Various analyses of Adnan Oktar's books The Evolution Deceit and Eternity Has Already Begun have been published. Accurate information about these comments, which clearly contain a number of misconceptions, is set out below:
1. Adnan Oktar is a Sunni author and takes the Qur’an and the Sunna of our Prophet (saas) as his guides in his works. His works contain not a single word that is incompatible with the moral values of the Qur’an, the hadith or Sunni belief.Adnan Oktar is an author whose life and books contain not a shred of doubt regarding Sunni belief. Adnan Oktar devotes considerable space to verses from the Qur’an, the hadith of our Prophet (saas) and accounts handed down from the Companions, and he is someone who contributes in spreading Islamic values across the world and in illuminating people by the radiance of Islam, as well as being one of the leading figures in that sphere. Not just the Islamic world, but the Western world, too, bear witness to this fact. Indeed, Adnan Oktar emerged as the answer posed by Reuters to the question of who is the most influential figure in the Islamic world . His works themselves are one of the greatest proofs of the unrealistic nature of the claim that Adnan Oktar never mentions the Prophet (saas) and his Companions in his works. Adnan Oktar devotes wide space to the hadith and the lives of the Companions in his works, and his books specially written on the subject make his attitude and thinking crystal clear. Books by him such as The Prophet Muhammed, in which he describes the exemplary life and moral values of our Prophet (saas), The Importance of the People of the Sunna, in which he sets out the importance of compliance with Sunni belief, The Importance of Self-Sacrifice in the Qur’an, which cites wide examples of the moral values of the Companions, and The Hejira in the Qur’an represent the finest responses to these groundless claims. Another important proof that Adnan Oktar fully adheres to Sunni belief in his works is the legal opinions given by Department Heads and Academic Staff from leading Turkish Theological Faculties.
2. The idea that "Anyone who knows Arabic is a perfect Muslim, while anyone who does not is imperfect" is a grave error.
Honesty is one of the main conditions for being a pure Muslim. Being a true believer lies in loving and fearing God and intending to do all one can in order to earn God’s approval, not in knowing Arabic or not. There can be no question of anyone who speaks good Arabic necessarily being a good Muslim, or of anyone not knowing Arabic necessarily not being a good Muslim. Arabic is spoken by some 280 million people across the world. These people have an excellent knowledge of its grammar, word structure and pronunciation. But some of them are atheists, or espouse materialism, or adopt ideologies incompatible with the religion, such as communism or fascism. People who have oppressed Muslims in Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Morocco or Tunisia in the past, and who caused so many Muslims to be imprisoned under very harsh conditions, also speak Arabic very well.
Many courses are given in the philosophy departments of a great many universities that teach Arabic that are foolishly critical of Islam, that criticize the Qur’an (surely the Qur’an is above that) and that criticize our Prophet (surely our Prophet (saas) is above that). There are Arabic language and literature departments in many universities in many countries, and thousands of people graduate from them. But many of these people are materialists, communists or even atheists. There are a great many people who know Arabic very well but who ignorantly choose to insult the Prophet (saas). It is therefore illogical to say that anyone who knows Arabic is a good Muslim. There are very few people who speak Arabic in Turkey, with its population of 70 million, but Islam is practiced in a flawless manner there.
3. Adnan Oktar is not a follower of a scientist, thinker or philosopher, merely that of the Qur’an and our Prophet (saas).
Adnan Oktar devotes considerable space in his works to the concrete facts revealed by modern science regarding the issue under discussion, to statements by scientists compatible with the Qur’an and the Sunna, and to information obtained as a result of technological progress. Contrary to what some people maintain, this information does not support Darwinism, materialism or atheism; on the contrary, it clearly and explicitly refutes them. In this way, he totally silences those who imagine they can oppose the fact of Creation. This method employed by Adnan Oktar in his works does not, as has been alleged, show that he is a follower of these thinkers or scholars, but of the hadith in which our Prophet (saas) says, “Take knowledge even from China,” and that he acts on that instruction in the most excellent manner.
In addition, it needs to be made clear that our Lord commands us to reflect, investigate and research, to do science in other words, in several verses of the Qur’an. Science is one of the vehicles that reveal the truth of Islam. It is impossible and unacceptable for Muslims to be opposed to knowledge and science.
4. Adnan Oktar never considers Wahdatul Wujood in his works.
The most serious error made by the worthy author of the text in Al Balagh magazine is that he wrote it without making a thorough examination of Adnan Oktar’s works. Because if he had made the requisite study of the author’s works, he would have seen that that Mr. Oktar does not espouse Wahdatul Wujood anywhere in his books and that, on the contrary, he provides full evidence that wahdatul wujood does not apply in his analysis of the true nature of matter. For example, Adnan Oktar issues this statement in the introduction to his book Matter: The Other Name of Illusion:
THE SECRET BEYOND MATTER IS NOT WAHDATUL WUJOOD
The topic called “The Real Essence of Matter” has been criticized by some people. Having misunderstood the essence of the subject, these people claim that what is explained as the secret beyond matter is identical to the teaching of Wahdatul Wujood. Let us state, before all else, that the author of this book is a believer strictly abiding by the doctrine of Ahlus Sunnah and does not defend the view of Wahdatul Wujood.
