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Lead Article

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Fantasies and Necessities

Fantasies and Necessities

31 August 2024 | Fethullah Gulen | Issue 161 (Sep - Oct 2024)

For years, we have ignored our true needs, chasing after some fantasies as if they were necessities of life. Sometimes unable to discern what our rea…

Believing Hearts

Believing Hearts

30 June 2024 | Fethullah Gulen | Issue 160 (Jul - Aug 2024)

Humankind seems to be heading in some direction – a direction of vengeance and hate. This looks less like “heading in,” and more like “falling into,”…

Sacrifice: A Means of Becoming Closer to God

Sacrifice: A Means of Becoming Closer to God

30 April 2024 | Fethullah Gulen | Issue 159 (May - Jun 2024)

At the beginning of the second chapter of the Qur’an, God Almighty declares that He is the actual owner of things and we are temporary keepers: “Out…

The Enchanting World of the Houses of Worship

The Enchanting World of the Houses of Worship

29 February 2024 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 158 (Mar - Apr 2024)

Houses of worship play a pivotal role in showcasing a significant aspect of Islamic culture. When viewed as comprehensive complexes with their facili…

A Prayer to The One Who Can Do What He Wills

A Prayer to The One Who Can Do What He Wills

31 December 2023 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 157 (Jan - Feb 2024)

O Lord! You are by no means obliged to accept our supplications; however, we are in need of this more than we truly realize. I ask You to accept our…

Light and Darkness: A Continuous Cycle

Light and Darkness: A Continuous Cycle

31 October 2023 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 156 (Nov - Dec 2023)

Light persistently pursues darkness; they coexist in close companionship. The rhythm of days succeeding nights embodies this eternal balance. The int…

Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow

Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow

31 August 2023 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 155 (Sep - Oct 2023)

At one time this blessed world bore little resemblance to the one we know today. Its colors, atmosphere, and people were steeped in a unique spiritua…

Time in the Perspective of a Believer

Time in the Perspective of a Believer

30 June 2023 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 154 (Jul - Aug 2023)

In the perspective of a believer, time always flows by with fascination. On many occasions, it is adorned with wonders, and for those who truly exper…

Collective Consciousness

Collective Consciousness

30 April 2023 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 153 (May - Jun 2023)

The most stressful periods in the lives of nations are during social change and regeneration. Similar to the metamorphosis experienced by some living…

Ramadan: The Sum of Spiritual Joys

Ramadan: The Sum of Spiritual Joys

28 February 2023 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 152 (Mar - Apr 2023)

No month of the year can sail along with as much joy that never fades and everlasting pleasure and love, as the month of Ramadan. Presenting the spir…

Our World of Faith or, Being Cool and Peaceful in the Fire

Our World of Faith or, Being Cool and Peaceful in the Fire

01 January 2023 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 151 (Jan - Feb 2023)

From one perspective, some think, the entire world is in chaos—it is not possible to speak of any beauty or goodness, nor is there room for faith, di…

Enchanting Nights

Enchanting Nights

31 October 2022 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 150 (Nov - Dec 2022)

When the sun sets and everyone returns home, a silence envelops the streets from all sides. Everything turns quiet, and the night begins to speak in…

Embodiments of Rectitude

Embodiments of Rectitude

31 August 2022 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 149 (Sep - Oct 2022)

There are some exemplary people who we may call “embodiments of rectitude.” These exceptional people look at life with a holistic view. They see thin…

And as Hearts Beat with Tenderness

And as Hearts Beat with Tenderness

30 June 2022 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 148 (Jul - Aug 2022)

Sacred days and nights imbue everything and everyone with their own color, their own distinctive taste, and their own accent; they soften everything…

Earth

Earth

30 April 2022 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 147 (May - Jun 2022)

In its capacity to manifest Divine Names and the many duties assigned to it, earth is as worthy as all the heavens. Each time the outer crust of the…

Thinking of Heavenly Days

Thinking of Heavenly Days

28 February 2022 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 146 (Mar - Apr 2022)

Thinking of the heavenly days … Days promised by the Prophets and dreamed of by the saints… Days testified by the truthful witnesses of the sun ris…

