Today, the concept of positive thinking is very popular and people use this concept randomly. However, they do not know exactly what this concept means. It is also seen that people who think positively are characterized by contemporary, civilized and progressive adjectives. How accurate are these claims? The concept of positive thinking is actually a result of the philosophy of positivism. In this article, we want to explain what is positivist philosophy and its contradictions. What is the positivist society that is to be formed with this philosophy is explained below with its contradictions and mistakes.

In this context, how the Ottoman Empire was affected by this understanding of society is also discussed in this article. In addition, this philosophy is criticized in terms of Sufism and the mistakes of positivists' view of Islam are answered.

 

What is positivism?

The term positivism was first used by Saint Simon (1760 - 1825). According to Saint Simon, after the theological, feudoral periods of Western societies, being industrialized and positivism is the only solution for societies. With the Enlightenment, the era of positive science has begun. The social theory that will ensure the continuation of civilizations will be a fact-based theory that adopts the methods of other sciences (physics, mathematics,…). Social life should be based on observation; the resulting information should consist of concrete data. It is possible to interpret the concept of positivism which Saint Simon defends as a reaction to the restrictive and oppressive theological structure in the Middle Ages.

Later, August Comte developed and systematized this philosophy. This philosophy deals with phenomena that may be the subject of experiments. According to this philosophy, information supported by or based on facts is only reliable information. According to positivism, factual knowledge is absolute truth; philosophy should also be shaped on factual knowledge. Positivist view must replace metaphysics within philosophy. According to Comte, science cannot explain the invisible, for example, the soul, but can only describe it. At this point, however, there are still unknowns in the concept of factualism.

According to Comte, people can only reach the highest stage of thought and development through the positivism. Comte wanted to give a new direction to society by examining the events of society in his own way. In doing so, he believes that understanding of social phenomena is possible through mathematical and physical methods. In this way, the concept of positivist society was put forward and the foundations were formed.

Positivism has historically been the result of the Enlightenment in Europe and the important developments in the modern science. In this respect, positivism is a kind of experimental philosophy. According to them, the knowledge of the facts does not give the essence and the real cause of the events, but the laws governing the events. These laws predict the future.

Comte's ideas in the 19th century were later developed by the School of Vienna in 1920 under the name of logical positivism. In this school's view, positivism is a philosophy that says that the scientific inquiry is limited to the relationships between the facts which are open to direct observation and that it is not seeking the ultimate causes from an external source.

Logical positivism tried to break the foundations of rationalism. However, logical positivism has collapsed due to its own internal contradictions and difficulties. Because, although they wanted to eliminate all metaphysical arguments, they placed the principle of to be verifiable  in the center of their own thoughts. The status of this principle is not fully defined.

Furthermore, it is doubtful whether positivism is absolutely true in a system with a large number of variables such as social structure. The question if it is possible to reach absolute information by interpreting the society which is based on human beings only with a positivist approach,  is important in this regard.

Can reality be limited only to facts? Human is separate from the facts of the world. Information based on the facts are seen and can be considered to some extent accurate. But human knowledge cannot be explained by mathematical and physical data. This information is about the spiritual structure of the human being. Experiments and observations are not enough to make judgments about society, and abstract elements should be taken into consideration.

 

Positivist Society

After the collapse of the conception of society formed by church, palace and aristocracy with the French revolution, the revolution failed to develop a new understanding of society. Under the influence of the French revolution and the subsequent industrial revolution, Europe's understanding of society was completely disintegrated. Societies in Europe have started to put an end to the chaos and conflicts that emerged after the French Revolution and searched for a new social order. In this context, Comte, who wanted to develop a new social understanding, wanted to create a social understanding based entirely on experimental science. Comte, in the years, believed that a positive society could be formed through the facts based on objective world phenomena and information obtained by experiments and observations.  By transferring positivist philosophy to sociology, he built a positivist understanding of society.

