Religious Guidance and Community Values

Esteemed teachers,

beloved

young children,

distinguished ladies and gentlemen.

I greet you with my most heartfelt affection.

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.

The Pride of the Universe, our Master,

sent as a mercy to the worlds, the Holy

Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, says:

"When a human being dies, their book of deeds closes.

Only

for three does the book of deeds remain open

and rewards continue to be recorded:

Those who give ongoing charity,

those who raise a righteous child,

the book of deeds of those who leave beneficial knowledge

does not close.

Even after death,

rewards are recorded."

Never forget, dear brothers and sisters.

He

was a prophet sent as a mercy to the worlds.

He was the master of masters whom

the Creator addressed as "My Beloved."

He was the Seal of the Prophets. He

was the last prophet. On the Miraj, he

He was the imam who led the prophets in prayer.

He was the guide of humanity, its mentor,

its leader.

They starved him and his companions. They oppressed them.

They tortured them. They humiliated them.

They ostracized them. They cast them out of society.

He could endure no more. His beloved Mecca,

the honored Mecca, his home,

his homeland, he was forced to leave behind.

In a cave where he took refuge, when his companion,

our master Hazrat Abu Bakr Radiyallahu Anh,

saw him grieved, from his lips

poured these divine words: "La tahzan

innallaha ma'ana."

"Do not fear,

do not dread, do not grieve, do not sorrow,

do not fall into despair. Allah is with us,"

he said.

That very sense of trust. That patience and

endurance brought those two travelers

out of the cave safe and sound. Even though

the enemies were at the entrance of the cave.

They reached Medina. That patience and

endurance, a civilization in Medina

built. That patience and endurance

granted the Prophet and his companions the clear conquest,

the conquest of Mecca, triumph.

I also especially want you to know this.

In the palaces of Andalusia,

an inscription catches your eye.

Those of you who have visited have seen it.

La ghaliba illallah.

There is no victor but Allah.

That is why today, from here, this indoor

sports hall,

in your presence,

together with you, across all television

channels broadcasting live, to my nation and the world,

I address. And it is this,

my brothers and sisters. Do not forget this:

Whatever position we may hold,

arrogance,

pride we never let near us and we never will.

And

and we will not forget this:

"Al-muslimu man salima al-muslimuna

min lisanihi wa yadih."

We will not forget this. A Muslim is one

from whose tongue and hand

all Muslims are safe and secure.

A Muslim cannot set a trap for a Muslim.

Let alone a Muslim trapping another Muslim, they cannot set traps

for other people either.

And from here today, I especially

want to remind you of something.

We,

especially as Muslims,

must reconsider our understanding

of servitude to God.

We recognize no deity

other than Allah.

We must know this.

Mortals cannot be deities to us.

We must know: is this person not human? They also have flaws,

they make mistakes. Even the President

makes mistakes. Tayyip Erdoğan makes mistakes too.

The Speaker of Parliament makes mistakes too.

We will see this, we will know this.

No human being is unaccountable,

no one is unquestionable.

We all need to know that we can be

questioned. That is why we are obliged

to examine ourselves. Before we are

called to account, we must hold

ourselves to account.

Young people! Let us not forget there is a day of reckoning.

We will all be held accountable there. But before that day

comes, let us hold ourselves accountable here.

We will show no tolerance to those who set their sights

on the nation's trust.

We will show no tolerance to those who violate the orphan's rights.

Praise be to God, we were never among those who touched what is forbidden.

But that is not enough. We will not allow anyone

to lay hands on what is forbidden.

We will not turn a blind eye.

We will not remain silent in the face of this. Young people!

We will not deviate from this path.

We will never forget that we are members and children of this nation.

We will not be those who work for others, but those who fight

for their nation, for their country, for their principles,

and for their ideals.

We will see all 76 million

as one and united.

We will care for our neighbor's troubles, share the nation's grief,

and make the struggle of all the oppressed

across the earth our own.

We will be inclusive. We will respect ethnic, religious,

sectarian, and ideological differences,

and love the created for the Creator's sake.

A century has passed with the honorable

struggle of an exemplary generation. We will continue

this honorable struggle with determination and responsibility.

I repeat here once again:

No matter what happens, you will not lose hope.

You will not grieve, nor will you despair.

You will not bow your heads.

If you believe, you are surely superior.

You will never forget this.

You will walk on the path you know to be right

without wavering or straying, and press forward.

We have never grieved.

We never fell into despair or hopelessness,

we were never pessimistic. We never lost hope

in the Most Merciful of the merciful.

"There is surely a destiny above destiny,"

we said.

We resisted.

We struggled. When there was nothing we could do,

times, we took refuge on our prayer rugs.

Raising our hands to the sky, we walked together in prayer.

We were not among the impatient.

We were not intolerant. This is our

own homeland. This is our true motherland.

We are members of this nation. We are

the very nation itself.

We are the children of this land,

this homeland. We are the grandchildren

of our ancestors, of the noble martyrs.