “And they have made the angels, who are servants of the Most Merciful, females. Did they witness their creation? Their testimony will be recorded, and they will be questioned,”35 and noted that those who have such thoughts will be questioned. As stated in the verse, angels are also servants of Allah (swt), just like humans and jinns. Only their characteristics of existence are different from humans.

Our Lord states in the Holy Qur'an that angels are beings with wings: “[All] praise is [due] to Allah , Creator of the heavens and the earth, [who] made the angels messengers having wings, two or three or four. He increases in creation what He wills. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent.”36 We cannot exactly know the nature and shape of the wings of angels, but we can consider them as symbols of strength that enable them to fulfill their duties as quickly as possible.

Does making fun of
angels harm my belief

Speaking without thinking about faith in angels and other matters that one needs to have faith may damage our faith. Such a situation occurred in the time of the Prophet Muhammad, and the hypocrites were warned by the following verses: “And if you ask them, they will surely say, 'We were only conversing and playing.' Say, 'Is it Allah and His verses and His Messenger that you were mocking?' Make no excuse; you have disbelieved after your belief...”37 Although the warning in these verses is made to hypocrites in particular, it also includes those who are faithful, and they make us avoid making fun of religious and faith issues.

If a person said things to make fun of angels, Azrael, doomsday, and the Hereafter, this causes him to lose faith. If it is said just to joke (i.e. not for denial, ridicule, and underestimation), it is also not welcomed and these words may harm belief.38

Do angels and jinns know
what human beings do not know

There is information we all wonder about from the past and the future and that we cannot reach with our senses and minds. These information that human beings cannot reach through knowledge, are named as the “unseen” in the Holy Qur'an.

The information about the unseen is divided into two as “those only known to Allah (swt)” and “known by those who Allah allowed to know.” The part that only known by Allah (swt) is defined as “the absolute unseen.” The most important feature of the believers is their faith in these information.39 It is not possible for human beings, angels, jinns or any other beings to access this information.40

All the information that is unseen to people and that is hidden in the presence of Allah (swt) is also unseen for angels and jinns. But angels and jinns are beings that are different from humans by creation. Being metaphysical beings, moving faster and living longer angels and jinns can access to the information that people do not have. We learn from the verses of the Qur'an that despite these features, it is not possible for them to access unseen information without the permission of Allah (swt). In the Qur'an, the angels' “prediction that the descendants of Adam will shed blood on the earth”41 upon Allah's words of “Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority” are among the verses that imply that angels have knowledge about things that people do not know. However, in the 32nd verse of the Surah al-Baqarah, it is stated by angels' own mouths that these information are not absolute and limitless: “They said, 'Exalted are You; we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, it is You who is the Knowing, the Wise.’” This confession shows us that angels have no other knowledge than Allah allows.

According to Islamic scholars, jinns also do not know the absolute unseen. However, it is possible for them to be aware of some issues that people do not know because they have lived for a long time and can leak news from angels.42 In the 8th and 9th verses of Surah al-Jinn in the Qur'an it is said that jinns used to receive information from the sky but now they are restrained. In the Surah of Saba, it is stressed that jinns, who worked as laborers, do not know the unseen as they could not realize the death of Prophet Solomon.43

Why did Allah create satan

The creation of Satan cannot be associated with our Lord's desire for people to do evil and make it easier for them to fall into wrongdoing. There are many wisdom/reason in the creation of the universe and everything in it that we may or may not know. There are also such wisdom/reason in the creation of Satan. One of them can be explained by taking human to the center as follows:

Human beings exist in the world for testing. The requirement of the test is that both good and bad can be known and preferred. Our Lord has introduced beings to us in a way that is contrary to each other so that we can understand this difference and distinguish right from wrong. In this regard, Satan is created as the opposite, alternative of angels that prefer and advise the good.

The relationship between the devil and humans explained and described in the Qur'an is always a conflict. Satan tries to deceive humans, to lead them astray, to distance them from their Lord.44 On the other hand, our Lord (swt) and the Prophet (saw) advise us to be careful against the tricks and traps of Satan, not to adopt his suggestions and take refuge in our Lord from his evil.45 This struggle should be considered as a requirement of our test for heaven in the world.

Our Lord creates the good and the bad for humans, sends prophets and books telling what is good, and indicates how the bad is and the ways to be protected from it. The system determined in this way can be compared to the situation of a student taking an exam. A student, to whom the lesson is taught by his teacher and the necessary resources are provided, will see more than one wrong option as well as the correct answer in the questions on an exam paper. This situation cannot be seen as the teacher wants his student to do wrong. On the contrary, the teacher provided the necessary information about the questions he was going to ask, showed the resources, and also mentioned possible situations that would direct him to wrong. However, having wrong options on the exam paper is a requirement of the system.

What is Satan as a
type of being, Jinn or angel

Creatures, in terms of their essence, can be considered under two main headings: Kashf and lataif beings. Non-living beings, plants, animals, and humans are kashf beings. Jinns, Satan, and angels are lataif beings.

Jinns are beings that cannot be perceived by senses, do not have consciousness and will like human beings, are obliged to obey divine orders, and consist of believers and unbelievers.46 Jinns are beings created from pure47 and smokeless48 fire, who eat and drink like human beings, reproduce by marriage, have females and males, and for whom prophets were sent.49

Angels are created from light, and they differ from jinns and Satan because they always obey our Lord (swt). Angels have their own features and duties. However, they cannot be associated with negative situations, such as wrong, bad, and mistake.

The Satan which is created from fire50 is mentioned (eleven times as Iblis) eighty-eight times (including as plural eighteen times) in the Qur'an. The word “Iblis” is used in nine verses stating that the angels were asked to prostrate to him after the creation of Prophet Adam, and the word “Satan” is used in the verses stating that he deceived people with various tricks and traps.51 Our Lord (swt) stated that Iblis is from the jinn as follows: “And [mention] when We said to the angels, 'Prostrate to Adam,' and they prostrated, except for Iblis. He was of the jinn and departed from the command of his Lord. Then will you take him and his descendants as allies other than Me while they are enemies to you? Wretched it is for the wrongdoers as an exchange.’”52 The fact that Iblis was among the angels when our Lord ordered them to prostrate to Prophet Adam does not prove that he is an angel. Because angels do not rebel against Allah (swt) as they are created to fulfill Allah's orders. Iblis, on the other hand, has rebelled against Allah (swt) and insisted on this disobedience.

In the Qur'an, it is stated that Satan is rampant, insidious, misleading, and provocative, and his tricks and deceptions are highlighted,53 it is also ordered to stay away from him, and the necessity of taking refuge54 in Allah (swt) from his evil is emphasized. In his hadiths, our Prophet points out the effect of Satan on all kinds of wrong deeds that a person would do and draws attention to his goading and deceptive tricks.55 With all these features, Satan invites human to commit evil, wrongdoing and sins on the one hand, and on the other hand, he wants person to stay away from his Lord (swt) by preventing his servitude (worship) for Him.

As a result, in terms of types of being, Satan is in the same category as angels and jinns. In terms of the material of creation (fire), it is also the same with the jinn. However, as stated above, it is a different being than angels and jinns in terms of their features and relations with human beings.

Can jinns and
satans harm human beings

Jinns are spiritual, ghost-like, and hidden beings created from fire, that cannot be perceived by sense organs and can take on various forms. Jinns who are invisible to the eye, who go too far in evil, who are arrogant, rebellious and who try to mislead people are called “Satan.”

Our knowledge about jinns and satan is based on the Qur'an and hadiths. The reason for the creation of jinns is the same as for humans: To serve Allah.56 Just as there are jinns who are faithful and do good deeds, there are also infidel jinns/Satans who are faithless and want to prevent people from doing good and righteous deeds.

Nothing can harm someone who takes refuge in Allah (swt). Because a believer sincerely believes that no one can do any benefit or harm to him without the permission of Allah (swt).57 Those who take shelter in jinns, try to communicate with them, and seek help from them may suffer material and moral damage due to these wrong behaviors.

A believer takes refuge in Allah (swt) from the evil of jinns and Satans and does not fear them, as he takes refuge in Allah from all kinds of evil that may happen to him. In order to be protected from the harm of jinns, it is recommended to read surahs such as Ayah al-Kursi, Falaq and Nas,58 which are told to have protective properties.59

Who are the friends of Satan

Our Lord states in the Qur'an that Satan has parties,60 soldiers61 and associates62. According to this, those who do not believe,63 who prefer the wrong path over the right one,64 who do not cite the name of Allah (swt),65 who do not keep their soul away from the wickedness and sins,66 who prefer the path of illusion and waswasa,67 who discuss Allah without any knowledge,68 who follow Satan's invitation,69 who waste and spend their wealth to show off70 are friends of Satan.

In general, those who do not believe in Allah (swt) or who rebel and disobey Allah's commands become enemies of Allah and therefore friends of Satan.

1 Baqarah, 2/285.

2 Nisa, 4/136.

3 Muslim, Iman, 1.

4 A. Arslan Aydın, “Melekler ve İslam Akidesindeki Yeri,” Diyanet İlmi Dergi [Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı Dergisi], 1966, volume: V, issue: 11, p. 301-304.

5 Bekir Topaloğlu, Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, İlyas Çelebi, İslam’da İnanç Esasları, p. 218.

6 A‘raf, 7/206; Anbiya, 21/19-20.

7 Al ‘Imran, 3/123-125.

8 Anfal, 8/50; Fussilat, 41/30-31.

9 Nahl, 16/50.

10 Ahzab, 33/56; Mu’min, 40/7-8.

11 Bekir Topaloğlu, Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, İlyas Çelebi, İslâm’da İman Esasları, DİB Yay., Ankara, 2015, p. 216-226. Also see: Kâmil Güneş, Meleklere İman, DİB Yay., Ankara, 2018, p. 43-63.

12 Zuhruf, 43/80; Kaf, 50/17-18; Infitar, 82/10-11.

13 Tirmidhi, Jana'iz, 70.

14 Ra‘d, 13/23-24; Anbiya, 21/103; Zumar, 39/73.

15 Zumar, 39/71-72; Tahrim, 66/6; Muddaththir, 74/30-31.

16 Zumar, 39/75; Mu’min, 40/7; Haqqah, 69/17.

17 About this topic, see: Mehmet Sait Özervarlı, “Melek,” DİA, v. 29, p. 40-42.

18 Muslim, Iman, 1.

19 Hud, 11/69-70.

20 Maryam, 19/16-17.

21 M. Sait Özervarlı, “Melek,” DİA, v. 29, p. 40-42.

22 Baqarah, 2/285.

23 A. Hamdi Akseki, İslam Dini, Ankara, 1983, p. 70.

24 Baqarah, 2/30.

25 Talaq, 65/12.

26 Hud, 11/107; Buruj, 85/16.

27 Anbiya, 21/23.

28 Zukhruf, 43/80.

29 Baqarah, 2/117. Also see: Al ‘Imran, 3/47, 59; An’am, 6/73; Nahl, 16/40; Maryam, 19/35; Ya-Sin, 36/82; Mu’min, 40/68.

30 Sajdah, 32/11.

31 Nisa, 4/97; An’am, 6/61; Anfal, 8/50; Muhammad, 47/27.

32 Recep Ardoğan, Sistematik Kelam Ve Güncel İnanç Sorunları, p. 250.

33 Recep Ardoğan, Sistematik Kelam Ve Güncel İnanç Sorunları, p. 250.

34 Isra, 17/40.

35 Zukhruf, 43/19.

36 Fatir, 35/1.

37 Tawbah, 9/65, 66.

38 Ahmet Saim Kılavuz, İman Küfür Sınırı, Marifet Yay., İstanbul, 1984, p. 106-130.

39 Baqarah, 2/3.

40 Maidah, 5/109, 116; An‘am, 6/73; Tawbah, 9/94, 105; Ra‘d, 13/9; Saba, 34/48.

41 Baqarah, 2/30.

42 Ahmet Saim Kılavuz, “Cin,” DİA, v. 8, p. 9.

43 Saba, 34/14.

44 Nisa, 4/60; A‘raf, 7/16-17-18; Anfal, 8/48; Naml, 27/24 et al.

45 A‘raf, 7/200-201; Mu’minun, 23/97-98; Fussilat, 41/36.

46 M. Süreyya Şahin, “Cin,” DİA, v. 8, p. 5.

47 Rahman, 55/15.

48 Hijr, 15/27.

49 A. Saim Kılavuz, “Cin,” DİA, v. 8, p. 8.

50 A‘raf, 7/12; Hijr, 15/27; Musnad, VI, 152, 168; Muslim, Zuhd, 60.

51 İlyas Çelebi, “Şeytan,” DİA, v. 39, p. 99.

52 Kahf, 18/50.

53 Nisa, 4/60; Aʻraf, 7/16-17-18; Anfal, 8/48; Naml, 27/24 and so on.

54 Aʻraf, 7/200-201; Mu’minun, 23/97-98; Fussilat, 41/36.

55 İlyas Çelebi, “Şeytan,” DİA, v. 39, p. 100.

56 Dhariyat, 51/56.

57 Yunus, 10/107.

58 Ibn Hanbal, IV, 144, 146; Bukhari, Wakalah, 10

59 Ahmet Saim Kılavuz, “Cin,” DİA, v. 8, p. 8-10

60 Mujadila, 58/19.

61 Shu‘ara, 26/95.

62 Nisa, 4/76; An‘am, 6/121; Hajj, 22/4.

63 A‘raf, 7/27-30.

64 A‘raf, 7/30.

65 Zukhruf, 43/36.

66 Nur, 24/21.

67 Nisa, 4/120.

68 Hajj, 22/3.

69 Ibrahim, 14/22.

70 Isra, 17/27.

FAITH IN
HOLY BOOKS

What does faith
in holy books mean

Faith in holy books means firmly believing that Allah (swt) sent down the divine orders and prohibitions that He had given to some of His prophets in the form of scripture and books, and that all of these were revealed to be His words, and that their contents are completely true and real.

In terms of their volume and content, divine texts are categorized as “scripture/s” and “books.” The booklets and leaflets that our Lord (swt) sent down to small communities to meet their needs are called “scripture/s” and texts that has more volume and universal messages than scriptures are called “books.”1

In the Qur'an, it is said that Prophets Ibrahim and Musa were given scriptures.2 In the hadiths, it is said that Prophet Sheth was given 50 scriptures, Idris was given 30 scriptures, Ibrahim was given 10 and Musa was given 10 scriptures before the Torah.3 However, none of these scriptures have reached today.

On the other hand, there are four holy books, including the Torah revealed to Musa,4 the Zabur sent down to Dawud,5 the Gospel given to Isa,6 and the Qur'an revealed to our Prophet.7

In what ways
did books come to the prophets

Our Lord (swt) sent holy books to the prophets through revelation. The word revelation, which means “to say quickly and secretly, to point out and inspire” in the dictionary, means “Allah's (swt) secretly communicating an order, a decree or information to His prophet.”8

In the Qur'an, the means of delivering Allah's (swt) orders to people are stated as a revelation, addressing behind a veil, and sending messengers to convey His words. “...And it is not for any human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a partition or that He sends a messenger to reveal, by His permission, what He wills...”9 The first way, communicating through revelation, occurs by leaving and teaching the divine word with a secret sign to the heart of the prophet without a messenger. In this kind of revelation, the prophet stays awake. The revelation is directly put into the prophet's heart without a messenger. In the second way, which is speaking behind a veil, can be illustrated with Allah's conversation with the Prophet Musa in Mount Sinai.10 In such revelation, the prophet receives the address of his Lord. He addresses his Lord, as well. But he cannot see Him. The third way occurs through a messenger. Allah tells His prophet whatever He wills through the angel of revelation, Jibril.11

Why did Allah send
more than one book

Allah sent prophets to every society from among themselves and revealed decrees in holy books as per the needs and levels of the period they lived. According to what is reported to us in the Holy Qur'an, many prophets - from Prophet Adam to the last Prophet Muhammad (saw) - fulfilled their duty of conveyance by inviting people to believe in the fact that “there is no god but Allah.”

Every holy book confirmed the previous revelations in terms of belief. While the unchanging dimension of belief in religion is mentioned clearly for all humanity from the first book to the last book, the provisions regarding the dimension of knowledge, worship, and morality, which are in parallel to the development of humanity, continue until the time when the Qur'an was revealed at the discretion of Allah, in accordance with time, needs, and conditions.12

The psychological, social, and physical needs, perception level, and civilization of people of every age are different from each other. However, people needed religion in every age, and there have always been searches to meet this need since the first human. Allah assigned worship, responsibilities, and duties to the believers in accordance with their level of understanding, ability, and socio-cultural characteristics in the holy texts that He sent before the Holy Qur'an. While the Prophet Adam and the first prophets were sent a 10-page scripture to be revealed to the society they lived in, the Prophets David, Musa, and Isa were given holy books but scriptures.

