Being on the way to a good deed and even intending to do it is also a good deed, and this intention earns rewards for the Muslim even if he does not do it. A Muslim who sincerely intends to do a good deed will be rewarded as if he had done it, even if he has not done it. As a rule, this opportunity is a gift and favour of Allah Almighty to Muslims.

For a person who has devoted himself to good deeds, the day is not twenty-four hours, but years. First of all, all twenty-four of the twenty-four hours pass into his hasenat (good deeds) book as the reward of hasenat (good deeds). A person who lives with the love of the cause and truth that he is devoted to while sleeping, getting up, eating, drinking, travelling and even sleeping, reaches the secret of unlimitedness in a limited life. Since he plans his life according to the idea of service and divides it into sections according to this idea, Allah (swt) illuminates even the dark spots in his life as a reward for his intention and thought and brings him to a bright horizon. There is no dark spot in the life of a person who is on the path of Allah (swt). His night is as bright as his day. Every second of his life is like years spent in worship. Because he is on a good path and Allah (swt) gives him countless rewards, regardless of the shortness or length of the piece of time spent on the path of 'the Real'. Therefore, the blink of an eye is more valuable than a dead, barren life of thousands of years.

It was because he realised this secret that the Companions (r.a.) were constantly coming to the Messenger of Allah (r.a.) and requesting that the ways of goodness for him be increased. There are many of them who came and said: 'O Rasûlallah! Teach me such a good deed so that I may enter Paradise when I do it."[1] Yes, these people, whose minds were enlightened with the ability to know Allah (swt), were constantly searching for the door of goodness. In a way, this meant seeking a way to facilitate their journey on the path of eternity.

These applications to the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) were always in the direction of seeking the path of goodness, and it was as if they were competing with each other in this endeavour. For this reason, in that period, we see everyone, young and old, men and women, in a serious attitude and determination against the things that would lead them away from good.

Bilal-i Habeshi (r.a) applied to Hz Abu Bakr (r.a) many times after the death of our Prophet (s.a.w.) and asked for permission to leave Medina, but Hz Abu Bakr rejected his request every time. Because he regarded Bilal as a souvenir left to him by the Messenger of Allah. However, Bilal was also burning inside: He was accustomed to waging jihad and waving swords and carrying banners in the battlefields during the time of the Messenger of Allah. Now it was heavy for him to wait in Madinah only for muezzin. One Friday, while Hazrat Abu Bakr (r.a.) was reading the sermon, Bilal (r.a.) jumped up and said: 'O Abu Bakr! Did you free me for your own sake or for the sake of Allah? When Abu Bakr replied, "For the sake of Allah," he concluded his words: "Then let me go for the sake of Allah, I want to fight jihad."[2]

And Bilal (r.a.) went to the front of Damascus, where he became a martyr and was buried in an unknown grave. It was the love of jihad that burned in him like an ember that took him there.[3] Otherwise, he could have continued his life in Medina and died there. Why did he go all the way to Damascus? Why did he not look at his comfort but preferred expedition and hardship?

Since all these endeavours of the Muslims who will strive for the Islamic Unity and putting their property and lives on this path will be an act of jihad, all the blessings of jihad will surround them and Allah (swt) will grant them unexpected ease and blessings.

Blessed are those who take their share from the river of blessings of Islamic Unity!

[1]Al-Bukhari, Zakat, 1.

[2]Ibn al-Asir, Usd al-Ghâba, 1/244.

[3]Ibn al-Asir, Usd al-Ghaba, 1/245.