The priesthood means “to suffer from intense religious anxiety and fear and to isolate oneself from social life and devote oneself to worship”. The word Priest, which has the same root as clergy, refers to a person who fears Allah and worships in isolation.[1] However, the priesthood does not exist in Islam.
It is stated in the Qur’an that Allah does not command the practice of priesthood and that some Christians have started to practice this practice themselves in order to be closer to Allah: “We also sent Jesus, son of Mary, after them, gave him the Bible, and placed compassion and mercy in the hearts of those who followed him. As for the priesthood that they invented, we did not order them to do this; they did it to gain the pleasure of Allah, but they did not obey it properly. So we gave the believers their reward, but most are disobedient.”[2] As can be seen from the verse, the starting point of the practice of priesthood is to be closer to the believed god and aim to gain a degree in the spiritual dimension.
According to the religion of Islam, a person can establish intimacy with Allah, the creator, at any time and anywhere. For this, he does not need to pause his individual and social life and pull himself into a state (of living alone). Islam also does not consider it right to stay away from marriage to devote oneself to worship. Indeed, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said when some Muslims began to live a priestly life: “Fast and eat, worship and sleep simultaneously. I fast and break fast, pray, and sleep; I eat meat and marry women; The one who strays from my sunnah (circumcision) is not from me.”[3]
There is no time and place limitation for communication with Allah in Islam. For example, a person can talk to Allah at any time through prayer. Indeed, Allah states in the Qur’an that He will answer the person who prays to Him without specifying the time and place. [4]
People who research religious principles in Islam are called mujtahids or religious scholars. However, there is no group ‘assigned’ to research, understand and explain Islam to people; all Muslims share these duties. Mujtahid refers to a person who makes a judgment based on the verses of the Holy Qur’an and the hadiths of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). It is not a quality that can be gained by people focusing on religious provisions and giving up their social and individual lives. On the contrary, one of the duties of these people is to look for solutions to the problems that a Muslim may encounter in terms of living his religion correctly in his “social life”.
One of the social duties of Muslims is to spread the right attitudes and behaviors in society and strive to prevent the wrong ones. This situation is expressed in the Qur’an as follows: “Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong: They are the ones to attain felicity.”[5] As can be seen, it is not a desired feature of this religion to stay away from social life and live the orders of the religion of Islam only in its shell.
Islam advises Muslims not to forbid the good and beautiful things that Allah has made halal (permitted) and not exceed the limit.[6] It has been stated that it is necessary to take advantage of the foods and drinks permitted by Allah and avoid Allah’s prohibitions[7], so that the beauties of life can be enjoyed within limits set by Allah.
[1] Râgıb el-İsfahânî, el-Müfredât.
[2] Al Hadid, 27.
[3] Bukhari, Nikah, 1; Muslim, Nikah, 5.
[4] Al Mumin, 60.
[5] Aal-i Imraan, 104.
[6] Maaida, 5/87
[7] Maaida, 5/88