According to Comte, positivist form of society is the only vialid way for humans. This society is organized around experimental science, is based on secular principles and does not include true religion. Comte pursued goals based on ancient imaginary motivations, such as saving all world societies. Therefore, he saw this as a civilization project. In this project, true religion and spirituality were rejected. In time, this project turned into a “Religion of Humanity”. The God of this religion humanity is humanity, the prophets are  scientists and miracles are scientific discoveries.

Thinking movements such as Liberalism and Marxism were also influenced by the positive society utopia. In the early years of the Republic of Turkey it is seen the effect of this utopia. The slogan  “the most true guide in life is science”  was put forward under the influence of the understanding positivist society.

Has this utopia reached a real success? Since Comte, scientific progress has been made in the Western countries, along with enlightenment and modernity. However, people in Europe have experienced great economic turmoil and the wars have emerged as a result. World wars 1 and 2, civil wars in Spain, Greece and Yugoslavia have caused the European people to live  very bad years. If the positive society utopia was realistic, people should not have experienced these wars. So Comte's claims are false. People have been amused with positivist ideas for a while, but the result has not been as expected.

Today, people's understanding of society is different. At the center of today's societies, the interests and egos of individuals dominate. This structure is suitable for continuous problems. As a result, countries are dealing with terror and wars. It is not difficult to predict that this way will lead people to the Third World War. Under the name of Arab Spring, wars and domestic turmoil have emerged in the Muslim countries which have the underground riches and so the underground riches of these countries were seized by westerners. The same applies to communities in Africa and Asia.

In order to justify this seizure to their societies, the rulers of Western countries try to perceive Islam as a religion of terror. The events of September 11, the activities of terrorist organizations such as Ishid and al-Qaeda help this perception. The chaos that emerges in this way causes powerful states to exploit the weak Muslim societies, and their own communities see this as right and true. That is the result of the positivist society utopia today. It is natural for societies where people who abandon spirituality and pursue secular goals are the majority.

The majority of people do not want to follow the orders and prohibitions of the divine Power that created them. It is natural and justified for them to exploit those who are less powerful or have no power as long as they are strong in the world. This is the placement of individuals' interests and egos at the center of these societies. However, people have been warned about these issues in the Holy Quran. Failure to comply with Sharia laws is contrary to the nature of the things. It is clear that the consequences of this situation will be negative and will cause disasters. What has happened in the world up to this day is an example for it. The Qur'an warns people in this regard with the following verses:

“This is My right path, so follow it. Do not follow other ways that will lead you away from His path. This is what Allah enjoins upon you, so that you may guard yourselves.” (Surat al-An'am, verse 153)

“Who is more unjust than one  who rejects the signs of Allah and turns away from them? We will punish those who turn away from Our verses with painful punishment for their turning away.”(Surat al-An'am, verse 157)

According to the Islamic religion, the real happiness of people is only possible by applying the real understanding of Islamic society. One day, the understanding of society created by the human mind will cause contradictions and negativity. The utopia of positivist society is one of them.

In the world and the hereafter, true happiness is achieved by following the commands and prohibitions of Allah. Because it is Allah Almighty who created people and all the worlds. He knows how a community can live best. This information is also available in the Qur'an and hadith. It is the duty of man to equip himself and society with this information. The happiness of the world and the Hereafter is achieved only in this way.

“Who gave everything its perfect form. He originated the creation of man from clay.” (Surat as-Sajda, verse 7)

 

The Effects of Positivist Society Utopia on the Ottoman Empire

At a time when Ottoman society was struggling with problems, Comte presented his theory as a solution to the Ottoman Empire. By writing a letter to the Ottoman Grand Vizier Mustafa Resit Pasha, he proposed his positive society project as a solution of the crisis of the Ottoman society.

The book, Comte wrote on this subject, was found response in the pro-Western Ottoman intellectuals and was perceived as a road map of a new society. The Ottoman intellectuals in the Tanzimat period aimed to import positivism as a savior prescription. In this context, they questioned the Islamic culture and tradition through the concepts imported by the Young Turks from the West. While making a positivist reading of the Turkish-Ottoman-Islamic tradition on the one hand, they also tried to reinterpret the positivist concepts in order to make them understandable for the Ottoman society and to match them with the concepts of their own culture.

