His Understanding of Religion and BeliefIndexAccording to Ken’an Rifai, religion is an essential system that organizes and controls the relationships of man with one another and with his own conscience. Ken’an Rifai says, “As a matter of fact, all religions are one. All religions from the primitive ones to the ones delivered by Abraham, Moses, Christ and Hazret-i Muhammed (s.a.v.) are the same in terms of their meanings. Their aim is to achieve purification of a person and thus, reach God. Religion experiences progressive phases as in a student’s educational life from elementary school to university and reaches its most mature state in Islam.” In human life, religion has two main functions namely social and personal. 1. Social Function: To teach the individual how to hold the benefits of the society above his own benefits and to establish mutual human relations. 2. Personal Function: To provide and maintain peace and calm one has to train his animal self and achieve spiritual maturity. It is in vain to expect peace and calm in the world without this maturity. Man is beneficial to himself and society only when he knows and becomes friends with God. Man should know that the essence of life is faith. The spirit of faith is performance (amel). The maturity of faith is the love for God (Hak). The maturity of performance is love for people (halk). That is to say, one should know that people is not separate from God. Some consider the people as external and God as internal. Some, however, believe in just the opposite. Some others are aware that when they address to people, it is to God and when they address to God, it is to people. In short, the ones who are free from fear and sorrow are the ones in love with God. In another words, they are the ones serving people with compassion, mercy, gentleness and patience. Those are the ones who never hurt others and are never hurt in one way or another. |
