After defining reason, discussing its guidance, its use, and then examining its spiritual[245] and scientific aspects from different angles, we must now focus on what value is needed for all this to be realized healthily, how it is formed, and what it leads to. Because valuing is the energy of the effort that must be shown in the formation of actions.

Reason demands that we lay the foundations for preparing for death, including its best use, and that we make sense of our death and integrate it with our values. However, the worldly hardships^[246] in our external world constantly make us forget death. As we forget death, these hardships also make us forget our values and trivialize them. That is why we must focus on what value is in order to organize our lives.

What is value?

Is it the feeling that makes us love the things we love, or is it the links in the chain that inextricably bind the things we are passionately attached to?

Value is the price bestowed upon the things we cherish. Unfortunately, today, value is constantly confused with price, and price with cost. Yet, value is the treasure of understanding, while price is the reward for the treasure given to obtain it. If we claim to value something but do not pay its price, or if we pay its price but do not appreciate its value, then we cannot speak of any value being given. It may be called “value” or “price,” but it is not worth.

For example, if PRAYER is a value for us, the value of prayer is realized by knowing its importance, and the price is realized by repeating it constantly. If we know the importance of prayer but do not repeat it, or if we repeat it but do not know its importance, we cannot speak of a value given to it. For someone who says, “I know its importance, but I don’t pray…” is prayer valuable now? No, it isn’t. It’s just important. An importance that requires a price to be paid…

We determine value in life. The values we determine form the links in the chain of value we give. In this sense, value is both the price we pay for giving worth and the worth shown to what the price is paid for. The increase in values creates beliefs. No value alone can create a belief. Since the links in the chain that form our belief are our values, if the links in the chain we have created begin to break, we also begin to lose our meaning of existence in the same proportion. Here, we can also create a formula for ourselves to give meaning to life:

VALUE + PRICE = WORTH

This is a complete formula that will serve us until our last breath. To understand this better, it is necessary to explain how values, when sustained, form beliefs, and how beliefs, when sustained, form religion.

We found value through valuing and paying the price. Before moving on to faith, we must also clearly define faith.

What is faith?

FAITH: It is the acceptance and confirmation of the absolute truth of the knowledge that exists within a person. Accepting and confirming the accuracy of knowledge is one of the indispensable conditions for the credibility of the relevant work. For value to turn into belief, it must also be sustained in life.

Religion, on the other hand, is a system of beliefs. When each value is combined with belief, it gives us the religion to which it is attached. This leads to another new formula.

VALUE + BELIEF = RELIGION

RELIGION is the way of life in which beliefs are sustained. It was born with humanity. At no point in history has there been a nation devoid of religious sentiment. Wherever there are humans, some form of faith, worship, and religious sentiment has been observed. For this reason, religion is a natural and essential need of humanity, given at creation.

As long as mankind exists, religion will also exist.

Religion, like a very strong tree, has preserved its life throughout all the stages of humanity and will continue to do so. As time passes, far from drying up, we see that its source has deepened and expanded even further. Human life begins with religion, finds strength in religion, and ends with religion. As soon as I ask myself the question, “Why am I religious?”, I receive the following answer: “I am religious because I am incapable of being otherwise^[247].”

After defining religion, we are faced with the following. Every belief serves a religion. Individually, as we discussed in the first section with the examples of Nimrod and Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him), Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Communism, and Zoroastrianism are religions in the sense of acceptance. These religions are divided into two categories: those accepted according to lifestyle and those accepted to be lived. A religion accepted according to lifestyle is determined not by the person’s words but by looking at the source of the values on which they base their beliefs. For example, Nemrut or Pharaoh, with all their known lifestyles, “I am a Muslim,” they will be judged in the afterlife based on their actions, not their words. The verses of the Quran inform us of this truth as follows.

