In his message, Edip Gümüş gave critical warnings and made important recommendations on many issues, including the upcoming three sacred months, the slackness and laziness of Muslims, the importance of mosques, the critical role of the family in society, the dangers of the spread of drug addictions, and the Zionist regime’s attacks on Palestine and Al Aqsa Mosque.

The full text of the message is as follows:

“Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah; of them some have fulfilled their Nahbah; and some of them are still waiting, but they have never changed in the least.” (Surah Al-Ahzaab Verse 23)

“Allah has promised those of you who believe and do good that He will certainly make them successors in the land, as He did with those before them; and will surely establish for them their faith which He has chosen for them; and will indeed change their fear into security—˹provided that˺ they worship Me, associating nothing with Me. But whoever disbelieves after this ˹promise˺, it is they who will be rebellious.” (Surah An-Nur Verse 55)

Praise be to the Lord of the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammed, who is the humanity's Guide to salvation and the Seal of the Prophets, his family, his companions and those who follow his path until the day of the Resurrection

On the 23rd anniversary of his martyrdom, I commemorate with mercy and gratitude our guide Hüseyin Velioğlu, who worked actively in various stages of the Islamic activities throughout his life and crowned his fruitful life with the martyrdom, which he had desired very much, on January 17, 2000.

On the occasion of the anniversary of our guide Hüseyin Velioğlu, I also commemorate my fellow martyrs with respect and longing, who are examples of faith, courage, surrender, and self-sacrifice, and who were blessed with martyrdom. I pray to Allah to raise our martyrs’ ranks in His presence, to increase the abundance of their blood on earth, to grant the bounties of this lofty sacrifice to everyone, including young and old, men and women, scholars and commoners, and grant martyrdom to every believer who sincerely wishes.

The events which are held on the occasion of anniversaries are not only the activities to commemorate the incidents themselves, but also the activities planned to remember and remind the purpose, target, method, and recommendations of the heroes of the incidents, and to ensure that their followers do not deviate from their roadmaps.

Both before and after January 17th, the only concern and target of the heroes of our community were Islam. Therefore, the only thing that needs to be written, discussed, and talked about today is the road map of Islam and Muslims. Although there are many issues that are worthy to mention, I would like to remind my brothers of some issues that have more importance and priority in present-day conditions.

By Allah's leave, we are about to enter three months. A Muslim who is an inviter to Islam should not be only a man of action but also a pious and devout worshipper. On the one hand, we should strive to be closer to Allah through prayer, fasting, dhikr, and repentance, and on the other hand, we should be among the people with the invitation, the distribution of humanitarian, and scientific activities. We should experience all the beauties of Islam, which is conducive to happiness in this world and the Hereafter, first in our own lives then we have to reflect them on society. Unfortunately, Unfortunately, we witness oppression, deprivation, hunger, and misery in many parts of the Islamic world. Our brothers living there are trying to survive with the help of their brothers across the world. Therefore, we should do our best to keep the institution of zakat afloat. You should consider the works for collecting zakat as worship.  Zakat cannot be a reason for taunting others for the one who gives, nor an opprobrium for the one who asks. It is also a duty to give Zakat and to encourage its giving. God willing, you will start this year with a spiritual intensity by spending the months of Recep, Shaban, and Ramadan worshipping, and you will go on like this until the next year. I hope this spirituality will stimulate you into greater productivity. All of you should your best. Everyone should decide to put their hearts into their duties, which they have loosened by showing laxity, tending to worldly affairs, and perhaps acting with their own selves.

The laxity and laziness of Muslims are encouraging blasphemers and hypocrites. Perhaps at no time in history has there been a time when Islam, the Holy Qur'an, and the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) have been insulted so easily as now. Unfortunately, the fact that they dare to insult Islamic values so recklessly, even in an Islamic country, is a result of the inertia and lethargy that Muslims are in. The better you work, you learn and teach our Lord and His Prophet correctly, and the more you will prevent the enemies of Islam from spewing hatred at Islamic values.