Morality of Love

Morality of Love

31 December 2021 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 145 (Jan - Feb 2022)

For human society, the last few centuries have been one turmoil after another. In response, we are still searching—sometimes in a disciplined manner…

The Tomorrows of Our Dreams

The Tomorrows of Our Dreams

31 October 2021 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 144 (Nov - Dec 2021)

Feeling and understanding the future with its own particular profundities, even if it seems only a fancy at present, is a reality, albeit one nurture…

The Tomorrows of My Dreams

The Tomorrows of My Dreams

31 August 2021 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 143 (Sep - Oct 2021)

Our inner soul is not bound by time. Just as we consciously experience the present moment, we can also feel and live in the past or in the future. Si…

Sensing Time Anew

Sensing Time Anew

30 June 2021 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 142 (Jul - Aug 2021)

For us to be able to fully perceive the holy days, it is first necessary that our spirits and consciences are ready to feel such music and poetry fro…

Love for Knowledge

Love for Knowledge

01 May 2021 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 141 (May - Jun 2021)

While attempting to obtain a love for knowledge and willpower to think, one must not overlook reality or disregard past experiences. One must relate…

In the Presence of the All-Compassionate

In the Presence of the All-Compassionate

01 March 2021 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 140 (Mar - Apr 2021)

O the Most Merciful of the Merciful! You are the One who spreads these vast universes like a book before each of us. You are the One who makes our c…

Being of Adam

Being of Adam

31 December 2020 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 139 (Jan - Feb 2021)

Being human is being “of Adam.” In terms of the Universal Spirit (al-ruh al-kull), “being of Adam” is a kernel from the truth of the Praised One, Ahm…

Searching for Our Souls

Searching for Our Souls

01 November 2020 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 138 (Nov - Dec 2020)

Our modern society has gone astray during much of the past several centuries. While every person is in pursuit of one thing or another, we are search…

Facing Oneself - 5

Facing Oneself - 5

01 September 2020 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 137 (Sep - Oct 2020)

The Example of the First Circle Around the Prophet and Those Who Followed Them Uways al-Qarani – an illustrious personage so assiduous at faith and…

Facing Oneself - 4

Facing Oneself - 4

01 July 2020 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 136 (Jul - Aug 2020)

Continued from the previous issue. Such a saintly figure, Zayn al-Abidin always lowered his head humbly at the doorstep of Divine beneficence, the e…

Facing Oneself - 3

Facing Oneself - 3

01 May 2020 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 135 (May - Jun 2020)

(Circle3: On the touchy implorations by Imam Zeynel Abidin, continued) Together with all of the fears and worries that this saintly person voices at…

Facing Oneself-2

Facing Oneself-2

01 March 2020 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 134 (Mar - Apr 2020)

The Example of the First Circle around the Prophet and Those Who Followed Them (continuing from the previous issue) Zayn al-Abidin (659-713), the…

Facing Oneself

Facing Oneself

01 January 2020 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 133 (Jan - Feb 2020)

The Example of the First Circle around the Prophet and Those Who Followed Them So much so a source of blessings was the Prophet Muhammad, accord…

So Others May Live

So Others May Live

01 November 2019 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 132 (Nov - Dec 2019)

The real, profound worth of life is revealed when one’s life is dedicated to the well-being of humanity. It thus gains an otherworldly dimension and…

Inner Decay and Ways to Heal

Inner Decay and Ways to Heal

21 October 2019 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 131 (Sep - Oct 2019)

There is anticipation in the air. People from all walks of life are vigilant, waiting for a ray of light to shine upon them. Their eyes are fixed on…

I Pity...

I Pity...