ALLAH (c.c.) says:

We led the Children of Israel across the sea. Pharaoh and his soldiers pursued them with arrogance and hostility. When the waters reached the point of drowning him, Pharaoh said, “I believe in the God in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am a Muslim.” Is that so? Yet you rebelled and spread corruption before. Today, we will save only your body as a sign (a historical document, a lesson) for those who come after you. (We will show your body to everyone.) Truly, most people are unaware of Our signs. ^[248]

The verse informs us that repentance at the last breath will not be accepted, and Pharaoh’s body was left as a lesson for us because of his hostility towards Muslims, his previous rebellion and corruption, and his failure to change his ways.

The religion that is accepted for living is a system of beliefs adapted to life as a result of sufficiently accepted and confirmed knowledge. These religions are divided into three categories.

1. The True Religion:

It is the way of life revealed to people by Allah (swt) through the prophets, which has come down to the present day without any alteration or corruption. Although there are those who try to persuade others that the religions of the past are also true religions in political terms today, Allah (swt) has clearly stated what the true religion is, encompassing the essence of other religions.

ALLAH (swt) says:

The only religion acceptable to Allah is Islam.^[249]

• Muharref ^[250] Religions:

These are religions that have deviated from their original purpose after their formation, undergone changes, and are accepted in this state. Christianity and Judaism belong to this category. The verse clearly responds to those who argue otherwise.

ALLAH (swt) says:

Whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted from him, and he will be among the losers in the Hereafter. ^[251]These are fabricated religions other than Islam. They differ from corrupted religions in that they are based on the teachings of ordinary people, not prophets. While the systems brought by the prophets appointed in corrupted religions have undergone change, here there are people who appoint themselves as authorized to establish religions and the rules they bring. These religions encompass all the “…isms” within themselves. The Holy Quran informs us that such religions existed in the past in the story of Joseph (a.s.) as follows.

• False Religions:

ALLAH (c.c.) says:

This is how We devised a plan for Joseph. (Otherwise) the king’s religion (according to the punishment for thieves) would not have allowed him to keep his brother.^[252]

Along with these categorical distinctions of religion, we must add something new. Since there has never been a person or community in human history that did not live according to their beliefs, these beliefs must have an owner, a ruler, a manager. We must define God here.

ILAH means God, the being who is revered^[253], sanctified, and worshipped.

The term “Ilah,” which in Arabic means “ruler,” “guide,” or “one who is worshipped,” is used in the Qur’an to mean the fundamental power that dominates a person’s life and guides them. The basis of the belief in Tawhid is that a person accepts only Allah as God in their life and rejects the divinity of any other powers. Accordingly, a Muslim must accept only Allah as the sovereign power that guides them and determines their attitudes and behaviors. Just as they do not allow other gods in their lives, they must also reject the claims of power and institutions that claim divinity. Therefore, the principle that there is no god but Allah, or “Lâ ilâhe illallah,” summarizes the entire teaching of Islam. The factor or factors that shape our beliefs are determined by a god or gods.

Now, to summarize…

VALUE + PRICE = WORTH

WORTH + BELIEF = RELIGION

When values form our beliefs, we gather them under the umbrella of “RELIGION” and live within that religion. With the aim of gaining the approval of the God who owns that religion, we offer our deeds to Him in a way that will please Him. Given the importance of the subject and to avoid any misunderstanding, let’s try to explain it better with a simple example from life. With this example, we will also try to apply the formulas that seem complicated at first glance.

A person loves the car he owns very much. This love is sustained by thinking about it during the minutes spent without it and by constantly being busy with its maintenance and cleaning when together. In other words, the person attaches more importance to his vehicle than necessary and is more protective of it than other car owners.

Does this mean that the person only values their car? Or does it mean that their belief is also in line with this value? If belief has been formed, who is the deity here?

Let’s refer to our formula immediately…

VALUE + PRICE = WORTH

WORTH + BELIEF = RELIGION

OWNER OF THE RELIGION = GOD OF THAT RELIGION

Since the vehicle belongs to them, the cost is paid in the form of price. Value is formed by the importance the person attaches to the maintenance of the vehicle after paying the cost. Thus, when we start with our first formula, we arrive at value. This person values this vehicle…

Now let’s look at the second formula. Value has been given, but has this value become a belief?

We said that belief creates continuity in life. So we need to see if this value we have found has gained continuity in the person. If this situation has gained continuity, then it has also turned into a belief.

