REPORTER: Selam. I would like to start with the following question. Speaking personally, I have read dozens of your books up until now. You have been an author for some 30 years I believe. During that time, these books have been read by hundreds of thousands of people and have had an effect on the raising of perhaps a whole generation. Looking back at the last 30 years, have you achieved any success in your objective regarding the spiritual world of young people in Turkey?
ADNAN OKTAR: I am still on that path. I have only just begun insha’Allah. From now on, by Allah’s leave. But we have already made great progress, the results are excellent. At present, 90% of the Turkish nation do not believe in Darwinism. That is a wonderful result; the level in Turkey is the highest in Europe. It is perfect.
REPORTER: What was the level 30 years ago, when you began your work?
ADNAN OKTAR: At that time of course the level of belief in Darwinism was very high. It was around 60% or 70%. It was very, very high. The universities and places like that were entirely under Darwinist control. But you can now count the believers in Darwinism on the fingers of one hand.
REPORTER: One big claim you made attracted my attention. You claim to have said the very last word...
ADNAN OKTAR: Yes, insha’Allah.
REPORTER: What did you mean? Is that not a huge claim to make?
ADNAN OKTAR: Of course. But Islam makes great claims, too. I enunciate the word of Islam to the world, as the last and final word. "We hurl the truth against falsehood, and it cuts right through it and it vanishes clean away". That is really the final word.
REPORTER: One point is still unclear, however. What you mean is that you started out as a human being, developed your project and were able to speak the final word against denial? Is that what we are to understand?
ADNAN OKTAR: Alhamdulillah. That is one interpretation, insha’Allah.
REPORTER: Right, we can now slowly move on to matters concerning the current state of affairs. First of all, we can start with the present economic crisis. In terms of the crisis, the whole media have reported that the departure of atheist investors who believe in nothing triggered and made it worse. Can we really make a connection between this economic crisis and people being atheists or unbelievers?
ADNAN OKTAR: 1400 years ago, our Prophet (saas) stated in the hadith that in the End Times, in the time of the Mahdi, before the appearance of the Messiah Dajjal, at the time of the coming of the Mahdi, the cost of living will be very high, the economy will be rocked, and that people in the streets will have no earnings, and say “we have no earnings today”. This is one of the portents of the coming of the Mahdi promised in the End Times, and another sign has thus come about. Our Prophet (saas) says there will be violent hurricanes, and that has also happened, they are also happening. There will be frequent earthquakes, one after the other, he says, and that has also happened. These are portents that have never been seen before. These portents will continue until the appearance of the Mahdi and the coming of the Prophet ‘Isa (a.s.).
REPORTER: What is next, according to your analyses?
ADNAN OKTAR: Finally, there is chaos across a wide region; may Allah forbid. There are various other portents that will come about, but I can say that around 90% of them have already occurred.
REPORTER: Islamic scholars in the past sometimes used to go on record as saying that the Mahdi had appeared or would appear at such and such a time. Is there less chance of error now compared to in the past?
ADNAN OKTAR: Previous scholars pointed to a few pieces of evidence or hadith, but now all the hadith have come about, and all within a specific period of time, within 20 or 30 years. Such phenomena have never before taken place all together in the history of Islam or before Islam. This is the first time. That makes it a miracle. The invasion of Afghanistan, the invasion of Iraq, solar and lunar eclipses at 15-day intervals during the month of Ramadan, the appearance of a sign in the Sun, the severing of the waters of the Euphrates... and the water were severed by a dam, as you know. The papers reported that the waters of the Euphrates had been severed. More than a hundred portents such as an attack on the Kaaba, bloodshed at the Kaaba, have taken place one after the other. And these are highly detailed accounts. The appearance of a comet, for instance; our Prophet (saas) says these will all happen at the same time. They will happen like the beads on a rosary. Our Prophet (saas) says they will happen within a specific time frame. This never happened at any time. It is the first time these are happening. The appearance of a great sign in the Sun happened for the first time in this century. It is one of the greatest portents. World wars, enormous tumult and great phenomena. He says there will be a corruption with smoke and dust, in an account referring to the events of September 11. There is no other explanation for these happening in 20 or 30 years. It is a miracle. The miracle of our Prophet (saas) has taken place.
REPORTER: Yes, so we are coming to the end. We are coming to the End Times
ADNAN OKTAR: Insha’Allah.
REPORTER: So what position should Muslims adopt? What must they do? There are those who anticipate the coming of the Prophet ‘Isa (a.s.) and the Mahdi. There are those who think there is no need to do anything until their coming, and that they can follow along behind them when they come, and then you have people who just look on. What kind of position must we adopt?
