Semerkand İngilizce Dergi Sayı: 17 - Mayıs 2023
Semerkand English Magazine May issue is available now with the two-part feature article titled "Like the Hearts of Birds” and "Between Shaytans and Angels.”
The author, Nejdet Aslan, expands upon the implications of the hadith regarding a group of believers who have hearts like those of birds and will be in Jannah. He touches on the reference to the hearts of birds in the hadith being a clear sign of the submission to and reliance in Allah as birds are known to trust none other than their creator to provide for them each morning. He also draws attention to how a sensitive heart fears sins and all forms of transgressions against Allah. He emphasizes that, as the hidden gem within humans, the heart shines if it is refined with the dhikr of Allah and the contemplation of His absolute majesty and that it loses its luster if it’s lost in worldly ambitions and shaytan’s whispers. He mentions kindness, compassion, and steadfastness as the hallmark qualities of a refined, sensitive heart and predicates his argument for the pursuit of these qualities on the fact that it makes for a valuable endeavor as the difference between a heart that inclines towards the temptations of the nafs and shaytan and a heart guided rightly by angels to attain the pleasure of Allah.
Our lead author, Muhammed Mübarek Elhüseyni, writes about spending for the sake of Allah in his lead article this month titled "Who Is It That Would Loan Allah a Goodly Loan?” He notes that one’s willingness to spend for the sake of Allah in the form of charity is directly proportional to their ability to love Him. His remarks continue with powerful expressions of the connection between being a muwahhid, one who truly believes in the oneness of Allah, and one’s tendency to give to charity and therefore remove the love for worldly possessions from their heart. He then gives an inspiring example of how the noble companions of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) sacrificed their most precious possessions and properties only to please Allah, concluding that the path to salvation can only be walked by following in their footsteps.
Semerkand English Magazine May 2023 issue also features articles such as "The Dangers of Being Desensitized to Bid’ah” by Ali Yurtgezen, "Divine Advice” by Abdülkadir Alioğlu, "The Path of Service” by Ömer Yücel, and "Reflections From the Age of Bliss” by Burak Derin, and "Where Is Our Kindness?” by Selim Uğur.