Wednesday, January 25, 2023
President of Religious Affairs Prof. Dr. Ali Erbaş shared a message on the beginning of holy three months which involve the month of Rajab, the month of Shaban and the month of Ramadan.
President Erbaş used the following expressions in his message:
With the month of Rajab, we have entered into the climate of mercy, blessing and forgiveness of three months. Endless praises to the Almighty Allah (swt) for reaching us once again to this holy season which has an important place in our world of faith, worship, and culture. May the Almighty Allah (swt) give us his blessing in order for us to put these holy days into good use properly.
Life is a great blessing and valuable trust endowed to the human beings. Time, on the other hand, is an unmatched capital which relies on the opportunity of existence and living. The conception and the consciousness of time are the starting point of human's all actions regarding the life. The meaning which is attributed to time and each of its moments is the most fundamental factor that determines the nature, quality, and standard of individual and social life. While the time is the opportunity for eternal salvation for those who can realize its importance with strong awareness, it can also turn into a cause of frustration for those who remain unaware of it. This situation is a reality that requires a lifetime of awareness. It should be known that while consuming the capital of life that falls to his share of the time that is flying away at every moment, human being is actually filling his bag for the journey to everlastingness. What human beings will encounter in the everlasting world will be what they put into their bag in this world. For this reason, the Almighty Allah (swt) invites believers to be conscious and aware of this valuable capital by swearing time and its specific periods in the Holy Quran. The Almighty Allah (swt) calls upon us to come to an attention in faith, good deeds, truth, and perseverance for being a servant properly.
In consequence of divine will’s manifestation, the time, as a matter of fact, is valuable with its every moment. However, there are times that offer Muslims a new opportunity for liveliness and motivation against the mundaneness that is likely to occur during their life journey. The holy three months mean and value to us in such a way. These months, which face us with ourselves and give us the opportunity for accounting, repentance, and renewal, are an exceptional climate of spirituality with blessed times in them. As a matter of fact, Lailat-Al-Ragaib, when we will turn our desire only to the Almighty Allah (saw) and make it a milestone for a new beginning, is a herald of these months. Lailat-Al-Miraj, which witnessed the miraculous ascension of our Beloved Prophet (saw) and His being received before the Almighty Allah (swt) with various good news, is a holy period of these months. Lailat-Al-Bara’ah, which is an occasion for forgiveness, mercy, and purification for believers by the grace and blessing of the Almighty Allah (swt), is a breeze of this climate. Lailat-Al-Qadr, when the Holy Quran, our guide to life, which has illuminated the horizons of humanity for 14 centuries as a sign of the Almighty Allah's (swt) mercy to His servants was sent down, is the peak of this climate. These months, which put countless blessings in our lives, are the seasons of desire for good, staying away from evil, and mercy, blessing and forgiveness altogether. For this reason, our Beloved Prophet (saw) made the following dua when these months started, “O Allah (swt)! Make the month of Rajab and Shaban holy for us and make us reach to the month of Ramadan.”
The only way to benefit from this season is through steady faith, unlimited submission, and sincere effort without a doubt. For our greatest opportunity to free us from the deceptive and diverting activities of the world and to bring us into the spiritual atmosphere of this blessed season is our faith in Almighty Allah (swt). It is our loyalty to our promise to Him. It is our effort to fulfil the requirements of that promise. In that case, we should see these months as an unmatched opportunity that we will never get our hands on again and look for ways to benefit from their spiritual atmosphere. By turning to the Almighty Allah (swt) with our repentance, seek for forgiveness and duas, we should endeavour to strengthen our faith, to strengthen our loyalty, to make our servitude better and to make every moment of our lives a witness to our faith.
On this occasion, I wish that these three months we comprehend will conduce to conquest of good and expulsion of the evil. I make duas for unity and solidarity of Muslims and peace and tranquillity of the world. May the Almighty Allah (swt) protect the Islamic world and all the humanity from all kinds of disasters, calamity and evil for the sake of the duas we made in these holy days and nights. May He make us worthy of his mercy, blessing, grace and forgiveness in this world and the hereafter.
Prof. Dr. Ali ERBAŞ
President of Religious Affairs