You will fill the mosques, you will be the people of the mosque, and you will not leave the mosques sad and derelict. While obligatory prayers should be performed in congregation in the mosque unless there is an excuse, over time, due to some factors such as pressure, fear, and changes in lifestyles, prayers have been performed at home and mosques have been visited only during Friday and tarawih prayers. First of all, you will make it a custom to perform the five daily obligatory prayers in the mosque. As long as your health allows and you do not have a very important excuse, let the mosque be your third address for all of you, young, middle-aged, and old. Let your first address be your home, your second address a workplace or school, and your third address a mosque. Especially our young brothers should make efforts on this matter. Therefore, you will rejuvenate the congregation and keep it side by side with your elders. Mosques will be your places for reading, chatting, and giving lessons.

The “family” that we have to create and protect is one of our primary sensitivities. The family home, which was created after many troubles and difficulties, has become very easily destroyed due to both financial difficulties and moral weaknesses. This both inflicts serious wounds on society and corrupts Islamic social life. This is an issue that needs serious attention. First of all, the spouses must make efforts to strengthen family ties, reduce problems and raise their children in a salubrious atmosphere in their homes. For this, first of all, they should take the family relations of the Prophet as an example and consent to their share in the family, even if they don't like it. The second task is that of scholars, Muslim sociologists, educators, psychologists, and psychiatrists. They should think about this issue in their field of expertise, come up with solutions, come together and draw a roadmap for keeping the family afloat. Everyone should fulfill their duty. Our brothers and sisters should reflect the beauties such as love, loyalty, fidelity, mercy, self-sacrifice, obedience, and tolerance, which they observe in good and long-lasting marriages around them, to their inner world and family relations. So much so that they should show how happy a family living according to Islamic rules is, even to people who have lost their Islamic sensitivity and are even hostile to Islam and Muslims.

As alienation from Islamic life brings many crises, drug addiction has unfortunately become widespread like a virus. You should first check your children and siblings, then your close relatives and neighbors, and lend a helping hand to those you see on the edge of the cliff, so to speak. At a time when the age of drug use has dropped to almost 9-10, it is one of your duties to deal with this issue and to fight it individually and in an organized way.

The Holy Qur'an describes wastefulness as the brotherhood of Satan, and the Prophet prohibits extravagantness. My brothers and sisters who believe in the absolute obedience of the orders and prohibitions of Allah and the Prophet (PBUH) and strive for their implementation, distinguish between luxuries and needs, primary needs, and second and third-degree needs. Never forget that your wishes and dreams beyond your means endanger your service to the Islamic cause, family life, and ways of spending for Allah’s sake. Allah says to His righteous servants in the Holy Quran: ‘And those, who, when they spend, are neither extravagant nor niggardly, but hold a medium (way) between those (extremes)’. Design your life according to this divine command and set an example for those around you.

You should not resemble those who are hostile to Islam and Muslims in any of your attitudes, clothes, manners, and thoughts. You shouldn't even look like your Muslim brothers who have abandoned an Islamic way of life. Have your own unique stance and behavior within the circle of Islam. You all know that we have not reached these days easily. If you look back, you'll see that it wasn't long ago. More recently, there have been many struggles and many hardships in your life. You or your fathers, mothers, uncles, and brothers have suffered a lot. Sometimes we sacrificed our property, sometimes we gave our lives, and sometimes we sacrificed our children, but these did not eliminate us. However, if we resemble infidels and Muslims who have abandoned an Islamic way of life with our morals, dress, manners, and what we eat and drink, this will destroy our children and then our grandchildren, if not us.

In this context, I would like to draw your attention to the hijab. Our girls paid heavy prices for hijab in the past. Praise be to Allah, there is freedom in this matter now, but now we face the problem of changing the nature of the veil. Unfortunately, some women did not even realize the strangeness and contradiction that occurred while carrying out this change in the nature of the hijab on themselves or on their daughters. Hard times are not as dangerous as the heedlessness of complacency, no matter how painful and troublesome they are. For this reason, our advice to our daughters and sisters is to protect themselves from staying in seclusion with a non-Mahram man and unlawful gazes at all times and everywhere. We believe in a book that orders our women to not raise their voices while talking to a non-Mahram man, and even conceal the sound of their jewelry when walking. You should show people that you obey all these Islamic orders, that the implementation of these orders has nothing to do with time and space, and that you do not stop obeying the orders of Allah, no matter what anyone sees as unnecessary and excessive. In social life, you should set an example and pioneer for society in terms of taqwa (piety), decency, modesty, and hijab.