01 July 2019 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 130 (July - Aug 2019)

The feeling of pity is the quiver of a person’s heartstrings and spirit, a quiver that resonates from a sincere sense of compassion deep in one’s sou…

Paranoia

Paranoia

01 May 2019 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 129 (May - Jun 2019)

Paranoia is a chronic spiritual illness that disrupts a person’s ability for reasoning, balanced thinking, and judgment. Paranoia is a symptom of psy…

Years of Heedlessness

Years of Heedlessness

28 February 2019 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 128 (Mar - Apr 2019)

Heedlessness means abstraction, carelessness, and not being oneself. The heedless persons are uninformed about what is going on around them; they are…

Dawn upon Dawn – Once upon a Time

Dawn upon Dawn – Once upon a Time

06 January 2019 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 126 (Nov - Dec 2018)

In an era when many parts of the world were defeated by darkness, our horizon was everywhere emblazoned with colors, and the festivals of dawn came o…

Broken Dream

Broken Dream

01 January 2019 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 127 (Jan - Feb 2019)

There was once a time when we enjoyed mutual love and respect. We had started to relate to one another. That was when everything looked different and…

The Dynamics of a Changing World

The Dynamics of a Changing World

15 October 2018 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 125 (Sep - Oct 2018)

Today’s generations will leave aside their material, and even spiritual, expectations by sacrificing their own whims and desires, choosing to live…

Bitter Truths and Hopes

Bitter Truths and Hopes

12 September 2018 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 124 (July - Aug 2018)

Thus far in time, and across different parts of the world, we have witnessed desires to realize a great many disparate notions of freedom, fraternity…

Poisoning of Spirit

Poisoning of Spirit

08 July 2018 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 123 (May - June 2018)

The spirit constitutes human's deepest otherworldly aspect, which is open to the heavenly realms. It is like a mysterious wing that helps one remain…

Chaos, Trial and Hope

Chaos, Trial and Hope

24 April 2018 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 122 (March - April 2018)

Today events are being evaluated only in respect to their appearances; there is constant fear, worry, anxiety, and a chilling uncertainty about every…

To Remain Fresh and Strive for Renewal

31 December 2017 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 121 (January - February 2018)

Relying upon the air, sun, water, and soil, a seed sprouts and eventually becomes a bud. Soon, this bud has become a full plant with grain-bearing ea…

The Turkey I No Longer Know

31 October 2017 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Special Issue 2017

The Turkey that I once knew as a hope-inspiring country on its way to consolidating its democracy and a moderate form of secularism has become the do…

Perhaps One Day We, Too, Will Be Revived

31 October 2017 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 120 (November - December 2017)

In our gloomy lands, we have waited years for a breeze of revival, expecting the momentous sound of a resurrecting trumpet. Though we hope God will n…

Souls Devoted to the Path of Truth

31 August 2017 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 119 (September - October 2017)

Devoting oneself to communicating the truth is an expression of humanity’s privilege of having “the perfect pattern” in creation; it is an unparallel…

The Travelers of Light

30 June 2017 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 118 (July - August 2017)

The travelers of light have always endeavored to surpass mere corporeality. Their attitude has always manifested in a determination to bid farewell t…

Another Eclipse Is Over

30 April 2017 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 117 (May - June 2017)

Never despair, keep your willpower alive If you can, be a source of hope for all Our society is currently being challenged by a spiral of proble…

Being on the Way: A Bouquet of Thoughts on the Path to the Divine

28 February 2017 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 116 (March - April 2017)

If these guides happen to be the experienced, knowledgeable, and conscientious masters of that field, then, without any hesitation, one should follow…

Chaos and Flourishing Hopes

31 December 2016 | The Fountain | Issue 115 (January-February 2017)

None of us are willing to remain in the period to which we belong; we use our imagination, journeying back to the vastness of the past where we exper…

“Let Us Speak with Our Hearts,” We Said

31 October 2016 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 114 (November - December 2016)

There are many concealed paths connecting all of our hearts. As every individual continues on their life journey, they will experience solidarity wit…

Hearts Are Seeking Love

31 August 2016 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 113 (September - October 2016)

We live in a time of strife between the old and the new schools of thought. The old school failed to renew itself. The new school consumed itself wit…

Despair and Heroes

30 June 2016 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 112 (July - August 2016)

Much as it is in the rest of today’s world, depression and crises are interwoven into our society: crisis of belief, crisis of thought, crisis of cri…

