Mawlana Sheikh Mehmed Adil. Translations.

Our Prophet, peace be upon him, said in a Hadith: "There will always be a group from my Ummah who will remain steadfast on the right path. This group, this community, follows my path. It is the path of truth. And this path of truth will remain until the Last Day. Alhamdulillah, this path is the path of Tariqa. Other paths, however, which are not Tariqa, have emerged and disappeared by the thousands. None of them followed the way of our Prophet, but they followed the inclinations of their ego. Most of them have long since disappeared. But a new one always emerges – one ends, another begins. They all function in similar ways, yet their teachings are fundamentally different. Their goal is not the path that our Prophet showed us, but the one dictated by the desires of their ego. Whoever follows the path of his own desires has strayed from the right path. So what is the way of our Prophet? ٱجۡتَنِبُواْ كَثِيرٗا مِّنَ ٱلظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعۡضَ ٱلظَّنِّ إِثۡمٞۖ وَلَا تَجَسَّسُواْ (49:12) Our Prophet says: Beware of suspicion and bad assumptions. Stay away from it! And do not spy on one another! What is the consequence of not harboring bad assumptions and not spying? Then the commandment of our Prophet is fulfilled. We are now approaching the Day of Ashura. The Day of Ashura in the month of Muharram is approaching. The Day of Ashura was very dear to our Prophet. He valued this day highly and advised us: Fast. On this day one should fast and perform acts of worship. For this day, our Prophet gave some advice on what to do. Stick to these, that's enough. Don't pay excessive attention to other things. What happened or occurred on this day in the past – all of this is often based on assumptions that only serve to turn people against each other. The important thing is the test. It is about seeing whether a person listens to the words of our Prophet or not. Our Prophet says: Do not harbor bad assumptions and mind your own business. Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, alone judges what happens to others – He is the Judge. Nothing is lost in the process. What is lost, however, is one's own peace of mind, and faith is weakened. This is exactly what happens when one fails this test. May Allah protect us from that. The path of Islam is a demanding path. To stay on it, one must absolutely adhere to the truth. Otherwise, as soon as one leaves this path even a little, one can no longer gain anything. While trying to hold on to one thing, you lose your grip on the other side. But if you stay on the right path, the path of our Prophet, the straight path, then you have nothing to fear. Salvation is certain for you. Your end will be salvation. For then you belong to that group of which our Prophet spoke. You will belong to the community that remains on the path of truth, and they are the true winners. Through them, others are also guided. No matter how much people stray from the path – in the end it is the blessing of this group that saves them. This means that the path of Islam, Alhamdulillah, is continued by those who remain on this path. This wonderful path is the path of our Prophet. May Allah give us all the strength to stay on this path. For if you deviate even slightly from this path, your return is uncertain. Therefore, may Allah keep us on this right path. May we, Inshallah, be among those who are on the path that our Prophet praised.

Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, has granted Muslims these blessed months as a gift. This month, the month of Muharram, is the last of these months. There are three sacred Haram months: Dhū l-Qa'da, Dhū l-Hijja and Muharram. Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, has sanctified these months for the Hajj. No war may be waged in these months. Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, says: "If you are attacked, defend yourselves," but in these months it is neither necessary nor permitted to start a war. For these months are the Hajj months. People used to travel to and return from Hajj in these months. This serves so that they can travel there and back safely. There is also the month of Rajab; it is one of the sacred Haram months on its own. These months have been sacred since the day Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, created the earth and the heavens. In our world, in this life that we lead, these four months are sacred Haram months. By Allah, everything has its wisdom. Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, has granted these months out of mercy so that people do not constantly live in a state of war. Of course, jihad is necessary. Jihad is desired, but of course not everyone can conduct jihad according to their own judgment. Whoever wants to conduct jihad acts under a leader or commander. But if you rise up independently and say "I will conduct jihad" and follow unknown persons, then that is not obedience to the command, but resistance against the command. You should obey Allah, the Almighty and Exalted. His commands do not mean acting alone. You should have a commander above you so that you act according to his command. In today's world, of course, nothing is clearly recognizable for what it really is. Nothing is as it seems. People consider some to be sincere. Then they follow them. Some exploit these people to earn a few pennies, to destroy and ruin them. Therefore, it is not good to act alone or with people you do not know. One must act with people whose path is known, whose identity is clear. Therefore, as our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, our jihad today is against our ego; that is the greatest jihad. Especially since we are in the end times, we will conduct jihad against our ego. Whatever our ego says, we will resist it. But of course, can we resist it by one percent, two percent, or ten percent? What's important is to know that the greatest battle is the one with your ego. Because other battles are not under your command. You are under their command. The state of this world is uncertain, what will happen. What you consider good may be bad, and what you consider bad may be good. Therefore, one must be careful. A person does not need to put their ego in danger. This month is the month of Muharram, the month of Ashura. May this month, insha'Allah, bring good things. Most prophets and saints reached and received their ranks on the day of Ashura. Therefore, one must pay attention to this day. One should not run after everyone. For there is much betrayal, but sincere people are few. Truly sincere people are very rare. Therefore, there is no longer trust in anyone's words. Neither the words of women nor those of men can be trusted. Everyone says: "I'll do it, I'll act." Be careful, pay attention to everything that belongs to you. Pay attention to your wealth, your possessions, and especially to your religion. This group called Salafists, which emerged in the last century and has spread like cancer everywhere, immediately calls someone an 'unbeliever.' Yet they have neither sincerity nor anything else. They can deceive people. Let's see how long they will continue to deceive and when misfortune will befall them. May Allah protect us. May Allah improve them. May Allah protect us all, insha'Allah. Out of respect for these blessed months, insha'Allah.

إِنَّ هَٰذَا ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ يَهۡدِي لِلَّتِي هِيَ أَقۡوَمُ (17:9) Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, tells us that the Holy Quran shows the straight path and leads to guidance. Our Prophet teaches us: "Read the Holy Quran and benefit from it." The Holy Quran is the word of Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, and the only book that has remained unchanged to this day, just as He revealed it. There were indeed other holy scriptures like the Torah and the Gospel, but these were all corrupted. People changed and distorted them according to their own will. The only heavenly book that remained unchanged as Allah revealed it is the Holy Quran. Our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, says: "Read it," for it contains healing, blessing, and all good. Of course, not everyone can memorize the Holy Quran. Many parents send their children to Quran schools so they can memorize it, and they succeed in doing so. May Allah be pleased with them and protect them. Thank Allah, when summer comes, there is this beautiful tradition especially in Turkey - elsewhere you don't see it so frequently. When summer begins and school holidays start, our imams hold classes in the mosques - thank Allah. For about one to one and a half months, that is forty days, children go daily for one to two hours and learn the Holy Quran. They learn to write and pronounce the Arabic letters, beginning with the Alif-Ba. This is truly something beautiful. May Allah be pleased with the people who do this. Most families also send their children to these courses. Here in Cyprus we do the same. May Allah be satisfied - we had a former foundation chairman. He did everything possible to delight and encourage the children by giving gifts to the course participants. Today this tradition is probably not as widespread anymore, but still small gifts are distributed for encouragement. The Quran is the most important thing that a person most urgently needs. Learning the Holy Quran is more important than eating, drinking, and even breathing itself. The imams have already developed proven methods to teach this. If the child is attentive, it can already begin reading after one week. If it is less attentive, it starts after two weeks, otherwise after one month of reading the Holy Quran. After forty days it can already read fluently. That is the extent of the imam's task. After that, it is up to the families to ensure that what was learned is not forgotten. Reading the Holy Quran costs no time - on the contrary: Just reading the Quran with the child for five minutes daily is a time gain! Let the child read one page so that it continues and doesn't forget what it learned. Just this one page of Quran that it reads makes its entire personality mature, develops its mind and ennobles its character. It leads to all good - it learns to respect its family and become a useful member of society and humanity. This small daily repetition strengthens its soul and faith. Therefore, it is the most important task of all to teach, learn, and continue with the Quran - even though most people pay no attention to this. This is a huge gain, the greatest gain of all. Whoever doesn't do this has wasted their life. People nowadays are at a loss about what to do with their children. Parents have practically become slaves to their children. Although the child should serve the family, the family serves the child. And yet they cannot satisfy their children. In short: Reading the Holy Quran and implementing it in one's life ennobles a person's character. Thus he becomes a good servant of Allah who respects his family and fellow human beings. May Allah grant us all to serve Him in a beautiful way, Allah willing. This is like a seed that is planted in the child's heart. This seed will, Allah willing, grow in the future and develop into a fruitful, great tree.

