General Articles, - Ataturk was a devout believer

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Ataturk was a devout believer with a profound respect for Allah, the Qur’an and Islam. One can see that devotion in his words and deeds. Ataturk said it was impossible for an irreligious person to live and frequently describes the beauties of Islam, the last and true faith.
… In my view, even irreligious types are believers. It is impossible for a person to be irreligious. Nobody can be irreligious. (02. 02. 1923, Izmir, Speech on the Future of Turkey.)
"Religion is human beings’ nourishment. An irreligious man is like an empty house. He distresses people. We must always believe in something. This last of the faiths is of course the most perfect. Islam is superior to all faiths... (Ataturk and Religious Education, Ahmet Gürbaş, Department of Religious Affairs Press, p. 2)
'Our nation possesses a powerful virtue, religion. No power has ever removed that virtue from the heart and conscience of the nation, and never can.'
Religion is an essential element. Nations with no religion cannot survive.
The Turkish nation must be more devout. It must be devout in all simplicity. I believe this in the same way I believe in my faith...” (Ataturk’s Words and Statements, Vol. 3, p. 69-70, 29.10.1923, statement to the French author Maurice Pernot)
He said that Muslims must adhere to the path shown by our Prophet (pbuh) and live like our Prophet (pbuh) for the salvation of Islam:
"The Muslims of the whole world must follow the path shown by Muhammad (saas), the last prophet of Allah, and fully obey all his commands. All Muslims must take the Prophet Muhammad (saas) as a role model and act like him; they must obey all the commandments of Islam. Because only in this way can people be happy and regenerated." (Ataturk in Urdu Publications, Ankara University Faculty of Languages, History and Geography, 1979, p. 70-71)
"One can only display one’s respect for the Prophet Muhammad (saas), who carried out a great revolution, by maintaining his ideas and essential values." (Şemsettin Günaltay, Ülkü Magazine, No. 100, p.)
Ataturk always carried a copy of the Qur’an with him and enjoyed listening to the Qur’an. He was sometimes greatly influenced by the commentaries he read as he worked and would ask,
`O My Lord... Those who do not believe in the Qur’an are unbelievers. How can they show us the way? We must ensure that the entire world reads this. My soul rejoices as I read it. Do you feel the same?`
Ataturk frequently expressed his love of and admiration for our Prophet (saas), and described his moral values, powerful faith and leadership as exemplary.
Those who doubt that he is a true prophet should look at this map and read the epic of Badr. The victory that the Prophet Muhammad (saas) won with a handful of devout Muslims against the vast and wealthy horde of the Qur’aysh is not the work of a mortal man. That battle is the most explicit proof of his prophethood. (Ataturk and Religious Education, Department of Religious Affairs Press, p. 2)
"He was the first and greatest servant of Allah. Millions of people today follow in his path. Your name and mine will vanish, but he is immortal to the end." (Dr. Utkan Kocatürk, Ataturk’s Views and Ideas, Ataturk and Religious Education, A. Gürtaş, p. 26)
Muhammad Moustafa first gained the love, respect and trust of his people without being a prophet … He worked for twenty years, amid countless dangers and facing endless troubles and difficulties, and after succeeding in his task as prophet of building Islam... he attained the loftiest abode in paradise. ( 1922 (Ataturk's S.D. I, p. 262-263) )
Ataturk several times expressed the importance and essential nature of religion for the Turkish nation.
... THERE IS NO POSSIBILITY OF NATIONS WITHOUT FAITH SURVIVING. EVERY INDIVIDUAL NEEDS A PLACe TO LEARN ABOUT RELIGION, RELIGIOUS MATTERS AND FAITH . That place is school. But in the same way that we need higher schools, and people with higher education in all subjects, we must have high institutions to raise true scholars to establish the truth of our faith, and who have the intellectual and scientific ability to engage in profound research.
Ataturk also said that the Holy Qur’an must be adopted as a guide in all spheres of life. In1923, he entered a class on moral values that was being taught at the Dar’ul Hilafat al-Aliya Madrassa in Konya and asked a student by the name of Hamdi Zade Hamdi to expound on the verse“Allah commands you to return to their owners the things you hold on trust and, when you judge between people, to judge with justice. How excellent is what Allah exhorts you to do! Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing” (Surat an-Nisa, 58) and clarify the moral principles therein.
Once the student had done this, Ataturk expressed his feelings and ideas by telling the teacher and students “I REGARD THIS VERSE AS THE SOLE PROOF OF OUR SUCCESS.” (Ataturk in All Respects, Altıner, Ankara, 1962, p. 487, related from Mahmut Yağmur)
During the worst days of the War of Independence, Kerim Pasha expounded on the verse of the Qur’an reading“THE HAND OF Allah IS UPON THEM” and said that, as the verse says, they would overcome all difficulties with His help. Ataturk then replied:
“Beloved, THE HAND OF ALLAH IS UPON THEM ALL... THE NATION WILL OBEY ALLAH’S COMMAND AND, AS YOU SAY, WHAT WE OBTAIN AS THE NATION WILL BE GOOD AND AUSPICIOUS. I ASK YOU NOT TO WITHOLD YOUR PRAYERS. THE EFFORT COMES FROM US, BUT ALL HELP AND EASE COMES FROM ALLAH, WHO IS ETERNAL.” (Collected Works of Ataturk, Vol. 4, p. 137. Ataturk also included this in his Speeches.)
Ataturk emphasized the importance of religious education as follows:
... Our religion has never demanded that women lag behind men. WHAT Allah COMMANDS IS FOR MUSLIM MEN AND WOMEN TO BE EDUCATED BY LEARNING THE FAITH TOGETHER. MEN AND WOMEN HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO SEEK THIS KNOWLEDGE AND EDUCATION AND GO WHERE THEY FIND IT AND EQUIP THEMSELVES WITH IT.