Freedom of Faith and Conscience

30 April 2016 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 111 (May - June 2016)

The freedom of faith and conscience is, to put it briefly, the universal right to independently adopt and practice a faith of one’s choice. This righ…

Muslims, We Have to Critically Review Our Understanding of Islam

29 February 2016 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 110 (March - April 2016)

I share profound frustration with a billion-and-a-half Muslims around the world at the fact that such groups commit terrorism while dressing up their…

A Self-Interrogation

31 December 2015 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 109 (January -February 2016)

O ego! Escape the feeling of autumn and transform into a green meadow with birds flying around above you; be a spring so all those with burning soul…

Muslims Must Combat the Extremist Cancer

31 October 2015 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 108 (November - December 2015)

As the group that calls itself Islamic State, known as ISIS, continues to produce carnage in the Middle East, Muslims must confront the totalitarian…

The Human Being and Endless Blessings

31 August 2015 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 107 (September - October 2015)

Every moment in life is composed of certain opportunities to obtain new treasures. It is up to every person to take advantage of these opportunities…

A New Existence

30 June 2015 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

Each individual owes his or her success and happiness to the peace and the trustworthiness of their society. Conversely, each society owes its health…

Building a Society of Noble Ideals

30 April 2015 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 105 (May - June 2015)

The humans of this age have been victimized by a lack of idealism. Sometimes, in addition to lacking idealism, these individuals ignored their self-c…

The Predicament of Ignorance

28 February 2015 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 104 (March - April 2015)

In a time of darkness and ignorance, we must challenge our preconceived notions, seeking answers in education and trust. It is another season of…

Faithfulness

31 December 2014 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 103 (January - February 2015)

Faithfulness and fidelity are the hallmarks of societies that are committed to living and working together for a higher good. Fidelity or faithf…

Right vs. Might

31 October 2014 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 102 (November - December 2014)

In a world where right is equated with might, we must learn that what is truly right is pursuing basic human rights and dignity for all. The hig…

Our Inner Crises

31 August 2014 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 101 (September - October 2014)

Masses who have developed with different thoughts and objectives that are in conflict, and who have been deprived of positive cultivation, they for…

The Sacred Suffering

30 June 2014 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 100 (July - August 2014)

The human is a lone traveler in this world; we are obliged to travel for the sake of finding ourselves and to attain our essence on a long path with…

Laborers of Thought, Building the Future

30 April 2014 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 99 (May - June 2014)

Those who will shape tomorrow with their ideas will be the guides of generations to come. The way they think and reason will redesign the world, and…

The Power in Prayer and Supplication

28 February 2014 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 98 (March - April 2014)

When the clean black shroud of night enfolds our entire existence, certain darkened souls feel lonely and detached from everything. Yet in the darkes…

Holy Days

31 December 2013 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 97 (January - February 2014)

On holy days, we reflect on the joyous past and the beautiful future yet to come. When the sun rises over our land, only then will it be our holy d…

Forlorn Ones

31 October 2013 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 96 (November - December 2013)

"You are a forlorn one in this world Ergo laugh not but cry o heart!" (Yunus Emre) Forlorn ones are only a few; a few heroes of the heart, and u…

Happiness and Virtue: A Prophetic Example

31 August 2013 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 95 (September - October 2013)

Happiness is an ideal for which everybody longs. People endure all kinds of sacrifice for its sake. But what exactly is happiness? Is this question…

The Enigma of Time

30 June 2013 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 94 (July - August 2013)

Under no circumstances can it be said that any nation possesses a greater authority than others with respect to physical power or spiritual values. H…

Souls of Immortality

30 April 2013 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 93 (May - June 2013)

Immortal souls always preserve their vitality, and in every season, they show a different sign of life. They never wither or fade away; they never lo…

The Test

28 February 2013 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 92 (March - April 2013)

Life is a chain of tests, ensuing one after another. It is a human condition we experience from childhood until the moment we breathe our last. For t…

The Heart

31 December 2012 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 91 (January - February 2013)

Love is like Solomon, Borne aloft on the heart, its throne.[1] The heart is humanity’s most essential feature and its greatest treasure. It is…