قُلۡ أَرَءَيۡتُمۡ إِن جَعَلَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيۡكُمُ ٱلَّيۡلَ سَرۡمَدًا إِلَىٰ يَوۡمِ ٱلۡقِيَٰمَةِ مَنۡ إِلَٰهٌ غَيۡرُ ٱللَّهِ يَأۡتِيكُم بِضِيَآءٍۚ أَفَلَا تَسۡمَعُونَ (28:71) Allah has created everything beautifully. He has created this worldly life with the same beauty. In this life, everything has a pair. Day has its night. Black has its white. Against oppression, there is justice. That is, everything in the world has a counterpart, an opposite. Why has it become this way? Because this is a world of trial. Since it's a world of trial, there are devils and angels. There are believers and disbelievers. That is, everything has a counterpart, an opposite. Nothing is singular, nothing can be singular. The only One is Allah, the Almighty and Glorious. He is the owner of everything. He has no partner or equal, Allah forbid. Everything other than Allah certainly has a counterpart, an opposite. Those of the same kind come together. Opposites also pair with their opposites. Believers are together with the prophets, with our Prophet (peace be upon him). They are together with them. Who is his opposite? It is Satan. Those who follow Satan are also together with Satan. Those who go on his path are together with him. That is, in this world, this is the will of Allah, the Almighty and Glorious. This is Allah's will, but despite this, some foolish people speak without thinking. They say "If I were in charge," "I wouldn't leave anyone poor, I wouldn't leave disbelievers, I wouldn't do this, I wouldn't do that." Some people speak so foolishly that you'd think they're giving advice to Allah. That is, unknowingly they oppose Allah. Allah forbid, as if Allah doesn't know but they do; yet what they know, Allah has taught them. Didn't Allah know how to create everyone uniformly, only as believers, only as good? The wisdom of Allah, the Almighty and Glorious, is that He created everything as a trial. Therefore, while mankind is in this world, they should constantly keep this in mind. We always say this in different ways. But what's important is contentment, being pleased with Allah. Being content with everything you experience, with every day; this is what's important. Allah has given every blessing. For the blessings He has given, one must thank Allah, be content with His decree, and obey Him. One cannot object to any of His actions. Everything has wisdom. People suffer oppression and hardship, but Allah is their Lord. If they are patient, He gives them their reward. If they are not patient, they suffer in vain. As we said, in this worldly life, everything has an opposite. You be on the good side. Be on the side of light. Don't be on the side of darkness and oppression. Don't be with the oppressors. Don't be with the disbelievers. Be with enlightened people, with good people. Stay away from the evil ones. As we said, if there were no night, the value of day would not be known. Of course, Paradise is different; there is neither heat nor day nor anything else there. But this is the state of the world, one must know this. Some say "If I were in charge, I would do this, I would do that." Merkez Efendi said it best. His sheikh wanted to test the other disciples to make his beloved disciple Merkez Efendi his successor. He said "Everyone take a paper," "write what you would do if this world were in your hands." Everyone wrote many things: "I wouldn't leave oppressors, I wouldn't leave disease, I wouldn't leave evil, I would do this, I would do that..." The sheikh asked Merkez Efendi, "What would you do?" This is why his name remained Merkez Efendi; he said "I would leave everything in its center, as it is." "I would leave everything as it is." "Allah's decree is the most beautiful, whatever He has done is the most beautiful, I have no objection to any of His actions." This is how true believers, people whose hearts are at peace, are. May Allah make us among those who are pleased with Him. And may Allah be pleased with us. Because Allah is pleased with His servant, but most people, Allah forbid, are not pleased with Allah. They say "No, it's like this, no, it's like that" and so on. Those who are not pleased with Him, whatever they do, they have lost. Because people who oppose Allah have neither balance nor reason. However much they may say: "We are educated, we are cultured" - their culture is only appearance and vanity. Those who oppose Allah, the Almighty and Glorious, are nothing but this. Therefore, one must pity them. They think themselves something and act arrogantly. Those much stronger than them also opposed Allah. And they remained forever in loss and defeat. May Allah protect us.