ADNAN OKTAR: People interpret the matter of the coming of the Mahdi and ‘Isa according to the depth of their faith. I am also awaiting the Mahdi and anticipating the coming of the Prophet ‘Isa (a.s.), but apart from 3 or 4 hours’ sleep a night I devote all my time to the growth of Islamic moral values. And I strive with all my might and main. I use all the means at my disposal, books, CDs, the television and radio. But some other people sit at home and wait for the Mahdi to come and save us. Allah will establish how genuine that attitude really is in the hereafter. Can someone who really believes in the coming of the Mahdi just sit idly at home? He will run about and do all in his power to disseminate Islam and will make great efforts to be a student whom the Mahdi will love and like, all for the approval of Allah.
REPORTER: Have you ever thought how many people there are, even among Muslims, among the religious section of Turkish society, who believe in the coming of the Mahdi and the Prophet ‘Isa? Do you think it is a small percentage?
ADNAN OKTAR: Yes, the Turkish nation is generally made up of Sunnis and Alawites. The beliefs of the People of the Sunna are made up of the Hanefi, Hanbeli, Maliqi and Sha’afi schools. The coming of the Mahdi is certain in all four schools, as is the coming of the Prophet ‘Isa (a.s.). There is no discussion on the subject. The appearance of the Mahdi is known to be one of the most important in Alawism and Jaferism. The coming of the Mahdi is as valid as the Constitution in Iran, and the first article of the Constitution states that it will only be valid until the coming of the Mahdi. This means that these represent 90% of the whole community of Islam, because those I have just listed represent 95% of it. The Sunnis and our Alawite brothers constitute 95% of the Islamic world. Since they all anticipate the coming of the Mahdi and ‘Isa, a huge majority anticipates their coming.
REPORTER: Yes, excellent. Do you consider that there is a moral and spiritual crisis in Turkey? Because on the one hand the believers in evolution are declining in number, atheists are declining, but on the other hand there seems to be a rise in immorality. Is that really spreading? Or is that the impression we are given?
ADNAN OKTAR: The public I see have become more conservative. That was not the case before. I remember very well from the 1970s. I look at people’s attitudes and behavior now and they are more conservative and more religious and spiritual. They are more scrupulous about religion, and the mosques are overflowing. When I was a child Ramadan was not celebrated so widely and with such fervor. In other words, when I was a child and a young man believers in Allah could not say they believed as easily as they can now. There is a magnificent growth going on. The verses of the Qur’an are read out widely in the press and on the television and radio. There is wide talk of Allah and religion. Young people in high schools and universities do not believe in Darwinism. This is really significant.
REPORTER: Does the same thing apply to the Islamic world in general? Have you identified such a thing?
ADNAN OKTAR: Of course, of course. There is a huge awakening across the entire Islamic world. In Iraq, for example, they used to smoke their hash pipes and join the socialist party and make speeches praising communism. As you know, communism was widespread in Iraq. The government was communist, Stalinist. But a huge religious mass of people has grown up in Iraq, and Iran has become highly religious in the same way. As you know, the country had really gone to the dogs, as they say, in the time of the shah. My apologies to the religious section of society there. But there is now an immaculate religious devotion there. It is very widespread. The same with Syria. Religious devotion was very weak in Syria. The socialist party was in power. Admiration for communism and Darwinism predominated. Islam, religion, has grown enormously there, masha’Allah.
REPORTER: As in Bosnia, for instance.
ADNAN OKTAR: For instance.
REPORTER: Let us also look from the Western perspective; where are Western societies heading at the moment? For one thing, as a population, a social structure, they are exhausted, and the birth rate is falling. On the other hand, immorality is spreading. Is the West finished? Or is there a possibility of the West being resurrected with Islam?
ADNAN OKTAR: With the appearance of the Prophet ‘Isa (a.s.) they will combine with the Islamic world and Islam will shed its radiance across the world, insha’Allah – literally, in a perfect sense, a broad sense. Very little time remains, insha’Allah, until the coming of the Prophet ‘Isa (a.s.). The appearance of the Prophet ‘Isa (a.s.) will stun people. The world will enter an entirely metaphysical state. There will be a state of mind in which spiritual matters predominate, and that atmosphere will rule the entire world. Europe has now begun heading in that direction.
REPORTER: You speak of dates concerning this, I believe?
ADNAN OKTAR: Yes, insha’Allah.
REPORTER: Could you repeat them?
ADNAN OKTAR: It is not me who says it. Our Prophet (saas) tells me to look at the portents and say it and to look at the hadith and say it. We can see it very clearly from his hadith. We can also see if from the commentaries of Said Nursi. 1981, 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2021. That is what Said Nursi describes. The light of Islam will finish spreading across the world between those dates, insha’Allah. There was a huge growth between 1981 and 1991. And wonderful development between 1991 and 2001. Another great development process has begun between 2001 and 2011. And the final development will be between 2011 and 2021. The concluding one, insha’Allah.
