The Fourth Hope

Once, when I had grown old, my health, which until then had sustained me in my heedlessness, also began to fail. Old age and illness overtook me together, assailing me repeatedly and deprived me of peace.

I had no wife, children, or possessions to bind me any longer to this world. The fruits of the capital of my life, which I had squandered in the intoxication of youth, appeared to me as nothing but sins and mistakes.

Like Niyazi-i Mısrī(1618–1694) A renowned Ottoman Sufi poet, scholar, and spiritual master. He is known for his mystical poetry and teachings on divine love, spiritual purification, and closeness to Allah., I cried out in despair:

“I had engaged in no trade, and the capital of my life was lost. I came upon the road, only to find that the entire caravan had departed without my knowing. Weeping and lamenting, I remained alone and forsaken, My eyes filled with tears, my heart aflame, my mind bewildered and unaware.”

At that time, I was living in exile. I was overcome by hopeless sorrow, profound remorse, and an aching longing.

But suddenly, the Miraculous Qur’an came to my aid. It opened before me a door of such mighty hope and bestowed upon me a light of such true consolation that it could have dispelled even a despair a hundred times greater than my own and scattered every darkness.

Indeed, O my venerable brothers and sisters who, like me, feel their ties to this world weakening and the cords that bind them to it beginning to break!

Is it conceivable that the Majestic Creator, Who fashioned this world as a city and palace of the utmost perfection and order, would neither speak to nor communicate with His most important guests and friends within it?

Since He deliberately fashioned this palace, arranged it, and adorned it according to His will—and since whoever makes a thing knows what he has made, and whoever possesses knowledge is capable of speech—He will surely speak. And since He has made this palace, this city, into a beautiful guesthouse and a place of trade for us, there must surely be a written message, a book, through which He makes known His relationship with us and reveals His His will to us.

Indeed, the most perfect of these sacred books is the Qur’an, which is miraculous in forty respects. At every moment, it is recited by the tongues of at least a hundred million people. Each of its letters earns at least ten rewards, sometimes ten thousand, and sometimes, through the mystery of Laylat al-QadrThe Night of Decree. It is the night on which the first verses of the Qur’an were revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). It is regarded as one of the most blessed nights of the Islamic year and, according to Islamic tradition, occurs during the last ten nights of Ramadan, especially on one of the odd-numbered nights., as many as thirty thousand. Moreover, it bestows the fruits of Paradise and light in the ālam-i barzak. In this respect, no book in the universe can rival it, nor can anyone produce its like.

For the Qur’an we hold in our hands is the Word, the decree, and the treasury of mercy of the Majestic Creator of the heavens and the earth, proceeding from His absolute sovereignty, the grandeur of His Divinity, and His all-encompassing mercy. Therefore, hold fast to it, for within it lies a remedy for every illness, a light for every darkness, and a hope for every despair.

Truly, the key to this eternal treasury is īmānFaith; belief in the six articles of faith: Allah, His angels, His revealed scriptures, His prophets, the Hereafter, and divine decree (qadar). and submission, together with listening to the Qur’an, accepting it, and reciting it.