AVOIDING SIN

Why the Young Man Held His Finger over a Flame

Harikzadeler Street... This is the name of one of the streets I encountered while walking down from Şehzade Mosque towards Laleli Mosque. Harikzadeler… That is, “those escaping the fire”...

Who knows which number this fire constituted in İstanbul’s wooden buildings? It was a night where the chill of winter burnt like fire. The formidable fire that was to later become the eponym of that street had also broken out in the latter half of such a night, in a wooden house. Those who were able to escape the flames that engulfed the area within a short time managed to save themselves. The young woman who tore herself away onto to the street, in the light of the flames, was one of these. Confused as to what to do and where to go, a light coming from the windows of one of the madrasas adjoining the Şehzade Mosque had given her hope. She could no longer have withstood this cold, which caused her teeth to chatter. She opened the door of the madrasa, which is currently a dormitory for female students, and entered.

When the engrossed student, studying a Qur’anic commentary under the light emitted onto the walnut reading desk by the oil lamp, raised his head, he could not make any sense of this: “Who are you? Human or ghost? What are you doing here at this time of night?”

“I am not a ghost, but one of your sisters in faith. The fire which erupted in our neighborhood engulfed us also. I was barely able to escape and took refuge here.”

“No way! I am a student who is currently studying the commentary of the Qur’an. I have to steer clear of behavior that raises suspicion. If they see you here, it will be impossible to stop the rumors. You must leave right away!”

“If I leave at this time of night, I’ll freeze!”

Murmuring something under his breath, the student of the Qur’an began to think...

“I hope this isn’t a bad sign. Perhaps we are being tested?”

A few minutes’ silence...

“Then wrap yourself up in the rug below this wall over here and take a rest in the corner.”

Continuing his perusal and study of Baydawi’s exegesis, the student began to struggle with his devil as the minutes went by.

At one point exclaiming, “No!” he held his finger over the flame and insisted on keeping it there until his skin contracted.

The struggle continued until morning. The finger held several times to the flame was a good deal burned, with a wound even emerging on its tip. It was almost daybreak. The student who was later to graduate from Law and become a judge left the madrasa with the recital of the morning call to Prayer and went to the mosque. When he returned to see that no one was left in his room, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The young woman, who rushed to the scene of the blaze with the daylight, screamed when she saw her father and mother frantically searching for her.

“Father, mother, I am here, I am here!”

“Where were you last night?”

“Right here, in a room in the madrasa, near one of the students.”

And the young woman explained what had happened. Her father, an Ottoman Pasha, then took his daughter with him to the presence of the teacher of Qur’anic exegesis at Şehzade Mosque, requesting him to gather his students. The teacher was downcast and his students bewildered. They were concerned that one student exhibited behavior towards the young woman that was deemed improper...

Surveying the gathered students one by one, the young woman eventually indicated to one in particular and said: “That’s him, father! The student whose fingertip is bandaged.”

The teacher of Qur’anic exegesis asked with great astonishment: “Salahaddin, I would never have expected this from you! How could you give rise to such a complaint?”

Just as Salahaddin lowered his head and was unable to utter a single word due to his shame before his teacher, the young woman’s father intervened:

“Respected teacher, do not worry your esteemed student. We sought him not for complaint but as a result of our admiration and so as to congratulate him. Ask him why he has bandaged his finger thus!”

In the face of their insistence, the embarrassed student explained: “As Satan directed his evil promptings at me, I held my finger to the flame of the lamp and asked myself, ‘Can you run the risk of enduring this?’ It was then that I burnt my finger and was forced to bandage it.”

The father, a Pasha of the Ottoman Empire, explained: “Respected teacher, not only do I wish to cover all the expenses of this student until he completes his study, but I also seek to give my daughter to him in marriage and, as such, be honored with having him as a son-in-law.”

The only words falling from our lips before this historical incident is none other than the well-known adage: Even the reverie of certain years long past are worth the entire world

Is Watching Obscene Films and Looking at Obscene Pictures Prohibited?

In general, moral corruption begins by looking at obscenity, and this develops with the persistence of these glances and eventually turns to sin. Furthermore, the eyes record the images they see, and store this in the records of the imagination. Wherever the person goes, these images continuously appear in his mind. If this individual is a student, it prevents him from studying, if the person works, he cannot focus on his job, or if the individual is a man of thought, he cannot concentrate; so there is a probable decline, deterioration in every aspect. In order to avoid such a situation, the Islamic faith imposes prohibitions regarding looking at obscene images, thus saving Muslims from succumbing to such detriment.

Whether these are aimed at sexual provocation or not, producing and making films and pictures classified within the Islamic boundaries of nudity is prohibited. Watching and selling these films and pictures is also prohibited. It is prohibited because fundamentally, direct nudity, or observing nudity by watching films and looking at pictures is aimed at the same unlawful objective. We must not restrict nudity or obscene films and pictures to women alone. There is no discrimination between the sexes, as the sin for the nudity of women and men is equal. Whoever it may be, exposing and looking at what is classified as the private parts is prohibited.