“We belong to God and to God we are ever returning.”
Eternal rest grant unto him, O God
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy God,
rest in peace…
…and may his memory be a blessing to us all.
Amen.

My beloved sisters and brothers of Hizmet:

Al-salāmu `alaykum wa raḥmat Allāh wa barakātuhū.

May peace, and the mercy and blessings of God, be with you.

I write to you today with a heavy heart.

In solidarity with you and your families, I grieve the passing into eternity of a fellow traveler whose sojourn in time has had such a transformative effect on millions of lives around the world—our beloved Hocaefendi, M. Fethullah Gülen, may God be pleased with him and grant him mercy.

In Sūrat al-Nūr, the Holy Qur’ān beckons us to ponder the mystery of God’s unfailing and ubiquitous presence in our lives. The famous “light verse” (āyat al-nūr) offers a sublime metaphor by which it invites us to imagine God as God really is: as “the light of the heavens and the earth.”

The verse suggests that, rather than conceive of the one, true God as existing within and bound by the limits of material being, we should think of our experience of God as akin to that of the sun which—no matter the condition of our own lives and hearts—unfailingly bathes the earth from the morning prayer to the evening prayer.

We are taught that, just as the sun unceasingly illumines the physical world, God graces all existence—both the seen and unseen—with a supernal light that dispels all obscurity and gloom, enabling us to witness the stunning beauty and magnificence of God’s handiwork and to discern, however indistinctly, our own place in it.

The verse goes on to lend greater texture and depth to the metaphor by striking a breathtaking simile, telling us that God’s light is mediated and diffused in the world in a way analogous to how light is diffused in the rooms of our own earthly dwellings: from a special corner or niche (mishkāt) in which hangs a multifaceted crystalline lamp (miṣbāḥ).

When I reflect on the deep sorrow and bewilderment many of us are experiencing at the loss of Hocaefendi, I cannot help but liken it to the extinction of a treasured lamp shining in the rooms of each of our lives.

I cannot help likening our collective experience of the passing of our beloved Hocaefendi to what the Gospel tradition tells us the disciples of Jesus, peace be upon him, felt when they thought death had ripped the Christ away from them forever, or to what the Sira portrays as the grief, anxiety, and even panic of the early Umma when it seemed as if that Lamp of lamps, may God bless him and grant him peace, had finally gone on a journey from which he would never return—a panic so profound that, as tradition reports, some of his closest Companions temporarily refused to believe the news of the Prophet’s passing.

And just as that grief and sense of panic threatens to overtake me, now that Hocaefendi has embarked on that same journey back to his Creator, I am reminded of the lesson of hope and resilience each of us is called to draw from the passing of all the Prophets and Messengers of God, peace be upon them, and indeed from the passing of all the friends of God, women and men such as Hocaefendi, whose example helps illumine the paths of our own life journeys.

The lesson is that, although the lamp may no longer be there for us to see, its light remains.

This light with which we have been blessed through Hocaefendi cannot help but remain. It remains because it is essentially the eternal light of the One to whom each of us belongs and to whom each of us is returning from the day we are conceived in our mother’s womb until we take our last breath.

Even though the lamp of our beloved teacher and brother is gone, the light that shone through him endures.

It endures in the hearts of each of us who received it while he was alive.

So let us take comfort in this and at the same time let us also tremble under the yoke of responsibility that has now been placed upon us.

If our desire is to honor the memory and precious legacy of Hocaefendi, let us do what I know he would want us to do.

Let us recognize and affirm that, although the lamp of his earthly life is no longer, the light of God endures.

And let us, at the same time, quake in humble and hopeful anticipation now that the responsibility lies with each of us to be lamps in the rooms of our fellow human beings.

Let us accept the blessed taklīf (obligation) to be these lamps of service to God Almighty by tirelessly serving humanity in ways that all people, especially the poor and oppressed, may experience God’s healing, life-giving, and liberating light in the obscurity and gloom of the endless rials and tribulations of this dunyā (world).

May God be pleased with you all – Allah razī olsun.

In faith, hope, and love.

Isn’t it strange, but also vividly true, that sunk in the deepest agony, some people lose their faith in God, the absolute sustainer? And yet others do exactly the same at the height of utmost pleasure. They forget that God is the sole provider. Either way, this entrenches the “in medio stat virtus” universal rule, which means virtue stands in the middle. This is what constitutes the dividing line between man’s meaningful living module (modus vivendi) for the Hereafter and the mistaken lifestyle “causing people to claim absolute independence and ownership of their self … leading one to imagine a realm of personal dominion,” as observed by Said Nursi in The Fourth Treatise in The Seedbed of the Light (pg 87).

