Humankind seems to be heading in some direction – a direction of vengeance and hate. This looks less like “heading in,” and more like “falling into,” a situation one cannot easily guess; a destination one can hardly know. To say that their destination is hell is perhaps succumbing to pessimism; but to say that they are bound for heaven is simply delusional. Hearts beat with anger, pride is rampant, ideas are broken, and judgment is careless. Any search for dialogue is artificial, and stems from self-interest. Discussion forums function as battlefields or arenas. It seems as if everything is set to divide society into different factions. People behave rudely and speak aggressively while groups engage intolerantly. In the words of Mehmet Akif, “Loyalty is nowhere to be found; promises not honored; trust is a meaningless word / Lying is the currency; deceit is everywhere; justice is obscure…” As society weeps, its enemies rejoice.

To halt this downward spiral, we must act with tolerance and love. We need faithful and loving hearts devoted to the worldly, and other-worldly, happiness of humanity. We need selfless souls, like Bediuzzaman who said, “There is neither love of heaven nor fear of hell in my eyes; I am ready to burn in the flames of Hell, if this will secure the faith of my people.”

Love is a universal language that addresses the human spirit without words. It is a magical source of power that attracts and enchants hearts, and that no one, not even wild spirits, can resist. Yes, even the uncivilized understands its soft, friendly language.

Love holds the power and magic of prophetic influence. When love, in its unique language, rains upon the vastness of our soul, we feel its message deep in our soul, and are immediately inclined to accept it.

Even without uttering a word, one can convey the “book” in their soul, with all its pages and chapters, to another person when their heart beats with love, their face reflects honesty, and their eyes smile with genuine sincerity.

According to the degree of its sincerity, the sound and breath of love often stir our feelings, carrying us from trust to submission, from submission to acceptance, and from acceptance to faith. It whispers to our spirits wondrous meanings that cannot be conveyed by the most eloquent speeches nor even by the most famous books.

Love’s cryptic melodies echo on the hillsides of our hearts like the songs of nightingales. They embrace us like lullabies, so sweet that they move us to tears of delight and joy.

Love, with its air like a mother’s warm embrace and its magic like keys that can open any door, is a splendid faucet that fills our hearts with the essence of all creation and eternal beauty. As we feel the river of affection flowing from this pure faucet, our emotions rise and our spirits soar; breaking through the ceiling of our ego, we attain a sense of eternal exhilaration.

Hearts that breathe the invigorating, purified air of love feel, and reveal the boundless depths of being human. They comprehend the mysteries of eternity. In fact, they reach eternity, take on the color of eternity, and say, “for His sake,” while they shower their surroundings with love. They become souls who seek eternity everywhere.

Love existed before us. It was the first melody that awakened mankind to existence, and the first cradle in which he was rocked. Here, we aim to murmur once again in the name of love, with a new accent in an old pitch; with a new rendition of an old melody; and a simple shift in style, hoping that love will conquer enmity, hatred, despair, and discord. After this, who knows how many burning melodies will be sung with new expressions and voices; who knows what piercing songs will be sung that will illuminate our world like fireworks.

If mankind could only enter the simple, magical path of love, they could surpass the steepest summits of hatred and anger that appear insurmountable to others. They could pass over seas of blood, walk in spring climates like the hillsides of heaven, and embrace spirits illuminated with love. Their lives   would unfold in the warmth of a bird’s nest and the safety of a mother’s bosom; allowing them to experience the beauty of being human.

At a time when mankind has been defeated by revenge and hostility, and the masses are being dragged into disputes and fighting; when might silences right, and those in power behave like tyrants towards those who oppose them; when the cruel and oppressive are applauded and praised, and the innocent are pushed around, we must again assert the power of love, even if we do so with shaken hopes. We assert this and believe that love will change the rhythm of our lives, elevating us from the ordinary to the extraordinary, from floundering in banality to ascending to transcendence. We nurture the hope that we will catch those lucid dreams we felt and lived in our childhood.

To the degree that we can equip ourselves with love, respect, and understanding, society will change, and so will the color of things and events. True human values will emerge, and the dozens of advantages we gain by being “the honored creature” will be preserved rather than squandered. All the beauties that arise from belief and culture, which have been lost in history, will be revived and restored; in fact, they will be ours again, allowing us to relive the life we once knew and taste infinite and timeless pleasures and delights, all at once. If only we, too, could awaken to this faith and the deep love therein, as the first believers did...