كُلُّ ٱمۡرِيِٕۭ بِمَا كَسَبَ رَهِينٞ (52:21) Every person is accountable for what they have done. They must answer for everything they have made their own. Before Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, each person bears personal responsibility for their deeds. A person will receive reward for their worship, their obedience, and all their good works. None of it will go unrewarded. No deed in this world remains without consequences. What then can be lost? If you repent of your sins and ask Allah for forgiveness, He will erase them. Allah completely wipes away these sins. But if you remain stubborn and arrogant, continue sinning and even lead others to do so, then punishment awaits you. You will be held accountable and then see what your stubbornness has brought you. Therefore it is said: "One breath in this world is more valuable than a thousand years under the earth." For as long as you live, with every breath you have the opportunity for repentance and forgiveness. After that, it is too late. As soon as a person closes their eyes forever, their book of deeds is also sealed. Then there is no more opportunity to do good. But our Prophet (peace be upon him) teaches us that the reward for three things continues. First: a righteous child who prays for one. Their good deeds also benefit you. Second: knowledge that one has passed on and from which others benefit. Third: a lasting charitable foundation that one has left behind. These are works for the benefit of the community – like a well, a drinking fountain, a mosque, a school, a hospital, or an orphanage. The prayers of those who benefit from these good works also reach this person and are answered. But if you have neither performed such good deeds nor left behind such works, and on top of that committed many sins... ...and as if that weren't enough, also rebelled against Allah and defied Him... ...then your situation will not only be difficult, but catastrophic. May Allah protect us from this. This means: A person will find retribution for all their deeds in the hereafter. كُلُّ ٱمۡرِيِٕۭ بِمَا كَسَبَ رَهِينٞ (52:21) so it is written. Like collateral – that is, held fast and taken into custody. If he has something to redeem this collateral, he can pay and will be freed. But if he says: "I have nothing to pay," then he will be told: "Then go over there, to the left side." If there is still something good in your book, you might be freed again after years. But if you have no good deeds to show, you remain there forever. May Allah protect us from this. May Allah not let us follow our ego, insha'Allah.

Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says: When We called you to emigrate from your homeland, the hearts of some believers were filled with anxiety. But when the time for the Hijra came, the command of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, had to be carried out inevitably. Everything has its predetermined time, its right moment. As long as the time is not right, nothing happens, no matter how hard you try. But of course, some fall into despair and hopelessness because their affairs do not progress. They complain: "What should we do? We pray, but our prayers are seemingly not answered." Yet, everything is in Allah's hands. Everything is subject to His command and His omnipotence. It happens whenever He wills it. In everything He does, there is a hidden wisdom for us humans. In every moment a person experiences, there is wisdom. But the one to whom the greatest wisdom was granted is our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Every one of his movements, every word, every sign, and every instruction from him is filled with wisdom. But because man is only human, a certain resistance stirs within him as long as he does not grasp the wisdom behind it, no matter how hard he tries. Or he asks himself: "What is the wisdom behind this?" That is why the Hijra of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, also occurred by the direct command of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. After he had stayed many years in Makkah al-Mukarramah and the command of Allah came to him, his time there reached its completion. He had to flourish and therefore emigrated to Madinah al-Munawwarah. Not because he was afraid. The path of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, could have been effortless and without obstacles. But he undertook this journey to teach the people, to set an example for them, and so that they would experience miracles before he arrived in Madinah al-Munawwarah. There, the sun of Islam began to shine even brighter. The whole world saw this light. Whoever was destined for it took their share of it. Whoever was not destined for it, simply did not. The emigration of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, from Makkah to Madinah – that is, from Makkah al-Mukarramah to Madinah al-Munawwarah – was a divine command at that time. For the believers, the Hijra at that time was an obligation (Wajib). Because emigrating