ISLAMIC PUBLISHING

Since the cause of all of creation's coming into being is the light of the Prophet Muhammad (saw), Muslim scholars have found it hard to fully express and reflect his unparalleled and unique life into words. This textbook aims to introduce the life of the Prophet Muhammad as much as words allow. It has been prepared with the middle-school students in mind, and has been shortened and simplified accordingly and compiled into two volumes.

In this humble work at hand, we will therefore attempt to focus on the importance of contemplating and sensing, a primary legacy of the Blessed Prophet upon him blessings and peace-, their benefits and their proper way of actualization.

God has blessed humans with a number of supreme qualities to lead them to the truth.
However, He has also further helped them by appointing guides from among them with exceptional, God-given traits. Among those guides, the ones who received divine revelation are known as prophets.
The prophets are righteous individuals, who have set an example for the rest of humankind and who were given three main duties:
1. To convey the revelations of God,
2. To cleanse and purify souls,
3. And to teach people the book and wisdom.
Sending prophets is our Lord’s special way of helping humanity and this help started with Prophet Adam (AS) in order to encompass the entire history of man.
Adam (AS) was not only the first man but also the first prophet. Around 124,000 prophets have since walked on and cemented the cobbles of that sacred path to salvation. Although the core of the message they delivered remained unchanged, parallel to the progress of humanity, the path reached its summit and perfection in Prophet Muhammed (SAW).
We have humbly relied on the help of Allah to write this book, which offers the parables of the prophets as told by the Qur’an. It begins with the first leaf of the prophetic calendar and ends with the last, laying emphasis on the lessons and wisdom to be taken from their experiences.
Here, our readers will find the story and events during the life of all Prophets Peace upon them – except the blessed time of Prophet Muhammed Peace and Blessings upon him which is relate in a special book totally dedicated to his life.

The author, Osman Nuri Topbas, currently lives in Istanbul. He has received both a traditional and a modern education. He has written many books on different aspects of Islam as a religion and as a civilization. One recurring theme in his writings bears on the importance of mercy, love, and care in our social relations as the very fabric of an authentic Islamic way of life. This book, written in a climate of love for the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), reflects this mercy, while discussing the most distinguished characteristics of the Prophet s way of life and his morality. It intends to guide people to kindness and a refinement of the heart, thus aiming to help them gain happiness in this world and the Hereafter. The information presented in this book has been collected from the most reliable and earliest possible scholarly sources, which are thoroughly cited in footnotes. The sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) have been chosen only from authentic collections of hadiths. For those who desire to obtain further information, the Arabic sources have been provided.

Since the reason for the existence of all creatures is Light-i Muhammedi, it is not possible to express the life of the Prophet and the Prophet in the light of these incapable lines.
It is not possible to properly realize and betray the surplus of this Sultan of the Prophets, which he exalted in his Destiny, with the limited possibilities of words.
However, there are numerous benefits for everyone to make their way to understanding and telling.
This book is trying to relate the life of the most perfect creature of Allah and detail his part of life.
The first one is relating the time between the birth and the moment of Hijrah.
The second one is relating the events during the Hijrah to Medinah up to the departure in direction of the “Rafeeq al Aala”.
May Allah have peace and blessings on our beloved Prophet Muhammed al Mustapha.

In this book, Cheikh Osman Nuri Topbaş Hoca Efendi explains in detail what can be considered as the Age of Bliss (in Arabic Asr-I-Saadah) as follow (extract): The Age of Bliss refers to an age of peace and happiness, in which human beings enjoyed the greatest joy thinkable. The Age of Bliss were times honoured by the presence of the Blessed Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) The term Asr-u Saadah has also been used, from time to time, to refer to period of the Righteous Caliphs, to the succeeding Tabiin generation, even to the Tabau Tabiin generation subsequent to it. Some exegetes comment that the vow taken on asr, or ‘time’, in surah al-Asr, is also in reference to the Asr-u Saadah; for it was during those times that the true was definitively separated from false.

In this book, Cheikh Osman Nuri Topbaş Hoca Efendi expaln than an Hajj Mabrur or an accepted pilgrimage is an act of worship which is filled with spiritual beauties from its beginning to the end. While stating the results of righteous deeds performed during a major or minor pilgrimage, the Messenger of Allah (Peace Be Upon Him) expressed it goal as follows: “Combine the performance of Hajj and Umrah, for they eliminate the sins just as the bellows eliminate rust from iron. Umrah, or minor pilgrimage, which is advised in this tradition to combine with the hajj as a mean of purification, is also very important in Islam but unlike Hajj, which is required to be done only once and in certain days of the years, Umrah can be performed any time of the year and as many times as one wishes.

Marriage is the path of the prophets, the custom of the Messenger of Allah, the well spring of new generations, the honour of man and woman, the castle of chastity and the privilege of human beings over the rest of creation. After that, family is an indispensable means for reaching the love of Allah. This is the reason why Cheikh Osman Nuri Topbaş Hoca Efendi give the affirmation demonstrated in this book that A peaceful home leads to a sort of Paradise on Earth.

Sufism: A Path towards the Internalization of Faith (Ihsân). There is no doubt that Sufism represents the heart, essence and spiritual dimension of Islam. Islam elevates the human characteristics of spirituality and love inherent in the hearts of believers up to their zeniths, especially when this essence and spirit of Islam take the form of practice in the actions of capable people.

Sheikh Osman Nuri TOPBAŞ (q.s.) who conclude his work by this sentence: “While humanity has been unable to find what it seeks in distorted and man-made religions or philosophies and has been dragged into spiritual crisis and dissatisfaction, there can be no confusion as direful as the adherents of Islam feeling an enthusiasm and admiration for these misguided paths”, provide in this book the Islamic point of view and extrapolation of Islamic thought based on the Qur’an and Prophetic Sunnah as well as scholars explanations and understanding within the only purpose of Meditation on the creation and the Creator. By this way he answer to a lot of questions such as: ‘What is the place of philosophy in Islam? To what point can reason, viewed by philosophy as the most important means to reaching truth, take a person? Does the scales of reason hold the power to weigh up all truths? How can progress be made after the point at which reason stalls?’ Those questions which continue to preoccupy human beings today as they have throughout history.

Imam al-Rabbani is undoubtedly one of the great sultans of the spiritual world who continues to live in the hearts of the believers. This friend of Allah was born four and a half centuries ago in the town of Sirhind, India. However, thanks to his exemplary life which was spent in struggle, defending the knowledge of the unity of Allah, Allah Almighty made all Muslims love him. His love exceeded the borders of India in a short time and spread across the whole world.
Today, many Sufi paths, especially the Naqshibandiyya order, benefit from Imam al-Rabbani’s guidance and spiritual light. Even after his temporal life, this great spiritual guide has been an actual criterion for the followers of the Prophet Muhammad. From his grave, he continues his service of delivering the message of Islam and guidance as a torch guiding to the straight path from the time he lived into the future.
In this booklet, you will find a little glimpse to Imam al-Rabbani’s life and spiritual journey.

Dear readers!
As you know, we started presenting you our Altınoluk articles, where we strive to explain the wise words of the friends of Allah as individual booklets for each friend of Allah. This humble work in which we have compiled our articles related to Jafar As-Sadiq is a continuation of this series.