Why the Path to Salvation is Simple

There are persons to whom we preach the Quran alone who react to the wide divergence between it and the Islam of the majority by saying: “You are simplifying the religion. How can religion be so easy to practice?” and accuse those who defend the Quran alone by subjectivism, attempting to suit it to their own ends.

Muslims love to display their ignorance of the verses of the Quran. When one actually looks to the Quran, there is nothing complex about God's laws. If you are advocating a ‘difficult and complex’ path, it is not the way of the Quran; for it is as simple as the creed of Abraham.

"And strive in the cause of God its truly deserved striving. He is the One who has chosen you, and He has made no hardship for you in the system, the creed of your father Abraham; He is the One who named you 'those who have submitted' from before and in this. So let the messenger be witness over you and you be witness over the people. So hold the contact prayer and contribute towards purification and hold tight to God, He is your patron. What an excellent Patron, and what an excellent Supporter." (Qur'an 22:78)

"...God does not wish to cause you any hardship..." (Qur'an 5:6)

GOD'S SPOKESMEN

Sectarian zealots who dared to act as spokesmen of God have invented the religion of Islam, and made it as if it were a curse upon mankind! They presented it as if it ran counter to human nature, logic, science and justice. One hundred and fourteen bismillahs (beginning verse of the surahs) and hundreds of other verses recite and reiterate God’s compassion and generosity. The bigoted traditionalist mentality has represented themselves as a product of freakish thought, encumbering themselves with impediments and condemning the sobriety and simplicity inherent in the Quran. Music of the Quran taken by some as a sort of incantation was enough to lull the traditionalist’s bigoted mentality.

"...God wants to bring you ease and not to bring you hardship..." (Qur'an 2:185)

"God wishes to lighten your difficulties, for humans are created weak." (Qur'an 4:28)

The creed of the Quran involves no difficulties and the Quran is not an inaccessible book. Those whose motto has been “The Quran is a sacred book and it is not for everybody to understand it,” served no other purpose than to move people away from it. They seem to be blind to the Quran’s address, which is directed to mankind and not to a happy few! The idea behind this was certainly to monopolize it and make it exclusive to a select group of sheikhs and imams who were to guide the people. The contradictions and difficulties created under them were to perpetuate. To prove the contrary and the accessibility of the Quran to all, the following verse which is repeated four times in the Surah 54 is glaring evidence:

"And We made the Qur'an easy to remember. Are there any who will learn?" (Qur'an 54:17, 54:22, 54:32, 54:40)

WALLS ERECTED BETWEEN THE QURAN AND US

The Quran addresses mankind. It is the guide for all. It is made easy as the above quoted verses testify. Otherwise how could men receive advice from a book they did not understand? By making the Quran inaccessible, believing that they glorified it, they contradicted it unwittingly!

We should like to quote here from a book entitled Saadet-i Ebediyye (Eternal Bliss) whose author is Hüseyin Hilmi Iþýk: “Faithfulness means obeying the commandments. Reciting the Quran is a prayer. To understand it is not prescribed. To understand the Quran requires the acquisition of seventy-two auxiliary and eight fundamental pieces of knowledge. Only then can one absorb the wisdom concealed in it, providing God allows it, of course, by His grace. To say that it is within reach of every individual would be incorrect. To penetrate the secret meaning of the Quran requires ten years of study for a person who is talented and fifty years for someone of average intelligence, while for us, whose intelligence is mediocre, one hundred years. Wisdom, according to the Sharia, corresponds to the acquisition of useful knowledge. In other words, what is meant by ‘useful knowledge’ is that body of religious knowledge and erudition that leads one to God.”

There is no need to draw attention to the crass ignorance, primitivism, foolishness and inanity reflected by the above lines, representative of the bigoted mind.

HOW DID THE BEDOUIN ARABS UNDERSTAND THE QURAN?

According to Hüseyin Hilmi, to understand the Quran has nothing devotional about it. Yet an individual of average intelligence may have access to it after a study of fifty years. A critic has the following to say to these inanities: Had the scholars taken the trouble of consulting the Quran, they would have seen nowhere such prescriptions. It is true that their intelligence is so poor that they cannot understand the plain admonitions of the Quran. They do not realize that the Quran addresses the illiterate mass of people. The Meccans were not in a position to learn 72+8 auxiliary fundamental pieces of knowledge before they had the privilege to have access to the Quran. These so-called scholars might penetrate the erudition of the Quran had they ever taken the trouble to consult it with a light heart. Yet, they had already reached a satanic decision, according to which understanding the Quran was denied them. However, one must differentiate between ‘I don’t understand the Quran,’ and ‘I can’t understand the Quran.’ And last but not least, to impute lack of intelligence to those who are willing to have access to it by saying: ‘Since I don’t understand it, how can others do so?’

