deviants or heretics, find in this irreligion? If they are thinking of government and public order, to govern ten irreligious anarchists who do not know God and to repulse their evils is much more difficult than governing a thousand people with religion. If they are thinking of progress, such irreligious people are an obstacle to progress, just as they are harmful for the administration and government. They destroy security and public order, which are the basis of progress and commerce. In truth, they are destructive due to the very way they have taken. The biggest fool in the world is one who expects progress, prosperity, and happiness from irreligious anarchists like them. One of those fools who occupied a high position, said: “We said ‘Allah! Allah!’ and remained backward. Europe said ‘Guns and cannons,’ and advanced.”
According to the rule, “A fool should be answered with silence,” the answer for such people is silence. But because behind certain fools there are inauspicious clever people, we say this:
O you wretches! This world is a guesthouse. Every day thirty thousand witnesses put their signature with their corpses to the decree “Death is a reality” and they testify to it. Can you kill death? Can you contradict those witnesses? Since you can’t, death makes people say: “Allah! Allah!” Which of your guns and cannons can illuminate the everlasting darkness confronting someone in the throes of death in place of “Allah! Allah!”, and transform his absolute despair into absolute hope? Since there is death and we shall enter the grave, and this life departs and an eternal life comes, if guns and cannons are said once, “Allah! Allah!” should be said a thousand times. And if it is in Allah’s way, the gun also says “Allah!”, and the cannon booms “Allahu Akbar!” It breaks the fast with “Allah,” and starts it.
FOURTH SIGN
The destructive innovators are of two kinds:
The First Kind say as though on account of religion and out of loyality to Islam, as though to strengthen religion with nationalism: “We want to plant the luminous tree of religion, which has grown weak, in the earth of nationalism, in order to strengthen it.” They appear to be supporting religion.
The Second Sort say in the name of the nation and on account of nationalism, in order to strengthen racialism, say: “We want to graft Islam onto the nation,” thus creating innovations.
To the First Sort, we say: O unhappy, corrupt scholars of religion who confirm the saying “loyal fools,” or ecstatic, unthinking, ignorant Sufis! The Tuba-tree of Islam, whose roots are founded in the reality of the universe and whose branches spread through the truths of the universe, cannot