However, it should also be remembered that Wahdatul Wujood was defended by some leading Islamic scholars including Muhyiddin Ibn al-‘Arabi. It is true that numerous significant Islamic scholars who described the concept of Wahdatul Wujood in the past did so by considering some subjects found in these books. Still, what is explained in these books is not the same as Wahdatul Wujood.
Some of those who defended the view of Wahdatul Wujood were engrossed by some erroneous opinions and made some claims contrary to the Qur’an and the doctrine of Ahlus Sunnah. They, for example, completely rejected the existence of the living beings created by God. When the subject of the secret beyond matter is told, however, there is definitely no such claim. This section explains that all beings are created by God, and that the originals of these beings are seen by Him whereas people merely see the images of these beings formed in their brains.
Mountains, plains, flowers, people, seas—briefly everything we see and everything that God informs us in the Qur’an that exists and that He created out of nothing is created and does indeed exist. However, people cannot see, feel or hear the real nature of these beings through their sense organs. What they see and feel are only the copies that appear in their brains. This is a scientific fact taught at all schools, primarily in medicine. The same applies to the article you are reading now; you can not see nor touch the real nature of it. The light coming from the original article is converted by some cells in your eyes into electrical signals, which are then conveyed to the sight center in the back of your brain. This is where the view of this article is created. In other words, you are not reading an article which is before your eyes through your eyes; in fact, this article is created in the sight center in the back of your brain. The article you are reading right now is a “copy of the article” within your brain. The original article is seen by God.
In conclusion, the fact that the matter is an illusion formed in our brains does not “reject” the matter, but provides us information about the real nature of the matter: that no person can have connection with its original.
5. It is a scientific fact that we can never have direct experience of the matter existing on the outside, and that all we know is copies of it in our brains.
There is matter outside, yet we may never know the actual of the matter. We assume with the inculcation we have been given that these are invariable in a world outside our brains and hence that we see and feel the actual of them. However, in reality we never see real existing materials and we never touch real materials. In brief while assuming all through our lives that we deal with the matter outside, in reality we know the copy and image of everything. This is not a philosophical speculation. It is an empirical fact that has been proven by modern science. Today, any scientist who is a specialist in medicine, biology, neurology or any other field related to brain research would say, when asked how and where we see the world, that we see the whole world in the vision center located in our brains.
Saying that matter is an illusion does not mean it does not exist. Quite the contrary: whether we perceive the physical world or not, it does exist. But we see it as a copy in our brain or, in other words, as an interpretation of our senses. For us, therefore, the physical world of matter is an illusion.
The matter outside is seen not just by us, but by other beings too. The angels God delegated to be watchers witness this world as well:And the two recording angels are recording, sitting on the right and on the left. He does not utter a single word, without a watcher by him, pen in hand! (Surah Qaf: 17-18)
Most importantly, God sees everything. He created this world with all its details and sees it in all its states. As He informs us in the Qur'an:
… Heed Allah and know that Allah sees what you do. (Surat al-Baqara: 233)
Say: "Allah is a sufficient witness between me and you. He is certainly aware of and sees His servants." (Surat al-Isra’: 96)
It must not be forgotten that God keeps the records of everything in the book called Lawh Mahfuz (Preserved Tablet). Even if we don't see all things, they are in the Lawh Mahfuz. God reveals that He keeps everything's record in the "Mother of the Book" called Lawh Mahfuz with the following verses:
It is in the Source Book with Us, high-exalted, full of wisdom. (Surat az-Zukhruf: 4)
… We possess an all-preserving Book. (Surah Qaf: 4)
Certainly there is no hidden thing in either heaven or Earth which is not in a Clear Book. (Surat an-Naml: 75)
6. That God is closer to people than their jugular veins is a fact revealed in the Qur’an.
Certainly God, Who is Absolute Being, knows every aspect of the human beings He has created. This is a very simple thing for God. But some in their ignorance may find this hard to understand. However, as we lead our lives, the closest being to us is not an impression, it is clearly God. The secret of the verse "We created man and We know what his own self whispers to him. We are nearer to him than his jugular vein" (Surah Qaf: 16) is hidden in this fact.