Linking the initial paradox and Said Nursi’s soul searching words, brings to light one of the most interesting and captivating stories to appear in both the Bible and the Quran. This is none other than the story of Joseph – blessings and peace be upon him—and his brothers. Their riveting story cuts across humanity as it paints an almost unimaginable life of someone who never parted ways with His Creator – come rain when he was a slave and come shine when he was leading a palace life.

While the Quran devotes a whole chapter (Surah 12 Joseph) and 111 verses to Joseph’s story with his brothers, the Bible tells it in 13 Chapters (37-50) and a total of 395 verses in Section Four of the Book of Genesis.

The story begins with Joseph, as the last child in the family of Jacob, born of Isaac, the son of Abraham, living in Moses’ promised land of Canaan (blessings and peace be upon them). Joseph draws envy from his brothers because of the special treatment he receives from his father, exemplified by a special dress.

His brothers also disprove of his chain of dreams, which they believe is Joseph assuming leadership; one particular dream sends chills even down his father’s spine. He talks of seeing, “the sun, moon and eleven stars bowing before him.” His brothers’ envy rages, but his father keeps this to his heart.

Lesson One: Did Jacob discriminate against his children? Very unlikely. As a prophet, he must have noticed something special in Joseph’s destiny and thus exercised extra caution to ensure the delivery of a sound and wise judgment. In the world of journalism, it is said “when in doubt, leave out.” In matters of faith in God, we ought to do what is expected of us while exercising enduring patience. No complaints. We must have pure sincerity and clean intentions.   

Lesson Two: What is in a dream? In dreams, all our five senses are virtually non-functioning. The dream drive – borrowing from the IT language – is external. That is why we travel distances above the speed of light from our bed pillows, as a friend told me.

At the same time, we cannot rule out cases of Divine warning about what is coming or ought to be done. Examples abound in the scriptures. In parts of Africa, dreams were originally taken for communication between gods and human beings, whereby the former made their wishes known. But an interpreter had to be there.

Lesson Three: Joseph’s brothers’ envy derives from prejudice, which is a vice to be fought against; it led them to treat their young brother unfairly. First they plot to kill him. Then they settle for dipping him into a waterless well and finally sell him to a caravan of Egyptian merchants, who resell him to Pharaoh’s Chief Steward Potiphar. He starts a slave’s life.

The brothers take his garment and soak it in goat blood. They send it to their father claiming to have bumped into it. Jacob laments. He goes into mourning. His children come to express their empathy. He takes no heed and keeps on mourning.

Through God’s providence, Joseph wins the trust of his “master” and is made steward of his household. He resists the temptation of his master’s wife. He chooses jail to breaking God’s and his master’s trust.

Again, he builds trust: the warden places him in charge of prisoners. There, he meets Pharaoh’s chief baker and cup-bearer. He interprets their dreams: the baker was going to hanged and the latter would be reinstated to his job as the Pharaoh’s cup-bearer.

Pharaoh himself is troubled by dreams. Egyptian interpreters fail to deliver. The cup-bearer remembers Joseph, who is called and manages to decipher Pharaoh’s dreams into seven years of good harvest and seven of famine on its heels. Joseph is made Pharaoh’s Chancellor. He helps the country store its food. When famine strikes, many people, including his brothers, come to Egypt for food supplies. He notices them. He sells food to them and orders their money stuffed back into their bags. He asks them to come back with their young brother as a condition for getting further supplies and orders one of them to remain behind as a surety.

Lesson Four: The Roman’s “natura humana ad mala inclinatur” observation – meaning human nature is inclined to do bad things, becomes evident. The Chief Steward’s wife shows lust and anger. The chief-baker and cup-bearer display the fact that power corrupts. Man is forgetful. Men were busy looking for power and riches while women indulged in gossip, banquets, arranging amusements, and competing for worldly things.

Lesson Five: God never guides unbecoming behavior (Quran 12:52). For every holder of knowledge, there is (always) One more knowledgeable: the All-Knowing (Quran 12:76).

From all that has taken place in the fate of Joseph, it becomes evident that Destiny wills good for the believer. Although he was a slave at the palace, Joseph (blessings and peace be upon him) rejects the invitation of the noble, rich, and beautiful woman. He willingly prefers prison to committing sin.

Lesson Six: After introducing himself to them, his brothers start to feel guilty, which is the start of the process of reconciliation.

Lesson Seven: When hunger strikes again, Jacob releases Benjamin and orders the collection of an assortment of gifts and the return of the money which was stuffed back into their bags. He prays for God’s protection. Upon arrival in Egypt, they are received but have to undergo another session of questioning.

After Joseph ascertains the presence of Benjamin, he is overwhelmed and takes a short leave. He sheds tears, washes his face, and returns. A grand reception is held.