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General Articles, - The First Female Convert to Islam: Our mother Hazrat Khadija

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Our mother Hazrat Khadija (ra), the first wife of our beloved Prophet (saas), was at the same time the first female Muslim.
Our worthy mother made great efforts to assist the spread of Islam through her intellect, foresight and wisdom.
With her submission, courage and devotion, our mother Hazrat Khadija (ra), one of our Prophet’s (saas) greatest supporters, was a role model for all Muslims.
Our Prophet (saas) first told Hazrat Khadija (ra) of the revelation that came to him; and she, with her intelligence and foresight, her unquestioning obedience to and trust in our Prophet (saas), realized that he had been especially chosen by Allah and believed him straight away . When the prophethood was bestowed upon him, Hazrat Khadija (ra) said "I bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah" and converted to Islam.
Hazrat Khadija (ra) was from the Quraysh, one of the leading Arab tribes, and her family shared the same line of descent as our Prophet (saas). And although she was subjected to many tests reflecting the moral values of the ignorant Arab society in which she lived, she always exhibited a most powerful and determined character in the face of all adversities.
· According to accounts, Hazrat Khadija (ra) died three years before the hegira (19 April, 620 A.D.) and lived at a time when Islam had not yet become strong and achieved dominion. Despite the difficult conditions of the time, and all the persecution by the pagans of Mecca, she maintained her unquestioning submission to Allah and our Prophet (saas).
· At a time when there were quite literally only three Muslims in the world, Hazrat Khadija (ra) would sometimes worship around the Kaaba with the Messenger of Allah (saas) and Hazrat Ali (ra), and sometimes at home.
· When the pagans of Mecca besieged the Muslims at Shi'bu Abi Talib, Hazrat Khadija (ra) withstood the siege alongside our Prophet (saas) with tremendous courage, fortitude and heroism.
· The immaculate line of our Prophet (saas), that will continue until the Day of Reckoning, is descended from our mother Hazrat Khadija (ra). With the exception of Hazrat Maria (ra), whose son Abraham died subsequently, our Prophet (saas) had no children with any of his other precious wives.
· Our Prophet (saas) had six children with our mother Hazrat Khadija (ra). The first of these was Hazrat Fatima, who would continue the line, from whom Hazrat Hassan and Hazrat Husseinm whose lines will also continue until the Day of Reckoning, were born.
· Our mother Hazrat Khadija (ra) was a wealthy person engaged in business; but after becoming a Muslim, instead of seeking worldly advantages, she happily used everything she had acquired in order to earn the approval of Allah and was a role model in terms of spending her fortune for the sake of Islam.
· Hazrat Khadija’s (ra) purity and chastity were renowned even before her conversion to Islam, for which reason she was known as "Tâhire" (the spotless and immaculate woman).

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Soul Purification, - Lying is the Source of All Sins