Looking at our example, the person’s position is described as “a love that is sustained by thinking about it during the minutes spent without it and by constantly caring for and cleaning it when together.” In other words, there is more than the required measure and a state of continuity. As understood from the text, this person values his car more than normal, and his constant fussing over it shows that it has become a belief for him.

I dwell on this fundamental point at length because, when viewed from this perspective, life gains meaning in every aspect. Only then can we lay solid and conscious foundations for conscious living within life using these examples and formulas. Here, we have found the necessary measure, value, and the state of belief it has acquired. But there is one more thing we have forgotten… If there is faith, then there must also be a GOD. If there is faith here, we have not found who owns that faith, that is, the god. In our example, or in the realm of life, if any belief is integrated with values, then there is definitely a god who is served. Because it obtains the power it needs for all these formations from its God. It is He who requires service and desires to be served in life. He is such a power that without Him, desires and goals have no meaning. He is also the authority that accepts and confirms the actions performed within religion. After all, what logic or importance can there be in actions performed without an accepting authority?

For this reason, there must be a deity who is served within the belief systems that constitute religion. Actions are so interconnected that it is impossible to separate them or create separate systems. Where there is no deity, there can be no religion; where there is no religion, there can be no belief; where there is no belief, there can be no value; and where there is no value, there can be no price or worth. We have said, “Throughout human history, there has never been anyone without religion,” “Atheism is also a religion,” “Religions are the main framework of beliefs,” and “Beliefs create values, and values create worth and price.” And we have said that without a deity, none of these can possibly exist. So, how will we find the deity in this example? Let’s immediately look at the definition of a deity and then see what fits that definition in the example.

A DEITY is the ruler of religion, its owner, the one who fulfills its needs, the one who is dominant, who directs, who has position or authority, or the entity that is worshipped.

Now let’s identify the deity in our example, that is, the one who truly desires…

• Who made this person buy this vehicle?
• His own desire…
• Who made this person love this car so much?
• His own desire…
• Where did the knowledge that made this person buy the vehicle and love this car so much, that is, the conviction that his actions were right, come from?
• It came from his own knowledge. There was no external influence or pressure whatsoever.
• What is the mechanism that triggers the formation of a person’s own desires and wishes?
• THE SELF…
• So who is the creator, organizer, commander, and manager?
• His own self…

ALLAH (c.c) says:

Have you seen the one who takes his own self as a god and whom Allah has led astray, sealed his hearing and his heart, and placed a veil over his eyes? Who will guide him after Allah? Will you not then remember?^[254]

This verse refers to people who want to put the conclusions they reach with their own minds before the rulings of the Holy Quran and who, obeying the boundless desires of their souls, choose not to obey Allah’s commands.

The picture that emerges at the end of our example clearly reveals how incomplete and wrong the statement that shirk is only limited to worshipping idols is. Those who claim to be believers but deify their egos or other things see their deities as a whole that completes their faith.

ALLAH (swt) says:

Most of them do not believe in Allah without associating partners with Him^[255]

Isn’t that interesting? Although they know they are commanded to believe in Allah (swt) as One, many people, while believing in a creator, attribute His absolute sovereignty in the universe to other beings. The fact that the verse refers to the number of these people as “most” highlights the gravity of the situation. This is the most important issue for those who seek to earn the pleasure of Allah (swt). Those who fear punishment should ask themselves, “Even though I accept Allah as the Creator and Provider, have I worshipped, obeyed, or served anyone other than Him, knowingly or unknowingly?” Those who do not ask this question with the intention of finding the answer are on the verge of falling into the swamp of shirk. The noble verses inform us about those who are in this situation as follows.

