A Man Who Denies Himself

*Prof. Dr. Bayram Ali ÇETİNKAYA

Man is the creature of the world of truth. Despite of the questions and doubts of the angels, the most divine creature that was ever created by The Creator is ‘the holy man’. Mankind is the only rational creature with his own choice and will that exists between the axis of good and bad, virtuous and evil. The transcendental experiences of Adam and his wife Eve, inhabitants of the Heaven, determined the ranks of perfection for mankind.

The most beautiful as well as the most adverse examples of helping, sharing and solidarity can be found within the pages of history of humanity. The characters of prophets became role models for humanity. The justice of Prophet Solomon, the merciful Prophet Joseph, the conscience and compassion of Prophet Muhammad have become the best moral pillars for humans.

The affectionate gaze of Prophet Jesus, the respect and esteem of Prophet Zechariah have become symbols of tolerance and peace. Self-sacrificing and long- suffering can be found in the experiences of Prophets Noah and Moses.

A good man is a good friend and a loyal companion. Benevolence and generosity are characteristics of a charitable and good human. An understanding human who has tolerance for incidents and people reaches the highest level of goodness and benevolence.

A good man is a protector of his own kind and all living and inanimate creatures. A virtuous man is the guardian and benefactor of inanimate objects, vegetable and animal kingdoms. This is because all living and inanimate things are worthy of love and respect within the eyes of man due to his respect for The Creator. A good, virtuous man is the epitome of conscience and patience, living in gratitude and abstaining from gossip. A good man is kind and respectful. A good man is cut from the cloth of grace and politeness.

A righteous man who wears the cloth of virtue is a generous, truthful man who is redeemed from material and spiritual wrongdoings; and purified his soul. He is the man of serious and wise actions. He does not exude heresy and treachery. He avoids the perversion of lies like he avoids a dangerous animal; he gravitates towards the charm of halal like a moth to a flame.

Respectfulness enables him to fulfill his duty in this order of life. A good man who does not waste his time and money draws his life philosophy within the confines of truth and falsehood, halal and haram. That’s why, he is virtuous, avoids from being conceited like the Devil as well as the desire and pleasures of the flesh. An unselfish, righteous man takes the nature, the universe and Allah as the signs of the truth and believes in them.

Disgraces, flaws and shortcomings do not take place in a good man’s book. His book is the book of truth, The Holy Quran. It is the only true book for the realm of existence. A righteous man is a moral exemplar, does not get conceited and knows that the only supreme existence is the Allah Almighty, does not accept another God.

He dissolves himself into nothingness and thus, does not get stuck in the mangle of selfishness. He contemplates his existence, the realm of existence and the whole creatures made out of nothing by the Creator. He conceals disgraces, hides flaws overlooks shortcomings and does not reveal mistakes of others. That is because his only goal and intention is to earn Allah’s approval. To reach the degree of validation in which Allah approves of him and he accepts Allah is the compass of his way. The deceptive glints and gleams of the mortal world do not affect him. Seeking the approval of Allah prevents all fake and finite wishes and desires.

A righteous man is a man of reason and logic. He is the addressee of Allah’s exclaim, “Will you not then understand?” The Creator’s command of understanding, believing and doing good deeds with your faith is a divine edict for modern ‘holy’ man.

Belief in the invisible and unknown world leads the righteous man into worship and servitude. Sharing the things that are given to him, even giving away the things he is in need of, dismiss the cravings and the pleasures of the flesh and enables him to spend for Allah’s sake. Sharing the things bestowed upon him by Allah, The Absolute Truth (Al-Haqq) enables the righteous man to believe in the Hereafter with an absolute faith. This faith insures the things that are trusted with him.

The righteous man who seeks a balance between extravagancy and parsimony takes a step towards being a reasonable person.

The righteous man who is against evil, sin and cruelty wishes to be forgiven by the compassion of Allah, The Merciful (Ar-Raheem). He waits for the forgiveness of Allah, The Pardoner (Al-‘Afuww). He believes that the absolute salvation can only be gained by the grace of a certain faith beyond any doubt. For the sake of salvation, he needs to reach at the top of servitude mountain.

Every meaningless, useless act must be evaded by the righteous man. A man who shares and gives to those in need, awaits purification in the sea of honor and moderation. Then, he gets purified, cleaned and his soul starts to rise.

The absolute belief in the visible and invisible truths opens the doors of both this world and Hereafter for man. The belief in Allah, his angels and The Last Day is the truths of the faith. Spending for the sake of Allah secures the ownership of possessions. Honesty and loyalty guarantees the entrusted things to the righteous man.

Establishing prayer (salat) and paying the prescribed alms (zakat) are the pillars of modesty and honor for the righteous man. Doing useful deeds with tolerance helps him to spread the kindness and prevent the evilness.

Speaking ill of people behind their backs, gossiping, defaming are not on the agenda of the righteous man. He does not kill in vain, harm and victimize others. He knows that ‘killing one person means killing all people’. He also acknowledges that ‘letting one person live means letting all people live’. Divine teachings are the road signs for the righteous man. Wise principles of the prophets will build a livable society of bliss.

As the Last Prophet Muhammad said, humans are diamonds. If they are good people to begin with, they will always stay good. Sons of Adam who are created from dust know that it is in their essence to be ‘modest like the earth’. By so doing, he knows and recognizes himself, then finally, knows and recognizes his Lord (Rabb). Knowing his flaws and weaknesses and overcoming them enables the righteous man to reach higher levels of maturity.

