The mosques which were suspended to perform prayers five times a day and Friday prayers with the congregation within the scope of the new type coronavirus (Covid-19) epidemic measures in March 16 were reopened to the prayer with the congregation with the Friday prayer

Citizens came to mosques and other venues determined for Friday prayers by taking their ablutions in their homes or workplaces beforehand. Citizens who wore their masks spread their prayer rugs brought with them to places determined in accordance with the social distancing rule.

To perform the gratitude of meeting the congregation in the mosques again, 1003 animals were sacrificed for gratitude in the central mosques of all provinces and counties by the muftiates and distributed to those who were in need by the officials of Turkiye Diyanet Foundation.

The prayer with the congregation will be started first with Dhuhr and Asr prayers gradually.

The President of Religious Affairs Prof. Dr. Ali Erbaş established Friday prayer in Fatih Mosque in Istanbul.

The President of Religious Affairs Erbaş delivered a khutbah titled “Praise be to Allah” mentioning the joy of restarting establishing the prayers with congregation in the mosques and the Conquest of Istanbul before the Friday prayer.

President Erbaş expressed the following statements in his khutbah;

Honorable Muslims!

Jumu’ah mubarak! In this hour when prayers are accepted, may your hearts, homes, lives, and sustenance be filled with the abundance of divine blessings of Friday. On this most blessed day the sun rises over, may endless thanks and praise be to our Lord (swt), who has welcomed us in rows here before Him and enabled us to relive the joy of praying in congregation. “Praise to Allah, who has removed from us all sorrow. Our Lord is indeed Oft-Forgiving and Most Appreciative.”

Dear Brothers!

May salat and salam be upon the Prophet Muhammad the Most Beloved, who taught his ummah about cleanliness, tazkiyah (purification) and staying away from all kinds of dirt and dirty acts as our Lord stated in the verse “For he commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from what is bad (and impure).”

Dear Believers!

Friday is an eid day (festival) for Muslims and it has been celebrated since the ‘Asr alSa’adah in congregation at mosques in the best way. What other venues on earth are able to provide the peace and trust felt in the masjids of Allah the Almighty? As hearts beating with tawhid are reaching to sajdah in unity, where else can this joy of brotherhood be felt? Where else can hope and faith, comfort and submission, and affection and sincerity be enhanced this much as in the mosques? In mosques, knowledge and wisdom come in, and adab and ikhsan spread out. Adhans call Muslims of all ages to unity and togetherness. Praise be to Allah, we have heeded this call. We have been waiting for this day with longing and desire. Now is the time to unite. Words fail to adequately describe our feelings! It is the time to submit our servitude, gratefulness, prayers, and supplications to our Lord (swt).

Praise Allah (swt) we have reunited with our mosques. Praise Allah (swt), we will present our servanthood to our Lord (swt) by performing ruku together, reaching to sajdah together, and making du’as together, Insha Allah. For two and a half months, we were separated from our altars and we waited for this separation to end as soon as possible with sorrowful groans. Now we are praising with the happiness of the reunification of the one loving and the one loved. We say praise be to the Almighty Allah (swt).

Then we open our hands and hearts to our Lord (swt) and say: O Lord! Do not deprive us of our mosques again. We did not appreciate the value of our mosques. We could not continue prayers with the congregation enough. Now we give our words to You. We will cheer up our mosques with our children and youth and we will find more joy and peace with our mosques. We will make our mosques schools and madrasahs with the spirit of Ashab al-Suffa. At the moment of the Day of Judgement when there is no shadow, we will try to become a man whose heart will be shaded under the shade of the Almighty Allah (swt), and whose heart will be connected to mosques with every ounce of our power. And we will never stop uttering this du’a of the Poet of Islam:

“O Lord, the sole wish of my heart is that,

No infidel's hand should touch the bosom of my temple.

These adhans, the shahadah of which is the base of the religion,

Shall sound loud over my eternal homeland.”

My Brothers and Sisters!

Through a grand conquest on May 29, 1453, the gates of great Istanbul were opened to Islam and our glorious civilization. We commemorate our ancestors with blessing and gratitude who were complimented and praised by our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw) who stated “Verily you shall conquer Constantinople. What a wonderful leader will her leader be, and what a wonderful army will that army be!” We request from our Lord to make us worthy of those ancestors of ours and to raise young people like that commander.

Brothers!

Our mosques with their domes, minarets and adhans have been the ornament of our Istanbul since the conquest. The same as the Bosphorus, the citadels, the hills and the bazaars are the body of Istanbul, the mosques have also became the soul of Istanbul.
The same as it is not possible for the body to live without a soul, Istanbul without the mosques is the same for us. Here, 567 years later, while celebrating the Conquest of Istanbul, the doors of our mosques are reopening to our cherished nation and our esteemed community for prayer and Friday prayers with the congregation that we have suspended for two and a half months due to the epidemic disease, al-Hamd al-Allah. Just as when we are asleep, the soul leaves the body and moves away for a while, then turns and the body awakens, the same way, now, Istanbul which was in sorrow due to being parted away the worships for two and a half months meets again its soul and is re-awakened. Let us appreciate the value of this great blessing. Let us not forget the warning of our Lord as “If ye are grateful, I will add more (favours) unto you; But if ye show ingratitude, truly My punishment is terrible indeed,” dear brothers. Let us show our gratitude by continuing the visits to mosque and the prayer with the congregation. Let us never forget the warning of the Almighty Allah (swt) as “Enjoin prayer on thy people, and be constant therein.” Let us comply with measures taken regarding the epidemic with precision.

Brothers!

Now, with the permission of Allah, we will perform the fardh rakats of the Friday prayer. Afterwards, we will leave from here without shaking hands, by paying attention to the physical/social distancing, and in compliance with the guidance provided by our officials. We will perform the sunnah rakats of the Friday prayer at our homes. May Allah the Almighty accept our worships. May He (swt) save us from this pandemic disease in the shortest time possible. I would like to conclude this khutbah with Prophet Muhammad’s (saw) following du’a: “O Allah! Help me to remember You, express gratitude to You, and worship You in the best manner!