God is everywhere, not just in the heavens. As the only thing that truly exists, God permeates all the universe, all people, and all places and He manifests Himself in the entire universe. Wherever you turn, the face of God is there. According to the accounts related, our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) told a person who says that God is in the heavens that he’s telling the truth. However, this account does in no way conflict with the fact that He is everywhere. Since if one person on earth at one point on your location holds his hands up and prays to God and assumes that He is in the heavens and if another person at the South Pole turns to God in the same way and yet another person at the North Pole also holds his hands up, and another in Japan, another in America and yet another on the equator all turn to Him holding their hands up to heaven, then it’s impossible to talk about any fixed direction. In the same way if the djinns, angels, satans at different points of the universe and the space pray towards the heavens, then a fixed heaven or direction would be out of the question to discuss and it would cover the entire universe. Wherever you turn, the manifestation of God is there. For instance, God says "... His Footstool encompasses the heavens and the earth..." (Surat al-Baqara: 255) Another verse stresses that there is no doubt that God encircles all that people do:
... But my Lord encompasses everything that you do! (Surah Hud: 92)
7. 20th century science conformed that time is relative, something stated clearly and explicitly by the Qur’an 1400 years ago.
The perception we call time is, in fact, a method by which one moment is compared to another. We can explain this with an example. For instance, when a person taps an object, he hears a particular sound. When he taps the same object five minutes later, he hears another sound. He then perceives that there is an interval between the first sound and the second, and he calls this interval "time." Yet at the time he hears the second sound, the first sound he heard is no more than a bit of information in his memory. The person formulates the perception of "time" by comparing the moment in which he lives with what he has stored in his memory. The conclusion to which we are led by the findings of modern science is that time is not an absolute fact as supposed by materialists, but only a relative perception. What is important is that this fact, undiscovered until the 20th century by science, was imparted to mankind in the Qur'an 14 centuries ago. There are various references in the Qur'an to the relativity of time.
The scientifically-proven fact that time is a psychological perception dependent on events, setting, and conditions is underscored in many verses of the Qur'an. For instance, as stated in the Qur'an, the entire life of a person spans a very short time:
On that Day He will call you, and you will answer (His Call) with (words of) His Praise and Obedience, and you will think that you have stayed (in this world) but a little while! (Surat al-Isra, 52)
And on the Day when He shall gather them together, (it will seem to them) as if they had not tarried (on earth) longer than an hour of a day: they will recognize each other. (Surah Yunus, 45)
In some verses, it is indicated that people perceive time differently and that sometimes people can perceive a very short period of time as a very lengthy one. The following conversation of people held during their judgement in the Hereafter is an example of this:
He will say: "What number of years did you stay on earth?" They will say: "We stayed a day or part of a day: but ask those who keep account." He will say: "You, stayed for only a little while – if you had only known!" (Surat al-Muminun, 112-114)
In some other verses it is stated that time may flow at different paces in different settings:
Yet they ask you to hasten on the Punishment! But Allah will not fail in His Promise. Truly, a day in the Sight of your Lord is like a thousand years of your reckoning. (Surat al-Hajj, 47)
The angels and the spirit ascend to Him in a day the measure of which is like fifty thousand years. (Surat al-Maarij, 4)
These verses all manifest expressions of the relativity of time. The fact that this result, only recently understood by science in the 20th century, was communicated to man 1,400 years ago in the Qur'an is an indication of the revelation of the Qur'an by God, Who encompasses the whole of time and space.
Many other verses of the Qur'an reveal that time is a perception. This is particularly evident in the stories. For instance, God has kept the Companions of the Cave, a believing group mentioned in the Qur'an, in a deep sleep for more than three centuries. When they were awaken, these people thought that they had stayed in that state but a little while, and could not reckon how long they slept:
Then We drew (a veil) over their ears, for a number of years, in the Cave, (so that they could not hear). Then We wakened them up so that We might know which of the two parties would best calculate the time that they had tarried. (Surat al-Kahf, 11-12)
Such (being their state), we roused them (from sleep), so that they might question each other. Said one of them, "How long have you stayed (here)?" They said, "We have stayed (perhaps) a day, or part of a day." (At length) they (all) said, "Allah (alone) knows best how long you have stayed here....” (Surat al-Kahf, 19)
The situation described in the verse below is also evidence that time is in truth a psychological perception.
Or (take) the instance of one who passing by a hamlet, all in ruins and quite desolate, said: "Oh! How shall Allah (ever) bring it to life, now that it is dead?" Therefore, Allah caused him to die for a hundred years, then brought him back to life. Allah asked: "How long did you tarry (thus)?" He said: "(Perhaps) a day or part of a day." He said: "No, you have tarried thus a hundred years; but look at your food and your drink; they show no signs of age; and look at your donkey: And so that We may make you a sign to the people, look further at the bones, how We bring them together and clothe them with flesh." When this was shown clearly to him, he said: "I know that Allah has power over all things." (Surat al-Baqara, 259)
The above verse clearly emphasizes that God, Who created time, is unbound by it. Man, on the other hand, is bound by time that is ordained by God. As in the verse, man is even incapable of knowing how long he remained asleep. This being so, to assert that time is absolute (just as the materialists do because of their distorted mentality), would be very unreasonable.