is not an easy thing. Leaving all one's possessions behind to start anew in a foreign place is a difficult trial. But the noble Companions left everything behind and emigrated without looking back for even a moment. They followed their Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. But after the conquest of Makkah al-Mukarramah, the Prophet declared: "After this day, there is no more Hijra." With that, the general command to emigrate was abrogated. So when is emigration still possible? Emigration can become necessary when people are oppressed or in great distress. But this is no longer a divine command. The Hijra as a universally applicable command existed only in the time of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. What we see today are people who become refugees or leave for other reasons – that is a different matter. In some countries, it is even more meritorious to persevere steadfastly than to emigrate. Instead of leaving the land to the disbelievers, it is better for you and for Islam to stand firm there, as long as you have the strength to hold your ground. For these are the lands of the Muslims. If you leave, the next one leaves, and the one after that too, who will be left there? It falls to the disbelievers, the Kuffar. Therefore, Muslims must be vigilant in this matter. They must know what they are doing. Those who set out today saying, "The Prophet emigrated, so we will do it too," are often not acting according to the true example of the Prophet. They do things that are not commanded. May Allah protect us from that. We live in the end times, and the times are difficult. People leave their homeland for various reasons, even a Muslim country, to seek money and prosperity in other places. But the best thing is to stay in one's own homeland, to earn one's living there in a halal way, and to live one's life. That is, if Allah wills, the better and more blessed path. May Allah keep us all on the right path.

We stand at the blessed first day of our new year. We are in the year 1447 after the Hijra. So many years have passed since the time of our Prophet (peace be upon him). The believers know its value. Those without faith celebrate the new year in their own way, with vain things. Some overdo it a little, some greatly, some completely lose their senses. But the next day, nothing of it remains. What they celebrated for, why they rejoiced - they don't understand it themselves. "We celebrated like this, but what happened?" they ask themselves, yet they see: everything is as before, nothing has changed. The only thing that has changed is the person himself. He has merely become one year older. But the Hijra year is different, praise be to Allah. We conclude the past year with worship and begin the new year with new obligations. We also spend this one, when the time comes, with worship, gratitude, praise, and prayer. And Allah grants reward and recompense for it. So they have not lost, but gained. Our year is a year that begins not with evil, but with good. We enter this year by praying for ourselves, our family, our children, our homeland, and our Ummah. We enter by asking for blessings and good. By asking for true goodness. We pray that the faith of the believers may grow. We also wish good for other people and want them to find guidance too. We pray that they too may experience these beautiful days, these blessed times. We wish evil upon no one. We want the oppression of the oppressors to end. Allah the Almighty grants the oppressed endless, boundless, countless rewards. The recompense for the patience of the oppressed is, as stated in the verse (39:19): إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُونَ أَجْرَهُم بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ "Verily, the patient will be given their reward without measure." Not ten, hundred, thousand good deeds, but without measure - there is no calculation anymore. Allah the Almighty gives them from His own treasuries. This is the blessed day, the first day of Muharram. May Allah make this our blessed year a means for good. For a believing person, everything is good. The only thing that changes is that another year of life has passed. Praise be to Allah, the last great worship of the past year was the Hajj for those who could perform it. There were also those who could not fulfill the Hajj obligation. May Allah accept the Hajj of those who were able to go. Many could not go. There were even those who came to the gates of Mecca but were not allowed to enter. They had both the intention and actually traveled there. Allah will surely accept their Hajj too. For our Prophet (peace be upon him) experienced the same situation. He had set out for Hajj but was prevented from it. Our Prophet (peace be upon him) had exited the state of Ihram at Hudaybiyyah and slaughtered his sacrificial animal. This year too, there were those who had the intention for Hajj and came to the border, but could not visit the Kaaba and could not go to Arafat. Allah will surely recognize their