Note: The following part is the complement of the post titled Basic Dynamics of the Gulen Movement - 1
4. The spirit of devotion
This principle should be viewed as a continuation of the previous discussion in regard to the level of moral dynamic ascribed to "living for others," whereby individuals devote themselves to God and to other people. Let us elaborate. As we know, the origin of love, in all its forms, emanates from the Almighty Creator. All loves and affections, as well as all delights and beauties, are the manifestations of His beautiful names. The same manifestation is best expressed in the famous Turkish couplet, "Loving all creatures by reason of the Creator" (yaratığı severiz, Yaratan'dan ötürü) by Yunus and celebrated in the West as Muslim humanism. This is such a great manifestation that it compasses all fields of human existence and relations. This phrase is the most concise "humanist" message of Islam. It could be said that for Gülen, this principle is kept alive and reproduced within the very spirit of devotion. When we comprehend the notions of "Creator and created," we will catch the basic characteristics of Muslim affection as distinguished from philosophic humanism that has no relation with the divine. For in Islam, in the origin of all loves is the reality of the Creator. If it were not for the manifestation of His beautiful names and attributes, humanity would be deprived of affection, compassion, and kindness. According to Islam, therefore, people should dedicate all love and affection to the Creator before all else. Without this focus, one cannot devote one's love or affection to another person by way of giving up one's own pleasures. The spirit and feeling of devotion to God, therefore, bestows the basic motivation for serving humanity. The spirit of devotion produces a moral dynamic that electrifies all love, every relation, every sacrifice, and every service therein:
The most remarkable feature of those who have devoted themselves to the bestowal of God's consent and to the ideal of loving and being loved by Him is that they never expect anything—material or spiritual—in return. Things like profit, wealth, cost, comfort, etc., things to which people of this world pay great attention, do not mean much; they hold no value, nor are they considered as criteria.5. Sacrifice, fidelity, and loyalty
To devotees, the value of their ideals transcends that of the earthly ones to such an extent that it is almost impossible to divert them from what they seek—God's gratuitous consent—and lead them to any other ideal. In fact, stripped entirely of finite and transient things, devotees undergo such a transformation in their hearts to turn to God that they are changed because they recognize no goal other than their ideal. Since they devote themselves completely to making people love God and to being loved by God, dedicating their lives to enlightening others—and, once again, because they have managed to orient their goal in this unified direction, which in a sense contributes to the value of this ideal—they avoid divisive and antagonist thoughts, such as "they" and "we," "others," and "ours." Neither do such people have any problems—explicit or concealed—with other people. In contrast, all they think of is how they can be useful to society and how they can avoid disputes with the society of which they are members. When they detect a problem in society, they take action, like a spiritual leader rather than a warrior, leading people to virtue and lofty spirituality, abstaining from any sort of political dominance or thought of rule.
What composes the depths of these devoted spirits is knowledge, the use of this knowledge, a strong and sound understanding of morality and its application in every aspect of life, faithful virtue and the awareness of its indispensability, among other factors. They seek refuge in God from fame and interest-based cold propaganda and ostentatious acts and deeds, things which indeed do not promise anything in the name of their future—that is, for their afterlife. Furthermore, living in accordance with their principles, they ceaselessly endeavor to lead those who watch and imitate to be in awe of sublime human values. Doing all this, such people do not ever expect any interest or kindness from anyone, and they try hard to evade any kind of personal interest or profit; they avoid this as they would a snake or a scorpion. After all, their inner richness has a centripetal power that does not allow any acts of advertisement, boasting, or ostentation. Their amiable behavior, also a reflection of their spirits, is of such a quality that it fascinates and makes discerning people follow them.
For this very reason, these devotees never desire to boast about themselves or to advertise or spread propaganda about themselves, nor are they ambitious to be well-known or appreciated...
