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‘O Mary! God gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name is the Messiah [Christ] Jesus son of Mary, honoured in this world and in the Hereafter, and among those nearest [to God]. (Al ‘Imran, 3.42-45) Mary, the mother of Jesus belonged to the family of ‘Imran, one of the noble

Question: Feelings of fellowship between people can be damaged because of some unexpected behavior, and thus good will towards one another can easily be weakened. Is this situation a result of a fault and immaturity in our belief? How can we attain true perfection in belief and how ca

Traditionally, civilization has been defined as the coexistence of people who come together around humanistic thoughts and feelings, and who are conscious of their being human. Since people naturally live in groups, some degree of civilization has always existed. True civilization is

At birth man has no conscious knowledge about himself or about the environment around him; nevertheless, he is not an alien but fitted for the world into which he is born. To begin with, his body is made up of the same elements as exist in nature: the building blocks that make up the

Happiness is a subjective concept that evades accurate definitions or objective measurements. Social scientists, philosophers, and ordinary people have different perspectives when they are asked to describe their feelings about happiness. People’s moods, such as being optimists or pes

THE QUR’AN AND ESTABLISHED SCIENTIFIC FACTS It is another argument for the Divine authorship of the Qur’an that it refers to certain facts of creation recently established by modern scientific methods. How, except on account of its Divine authorship, is it possible for the Qur’an to b

Sūratu’l-Wāqi‘ah (The Event to Happen) I swear by the locations of the stars (and their falling). It is indeed a very great oath, if you but knew. Most certainly it is a Qur’ān (recited) most honorable. (Al-Wāqi‘ah 56:75–77) Alas for humanity whose heart has been hardened and covered

Question: All of the Prophets sought refuge in God’s might and power in the face of misfortunes that befell them and pointed out that only God grants success. So, what is the role of reciting prayers of “hasbiya” (God’s sufficiency) for devoted souls who face lots of difficulties and

When asking this question, the author was under the impact of what we can call a “natural Paradise,” far from the noise of the city, in a rural setting in the upper Pennsylvania region, where Fethullah Gülen resides. When there were several small lodges, unrepaired for years, at the b

Among people there are also many who worship God on the borderline… (Al-Hajj 22:11) Among people there are also many who worship God on the borderline (of faith) in expectation of only worldly gains. If any good befalls him, he is satisfied with it, but if a trial afflicts him,