ALLAH (swt) says:

If you ask the polytheists, “Who created these heavens and this earth?” they will surely say, “Allah.” Say, “Do you know who owns the earth and all that is in it?” They will say, “Allah.” Then say, “Do you not then reflect?” And say to them, “Who is the Lord of the seven heavens? Who is the Lord of the great Throne? They will say, ‘Allah.’” Then say, “If you know this, why do you not fear Allah, the Owner of all things?” And say, “Who is the Owner of all things and the Possessor of all treasures? Who is free from all needs? Who is not in need of protection? If you know, tell me.” They will say, “Allah.” Then say to them: “You know this, so why are you deceived and associate partners with Allah?”^[256]

In order not to be among those who, despite believing in Allah (swt), fall into shirk due to heedlessness or ignorance, you must first pay the price for the things you value, and then strive to stand together with others who also value these things. This means creating a livable space for what you know. If you cannot make what you know livable, you will be condemned to either a life of compromise on values or a life outside society, seen as the only solution. When we apply this formula to this issue, we see that the value necessary for the formation of value lies in learning the book of religion, and the price lies in adapting it to life. We can learn everything from everyone, but we must learn our religion ourselves, to the extent that it is sufficient to form our own standards. If we act based on emotional diagnoses or the statements of this or that scholar, we reduce our religion, with its right and wrong, to that person’s understanding.

If a person does not know the criteria of the Quran regarding servitude, its commands on practical matters, and the moral structure it aims to create in humans, if they try to reduce their actions to the statements of a certain scholar, they will not have fully fulfilled the requirements of religion. Because even if the person they consult is truly a scholar, they will only answer the question asked, and will not be able to fully organize the situations in the questioner’s life that require a process of formation, such as worship, worship, and morality. From this, do not conclude that I am disrespecting scholars. I am explaining this to arrive at the conclusion of putting scholars in their place, especially those who are scholars. What I want to say is that a person who is unaware of the message of their religion will only learn about religious matters when necessary and to the extent necessary by asking questions, and will never feel the need to learn what really needs to be learned to the extent necessary. Therefore, this behavior, which is done without knowledge of the Quran, creates a belief that is surrendered to someone else’s understanding.

If a shopkeeper says he is selling his goods at half the market price, would anyone buy them without looking, just because they are cheap? Of course not. First, everyone approaches with a skeptical attitude, wondering if the product is genuine or a fake, and only then do they buy it. Even if we assume they bought it without looking, the most damage they would suffer would be the amount they paid. This means that people research to avoid suffering a loss in return for the price they pay. They see this as their most natural right, and they should. If people feel the need to research even when buying something like this, out of fear of suffering a loss, why don’t they investigate whether those who distribute cheap paradise are deceiving them or are frauds, even though they are consuming their first and last right to life? Just because someone is called “knowledgeable” or “a friend of Allah,” should we expect to be satisfied with Allah without researching “who they are, what they are, their position, their situation, their life?” What will you do in the hereafter if the reality turns out to be different from what you were told? O Muslim, if the person you follow is a fraud, are you aware of what you will lose? If you know you are on the right path, there is no problem. Our words are not for everyone, but for those who are unaware of whom they are following. The Holy Quran informs us of these scenes that will be experienced in the afterlife as follows.

ALLAH (swt) says:

On the day their faces are turned over in the Fire, they will say, “Woe to us! If only we had obeyed Allah and obeyed the Messenger.” And they will say, “Our Lord, we truly obeyed our masters and our elders, and they led us astray. Our Lord, give them double the punishment and curse them with a great curse.” ^[257]

The Holy Qur’an teaches us how to worship, but it also teaches us which relationships, and to what degree, will be considered “worshiping others” in the sight of Allah. By showing who the believers, hypocrites, polytheists, and disbelievers mentioned in the verses refer to, it indicates the position of these people in the sight of Allah and teaches us about the approaches of dangerous people who appear to be friends. It is not possible to learn these things within a belief system based solely on asking questions of scholars. This can only be learned after systematic education in the presence of scholars. It is not possible for everyone to have this opportunity in life. First of all, people’s economic and social circumstances do not make this possible. People who are workers or employers, civil servants or managers, merchants or traders do not have the time to devote to systematic education.