reward and good deeds too. For "Actions are according to intentions." They had both the intention and traveled there with the thought: "How can we find a way to enter?" Inscha'Allah, they were also granted the spiritual portion of this Hajj. May Allah accept them. The last great worship of the past year was the Hajj, which is an obligation. And now we begin again from the start. The month of Muharram, in which we find ourselves, is also one of the sacred months. Previously, fasting was done in this month, then Allah the Almighty changed this to Ramadan and made Ramadan fasting obligatory. Fasting in this month was not obligatory, but voluntary. Fasting from the first to the tenth of Muharram is also very meritorious. But the most important is the Day of Ashura. The first of these meritorious days is Ashura, the tenth day of Muharram. This day has its fasting and its duties to be fulfilled. Whoever fulfills these receives the first great reward of the new year. As we said, one fasts on the ninth and tenth or tenth and eleventh days, depending on how it works out. Or three days or from the first to the tenth - one can fast as one wishes. These days are a gift from Allah the Almighty to the believing and Muslim person. After that comes Rabi al-Awwal, the blessed birth month of our Prophet. The month of Rabi al-Awwal is also a great and blessed month. In this month is the blessed Mawlid of our Prophet. Now some ignorant people say about this: "This is Bid'a, this is Bid'a." Yet our Prophet (peace be upon him) fasted every Monday. When asked about the reason, he said: "I was born on this day." That is, our Prophet (peace be upon him) celebrated his birthday every week by fasting on Mondays, on his birthday. Is it then too much if we celebrate once a year? After that come blessed times like Rajab, Sha'ban, Ramadan, the festivals, the Night of Decree. All are contained in this year. That is, the year is not empty from beginning to end. For a Muslim, neither life nor time is empty. Every moment is full of meaning. No moment is empty. Just as nothing in the universe is empty... ...how could Islam be empty? It is not empty at all. Whoever leads an empty life is the person without faith, without anything - he is the one who is truly empty. However much he considers himself something special, he is an empty person. He runs after empty people. The people he considers fulfilled are actually empty. There is nothing in them. The one who is truly fulfilled is, with Allah's permission, the believer. Every minute of his is valuable. Inscha'Allah every moment of his is full of Allah's grace and good deeds. May Allah bless these our days. Inscha'Allah He will send Mahdi alayhissalam in this new year. That is what we expect. This day approaches day by day. Our hope is that it will inscha'Allah happen in this year.

Praise be to Allah, today is the last day of the year according to the Hijri calendar. The new year according to the Islamic calendar begins this evening. This is the year of the Muslims. May Allah bless this new year, insha'Allah. May it lead to good. May it help Islam to victory, may Mahdi alayhissalam come, insha'Allah. Mawlana Sheikh Nazim used to say: "We wait every night for Mahdi alayhissalam." Even that we wait from year to year is also good. This calendar has been counted since the time when our Prophet - peace be upon him - migrated to Medina al-Munawwara. Although Allah the Almighty had already described days and years to people before, the Islamic calendar, which establishes days, months and weeks for worship and other duties, was only finally determined at the time of our Prophet - peace be upon him. Before, people could change the months according to their own ideas, but after the time of our Prophet - peace be upon him, that was finished. All our worship, commandments and prohibitions are based on this. Taking this calendar as a foundation is a commandment of Islam. Many have tried to destroy it, but Allah the Almighty has preserved it. And with Allah's permission, it will remain until the Day of Judgment. These days are blessed days - today is the last day of Dhu al-Hijjah. Whoever wants can fast today, but the most important thing is that fasting in the month of Muharram is even more meritorious. Especially the ninth and tenth day of Muharram or the tenth and eleventh. The Day of Ashura is not fasted alone - either together with the day before, so the ninth and tenth, or with the day after, the tenth and eleventh, or all three together. These are days with great reward and merit. May Allah bless them. May Islam be victorious. Victory always belongs to Islam. The people in Islam have already won. Even if they seem to suffer - whoever is with Allah always wins. May Allah bless our new year. May He always make our days blessed, insha'Allah. May it lead to good. May He protect us from the evil of Satan. May He protect us from fithna, insha'Allah. May it lead to good - may we live in abundance and blessing, without being dependent on anyone, insha'Allah.