Prophet Muhammad (saw) is the last prophet of the human family, and its last book is the Holy Qur'an.13 The Qur'an is a universal holy book that answers the questions and needs of all people until the Day of Judgment, and that cannot change or be changed. The protection of the Qur'an is not like the protection of other holy books. The Almighty Allah protects it Himself.14 Our Prophet Muhammad (saw) is not the prophet of a society, but of all people that will live until the end of the world, the Doomsday. The last link of holy books has been completed with the Holy Qur'an. Regarding this, our Prophet said, “I am that place where the brick (completing the building is to be placed), and I have come to finalize the chain of Apostles.”15 This perfect building, built since the beginning of human history, has been completed with the last book Qur'an and the last Prophet Muhammad.

Why the Qur'an is
the last holy book

The Holy Qur’an is a book sent to all people. Its messages are universal. It is full of truth and wisdom that will answer the needs of every age. As it is under the protection of Allah, its provisions will continue until the Day of Judgment.16 In the Holy Qur'an, Allah says that Prophet Muhammad is the last of the prophets,17 and the religion is completed with him.18 Completion of the religion means no new religion will be sent, the provisions of the last book will be valid till the Day of Judgment, and therefore, the Holy Qur'an is the last book.

If the Qur'an is the last
book revealed, why
should we believe in
the Torah and the Gospel

The last divine book sent for people is the Holy Qur'an. As we have faith in all prophets from Adam to Muhammad, it is the requirement of our belief that we have faith in the books sent down to these prophets.19 Besides, this faith is not limited to only the Torah and the Gospel. It includes all the scriptures and divine texts sent down to the prophets. Because these books, just like the Holy Qur'an, are the revelations sent through Jibril to the people living in that period. We believe that they are holy books, but since we know that their originals have not been preserved until today and that lots of superstitions have been added to them, we take a more careful approach to them. Our prophet also advises this to us. “Neither confirm nor deny the words of the people of the book. Say, [O believers], ‘We believe in Allah and what has been revealed to us; and what was revealed to Ibrahim, Ismail, Ishaq, Yaqub, and his descendants; and what was given to Musa, Isa, and other prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them. And to Allah we all submit.’”20

How can I understand
that the Qur'an is a holy book

Believing that the Qur'an is a holy book is a requirement of our faith. However, its presence and holiness can be proved by both historical experience and mental evidence.

A person, who has faith in books, accepts wholeheartedly that the Qur'an is revealed by Allah and its content is completely true, and he does not think otherwise.

Historical experience records that Allah has sent down His orders and prohibitions to people in the form of scriptures and books since the beginning of human history. It is evident with the historical experience that the Qur'an is the last one of these books.

Our Lord wants from disbelievers to bring something similar to the Qur'an or similar to its a few surahs or verses. However, for fourteen centuries no person or group has been able to fulfill this urge (!) of our Lord in terms of content or style, and will not be able to do so from now on.

As mental evidence, the Qur'an is a perfect, holistic, and consistent book in terms of both style and content, in a way that cannot be human word or intervention, compared to the other books. This is a sign of its holiness.

These features are mentioned in many verses in the Qur'an. First of all, our Lord used the following expressions challenging those who disbelieve that the Qur'an is not the word of man and that it was not made up:

“Say: Then bring a scripture from Allah which is more guiding than either of them that I may follow it, if you should be truthful.’”21

“Say: ‘If mankind and the jinn gathered in order to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like of it, even if they were to each other assistants.’”22

“Then let them produce a statement like it, if they should be truthful.”23

“Or do they say, ‘He invented it’? Say, ‘Then bring ten surahs like it that have been invented and call upon [for assistance] whomever you can besides Allah, if you should be truthful.’”24

Many Muslim poets who lived in the period when the Qur'an was revealed stated that the literary features in the Qur'an could not be human words, therefore the Qur'an was a holy text. One of the famous and talented poets of that period, Labid b. Rabia expressed his incapability in the face of the verses by saying, “I can no longer read poems after the Almighty Allah taught me about al-Baqarah and Al ‘Imran.”25

What are the features
that distinguish the
Qur'an from other holy books

The features that distinguish the Qur'an from other holy books can be summarized as follows:

1- Other holy books were sent down at once as a whole. The Qur'an, on the other hand, was sent down verse by verse or surah by surah during twenty-three years of prophethood of our Prophet.

2- Since the Qur'an is the last holy book, it both confirms and completes the books that had come previously. Because those books could not reach us in their original form. Therefore, the Qur'an tells us the truth about whatever is fabricated in them.

3- The Qur'an is the last holy book. There will not be any other book after that. Therefore, its provisions are valid until the Day of Judgment. The provisions of other holy books are no longer valid.

4- The Qur'an has reached today without any disruption or change.

5- Every prophet was given a miracle that proved his prophethood. The Qur'an was given to the Prophet Muhammad (saw), and it is the greatest miracle that proves his prophethood.

6- The Qur'an has been given the feature of being easily memorized that is not found in other books.

7- Other holy books were not written down in the time of their prophets. The Qur'an, however, was written down in our Prophet's time.26

How can I know that the Qur'an is protected and has reached the present day without any change

The Holy Qur'an is the last book that our Lord sent down for all people till the Day of Judgment. Our Prophet made scribes of revelation write down all verses revealed to him, and his companions memorized these verses and often recited during prayers. Besides, the revealed Qur'anic verses were practiced under the guidance of our Prophet and shaped Muslims' life of belief and worship.

Since the revelation continued while the Prophet was alive, it was not possible to turn the Qur'an into a book. However, after the death of the Prophet, the separately written verses were collected and turned into a book during the period of the first caliph Abu Bakr. With Islam's expansion to new geographies during the time of the second caliph Omar, more copies of the Qur'an were needed. During the period of the third caliph Uthman, the Qur'an was produced more by being written from the first copy called Mushaf. Copies of the Qur'an were sent to Mecca, Kufa, Basra, Damascus, Bahrain, and Yemen. Muslims wrote many copies of the Qur'an on the basis of these copies, trained hafizes in every generation to memorize the Qur'an, thus our holy book has survived to the present day without any changes. Today, wherever you go in the world, it is seen that all the copies of the Qur'an that are read, memorized or printed are the same.

In addition to all this, our Lord states that He undertook the protection of the Qur'an as follows: “Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur’an and indeed, We will be its guardian.”27 This verse of the Almighty Allah is the greatest assurance for Muslims that the Holy Qur'an has reached today without any change.28

Would it harm our belief
not to accept some
of the verses in the Qur'an

One of the principles of faith is having faith in books. Accordingly, a Muslim has to believe in all the books Allah sent down to His prophets, and as the way they were sent down. The Qur'an is the message that Allah sent to humanity through our Prophet to show the right path. Our Lord says, “So do you believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in part?”29 and orders not to make any distinction between the verses. Since it is unthinkable that the Almighty Allah, who sent and protected the Qur'an Himself, would lie, all the verses in the Qur'an are His word and are still under His protection. For this reason, it is unthinkable for a believer to accept some verses sent by Allah and not accept some others. It is a necessity of our faith that we accept and believe that the Qur'an is the words of Allah from the beginning to the end.

Why was the
Holy Qur'an sent down
pieceby piece instead of at once

The Qur'an was sent not collectively at once, but sometimes verse by verse, sometimes surah by surah during nearly twenty-three years of the prophethood of our Prophet Muhammad (saw). The Almighty Allah explains why the Qur'an was not sent down at once as follows: “... those who disbelieve say, “Why was the Qur’an not revealed to him all at once?” Thus [it is] that We may strengthen thereby your heart ...”30

In the period when the Qur'an was revealed, some time was needed for the beliefs and value judgments brought by Islam in the hearts of new Muslims to take root and strengthen. With the divine decrees gradually settling in the minds and hearts of the new Muslims, it was ensured that they developed and became familiar with these decrees, it became easier for them to apply the revealed verses in their lives, and their interest in revelation was always kept alive.

It can be easily understood how important it was to descend the Qur'an piece by piece, considering the reasons such as giving time to those who were hostile to the Prophet and the Qur'an, winning their hearts, and answering their questions when required.31

Why is the Qur'an
not written in descending order

The Qur'an, which is the last book sent by Allah, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in a period of twenty-three years. There are 114 surahs and over 6,000 verses in the Qur'an. Our Prophet made the order/arrangement of the verses within the surahs in line with the guidance of Jibril. In other words, it was then determined that the revealed verse would be placed in which surah or that surah would come before or after which surah.

We know that the Qur'an was mutually recited among Jibril and Muhammad every year. If the order of the verses was not decided at that time, it would not be possible for the listener to follow when the text was being recited. While the Qur'an was being written in the form of a book, the order that was determined before the death of the Prophet was taken as a basis, and there was no difference of opinion regarding it at that time.32

Why was the Qur'an
sent in Arabic language

All the prophets spoke in the language of whatever society they were sent to, to explain the divine message to their addressee. On this topic, our Lord says in the Holy Qur'an as follows: “And We did not send any messenger except [speaking] in the language of his people to state clearly for them, and Allah sends astray [thereby] whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.”33 Since the first addressees of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) were Arab, the Qur'an was sent down in the Arabic language. If the Prophet was from another nation, the Holy Qur'an would be revealed in that language. The point to note here is the universality of the divine message, regardless of which language it was sent down.

Our Lord says that He sent the Holy Qur'an as a guide for the right path for humanity.34 The fact that the Holy Qur'an was sent down in Arabic does not prevent its universality, nor does it prevent it from being understood by non-Arabs. Our Lord orders in the Holy Qur'an as follows: “[It is] a Book whose verses have been detailed, an Arabic Qur’an for a people who know.”35 The Almighty Allah willed to send His last book, which He sent to be a guide to humanity, in Arabic, and sent it down in a way that all people can understand if they want to.

To sum up, the Qur'an, which was revealed in Arabic because the Prophet Muhammad (saw) and his first addressee were Arab, is a guidance for the right path that contains universal messages for all humanity.

Why does Allah refer to
Himself sometimes as “I,” sometimes “we” in the Qur'an

In the Quran, Allah mentions Himself sometimes using the pronoun I, sometimes we. For example, He used the pronoun I, in the following verse: “When My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.”36 In another verse, He uses the pronoun we, “Indeed, We sent the Qur’an down during the Night of Decree.”37 Examples can be increased further.

Such use of the pronoun we in the Qur'an does not mean plural. This situation is only related to the style of the Qur'an. This form of expression reflects Allah's glory and supremacy. It is just like using the plural form of the pronoun for the first person in some languages to show respect. The Almighty Allah, who is the creator of all things, deserves respect more than anyone else. The plural made with the pronoun we in the Qur'an, if it is Allah, expresses greatness and glory.38

What does it mean
that the Qur'an is a miracle

The fact that the Holy Qur'an is a miracle means that its similar cannot be made. The Qur'an is a miracle literally (words and sentences) and in terms of its meaning. Being a miracle in terms of wording means that people cannot put forth a sentence like He did. In this regard, our Lord says: “Or do they say, 'He has made this up!'? Rather, they do not believe. Then let them produce a statement like it, if they should be truthful.”39

“Or do they say, 'He invented it'? Say, 'Then bring ten surahs like it that have been invented and call upon [for assistance] whomever you can besides Allah, if you should be truthful.' And if they do not respond to you - then know that the Qur’an was revealed with the knowledge of Allah and that there is no deity except Him. Then, would you [not] be Muslims?”40

“And it was not [possible] for this Qur’an to be produced by other than Allah , but [it is] a confirmation of what was before it and a detailed explanation of the [former] Scripture, about which there is no doubt, from the Lord of the worlds.Or do they say [about the Prophet], ‘He invented it?’ Say, ‘Then bring forth a surah like it and call upon [for assistance] whomever you can besides Allah, if you should be truthful.’”41

In the above verses, our Lord clearly challenges those who claim that the Qur'an was made up by the Prophet Muhammad. How could the Qur'an, which makes even the most skilled poets feel incapacitated by its literary superiority, be fabricated by the Prophet Muhammad? Besides, the fact that it appeals to both the mind and emotions of people, that it has a style that can be understood by people at every level, the unique sound harmony in its pronunciation clearly shows that the Qur'an is the word of Allah.

The fact that the Qur'an is a miracle in terms of its meaning and content means that it is not possible for the information in it to be produced by humans. The news of the past societies, the creation and order of the universe, information about the creation of human beings or subjects, such as heaven-hell and angels that cannot be known with the sense organs and mind, are not information that people can reveal with their sources of information. In addition, the fact that the information in it is consistent and does not conflict with each other, that it meets humans' need for correct knowledge, principled life, and attaching a meaning to the life until the Day of Judgment shows that the Qur'an is a miraculous guide for the right path.

What subjects
does the Qur'an include

The Qur'an includes verses that we need to be happy in the world and in the Hereafter. These verses mainly contain the following subjects:

1- Belief: The Qur'an includes faith in Allah, faith in prophets, angels, books, as well as important topics about the Hereafter, and various topics related to belief.

2- Worship: There are verses regarding prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, zakat etc. that Muslims are obliged to perform.

3- Procedures: There are verses that regulate the relations between individuals, related to issues that concern the person and society such as shopping, testament, inheritance, marriage, and divorce. Some of these topics are explained in detail.

4- Punishment: There are verses about the punishments for those who disrupt the order of the society and violate Allah's prohibitions.

5- Morals: In His book, our Lord emphasizes moral values such as respecting parents, getting along with people, commanding good and avoiding evil, and being humble.

6- Advice and Recommendations: It is recommended to people to be sensitive to Allah's orders and prohibitions and not to be captured by their own souls. Our Holy Book advises people to live their lives with the awareness that they are being tested in this world.

7- Promise and Threat: There are verses stating that those who obey Allah's orders will be rewarded with heaven and those who do what He forbid will be punished with hell.

8- Scientific Facts: There are verses in the Qur'an that constitute the source of inspiration for scientific facts and natural laws that are necessary for humanity. However, the Qur'an does not mention scientific facts like a positive science book. Instead, it encourages people to consider the power and greatness of its creator by looking at the universe, and to glorify Allah by commemorating His blessings.

9- Anecdotes: The Qur'an tells about the lives of the previous prophets and their struggles in a way that people will learn from.

10- Du‘as: Since human constantly needs the help of Allah in his works, various prayers and examples of the prayers of previous prophets are included in the Qur'an. With these prayers, our Lord also teaches His servant how to make du‘a.42

Do scientific theories need to prove every subject in the Qur'an?
Will proofs increase
with the development of science

It is not possible for scientific theories to explain every subject in the Qur'an. Because all subjects mentioned in the Qur'an is not included in the subject of science. For example, angels, jinns, heaven and hell and so on are subjects fall outside the scope of science to prove. However, in the Holy Qur'an, Allah mentions issues that fall within the scope of science, such as the creation of the skies and the earth, descending water from the sky, the creation of human and the stages the fetus goes through in the womb. Scientific information obtained may be and are helpful in understanding the verses in question.

The fact that the Qur'an mentions events that are of interest to scientific subjects is also important in terms of assuming a convincing role that the Qur'an is the word of Allah. However, it should not be forgotten that the Qur'an is not a science book but a source for the right path. The Qur'an was sent to remind people of the purpose of being sent to the world and to guide them to live a life suitable for this purpose. The purpose of these verses is to make people think and gain awareness about the truths of faith, such as the glory of Allah, His blessings, life after death, and so on.

While scientific knowledge is always open to change and development, the Qur'an is based on revelation and is not open to change. Therefore, there are some problems in trying to understand the verses of the Qur'an with scientific theories. In this respect, how will a verse explained with a scientific theory that was accepted then be explained when the opposite of the same theory is proven? Of course, science can help us understand the Qur'an, but trying to reconcile the relevant verses of the Qur'an with every scientific development - since scientific knowledge is constantly evolving and changing - is not a correct method. However, the verses of the Qur'an, which mention matters that may be the subject of scientific information, are a significant incentive for people to think, research, and take lessons. Our Lord says in the 190th-191st verses of Surah Al ‘Imran as follows: “Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the day and night there are signs for those of understanding. Who remember Allah while standing or sitting [or lying] on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens and the earth [saying], 'Our Lord! You did not created this without purpose. Glory be to You! Protect us from the torment of the Fire.” There are many verses in the Qur'an that prompt people to think and research. Instead of trying to make the content of the Qur'an compatible with scientific information, searching the points that Allah draws our attention to think and take lessons will enable scientists to widen their horizons and carry out more advanced studies.

Is it enough to read the Qur'an without understanding it? Is it enough to read the
Holy Qur'an from its
translation to understand it

Our Lord has sent us the Qur'an to teach us how to serve Him. The Qur'an is a guide for all people to turn towards it and understand it until the Day of Judgment, and for being believers, devoted, and moral individuals. Since Allah, who created all people in different languages and nations, is also the Creator of the Qur'an, He knew that non-Arab nations cannot understand it directly but through translations and explanations, while sending it in Arabic.

The Qur'an is the most important miracle of our Prophet Muhammad (saw). Therefore, while reading the Qur'an, which is the cure of our souls and nurture of our hearts,43 and worship in itself, learning its meaning through explanations and interpretations and striving to direct our lives in the light of its verses is a necessity of our efforts to be a servant worthy of Allah, that is, being a Muslim. Because the Qur'an is sent not only to be read, but to be understood and lived.

