139-142

Because in the Chamber of Parliament, he saw indifference to religion and, under the pretext of Westernisation, a carelessness towards the Shaâ’er of Islam, which are the sacred historical glories of the Turk nation, he issued and distributed a declaration to the members of Parliament regarding the necessity and importance of their perseverance in ‘ibâdah, especially salâh.

And Kâzım Karabekir Pasha read it to M. Kemal. That declaration is as follows:

يَا اَيُّهَا الْمَبْعُوثُونَ اِنَّكُمْ لَمَبْعُوثُونَ لِيَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ1

O Mujahidîn of Islam, and O people of government!

I kindly ask that you listen to this poor man's ten words on a matter and his few pieces of advice.

1- The wondrous ni’mah of Allah in this victory demands shukr so that it can continue and increase. Otherwise, if ni’mah is not met with shukr as it is now, it will leave us. Since you have saved the Quran from the enemy's attack with the help of Allah, you must obey the fardh, such as salâh, which is the most explicit and definitive command of the Quran, so that its faydh can continue and remain upon you in this wondrous way.

2- You have delighted the Islamic world and gained their love and attention. However, the continuation of that attention and love is achieved by adhering to the Shaâ’er of Islam because Muslims love you due to Islam.

3- In this ‘âlam, you commanded ghazi and shahîds, who are the awliyâ of Allah! It is worthy of the dignity of those with high zeal to strive to be a companion to that luminous group in the âkhirah by obeying the definitive commands of the Quran. Otherwise, while you are the commander here, you will have to beg for nûr from a private soldier there. This vile world, with all its glory and honour, is not a thing that can satiate or satisfy people with sound minds, nor can it be their ultimate goal.

4- The communities of this Islamic nation, even if they do not perform salâh, or even if they are fâsiq, still want to see their leader as religious. As evidence, it can be noted that throughout Kurdistan, the first question they asked about all officials was, "Do they perform the salâh?" If the officials perform the salâh, they absolutely trust them; if they do not, the officials cannot be trusted in their eyes, no matter how powerful they are."

Once, there was a rebellion among the Beytüşşebab tribes. I went and asked, "What's the reason?"

They said, "Our district governor does not perform salâh; how can we obey such irreligious people?" Yet, those who said this were not performing salâh, and they were also bandits.

5- The fact that most of the prophets came to the East and most of the philosophers emerged in the West is a sign of azalî Qadar indicating that it is the religion and the heart that will raise the East, not the mind and philosophy. Since you have awakened the East to consciousness, provide a channel to it in a direction that suits its fitrah. Otherwise, your efforts will either be wasted or remain superficial.

6- Your enemy, the British, who are the enemies of Islam, have severely exploited and continue to exploit your religious indifference. I can even say that people who exploited your neglect of religion have harmed Islam as much as the Greeks have. For the sake of the interests of Islam and the salâmât of the nation, you must transform this neglect into good works. It is evident that despite the strong determination, perseverance and sacrifices of the Ittihadists2, and although they contributed to this awakening of Muslims, they were met with hatred and contempt from the Muslim nation in the country because some of them displayed a lax attitude towards religion. Muslims outside the country gave them and continue to show them appreciation and respect because they did not see their neglect in religion.

7- Despite the world of kufr attacking the Islamic world with all its means, with its civilisation, philosophy, sciences and missionaries, and having been materially victorious for a long time, it could not defeat the Islamic world from the aspect of religion. And at a time when all the Muslim groups of dhalâlah inside the country were limited to a small, harmful quantity, and when Islam maintained its strength and firmness through the Sunnah and the jamâ’ah, a current of bid’ah sieved from the corrupt European civilisation, which is indifferent to religion, cannot find a place in its bosom. It means that achieving significant and revolutionary work within the Islamic world can only be done by adhering to the principles of Islam and cannot be done in any other way. It did not happen in any other way, and when it happened, it quickly died out and was extinguished.

8- At a time when the depraved European civilisation that caused indifference in religion is on the verge of collapse, and at a moment when the time for the emergence of Quranic civilisation has begun, no constructive work can be done through indifference and negligence. If the work is destructive and harmful, Islam, which has already endured many wounds, does not need it.

9- The mu’min people, especially the ‘âwam, who appreciate your victory and service and love you, are the firm Muslims. They love and support you sincerely, are grateful to you, appreciate your sacrifices, and offer you the most immense and magnificent force that has awakened in them. It is necessary for you, too, to unite with and rely on the ‘âwam Muslims for the sake of Islam by obeying the commands of the Quran. On the contrary, preferring the wretched European lovers and imitators of the West, who have no nation and who have detached themselves from Islam, over the ‘âwam Muslims is detrimental to the interests of Islam; therefore, the Islamic world will turn its gaze elsewhere and seek help from others.

10- If there are nine possibilities of destruction and only one possibility of salvation along a path, only a mad, brave man who has given up on his life would choose to proceed down that path. Now, in performing the dharûriyyah of religion that takes up an hour out of twenty-four, such as salâh, there is a ninety-nine per cent chance of salvation; only in terms of ghaflah and laziness, there might be one possibility of worldly loss in it. However, in the abandonment of fardh, there are ninety-nine possibilities of loss. There can be only one possibility of salvation that is based solely on ghaflah and dhalâlah.

I wonder, what excuse can be found for the negligence and abandonment of fardh, which are harmful to both religion and the world? How can patriotism allow this? Especially these mujahid commanders and the Great Parliament are emulated. The nation will either imitate or criticise their flaws. Both are harmful. Therefore, in the members of Parliament, the rights of Allah also encompass the rights of His ‘abds. No real and serious work can be accomplished with men who disregard the countless reports and evidence that include the mystery of tawâtur and ijma’ and who accept a wahm coming from the sophistry of nafs and the waswasa of shaytan. The cornerstones of this great revolution must be strong...

The ma’nawî collective personality of this Parliament has assumed the meaning of sovereignty with the strength it possesses. If, by personally practising the Shaâ’er of Islam and making the nation practise the Shaâ’er, this Parliament does not assume the meaning of the khilâfah, too, as a representative, and if the Parliament does not satisfy the religious needs of this nation, who need four things for worldly life but are in need of religion at least five times through an unbroken tradition, and whose fitrah has not yet been corrupted, and who have not forgotten the needs of their rûh despite the playthings of civilisation, then they will inevitably give the meaning of the khilâfah entirely to the name, image and word you have accepted, and they will also provide the strength to maintain that meaning. However, such a force, which the Parliament does not possess and which is not used by the Parliament, will cause division, and that split opposes the âyah,

3 وَ اعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللّٰهِ جَمِيعًا

It is the time of jamâ’ah. The ma’nawî collective personality, which is the rûh of the jamâ’ah, is more firm and more capable of executing the laws of Sharî’ah. The khalîfah, as an individual, can only fulfil his duties by relying on that ma’nawî collective personality. If the ma’nawî collective personality, which is the rûh of the jamâ’ah, is mustaqîm, it becomes more brilliant and perfect. If it is evil, the jamâ’ah becomes evil. The goodness and evil of an individual are limited, but the goodness and evil of a jamâ’ah are unlimited. Do not spoil the good you have gained against non-Muslims with your evil work in the country. You know that your eternal enemies, opponents and adversaries are destroying the Shaâ’er of Islam. Therefore, your essential duty is to revive and preserve the Shaâ’er. Otherwise, it is unconscious assistance to a conscious enemy. Negligence in the Shaâ’er indicates a weakness of nationhood, and weakness does not hold the enemy back but encourages them.

4 حَسْبُنَا اللّٰهُ وَ نِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ

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