Dr. Hüseyin Kâmi BÜYÜKÖZER
What is the Direction (Istiqamah)?
In the dictionary, it means truthfulness, honesty, being sober in every job, not departing from justice and righteousness, and acting by justice and fairness.
It is to lead a life by religious decrees, along the lines of sobriety, to avoid all kinds of extremeness (Ifrat) and remissness (tafrit), to obey Allah and the Prophet. It means to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
What is the Target?
In the dictionary; It means the place, location, level, and purpose to be reached or to be achieved.
In our religion, Istiqamah(direction) means living independently by doing all your worship and deeds within the limits set by Allah Almighty. The goal is to gain the consent of Allah.
Following the istiqamah means understanding the most correct meaning from the verses and evidence and applying it with loyalty and sincerity, without distorting the religion of Islam according to one’s pleasure, without misinterpreting it. The opposite of going in the right direction is turning away from the Qur’an and living according to one’s desires, which deviates from the true path. This is called heresy.
The istiqamah is in the intention, word, and work. A person whose intentions are not good and true, his word is unsteadfast, and his work is not righteous. A true believer looks at the judgment of almighty Allah, turns to his heart, and makes his intentions straight and firm. Then he turns to deeds. He also does it according to the manners of religion. Thus, he becomes a balanced, beautiful, and decent person inside and out.
Direction refers to truthfulness and honesty in belief, intention, thought, and behavior, to be constant and consistent in turning to Allah and surrendering to His commands.
The istiqamah is to stay away from extremeness (Ifrat) and remissness (tafrit) in every occupation. The goal is the Qur’an and the Sunnah path that leads Allah to Allah. This is the path of the prophets, siddiqs, martyrs, and the righteous.
The end goal of the istiqamah is the consent of Allah and Jannat. There is no state and bliss beyond this.
Our Lord! After you have guided us to the path of truth, do not separate from the istiqamah. Do not move our hearts from your pleasure. Grant us mercy from you, and keep our hearts fixed in your religion. You are the one who pities much and bestows much. O Allah, we ask you for your love, the love of your loved ones, and the love of deeds that will lead us to your love. Praise be to the Almighty Allah, the Lord of the worlds!