Is not the
Qur'an enough by itself?
Is there a need for the hadiths

In the literature of Islam, the prophet's words, actions and behaviors, and the things he approves are called “hadith.”44 Allah sent the Qur'an to our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw) who enlightened people on every issue, mediated between them in times of dispute, and guided them. Then He wanted him to convey, in other words, to reveal His messages to the people. Therefore, it is the Messenger of Allah who understands the Qur'an better than anyone and who knows the best what Allah means in the verses. We learn that the Qur'an is the word of Allah through our Prophet's teaching. A person saying that the words, actions and behaviors of our Prophet are not valuable and reliable is incompatible with the belief that the Qur'an is the word of Allah.

After the Prophet conveyed the verses to people, he explained them with his words and sometimes showed how to practice them. In the Qur'an, some provisions are mentioned in general and detailed explanations are left to our Prophet. Our Prophet also taught how to apply some orders. For instance, the Qur'an wants Muslims to perform prayers, but it does not specify how to perform it, how many rakats to perform, and details of the times are not mentioned. Likewise, important acts of worship such as qurbani, pilgrimage, and zakat are also required to be performed, but it was left to the Prophet to explain when and how to do them. As Muslims, we learn about them with the hadiths of the Prophet.

Our beloved Prophet was far from words, behaviors, and deeds that contradicted the revelation. As he is the Messenger of Allah, his statements were controlled by our Lord. During the revelation process, we see that some of the words and deeds of the Prophet were corrected by Allah through revelation. Our Lord said, “Nor does he speak from [his own] whims. It is not but a revelation revealed,”45 and clearly stated that the Prophet was under his monitor.

The hadiths of the Prophet were recorded with a very meticulous study and care was taken not to interfere with the Qur'an. It is known that our Prophet warned his companions especially about this matter. Let alone those who are known as liars in the society, hadiths claimed by even those who pretend to feed animals by calling them, are not accepted.

As a result, hadiths are the most important source that explains the verses of the Qur'an and guides us in our religious life. We need the Prophet's guidance to understand and fulfill the commands and prohibitions of the religion. Otherwise, we cannot know how to understand and apply the worship and orders sent to serve Allah in the Qur'an. Today, those who reject the hadiths claiming that the words of the Prophet do not reach us in a reliable way, resort to the comments and explanations of other people in order to understand the Qur'an. Sometimes people emphasize their own understanding instead of the hadiths of the Prophet in order to understand the Qur'an. This causes different interpretations of worship and religion. The most important reason for the corruption of other heavenly religions was that a group of clergymen claimed to be the word of Allah and guided people with their own views. Our Lord supported Islam and the Qur'an with the practice and words of our Prophet and made the understanding of the Qur'an for ages dependent on its explanations and practices.46

What does people
of the book mean

“People of the book” is the name given to those who have faith in the books Allah sent to His prophets. The concept of people of the book is generally used for Jews and Christians in the Qur'an.47 It is also used for those who believe in the books sent down to other prophets.48

The fact that only Jews and Christians are addressed as the people of the book in the Qur'an is because these members of the two religions have belief in Allah, prophet, the Hereafter and the book along with some deficiencies and mistakes, which means they are based on the divine source and the addressee of the Qur'an at that time knew those religions.49

The verses which include the term of people of the book state that there are both people worthy of praise among them50 and disbelievers,51 that those disbelievers deny Allah's verses,52 they mix the truth with the falsehood,53 they do not take care of entrusts,54 distort the Holy Book given to them,55 killed their prophets,56 want to encourage Muslims to disbelieve,57 and do not fully implement provisions of the Torah and the Gospel.58 The Qur'an calls on the people of the book to worship Allah, not to associate partners with Him,59 and advises Muslims to be moderate in their disputes with them.60

In the Qur'an, a clear guidance provided for Muslims in their relations with the people of the book: “And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way that is best, except for those who commit injustice among them, and say, ‘We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God is one; and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.’”61 Besides, it is allowed to marry the women of the People of the Book and eat the things which were cut by them.62

What will happen to those who
do not believe in the Torah
and the Gospel in the Hereafter

The Torah, the Gospel and the Psalms are books sent by Allah like the Qur'an. Like every prophet sent, all the books confirm the previous one, thus proving that they came from the same divine source. Therefore, there is no difference between believing in the Qur'an and the books sent down before it. However, the books other than the Qur'an could not be preserved and they were distorted and changed over time; only the Qur'an has been preserved, and reached today.

Believing that all divine books are true and real, and that they are all sent to guide people through the prophets mentioned in the Qur'an is one of the requirements of being a believer. Therefore, a person, who denies that the Torah and the Gospel were sent, cannot go to heaven as he cannot be a believer. Because heaven is a place prepared only for the believers.

1 İlyas Üzüm, “Kitap,” DİA, c. 26, s. 121; Ömer Dumlu, “Suhuf,” DİA, v. 37, p. 477.

2 Najm, 53/36-37; A‘la, 87/14-19.

3 İbn Hibban, Sahih, II, 276.

4 Ma'idah, 5/44.

5 Nisa, 4/163; Isra, 17/55.

6 Ma'idah, 5/110; Hadid, 57/27.

7 Al ‘Imran, 3/3; Nisa, 4/47 and so on.

8 Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, “Vahiy,” DİA, v. 42, p. 440.

9 Shura, 42/51.

10 Qasas, 28/30.

11 Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, “Vahiy,” DİA, v. 42, p. 440.

12 Al-i ‘Imran, 3/3-4.

13 Ahzab, 33/40.

14 Hijr, 15/9.

15 Muslim, Fadhail, 7.

16 Hijr, 15/9.

17 Ahzab, 33/40.

18 Ma'idah, 5/3.

19 Baqarah, 2/285; Al ‘Imran, 3/84.

20 Baqarah, 2/136; Bukhari, Tafseer, (Baqarah) 11.

21 Qasas, 28/49.

22 Isra, 17/88.

23 Tur, 52/34.

24 Hud, 11/13.

25 Mehmet Yolcu, “Lebid b. Rebi‘a ve Tevhide Çağıran Şiiri,” Hikmet Yurdu, 2008, volume: I, issue: 2, p. 125.

26 Ömer Faruk Harman, “Kur’an,” DİA, v. 26, p. 412-414.

27 Hijr, 15/9.

28 Abdülhamit Birışık, “Kur’an,” DİA, v. 26, p. 383-388.

29 Baqarah, 2/85.

30 Furqan, 25/32.

31 Abdülhamit Birışık, “Kur’an,” DİA, v. 26, p. 383-388.

32 Abdülhamit Birışık, “Kur’an,” DİA, v. 26, p. 383-388.

33 Ibrahim, 14/4.

34 Baqarah, 2/185.

35 Fussilat, 41/3. About the revelation of the Qur'an in Arabic, also see: Yusuf, 12/2; Raʻd, 13/37; Taha, 20/113; Zumar, 39/28; Shura, 42/7; Zukhruf, 43/3; Ahqaf, 46/12.

36 Baqarah, 2/186.

37 Qadr, 97/1.

38 Ahmed Deedat, Mucizeler Mucizesi Kur’an, trans. Yusuf Balcı, İnkılap Yayınları, İstanbul, 1992, p. 74.

39 Tur, 52/33-34.

40 Hud, 11/13-14.

41 Yunus, 10/37-38. Also see: Baqarah, 2/23-24.

42 Mustafa Çağrıcı, “Kur’an,” DİA, v. 26, p. 390-393.

43 “O mankind, there has to come to you instruction from your Lord and healing for what is in the breasts and guidance and mercy for the believers.” Yunus, 10/57.

44 M. Yaşar Kandemir, “Hadis,” DİA, v. 15, p. 27.

45 Najm, 53/3-4.

46 For more information on the hadith, see: M. Yaşar Kandemir, “Hadis,” DİA, v. 15, p. 27-64.

47 Nisa, 4/153; Ma'idah, 5/15, 19.

48 An‘am, 6/84-90.

49 Remzi Kaya, “Ehl-i Kitap,” DİA, v. 10, p. 517.

50 Al ‘Imran, 3/75, 113-115, 119.

51 Baqarah, 2/105; Bayyinah, 98/1.

52 Al ‘Imran, 3/70, 98, 112; Nisa, 4/155; Hashr, 59/2.

53 Al ‘Imran, 3/71.

54 Al ‘Imran, 3/75.

55 Al ‘Imran, 3/78.

56 Al ‘Imran, 3/112; Nisa, 4/155.

57 Baqarah, 2/109; Al ‘Imran, 3/69, 72, 99, 100.

58 Ma'idah, 5/68.

59 Al ‘Imran, 3/64.

60 Ankabut, 29/46.

61 Ankabut, 29/46.

62 Ma'idah, 5/5.

FAITH IN
PROPHETS

Why did
Allah send prophets

When we try to answer this question by considering the prophets and their place in the history of humanity, we realize that Allah sent prophets for two main reasons. The first reason is that people, who are created by Allah as intelligent and conscious, are responsible beings. People are creatures responsible for their actions. For whom are they responsible? Of course, they are responsible for their Creator and all creatures. If they are responsible, then they should know their responsibilities. This is one of the reasons why the prophets were sent by Allah. Allah has sent prophets to humanity who will show them the right path in this world, remind them of their responsibilities, and inform them that there is questioning in the Hereafter.

Person can reach many information through his mind and senses. However, human life is very short. His brain power is also limited. Short life and limits of mind deprive human beings of the opportunity to comprehend the past and the future and to perfectly design their lives in the world. Social life can be established by adopting basic moral principles and making them dominant. The other reason why prophets were sent is to convey the basic principles that human needs to establish and maintain a healthy life in the world, and the emotional sanction power that he will need for these principles to be adopted and put into effect by all people through the prophets and their divine knowledge. The greatest gift of the prophets to the societies was to make the moral principles dominant in social life.

Through the prophets, human beings reach information that they cannot obtain with their mind. The attributes of Allah, resurrection after death, life in the Hereafter, angels, and how to worship Allah are issues that cannot be obtained with the mind. Besides, thanks to the prophets, humans reach the moral principles that they would obtain only in very long years, and the knowledge of how social life should be built and maintained. For these two main reasons Allah sent prophets.1

What are the
duties of the prophets

Prophet is the messenger chosen by Allah to inform the addressees of His orders and advice.2 As it can be understood from its definition, the primary duty of the prophet is to convey our Lord's orders to humans. But this conveyance brings two situations along with it. According to this, we can summarize the duties of the prophets under three topics: conveyance, tabyin, and representation.

Conveyance means to transmit all the information that come from Allah through revelation to people as it is. As stated above, the reason for choosing the prophets is conveyance. Our Lord expresses this basic duty in the Qur'an to our Prophet as follows, “O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message.”3

Tabyin is to explain, when necessary, the divine orders that were conveyed to people. Prophets had to explain many subjects and details due to the different levels of information and understanding of the people they addressed. For instance, this duty is mentioned in the Qur'an as follows: “And We revealed to you the message that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them, and that they might give thought.”4

Representation, on the other hand, is the actual application of all of the divine directions, offering an example to people. Our prophet told his people, “Pray as you have seen me praying,”5 “Learn your rituals of Hajj from me,”6 and wanted them to take him as an example.

How is prophethood obtained?
If a person wants,
can he become a prophet

Our Lord chose and sent down prophets for ages. Wanting to be a prophet does not have effect on this selection. Likewise, being wealthy, famous or having a position do not enable the person to be chosen as a prophet. Prophethood cannot be obtained by working hard and worship, as well. Prophethood is granted by Allah. In the Qur'an, it is said, “That is the bounty of Allah, which He gives to whom He wills...”7 Our Lord knows the people who can handle the burden of prophethood and chooses whoever He pleases among people as prophet.8

There are many influential
people in the world history,
why are they not prophets

When we look at the people who were influential in the history of the world, we see that most of them were prophets. A book written by a western researcher in the last century focused on the hundred most influential people in world history. The author of the book added people to the list who influenced the fates of millions of people, caused the rise and fall of civilizations, and guided the course of history. The author, who includes the prophets of two great religions - Isa and Musa - in the book, gave our Prophet Muhammad (saw) the first place among the people who influenced history the most.9

Scientists conducting research in the field of history confess that the important events of world history, especially the establishment and spread of civilizations, were led by prophets.10 Whatever reason is in human beings, it is prophethood in human history. Prophets also pioneered humanity in finding and implementing civilized organization methods. The first information on everything related to art and technique was reached by the prophets sent by Allah. Prophets also guided people in matters such as agriculture, trade, medicine, melting and processing iron, sewing clothes, and shipping.11 Considering the information given in the Qur'an that Allah taught David the art of softening iron and pouring molten copper from its source like a stream12 and the art of making armor,13 and considering that this age is called the “iron age,” it will be better understood that the prophets were effective characters in the stage of history.14

All of the prophets strived for people to lead a virtuous and decent life. They introduced goodness, showed the ways of it and worked for goodness to prevail in the world. As a result of this, they have ensured that the virtues such as justice, compliance to rights and law, truthfulness, trust, love and respect in interpersonal relations, pursuing goodness, and being against the cruel and cruelty are adopted by people. At the same time, the prophets who introduced evil and advised to stay away from it, struggled to prevent people from adopting bad things such as lies, injustice, cruelty, theft, ridicule, and arrogance. It is obvious how sublime the value of this information, which the prophets tried to present to humanity and apply, in human history.15

Can revelation come to
people other than prophets

Before explaining whether or not revelation would come to people other than prophets, we would like to mention the lexical and contextual meaning of revelation. Revelation in the dictionary means to sign someone, to send, to inspire the heart, to say quickly and secretly.16 As a terminology, revelation is a special form of communication between Allah and his prophets, the nature of which is known only to them. In this sense, revelation means Allah's conveying the messages to some servants He wants, in a private way that is not generally applicable to people.

In the Qur'an, we see that Allah revealed to the sky,17 the earth,18 the bee,19 the mother of Prophet Musa,20 Maryam,21 the apostles of Isa,22 and the prophets. However, when the verses are reviewed, it is seen that this word is meant to convey the special message of Allah to people only in the case of “prophets” and in other verses, some kind of creation event or inspiration given to the heart is mentioned. The revelation received by people other than prophets does not impose prophetic responsibility on them. The most distinctive feature of the revelation that Allah sent to the prophets is that it aims to convey the message of Allah to other people. Prophets were assigned as messengers who convey Allah's message between Him and people.

Does a person who believes in
Allah and does not accept prophets abandon religion

Allah sent prophets to His servants as a result of His wisdom and grace. Those who have faith in Allah also believes in prophets sent by his Lord. In the Qur'an, Allah says, “The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers, [saying], ‘We make no distinction between any of His messengers.’ And they say, ‘We hear and we obey. [We seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination,’”23 and explains that He sent prophets and people had faith in them.

People need the guidance of a messenger. A prophet exceeds a person's power, holds his hand in matters he is not sufficient and enlightens his way. One knows how to worship Allah, the situations related to the Hereafter, how to rise in terms of thought and morality, with the teachings of the prophet. If Allah did not send a prophet, it would not be easy for him to find the ideal right and beautiful, and to distinguish between useful and harmful. Because when people are under the influence of their emotions, they may confuse real truth with practical benefit and may not be able to make the right decision.

People need to be informed so that they can be held responsible and receive rewards and punishments for what they do. Thus, in the Hereafter, they cannot make an excuse against Allah saying they did not know, a prophet was not send for them. Our Lord explains the situation with the following verse, “[We sent] messengers as bringers of good tidings and warners so that mankind will have no argument against Allah after the messengers...”24 Prophets taught their ummah the principles they need to be happy both in this world and in the Hereafter.