Devotees do not experience emptiness in their mental lives and reasoning thanks to this understanding of a unified direction. On the contrary, they remain open to reason, science and logic, regarding this as a prerequisite for their beliefs. Having been melted in the depths of closeness to God, a closeness which depends on one's merit, and in the ocean that is like divine unity, their earthly desires and corporeal passion take on a new shape (spiritual enjoyment as a result of God's consent) with a new pattern, a new style. Thus, devotees can breathe the same air as the angels at the peaks of spiritual life while conversing with terrestrial ones, fulfilling the licit requirements of life on Earth. For this reason, these devotees are considered as being related to both the present and the future worlds. Their relation with the present world is due to the fact that they apply and comply with physical forces. What ties them to the next world is the fact that they evaluate every matter in the light of their spiritual life and that of the heart. Any inhibitions in the worldly life that are imposed by the spiritual life do not necessarily entail a complete abandonment of the worldly life; it is for this reason that these people cannot entirely despise the world. In contrast, they always stand in the center rather than on the periphery of the world and rule it. This stance, however, is not one for, or in, the name of the world, but rather one in the name of complying with physical forces and an attempt to connect everything to the Hereafter.
As a matter of fact, this is the way to keep the body in its own frame and the spirit on its own horizon; it is the way to lead life under the leadership of the heart and the spirit. The finite and restricted corporeal life must be to the extent that corporeality deserves, while the spiritual life, always open to eternity, must seek infinitude. If one thinks only supreme and transcendent thoughts, if one leads a life as the Life-Giver demands, if one regards illuminating others as the fundamental of one's life, and if one always seeks the zenith, then one naturally becomes a practitioner of a supreme program, and, thus, to a certain extent, one limits personal desires and passions...
Provided this devotion is wholehearted and sincere, it is always likely that God will bestow His blessings onto these kinds of people. The more that people aim to please God, and the more wholeheartedly that they are attached to God, the more likely they are to be appreciated and rewarded, and the more likely it is that they will become the subject of supreme conversations. The every thought, word and act of such people will become a luminous atmosphere in the next world, an atmosphere which can also be called "the smiling face of fate." Such fortunate people, who filled their sails with the white winds of their fortune, sail with special blessing toward Him, not attaching themselves elsewhere. What the Qur'an presents as a depiction of these people is worth seeing:
Men (of great distinction) whom neither commerce nor exchange (nor any other worldly preoccupations) can divert from the remembrance of God, and establishing the Prayer in conformity with all its conditions, and paying the Prescribed Purifying Alms; they are in fear of a Day on which all hearts and eyes will be overturned. God will reward them in accordance with the best of what they have ever done, and give them yet more out of His bounty (i.e. more than they deserve). God provides beyond all measure for whom He wills. (Nur 24:37-38)[11]
One of the most remarkable dynamics of the Gülen movement centers on sacrifice (fedakarlık) and fidelity (sadakat). These concepts are obviously not particular to this movement. There has always been a common emphasis on these concepts in the Muslim tradition. As we tried to emphasize in previous sections, the reason we include them as core concepts for the Gülen movement is that Gülen himself defines these characteristics with a deep sense of profundity and with rich and layered meaning. He has motivated peoples' sensations to the extent that he has generated a new system and campaign of sacrifice. When we speak of sacrifice or fidelity in the Gülen movement, we do not simply speak of solidarity and helping. Gülen prescribes, as in other criteria of piety, an open-ended sense of sacrifice that reaches for the extreme limits of human and moral senses. When the issue is piety or service of humanity, he is never satisfied with normal limits. He longs to amplify human beneficence, loyalty, and fidelity. Because of this, Gülen often refers to the metaphors of, "a horse that runs until his/her heart bursts," and "a winged turtle-dove." The horse in his system symbolizes the heroes of love who hurry by day and night to their service; the turtle-dove symbolizes high and eminent ideals. From here, we may discover that his heroes are each idealistic people:
Sacrifice is one of the important characteristics of a person who teaches others. Those who do not, or cannot, risk sacrifice from the start can never be a person of cause. People who do not have a cause cannot be successful. Yes, those who are ready to leave at one stretch whenever necessary, their wealth, life, family, position, fame, etc., things which many people desire and put as the purpose of life—that their cause eventually reaches the peaks is certain and inevitable.6. Representing and communicating the faith
Thus, the Prophet, peace be upon him, instilled, starting from himself and then from his close circle, the spirit of sacrifice. He practiced and demonstrated this throughout his life to all people who have devoted themselves to his cause. For instance, Khadija, may God be pleased with her, spent everything she had for the sake of this sacred cause, even without the Prophet, her husband, asking. She covered all the expenses for banquets offered to Meccan pagans in order to convey the message of Islam to them. Being once one of the richest people of pre-Islamic Mecca, this renowned woman had not even the wealth to buy her burial shroud when she died.