The most striking example is Ahmet Rıza Bey, who was one of the founders and chairman of the Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress and was the chairman of the Grand National Assembly and the Grand Ayan in 1908. He believed in Comte's Religion of Humanity  and actively engaged in political and intellectual activities. Ahmet Rıza lived in Paris for up to 20 years, during which time he became one of the most active members of the Société positiviste. Since 1905, he has also taken place as the representative of Muslim societies in the Comité positif occidental established for the spread of positivism in the international arena. Young Turks in Europe gathered around Ahmet Rıza and published newspapers to express their positivist political and social views.  After the proclamation of the 2. Constitutional Monarchy in 1908, Ahmet Rıza returned to Istanbul and was elected president of the Turkish Parliament.

Activities to build a positivist society influenced the real life of Islam in the Ottoman Empire. As a result of these studies, foreign language schools were opened in many parts of the Ottoman Empire. The most important characteristics of the first foreign schools were that they were Christian sect schools. Most of the schools were opened without any permission. Their aim is to form an indigenous group of intellectuals equipped with the intellectual tools of western modern culture. In this way, the real Islamic religion and culture was tried to be destroyed in Ottoman society. During this period, many missionary activities were put into practice in Ottoman society and efforts were made to Christianize the Ottomans.

The contradictions within the positivist society utopia itself prevented the realization of the West's ambitions over the Ottoman Empire. In time, the Committee of Union and Progress collapsed and could not reach the goal of finishing Islam in the Ottoman Empire. Most of the Ottoman society did not abandon Islam. With the power and strength of Islam, Anatolia was liberated from foreign invasions. The efforts of the West continued during the Republican era and still continue today. But they could not and will not be able to abolish Islam in these lands.

“they wish to put His light out with their mounths. But He will perfect His light, much as those who deny the truth may dislike it.” (Surat al-Saff, verse 8)

The error of these people is that they thought that the systems they established with their own minds were capable of everything, but they forgot that there is the owner   and protector of the Islamic religion. Therefore, it is  inevitable that they will be unsuccessful. After that, even if they gathered all their intellects and powers, they will not be able to destroy the Islamic religion in these lands. Because the true owner of this religion is Allah Almigthy  and will protect His religion. The following verses openly shout  this fact to the enemies of Islam:

“Whereas those who strive against Our signs seeking  to defeat their purpose, shall be the inmates of the fire.” (Surat al-Hajj, verse 51)

“But those who strive against Our signs, trying to defeat them, will suffer a painful torment.” (Surat al-Saba, verse 5)

“We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and we will assuredly guard it.” ( Surat al-Hijr, verse 9)

Islamic religion has been dominant in these lands for thousands of years and it will continue to dominate after that. Opponents of Islam are working with all their power to destroy the Islamic religion. But all of their tricks as before, will be destroyed on their own. This is clearly stated in the following verses:

“Certainly the hypocrites try to deceive Allah. But Allah will bring down their tricks on them.” (Surat an-Nisa, verse 142)

“The plotting of evil only rebounds on those who plot. Are they but looking for the way the previous people (sinners) were dealt with? You will never find any change in the ways of God; nor will you ever find God’s decree averted.” (Surat al-Fatir, verse 43)

 

Critique of positivist philosophy in terms of Sufism

1)The basic principle in positivist philosophy is that everything is based on experimentation. The cases that cannot be tested are meaningless according to them. This thought was criticized by other philosophers even in Comte's time. Comte thinks that the facts are merely the emerging and observable phenomena and the relationships between them. However, Sufism argues that the observable part of these phenomena belongs to the apparent world and does not reflect absolute truth. Because everything in the visible world has an invisible face. This face can be perceived in part by discovery. But not all can be perceived by discovery. Only Allah knows all of this unseen information.

“verily God knows the secrets of the Heavens and the Earth, and God sees well all that you do.” (Surat Qaf,verse 18)

“He knows all that is before them and all that behind them.They can grasp only that part of His knowledgewhich He wills.” ( Surat al-Baqarah, verse 255)

It is therefore impossible to reach absolute truth through positivist philosophy.