Joseph orders bags stuffed to everybody’s carrying capacity. He orders to secretly place his special cup in the bag of the youngest, Benjamin. After they left, Joseph summons the supervisor and orders him: “Stop those people and ask them why they have returned bad for good?”

They deny any knowledge, let alone involvement in such unbecoming behavior. They pledge their innocence and that whoever would be found with the cup should face death, while they are ready to remain slaves forever. The supervisor differs with them. The one on whom the cup is be found will remain behind while the rest will be allowed to leave.

Benjamin turns out to be the culprit. In disbelief they tear their clothes and mount their donkeys back to town. Down on their knees, the entire entourage goes to Joseph’s residence.

He asks them: “What is this you have done? Don’t you think a person like me can prophesy?

“The one to whom the cup was traced becomes my slave. The rest can return to your father in peace.”

“My Lord”, says Yuda, “may your anger not befall on your servant because indeed you are like the Pharaoh!” He goes on to narrate conditions under which Jacob may release Benjamin, listing the fatal family consequences of detaining him in Egypt.

Joseph is touched by the plea of Yuda. He loses control of himself. He orders the removal of all people. He tells his brothers: “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” They fail to answer. They are astonished.

He goes on to tell them: “Come near me.” They move closer. He adds: “I am Joseph, your brother whom you sold to be taken to Egypt. But don’t grieve now. Nor feel bad because you sold me to be brought here, because God placed me ahead of you to save your lives. Quickly go up to my father and tell him. Your son Joseph says: ‘God has made me the Lord of the entirety of Egypt. Come down without delay. You will settle in the land of Goshen near me; you and your children, grandchildren, sheep, cows and whatever you possess.’”

Lesson Eight: The entire story is one of affection and portrays the qualities of being keen, pure, and having sincere feeling with no ulterior motives and without seeking any return. Said Nursi puts it better in the 23^rd Letter (2:86-87), where he points out that the story encourages us to strive for the other side of the grave where we will find real happiness and pleasure. It also shows Joseph’s exalted truthfulness and announces that even the most joyful and brightest conditions of the worldly life could not captivate him; rather it led him to ask for death and the other life.

Lesson Nine: Via Jacob’s life, we learn that for believers who follow God’s ways without deviation and with pure intention, when things start to worsen, this means the happy end is approaching. The dawn of light is the end of darkness.

Note: The story of Prophet Joseph, peace be upon him, is narrated with some differences in both the Bible and the Qur’an. The author quotes from both sources in this essay.

Life lessons are learnt every day by those climbing. But the lessons learnt from the peak of an active stratovolcano, which last erupted some 300 years ago and is overdue to erupt anytime, makes these lessons more valuable. I understand the Japanese proverb now and decide to be the wise man:
“He who climbs Mount Fuji once is a wise man; he who climbs it twice is a fool.”

Like any other mountain, the climb was grueling. And the difficult part about this was there was no nature to admire or reflect upon. The mountain is barren and exposed to wind from all directions, all the way to the peak. It is open to visitors only two months a year, and was therefore packed with trekkers. Going on a weekend, during the school holidays and peak season, makes it the most crowded mountain I have ever climbed.

The first life lesson I learnt was: Carry only what you need

Each trekker had to carry his own load. Other mountains give you the luxury of getting an extra guide to carry your belongings up to the peak. On Mount Fuji, you carry everything yourself, including the rubbish that you end up with. There is no place to throw garbage at the top, so you have to bring everything back down with you. We were warned that the weather at the summit was going to be freezing. So all the thermals clothing and jackets were necessary. Energy bars, water, head torch and my gloves all went in my backpack. As the climb got steeper, I realized I had packed in excess. Things I thought I would not be able to do without, but which made my climb more challenging and my back more sore unnecessarily.

Life lesson one

The life lesson from here is that life is a journey. We need to keep it simple and only take along with us what we need. Extra baggage only makes it backbreaking. Don’t get attached to the material possessions, you think you can’t do without them, but you can. Don’t get attached to anything, people, thoughts and wealth. Your climb up to the summit and journey in life will seem a lot smoother and lighter.

Lesson two: Break mental barriers

Our climb was planned a few weeks after Ramadan, so I wasn’t at my fittest. Fitness at my age was questioned and eyebrows were raised when I mentioned my upcoming challenge and asked, “Are you sure you will manage?” Thyroid sucked up my energy. And to top it all, as I prepared to travel I got a bad cold with a sore throat.

The life lesson is that you have to break your own mental barriers and replace the negativity with positivity. Colds heal. Thyroid can be taken care of. Age is nothing but a number. And anyway, what’s the worst that can happen? You won’t make it? At least you tried, and failures can strengthen you. So stop making excuses and do what you have to do! Enjoy God’s creations.