In addition to expending their wealth for people of cause, the emigration to another place—i.e., leaving behind their home when required, leaving all that they know in order to be able to practice their religion, thought, freedom, and humanity—is a sacrificial act in search of God's favor. For example, Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali (may God be pleased with them), rich and poor, young and old, men and women—almost all of them emigrated at one point or another. While emigrating from their homeland, they left all their wealth to the cruel and oppressive people of Mecca, and they only took enough food to suffice them during journey. Yes, while emigrants (Muhajirun) sacrificed in order to convey and represent their cause, they sincerely believed and devoted themselves to God's will. In return, the helpers (Ansar) in Medina showed great sacrifice by welcoming and embracing them. Yes, the Ansar welcomed their Meccan brothers and sisters, though they were poor and earned their living from farming only; they behaved in an extraordinarily noble manner.
Today's people who communicate faith and guidance should perform in the same way by practicing the sacrifice represented by the Companions of the Prophet, who once fashioned a zenith society in almost every field of life. Otherwise,... these people cannot succeed in communicating the faith.[12]
Loyalty (vefa) is one of the roses grown in a friendly environment. It is uncommon and even impossible to see loyalty in an atmosphere of enmity. The peaceful breeze of loyalty blows around those who share the same things in feeling, thought, and imagination. Enmity, hatred, and jealousy do not give loyalty an instant to take a breath. In an environment of love and generosity, loyalty grows, whereas in an environment of hatred, loyalty diminishes.
Some define fidelity as the integration of the human being with his or her soul. This is appropriate, though incomplete. The truth is that it is very hard to speak of loyalty in regard to those who have no spiritual life. Talking the truth, and keeping one's word or oath, is connected with one's spiritual profundity. Hypocrites cannot save themselves from lying and deceptions; they violate their own word and they are never serious about the responsibilities they have undertaken. Expecting loyalty from people who are deprived of a soulful dimension illustrates unawareness and naiveté.
Whoever trusts someone without loyalty becomes wretched. Whoever sets off on a journey with them gets stranded. Whoever respects him as a guide grieves all the time:
Hoping for loyalty from him
Filled my eyes with grief
And left one foot cureless.
A person deserves trust and ascends through loyalty. If a home is built on loyalty, then it keeps on standing and becomes lively. A nation would attain virtues with this noble sense. A state maintains its reputation only with this sense in the eyes of its citizens. If loyalty is lost in a country, it is unlikely to talk of a mature person, or a home that promises security, or a stabilized and reliable state. In such a country, people are suspicious against each other; homes are troubled; the state is inauspicious to its citizens; and everything is alien to the other, even though they happen to be aligned next to one another.[13]
Today, there are numerous political, philosophical, and ideological schools of thought and movements, and each of them vocalizes some grand cause that they claim to have inherited from the past. Among them, there are some that, although their discourse includes useful things for humanity, amount to little more than glorified slogans. They do not bother referring to any criteria or social reality to ascertain whether their thoughts are feasible or not, and whether they are uttered by true representatives. Despite this, any idea, thought, or movement has theoretical and practical aspects. Practical feasibility is as important as the idea and theory itself. At this point, the people who carry these ideas into practice come into question. Their merit and ability to represent the theory determine that movement's success. Representation (temsil) comprises the feasibility of opinions and ideas as it relates to the credibility of their holders. No movement can be successful without having sufficient people who can represent its cause. The fact that the degree of success can change in accordance to some criteria does not affect validity of this fact.
