ADNAN OKTAR: People give a huge struggle while living that life. They avoid other people but are always ready for a fight, to stick a barb in and to insult and snap someone, they live in terrible fear, and are uneasy and full of doubt. In one verse Allah says “Allah does not wrong people in any way; rather it is people who wrong themselves.” They oppress themselves in an extraordinary way. All societies in many parts of the world oppress themselves. But the Turkish nation is generally very mild and good-natured, but many people in our nation are also suffering. Many are uneasy, ill at ease. Though this is the main problem, they are trying to depict the main problem as being something else. The real, number one problem in the world is lack of love, lovelessness. That is why around 90% of people, to say 99% would be high, but at least 95%, lead a hellish life. They suffer pains. That is what lies behind their smoking so much, and their intense use of alcohol. That is why they take drugs. The psychosomatic illnesses they call I guess? Or what do they call them? These things lie at the root of all diseases. Step outside and have a look. See how few people look at one another with love and trust. This is a huge abnormality, a huge deficiency. How can people be unaware of it? It is very strange not to speak of it. It is like a secret drama going on. It needs to be resolved from the roots, at once. People should have hundreds of friends, thousands of people they trust, people to confide in and tell their secrets to.

PRESENTER 3: Mr. Oktar, we are not living in that kind of age.

PRESENTER 1: Yes. In that sense, is the problem not being trusted, or not trusting others?

ADNAN OKTAR: Both. It is mutual. Look, the person across one says, “he should trust me.” And the other person says, “and he should trust me.” But one says, “I can’t trust him,” and the other one says, “I can’t trust him.” It is a dead-end. It appears we need someone to resolve the impasse. Fifty fifty on each side. Both sides want to be friends and love one another. But there has to be an arbiter between them. For example, Muslims were very hostile to one another in the time of our Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace). In those early days, when they were pagans, before becoming Muslims. They were at daggers drawn. Allah says in one verse “Allah brought you together.” “Remember Allah’s blessing to you when you were enemies and He joined your hearts together so that you became brothers by His blessing.” That is a miracle, but it came about through our Prophet’s (saas) arbitration. Allah made him His instrument. The Qur’an and the existence of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), a man who induces its application in practice.

For instance, we have the Qur’an now, but people are not friends. We can see the need for Hazrat Mahdi (as) from this. We can see the importance of Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh), the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh) and the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) in the End Times. For example, Christians have distorted and corrupted the Injil, and what is more have divided and become one another’s enemies, as Protestants or Catholics. Isn’t that right? And they fought one another for hundreds of years. They shed rivers of blood. Allah did not tell them any such thing. “We did not prescribe it [monasticism] for them” says Allah. “They invented monasticism” He says. But “even so they did not observe it as it should have been observed”, He says. They invented it. And they did not comply with the made-up beliefs that they themselves invented. For that reason, the next century is the century when the end of the world will be determined, but, insha’Allah it will be the century of the global ruling of Islam. We will see this, but this occurrence is like a fragile piece of cloth, woven very slowly. Allah is bringing it about by having us labor and take care. It will not happen by itself or at once. We need to hold on to causes. We can see that at this moment. In other words, Allah has placed the internet at our service, at the service of all Muslims. People can easily access the truth and beauty from that. They can be friends with one another. In the old days, they used to be able to say, “I have no car, or horse, I cannot talk to my friends or establish communications.” But the internet has removed the needs for cars or horses, hasn’t it? You can easily enter your neighbor’s house and start talking at the press of a button. He can tell you everything he wants to, even accompanied by video images. There are no more excuses left, though one has to be as well-intentioned and honest as possible. One has to free one’s soul from earthly desires and the influence of satan. People who are under satan’s influence imagine they are very clever. They think that living in a state of hatred and being suspicious of everyone is essential for intelligence. But people who live in hatred and suspicion only oppress themselves. For one thing, no goodness remains in their faces, people lose their humanity, in other words. Their hair falls out, they fall ill, their mouths dry up, and they end up in a dreadful state, in a constant state of terror, devoid of joy and friendship. All they have is hatred, anger, suspicion, setting traps, tension, and that wears people down and put them in a dreadful position.

But submission to Allah, love of Allah, being virtuous, doing good  and being honest is the sustenance of the body and soul. It brings happiness in this world and in the Hereafter. And that is what the Qur’an asks from us. People may interpret the Qur’an in one of two ways. One is to live by the Qur’an, which requires putting limits on everything. They believe that you must be locked into a room and your happiness departs, there is killing and bloodshed, and one becomes tired of life and asocial. But the fact is that the Qur’an bestows a state of mind far superior to any festive spirit. It gives us freedom and joy, and submission to Allah and moral virtue, and the peace that comes from that. And it balances out society, and people come to trust one another, while suspicion and mutual distrust disappear. All that happens when the moral values of the Qur’an are fully implemented. And people thus come to know peace.