Science

31 October 2012 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 90 (November - December 2012)

Today, scientific developments have reached unparalleled speed and level as we stumble upon a new surprising invention or discovery every day. It can…

What Generations Expect from Education

31 August 2012 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 89 (September - October 2012)

What do we mean when we mention education and training in relation to our current and future generations? How should we teach our values to new gener…

Dignifying Humanity

30 June 2012 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 88 (July - August 2012)

Your essence is even loftier than angels. Hidden in you are spheres and compacted globes Mehmed Akif The human is the main subject of every phil…

What It Means to Be Human

30 April 2012 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 87 (May - June 2012)

My friend, shut the doors of your feelings, thoughts, and heart against every kind of evil as long as you exist. Always seek the best, the most beaut…

Love for Truth

29 February 2012 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 86 (March - April 2012)

Truth means the essence and reality of a thing. It is to know clearly what a thing is, what it means, and what it signifies beyond its appearance and…

Virtue and Happiness

31 December 2011 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 85 (January - February 2012)

Those who promise happiness to people must equip them with virtues first. Happiness is out of reach for those whose hearts have not been saturated wi…

Humanity: Our Unique Dimensions

31 October 2011 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 84 (November - December 2011)

"I am a lowly creature" you say O man Only if you knew..." M. Akif The human is unique. We are self-conscious and can exercise self-control. Iro…

Believers as They Stand Before God

31 August 2011 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 83 (September - October 2011)

The believer is one who believes and trusts, one with prospects for a secure future who is trustworthy to others. S/he is a monumental figure marked…

The Truth, Rights, and More

30 June 2011 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 82 (July - August 2011)

The Truth is one of the beautiful of names of the Divine, al-Haqq, which is linguistically both an infinitive and an adjective. Some of the meanings…

An Ardent Prayer

30 April 2011 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 81 (May - June 2011)

The Almighty Creator is He whose existence is the origin of all existence, whose might is the source of power for everything, and whose will is the o…

In Between Contrasts

28 February 2011 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 80 (March - April 2011)

Year in and year out, as a community we have been concurrently going around the “vicious” and “virtuous” circles of an assortment of strange occurren…

Dreamy World of the Past

31 December 2010 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 79 (January - February 2011)

The grace and flavor of our legendary glorious past does no longer exist in a great many people and in most of the places. Just like our thoughts and…

A Movement Originating Its Own Models

31 October 2010 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 78 (November - December 2010)

In this article I would like to discuss a legend; to talk about it is a duty, and therefore it is difficult to put it into words. However, I wonder i…

Reflourishing Thoughts

31 August 2010 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 77 (September - October 2010)

In the course of history, the sequence of events periodically recurs-just like the day alternates with the night-over and over again but with just a…

The Inner Dimension of Existence

30 June 2010 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 76 (July - August 2010)

The inner dimension of existence, for those who are open to it, is never a fantasy, a dream, an illusion or a delirium, but instead a phenomenon and…

Chaos and the Mystical World of Faith

30 April 2010 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 75 (May - June 2010)

Today, everyone breathes resentment, swallows hatred, curses all that is deemed to be an enemy with a fixed and determined passion, as if programmed…

The Power of Literature

28 February 2010 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 74 (March - April 2010)

In the most general sense, literature is a discipline that studies elegant, measured, and harmonious words uttered or written in verse or prose in a…

Fleeting Storms, Perennial Breezes

31 December 2009 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 73 (January - February 2010)

Despite all odds, time seems to flow toward long awaited days of splendor and hours of bliss. Albeit, there is a shadowy presence of ominous days whi…

Our World and Its Inherently Exquisite Mystery

31 October 2009 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 72 (November - December 2009)

Despite blurred realities, many fair-minded thinkers still regard our “world” as a center of attraction. Personally, it would not be an exaggeration…

Cries of Silence

31 August 2009 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 71 (September - October 2009)

For many years now, cries of silence have clamored above my voice. So many times have I been frustrated to the point that I was going to condemn the…

Believers Do Not Fall... No Matter How Shaken They May Be

30 June 2009 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 70 (July - August 2009)

Do not, then, be faint of heart, nor grieve, for you are always the superior side, if you are (true) believers. (Qur’an, 3:139) The situation be…

