Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "If we give the commandership to the nafs, we are going in a bad direction!"

In the "Psychology Talks from Existence to the Search for Meaning" program where Ramadan was discussed, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan emphasized that Ramadan is an important period in terms of remembering one's servitude to God. Tarhan said that nafs is greedy, insatiable, unlimited and irresponsible, like a wild horse and that Ramadan is an important period in it the discipline of the nafs (self). Tarhan said, "If we give the commandership to the heart, we will be on the side of the good, and if we give the commandership to the self, we will be on the side of the bad.".

President of Üsküdar University Prof. Nevzat Tarhan talked about the month of Ramadan this week at the Psychology Talks on the Search for Meaning from Existence to Meaning, organized by the Conscience of the Age Club with the support of Üsküdar University Health, Culture and Sports Department.

"If there was no fasting, it would not be possible to realize how grievous hunger and poverty are"

Making remarkable statements about Ramadan, Tarhan emphasized that this important period we are in is the period of social awareness. Tarhan stated that it would not be possible to understand how grievous hunger and poverty are if there was no fasting and said that: "Allah invites the rich to help the poor, that is, the test of the rich is to help the poor. The test of the poor is not to rebel against this situation, but to be patient and work. The rich can feel the pitiful state of the poor and hunger through fasting. If there was no fasting, it would be not comprehensible how much hunger and poverty are and how much compassion these people need. In other words, that compassion is also a thankfulness, in fact, when we say gratitude, we always understand the word 'Alhamdulillah (praise to God)', whereas showing compassion, lifting someone who has fallen and helping someone in need are also a thankfulness. In our culture, it is a very good example to go to the grocery store in the neighborhood and in Ramadan, it is done a lot. They take the credit book there and tear the pages and pay for it.  Obligatory alms are actually given once a year, but people try to do it during the month of Ramadan to have a higher good deed, because it is a fruitful month. Alms is the debt of the rich to the poor and alms is not the property of the rich, and when 1 year has passed, one forty of that money is the right of the poor. The alms that one does not pay is the rightful due and it will be given to that person as a piece of fire. In any case, no one can come into presence of Allah with this. People think that mortal, temporary things are permanent.".

"The Qur'an obliges us to have generosity and pay alms against global inequality"

Stating that compassion and mercy strengthen social bound, Tarhan drew attention to some rules that Islam applies such as the prohibition of interest rates to prevent global inequality. Tarhan stated that "With Ramadan, practices that increase compassion cause the rich to notice the poor in the society and the poor not to hold grudges against, to have anger and hatred towards the rich.  The mentality that ‘Even if someone else starves, I don’t care!' is the biggest cause of social chaos, fights and rebellions. Today, global inequality is in an advanced stage. At the World Economic Forum 2019 meeting in Davos, it is decided that there are three dangers that await the world. These are loneliness, climate change and global inequality. The Qur'an obliges us to have generosity and pay alms against global inequality. In other words, you will either make the money work or give zakat. In such cases, people are forced to work because the money will be depreciated and people force themselves to work it and support economic action. In the logic of ‘you work and I eat’, there is interest. With the interest money earned, a person travels the world, has fun and does not work at all. On the other end of this, a person works day and night to pay the money they received, and many companies go bankrupt for this. Economies are collapsing because of interest, people are going bankrupt, states are going bankrupt because of their debts. Islam also imposes a prohibition of interest against this danger, which is the rule that regulates social life. Especially in Ramadan, it is preparing the ground to draw attention to this.”.

"If we give the commandership to the heart, we are going in a good direction, and if we give the command to the nafs, we are going in a bad direction"

