The Emerald Hills of the Heart is an original work authored by the respected M. Fethullah Gülen Hodjaefendi, which offers a profound, systematic, and Sunni Islam-centered interpretation of the core concepts of Sufism.

“As a person rises along a luminous spiral, a new capacity is born: the ability to gaze around and contemplate what lies beyond. The Emerald Hills of the Heart are, in a sense, reflections and snapshots—interpretations of some of the inner impressions that such contemplation leaves in a person.

The Emerald Hills of the Heart are like a banquet table. If one keeps returning to that table and explores its layers through discussion and reflection, one reaches all kinds of spiritual tastes. With this small work, a match has been struck to help a person discover himself. Yes—people must be trained to think and to feel. Today many people “think,” but they remain unaware of what lies behind the glittering curtain of the material world. They are stuck on the outer surface of things and cannot truly see reality as it deserves to be seen.”¹⁾

“We cannot fully understand The Emerald Hills of the Heart, nor can we reflect it into our inner world and benefit from it. How, then, can we benefit from it at the highest level?

First of all, a person should accept The Emerald Hills of the Heart as a horizon, an aim. Even if only through a half-open door, they should try, at least to some extent, to glimpse those sacred landscapes where stars flicker, and the moon and sun rise and set. Just as the Risale-i Nur points to spiritual goals, so too The Emerald Hills of the Heart—which can be seen as its ‘shadow’—tries not only to show the goal but also to offer basic principles for reaching it. For example, awrad and adhkar (regular litanies and remembrance) are among the most important means on this path. Another is prayer performed with deeper, more varied prostrations and bowings—at a level where, in Süleyman Çelebi’s words, one can ‘sense the Lord beyond all modality (bi-la kayf).’ Another means is contemplation carried out in a way that transcends ordinary imagination—so profound that it makes one say, ‘We have not known You with the knowledge that is due to You.’”²⁾

“The Emerald Hills of the Heart is a goal that must be reached. To that end, one must first believe that it truly ought to be reached—and then walk toward it correctly: without rushing, without compromise, and without growing tired or giving up. Yes, throughout Bediüzzaman’s expressions, The Emerald Hills of the Heart repeatedly points out the ways to rise beyond animal impulses, leave mere bodily obsession behind, and ascend to the level of life of the heart and spirit.”³⁾

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