Satan and His Contemporary Followers

30 April 2009 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 69 (May - June 2009)

Satan is a miserable and accursed one, who has fallen away from God’s Mercy, whose task is to go astray and to lead astray, who continues his existen…

Towards Spelling Out Our Own Line of Thought

28 February 2009 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 68 (March - April 2009)

In the past, “Islam” used to come into our people’s minds first as far as “religion” was concerned, and it would resonate with wonder in their consci…

Days of Depression and Our Atlas of Hope

31 December 2008 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 67 (January - February 2009)

Today, almost everybody speaks about "material welfare and comfort," without seeing any values other than these, or rather without wanting to see the…

A Dream Worth The Entire World

31 October 2008 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 66 (November - December 2008)

Others may think differently; but for me our world is so charming with its exquisite climate, landscape, mountains and rivers, orchards, prairies, an…

From Bright Yesterday to Bright Tomorrows

31 August 2008 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 65 (September - October 2008)

For centuries we have enjoyed commitment to a belief in eternity, and the atmosphere we inhaled every moment was filled with eternal considerations…

Longing for Love

30 June 2008 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 64 (July - August 2008)

It seems that we have forgotten how to act like human beings. We are far removed from representing our unique status among all of existence. Despite…

Compassion

30 April 2008 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 63 (May - June 2008)

Today, the entire globe but especially certain parts of the world are passing through a critical turn, which is more dangerous than ever. The destruc…

The Souls Besieged by a Life of Transience

29 February 2008 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 62 (March - April 2008)

Those who perceive the world solely in terms of its transitory face and physical constraints can be seen, in spite of the breadth of the human consci…

Language and Thought

31 December 2007 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 61 (January - February 2008)

Language is one of the fundamental dynamics in the composition of a culture. The power of a nation is directly proportional to the power and richness…

Free Will

30 September 2007 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 60 (October - December 2007)

Having free will-which we can briefly describe as the power or inclination to make a decision whether to do something or not-is a distinctive element…

Speech and Power of Expression

30 June 2007 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 59 (July - September 2007)

The most precious of values inherited from our ancestors, speech does not consist only of clarity of meaning, the sound of words, or the expression…

The World in the Womb

31 March 2007 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 58 (April - June 2007)

In the recent past, the Islamic world as a whole has lived through its most depressed periods, whether considered from the point of view of faith, mo…

An Extensive Wish in the View of Historical Recurrences

31 December 2006 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 57 (January - March 2007)

WATERFALLS OF ASSISTANCE AND EFFORT GURGLE IN THE BED OF DIVINEBLESSINGS; THEY PASS OVER OR BYPASS ANY OBSTRUCTION THEY FACE ANDTHEY TRY TO REPRESENT…

Tolerance

30 September 2006 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 56 (October - December 2006)

We are experiencing an intense fervor of recovery and revival. If a wind of opposition does not hinder us, the coming years will be our “years of bec…

On the Holy Qur'an and Its Interpretation

30 June 2006 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 55 (July - September 2006)

The Qur’an is God’s miraculous, matchless message that has been sent to all humanity via His last Messenger. With the Qur’an God has shown humanity…

The Portrait of People of Heart

31 March 2006 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 54 (April - June 2006)

With their vision, faith, and deeds, people of heart are integrated heroes of spirituality. Their profundity relies not on their knowledge or acquisi…

Respect For Humankind

31 December 2005 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 53 (January - March 2006)

Loving and respecting humanity merely because they are human is an expression of respect for the Almighty Creator. The other side of the coin, loving…

The Inner Profundity of Humankind

30 September 2005 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 52 (October - December 2005)

The human being is the essence and the vital element of being, the index and core element of the universe. Human beings are at the center of creation…

A Sacred Phase of Time: The Blessed Three Months

30 June 2005 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 51 (July - September 2005)

The blessed three months are Rajab, Sha’ban, and Ramadan (the seventh, eighth, and ninth months) in the Islamic hijri calendar1; these months are dis…