Gülen has emphasized this fact of representation since his early years. Full of sincerity, excitement, and action, he quoted passages from the lives of Prophets and the lives of their followers, to highlight the necessity of turning thought into action. In his retelling of their stories, their distinctive personalities, their patience, their endurance, and their sincerity, Gülen highlighted the importance of this principle as being primary in the mobilization of the movement. To him, if you do not have the ability to represent, society will not take your cause seriously and you will have nothing to say to the society. Gülen interprets this principle as internal-external integrity:
Those who want to reform the world must first reform themselves. If they want to lead others to a better world, they must purify their inner worlds of hatred, rancor, and jealousy, and adorn their outer worlds with virtue. The words of those who cannot control and discipline themselves, and who have not refined their feelings, may seem attractive and insightful at first. However, even if they somehow manage to inspire others, which they sometimes do, the sentiments they arouse will soon wither.[14]Gülen attributes the chronic social posture of the Muslim world to a deficiency in representation:
When hearts do not lend an ear to Islam carefully, it does not make its voice heard; if the spoken words are not represented in conduct, then its voice is turned down and it does not inspire anything in hearts. Words not only spoken but also conducted instill thrill in hearts and attain all aptitudes beyond all distances.[15]
Believers must believe very sincerely in the heart; they must behave as if they see God at every instant and feel the reverence of being observed by Him. For real believers, their conduct must suffice for telling about their faith to other people and convincing them; there should be no need for them to design mind stretchers. Their sleep, speech, glance, and posture must suffice. People who see them must be able to tell that "this earnest human being may not behave in frivolity; this harmless face may not lie." One of the major problems today is the inability to strike an attitude like this, leading to the failure to act out of internal maturity both individually and socially."[16]
The great magic of Jesus' apostles was their sincerity and the credibility of their manners. The most important reason the friends of the last Prophet managed to convey the light of faith to the entire world, and why they found friendly reception, was their Muslim manner. Centuries later, students of the Bediüzzaman exemplified similar sincerity and cordiality in a way as if they could see God (ihsan). In our time, however, Muslims have expanded in quantity; but they have lost much of Islam's inner spirit. While we possess reason and logic, and while science and technology is more advanced than in our ancestors' time, we do not have the same heart they bore. We are deprived of the real favor of feeling God in every heartbeat. Our heartbeats should have a manifestation on the outside, like a clock which has an inner mechanism that is simultaneously transferred to action on the hands outside every second. The real center of life is the heart.[17]
The deficiency of the Muslim world is not in science, technology, or richness. I have to admit that these all have some influence; however, the primary reason behind our deficiency is conduct and the immense quality of heart that should direct all our actions. Our deficiency is with regards to a Muslim-like image. Because of this deficiency, we do not have people today like Sadreddin Konevi, Rumi, Naqshiband, Hasan Shadhili, Ahmad Badawi, Imam Rabbani, Mevlana Halid, or Bediüzzaman. We live away from these spiritual people; our world is deprived of their colors. Islam is perceived by others by looking into our manners. As we depend on the Holy Qur'an for guidance, the Holy Qur'an depends upon sincerely devoted people to express its full potential. Even if the Qur'an is kept on high shelves in velvet covers but is not represented by people, then the Qur'an cannot speak for itself. Since its revelation, the Qur'an has been a guide for humanity in the form of a materialized spirit. However, as you may see, sometimes its voice has been loud, while other times, it has been silent, as if its mouth was zipped and it was locked in secret chambers.[18]In short, when representation was strong, communicating the faith was also strong:
Without conscious and strong-minded representatives, the Holy Qur'an experiences a pathetic situation. The perfect book can promulgate its message only through a perfect team of representatives. Unfortunately, because the world today lacks such representatives, many who study Islam are forced to view those who fail as representing the truth. A perfect team of representatives, a team that devotes itself completely to communicating God's name and to becoming a part of the religion, will be able to illustrate properly the ways in which the Qur'an might find expression. The main principle is not to intermediate, or to get in the way of another person finding God on his or her own; rather, our goal is to merely provide an uncompromising example of true faith. Each of us should strive to make people say, "There is no sign of lying on his face." We must show people the reality and make people think, "If their religion instills such depth of truth and morality, then their religion must not be false."[19]Exposing the internal dynamics of the Gülen movement and interpreting these in a systematic way, is not limited to this analysis. When we look at Gülen's discourse more closely, we observe other concepts such as humility (tevazu) and modesty (mahviyet); brotherhood (kardeşlik) and annihilation in friendship (tefani); material-spiritual benevolence (himmet) and advising each other what is good (hayırhahlık); connection with God (Allah'la irtibat) and becoming one with one's remembrances and prayers (evrad ve ezkar ile bütünleşme); being a person of heart (gönül insanı olma); abandoning one's spiritual prosperity (füyuzat hislerinden feragat); positive action (müspet hareket); etc. We elaborated on only some of the features in order to give examples. This elaboration is no way a deep analysis. But I think that even this may give us some hints about the Gülen movement and its basic discourse. Before one can comment on the movement's action in society, these basic dynamics should be understood and taken into account. Such is the same for studying other Islamic movements, be they analyzed from a Muslim perspective or through social methods. The internal and spiritual dynamics of a movement gives life to its social existence at every movement; it spreads to the capillaries of individuals and to the social existence and identity of the movement as a whole. Ideals and social realities may contradict each other, but this generally stems from imbalances between thoughts and action. Sometimes, actions are at the front of thoughts and ideals, while sometimes, thoughts and ideals lead to actions. Observation of such imbalances may lead some to unjust critiques about the movement, or to some false descriptions or accusations.