What Allah wills happens, and what He does not will does not happen. By Allah's will, the Almighty and Exalted, what He determines happens, and what He does not determine does not happen. This is something that believing people should never forget. Without Allah's will, nothing happens at all. Therefore everything in this world happens - when we live, where we are - through Allah's decree. That's why a believer doesn't panic about anything. He doesn't worry saying "What happened, what's going on?"; he submits. As our Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Aslim, taslam. Submit, then you will find peace. This is a beautiful word. If you submit, you will find salvation. To think: "No, he did this, he did that, what on earth has happened now?" Such worries and sorrows change nothing, bring you nothing at all. What's important is that you stay on the right path and continue your worship. In the end, the most important thing is to preserve our faith. Don't worry thinking "The world is ending, everything is collapsing" - that shouldn't concern you. That brings you nothing. Because you can't change anything about it anyway. What applies is Allah's will. You will accept this and come to peace. Otherwise you'll still say: "I got a panic attack, this happened to me, that happened to me." Take care of your own affairs, continue with your work and trust in Allah. May Allah protect us all. May Allah grant us all strong faith. Because when faith is strong, then nothing bothers a believer.

وَأَذِّن فِي ٱلنَّاسِ (22:27) After Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) built the honorable Kaaba, he called people to prayer. Everyone who has heard this call is destined to undertake the pilgrimage. The call to prayer is a tremendous grace that Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, has bestowed upon the believers. It resounds five times a day. Five times a day it calls people into the presence of Allah, the Almighty and Exalted. Therefore, this call to prayer is so infinitely valuable. People do not know how to appreciate its true worth. Thanks be to Allah that people in Muslim countries hear it five times a day. Five times a day they are reminded of Allah, the Almighty and Exalted – whether they pay attention to it or not. What matters is that they hear this beautiful call, for its blessing reaches the people. There is blessing in it. Whether they pray or not, whether they understand it or not – the call to prayer itself is a tremendous grace. For Gabriel (peace be upon him) also proclaims the call to prayer in the heavens. This call to prayer, which our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had his companions call with beautiful voices after confirming the dream, will resound with Allah's permission until the Day of Judgment. It makes people aware of the value of time – the value of their lifetime. Years ago, we once traveled to a non-Muslim country. For us, this was naturally taken for granted, since we had always lived in Muslim countries. In 1980, we traveled to England for the first time, to London. There, one could not hear the call to prayer outside. Only when you no longer hear the call to prayer do you notice how a day simply passes by, and only then do you understand its value. It's simply... nothing there. Without the call to prayer, there is no sense of time and no appreciation for life. It is the call to prayer that gives life meaning and value. To call people to Allah five times a day, to invite them to guidance, to success, to prayer and to piety – that is something extraordinary. It is as they say: You only recognize the value of something when you have lost it. Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, has given believers and Muslims everything beautiful. In Islam there is nothing bad, but people do not know it. This is a tremendous grace. It is a tremendous beauty. Without this call to prayer, everything is empty and meaningless. Thanks be to Allah that we hear it in our tekkes and mosques when we travel to non-Muslim countries. But because people outside do not hear it, there is a great emptiness there. The people there search for something to fill this emptiness. Look, our Lord who created us, Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, has offered this beauty to all people. Muslim or non-Muslim... Whoever accepts it, accepts it. Whoever does not, simply leaves it. And then he falls into distress and despair. Look, the blessing of the call to prayer is immeasurable. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says that the muezzin who calls the adhan receives a reward as great as the reach of his voice. Nowadays they have developed strange systems. They pay the muezzin his salary, and that's all. But the muezzin does not call himself; the call comes from a machine. By doing this, they deprive themselves of this reward. May Allah grant guidance to these people. May He give them the insight to return to the Sunnah, insha'Allah.