2) Positivist philosophy deals with human and society only in terms of matter. However, man has a spiritual side. Therefore, societies formed by people are under the influence of this spiritual side. They deny the spiritual side of man, but there are many spiritual issues in human life that cannot be explained by material phenomena. For example, with which experimental phenomena can they  explain the reason? Concepts such as morality, love and compassion are not included in this philosophy. Which experimental phenomena can explain these concepts?

3) In this philosophy, traditional understanding of religion is rejected. Instead, ’Religion of Humanity’ is accepted. The prophets of this religion are scientists. The rules of this religion are the laws determined by science. How can these laws explain the truth to people?  There is no any expremental way to understand how the universe was created, the working systems of galaxies, etc. There are an unlimited number of such cases in the universe. It is not a serious scientific behavior to ignore them because of that these experiments cannot be performed.

Comte, by giving the example of falsified Christianity, opposed the concept of true religion and perceived religion as reaction. However, it is understood from his writings that he never studied Islam. How is it realistic and scientific,  opposing the true divine religion with a single example? How will the concept that they put forward as human religion or universal religion answer all questions? What they worship are scientific discoveries in modern Europe. The new scientific discoveries of this period dazzled them and they thought  that they, as many Western philosophers and scientists, were able to know and do everything. However, it has recently been expressed by Western scientists how these scientific discoveries contain contradictions and inaccuracies.

True science can only be understood by the light  of Islamic religion. The last stage of this is the science of secrets which is the subject of Sufism. With the help of the science of secrets, the paradox and contradictions of the partial knowledge of today's science can be partially eliminated and made better understandable. Those who want to learn about the science of secrets can review our article  “The Beauty in Science”  published on our website. In addition, the articles published on our site about Quantum Theory, Relativity Theory, Big Bang, Black holes, include  the views of the science of secrets.

4) Positivist philosophy tried to spread the idea of ​​positivist society by shaping the sociology of society with its own principles. They claimed that they would take societies further by forming individuals who believed in the religion of humanity. However it is proved  in the recent history of humanity that this claim  is not true. The idea of ​​Union and Progress in the Ottoman Empire was founded with the influence of this philosophy, but in the end, both he and the society he ruled could not survive destruction. So the fate of human religion and positivist society is frustration and destruction.

 

Answers to Comte's Islamic Criticism

Comte, who was the pioneer of positivism which became  Religion of Humanity  since 1845, expressed his own opinions and criticized the religion of Islam. Some of these criticisms will be answered below. Comte made superficial criticisms without fully understanding the Islamic religion. It is in itself a contradictory attitude to claim that he has a true scientific view and to deal with a subject with unrealistic superficial criticism. Comte's book  “Islam and Positivism” provides some of the criticisms he made about Islam. We will answer some of them below.

1) Comte says: “Hz. Muhammad (pbuh) tried to organize monotheism in the nation which was not properly prepared for spiritual and material power, through an imitation that contained little rationality, and then this attempt did not sufficiently yield the major social consequences specific to such a transformation.”

Answer: How funny and wrong things these are.  He says that what Muhammad (pbuh) is doing is an imitation. What and who did our Prophet (saas) imitate? What did he do in parallel with other prophets?  If there is parallelism, it is only the system of revelation practiced by Allah. This system is a way of Allah and is not an imitation. According to Comte, the task of prophecy through revelation has little rationality. According to him, the system he established with his own mind is more rational than the system that Allah has declared

It is an inexcusable contradiction to argue that philosophy is more rational than the system God has revealed. It is a pity Comte has forgetten that his mind was created by God.  The philosophy system that he established with his own mental system brought contradictions together. For this reason, positivist philosophy collapsed. But the system God revealed through revelation never contradicts and never collapsed. Which is more rational? However, societies did not get satisfactory results when they could not fully implement Islamic Sharia. This is not related to Islam. In addition, in the periods when Islamic Sharia could be applied partially, very rational and positive results were obtained. Which understanding of science can reject this?