One of the main reasons of the revelation was to do away with idols, divinities, priests, clergy and sanctified individuals who interceded between God and man. We cannot but witness the working of intercessors like sheikhs, sectarian imams, traditionalists and canonical scholars.

"Absolutely, to God is the true system. And those who set up allies besides Him: "We only serve them so that they may bring us closer to God." God will judge between them in what they dispute. For God does not guide him who is a liar, a rejecter." (Qur'an 39:3)

THE DIFFICULT LIFE OF THE TRADITIONALISTS

We shall try now to give a brief account of a matrimonial life according to the sectarian. This will give us a good idea how difficult life has been rendered thanks to the ingenuous fabrications of the sectarian mind.

The couple should get out of bed with their right foot first. Good deeds require the primary use of the right foot, for the use of the left foot leads to the carrying out of evil deeds. One should do well to wear a headgear before entering the bathroom. Speaking in the bathroom is banned and if anyone asks something while one is in the bathroom, the question should remain unanswered. Man must give up the habit of urinating standing but do so in a crouched position.

If either of the spouses is to take a bath, he or she should keep a loincloth on. A person should acquire the habit of covering his/her private parts even when alone in the bathroom. Although there is no one around, one should be conscious of the omnipresence of angels. In the course of taking a bath one should take care that one washes first the right shoulder while continuing to recite the Arabic prayers as foreseen in the relevant books. To clean the teeth with miswak is obligatory. Proper care of teeth must not be neglected. According to certain scholars, filling teeth would cancel the ablution. The man will remain dirty. In the case of decay of a tooth, it must be pulled out and false teeth used. False teeth should be taken out during ablution and washed well since otherwise the polluted state of its wearer will continue.

When a man is to perform his "daily prayer", he would do well to wind his turban, which should preferably be seven meters long. A man must wear only green, black or white colors. Yellow or red must be avoided. The spouses should eat seated on the ground and avoid eating at tables, modern inventions. In the seated position on the ground the right leg shall be bent while the left shall remain folded beneath the buttocks. The meal is served in one single dish. Utensils like forks or spoons should be avoided. The best way of eating would be the use of one’s three fingers. It is advisable to start a meal with salt. Water during the meal should be drunk in three gulps. The use of the right hand in eating is an absolute necessity since things eaten with the left hand go to the belly of Satan. Upon the conclusion of the meal, three fingers shall be licked starting with the thumb, for this is sunna, which must be obeyed. A man must look in the mirror, check whether his beard has grown longer than allowed. Care must be taken not to trim it shorter; for, then he would assume to be too handsome. Man’s application of collyrium at the outer corner of the eye and his parting his hair down the middle are commendable.

The wife should let her hair grow full length and must not have it cut. To have her eyebrows plucked is a great sin. If she happens to go out, she must make sure that a next of kin accompany her if she intends to go at a distance longer than 90 kilometers. However, it is best for her to stay indoors. When she goes out, she should not forget to cover herself and refrain from dabbing on perfume. It is best for her to cover her entire body and wear gloves. Many scholars have advised that the cut nails of a woman must be buried in the ground considering that they are a part of her body, making sure that they are not seen by males.All so-called controversial things must be avoided, according to the sects. Music, stringed instruments and especially a woman’s voice are banned. Sexual relations must take place with clothes on since otherwise angels may be offended. The sight of sexual organs must also be avoided by the couple.

When entering or leaving the house one must make sure that the first step must be with the right foot. Dogs should not be let in for fear of offending and keeping away the angels. Beds or couches must touch the ground and be without legs. One must take ablution before going to sleep. It is said that a person who dies clean in his sleep will go to paradise as a martyr. The sleeping position shall be as follows: the right hand shall be placed beneath the head while the sleeper lies on his right side. Lying flat on one’s belly is the worst position imaginable. A person who sleeps prone must be warned by either of the spouses to change his/her position.

INTERMINABLE ADVISE

All these prescriptions are enough to show how religion has been invented by sectarian books. This system preached by them obstructs the natural living of an individual. The same attitude may be observed in other religions.

"Then We sent in their tracks Our messengers. And We sent Jesus, son of Mary, and We gave him the Gospel, and We ordained in the hearts of his followers kindness and mercy. But they invented Monasticism which We never decreed for them. They wanted to please God, but they did not observe it the way it should have been observed. Consequently, We gave those who believed among them their recompense, while many of them were wicked." (Qur'an 57:27)

The sectarians have filled every second of a man with obligations to be performed, giving them a religious character. Yet, many of these obligations they have imposed were quite often not practiced by their fabricators.

"God does not burden a soul except with what it can bear." (Qur'an 2:286)

"And We will make easy for you the way." (Qur'an 87:8)

"The rich shall provide support in accordance with his means, and the poor shall provide according to the means that God bestowed upon him. God does not burden any soul more than He has given it. God will provide ease after difficulty." (Qur'an 65:6)