A person who believes in Allah, the prophets, and the things conveyed by the prophet is called a believer. A person who does not believe in the basic principles of Islam and who denies one or more or all of the principles Prophet Muhammad (saw) brought from Allah is called a disbeliever. The most distinctive feature which shows that a person is a disbeliever is that he rejects one or all of the basic principles of religion, or dislikes them and regards them as worthless. In the Qur'an, it is said: “Indeed, those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers and wish to discriminate between Allah and His messengers and say, ‘We believe in some and disbelieve in others,’ and wish to adopt a way in between - Those are the disbelievers, truly...”25

In that case, a believer is the one who confirms all brought by the Prophet, and a disbeliever is the one who denies all or some of it. Since a person who denies even one of the principles of faith cannot be called a believer, a person who believes in Allah but does not accept the prophet will be an apostate.26

Is it okay if I believe some
of the prophets but not others?
Is it right to
distinguish between prophets

Having faith in all prophets is one of the pillars of faith. Faith in prophets means believing that they were sent by Allah and that all the information they brought is real and accurate. Our Lord has made it obligatory to believe in all prophets without making any distinction between them. In the Qur'an, it is said, “The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers, [saying], ‘We make no distinction between any of His messengers.’ And they say, ‘We hear and we obey. [We seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination,’”27 Therefore, believing in some prophets and not believing the others makes a person into an apostate.28

Is there any
superiority among the prophets

Prophets are distinguished and superior people sent by Allah for the duty of conveying. All of them have common features in meeting the conditions of prophethood. However, the divine grace and possibilities given to them by Allah, their character traits, patience, perseverance and methods of struggle are different from each other. Therefore, there are differences between them in terms of degrees. This issue is mentioned in the Qur'an, and it is explained that the prophets have different superiorities among themselves.29 Besides, Allah has named some prophets as “Ulu al-‘Azm” in the sense that they are determined and enduring difficulties in front of their difficult tests and challenging struggles.30

This superiority among the prophets is related to whether they bring a new divine book or not, and different degress of their scientific and spiritual positions. There is no difference between them in terms of being prophets and having common qualities. It is our duty as Muslims to believe that all of them are the messengers of Allah and not to discriminate between the prophets.31

Are the prophets
sent to their own
communities or to all humanity

Allah's sending prophets from among themselves to communities speaking different languages in different parts of the world is a result of His mercy. Our Lord has chosen prophets among these communities so that they can speak their language and understand each other. On this topic, our Lord says in the fourth verse of the Surah Ibrahim as follows: “And We did not send any messenger except [speaking] in the language of his people to state clearly for them, and Allah sends astray [thereby] whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.” These verses show that the Almighty Allah sent His prophets to people who spoke their language so that they could understand the divine truths. However, the point to note here is that what changes is only the language, not the divine truths. In other words, our Lord has sent down His universal message in different languages.

Although some prophets such as Salih, Hud, Yunus were sent to a certain community, the messages they brought were universal. The Prophet Muhammad (saw) was sent to all humanity as he was the last prophet.

How did the prophets prove that they are the messengers of Allah

Prophets proved their prophecy with the miracles that Allah gave them. Miracles mean “spectacular events that cannot be brought about by people, created by Allah in the hands of the person appointed as a prophet, and transcend the laws of nature.”32 Miraculous events are the greatest proofs of prophecy, since they cannot be brought about by humans. On the other hand, prophets are people known for their truthfulness and reliability in their own societies. It is also convincing that these miracles happen in the hands of these reliable people who do not lie.

Among the examples of miracles mentioned in the Qur'an are the fire being cool and harmless for Prophet Ibrahim, 33 the support of Prophet Salih, who was sent to the Thamud tribe, with the miracle of the camel that was accepted as a very valuable animal in that society,34 the splitting of the sea with the staff of Prophet Musa,35 giving the wind to Prophet Solomon's command,36 teaching him the language of birds and other creatures,37 subjugating of jinns and devils to him.38 Allah supported His prophets with miracles that would leave people incapacitated in the most developed areas of the society they were sent. For instance, as witchcraft was developed in the Egyptian society where Prophet Musa lived, Allah empowered him with the miracle of the dragon that incapacitated the wizards.39 As medicine was developed in the society Prophet Isa lived in, he was supported with miracles such as resurrecting the dead, healing the blind and leper, making a bird out of clay and breathing it into a real bird, and so on.40 The Holy Qur'an is the greatest and permanent miracle of Prophet Muhammad (saw). On this issue, our Lord says, “But they say, ‘Why are not signs sent down to him from his Lord?’ Say, ‘The signs are only with Allah, and I am only a clear warner.’ And is it not sufficient for them that We revealed to you the Book which is recited to them? Indeed in that is a mercy and reminder for a people who believe.’”41 In a society where the figure of speech was developed, Allah supported our Prophet with the Qur'an, nothing similar to which can be brought.

Do prophets know everything?
Do they have
information about the unseen

Prophets cannot know everything as they are human beings. Allah's communication with them through revelation makes the prophets aware of the subjects that other people do not know. However, even if the prophets receive revelations, in essence, each is a human being. And humans can only encompass the areas allowed by Allah with his knowledge. Therefore, no one, including the prophets, can know about a subject that our Lord did not reveal. But not knowing everything is not a fault or deficiency for the prophets. In this matter, our Lord told our Prophet as follows: “Say, [O Muhammad], ‘I do not tell you that I have the depositories [containing the provision] of Allah or that I know the unseen, nor do I tell you that I am an angel. I only follow what is revealed to me.’”42

The unseen can be defined as the area that cannot be comprehended through five sense organs. The nature of Allah, what the soul is, the events related to the doomsday and the Hereafter are the most basic unseen issues for us, humans. Our only source of information on the unseen topics is faithful (true) news. The prophets conveyed these news to us to the extent our Lord told them.

Are the prophets sinless

Prophets have five basic characteristics as sidq, amanah, fatanah, ismah, and tabligh. Sidq means for prophets to be true, amanah means to be trustworthy, fatanah to be intelligent, smart, and vigilant; ismah not to sin and being protected from sin, and tabligh means to deliver orders and prohibitions of Allah to people without missing anything.

Prophets did not fall into disbelief, associating Allah with others, nor denial in any period of their lives, and did not commit sins deliberately. However, the minor mistakes (zallah) of the prophets - as they are also human beings - were mentioned in the Qur'an to set an example for the servants of our Lord. Among the zallah of the prophets mentioned in the Qur'an are Prophet Adam's approach to the forbidden tree,43 Prophet Musa causing the death of a man without intention,44 and Prophet Yunus leaving the area of the conveyance.45 These do not harm the degree of prophets. Because no prophet insisted on his zallah, minor mistakes.

The incident that caused the revelation of Surah ‘Abasa in the Qur'an is an example of our Prophet's zallah. One day, the Prophet spoke to pagan leaders, thinking that the people following them would adopt Islam easier if they were persuaded. While explaining Islam to one of the pagan leaders, Abdullah b. Ummu Maktum, a blind companion, arrived. Our Prophet (saw) was disturbed by the arrival of Abdullah (ra) because he did not want to interrupt his conversation, which he had brought to a certain point, and his dissatisfaction was reflected in his face. Actually, the blind companion did not know about the situation. But the Almighty Allah revealed the first verses of the Surah ‘Abasa, which warned His prophet reproachfully. With these verses, He stated that the Prophet's efforts to be given to the believers would be more efficient, that he could not know exactly who would benefit from the advice, and that he was not responsible for the leaders of the community.46 It is said that our Prophet, who was affected by this situation, used to greet Abdullah by saying, “Welcome unto him on whose account my Lord has rebuked me,” and compliment him.47 In this incident, there is no deliberate and insistent sin, but a warning for a mistake that is not repeated.

What is the difference between rasul and nabi

The messengers that Allah has chosen from among His servants and assigned to convey his orders and prohibitions to people are called “prophets.” In Arabic, the word “rasul” is used as the equivalent of the word prophet. Rasul is a prophet sent to people with a new book and sharia, that is, with new practical provisions and practices. Nabi, on the other hand, is the prophet who was not sent with a new book and sharia, but was responsible for informing his ummah about the book and sharia of a previous prophet.48

Is Prophet
Muhammad the last prophet

Prophet Muhammad is the last of the guides that Allah sent to show humanity the right path. Our Lord makes it clear to us in the Qur'an by saying: “Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and last of the prophets. And ever is Allah, of all things, Knowing.”49 This verse states that the prophecy was ended with the Prophet Muhammad. In this verse, the word “khatam” preferred by our Lord to express that the Prophet Muhammad is the last of the prophets, also means seal. Seal is used to close and finish a business, letter, decree, and so on after writing and completing it. Sealing something means that the process is completed. Thus, Prophet Muhammad is both the last of the prophets and a divine seal that ends prophecy, and at the same time confirms all other prophets.

What does it mean for
Allah to send our
Prophet as mercy to whole world

Sending prophets is not compulsory for Allah. But He still sent down prophets. Allah's sending a prophet is nothing but the reflection of His mercy. Humans can produce information, but this is a limited feature for them. Besides, their life time is very short. It is very difficult for this finite being to fully comprehend the broad perspective of existence and to comment on its practical and theoretical problems. In this sense, sending prophets who guide human beings is literally the mercy and grace of Allah.50

Our Lord, who sent prophets out of His mercy, has sent the last Prophet Muhammad (saw) “as a mercy to whole world.”51 Because our Prophet was sent not only to a certain society but to all humanity. Through our Prophet, all humanity attained divine revelation that will ensure happiness in the world and the Hereafter.52

Does sending so much
salawat to Prophet
Muhammad harm
the belief of oneness

Salawat is the name of the du‘a made for Allah's mercy and greetings to be upon the Prophet Muhammad. It is unthinkable that salawat, which expresses love, devotion, and support to the Prophet, is against the belief of oneness. It is also said in the Qur'an as follows, “Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace.”53 “The person closest to me on the Day of Judgment is the one who sent the most Salat upon me,”54 said our Prophet, and encouraged believers to send him greetings. Islamic scholars also note that sending salawat to the Prophet Muhammad is sunnah. Throughout history, while talking about our Prophet, it has always been emphasized to be respectful and to send him salawat, and believers who hope for his intercession have always read salawat a lot.55

What is the significance
of Ibrahim for Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam

The Qur'an says that Prophet Ibrahim, who has an important place in both Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, is one of the “hanifs.”56 Prophet Ibrahim is given this name because he stood by the right and true under all circumstances and chose the right way without bowing to injustice. He is especially known for his adoption of the belief of oneness and opposition to idolatry in the society he lived in. The Almighty Allah wanted the Prophet Muhammad to follow the religion of Prophet Ibrahim, who is the hanif, and carry on his path.57 The word “hanif” is also used for sincere and pure Muslims. In one hadith, our Prophet said, “I was not sent with Judaism and Christianity, but with the tolerant hanif religion.”58

The name of Prophet Ibrahim's son from his wife Sarah is Ishaq, and the name of his son from his other wife Hajar is Ismail. Judaism and Christianity continued from the branch that descended from his son Ishaq and called themselves the Israelites. The line of Prophet Muhammad reaches Prophet Ibrahim through Prophet Ismail. Jews do not acknowledge Hajar as she was a slave. They claim that Sarah is Prophet Ibrahim's wife, and therefore, the promised lands were inherited to them through his son Ishaq, as the heir of Prophet Ibrahim.

The most important thing to emphasize in this regard is that Ibrahim was a prophet who was accepted as an authority by the members of the three Ibrahimic religions. Thus, Judaism and Christianity were based on the principle of oneness before their distortion, and in the early revelation periods, these two religions advocated the principle of oneness like Islam. Later, people could not preserve the essence of their religion, and our Lord sent the Prophet Muhammad as the last prophet because they distanced themselves from oneness by associating others with Allah.

If the first human was a prophet,
do we all come from
the lineage of a prophet

All humanity comes from the first human and the first Prophet Adam's lineage. However, coming from the lineage of the prophet does not provide an advantage in gaining heaven or staying away from hell. One of Prophet Adam's two sons killing his brother, and Prophet Noah's son drowning in denial in the flood are the clearest examples of this. In short, we are all descended from the prophets, but Allah evaluates us with our faith and our behavior in accordance with this faith.

Were prophets other than
Prophet Muhammad also Muslims

The essence of the religions Allah sent at different times is the same. All prophets firstly invited people to have faith in Allah - who is one - that is belief in oneness. The name of all true religions sent starting from Prophet Adam is Islam and those who believe in this religion are called Muslims. In this regard, our Lord said in the Qur'an as follows: Say, [O believers], ‘We have believed in Allah and what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Ibrahim and Ismail and Ishaq and Yaqub and the Descendants and what was given to Musa and Isa and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.’”59

In this respect, our Lord Himself used the term of Muslim for Prophet Ibrahim in the following verse: “Ibrahim was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was one inclining toward truth, a Muslim [submitting to Allah]. And he was not of the polytheists.”60 “Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam.”61 Nothing more natural can be thought of than all the prophets sent by Allah, who chose Islam as a religion for people, were primarily Muslims.62

If all the prophets adopted the religion of Islam, why did
they bring different
religions with different names

Throughout world history, Allah sent prophets and books from amongst various nations and asked people to worship Him. Humans are the same in every period in terms of their essence and creation. The purpose of religion is to teach people how to serve Allah and thus, bring them to peace.

One of the meanings of the word Islam is that it is the general name of the religion Allah sent to His prophets. Other prophets did not bring different religions with different names. As we have learned from the Qur'an, the religion brought by every prophet is Islam. All prophets from Prophet Adam to Prophet Muhammad were sent to convey the true religion, Islam: “Certainly, Allah’s only Way is Islam. Those who were given the book did not dispute [among themselves] out of mutual envy until knowledge came to them. Whoever denies Allah’s signs, then surely Allah is swift in reckoning.”63

Islam is also the special name of the religion brought by our Prophet. All religions sent by Allah are common in that they are based on belief and worship. Although the principles of faith, which are the basis of religion, remain the same in all of them, there are some differences in terms of worldly deeds and practices in worship. Our Lord says that He has set a clear sharia and a way for every nation.64 Therefore, in each period, there have been changes in the provisions sent according to the needs of that community. For instance, while prayer is limited to five times in our religion, the number of times is much more in the sharia of Prophet Musa. Besides, while some food were forbidden for Prophet Musa' tribe, they have been made free for the ummah of Prophet Muhammad.

Are miracles peculiar to prophets?
Can normal people have miracles

The extraordinary events created by Allah in order to verify and support the servant He has chosen as a prophet and that people are incapable of bringing anything similar are called “miracles.” Miracles take place through the prophets but Allah creates them. Even though some extraordinary situations look like miracles, there is a big difference between them. First of all, such extraordinary situationsare seen in the people who are not prophets. While it is not possible to imitate miracles, the other extraordinary situations can be imitated. The extraordinary situations shown by the wali servants who are devoted to the Prophet and followed him meticulously are called “wonders.” “Mau'nah” is our Lord's extraordinaryblessings on His Muslim servants, saving them from the troubles they fall into.65

The difference of miracle and wonder in the understanding of Islam is not found in other religions. Thus, they describe both the phenomenal events put forward by a divine force and the extraordinary events displayed by a religious or charismatic person as miracles.66

1 Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, “Nübüvvet,” DİA, v. 33, p. 279-285.

2 Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, “Peygamber,” DİA, v. 34, p. 257.

3 Ma'idah, 5/67.

4 Nahl, 16/44.

5 Bukhari, Adhan, 18.

6 Muslim, Hajj, 310.

7 Jumu'ah, 62/4.

8 Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, “Peygamber,” v. 34, p. 257-262.

9 Michael H. Hart, Dünyaya Yön Veren En Etkin 100, Ka Kitap, 2016.

10 Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, “Nübüvvet,” DİA, v. 33, p. 282-283.

11 Şerafeddin Gölcük, İslam Akaidi, Esra Yay., İstanbul, 1994, p. 115.

12 Saba, 34/10-12.

13 Anbiya, 21/80.

14 Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, “Nübüvvet,” DİA, v. 33, p. 279-285.

15 Bekir Topaloğlu, Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, İlyas Çelebi, İslam’da İnanç Esasları, p. 160-162.

16 Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, “Vahiy,” DİA, v. 42, p. 440.

17 Fussilat, 41/12.

18 Zalzalah, 99/1-5.

19 Nahl, 16/68.

20 Qasas, 28/7; Taha, 20/38.

21 Maryam, 19/19, 24-26.

22 Ma'idah, 5/111. Islamic scholars say that Allah's revelation to the apostles of Prophet Isa is through Isa' saying or Allah's inspiration into their hearts.

23 Baqarah, 2/285.

24 Nisa, 4/165.

25 Nisa, 4/150-151.

26 Mustafa Sinanoğlu, “İman,” DİA, v. 22, p. 212-214.

27 Baqarah, 2/285.

28 A. Hamdi Akseki, İslam Dini, p. 50-53.

29 Baqarah, 2/253.

30 Ahqaf, 46/35.

31 Baqarah, 2/136.

32 Bekir Topaloğlu, Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, İlyas Çelebi, İslâm’da İman Esasları, p. 389. Also see: Halil İbrahim Bulut, “Mucize,” DİA, v. 30,
p. 350-352.

33 Anbya, 21/69.

34 A‘raf, 7/73; Hud, 11/64.

35 Taha, 20/77; also see: Shu‘ara, 26/63.

36 Anbiya, 21/81; Sad, 38/36.

37 Naml, 27/16.

38 Saba, 34/12-13; Anbiya, 21/82.

39 Taha, 20/69-70.

40 Al ‘Imran, 3/49.

41 Ankabut, 29/50-51.

42 An‘am, 6/50.

43 Baqarah, 2/35-36, A‘raf, 7/19-20.

44 Qasas, 28/15.

45 Anbiya, 21/87-88; Saffat, 37/139-148; Qalam, 68/48-49.

46 ‘Abasa, 80/1-12.

47 Ahmed b. Muhammed b. İbrahim es-Saʻlebî, el-Keşf ve’l-Beyân an Tefsîri’l-Kur’ân, Dâru İhyâi’t-Türâsi’l-Arâbî, Beyrut, 2002, X, 131.

48 Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, “Peygamber,” DİA, v. 34, p. 257-262.