A Tribute to Mothers

31 March 2005 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 50 (April - June 2005)

A mother is a blessed saintly being in her own world. The Ka‘ba is the spirit, meaning, essence, and atlas of the entire reality of the universe; Mak…

Beauty and the Beautiful

31 December 2004 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 49 (January - March 2005)

Beauty elevates our hearts, awakens our souls with sweet excitement and appreciation, and then becomes the esthetic of our inner self. This hard-to-d…

Jalaladdin al - Rumi

30 June 2004 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 47 (July - September 2004)

There are some significant personalities who with the help of their voice and breath, their love and excitement, and their promise for humanity alway…

The World and its Contents from the PERSPECTIVE OF A BELIEVER

30 June 2004 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 48 (October - December 2004)

This world is a wonderful vessel for humankind, floating in this vast universe, the place that we exist and feel our existence. It is also a warm dwe…

Love for Humankind

31 March 2004 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 46 (April - June 2004)

Love is an elixir; a human lives with love, is made happy by love and makes those around him or her happy with love. In the vocabulary of humanity, l…

The Month Overflowing With Mercy

30 September 2003 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 44 (October - December 2003)

There is no month but Ramadan that can sail by with relentless joy, everlasting pleasure and never fading love. Presenting the spirit, essence, and t…

Toward Tomorrow

30 June 2003 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 43 (July - September 2003)

The Islamic world continues to squirm in the vicious grasp of error, unable to turn to its own spirit and essence for succor. Two steps forward lead…

Time To Pray

31 March 2003 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 42 (April - June 2003)

We use prayer to turn to the Eternally Merciful God, present ourselves to Him, and ask Him to meet all of our needs. We entreat Him humbly and submis…

Humanity, Science, and Globalization

31 December 2002 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 41 (January - March 2003)

Existence, which exists solely for humanity, was created in order to bear fruit for all people. Earth was decorated for humanity, just as the sky ser…

Universal Mercy and Education

30 June 2002 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 40 (October - December 2002)

The adage nowadays is that we all need love. So many people are talking about this. Islam teaches us that God's act of creating humanity was an act o…

Terror From an Islamic Prospect

31 March 2002 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 39 (July - September 2002)

The word Islam is derived from silm and selamet, which mean submission, salvation, providing trustworthiness, and peace. Innumerable arguments in Qur…

What We Expect from the Righteous Generation...

31 December 2001 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 38 (April - June 2002)

The first and most important criteria of righteousness is perfect faith. The Qur'an determines the purpose of humanity's creation as belief in God, w…

The Necessity of Reflection and Self-Criticism

30 September 2001 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 36 (October - December 2001)

Our first and foremost duty is to discover ourselves and then turn toward God through the illuminated prism of our nature. People who remain unaware…

Civilization and the Confusion of Conceptions

31 March 2001 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 34 (April - June 2001)

Traditionally, civilization has been defined as the coexistence of people who come together around humanistic thoughts and feelings, and who are cons…

Forgiveness

31 March 2000 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 30 (April - June 2000)

Men and women are creatures with faults as well as exceptional qualities. No other living creature carries such inborn opposites. Only humanity has t…

Being Shaped by Ramadan

31 December 1998 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 25 (January - March 1999)

At this time when we experience occasions, of much sorrow and some contentment, we sense the promise in the advent of Ramadan, the month of mercy and…

What the World Will Look Like After Turmoil and Chaos Disappear

31 December 1998 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 26 (April - June 1999)

The world’s population, which has been suffering crisis after crisis during the last three centuries, is being drawn into a new type of turmoil. Peop…

Speech

30 June 1998 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 24 (October - December 1998)

Creation began with a syllable of speech made up of two letters, namely Be. The roads leading from unity to multiplicity, from single to plural, appe…

The Undiscovered Greatness Of Our World

31 March 1998 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 23 (July - September 1998)

For those who have attained the happiness of knowing this world from within faith, hope and an experience of the realms beyond this world, there is s…

Freedom

31 December 1997 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 22 (April - June 1998)

The urge for freedom is innate in man. In his pursuit or expression of it, man has the option to discover himself as a responsible being with free wi…