Stating that it is necessary to raise awareness about self-control in the month of Ramadan, Tarhan emphasized that if we give the commandership to the heart, we will be in the good direction, and if we give the commandership to the nafs (self), we will be on the side of the bad. Tarhan said that: "The self is greedy, insatiable, limitless and irresponsible. It wants it to the end. The nafs wants constantly like it is a wild horse.  The nafs wants but because the soul says stop and restrains it because soul is connected with the conscience. The heart and soul are on one side while the nafs and the devil are on one side. Thus, there is balance. The mind says not to conform to the nafs, and the mind is synthesizing here. We use our little will with the mind. The tendencies of the devil and the soul are evil tendencies, the tendencies of the soul and heart are benevolent tendencies. We choose one of these tendencies with our minds. If we give the command to the heart, we are going in a good direction, if we give the command to the soul, we are going in a bad direction. The mind only makes you prefer, and if it gives commandership to the heart, you stay away from mistakes by connecting with Allah. If you give commandership to your nafs, it is self-interested, greedy and insatiable. It has just been understood that positive and negative emotions are divided into two in our brains. If a person says that when something comes and it is one of these good feelings, it goes to the positive files of the brain. If one says it is bad, the memory about bad behavior goes to the files and according to it, the chemicals in the brain become active. If one thinks it is malicious, avoidance is fearful. If one thinks it is benevolent, compassion becomes helping and the brain begins to secrete hormones related to it. In fact, we get the advance payment for thinking good and bad in this world.".

"In Ramadan, everyone from the rich to the poor understands that he is not a owner!

Tarhan expressed that everyone from the richest to the poorest remembers in Ramadan-i Sharif that he is not a malik (king) but an abid (worshipper), that is, a servant and said that "Modern man eats insatiably, lives in luxury, and throws half of it away. They take the rights of the poor. When your neighbor is hungry, if you throw half the food in the trash, the giver of these blessings will take you to an account. The Apostle of Allah (pbuh) said, ‘It is not from us who are full when our neighbor is hungry.’. In Ramadan, everyone's soul, from the richest to the poorest, understands that he is not a malik but a mamluk (servant)! It says to the self that 'You are not a malik, you are a mamluk, you are not free, you are an abid.'. Emotional intelligence trainings started with the name of Positive Psychology. The most important thing it teaches us is that a person is not helpful voluntarily unless expected, a person is not a good person by themselves unless expected. The universe, the family, society, the system, the education system and the state should expect one to be a good person, and if a person is not expected, man will be evil when one is not educated, when one is left to their natural course. Positive psychology tells us that. One needs to be commanded by goodness. So, their parents and the education system will approve of one’s well-being. Only then does a person know their own limits and the limits of others. One should not exploit the rights of others, and should stop greed, insatiability and limitlessness. Ramadan provides this. In Ramadan, I say, ‘there are the hungry and poor, I have to know my place. I am not the owner, and this property is not mine. I am a guest here.' Ramadan reminds you of this thought.  One assumes their obedience and servitude, from their role as a kind of god of the earth into gratitude, which is true for one to remember that they are a servant. Once a person has their obedience and servitude, if they can bow their head for prostration... Well prostration already means to feel one’s weakness and impotency towards Allah.".

"Our desire for immortality is proof that there is a life after death"

Emphasizing that there is a causal link between our mind, heart, emotional world and eternity, Tarhan pointed out that the desires for perfection and immortality prove that there is a life after death. Tarhan said that "Evil was created for the understanding of goodness. Therefore, there is no justice in this world at the moment, so there must be the Great Court after this world, and without it, this world has no meaning. In this world, evil is left with many people, and many good people are left as oppressed. If there is no life after death, there is no justice in this world. It is against reason and conscience for the creator of this world to do such an unjust thing. Therefore, He wanted to give us eternal life since He gave us the desire for immortality. Our device of mind, our device of heart, our emotional device, our desire for eternity, perfection, and immortality are proof that there is a life after death. Just as the presence of the feeling of hunger in our stomachs is evidence of food, if there is a causal link between them, there is a causal link between these devices in us and the eternal realm. Therefore, we can find Allah through reasoning methods, understand the Afterlife, understand why we serve to God, understand the necessity of worship, and believe strongly and closely that eternal life exists. We see it through the eyes of the mind. Allah does not show the secret of the test with eyes of mind. However, Allah gave us mind and says search it and find it. This would be enough for the wise... Allah has given that many signs. Fate says 'you put effort a little, it will not fall into your lap. They give a respite, but do not neglect it, they ask His Holiness Ali that 'You worship so much, what if there is no God?', he said ‘If not, I do not lose anything from my worship and servitude. He says ‘I'm happier, I'm more peaceful.’. What God wants is not what we cannot do. You will be moral, honest, conscientious, merciful. You will pay attention to the rightful share and you will not conform to what is haram. God says these things. I gave you 24 pieces of gold and he says spend 1 of these 24 gold coins in worship to me. There are 24 hours in 1 day, I want you to spend 1 hour in worship, other than that, you are free within the general framework.".