49 Ahzab, 33/40.

50 Bekir Topaloğlu, Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, İlyas Çelebi, İslam’da İnanç Esasları, p. 151.

51 Anbiya, 21/107.

52 Kuran Yolu, v. 3, p. 705.

53 Ahzab, 33/56.

54 Tirmidhi, Witr, 21.

55 Mehmet Suat Mertoğlu, “Salâtüselâm,” DİA, v. 36, p. 23-24.

56 “Ibrahim was neither a Jew nor a Christian; he was a hanif [who accepts oneness of Allah, goes in the right path] Muslim, and was not a polytheist.” Al ‘Imran, 3/67.

57 Nahl, 16/120; Baqarah, 2/135.

58 Ibn Hanbal, V, 266.

59 Baqarah, 2/136.

60 Al ‘Imran, 3/67.

61 Al ‘Imran, 3/19.

62 Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, “Peygamber,” DİA, v. 34, p. 257-262.

63 Al ‘Imran, 3/19.

64 Ma'idah, 5/48.

65 İlmihal, v. 1, p. 113-115.

66 Salime Leyla Gürkan, “Mûcize,” DİA, v. 30, p. 352.

FAITH IN THE
HEREAFTER

What is the Hereafter

According to the Islamic belief, the stages of human life and the situations that await him in the future are described in four stages. The first of these is the “stage of soul” including the moment the soul is created until it is blown into the body. The second one is the “worldly life” that begins with birth and ends with death, and the third is “life in the grave” that begins with death and continues until resurrection. In the last stage, there is “life in the Hereafter” that begins with resurrection and will continue forever.1

Akhirah (Hereafter) is an Arabic word. It is the feminine of the word akhir that means ultimate, after. This word, which reminds us that every existing thing has an end as well as the world life, expresses the life that begins after the world life and will continue forever. In the Qur'an, the belief in the Hereafter conveyed by the prophets is clearly included in the principles of faith, and those who deny the Hereafter are warned: “...Whoever disbelieves in Allah, His angels, His Books, His messengers, and the Last Day has clearly gone far astray.”2

The Qur'an gives information about the necessity of believing in the existence of the hereafter, as well as about the doomsday, exile, judgment, trial, heaven and hell which we cannot know with our knowledge and that we will encounter in the Hereafter. According to what we learn from the Qur'an, the world we live in and everything in it is created temporarily.3 When the time comes, the order of the universe will be destroyed and all living and non-living beings will disappear. The Qur'an explains this event as doomsday. The end of the world will come when the angel named Israfil blows into the last trump4 and the doomsday will occur with all its horror. “When the sun is wrapped up [in darkness], and when the stars fall, dispersing, and when the mountains are removed...”5 This clearly explains how will the apocalypse occur, and how the order of the universe will be destroyed. When the trumpet is blown for the second time, all living beings will be resurrected.6 The Qur'an tells us clearly that after the resurrection, gathering will occur in a very large area called Mahshar,7 deeds will be scaled till its tiniest detail after the deed books are given,8 and according to the results people of heaven and hell will be determined.9 The main and permanent life that will continue forever from the day this new life begins is our life in the Hereafter.

The belief in the Hereafter, which is clearly included in the Qur'an and authentic hadiths, and is described in detail, is also included in almost all religions and thought systems that have accepted the existence of Allah since the beginning of human history.10

How can we understand
the existence of the Hereafter

Faith in the Hereafter is one of the basic principles of belief in Islam. In many verses of the Qur'an, faith in Allah is mentioned together with faith in the Hereafter and it is explained that those who deny the hereafter also fall into denial of Allah.11 The Hereafter is an issue of faith that Allah and all prophets unquestionably explained to us. All of the heavenly religions have this belief. However, the life in the Hereafter is not a life that we can see with our eyes and comprehend with our senses. The existence of the Hereafter cannot be proved by the methods of positive sciences. We can learn how the doomsday will take place and news about the life in the Hereafter only from verses and authentic hadiths.

There is almost no surah in the Qur'an that does not mention the Hereafter. Possibility of resurrection after death is explained by the natural events that occur during the transition from winter to spring.12 In some verses, it commits to our memory by giving examples that the creation of humans is not more difficult than the creation of this ordered and systematic universe and that recreation is much simpler and easier than the first creation.13 It is also stated in the verses that those who do not believe in the Hereafter act on doubt and are arrogant, merciless, and deniers.14

Apart from the verses of the Qur'an, we also have many rational proofs that will lead us to the existence of the Hereafter. Our Lord has created us in the best way and has put the universe to our service. The ending of this life with death is like a tailor sews a beautiful dress and throws it away. Our life becomes meaningful only with the existence of the Hereafter. Having a period of time in which all kinds of events, cruelty, injustice, and pain that we cannot explain while living will be punished satisfies the sense of justice in us. In this world, not everyone fully pays for the crimes they commit. Without a life in which absolute justice will be realized, the wicked will be punished and the good will be rewarded, it would be impossible to make sense of the injustice, cruelty, and pain experienced.

The desire to live long is one of the proofs that make us feel the existence of the Hereafter. We all have a feeling for eternity. The place where this feeling will be satisfied is the Hereafter. An extinction where everything ends with death drives us to despair and stress. The existence of the Hereafter makes our lives more meaningful psychologically and socially.

How does believing
in the Hereafter
contribute to my daily life15

Believing in the Hereafter means believing in the existence of an eternal life after the doomsday that will be completed with the death of all people. By nature, human wants eternity, does not like poverty, and desires to live eternally. The history of thought shows that some spiritual feelings in humans cannot be satisfied with the temporary pleasures of this world. In this respect, belief in the Hereafter enables humans to act in accordance with their creation. Our Lord created people in a way that they feel the need for various things and brought along blessings that fulfill these needs. For example, He created a variety of foods and drinks to meet the needs of His servants, which He created in need of eating and drinking. While putting the ability to love in their hearts, He also created mother-father, child, and spouses to whom they can direct their love. He did not leave His servant helpless by creating a certain feeling and need and not responding to that need. Allah, who gave human longing for eternity and infinity, created the life of the Hereafter to meet this longing and need. The science, art, and cultural heritage of human history is the result of this pursuit of immortality in humans.

Belief in the Hereafter gives humans hope for life and facilitates life. It is not easy for a person to resist the many troubles and pain they face. Believing in the Hereafter helps people in consolation and protection from pain. It renews the hope and joy of life. Believing that he will be blessed with much more endurance and patience he shows in the face of the events he experiences in the world makes human more resistant to the difficulties in this life. A person who does not believe in the Hereafter may quickly lose his resistance against difficulties and fall into despair.

A person, who believes in the Hereafter, does beneficial things for himself and humanity rather than spending his life in this world with idle and meaningless things, with the awareness that he will be rewarded for his good deeds. In other words, belief in the Hereafter prevents evil in humans and satisfies their innate senses of conscience and justice. One who believes that complete and real justice will be realized not in this world but in the Hereafter does not despair against injustice. He takes refuge in his Lord by doing his best while in the world.

Belief in the Hereafter improves a person's sense of responsibility and makes his life meaningful. If we were not responsible for our choices in this world, and there was not a life in the Hereafter where this responsibility would be taken into account, everything the powerful did unjustly from the establishment of the world to doomsday would have been left unpunished. Belief in the Hereafter and the idea that they will be held responsible for their actions prevent people from behaving unfairly to themselves and others and sets a direction and goal for their behaviors.

Finally, belief in the Hereafter reduces human anxiety about the unknown in death and beyond. Anyone who does not believe that there is a life after death suffers thinking that each passing day will lead him to a dark end and extinction. He may start doing all kinds of negative behaviors that distract him from thinking about the end by feeling empty. People who believe in the Hereafter, on the contrary, think that death is the beginning of eternal life, not extinction, and tries to make preparations and to be beneficial to themselves and humanity with good deeds and behaviors.

Now, let us imagine that all the people in the world believe in the Hereafter and act by thinking of the existence of a court where they will account for everything they do, big and small, and they will never escape from it. How would the world be like?

Is there an end to the world

According to the belief of Islam, the world has an end just as it has a beginning. In many verses of the Qur'an, it is emphasized that the world life is temporary. Our Lord says, “...This worldly life is only [temporary] enjoyment, and indeed, the Hereafter - that is the home of [permanent] settlement.”16 Judaism and Christianity also have the belief that the world has an end.

It is our Lord who created the universe and established the laws that regulate nature. When the time comes, that is, when He orders the angel named Israfil to blow into the trumpet, it is in Allah's will to overturn these laws and make doomsday take place. The Almighty Allah determines the life of the world as well as the life of the human. Muslims believe that the world has an end and the doomsday will come.17

How can we understand
that the doomsday is approaching

No one but our Lord can know about the time that the doomsday will occur. However, our Lord, who conceals this information from us, informs all people about the signs of doomsday both in the Qur'an and hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad (saw).

Some signs of the doomsday have spread over a long period of time in terms of their emergence, and they occur depending on human will, such as the neglect of religious orders and the deterioration of moral values. Among the signs of doomsday are events, such as our Prophet's arrival and the end of prophethood with him, the increase of ignorance replacing knowledge, showing off drinking wine and adultery, unqualified people having a say, the increase in the killing of people, the abundance of worldly goods, and the absence of poor people to give zakat.18

Apart from these signs, our Prophet Muhammad (saw) said “It will not come until you see ten signs before.”19 and mentioned some events that may occur one after another, right before the doomsday. These events include the smoke that is above the rules of nature and occurs without human will/intervention, the Dajjal, the beast of the earth, the rising of the sun from the west, emergence of Gog and Magog, the descent of Isa, land-sliding and the fire.20

When will the doomsday come

Throughout history, people have wondered about this, and in every period, there have been various predictions and prophecies on this subject. However, only our Lord knows when the doomsday will truly take place. In the Qur'an, it is said, “They ask you, [O Muhammad], about the Hour: when is its arrival? Say, ‘Its knowledge is only with my Lord. None will reveal its time except Him. It lays heavily upon the heavens and the earth. It will not come upon you except unexpectedly.’ They ask you as if you are familiar with it. Say, ‘Its knowledge is only with Allah, but most of the people do not know.’”21

People do not welcome death, but everyone's apocalypse begins with his own death. When someone asked our Prophet, “When will The Hour be established?” he replied, “What have you prepared for it?”22 The Muslim should be concerned about the preparation he will make for the doomsday, not about the time it will come. If we sincerely love our Lord and Prophet and try to live in the direction that Allah and His Messenger want, we will be prepared for the Day of Judgment in the best way possible.23

What awaits us
after the doomsday

According to what the Qur'an tells us, the doomsday will take place when the angel named Israfil blows into a trumpet called the Sur.24 After some time that we do not exactly know, the Sur will be blown for a second time, and resurrection (ba'th) will occur.25 In this resurrection, the body and soul will be together. People who are resurrected will gather together in a place called mahshar (arasat),26 and everyone will be given a record of deeds that is a kind of breakdown of their life in the world.27 These notebooks recorded by the angels named Kiraman Katibin will be presented to the people of heaven on the right side and the people of hell on the left or back side.28 At this point, Allah will begin to take people into account one by one.29 During the account, people will be asked about their life and what he did with it, about their youth and what they wore it out in, about their wealth and how they earned it and spent it upon, and what they did with what they knew.30 After the account, the works and actions done in the world will be weighed on the mizan31 which is accepted as the measure of divine justice, the rights of anyone will not be left to anyone, those who weigh heavily will reach salvation, while those who weigh light will go to hell. After the mizan, we will cross Sirat that is stated to be placed over hell; while the people of paradise will cross this path quickly and easily, the people of hell will fail to pass.32 After this point, eternal life will begin.

How will the resurrection be

The resurrection, in other words, ba'th means that Allah revives His servants by raising them up from their graves on the Day of Judgment so that eternal life can begin. The resurrection is one of the principles of belief in Islam, and those who deny it become apostates.33 On the resurrection, our Lord says, “How can you disbelieve in Allah when you were lifeless and He brought you to life; then He will cause you to die, then He will bring you [back] to life, and then to Him you will be returned.”34 It is strange that a person who is not surprised that he was created in his mother's womb is astonished at how he can be created again. In the Surah Maryam, this contradiction of humans is expressed by our Lord as follows: “And the disbeliever says, ‘When I have died, am I going to be brought forth alive?’ Does man not remember that We created him before, while he was nothing?”35

According to what our Lord said, it is easier for Him, who creates things out of nothing, to create it for a second time. “And it is He who begins creation; then He repeats it, and that is [even] easier for Him.”36 Of course, He who creates something difficult, can create something easier. In the 33rd verse of Surah Ahqaf it is said that Allah, who created the heavens and the earth and did not tire in creating them, is able to give life to the dead. Allah, who revives the dead nature over and over again, can also revive human.37 One who turns things to opposite, can also recreate their like. For instance, while Allah can bring fire from green trees,38 when it is almost impossible, can recreate humans, as well.

It has been revealed to us by our Lord that after all living beings fall dead with the first blow to Sur, the dead creatures will rise up again39 in the second blow and they will come forward swiftly40 to go to their Lord.41 The resurrection will take place in order to learn the truth and see the response of the actions in the world.42 According to the belief of Ahl al-Sunnah, resurrection will be with both body and spirit. When we look at the blessings and punishments to be given to the people of heaven and hell in the Qur'an and hadiths, it is clearly seen that the life of the hereafter will be corporeal, that is, it will be established and continue with the union of soul and body.43 Accordingly, after a person dies and decays, Allah will bring together the original parts of his body or create a similar one and put his soul back into this body. According to what our Prophet said, after the death of humans, everything except the tailbone (Ajb al-Zanab) will rot and disappear. On the Day of Judgment, human beings will be resurrected from this bone that does not rot, and during the resurrection, people will come to life quickly like a plant coming out of the soil from its grave or from the place where the bone is located.44 Allah will bring together all the people to whom He has resurrected from their graves and restored their souls by giving their bodies at the place of Judgment, and those who are taken into account and whose deeds are weighed will be sent to heaven or hell in return for their deeds.45

Are heaven and hell eternal

Islamic scholars agree that the life in heaven will be eternal.46 The Holy Qur'an emphasized eternity in many verses while expressing how the life in heaven will be. In one of these verses, the situation is stated as follows: “...Therein is whatever the souls desire and [what] delights the eyes, and you will abide therein eternally.”47

In this respect, it is stated in various verses that the people of heaven will not be removed from there, they will not taste death, the blessings of heaven will not have an end and will be permanent.48 When it comes to the question whether hell is eternal, although hell itself is eternal,49 some people's life in there will not be eternal. Blasphemy and shirk are reasons for staying in hell forever. Those who are unbelievers and polytheists will remain in hell forever for not believing. Being a sinner while having faith is not a reason to stay in hell forever. Therefore, if those who have sinned but who have faith are punished with Hell for a while in return for their sin, if they migrated to the Hereafter in a faithful manner, one day will surely come out of Hell.50

What kind of life
must we live to go to heaven

Heaven is the name of the eternal and perfect life that Allah promises after death to His servants who believe in Him and make every effort to live as he believes even though He is not seen in this world. Although the human mind cannot fully comprehend how perfect heaven is, it can imagine it in some ways according to its own perception. While the greatest reward in heaven is to meet Allah, it has always been tempting to think that people who cannot do whatever they want because they are responsible in this world can do whatever they want there.

What Allah wants from His servant to win heaven is actually very clear. He wants human to know their Lord by thinking about their place and responsibility in this world and to recognize His eternal power and might. Just as it is necessary to make all the effort in a limited time while preparing for the exams, in this limited life, the servant must first learn from the right sources of the Qur'an and the Sunnah of our Prophet, and then make an effort to implement the orders and prohibitions sent by Allah. If he makes a mistake in this process, it is enough to try again by asking for forgiveness for his mistake.

We can list the things that human should do to earn heaven as follows: To turn to Allah with a firm belief knowing that he is a servant, to strive to fulfill his worship, to be honest and ethical with himself, his family and other people with the awareness that he is always watched over by Allah and will be taken into account for his actions. to act with the belief that this world has been entrusted to us, to engage in useful and good deeds, to make amends by asking Allah for forgiveness for mistakes and sins committed. Lastly, while doing all these, to pray Allah to help us with an awareness that the devil, our soul, the negative conditions around us, and people will try to harm us and discourage us from correct behavior.

Will we see our
beloved ones in heaven

A person who goes to heaven will see other people from his family or beloved ones who go to heaven and live a beautiful life with them. This issue is mentioned in the Qur'an as follows: “Gardens of perpetual residence; they will enter them with whoever were righteous among their fathers, their spouses and their descendants...”51 It means a person who deserves to go to heaven will be together with other family members who also go to heaven.

But what will happen if the other members of his family or friends do not go to heaven? Will he see them as well? We can find the answer of this question in the Qur'an as well. While the believers who enter heaven sit together and chat, one of them who thinks of a friend who did not believe in the hereafter while on earth, and asks his friends in heaven by saying: “I once had a companion, who used to ask: Do you actually believe? When we are dead and reduced to dust and bones, will we really be brought to judgment?” The person who asks this question is informed that his friend is in hell due to his denial, and his state in hell is shown to him. Then he tells his friend in hell, “By Allah! You nearly ruined me. Had it not been for the grace of my Lord, I [too] would have certainly been among those brought [to hell].”52 As we can understand from this verse, someone who goes to heaven will be able to meet with acquaintances who are not in heaven.