Abuse of Religion and Religious Sentiments

30 September 1997 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 21 (January - March 1998)

The quest for truth has two principal branches which, if the quest is motivated by sincere love of the truth sought, are radically joined - that is…

The Horizon Of Hope: Spiritual Or Metaphysical Thought

30 June 1997 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 20 (October - December 1997)

The modern Western world-view is said to be founded almost entirely on materialistic notions excluding, even denying, the spiritual or metaphysical d…

Light to be Seen in Chaos

31 March 1997 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 19 (July - September 1997)

The modern age in which we live, despite its many beauties and its promises to mankind, has been an age of suffering and despair for the oppressed pe…

The Madness of Power for Its Own Sake

31 December 1996 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 18 (April - June 1997)

Those who have the power and technological means to satisfy their greed and feelings of hate and vengeance, can bring about as much destruction in a…

The Concept of Science

30 September 1996 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 17 (January - March 1997)

Flowing to the future like a rapid flood full of energy and vitality, and sometimes resembling a dazzling garden, the natural world is like a book of…

For The Conquest And Dominion Of The Hearts

30 June 1996 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 16 (October - December 1996)

Over the last few centuries mankind have suffered hardships after hardships, travelling around pits of ‘death’. Their struggles for deliverance and r…

The Nature We Have Destroyed

31 March 1996 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 15 (July - September 1996)

Nature is, in its particulars and as a whose, an exhibition of Divine miracles. However, rather than call it an exhibition, we prefer to call it a ‘b…

The Irresistible Power of Religion

31 December 1995 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 14 (April - June 1996)

In whatever way the world changes, however advanced sciences and technology are, and whatever changes take place in ways of thinking, the feeling of…

Action And Thought

30 September 1995 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 13 (January - March 1996)

The line of struggle followed by the righteous people to whom God promised the future of the world may be summed up in two words: action and thought…

The New Man

30 June 1995 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 11 (July - September 1995)

Within the movement of history we have been carried to the threshold of a new age open to the manifestations of Divine favour. Despite (or in paralle…

The Horizon Of Hope

30 June 1995 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 12 (October - December 1995)

With strong conviction and high hope, poised to move forward; with firm resolve, our will ready as a taut bow-string is ready in sweet imagination of…

The Age Of Speed

03 January 1995 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 10 (April - June 1995)

This age could certainly be called an age of speed. With the technology of speed, the world promises many diverse benefits to mankind. It brings pros…

The Awaited Generation

31 December 1994 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 9 (January - March 1995)

We have long been awaiting a generation, with hearts as pure and kind as angels, with will-power strong enough to overcome the most formidable obstac…

Sacred Emigration

09 January 1994 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 8 (October - December 1994)

Emigration is an important phenomenon in human history. Besides its general relevance to the establishment of civilizations, it has special significa…

Religious Festivals

06 January 1994 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 7 (July - September 1994)

Almost every nation has religious festivals to commemorate important events in their history or to celebrate special occasions. There are two religi…

Love

03 January 1994 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 6 (April - June 1994)

Love is the most essential element in every being, and it is a most radiant light and a greatest power which can resist and overcome every force. Lov…

Decline and Fall: The Loss of Spiritual Energy

31 December 1993 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 5 (January - March 1994)

We used to have a magnificent civilization founded on faith, resolution, altruism and valour. The dark world of Europe’s Middle Ages was illumined an…

Self-Renewal

09 January 1993 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 4 (October - December 1993)

Self-renewal is the first condition of survival. Those who cannot renew themselves when necessary face annihilation sooner or later, no matter how po…

The Saviour Awaited By Our Generation

06 January 1993 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 3 (July - September 1993)

Our young people are living in and through a most distressing period. The neglect of past centuries has brought us to the calamities we are experienc…

Hope

03 January 1993 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 2 (April - June 1993)

We are on the threshold of great and far-reaching changes. The community is writhing in the birth-pangs of the new time that is approaching. It is no…

Compassion

31 December 1992 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 1 (January - March 1993)

Compassion is the beginning of being, without it everything is chaos. Everything has come into existence through compassion and by compassion it cont…