In last week’s article, we began to discuss Fethullah Gülen Hocaefendi’s efforts in religious renewal, dividing this into three stages. First, we examined the “golden generation” he nurtured and the interpretation of Islam he taught. In this article, we will address Hocaefendi’s service methodology and philosophy of preaching.
Philosophy of Preaching
Preaching is the profession of prophets, consisting of conveying the truths of revelation, the tenets of faith, and the beauties of religion to people. It is a call to Allah and His Messenger, enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil. It is the effort to protect religion, sacred values, and moral principles. It involves being an advocate for values such as truth, justice, equality, freedom, tolerance, cooperation, and peace, which the Qur’an and Sunnah command to establish. In summary, it is helping and serving the true religion that Allah has sent for the happiness of humanity in both worlds.
Because preaching is the most sacred duty in the eyes of Allah, He entrusted this responsibility to His most beloved prophets. Yet preaching, given its importance, is a difficult, challenging, and arduous task. Changing even a small habit or breaking simple prejudices in people is known to be extremely difficult. Changing deeply rooted beliefs, a comprehensive life philosophy, perspectives on existence, or traditions entrenched in the very veins of a society is even harder. Therefore, this task must be carried out with extreme care, caution, planning, and wisdom.
If the proper method and approach are not adopted, the outcome may turn out to be the exact opposite of what is intended. For this reason, the prophets were granted extraordinary intelligence and wisdom to shoulder this heavy burden. Achieving success in preaching primarily requires following the path of the prophets and adhering to their methods and practices. Therefore, those who follow the prophetic path must deeply understand the philosophy of the Prophet’s life and the conditions of their own time.
As we noted, serving religion and calling people to truth and reality is an inherently challenging duty. It is a fact that this task has become even more difficult in the modern era. There are various reasons for this, which can be briefly outlined as follows:
- There has never been as much propaganda against Islam as there is today, resulting in a strong anti-Islam sentiment in global public opinion.
- The underachievement of Muslims in science, technology, industry, culture, and civilization over the past centuries has reinforced negative perceptions of them.
- Radical religious groups’ violent actions have contributed to Islam being portrayed as synonymous with radicalism, violence, and terrorism.
- Since the Enlightenment, a major paradigm shift has occurred, replacing revelation with reason (rationalism), the afterlife with worldly concerns (secularism), God with man (humanism), and religion with science (positivism).
- As humanity has advanced materially in the modern era, it has regressed in faith, spirituality, and metaphysics. The idea of denying God has gained strength and spread under the guise of being supported by science.
- Religion and religious values have been left lonely and unprotected in recent centuries. The protective walls of sacredness have been demolished, and ideas completely contrary to the Qur’an and Sunnah have been dressed in the garb of religion.
- With the advancement of mass communication and transportation, globalization and pluralism have become realities, making everything occur under the world’s scrutiny. Negative perceptions and thoughts about Islam have rapidly spread everywhere.
- In addition, humanity faces a massive, comprehensive, unstoppable, irreversible, and unprecedented wave of change in social, political, economic, cultural, and moral domains, fundamentally altering the face of the world.
So, in an era marked by rapid transformations and revolutions in all aspects of life—when people are distancing themselves from religion, alienating themselves from faith and spirituality, becoming more worldly, and experiencing a sort of “age of ignorance”—what should be the methods, approaches, and style of serving religion? Preachers and mentors must first accurately read their era, understand these changes and transformations, and grasp the direction the world is heading.
Unfortunately, some people act as if they are living in the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab or Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, writing and speaking accordingly, and thus fail to make progress. They cannot see the realities or, even if they do, cannot take appropriate actions in response. They cannot present religious values in an appealing or attractive manner. They fail to become a center of attraction with their words, actions, attitudes, and behavior, and they cannot draw people who are distant from religion closer to themselves.
It must be clearly stated that if the Hizmet Movement has achieved significant success in serving religion and humanity, it is due to Hocaefendi’s preaching philosophy and service methodology, which align with both the essence of religion and the conditions of the time.
Hocaefendi articulates the need for methods and strategies suitable to today’s changing world as follows:
“Our predecessors did their utmost to spread the name of Allah to all corners of the world according to the conditions of their time. This was sometimes done through saints and spiritual guides, sometimes through merchants, and sometimes through conquests. They breached seemingly insurmountable walls, reached places deemed unreachable, and became symbols of peace, harmony, and justice in the places they went. However, the world we live in is no longer the world they lived in. Everything has changed—not only social, political, and economic conditions but also cultures, philosophies, and understandings. Therefore, the paths and methods to be followed for the glorification of Allah’s name must also be in line with the requirements of the age. Otherwise, achieving success will be extremely difficult, and even the opposite of the intended result may occur.” (Işık Karanlığı Boğarken, p. 210)
Moreover, since the damage inflicted on religion today is so profound and widespread, the efforts to repair it must also be commensurate with its magnitude. Can this be achieved solely through Friday sermons and mosque lectures? Can Imam Hatip schools or Theology faculties alone break prejudices against Muslims and cleanse the distortions tarnishing Islam’s bright face?
Even more critically, do those graduating from these institutions or working within the religious establishment carry this sense of purpose, concern, cause, or anguish? Can we fulfill this responsibility merely by sending our children to Quran courses, having them memorize the Quran, or ensuring their involvement in religious services? Essentially, there is no small or big service in religion. Our aim is not to belittle the services being offered but to highlight how insufficient the current steps are in addressing the existing problems.