A life based solely on the scholar’s opinion, without a foundation, can lead to people becoming insensitive and soulless in the face of events. Because people do not learn the essence of the matter, they remain unresponsive to hundreds of events and are content with the deeds they perform with the aim of earning reward. This insensitivity stems from people not making the Quran a part of their lives. Because people do not derive the essence of religion from the verses, even though the hadith “He who sleeps full while his neighbor is hungry is not one of us” is known, the mentality of “We gave our donations where the teacher showed us, may Allah accept them” will prevail. However, to be good, just, and balanced, one must start with those closest to them. The shortest way to achieve this is for everyone to prioritize their loved ones. Because Islam values actions that serve justice. If merely performing an action in accordance with its purpose were sufficient, sharing a miswak would also be a sunnah. Or, if the luxury of gaining paradise by thinking only of individual life existed in any verse of the Holy Quran, the prayer of Abu Bakr (r.a.) would be meaningless: “O Lord, make my body so big that no one else can enter hell except me!” A soulless and insensitive life prevents the formation of this kind of personality.

Living far from the teachings of religion ultimately pushes people towards a single-worldly existence. This is the final stage of this insensitivity and soullessness. Unfortunately, a life lived solely with sensitivity to this world has become so accepted today that the only livable space created by knowledge has become the commercial sphere. Nowadays, in many places, knowledge seems to have no importance except for commercial matters. That knowledge is used not to shape personality, but only to earn more income.

As if the time taken away from people’s lives by their professions were not enough, commerce has also become the sole agenda in their social lives. Even the minorities who struggle to change this agenda often find themselves caught up in the conversation. Thus, the common knowledge of society is limited to topics related to commerce. This situation has spread to such areas that weddings, holidays, and even funerals have become a major commercial platform^[258]. The spread of this agenda to such a wide area leads people to live in a single world and leaves them with no time to learn about religious matters. If a large portion of life is devoted to worldly affairs and a small but constant portion to learning about religious shortcomings, then gains will be blessed, sensitivity will come to life, and order will come to lives. This order will also save people from falling into the swamp of shirk. There is no reckoning before Allah (swt) for a life lived in the opposite direction.

If you truly want to have something that is yours, know that what you learn is yours. Learning is such a great blessing that even if you share it with others, it does not diminish; on the contrary, it continues to be yours and increases. While everything else diminishes when shared, sharing knowledge causes it to increase. Cars, houses, computers, televisions, clothes, etc., bought with credit and enthusiasm… They neither offer us the opportunity to share with others, nor will they ultimately remain with us. On the Day of Reckoning, most of them will not be presented as good deeds. This is the result of a soulless life and a life focused solely on this world.

The best way to learn is not life itself, as described. Life is full of dangerous traps. You may establish some order through trial and error, but the values you lose and the damage you suffer will not be returned to you. The best way to learn is through the words of Allah (swt). Because only He is the All-Knowing in the absolute sense. A life based on the source of the Holy Quran will be free from dangers and mistakes. If you have received the knowledge you have learned from the One who knows everything, you will use it in the best way possible for a lifetime. If you share it, your value will increase, and you will be rewarded in the afterlife without suffering the slightest injustice. If you consider this gain commercially, even if you compare it to fields that yield five hundredfold, it is clear which one provides better income. That is why knowledge is the greatest treasure.

We said we had goals, principles, and objectives,

but without our Lord’s permission, we could not achieve anything…

We said we were striving for our children, our families, and those around us,

but we could not satisfy anything except our Lord…

Vesselam… We suffered, we found disappointment, we were unhappy.

Even if we were compelled to prostrate ourselves like Adam (as),

Even if we lived as long as Noah (as) and were found to be caliphs on earth,

Even if we were remembered with legendary beauty like Joseph (as),

Wouldn’t the final return still be to our one Lord?

[246] Trouble, hardship, distress

[247] Empowering

[248] Surah Yunus, verses 90–92

[249] Surah Ali Imran, verse 19

[250] Altered, corrupted

[251] Surah Ali Imran, verse 85

[252] Surah Yusuf, verse 76

[253] Showing respect, glorification

[254] Surah Al-Jathiya, verse 23

[255] Surah Yusuf, Verse 106

[256] Surah Al-Mu’minun, Verses 84–89

[257] Surah Al-Ahzab, Verses 66–68

[258] Infrastructure