Honorable Muslims!
In the verse I have recited, our Lord Almighty (swt) states, "He is the Ever-Living. There is no god worthy of worship except Him. So call upon Him with sincere devotion, saying, "All praise is for Allah—Lord of all worlds.""[i]
In the hadith I have read, our Prophet (saw) says, "Allah does not accept any deed, except that which is purely for Him, and seeking His Face."[ii]
Dear Believers!
The essence of our religion, Islam, is sincerity. Sincerity is the alignment of our inside and outside, our essence and our words. Sincerity is to seek the pleasure of Allah (swt) in all that we say and all that we do. Sincerity is to protect our faith and worship from all kinds of hypocrisy and vanity.
Dear Muslims!
What perfects faith is sincerity. What transforms what we do into capital for the Hereafter is sincerity. What makes benevolence meaningful is sincerity. What makes knowledge valuable is sincerity. Those who embrace the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saw), اَلدِّينُ اَلنَّصِÙŠØَØ©ُ "The religion is sincerity."[iii], endeavor to live a life on the right path. They honor their covenant. They are truthful and honest; they do not deceive anyone. They never stray from justice, right, and truth. They respect the rights of people and the public.
Dear Believers!
One of the evils that leads us away from the pleasure of our Lord (swt) is exploitation. Exploitation is the act of manipulating people's beliefs, feelings, and vulnerabilities for personal gain. Exploitation is to deceive people by using the sublime values of our religion. Exploitation is the use of material and immaterial means to gain power. In short, exploitation is to betray Allah (swt), the Qur'an, the Prophet (saw), the people, and the society.
Honorable Muslims!
People who are exploitative never seek the pleasure of Allah. They base Islam on individuals. They claim to be the sole representatives of right and truth. As stated in the Qur'an, "When they are told, "Do not spread corruption in the land," they reply, "We are only peace-makers!" Indeed, it is they who are the corruptors, but they fail to perceive it."[iv] It is true, as the verses point out, that such people corrupt society by disguising themselves as righteous people. They derive power from national and spiritual values. They abuse people's good intentions and steal their future.
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
On the night of July 15, exactly seven years ago, the unity of our nation and the survival of our state were targeted by the FETO terrorist organization. But that night, the help of our Lord (swt) was with us once again. The nation and the state joined hands and stood firm against the corruptors. With an epic resistance, we thwarted the ambitions of traitors from within and without. ÙˆَÙ…َÙƒَرُوا ÙˆَÙ…َÙƒَرَ اللّٰÙ‡ُۜ ÙˆَاللّٰÙ‡ُ Ø®َÙŠْرُ الْÙ…َاكِر۪ينَ۟ "And the disbelievers made a plan, but Allah also planned— and Allah is the best of planners."[v] Many of our brothers and sisters were martyred in this resistance. Many of our brothers and sisters wear the veteran badge on their bodies as a badge of honor.
Dear Muslims!
In order not to fall into the traps of exploitative people and organizations, let us learn our religion from authentic sources, from competent and reliable people. Let us understand our divine book, the Holy Qur'an, and the sunnah of our beloved Prophet (saw) correctly and reflect them in our lives. Let us embrace trust and honesty in our family, in our relations with other people, in our business, in short, in every aspect of our lives. Let us not neglect our children, who are the assurance of our future. Let us raise them to be people who are beneficial to their family, environment, homeland, nation, and humanity. Let us always be united, one heart against those who want to drag our country and our beloved nation into sedition and discord.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish Allah's (swt) mercy upon all our martyrs from the past to the present who have sacrificed their lives for the sake of our sacred values and our heroic veterans who have passed away. May Allah the Almighty (swt) grant us the ability to live up to the values they entrusted to us and to pass them on to our future generations.
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[i] Ghafir, 40/65.
[ii] Nasa'i, Jihad, 24.
[iii] Muslim, Iman, 95.
[iv] Baqarah, 2/11-12.
[v] Ali 'Imran 3/54.
General Directorate of Religious Services