In the Iftar program with the Martyrs’ Families, Erdogan said, “Muhammad became the result of love, what is the result of love without Muhammad? Now, this is a table of love, and the crown jewel of this table of love is our beloved Prophet Muhammad Mustafa.” (Haber7 03.04.2022)

Comment:
The word ‘love’ is accompanied by actions. The truth of a man’s word is known by his action. Deeds are the mirror of what is in the hearts. The first condition of love is to comply with words and deeds to the one he loves, to follow the one he loves at every moment of his life and to avoid falling apart and opposing him. Qadi Iyad says:

“One of the requirements of having love for the Messenger of Allah (saw) is; to cling to his Sunnah, to protect the religion he invited to, to thwart the attacks against him, to sacrifice his property and life if necessary for his sake.”

Now, based on this criterion, we can understand whether President Erdogan’s love for the Prophet (saw) remained only in words or whether it was clearly seen in his actions. For example, does Erdogan in politics, economy, education, social life, foreign policy, etc. rule according to the religion of Islam brought by the Messenger of Allah (saw) or according to the outdated Capitalism imported from the West? Who does he follow, the West or Islam? How can someone who loves the Prophet (saw) meet with the Jewish entity, the occupier and usurper of Masjid al-Aqsa, outside the battlefield? How can he call Putin, who murdered Muslims in Syria, massacred Muslims in Chechnya, and imprisoned innocent Muslims in Russia, a friend? Accordingly, are Erdogan’s friend the Muslims or Putin? The friend of Putin cannot be the friend of Muslims, and the friend of Muslims cannot be friends with the Russian bear Putin.

While the master of the world and the most honorable of creations, our Prophet (saw) was insulted in the West, did Erdogan respond to the insults with an edict like Abdulhamid, or did he prefer to remain silent without even condemning? Did he respond to the cries of oppressed Muslim women like Zahiruddin Babur and Mu’tasim, or did he just ignore it, while the headscarves of Muslim women were forcibly removed in India and all over the world?

Did he take an oath to set foot on Chinese soil, like commander Qutayba ibn Muslim, or did he double his commercial relations with China, who put millions of Uyghur Muslims who have love for our Prophet (saw), to concentration camps, and who tortured Uyghur women, and forced Uyghur women to marry Chinese men?

We are not going to list President Erdogan’s acts and actions against Islam here, because it does not end with listing. We just wanted to review the word of love for the Prophet (saw) and to mirror his words. So that the Ummah should stop following Erdogan, stop seeing him as a savior, and see his true face. Therefore, the main means of expressing the love for the Prophet in our hearts is not our tongue, but our hands and actions.

In short, if Erdogan claims that he has love for the Prophet (saw), he should rule according to the system brought by the Prophet and not according to the democratic liberal system. He should remove the love for the Prophet from being a word that circulates on his tongue and give this word its due with his actions and ruling.

(قُلْ اِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللّٰهَ فَاتَّبِعُون۪ي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللّٰهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْۜ وَاللّٰهُ غَفُورٌ رَح۪يمٌ)

“Say, O Prophet, “If you sincerely love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you and forgive your sins. For Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Aali Imran: 31]

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Ercan Tekinbaş