People who consider "communicating the faith" as their business can learn many lessons from the life of the Prophet. The only way to affect other people is to practice the message first. If you want to explain to someone about what it feels like to burst into tears for God, then you have to wake up at night and you have to weep until you wet your prayer mat. Only then will you see how your words the next day will make a tremendous impression. Otherwise, you may be slapped on your face, as in the verse, "Why do you say what you do not do?" (Saff 61:2).[20]
[Believers who communicate the message] must pursue the same behavior they adopted while amongst people also when they are by themselves, and they must be sincere in all their behaviors. They must not contradict themselves in their personal or social behaviors. Their nights must be as bright as their days, and their days must be so lucid as to illuminate the sun. Any mistake they make out of carelessness must make them groan. They must feel ashamed to mention prayer in the morning if they have not performed the tahajjud[21] prayer at night. They must weep until they purify the sin they committed with their eyes. Any unlawful or doubtful food they ate must make their stomach ache for days and days, and they must feel any diversion as flames from the Hellfire.
Reflections and thoughts that are not practiced by individuals are not welcomed, regardless of how attractive and necessary they are. The words must be welcomed first in the hearts of the person uttering them. If the thought is not settled in one's heart, then it is impossible to expect it to be accepted by others.[22]
This often happens when one Islamic movement critiques and evaluates another. Temporal developments may shape the discourse of a movement in its outward form on the basis of floating values. This may lead some people to speculate that a movement has strayed from internal/ideal principles. What is evident, however, is that variable values are necessary for flexibility and for occasional expansion. Variable values cannot determine ideal principles, but they may affect the movement when a new expansion is necessary. Obviously, change is not always something that every movement may desire all the time, and movements may not always need to renew or expand from their local milieu. This often leads to steadiness for some movements, and this steadiness must also be questioned. I argue, however, that variable values also display a capacity to adapt to a changing society and a capacity to produce new relations and values. A movement that does not possess this capacity will surely disappear. I hope my observation around "constants and variables" is not misinterpreted. The reason I utter this worry is because this issue designates a highly slippery ground. Further, it associates with loose and incurious observations and interpretations that we observe in modern political environments. Liberal readings often suggest that every change and development is inevitable. Our intent here is simply to disagree with an approach that suggests a sociological possibility for transformations without a base or parameters, one which idolizes all carnal egotistic pleasures and passion. Every interpretation and analysis must look at constant and dynamic values more closely. This is too often overlooked in the analysis of movements. Emotional and ideological readings trivialize everything and bear neither human nor moral concerns.
Footnote
[11] Gülen, Toward a Global Civilization of Love and Tolerance, pp. 100–103.
[12] Gülen, İrşad Ekseni, pp. 188–189.
[13] Gülen, Buhranlar Anaforunda İnsan, pp. 38–39.
[14] Gülen, Pearls of Wisdom, NJ: The Light, Inc., 2006, p. 105.
[15] Gülen, Işığın Göründüğü Ufuk, p. 4.
[16] Gülen, Sohbet-i Canan, p. 96.
[17] Ibid., 98–99.
[18] Ibid., pp. 99–100.
[19] Ibid., pp. 103–4.
[20] Gülen, Sonsuz Nur, Vol. 1, p. 244.
[21] A voluntary prayer observed late at night.
[22] Gülen, İrşad Ekseni, pp. 134–136.
Ergene, E. (2008). Tradition Witnessing Modern Age: An Analysis of the Gulen Movement (pp. 175-186). Somerset, NJ: Tughra Books.