Sons of Adam did not avoid from the duty that was trusted them with like the heavens, the earth and the mountains did. This duty is a responsibility that carries the goodness as well as the cruelty and the evils of the ignorance. The purification and the salvation of the soul can only be possible by requesting goodness and kindness.

Hastiness is a negative situation that pesters the man. As stated by Quran, ungratefulness is also a negative attribute for men. Worshipping temporary pleasures is against the rules of the world of truth. Hopelessness, forgetfulness, pride, denial are all satanic characters that makes the man deny himself.

The man who created so beautifully will experience a metaphysical fall to ‘the bottom of the bottom’ if he doesn’t know the worth of this blessing and rebels against his own nature. Diving into arguments by being hasty creates weaknesses for the man. Good and righteous deeds against flaws and weaknesses uplift the man. The obedient prostrate (sajdah) before Adam indicates the appearance of mature deeds.

When the Satan who sacralized the ‘fire’ and thought himself superior with his rotting pride convinced Adam who was created from dust to taste ‘the forbidden fruit’, he lost his wings of humility. An affirmative answer to the divine question ‘Am I not your Lord?’ of Allah, The Beneficent (Ar-Rahmaan) eliminates all excuses.

Glorifying the religion of his ancestors and forgetting the given promises are not the characteristics of ‘the holy man’. Reaching the truths of the faith from polytheism and blasphemy is to remember and not forget the promise given to the Lord.

When the right dried clay turned into the man formed from dark mud, it shows the absolute power of Allah, The Absolute Truth (Al-Haqq). The companionship and guidance of Quran leads the man into the truest, the safest and the most right. In this direction, there are great and eternal good news and rewards.

The source of polytheism and denial lies in the Satan’s disobedience against the command of the Creator. Satan who asked for time and permission until the Resurrection Day tries every way for the righteous man to deny himself. Until the Day of Judgment, the fight between faith and denial will continue to determine the levels of the truth for the Sons of Adam.

The man tends to fight and dispute in the face of the truths. Misgivings of the soul, Satan and the desire muddle the right and the wrong. The truth and the falsehood intermingle, the crises of doubt arise, the order gets disrupted, and the balance gets lost. As a consequence, the power of discernment slips away. The reasonable is confused with the unreasonable. In the end, the man loses in this mediocrity; he suffers damage and wrongs himself.

Consideration and contemplation close the doors of arrogance and pride against Allah. Gratitude towards blessings, the kindness and benevolence of Allah can only be felt by those who think with their hearts. When they get rid of the hopelessness and dismay, the message of Prophet Muhammad and Quran which was announced in the Bible by Allah becomes visible.

The nature and the character lead the man to the line of truth. A mind deprived of the divine message is powerless and weak in the face of the truth. A mind and a heart enlightened by the divine light of the Revelation can swerve into the right direction.

A resurrected man, after he completes the given time of his life, will benefit from the knowledge of his Lord. The mind and the heart enlightened by the knowledge of Allah will not prefer the perverse and false ways of heresy. The knowledge of Allah is the way of truth. These ways lead to the Straight Path. Blessed prophets, martyrs, righteous servants and loyal companions are all men of the truth.

Arguments and fights stem from a disregard towards the truths. Quran explains and praises the style and the behavior of the righteous man. However, humankind is very fond of fighting and arguing in the face of the truth. Allah, The Creator (Al-Khaaliq) created the heavens, the earth, the whole realm of existence with a purpose, a wisdom and a law. The Creator created all worlds and the earth in which he made the man as the successor the most beautifully. It is not possible for all the worlds to be more beautiful. The man is the successor of this world.

‘Hastiness’ is a reflection of a man’s ambition. Every type of example is presented to him by his Creator. Duty is a burden. However, Allah wishes to lighten ü this heavy burden. For man is created weak. Yet, his weakness should not lead him to despair.

Despair causes cruelty and ignorance for men. Hope is not forgetting his Lord. It is making Allah, The Beneficent (Ar-Rahmaan) his helper and companion. It is accepting Him. A hasty and ambitious man can assume the role of God, strengthened by the things he own. A man should be contented and know that he is not the real Master of the things he own. Sharing and economizing accrue his assets. That’s why he should not forget the share of the poor and fall into the trap of parsimony.

The devilish pleasure of doubt and argument should not let the man be forgetful. Otherwise, he might walk into the same mistake of Prophet Adam. The delusion of becoming ‘eternal’ fed to him by the Satan might make him forgetful. Forgetfulness of Adam in the heavens is not so different with his son Cain’s jealousy in the Earth. As the indulgence for the worldly pleasures and the flesh leads the man astray with arrogance; thus it ends with pride and deception. A deceived man can deceive others. Yet, let us not forget, deceiving is the poison of the trust; it might make the man face warnings and wrath of Allah. Hypocritical and impatient behaviour evokes pessimistic feelings and attitude. This may end in obsessive thoughts.

Those who display deviant characteristics are selfish. Selfishness triggers rude and crude behaviour. In the same vein, vindictiveness brings revenge. Grudge poisons a man’s soul and leaves a black stain. Feelings of vengeance feed him and make him stronger. This feeling makes a man aggressive and stubborn. Then, his ambition takes the control of him. A harsh and stubborn ambition makes the man greedy. Arrogance and cowardice lends him assistance.

In the end, he will be such a human trash that he will be a fraud and a disrespectful brute. Finally, he will deny himself. All his values, beliefs, sacredness and transcendence will disappear and vanish. He will be a desert without rain, a barren land. As the wise men once said; the lands and climates governed by the truth, the knowledge of Allah, the religion and Sharia (law derived from Quran) will be fruitful and rich.


* İstanbul University