Preface

There are many books that carry the name of Mawlana Sheikh Nazim (ق). Most of them are either transcriptions of his lectures or edited versions of them. Many of these he read and approved. This book, however, is the only book that he actually wrote himself.

Mawlana wrote it in the ‘50’s, years after the establishment of the Turkish Republic. The alphabet had been changed from Arabic to Latin letters a generation earlier, leaving the traditional Ottoman sources inaccessible to the average Turkish reader. It was written to remind the Turks and the Cypriots both of their religious duties and their Ottoman heritage. In consequence some of the Ottoman references may be unfamiliar to the English reader.

The book contains basic information that every Muslim should know. It was intended for everyone so he wrote it in a language that is clear and easy to understand. In 2012 Mawlana gave it to us to republish and, following his advice, we were handing it out to the Turkish speaking people who came wanting to learn more about their religion. Since then I have seen the need to also have something for the people coming from the West, especially in this time when there is so much misinformation, and when so many sources professing Islam are unreliable. It came to my mind to have this book translated into English to serve this purpose. [...]

May Allah fulfill Mawlana’s intention that this book serve Islam and bring benefit to those searching for the straight way.

Al-Fatihah

Mehmet Nazim Adil 
(grandson of Mawlana Sheikh Nazim)
Lefke Cyprus
5 Shawwâl, 1437 / July 9, 2016