We began to remember death only in the case of depression, distress and illness. If we don’t have a head ache and our business doesn’t go wrong, we will not remember neither death nor further of it. However, Rasulullah ordered that: "Remembering the death protects from sins and prevents from engaging with the world exceedingly". In the communities forgetting Allah, remembering the death and the Hereafter only on depressed days and in cases of illness, do troubles get end?
Dear readers,
It was about a month ago. The phone rang. I picked up the handset. It was my daughter in Istanbul. Of course, I was glad to hear her voice. After inquiring her and my health, we talked about some issues for a while. I don't remember how it was opened up, she said me that "Daddy, I'm reading the messages that you sent. You explain the issues very well with clear and comprehensible terms, basing on hadiths and verses. But you're talking about death always lately. It is all the good… Are you depressed?" I want to share with you the answer that I replied he since I consider it very important.
Dear readers, of course I'm not depressed. Praise be to Allah, my physical health, and mental health is good… I'm not dependent on anyone else my Rab. I have nothing except of a house, a pension, food and clothing enough to meet my needs, a computer with the necessary hard ware, and a library. All my need is being supplied my hard-working wife whom my Lord has granted me. I try to share some issues that I know with you for Allah’s consent with love and affection in my heart. I don't have any expectations from anyone… I love everything and everyone very much. I feel myself the most happy and peaceful person in the world. We beg Rab not to ruin our established order. What's better than that…
Dear readers, this approach of my dear daughter, in fact, is not anything other than the reflection of very serious spiritual disease to her, happened to our dear folk in recent years. We began to remember death only in the case of depression, distress and illness. If we don’t have a head ache and our business doesn’t go wrong, we will not remember neither death nor further of it. However, formerly our dear folk never used to get death and doomsday out of their mind. That's how it was overtopped than other nations. Now, I will share with you a few paragraphs from an article titled "What we were and what we became“ posted on a site on the internet, the source of which I couldn’t identify. See the difference.
[We wouldn’t touch illicit things: French author Motray, tells our status in 1700 as follows: "Even my single penny never got lost in Turkish shops. Whenever I forgot anything, the shop owners whom I didn’t introduce any time, submitted man behind me to help, in fact, a few times, they had come up my resident in Beyoglu."
We were civilized: British Ambassador Sir James Porter tells about Turkey’s status in the 1740s as follows: "Safety and public peace prevailing both in Istanbul and other cities of the Empire without hesitation prove that Turks are very civilized people."
We were rightful: French general the Comte de Bonneval pass a decision that: “The offenses, such as, injustice, usury, monopolism, burglary doesn’t exist among Turks... They exhibit such a honesty that many times people remain fascinated their accuracy.“
We wouldn’t know what burglary was: French author Dr. Brayer sets out Istanbul in the 1830s: “In Istanbul where gate of house used to rarely closed, and shops used to leave open trusting public, five to six cases of the burglary used to happen in Istanbul every year."
Ubicini, certifies Dr. Brayer by saying that: "In this amazing city, although owner of shops leaves their shops open on salat times, and gates of houses is closed with a simple latch, the number of case of burglary doesn’t exceed four. However, in Galata and Beyoglu, people of which are Christian inhabitants, without exception, every day, cases of burglary and murder occur.”
We were kind: Italian explorer, namely Edmondo de Amicis tells about us in the 1880s: "Turkish people in Istanbul is the most gentle and polite people in Europe. Street fighting is rare. Laugh loudly is rarely heard."
We led by example to the world: Judgment of Du Loir on Turkey in the 1650s, who is famous with his travel book on Turkey, is as follows: "Undoubtedly, Turkish politics and Turkish civil life could be an example to the world in terms of morality."]
And author ends the article with a question as follows :
[The essential question that worth asking and answering: What is that existed at that times but doesn’t exist today? How did we lose it? And how can we acquire it?]
Dear readers, the answer of this question is quite simple: This thing that existed at that times but doesn’t exist today is "mature faith ", "fear of Allah”. And of course, it is to remember death basing on these, and often remember the doomsday. Rasulullah (s.a.w) ordered that:
"Remembering the death protects from sins and prevents from engaging with the world exceedingly" [Ibni Abiddunya]
"Anyone who thinks the death twenty times every day, rises to the degree of the martyrs." [I. Ghazali]
"Remember the death very often, the heart of the people remembering the death very often becomes very happy, and his death occurs easier." [Daylami]
“Remembering the death is a good deed like giving alms” [Daylami]
“As iron rusts, hearts get rusted with sins. The polish of hearts is to remember the death very often and read Qur’an” [Bayhaqi]
In the communities forgetting Allah, remembering the death and the Hereafter only on depressed days and in cases of illness, do troubles get end?
Be entrusted to Allah.
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