Comte argues that the Arab society at the time of our Prophet  was not ready for material and spiritual power, and so it could not be obtained sufficient results. Comte considers our Prophet  as himself, because he considers everything material. However, the prophecy is a spiritual authority and its duty is to communicate and follow only God's commands. For him, the concept of society's readiness is meaningless. However, since the verses of the Qur'an take into account the situation of the Arab society of that day, the orders were gradually come down. The society is gradually prepared for the prohibitions.

Since Comte compares it to his own mind, the method and purpose of Islam seems strange to him and deems it inadequate. However, Muslims have achieved both material and spiritual power through Islam. This power has continued to increase for centuries. This, of course, is not understandable for those who put their mind instead of  God. They could not understand the aims of the Islamic religion because they accepted that the purpose of everything was matter. To those who deny the Hereafter, like Comte, the goals of Islam seem strange and meaningless to them. They see the life of the world solely for material purposes. Martyrdom is a strange event for them. That is where all their ignorance lies. The fate of worshiping   to their own mind is contradiction and frustration.

“Does not man see that We createdhim from a drop. Yet there he is, flagrantly contentious.” (Surat Ya Sin, verse 77)

“Never forget that the life of this world is only a game and a passing delight, a show, and  mutualboasting and trying to outrivaleach otherin riches and children. It is like the growth of vegetation after the rain, which deligths the planter, but which then withers away, turns yellow and becomes worthless stubble. In the life to come there will be terrible punishment, or God’sforgiveness and approval: the life of this world is nothing but a means of deception.” (Surat al-Hadid, verse 20)

2) At the end of Comte's letter to Resit Pasha in 1853, it is said: “The essential spirit of Islam will soon accept to reach the aims better by substituting humanity instead of God.”

Answer: It is a carelessness to substitute humanity instead of God. How can anyone who does not understand Islam come out and criticize Islam in this way? Is it compatible with the science? What kind of mental weakness is it to replace humanity as God?  Did humanity create this universe? Will humanity ensure that the universe works in a perfect system? How does someone who is in such an unusual and peculiar understanding get respect from Western societies and is granted as scholar and philosopher? Through which common sense  are his opinions lectured in the universities? It is easy to explain that people who have this understanding kill each other for years at wars for the benefit of the world. Because those who think these understanding as science have never predicted the behavior of people and societies.

The same holds true for today. Worshipers of mind always put their egos and interests at the forefront. It is normal for those who do not believe in the Hereafter to do everything for their benefit today. For them, life is the life of the world, and the aim is that they lead the best life in the world. So it is worthy of everything for the people who are strong. One deserves every negativity because he is weak.

Islam is completely opposed to this understanding. According to Islam, people are responsible for what they do in the world and they will surely be punished for their injustice in the Hereafter. Those who are wronged will surely get their rights in the Hereafter. Justice in this world can only be achieved by this punishment system. Otherwise it is not possible.

3) Comte says in his book:  Conviction of all kinds of unbelief has become compulsory to strengthen faith. Muhammed (pbuh) was crying in front of his mother's grave, sadly unable to pray for her.

Answer: The mother of Muhammad (pbuh) died before Islam. Our Prophet  visited his mother's grave from time to time. However, it is explained in the hadiths that for his mother is not allowed to ask God for forgiveness. The period before the declaration of Islam is called the period of interregnum. Because, in verse 6 of Surah Yasin, it is stated that they had never received a warning before. Therefore, this will be a special practice in the Hereafter for the people of the interregnum era. When these people resurrect after the resurrection, they will be communicated about the religion of Islam and those who believe will save themselves. When the mother and the father of our Prophet  see their son, they will believe in Islam and save themselves surely.

Comte, he shouldn't be tired of that. The people that Islam defines as disbelievers are of different categories. These are those who deny the verses in the Qur'an after the proclamation of Islam. Islam despises those who do not believe in the verses of the Qur'an and denies them and advises them to repent and return to faith and then to do righteous deeds. Otherwise, if they die as a disbeliever, they will stay in hell forever. This is not the case for  the mother and the father of our Prophet (pbuh). What kind of a scientific understanding is that the greatest representative of positivists comments on Islam without fully examining and learning Islam.