From these verses in the Qur'an, we understand that the person who enters heaven will live a good life together with the other members of his family who are worthy of entering heaven. He will even have information about the situation of their acquaintances who go to hell.

How people of heaven
and hell described in the Qur'an

In the Holy Qur'an, Allah gives good news about the believers' salvation and mentions their characteristics as follows: Believers, those who pray with submission (deep respect), who stay away from meaningless and useless things, who give zakat, who guard their chastity, who are loyal to their trusts and promises, and who are consistent in their prayers. The place of the believers, who have these qualities, in the hereafter is expressed as Firdaws heavens and the believers will stay there forever.53 It is remarkable that Allah mentions the believers who will go to heaven not only as those who have faith in Allah and His revelation, but as believers who live in a consistent manner with their beliefs.

The life in heaven is depicted in different parts of the Holy Qur'an. Those who deserve to go to heaven are the ones who are the closest to Allah in heavens filled with blessings. They sit opposite each other on thrones adorned with jewels. Young people who serve them roam around the heavenly ones. They neither get headaches nor get drunk from the drink offered to them from the spring of heaven. The heavenly are served fruits and meat of birds to their liking. There is neither an idle talk nor anything to sin in heaven. Allah gives pure spouses to the people of heaven.54 The people of heaven are given material rewards as well as spiritual rewards, the greatest of which is seeing Allah.

In the Qur'an, it is stated that homeland of deniers and hypocrites in the hereafter will be hell in response to what they do in the world. The life in hell is described in the Holy Qur'an as follows: The people of hell will be in scorching fire and boiling water, in the shade of a black smoke that is neither cool nor refreshing. In hell, they will eat from oleander tree and drink boiling water like thirsty camels do.55 Allah will not show mercy to deniers56 and keep them away from Himself.57

While the life of hell is eternal for the unbelievers and hypocrites, it is temporary for the sinful believers. Heaven, on the other hand, is prepared for the believers and the life in there is eternal. Since we are unable to perceive it with our senses, life in heaven and hell is depicted by what people love the most and feel the most suffering. However, it should not be forgotten that the life in the hereafter is different from the world life.

What will happen to
non-Muslims, who live
virtuous lives, in the Hereafter

The world is a place of test for people. The subject of our test is first to have faith and then to fulfill the requirements of our faith. Our faith requires living a good and virtuous life in the world with which our Lord is content. A person who does not have faith but lives a good and virtuous life do not fulfill his first duty of faith. In such case, his actions stem from his wishes to either live a good world life or to be a good person. However, Allah wants us to seek His approval. A person who does not believe will not receive a heavenly response in the Hereafter because he lacks this consciousness and does not have faith. This situation is mentioned in the verse as follows: “Say, [O Muhammad], ‘Shall we [believers] inform you of the greatest losers as to [their] deeds?’ [They are] those whose effort is lost in worldly life, while they think that they are doing well in work. Those are the ones who disbelieve in the verses of their Lord and in [their] meeting Him, so their deeds have become worthless; and We will not assign to them on the Day of Resurrection any importance.”58

However, Allah is fair. It is hoped that those who live a virtuous life but who are not believers will have a mild torment, although they will not be able to enter heaven in the Hereafter.59

Does a person who accepts the existence of Allah but not the Hereafter become an apostate

Faith in the Hereafter is one of the principles of faith. Since life in the Hereafter is a subject beyond the senses and belongs to the unseen, our knowledge on this subject is based on the Qur'an and authentic hadiths. In fact, the sense of justice in human makes it necessary to believe in the Hereafter. In this world, not everyone fully pays for the crimes they commit and some injustices occur. In the Hereafter, nothing will remain hidden, and justice will be realized. The sense of responsibility in human makes it easier to believe in the Hereafter. Our Lord has created human as a being who distinguishes and chooses between good and bad, right and wrong, beneficence and evil, and holds him responsible for his choices. Being responsible for certain behaviors necessitates a life and homeland where this responsibility will be rewarded. For, human is not created free and without a purpose.

Our Lord said in the Qur'an, “O you who have believed, believe in Allah and His Messenger and the Book that He sent down upon His Messenger and the Scripture which He sent down before. And whoever disbelieves in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day has certainly gone far astray.”60 A person who does not accept the existence of the Hereafter becomes an apostate for denying the verses of the Qur'an.61

Is torment of grave real?
How is life in the grave

Life in the grave begins with the death of the person and ends with resurrection (ba'th) in the mahshar after the doomsday. The word barzakh is also used for life in the grave. Even if a person is not/could not be placed in a grave due to the way and place of death (for example, a person burnt to death), everyone experiences the grave/barzakh period. Barzakh is a period that is experienced spiritually not phsycially.62 According to a statement by the Prophet Muhammad (saw), barzakh is “the first stop of the Hereafter.”63

According to the hadiths of our Prophet (saw), after the person is placed in the grave, interrogation angels named Munkar and Nakir come and ask the person some questions about faith and deeds. According to the answers to these questions, disbelievers and hypocrites will begin to suffer torment in the grave, and believers will begin to taste the blessings of heaven.

When we look at the signs of the relevant verses and the expressions of the hadiths, we cannot say that there is no torment in the grave. The verses stating that the Pharaoh and his followers were set on fire in the morning and evening,64 that they will be subjected to the most severe torment on the Day of Judgment, and that the people of Noah were thrown into the fire after drowning in the water65 indicate the punishment in the grave. Apart from these, the verses stating that the treatment of the good and the wicked will not be the same in this world and in the Hereafter,66 that the hypocrites will be subjected to a tremendous punishment after being punished twice,67 and disbelievers and hypocrites will experience a near punishment before the great punishment in hell68 are also accepted as evidence of punishment in the grave.

According to the hadiths, the Prophet (saw) heard the voices of some people who were tormented in the grave,69 took refuge in Allah from the torment in the grave and told them to take refuge in Allah,70 prayed to Allah to protect the dead, for whom he performed funeral prayer, from the torment in the grave,71 and informed that animals hear the voice of those who are tormented in the grave.72

It is also stated in the hadiths that acts such as calumny and tale-bearing,73 dying in debt,74 lying, adultery, usury and drinking alcohol75 cause punishment in the grave.

It is believed that the punishment in the grave will continue until the Day of Judgment for unbelievers and believers with many sins, and it will be temporary for believers with less sin.

Based on the verses and hadiths mentioned above, it cannot be said that there will be no (positive or negative) treatment in the grave that corresponds to what we did in the world. However, we do not have precise information about how this treatment will take place and which situations will occur.

Do the deceased
feel their visitors

People's life in the world ends with death and human body stops working. After a certain time, the human body that is buried in the ground turns into soil. The process that a person will experience in the grave after death is called barzakh. Barzakh is a period that is experienced spiritually, not psychically. For this reason, external stimuli cannot be heard in the grave, unlike the life in the world, or these stimuli cannot be responded/reacted to. However, the Prophet's visit to a graveyard when he greeted them and prayed for them,76 placed a green date-palm branch on the grave and said that the torment of the person lying in the grave would be reduced77 can be regarded as a sign of communication and interaction between the deceased and the visitors.

As a result, we should evaluate the Prophet's recommendation to visit the graves as a reminder and advice to remember death and the Hereafter,78 and reflect this advice into our lives.

Do deceased people
have effect on living things

Since life after death is an area that we cannot perceive with our sense organs, the sources we will refer to on this issue are the Qur'an and the Sunnah. The Almighty Allah clearly states in the following verses that dead people cannot hear the living: “And not equal are the living and the dead. Indeed, Allah causes to hear whom He wills, but you cannot make hear those in the graves.”79 “Indeed, you will not make the dead hear, nor will you make the deaf hear the call when they have turned their backs retreating.”80 Although the meaning of the dead in these verses is disbelievers, they are likened to the dead as they do not hear the divine call, either. Therefore, it is not possible for the dead to hear the living, and the disbelievers are like the dead in hearing the divine call.

The Almighty Allah says in the Holy Qur'an, “And do not say about those who are killed in the way of Allah, ‘They are dead.’ Rather, they are alive, but you perceive [it] not.”81 “And never think of those who have been killed in the cause of Allah as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision, - rejoicing in what Allah has bestowed upon them of His bounty, and they receive good tidings about those [to be martyred] after them who have not yet joined them - that there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve.”82 However, the fact that martyrs continue their lives in a way we cannot understand does not show that they can affect the lives of people in the world.

The information given to us about life after death in the Qur'an and Sunnah is limited. While the bodies of dead people rot, their souls live a life we do not know in the realm of barzakh. However, the realm of barzakh and the realm we live in are very different from each other. So what effect can dead people have on the living?

Asking things like home, car, fortune, success or help to get rid of their problems, etc. during shrine visits or from the righteous people in the grave is shirk. Because praying is worship and worship can only be done for Allah. Also, it is only in the hands of Allah to give human what they need. The dead cannot relieve people's problems and meet their needs.

Is there reincarnation in Islam

Tanasuh (transmigration of the soul) and reincarnation (rebirth) are different things. However, they are similar in that both thoughts have the belief that the soul of the deceased will be born in another body. According to the belief of tanasuh, the soul can come back to the world in the body of animal or plant. In the thought of reincarnation, there is no regression in the soul. The soul of the dead person comes back to the world again and again in different human bodies. However, according to both beliefs, the soul is sent to the world again to reach maturity (to achieve spiritual evolution). Once he reaches maturity, he does not come back to the world again. Of course, the soul suffers some pains and pays the price of the mistakes it did in the previous body every time it comes to life.83

The origin of these beliefs goes back to ancient Egyptian civilization. The same beliefs exist in eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. Even today, people believing in various religions believe in the idea of reincarnation.84

In the Qur'an, it is stated that the life of human in this world is a test,85 that everyone will die at the end of this worldly life,86 and even if he wants to return to the world and become a good person after death, it will not be allowed. In the verse, this issue is explained as follows: “... when death comes to one of them, he says, ‘My Lord, send me back, that I might do righteousness in that which I left behind.’ No! It is only a word he is saying; and behind them is a barrier until the Day they are resurrected.”87

In this respect, in a similar verse, the denier who expressed regret and wanted to return to the worldly life was responded as follows: “... did We not grant you life enough for whoever would remember therein to remember, and the warner had come to you?”88

After the life in the world ends completely with the doomsday, all the dead will be resurrected for the Hereafter. “And [that they may know] that the Hour is coming - no doubt about it - and that Allah will resurrect those in the graves.”89 Afterwards, the books of deeds will be revealed, the good will live in heaven and the bad ones in hell eternally after the deeds are weighed. The understanding of life in the Hereafter brought by Islam can be summarized like this. And this description is repeated over and over again in many verses of the Qur'an.90

The fact that the Qur'an clearly states that Allah will not allow those who want to be born again (after death or doomsday) and become a good person,91 that Islam states that the life in the Hereafter will begin after doomsday and that the life of heaven and hell will begin only then are opposite to the understanding of reincarnation. If reincarnation is possible, which body's deeds will a person be held responsible for in the Hereafter?92 The idea of reincarnation thinks of heaven and hell in this world. However, the Qur'an clearly says that the life of heaven or hell will be in the Hereafter.93

If we put it briefly, it will be understood that the belief of reincarnation contradicts with the basic principles of belief such as heaven-hell and trial, especially the Hereafter, and for this reason, there is no understanding of reincarnation in Islam.

Is there something like spiritism

Spiritism is the belief that the souls of the dead stay alive and they can be talked to and communicated with.94 According to this belief, some information is obtained by communicating with the souls of the deceased. The desire to hear from the future or the unseen, and related trends are present in almost every culture. However, there is no information in the Qur'an and hadiths that people have ever communicated with the souls. Therefore, evocation sessions, which are brought up in various ways, have no religious basis.

On the other hand, when we look at the evocation sessions, which have gained fame among people, within the framework of logic, it is obvious that these practices do not have internal consistency. In these sessions, there are generally a fortune teller/medium conducting the organization, a table and some objects on the table. Let us try to briefly evaluate these sessions with a few questions.

If the soul is a higher being than humans/us and is aware of issues that humans do not know, why does he want to communicate with and convey information to a person who is lower than them? Even if we admit that he wants to inform us, why does he only agree to come when we call? And the most importantly, why do they need some funny, magical ceremonies when they come? Why does he engage in dialogue with us through commands of humans and objects, rather than directly transmitting information when he arrives? Why is communication limited to one person (fortune teller, medium) in these sessions, but other people cannot be the direct interlocutor of this communication?

It is, of course, possible to increase the number of these questions. However, the following sentences would be enough to summarize the topic. The allegations of calling and bringing the spirits are lies, fabricated, and most of the fictions told are far from being serious. Besides, all of the practices such as magic, fortune-telling, spell, and prophecy used during the session are prohibited in our religion and are superstitious.95

1 Bekir Topaloğlu, Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, İlyas Çelebi, İslam’da İnanç Esasları, p. 265.

2 Nisa, 4/136.

3 Ankabut, 29/64; Mu'min, 40/39; Hadid, 57/20.

4 Lütfullah Cebeci, “İsrâfil,” DİA, v. 23, p. 180-181.

5 Takwir, 81/1-3.

6 Naba, 78/18.

7 Hud, 11/103.

8 Anbiya, 21/47.

9 Qari'ah, 101/6-9; A‘raf, 7/8-9.

10 Bekir Topaloğlu, “Âhiret,” DİA, v. 1, p. 543.

11 Baqarah, 2/4, 62, 177; Nisa, 4/38; Ra‘d, 13/5.

12 Zukhruf, 43/11; Yasin, 36/33.

13 Rum, 30/27; Yasin, 36/79; Saffat, 37/11; Mu’min, 40/57.

14 Nahl, 16/22; Jathiyah, 45/24; Mutaffifin, 83/10-14.

15 For more information, see: Temel Yeşilyurt, Mehmet Taşdelen, “Ahiret İnancının Pratik Yansımaları,” Kelam Araştırmaları Dergisi, 2012, 10/2, p. 55-68.

16 Mu’min, 40/39.

17 Mustafa Çağrıcı, “Yer,” DİA, v. 43, p. 476-478.

18 Bukhari, Tafseer, (Naziat) 1, Hudud, 20, Fitan, 25; Tirmidhi, Fitan, 34; Ibn Majah, Fitan, 25;.

19 Muslim, Fitan, 39; Abu Dawud, Malahim, 11; Ibn Majah, Fitan, 28.

20 Muslim, Fitan, 39; Abu Dawud, Malahim, 11; Ibn Majah, Fitan, 28.

21 Aʻraf, 7/187.

22 Bukhari, Adab, 96.

23 Bekir Topaloğlu, “Kıyamet,” DİA, v. 25, p. 516-522.

24 Yasin, 36/49.

25 Yasin, 36/51. For hadiths on blowing into trumpet twice, see: Bukhari, Anbiya, 35; Muslim, Fitan, 116, 141, Fazail, 159.

26 Al ‘Imran, 3/158; An‘am, 6/51, 72, 128; Saba’, 34/40; Ahqaf, 46/6.

27 An‘am, 6/60; Abya, 21/94; Qaf, 50/18; Zukhruf, 43/80.

28 Haqqah, 69/18-26; Inshiqaq, 84/6-12.

29 Bukhari, Tafseer, (Bani Israel) 5; Muslim, Iman, 322-328.

30 Tirmidhi, Sifat al-Qiyamah, 1.

31 Anbiya, 21/47.

32 Bukhari, Azan, 129; Tawhid, 24; Muslim, Iman, 302, 329.

33 Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, “Ba’s,” DİA, v. 5, p. 98-99.

34 Baqarah, 2/28.

35 Maryam, 19/66-67.

36 Rum, 30/27.

37 Hajj, 22/5-7.

38 Yasin, 36/80-81.

39 Zumar, 39/68.

40 Ma‘arij, 70/43.

41 Ya-sin, 36/51.

42 Nahl, 16/38-39; Taghabun, 64/7.

43 Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, “Ba’s,” DİA, v. 5, p. 99.

44 Bukhari, Tafseer, (Naba) 1; Muslim, Fitan, 141-142.

45 For more information, see: Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, “Ba’s,” DİA, V. 5, p. 98-100; Süleyman Toprak, “Haşr,” DİA, v. 16, p. 416-417.

46 Bekir Topaloğlu, “Cennet,” DİA, v. 7, p. 385-386.

47 Zukhruf, 43/71.

48 Hud, 11/106-108; Ra‘d 13/35; Hijr, 15/48; Sad, 38/54; Dukhan, 44/56.

49 However, there are also those who argue that hell is not eternal and that it will disappear after everybody is punished, based on the records in the expressions of some Qur'anic verses and the views of some Companions. See: Bekir Topaloğlu, “Cehennem,” DİA, v. 7, p. 232.