Lesson three: Appreciate God’s creation

Mount Fuji is very barren and it’s not a walk in the park. So when you tell someone you want to admire God’s creation, they can ask you, “Why don’t you go somewhere prettier?”

The life lesson here is that you find beauty in everything you see. One of the reason why the mountain gets flocked, with around 200,000 climbers a year, is so they can catch a glimpse of the sunrise. It is known as the goraiko or Buddha’s halo, and it is truly spectacular! So sometimes you have to struggle and you may see no benefit in your hard work, but the true beauty will come with one of the sunrises. So keep walking in life. Don’t give up. Soon you will be rewarded with something so amazing that you never imagined!

Japan, you taught me so much in such little time. Arigattu Gozaimashita.

Come and see them in their graves.

Only a large shirt is their share

And even those, without sleeves

Dignitaries they had been

With servants standing before them

Now come and see, you can’t tell,

The late masters from their men

The teacher-student relationship, or rapport, is the most important factor contributing to effective teaching. How a teacher portrays him/herself or is perceived by the students, the label he/she is given (bad or good teacher) determine the quality of the teaching-learning process.

Numerous studies, a great deal of research, books, and articles all shed light on this topic. Teachers are presented with many suggestions and ideas on how to become a good teacher. On the other hand, it seems that teachers are so bombarded with ideas that they can hardly digest and utilize them in their daily lives.

I would like to take a different approach and highlight an often overlooked corner of this field: How to become a bad teacher.

The principles of teacher-student relationships

Establish friendships with your students, but do not stop there: act like a child. Worry about what to teach rather than how to facilitate the learning process. Assisting one student at a time is good enough. Others can wait. Don’t worry about trying to assist more than one student with group activities. Be presumptuous towards your students. You have years of experience, you can decipher a student in a few minutes.

It is none of your business if the students develop good relations with each other. Do not bother to adopt a leadership role for this purpose. Some teachers try to get the popular students and the not so popular ones together, helping them to respect one another. These are efforts in vain. With your strong presence everybody will behave and that’s good enough.

Students are too young to develop a sense of responsibility anyway. They cannot be taught how to resolve their own problems, make their own decisions and self-criticisms. You must be there to enforce discipline.

Expected teacher behavior

Assign homework as a way of punishment and threaten your students with grades. Adopt one teaching method, preferably one in which you talk and they listen. If it has worked for so many generations, it ought to work for you.

Do not use encouragement or praise. Do not make any jokes. Do not check the student’s work or monitor progress. Let only the high achievers talk in class discussions. You do not have time to waste listening to poor achievers. They probably have nothing to contribute to the discussion anyway.

Do not tell the students what the expected behavior is. Do not provide a suitable environment in which expected behavior can flourish. Let your own behavior be inconsistent with that of your colleagues. When responding to unacceptable behavior or mistakes use negative criticism. Criticize your students instead of their actions. Be easily affected and distracted by negative comments. Discipline your students using only reprimands and punishment. Do not give time for your students to correct themselves.

Do not have a good lesson plan and let the kids be without a task from time to time. Include topics which you have not previously covered in your assignments. Be a book-oriented teacher. Go into your classroom, deliver your lesson, and leave. Remain distant from students. Do not position yourself in such a way that all the students in the room can see you. Turn your back to your class frequently. That way they will learn to value their time with you.

Do not take into consideration physiological and social development phases or the academic levels of your students. Do not cater for the needs of students with different learning paces. Do not let the students enjoy their achievements.

Focus on undesirable behavior rather than desirable behavior. Address some of your students with their first names while calling others “boy” or “girl.” Do not worry about fairness in awarding or punishing your students. Do not speak clearly. Use slang words.

Handle aggressively even minor discipline problems. Do not ignore anything however small it might be. Never laugh with your students and always keep in mind that you may lose control of the class if you do so. The students are expected to be obedient at all times without questioning anything. Tell students off in front of others if you need to. Never forget that discipline is a major problem; this has been suggested by so many other teachers. Ignore the fact that sometimes students may violate the rules because of your attitude. Do not let the students know that bad behavior is actually showing disrespect to themselves.

Teachers must be mean in order to discipline the students. Punish the whole class if you are not able to find the student who caused the discipline problem. Keep in mind that punishment is easier than prevention. Do not inform the administration, even if the students make it impossible for you to conduct the class. Keep it to yourself as this will protect your reputation.

Conclusion

Resist the temptation to listen to the suggestions of educators from around the world, take the easier path and become a bad teacher. Believe me it is very easy.