Fethullah Gülen, an influential Islamic scholar, dedicated his life to promoting education, dialogue, and peaceful coexistence. His teachings inspired the global Hizmet movement, which established numerous schools worldwide and fostered cross-cultural communication. Despite facing opposition and ex…

This compilation of excerpts from Fethullah Gülen's writings was read by Professor Scott C. Alexander during the funeral service on October 24, 2024 at the Skylands Stadium, Frankford Township, New Jersey.

If our desire is to honor the memory and precious legacy of Hocaefendi, let us do what I know he would want us to do. Let us recognize and affirm that, although the lamp of his earthly life is no longer, the light of God endures.

Like many in Hizmet and beyond, I mourn his loss but find solace in the belief that he has achieved his eternal reward.

God has shown grace to Hocaefendi, a man of peace, understanding, and boundless humility. He exemplified simplicity and piety, teaching the world the beauty of sacrifice, the rewards of hard work, and the value of perseverance.

Speaking of admiring greatness, I want to pay a humble tribute to a person who loved and cared for others in the same way one would take care of their family, even though he never saw them at all.

My first meeting with Hocaefendi is a memory I will always hold dear. I shared with him how deeply his teachings had moved me, expressing how they had touched my life in ways words could hardly convey.

The creative inheritance of Gülen will not be found so much in the substantive body of his inherited teaching, pregnant though that remains with matters that will remain important into the future

Inna lilah wa inna ilayh rajeoon اللهم ارحم و اغفر لعبدك محمد فتح الله جولن و ارزقه الجنه و صبر اهله و اصدقائه We must remember one thing: Bodies leave but legacies live Souls “return” to Allah (what better place?) Legacies don’t leave us. and bodies never were the point. From dust to dust…