INTERNATIONAL MAWLID AL-NABI SYMPOSIUM

The Presidency of Religious Affairs brings important issues to the public’s agenda every year on occasions such as “Mawlid al-Nabi, Mosques and Religious Officials Week, and Month of Ramadan”. Considering the close dates this year, it has been decided to celebrate the Mosques and Religious Officials Week and the Week of Mawlid al-Nabi together. The theme of the week, as well as the “International Mawlid al-Nabi Symposium,” which will take place during the week, is “Our Prophet, Mosque, and Guidance.” Because we have the responsibility to develop an invitation and guidance model suitable for today’s conditions and to determine a future perspective for our mosque-centered services. At this point, the Prophet Muhammad is the best guide and example for us.

All the prophets sent by Allah showed the societies to which they were sent the way that leads to the truth and leads to happiness in this world and the Hereafter, and by walking on this path themselves, they became a guide and example for them. If we think in terms of Islam, guidance, conveyance and invitation constitute the essence of activities to bring Islam together with people. Conveyance and invitation are religious education and training for those who have not yet become Muslims, and guidance is for those who have accepted Islam. Our Prophet was tasked with inviting people to Islam with wisdom and good advice (Nahl, 16/25) starting from his relatives in the society he lived in (Shuara, 26/214). He (saw) struggled until strife and mischief were eliminated on earth, religion was completely Allah’s (Anfal, 8/39) and Islam prevailed over all religions (Fath, 48/28).

Undoubtedly, the prophetic method followed was effective in the success of the invitation and guidance activities of our Beloved Prophet, which continued under the guidance of the revelation. His faith and effort, sincerity and undisguised belief, reliability and truthfulness, patience and mercy, fluency and eloquence are the greatest helpers of our Prophet in this process. He valued his interlocutors, knew them well, and acted according to their mental and social levels and the conditions they were in. He was the first to experience what he conveyed, and he has always been a living example of what he said. That is why every word of his had an impact on people. He touched hearts with his compassion, mercy, and tolerance, his smiling face, soft words and encouraging style. He adopted the principle of correcting the mistakes without exposing people and tried to warn the interlocutors by expressing the mistakes in general terms. He said, “Facilitate things to people (concerning religious matters), and do not make it hard for them and give them good tidings and do not make them run away (from Islam).” (Bukhari, ‘Ilm, 11) and he made this a life principle. He took into account the willingness of his interlocutors and expressed his words in a short and concise manner at a time when they would not be distracted. With striking questions, he directed the attention of the interlocutors to what he would say and repeated his words three times in order to better explain the issues that he deemed important. In invitation and guidance, he applied the method of description, that is, representation, and told stories about faith, deeds, and morals. He paid special attention to all segments of society in his guidance activities.

During the Meccan period, Muslims did not have a separate place of worship. In the early years of prophethood, when Muslims did not encounter the obstacles of the polytheists, they prayed next to the Ka‘bah and at other times in secluded places. It is possible to say that Arqam ibn Abi’l-Arqam’s house was used for meetings, preaching, and worship. In the Madinah period of the prophethood of our Prophet, the masjid/mosque has an exceptional place, and the mosque is the center and heart of social life in Madinah. In addition to its functions such as a place of worship, administrative center, military headquarters, and council, Masjid al-Nabawi is also the center of guidance and education activities. Our Prophet used the mosque as a center to build the believer’s personality, to rebuild the hearts of believers, to nourish their minds, to reinforce their unity and brotherhood, to establish a bond of love and solidarity among them, and to develop the social dimensions of faith and Islam. His ummah, which took the Prophet Muhammad as an example, also built a mosque-centered civilization.

The duty of inviting people to Islam, our supreme religion, and of guiding Muslims, has been given to the ummah of Prophet Muhammad after our Prophet. That is why making this supreme duty the most important element of our religious service should be one of our primary goals. In today’s world, ways should be sought to update the language of invitation and guidance in Islam and to develop an effective and efficient method. In light of changing global circumstances, we must exchange ideas and develop a road map for rebuilding our mosques, transforming them into schools of guidance and wisdom, and reintroducing them to the center of life.