REPORTER: 2021, the date when Islam rules the world, insha’Allah. I have another question, if you don’t think it unreasonable…
ADNAN OKTAR: Not at all, ask away. That is what I want you to do.
REPORTER: Similarities between you and the Prophet ‘Isa (a.s.) are talked about. People are talking left and right behind the scenes. What is your view of that claim?
ADNAN OKTAR: They brought me an article from the internet concerning my being the Prophet ‘Isa (a.s.). And whoever wrote it went into really great detail, saying I resemble him in this way and that. But from what I can tell, the author is really ignorant, and really lacks religious knowledge. For one thing, the Prophet ‘Isa (a.s.) has no mother and father. When he returns, he will have no mother and father. As you know, he had only a mother. Allah brought him into the world in a miraculous way, without a father, and when the unbelievers tried to kill him Allah showed them someone else who looked just like him and raised the Prophet ‘Isa (a.s.) into the sky. Allah tells us they were unable to kill him. He repeats that, saying they were unable to kill and hang him. He says it twice. Allah says He raised him into His presence. When the Prophet ‘Isa (a.s.) returns they will find him wherever he is, and he will have no mother or father. He has now moved beyond time, in the clothing and appearance of his day. But when the Prophet ‘Isa (a.s.) re-enters time he will begin living a normal life. But this writer has forgotten that I have a mother and a father. That means he is very naive and lacking in intelligence. I saw that he really invented a lot of things. But one has to have some evidence when discussing something, some kind of rational framework. He should base himself on the Qur’an and the hadith. But this is compatible with neither the Qur’an, nor the hadith nor sound reason.
REPORTER: So it is unreasonable.
ADNAN OKTAR: Yes.
REPORTER: When I was a student in Konya I often came across this issue. For years there was talk that the ‘white series’ that appeared under the name of Cavit Yalçın at that time was actually written by [former Turkish Prime Minister] Prof. Dr. Necmettin Erbakan. No statement was ever given to the press by you or by Erbakan. What is your view?
ADNAN OKTAR: I am very fond of Prof. Erbakan. I really like and respect him. I have a deep admiration for him. He is one of the worthiest individuals produced this century. They used to say that he wrote that book. In one sense I was really pleased by that, and thought let them say it. But of course, even little children are aware that those books are not written by him.
REPORTER: You seem to be rather removed from social life, rather outside the life of society. Are you an aristocrat in an ivory tower?
ADNAN OKTAR: Allah forbid! I am an ordinary helpless servant of Allah. I am an ordinary Muslim brother of yours. I lead a quite life. I don’t have a night life or go on holiday or have any thirst for worldly thing. I have no property or assets of my own. There is nothing registered in my name. As you know, I am not married. I have no children. I am someone who has devoted himself and all he has to Allah. My life may seem very glamorous or odd from the outside, but actually my real life is a very quite one, mainly dedicated to research and reading.
REPORTER: One last thing. Have you any advice for young people?
ADNAN OKTAR: My advice to young people is for them to be very sincere. Allah tells us in verses that His sincere servants will be saved. We must be really sincere. Allah says that those who are the best in His eyes are those who have most takwa. We must strive to have takwa. We must strive day and night to earn as much of Allah’s approval as possible. We must love and respect one another and know that all Muslims are our brothers. We must strongly avoid sectarian differences, such strange divisions as those along the line of whether someone is from our part of town, our city. We are living in a most excellent time. In my opinion, the Mahdi has already appeared. The appearance of the Prophet ‘Isa (a.s.) is very close at hand. Little time remains. A few decades at most, insha’Allah. Islam will rule the world in a few decades at most, and the moral values of Islam will stretch from pole to pole. Muslims will build global peace, security and beauty, insha’Allah. There will be a glorious world rule, as in the time of the prophets Sulayman and Dhu’lQarnayn. There may not be such original and lovely things as there were in the time of the Prophet Sulayman, but there will still be a glorious beauty generally befitting and unique to this century. But the most important thing is for Muslims not to talk behind one another’s backs, to think the best of one another, to love one another, to work for one another’s good and to avoid begrudge and jealousy. If these things are done, if we are careful about these, then, insha’Allah, good things will ensue. Otherwise, Islam will still reign, but if people do this they will gain great virtue. But Islam already rules the world. That is the world’s destiny. The Prophet ‘Isa (a.s.) has long since returned. He has long since performed the namaz with the blessed Mahdi in the sight of Allah. No power on Earth can lead to anything else. No power on Earth can vanquish the blessed Mahdi and the Prophet ‘Isa (a.s.) They will do their work by the will of Allah, and will then die having done their work and, insha’Allah, will enter into the peace of Allah.
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