50 Bekir Topaloğlu, “Cehennem,” DİA, v. 7, p. 231.

51 Raʻd, 13/23.

52 Saffat, 37/50-60.

53 Mu'minun, 23/1-11.

54 Waqi‘ah, 56/10-38. For depictions of heaven in the Qur'an, Surahs Rahman, Waqi‘ah, Insan and Ghashiyah can be read.

55 Waqi‘ah, 56/41-56.

56 Nisa, 4/168.

57 Mutaffifin, 83/15.

58 Kahf, 18/103-105.

59 Bekir Topaloğlu, Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, İlyas Çelebi, İslam’da İman Esasları, p. 483-484.

60 Nisa, 4/136.

61 Mustafa Sinanoğlu, “İman,” DİA, v. 22, p. 212-214.

62 Cüneyt Gökçe, “Berzah,” DİA, v. 5, p. 525; Süleyman Toprak, “Kabir,” DİA, v. 24, p. 37.

63 Ibn Hanbal, I, 64.

64 Mu'min, 40/46.

65 Nuh, 71/25.

66 Jathiyah, 45/21-22.

67 Tawbah, 9/101.

68 Sajdah, 32/21; Tur, 52/47.

69 Muslim, Jannah, 67-69.

70 Muslim, Jannah, 67.

71 Muslim, Jana'iz, 86.

72 Nasai, Jana'iz, 115.

73 Bukhari, Wudu', 56, Jana'iz, 81, 88.

74 Ibn Majah, Sadaqah, 12.

75 Bukhari, Jana'iz, 93, Tabeer ur-ruya, 48.

76 “Peace be upon you, the inhabitants of the city, among the believers, and Muslims, and Allah willing we shall join you. I beg of Allah peace for us and for you.” (Muslim, Jana'iz, 104)

77 Bukhari, Wudu', 55.

78 Tirmidhi, Jana'iz, 60; Abu Dawud, 75, 77.

79 Fatir, 35/22.

80 Naml, 27/80. Also see: Rum, 30/52.

81 Baqarah, 2/154.

82 Al ‘Imran, 3/169-170.

83 Kenan Has, “Dinler Tarihi Perspektifinden Tartışmalı Bir Kavram: Reenkarnasyon,” İslâmî Araştırmalar, 2004, volume: XVII, issue: 4, p. 390-400.

84 According to the data provided by Gallup, an international research company, 18% of people in Western European countries believe in reincarnation. Ibid, lan Stevenson, Reenkarnasyon: Alan Araştırmaları ve Teorik Konular. Evrensel Yasa: Tekrar Doğuş, der. Ergün Arıkdal, İstanbul, 1997, p. 55.

85 Mulk, 67/2.

86 Ankabut, 29/57.

87 Mu'minun, 23/99-100.

88 Fatir, 35/37.

89 Hajj, 22/7.

90 Bekir Topaloğlu, “Âhiret,” DİA, v. 1, p. 543-547.

91 Mu'minun, 23/99-100; Ibrahim, 14/44; Munafiqun, 63/10-11 and so on.

92 “... no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another...” Fatir, 35/18.

93 Kenan Has, “Dinler Tarihi Perspektifinden Tartışmalı Bir Kavram: Reenkarnasyon,” p. 390-400.

94 Orhan Hançerlioğlu, “İspiritizma,” Dünya İnançları Sözlüğü, İstanbul, 2010, p. 224.

95 Temel Yeşilyurt, Çağdaş İnanç Problemleri, p. 115-120.

FAITH IN
QADAR AND QADA

What does it mean
to believe in qadar and qada

The words “qadar” and “qada” are used to mean that Allah realizes the plan on His creatures and the functioning of nature.1 “Qadar” means Allah's unlimited knowledge and power to keep the whole existence in the universe in harmony and order, to know in advance which direction the servant will make in terms of the events he encounter and to will in this direction. “Qada,” on the other hand, is the act of Allah's creating with His power when the servant makes his choice.

Faith in qadar and qada also requires believing in Allah's attributes of knowledge, will, power, and creation. In other words, by having faith in qadar and qada, the servant believes that Allah knows everything, that everything can only come true with His knowledge and will, that His power is omnipotent and that He is unique in creating whatever He wishes. In other words, believing in qadar and qada means that everything that has ever happened and will happen in the future, which the limited human mind can and cannot comprehend, is in the knowledge of Allah and can only occur with His will and His infinite power/might.

Is believing in qadar
and qada a pillar of faith

Believing in qadar and qada is one of the basic principles, called as fundamentals of Amantu, that a believer should have faith in. Amantu is an Arabic word and it is the expression of the basic elements of belief, which is an action belonging to the heart, through the tongue with the meaning of “I believed and I declare that.” When the angel of revelation Jibril asked our Prophet (saw) “What is faith,” he replied: “That you affirm your faith in Allah, in His angels, in His Books, in His Apostles, in the Day of Judgment, and you affirm your faith in the Divine Decree [qadar] about good and evil,”2 and cited believing in qadar among the principles of faith.

In one aspect, qadar is the order and measure that our Lord has put into the world through his power/might and infinity of knowledge. It is also clear with the studies of scientists on the theories of perfect harmony in the “cosmos,” that is the universe, that the world of existence continues in a certain rhythm and harmony. This order in the universe explains a perfect system in which everything is interrelated. As our Lord owns everything, He knows the movement of the world around its axis and around the sun, and He knows the end of the world because He plans it Himself. “And the sun runs [on course] toward its stopping point. That is the determination of the Exalted in Might, the Knowing.”3 As he knows the power and energy of the atom, He knows the capacity, abilities, actions, and movements of people as He is the Creator of human beings. He is the only One who knows everything in past and future to the finest detail. “[He is] Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, the Grand, the Exalted.”4 “He knows what penetrates into the earth and what emerges from it and what descends from the heaven and what ascends therein. And He is the Merciful, the Forgiving.”5

In addition to the Qur'anic verses which state that everything is subject to the will and discretion of our Lord, there are signs of the necessity of faith in qadar and qada in the verses that state that Allah's knowledge encompasses all beings and events that have happened or will happen.6

The verses stating that Allah is the Creator of everything and that everything in the universe takes place with His will and knowledge, points out that the authority authorized for qadar and qada is Allah, the only Creator, and that everything in the universe depends on a certain destiny.7

Why are we held
responsible for what
we do if our fate is predestined

There are some situations in a person's life in which his intervention is not possible. A person cannot decide his color, gender, language, family, and nationality. It is not possible for him to determine these with his own choice and will. These areas are what our Lord has ordained as his qadar, and it is the best for him. In another aspect, qadar is the life adventure between the moment of existence and death in the case of human beings. While it is an unknown issue for a person what he will encounter in the next minute, it is of course not possible for him to know his whole life from beginning to end. Our Lord is the only One who knows everything in the past and future to the finest detail. Does the fact that Allah knows what will happen to human and how he will act in the face of events, that is, the existence of their knowledge in Allah's knowledge, eliminate the responsibility of human?

The most important thing here is whether human makes choices by using his own will or not. Of course, a person cannot know in advance which decisions he will make in situations that he encounters throughout his life. However, if he can make his own decisions by assessing good and bad at this moment and in the future, which will be the present moment when the time comes, and if he can implement these decisions - which he can - here the responsibility arises. Being held responsible is the possession of beliefs and deeds of human - as a being given the right to choose - and being questioned about them.

The greatness of our Lord's knowledge and power, and the fact that He knows in advance which way the servant will use his will and preference do not constitute an obligation for the servant to make a decision. We can explain this issue with an example. For example, it is very natural for a person, who has to make the right decision about where to work after graduating from university, to be constantly indecisive in the stages of reviewing possible options, to make another decision without implementing the decision he has made, to consult his friends and family, and to be affected by the ideas of those who are in this profession. As a result of all this intense decision-making process, the person makes a choice among these options by using their free will. Although there were some external influences in his choice, he made the final decision himself. The responsibility for his decision and choice now belongs to him. In possible negativity he encounters, he cannot ask others to account by accusing them by saying, “I decided in this way because I was under your influence, you are responsible for what happened to me.”

Our Lord, who knows everything that has happened before, is happening now and will happen in the future, and who is omnipotent with His infinite might, knows that this person will make such decision only through His own special knowledge. For Allah, who is the Creator of time, there is no limitation of former or later as there is for us, and it is because He knew the decision of this person and recorded it beforehand, Allah is not limited by time and space, and is omniscient and omnipotent. He used his own free will in his decision and since Allah knows what decisions this person will make with His infinite knowledge, He recorded his qadar according to it.

What is the meaning of Allah guiding whoever He wills to hidayah and whoever
He wills to dalalah?
How does this situation comply with the matters of will and test

The word hidayah means “to guide, to convey to the truth, to bring to the reality” in the dictionary. As a term, it means “Allah's guiding people to the right way by sending prophets and books and leading them to this path.”8 Allah's creation of people in a nature that is inclined to accept guidance, and equipping him with intelligence that can receive and understand guidance when it comes to him (prophet and revelation), is another type of Allah's guidance.9 These types of guidance are common for all humans. Guidance knocks on everyone's door. However, some of them open that door, while others do not. “... whoever is guided is only guided for [the benefit of] his soul, and whoever goes astray only goes astray [in violation] against it...”10

Dalalah means “deviating from the way, abandoning the right way, getting lost.” As a religious terminology, it is the opposite of the concept of guidance. It means more or less deviating from the right path, knowingly or unknowingly.11

The call for guidance is a call to all people. Allah makes those who respond positively to this call succeed in reaching guidance. He gives them guidance in line with their wishes. It is out of question for Allah to guide the servant without he asks for it, that is, to create guidance for him.12

Allah does not create His servant with or without belief. It is the person himself who chooses faith or disbelief. Faith, that is guidance, is created for the servant as a result of his wish and will. Otherwise, it would not make sense for a person to be responsible.13

Regardless of the period and country a person lives in, regardless of his race, belief, and thought, he is tested by Allah with various possibilities and opportunities that we know, do not know, cannot know, will not know, since he is a servant created by Allah. He is tested to find the right, truth, and guidance. Ways of guidance shown to him through prophets, books, and people with knowledge of books. Or, the person is given difficulties that exceed his own strength. It is done to make him realize both his weakness and the weakness of other people. One feels deep inside his heart that only Allah can save him from this hardship. Thus, Allah makes His presence felt directly in the heart of His servant. As a result of all this, if the person intends to believe, that means he will be guided by Allah.14 If he does not intend it and continue his life without belief, he cannot be guided. In other words, unbelievers persistently reject all kinds of documents/information inside and outside that would lead them to believe. They do not take advantage of the possibilities and opportunities to believe. It becomes almost impossible to show them the right. So they have chosen their path themselves. Disbelief is created in that person in line with his choice. Here, although the deed that belongs to Allah is to create wrongdoing, it is up to a person to choose wrongdoing through his own will. Therefore, it is actually a metaphorical expression that Allah wishes wrongdoing for that servant. It means that Allah leaves the person to the path of wrong upon his own choice.15

Therefore, Allah's leading whoever He wills to wrongdoing and guidance, after the servant chooses the good and the bad way. If this were not the case and Allah had led servants to be guided or do wrong as He willed, then there would be no point in Allah's sending prophets and books. There would be no point in calling people to the right path by the prophets. In fact, Allah's guidance is to make His servant, who voluntarily chooses the way of goodness, love the right way and open his heart to Islam. It is a necessity of the justice of Allah to make someone, who voluntarily chooses the path of evil and unbelief, to wrongdoing. Certainly, for such a person, Allah will not create guidance by force or put faith in his heart.16

Does qadar change?
Whatever we do,
do we still live our qadar

Qadar is defined as Allah's pre-determination of events, and qada is the occurrence of the events. Our Lord knows everything that happened and will happen with His endless knowledge. His knowing everything is a requirement of His being divine. Change in qadar means changing the knowledge of Allah and it is not possible.

Some scholars, who think that qadar can change, used the hadiths stating that charity will banish trouble and that Silat al-Rahim, that is, taking care of relatives will prolong life as proofs of their views. However, in such cases that depend on conditions, our Lord has determined their destinies by knowing how His servants will behave with His eternal knowledge. In other words, all these changes are included in the destiny of the human being with the knowledge of our Lord. Humans cannot know what will be their qadar. With his free will, he is responsible to act in accordance with Allah's orders and prohibitions and to perform his duties in the best way possible.17

Does du‘a affect qadar

Du‘a is the confession of the incompetence/inability of a servant in the face of the glory of Allah and asking for the help of his Lord. In fact, the person shows his servitude to Allah by praying, and because of his prayer, he rises to the highest level of servitude in the sight of his Lord.18 It is understood from the hadith of our Prophet which says, “The supplication is the essence of worship,” that praying is an important worship.19

Remembering and commemorating Allah, whether because of one's needs and mistakes, or because of the blessings He gave, gives a person psychological comfort and peace.20 Some people may think that by reading and repeating certain words of prayer, their desires and needs of the world will be realized immediately. However, according to what our Prophet said, what the person wants can be accepted either by giving it in this world or postponing it to the hereafter, or by protecting the person from a possible evil.21

A person takes the necessary precautions for the difficulties he face in life. However, since he does not know the future, he may feel incompetent in some situations and has an expectation by praying. But praying in order to prevent the realization of what Allah prescribed before and to bring about something that Allah did not determine cannot be regarded as prayer within the scope of worship.

It should be remembered that the events that will occur are connected by a cause-effect relationship by Allah. With His comprehensive knowledge, Allah knows what His servant does and will do, as well as the prayers he will do, and shapes his destiny accordingly. Therefore, the person's prayer occurs as part of Allah's discretion. In other words, if our Lord wished for a change to occur as a result of prayer, this change will occur when the time comes, but if He did not, it will not occur.22

What is the relation
between tawaqqul and qadar

Tawaqqul is to rely on Allah and refer the rest to Allah when there is nothing else to do after applying to all material and spiritual reasons.

All events we encounter in life continue in a cause-effect relation. We cannot achieve the result we want without studying for university exams. We cannot get products without planting seeds. We cannot earn our sustenance without working. With our mind and will, we realize our responsibility, work and strive for it and expect the result from Allah. This is the real tawaqqul. The result we encounter after taking all our precautions is our qadar. Tawaqqul is a natural result of our belief in qadar.

Abandoning precaution and effort, referring what we have to do to Allah with the thought of “We live whatever is in our destiny,” is not tawaqqul but laziness and indolence. This is not the understanding of tawaqqul in our religion. The true belief of tawaqqul protects us from the wrong belief in qadar.

Is it enough just to
work to achieve what we want

In order for human beings to achieve what they want in life, they must both work and surrender to Allah. The order our Lord established in the world requires human beings to work to achieve things. However, in return for this work, human beings will be able to obtain as much as Allah has given them. It is not possible for humans to gain more than their share, but Allah also attributes their share to their work. The best example to give in this topic is sustenance. Creation and discretion of sustenance belong totally to Allah. However, it is the responsibility of the servant to gain the sustenance through halal means. While a servant is working, he cannot know how much Allah has predetermined for his sustenance, he just carries out his responsibility. It is like this in the other parts of life such as getting married, finding a job, getting ready for the exam, and so on. We show our will to achieve things by using the means that Allah has given us, and Allah grants to us as much as He preordained. Of course, meanwhile, one should not neglect oral prayers.

What is the relation between negligence and qadar? How do we explain the relation between
events like a traffic accident, earthquake, etc. with qadar

Allah creates the actions that a person wants to do with his free will. The fact that the Creator is Allah does not mean that the bad and wrong deeds will be referred to Him. This will be exploitation of belief in qadar. Also, stopping working, not taking the necessary precautions, and acting negligently by relying on qadar is incompatible with Islam's understanding of qadar. A person cannot escape responsibilities by using qadar as an excuse. Our Lord has linked everything to a number of reasons. If humans fulfill these reasons, Allah creates their results. The servant has free will in the areas where Allah assigns responsibility. Therefore, humans should know that they will account for their actions.23

Our Lord says, “No disaster strikes upon the earth or among yourselves except that it is in a register before We bring it into being - indeed that, for Allah, is easy.”24 Everything that happened in the past and will happen in the future is within Allah's pre-eternal knowledge. As a person does not know his qadar, he should be cautious against all kinds of troubles and calamities. Because he knows that he will be held responsible for the behaviors left to his will and choice. When a misfortune finds him, he thinks about his part in it and determines his future behaviors accordingly. Without rebellion, he behaves as required by his servant-hood and shows complete submission to his Lord.

It is possible to categorize troubles and calamities in three groups:

The first is the troubles and calamities that are out of the human will, such as natural disasters and being born as disabled. The servant has no responsibility for these. He will receive great rewards for believing in qadar, knowing that Allah has tested him, and being patient with what happened to him.

The second is the acts that partially involve the human will, such as a traffic accident for which one is equally wrong. The person is responsible for these to the extent of his fault.