4) Comte says in his book:  Without any metaphysical transition, they will feel themselves as followers of the admirable aims of their great Prophets, by directly passing from Islam to positivism. By the cult of humanity Hz. Mohammed (pbuh) 's universal exaltation is definitely included in the system.

Answer: Comte claims that that the aims of Muhammad (pbuh) will be more than fulfilled by leaving Islam and passing to the religion of humanity. Comte  treats Muhammad as a normal person and sees Islam as a philosophy of the Prophet. What kind of scientific insight?

Islam is not a philosophy put forward by the Prophet. Islam is a religion of revelation. The Prophet is tasked with communicating the revelations of Allah Almighty to people. Philosophy, on the other hand, is the systems of thought that people establish with their own minds. There can be no similarity between them. Comte shows how ignorant he is, thinking that his philosophy of reason will prevail over Islam. The information obtained through reason never includes the information that comes with revelation. The prophethood and the message of the prophet are purely a matter of faith which has nothing to do with reason. Comte thinks that his philosophy is superior to Islam and gives an example of ignorance. The same ignorance has been demonstrated by all those who respect and accept this philosophy in the West. The inability to comprehend the difference between Islam and philosophy is truly a regrettable situation for science. The fact that Western thinkers are involved in such nonsense loses the respectability of their theories for science. It is another expression of this nonsense that the people of last century and of that century looked at these theories with absolute truth.

According to Comte, the cult of humanity includes Islam. In today's societies, slogans such as  “Humanity is the beginning of all things”,  “All people are brothers” and “Glorify man so the state is glorified” are put forward. These slogans have nothing to do with Islam.

The head of everything in the religion of Islam is to belive in Allah and His Messenger Hz. Muhammad (peace be upon him). After having this faith, other things come after them. Islam does not despise man, as long as he has faith. Islam denies anyone who does not believe in Allah and His Messenger. A person who denies this fact is fundamentally lost by rejecting something which is  at the center of everything. For the one who loses the foundation, the rest of the world life is an empty detail. Many works on this subject have been published. Life is the capital of man. In order to make good use of this capital, these works must be read and understood. In this sense, the life of the world is a place of examination and the field of the Hereafter. Because the works of man in the world life in the Hereafter either will lead to heaven or to hell. Therefore, one must abandon his own vain aspirations  and use his mind to realize the truth.

What is the concept of humanity? There is no any objective definition of this concept. According to them, all people should be respected and loved. But among people there are thieves, bandits, cruel. How will they be respected and loved? In addition, all people are related to each other in terms of descendants of Adam (as). But for Islam, not all people are brothers. But those who believe in Islam, that is believers, are brothers.

“Believers are only brothers.” (Surat al-Hujurat, verse 10)

Islam does not accept the unbelievers as the brother of Muslims. He sees them only as human beings. The measure of the valuation of people is god-fearing. This is stated in the Farewell Sermon of our Prophet  as follows:

"Listen to me and learn by heart! The Muslim is the brother of the Muslim, and so all Muslims are brothers.

O people,

Your Lord is one. Your father is one. You are all Adam's children. Adam is from the soil.  Arab has no superiority over non-Arab and so non-Arab over Arab; red skin has no superiority over black and black has no superiority over red skin. The superiority is afraid of Allah only in the adherence. The one who is most precious to Allah is the most fearful of Him.”

It is clear from this sermon that only Muslims are brothers of each other. The superiority between people is in God-fearing, that is to fear Allah. One who has more God-fearing is more superior than the lesser.

Unfortunately, this reality is today misguided and the concept of love is used instead of God-fearing. Today, it is claimed that loving God will get to be closer to Allah. This claim contradicts the statements in the farewell sermon above. When our Prophet  speaks of God-fearing, they call it love. Using the concept of love instead of God-fearing is completely wrong and contrary to Islamic belief. The word love is used in Christianity instead of God. Today, it is impossible for Muslims to love and respect non-Islamic religions such as Christianity. Because after the emergence of Islam, the validity of other religions has disappeared. According to the Qur'an, Islam is the only valid religion today.