The same is true for our brothers in terms of good manners, modesty, avoidance of staying in seclusion with non-Mahram women, and avoiding haram. You must protect both yourself and your sisters from sin. Especially in your own workplaces, you will either not employ women or arrange your workplaces in a way that does not allow seclusion with the opposite gender and haram relations between men and women. No one should take the convenience of "this is all that happens at this time". You should show high sensitivity to the issue of decency, which is an important element of an Islamic society, and the preservation of standards in male-female relations.

In addition to the rules that protect social life from destruction and secure order, there are also details that make that life beautiful. Likewise, there are subtleties that contribute to the order and functioning of a community. One of them is that one prefers his brother to himself, and sees and appreciates the beauty that originated from him as his own. It is necessary to appreciate and support every good work done by any of our brothers. Our brother's success is our own success. Thank Allah, the fields of service to Islam have developed and diversified. If these fields of service are a reason for criticizing each other selflessly, it will be a problem for us, but if they are a reason for pride and appreciation, it will be a mercy for us. Remember! As brothers, each of us is a partner for the good deed done by each of us in the name of the Islamic cause. I hope that our Lord will bring us together in Paradise for we support each other and serve our Lord's religion and cause in such a time and environment. It is also a beauty and self-sacrifice to help our brother fulfill his responsibilities, provided that we do not neglect our main works. My Lord will honor us with our prayers, supplications, and what we will do in practice.

Despite the hardships that have been endured in more than forty years and the great hardships that we have overcome, the success we have reached and the position we are in today are the fruits of the sincerity and self-sacrifice shown by our brothers in the 90s and early 2000s. The abilities of our young brothers are versatile and their intelligence is sharp. I ask them to reinforce their beautiful characteristics with more of the surrender to Allah's Will, sense of belonging, sincerity, and self-sacrifice that our brothers had shown in the past.

Youth! You must break the misconception about you that says “today's youth is uncontrolled. They do not listen to the word, nor do they obey. They are guided by their whims.” Of course, you will have new ideas and discourses. You will express these, combine them with the experiences of your elders, and through consultation, you will make them pass through the filter of divine revelation and sunnah then the conditions and requirements of time and space. I hope your knowledge, excitement, and agility will bear more fruit in this way.

My Brothers and sisters! You may not have realized some things, but you should know that with your sincerity and sacrifice, you are an example not only to those close to you but also to Muslims in other countries. God willing, as your sacrifices, your sensitivities in Islamic life, and your moderate views are heard, you will start to be taken as an example by wider communities across the world.

Praise be to Allah, we are equally concerned with the unity of the Islamic world, just as we are related to the unity and solidarity within our Jemaah. The difficulties are many. While sectarian, dissident, and intellectual differences sometimes lead to enmity among Muslims, takfirism creates great destruction in Islamic World. With the help of my Lord, we have adopted a moderate stance, away from all extremeness. Therefore, we say at every opportunity that we are open to dialogue with all Muslim individuals, groups, and communities. Everyone who has come to know us has seen that we are sincere in this regard and that we act with feelings of brotherhood, far from prejudice. We also have undertaken a number of activities to develop and strengthen the dialogue between Muslims. We plan to further expand such activities. As we ourselves are making an effort in this regard, we invite other leaders, and scholars to carry out extensive studies on the matter. We also declare that we are ready to accept any invitation that will bring together all constituents of the ummah with the aim of "unity", no matter whom it comes from.

The Masjid al-Aqsa (Al Aqsa Mosque) is at the top of our agenda as always. While praying for the victory of our Palestinian Muslim brothers and sisters, we reiterate that we are ready for all kinds of solidarity and assistance to end the oppression of the zionist regime in the Palestinian lands.

We should never allow the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to collapse due to desolation and poverty. For this, as Muslims, we must push our means to the fullest. It should be your goal to help the oppressed believers of all nations, wherever they are in the world, and to help them to get up from where they fell, unconditionally. We should know what's what. We should avoid repeating the statements and defamations voiced by the enemies of Islam about Muslim personalities and organizations. We should not let the enemies of Islam take advantage of our discourses.

Along with all these wishes, I once again commemorate all our martyrs with respect and gratitude, especially our guide Hüseyin Velioğlu, whom we believe they are alive with their Lord and enjoy one of the highest positions in the afterlife. We pray that our Lord will support us with His goodness and mercy, out of respect for the lives that our martyrs have sacrificed in the name of Allah. Take care of yourself.

Your Brother Edip Gümüş                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                                                                                                     (ILKHA)