The third is the troubles and calamities that involve the human will directly. Persons who cause damage to life and property are held responsible in matters such as red light violation, drinking and driving, employing workers without ensuring occupational safety, building vulnerable buildings against earthquakes, endangering health.25

Is marriage qadar

As the Almighty Allah knows everything, He knows who a person will marry. In this aspect, marriage is, of course, qadar. However, this knowledge of Allah does not have a compelling effect on human beings. Allah gives a person the opportunity, even though it is limited, to choose a spouse. In this respect, marriage is linked to the will of a human, and where there is a will, there is also responsibility for humans. Therefore, if a person did wrong choices about marriage, he has no righ to attribute the responsibility to Allah by saying, “This is my destiny, what should I do?”

Is it qadar that we become
ill because of a defect in our genes

Qadar, as a term, means that our Lord knows, determines, and predestines the time and place, features and qualities of all things that have happened and will happen from eternity to post-eternity. If we ask this question in terms of how our Lord deems it appropriate and creates it, yes, it is qadar, that is, Allah's will and order, that a person is born with a genetic disorder.

However, as it is stated in the question, the fact that having genetic disorders/diseases is qadar does not eliminate our responsibility or seeking for measures and treatment. For instance, consanguineous marriage is an important factor in many genetic diseases. On the other hand, some tests performed during pregnancy for some hereditary diseases are very important for early detection, diagnosis, and partial treatment. Besides, the consumption of substances such as cigarettes and alcohol is directly effective in the emergence of genetic diseases. When we consider all these, what we need to do is to take measures to our best, follow-up necessary treatment processes, and finally, submit to our qadar, the discretion of our Lord. Otherwise, we will be held responsible.

Is it unfair to born disabled

According to Islamic belief, worldly life is a “short, temporary, and limited” life in which eternal life can be earned or lost. All revelations remind us that our real and true life will be determined in the hereafter according to the results of our tests in the world, and the prophets convey this truth to people.

The person, who is sent to the world to be tested, has no right to choose the examination area determined for him. Just like a student does not have the right to prepare exam questions by himself before taking the exam. “And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient.”26 With this verse, we learn that the subjects we are tested on in this world are different from each other. One of these exam types is disability. A person who does not regard life as just this worldly life, and accepts the world as the field of the hereafter, does not think that it is an injustice but accepts that it is a test, because he knows that he will get his reward in real, eternal life even if he suffers from his disability. Also, unfairness occurs if there is an injustice. If we paid a price for being born healthy, then being born disabled would be unfair.

For someone who believes and trusts in Allah, being born with a disability is a type of test for both the disabled and their relatives. If a person, who believes in Allah and His infinite mercy, realizes that being disabled is a test in this world, does not rebel, displays the right feelings and behaviors, does not focus on the state of disability, and becomes aware of other abilities he has, he can transform this situation, which he sees as unfair or bad, into a good and opportunity. Besides, if we are patient, the disabilities we encounter in our lives are a gain, because they are instrumental in earning merits, in the forgiveness of our sins, and they increase in our spiritual degrees.

Could medicine
find immortality one day

Our Lord says in the Qur'an, “Every soul will taste death...”27 Immortality is an offer that the satan presents to Prophet Adam as delusion in the dialogue between the first man and the satan.28 Since the beginning of history, humanity has continued its searches to exist/stay in the world for a longer time. The mummification that we come to know with the Egyptian civilization, and scientific and technological developments today are the most common examples that can be given to the reflections of this search. However, as is known, this goal has not been achieved so far. It will not be achieved from now on, as well. Because while the world itself is finite (mortal), it is mentally inconsistent and impossible for a person who exists in this finite order to find immortality in a limited period of time. However, the life in the hereafter after the wordly life is an eternal life, and there we will be immortal.

Do things like
amulets and magic affect fate

Destiny means that Allah knows and determines all objects and events with His pre-eternal knowledge. It is not possible for things like amulets, magic or anything else to change or affect the knowledge of Allah. In our religion, it is strictly forbidden to resort to such things for whatever reason.

Is there fortune,
misfortune or luck in Islam

At the time of the emergence of Islam, the belief of misfortune had an important place among the Arabs of the age of ignorance. Various beings, belongings, animals, and time zones were considered ominous by the people of that period and these beliefs were adopted by almost every segment of the society. So there was a society that was deeply anxious and delusional about what was considered ominous. Islam depicted this belief in misfortune, which already existed in the society in which it emerged, as a useless delusion, and an unfounded superstition, and tried to keep people away from such thoughts. Our Prophet (saw) stated that there is no misfortune in anything29 and that believing in misfortune is shirk.30 About objects considered ominous by the Arabs of the age of ignorance, he said, “There is no bad luck in goods, there is no bad luck in the month of safar, there is no bad luck in the crowing of the owl.”31 emphasizing that such beliefs are superstitious.

The concept of luck and bad luck is incompatible with Islam's belief in qadar. The thing a person calls luck is nothing else than what Allah preordained for that person. “Say, ‘Never will we be struck except by what Allah has decreed for us; He is our protector.’ And upon Allah let the believers rely.”32

A person cannot see the power and will of Allah in what he sees as luck or bad luck, and then he assumes those things are luck. Is it unfortunate that the Prophet Yusuf was thrown into the well by his brothers, taken out of the well and sold as a slave in Egypt? Is it a fortune that one of Egypt's most important men bought and raised him, and he later came to a prominent position in Egypt?

“... Allah is predominant over His affair...”33 His brothers envied Prophet Yusuf. But the things they did could not prevent Allah's discretion about Prophet Yusuf. When Prophet Yusuf appeared in front of his brothers as a powerful vizier, he said, “...Allah has certainly favored us...”34 and voiced his commitment, and faith to Allah and his consent to His decree. When the Surah Yusuf is carefully read, it is understood that there is no luck or bad luck behind the events, but the power and will of our Almighty Lord Himself.

What is ajal? Does life lengthen
and shorten with what we do

Ajal means “the period of life pre-determined by Allah for every living thing and the time of death, which is the end of this period.”35 Just as it is Allah who created and provided for people, it is He who takes their lives by determining the time of death (ajal). Every human being and community has a time of death, and this moment comes neither earlier nor later than its time. The Almighty Allah says on this topic in the Qur'an as follows: “But never will Allah delay a soul when its time has come. And Allah is Acquainted with what you do.”36 “And for every nation is a [specified] term. So when their time has come, they will not remain behind an hour, nor will they precede [it].”37

The verses mentioned above clearly state that the time of death will not change. So, what do the hadiths, which say some acts of worship and good deeds such as giving alms and protecting kinship ties will prolong life, mean? The prolongation of life can be understood as living an abundant and quality life. On the other hand, because Allah knows the actions of His servants beforehand, he can predetermine longer lifespan for them. After all, it is not possible to change the length of life determined by Allah.38

1 For more information, see: Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, “Kader,” DİA, v. 24, p. 58-63.

2 Muslim, Iman, 1; Abu Dawud, Sunnah, 16.

3 Ya-sin, 36/38.

4 Ra‘d, 13/9.

5 Saba, 34/2. For a similar verse, see: Hadid, 57/4.

6 Furqan, 25/2; Ra‘d, 13/8.

7 Tawbah, 9/51; Zumar, 39/62; Saffat, 37/96; A‘raf, 7/178; Waqi‘ah, 56/60.

8 Cihat Tunç, “İslam Dinine Göre Hidayet ve Dalalet,” Erciyes Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, Kayseri, 1989, issue: 6, p. 26.

9 Recep Ardoğan, Sistematik Kelam Ve Güncel İnanç Sorunları, p. 144.

10 Yunus, 10/108.

11 Mehmet Bulut, “Hidayet, Dalalet ve İnsanın Sorumluluğu,” DEÜ İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, İzmir, 1995, issue: IX, p. 231.

12 Mehmet Bulut, “Hidayet, Dalalet ve İnsanın Sorumluluğu,” p. 238.

13 Mehmet Bulut, “Hidayet, Dalalet ve İnsanın Sorumluluğu,” p. 238.

14 Mehmet Bulut, “Hidayet, Dalalet ve İnsanın Sorumluluğu,” p. 239.

15 Mehmet Bulut, “Hidayet, Dalalet ve İnsanın Sorumluluğu,” p. 240.

16 Cihat Tunç, “İslam Dinine Göre Hidayet ve Delalet,” p. 39-40,

17 Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, “Kader,” DİA, v. 24, p. 58-63; https://kurul.diyanet.gov.tr/Cevap-Ara/26/kader-degisir-mi-.

18 Furqan, 25/77.

19 Tirmidhi, Da‘awat, 1.

20 Ra‘d, 13/28; A‘la, 87/15.

21 Ibn Hanbal, III, 17.

22 Selahattin Parladır, “Dua,” DİA, v. 9, p. 530-535; https://kurul.diyanet.gov.tr/Cevap-Ara/772/dua-kader-iliskisi-nedir--duanin-eceli-degistirdigi--belalari-uzaklastirdigi-sozu-ne-anlama-gelmektedir-

23 https://kurul.diyanet.gov.tr/Cevap-Ara/28/-allah-boyle-yazmis--ben-ne-yapayim---demek-dogru-mudur-.

24 Hadid, 57/22.

25 https://kurul.diyanet.gov.tr/Cevap-Ara/27/bela-ve-musibetler-kader-midir-

26 Baqarah, 2/155.

27 Al ‘Imran, 3/185.

28 A‘raf, 7/20.

29 Bukhari, Tibb, 19.

30 Abu Dawud, Tibb, 24.

31 Muslim, Salam, 102.

32 Tawbah, 9/51.

33 Yusuf, 12/21.

34 Yusuf, 12/90.

35 Cihat Tunç, “Ecel,” DİA, v. 10, p. 380-382.

36 Munafiqun, 63/11.

37 A‘raf, 7/34. Also see: Yunus, 10/49.

38 Fatih Kurt, “Ehl-i Sünnete Göre Ecel,” Gümüşhane Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, 2019, volume: VIII, issue: 15, p. 116-131.

EXPRESSIONS THAT CAUSE APOSTASY

Could the words
we say cause apostasy

Rejecting even one of the fundamental principles of the religion of Islam (faith in Allah, angels, books, prophets, the Hereafter, qadar and qada), associating partners with Allah, and qualifying Him with attributes that do not fit the glory of Allah, such as being a father, saying that he is ungenerous, making requests by praying to someone other than Him, making fun of Allah's attributes and names, deifying the prophets or, on the contrary, ridiculing them, making fun of angels - in our society, especially the cynical expressions about Azrael are circulated a lot - or humiliating them, denying even one verse of the Qur'an, ridiculing or rejecting the clear verdict of a verse, believing in reincarnation as it means denial of the hereafter will cause apostasy from Islam.1 In addition to these, denying or underestimating one, a few or all of the things that are known to be fardh or haram, ignoring, disliking or making fun of the fardh/haram will make a person abandon religion. A person who deliberately speaks words that will mean this, even though not with the intention of apostasy, will leave the Islamic religion.

It is possible to give the following as examples of words cause apostasy: “I love you more than Allah,” “If Allah comes, I will not spare you,” “Do you still perform prayer in this era, in what period do we live in?” “Prayer is an exercise, we do not need prayer,” “Allah cannot interfere with what we do,” “ My sheikh is superior to the prophet,” and so on.

Although faith is an issue related to the heart, language has an important responsibility in expressing faith and accepting people as believers. If one has faith in his heart, his tongue cannot say what it wants. Our words cannot oppose the faith in our hearts. Muslims must be sensitive about avoiding the above-mentioned words and deeds that may harm faith. Particularly, it is not an issue that can be tolerated that the elements that Islam regard as sacred are mentioned mockingly in the speeches. After uttering words that harm one's faith, one should repent and recite the kalima al-shahadah.

What is the situation
of someone who
habitually calls a Muslim an infidel

Some of the words of the Prophet (saw) about Muslims accusing each other of infidelity are as follows:

“He who labeled anyone with unbelief or called him the enemy of Allah, and he was in fact not so, it rebounded on him.”2

“Cursing a believer is like killing him, and whoever accuses a believer of disbelief, then it is like he has killed him.”3

“When a man calls his brother an unbeliever, it returns (at least) to one of them. If it were so, as he asserted then the unbelief of man was confirmed but if it was not true, then it returned to him who labeled his Muslim brother.”4

When these warnings of the Prophet (saw) are considered, it is wrong even to imply that someone who is known as a Muslim is not a Muslim. Calling a Muslim an infidel in a virtual or real environment is one of the stern words that can be said to him. For this reason, Muslims should completely avoid these and similar words while speaking. Although this is the general rule, calling someone “a person who does not believe in Allah” for reasons such as speaking habits, slips, not being aware of what would the sentence means, absent-mindedness, etc. and without meaning that the other person is an infidel does not cause apostasy. However, one should be careful not to use such words or making it a habit.

Is it shirk to say
“Egyptian god” when describing
a being in Egyptian mythology

Shirk means “recognition of a partner to the divinity of the supreme being who creates and manages the universe.”5 Since the religion of Islam is based on the principle that Allah is one in His entity, attributes, and actions, no attributes or actions belonging to Allah can be attributed to other beings. Therefore, it is not correct for a believer to use expressions related to pagan beliefs such as the Egyptian god, the sky god, the earth god, and the goddess of beauty. Although this is the basic principle, when describing the beings that a polytheistic religion defines as gods, for example, if the expression “Egyptian god” refers to something “accepted as a god in ancient Egypt,” it cannot be considered shirk. Because shirk is a conscious and deliberate choice of a person. There is no consciousness and deliberation for shirk in this narrative. However, as we have stated above, if believers use these and similar expressions without considering them harmful, they may reduce the sensitivity of the belief of tawhid or cause misunderstandings over time. Therefore, it is not correct to use these and similar expressions.

Would our faith be damaged if we say “very creative” - which is the attribute of Allah - for a person

It is Allah who creates everything from nothing. Knowing this and just saying the word “creative” in the sense of reshaping things or discovering it does not make a person abandon religion. It is said, “... So blessed is Allah, the Best of Creators.”6 in the Qur'an. In Arabic, the word creation was used for people in the past to mean making or producing something. However, over time, this concept was used only for Allah, and to call anyone other than Him “the creator” was considered contrary to the morals of servitude.7

Would the belief of the person be damaged if he takes some provisions in the
Qur'anlightly by saying
that they are past now

In the Qur'an, Jews' changing their own books and not applying their provisions are frequently discussed. The Jews did not apply some of the provisions of the Torah, while they applied some of them. The Qur'an, which tells us about the issue, criticizes this behavior as follows: “So do you believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in part? Then what is the recompense for those who do that among you except disgrace in worldly life; and on the Day of Resurrection they will be sent back to the severest of punishment. And Allah is not unaware of what you do.”8

Even only this verse may be an adequate answer to our question. For, faith is an unbreakable whole. That means everything that needs to be believed must be believed. Rejecting only one of them does not make person abandon the religion. The person's taking some of the provisions in the Qur'an lightly by saying that they used to be valid, saying that it is impossible to apply them today and abandoning them corresponds to the attitude criticized in the verse. Therefore, even the denial of a small part of an issue that has to be believed shows that faith is not realized in that issue.9

Having faith in the book, holding on to it, continuing the journey of life under its guidance, is possible by fully implementing and fulfilling its decrees. Our Prophet said, “Whoever regards the forbidden things of the Qur'an as lawful does not believe in it,”10 and expressed this truth.11

Does listening to songs whose content is incompatible with Islamic beliefs harm our belief

It is appropriate for a believer, whom Allah honored with the pride of being a servant, to be sensitive and caring in his worship. Therefore, we are not allowed to listen to songs that contain expressions of profanity and rebellion.

There are no detailed and specific provisions about music in our religious sources of Qur'an and sunnah. There is no evidence showing that it is absolute sin to engage in music and listen to music in the Qur'an and sunnah. The religion of Islam only determines general principles and goals in this regard. Accordingly, it is a sin to make and listen to music that is against the principles of Islam, that urges people to oppose Allah, leads to sin, aims to create a culture of rebellion and opposition, includes expressions and definitions that trigger sexual desires, and encourages to commit haram. Only those who listen to the songs without affirming the acts of rebellion against Allah, blasphemy and cursing, sin and haram in them become a sinner and must repent.12

1 Ahmet Saim Kılavuz, İman Küfür Sınırı, p. 106-130.

2 Muslim, Iman, 112.

3 Bukhari, Ayman, 7; Tirmidhi, Iman, 16.

4 Muslim, Iman, 111.

5 Mustafa Sinanoğlu, “Şirk,” DİA, v. 39, p. 193-198.

6 Mu'minun, 23/14.

7 Kur’an Yolu, v. 4, p. 13-15.

8 Baqarah, 2/85.

9 Ahmet Davutoğlu, “İman Bir Bütündür,” Yüksek İslam Enstitüsü Dergisi, İstanbul, 1964, issue: 2, p. 6.

10 Tirmidhi, Fadhail al-Qur'an, 20.

11 Hadislerle İslam, v. 1, p. 548.

12 https://kurul.diyanet.gov.tr. /Cevap ara/-müziğin dindeki yeri-