In the Qur'an, Muslims are forbidden to have friendship of other religious members:

“Believers, do not take outsiders as your intimate friends, they will spare no effort to harm you.They love to see you suffer;their hatred is evident from the words which fall from their mouths. But what their hearts conceal is far worse. We have made Our signs clear to you; will you not understand?” (Surat Al-Imran, verse 118)

“whenever something good happens to you, it grieves them; but when evil befalls you, they rejoice. If you persevere and fear God, their designs will never harm you in the least:God encompasses all that they do.” (Surat Al-Imran, verse 120)

“Do not take deniers of the truth for your allies in preference to believers. Would you give God a clear proof against yourselves?” (Surat Al-Nisa, verse 144)

Despite these clear verses, today, Muslims use slogans such as “People are brothers” and “Love people”. These slogans are abbreviated as “Love and Brotherhood”. These statements are wrong for Islam. Those who give heart to these expressions and put them in their hearts will surely be disappointed in the Hereafter. The following verse expresses this:

“Believers! Do not offer friendship to those who are enemies of Mine and of yours. Would you show them affection when they have rejected the truth you have received; when they have driven you and the Messenger out because you believe in God, your Lord. If you have left your homes to strive for My cause and out of a desire to seek My goodwill, how can you secretly offer them friendship? I know all that you conceal and all that you reveal. Whoever of you does this will surely stray from the right path.” (Surat al- Mumtahanah, verse 1) 

 

Result

Today, positivist philosophy is especially popular among people who are educated and distant from religion. These people put their minds at the forefront and organize their lives according to their own minds and aspirations. Positivism also supports them in this regard. But if people examine the events in the universe and within the human being more deeply, they find that this is not the case and that there are many irrational phenomena. For example, what is reason, what is life, what is death? What is the creation and end of the universe? If the questions are answered with pure reason, they see that many deficiencies and contradictions arise. There are some famous physicists today who point out this problem. For example, Stephen Hawking asks in one of his books: “Somebody explain to me why and where from we came to this world and where the end of the world is going.  The answers to these questions can only be found by faith. This is faith in Islam. When the Islamic religion is examined thoroughly, the answers to these questions can be given exactly. Sufism helps the believers in this matter. Therefore, the best answers to these questions are true Islamic Sufism. Therefore, the books of Islamic Sufis such as Ibn Arabi, Imam Rabbani, Mevlana, Yunus Emre, and Imam Ghazali should be read and contemplated. Various articles have also been published on our website.

It is the duty of the Muslim to learn and know. In verse 59 of Surah Rum, Allah Almighty says:

“Allah seals the hearts of those who do not (want to) know (the truth).”

Imam Azam, Abu Hanife says: "Ignorance is not an excuse for a Muslim."

Therefore, it is the duty of the Muslim to learn and know the right information, and if he does not do so, he will be responsible in the Hereafter tomorrow. For this reason, Muslims should abandon the currents of thought contrary to Islam and try to learn the true and correct information from the books of the real Islamic scholars. Only in this way is salvation in the world and the Hereafter possible. We pray  that Allah Almighty will make all Muslims successful in this way.

 

References

“İhyâu Ulûmi’dîn”, Imam Ghazali, Bedir Publishing, Istanbul, 1975

“Divine Nefhalar”, Sadreddin Konevi, İz Publishing, Istanbul, 2004

“İmam-ı Azâm, Abu Hanife and His Works”, Abdülvahap Öztürk, Şamil Publishing, Istanbul, 2010

“Fütûhât-ı Mekkiyye”, Ibn Arabi, Litera Publishing, Istanbul, 2008

“Islam and Positivism”, August Compte, Dergah Publications, Istanbul, 2008

“Islamic Society Concept”, Ergün Yıldırım, İz Publishing, İstanbul, 2015

“A Shorter History of Time”, Stephen Hawking, Dogan Book, Istanbul, 2005

 

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Sufism  and  Positivism

Publication date :  26.08.2019