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Lying is the source of all sins and it is the shortest way to Hell. The Prophet,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:“Beware of lying because lying leads to dissoluteness, and dissoluteness leads to Hell. A person keeps on telling lies until he is written before Allaah as a liar.”]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
Lying, in essence, is deliberately telling something that is other than the truth and is something dispraised by all sensible people. A liar is always in doubt and never truly believes anything. Had this been the only disadvantage of lying, it would have been sufficient. Some philosophers have stated,“The one who knows himself to be a liar will never believe people who tell the truth. Moreover, the one who is known to be a liar will never be believed, even when he tells the truth. Not only this, but when people hear lies, they may automatically attribute it to him, even if he is not the one who told it.”
Reasons and Signs
There are several causes of lying and various signs that indicate it. There is no doubt that knowing such causes and signs is of great help in treatment because the first step in the treatment of any disease is knowing its causes and determining its symptoms in order to eliminate them. Al-Maawardi , may Allaah have mercy upon him, mentioned some of these reasons as follows:
1-Bringing benefit and driving away harm. The liar thinks that lying is safer and more beneficial; hence, he resorts to lying as he is deceived and aspires to get something in return.
2-Preferring his speech to be pleasant and nice, thinking that the truth is neither pleasant nor nice. So, he prefers to lie as it is the easiest thing to do.
3-Intending to gratify one’s thirst for revenge. So, he may tell lies about his enemy and attribute falsities to him.
4-Getting used to lying, which turns into a habit because its reasons accumulate and a liar becomes familiar with them.
5-Having an inclination to domineer, as the liar thinks that he is superior to the others to whom he gives information, thereby believing himself to be like a righteous scholar.
Some of the Signs of Lying
When one tells a liar something, he cannot differentiate between what he tells him and what he made up.
One can make a liar doubtful of his own words to the extent that he might take them back.
If one argues with a liar about what he said, he would get confused and not be able to defend himself or refute what he says.
Doubt and suspicion would be apparent on his face. Some wise men have said that faces are like mirrors that expose the secrets that people conceal.
If a person becomes a liar, all unknown rumors would be attributed to him, in addition to other made up lies, to the extent that people would tell lies about him. Thus, he would combine two different things: the disgrace of being a liar and the harm of lying to him.
Types of Lying
There are various types of lying; be it lying in deeds, sayings or intentions.The firstis lying in sayings. It means deliberately telling something that is not true or real. This type has different forms that vary in the degree of guilt. The gravest and worst type is telling lies about Allaah the Exalted and/or His Messenger,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}And who is more unjust than one who invents about Allaah a lie{]Quran 6:21[
This also includes deciding what is lawful and what is unlawful according to personal whims and not according to theSharee‘ah. That is why Allaah The Almighty rebukes the disbelievers when they claim that what they say is the legislation of Allaah. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:
}And do not say about what your tongues assert of untruth, “This is lawful and this is unlawful,” to invent falsehood about Allaah{]Quran 16:116[
}Or have they other deities who have ordained for them a religion to which Allaah has not consented? But if not for the decisive word, it would have been concluded between them. And indeed, the wrongdoers will have a painful punishment.{]Quran 42:21[
Moreover, the Prophet,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, warned us against telling lies about him when he said:“Whoever tells a lie about me intentionally, let him settle in his seat in Hell.”]Saheeh Al-Jaami‘ As-Sagheer: 6519[
This type also includes inventing lies about the believers such as those who testify to falsehood do. The Prophet,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, considered testifying to falsehood one of the grave major sins. Nowadays, we find that many people sell their religion and conscience and testify to falsehood, thereby squandering or failing to give people’s rights or making false accusations against them out of greed for a worldly reward or to gratify their thirst for revenge.
Another example is lying when joking in order to make others laugh. The Prophet,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:“Woe to him who lies to make people laugh. Woe to him! Woe to him!”]Ahmad and Abu Daawood, At-Tirmithi -Hasan[
A believer cannot be a liar for faith and lying cannot be combined in one person. Hence, when the Prophet,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was asked if a believer could be a liar, he replied in the negative, in spite of the fact that he stated that a believer could be a miser or a coward. This is because lying is one of the signs of hypocrisy. The Prophet,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:“There are three characteristics of a hypocrite: when he speaks he lies, when he makes a promise he breaks it and when he is trusted he betrays.”
Lying is not one of the characteristics of the noble rather a characteristic of the mean who despise themselves and find lying easy. If they had real self-esteem, they would have avoided lying.
‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allaah be pleased with him, said,“It is better for me to tell the truth even if it would demean me - and it rarely does - than to tell a lie that may elevate me - and it rarely does.”
The second typeis lying in deeds. One may do something in order to deceive others into believing that something actually happened, while it did not, or to express the existence of something that does not really exist. Lying in deeds could be more dangerous or more effective than lying in sayings. An example of this is what was narrated in the Quran about the brothers of Yoosuf )Joseph(, may Allaah exalt his mention, when they came to their father at night weepingand with his shirt stained with false blood. So they lied both in their deeds and in their sayings. ]Al-Akhlaaq Al-Islaamiyyah:1/529[
The third typeis lying in intentions, and this is when one intends to do something for the sake of anyone or anything other than Allaah. This is supported by theHadeethof the three types of people who would be the first to be thrown in Hell: the martyr, the scholar and the one who used to give charity.
Each one of these three would claim that he did what he did for the sake of Allaah but they would be told that they are liars. The first would be told,“You fought so that people would say that you are courageous.’The second would be told,“You gave in charity so that people would say that you are generous,”and the third would be told,“You learned so that people would say that you are a scholar.Therefore, lying is indeed the source of all sins and it brings utter disgrace upon the liar.

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