Imagine a society where in every situation, they have transformed into a congregation of sin. Eating, drinking, sleeping, words, writings, and all manner of actions—everything constitutes a sin. Each step they take in the pursuit of salvation seems to plunge them even deeper. I cannot fathom how long they will persist in this mire.
Has our sense of humanity been extinguished? Why do our hearts feel so desensitized? Why have tears been relegated to the realm of dreams? Or perhaps, are we not truly living? If that’s not the case, why do we find amusement amidst our suffering? I cannot assert that we possess foresight, given our inability to predict what tomorrow holds. We struggle to comprehend that we might endure the same fate as those before us.
Look at these masses. Look at the stones, iron, and earth rising sporadically. They seek happiness in the old shelters of mice. A congregation escaping from the Master, losing its path, a collective enslaved by pleasures, resulting in sorrows… We’ve been walking the same paths for years, passing by the same doorways. Our ears remain deaf to genuine laughter, unable to catch the sound they yearn for. Our eyes, veiled by stolen hues, fail to perceive Him. Our days are darker than nights, and our nights resemble tombs. Our hearts implore for hope from the departed. Our minds are heavier than tombstones.
Isn’t there a merciful one to transform our night into day? Isn’t there a healer to soothe our wounded hearts? We no longer have faith in the joy of those who conceal their grief behind closed curtains. Our hearts aren’t swayed by the cheerful facade of a funeral procession. The heart continues to search for someone lost. The heart is the devotee of Him. Amidst towering skyscrapers, in the most opulent haunts of vice, and amidst the most vibrant amusements, the heart unfailingly pursues Him. It yearns for those tender hands that will alleviate its pain and elevate it to great heights with the grace of a bird. The union with Him—what an ecstatic moment it is.
He awaits our comeback and our lament. We turn to His door after being burdened by our troubles.
O Lord! Please forgive us! Even if we arrive at Your door feeling helpless and without the means, we come with the hope of reaching You. We have been distanced from You, yet we haven’t found solace in anything other than Your grace. We’ve had no one else to console us. Our cries for help have been met with mockery; no one has answered our pleas.
No one before us has approached Your presence burdened with such sins. But due to our lack of knowledge, please do not reproach us, for we are unaware of any other path. If You don’t accept us, where else can we turn?
O the source of hope for the sorrowful! Be our companion! O the solution for the helpless! Be our remedy! Bestow a bit of grace upon this deteriorating abode so that we will never part from You again! We have committed innumerable transgressions, and at last, with humbled spirits, we have arrived at Your Divine threshold.
Note: This text is a translation of the author’s original essay titled “Kapına Geldik,” which was published in the Gurbet magazine on January 1, 1967.
