Takva: A Man’s Fear of God 2006

Muharrem is introduced as a humble and devout man, living a solitary and austere life defined by prayer and sexual abstinence. His deep devotion catches the attention of the Seyh, the head of a Istanbul Sufi order, who offers him an administrative post as a manager for the seminary properties that support a school for orphans and poor children. This new role pulls him out of his quiet routines and thrusts him into a world he has scarcely experienced, a landscape of buses, markets, and conversations about money, duty, and appearances.

As Muharrem steps into the outside world, he witnesses a tapestry of competing attitudes toward alcohol, charity, and honesty. He begins to see that his own inner calm is being tested by the practical demands of management and the temptations of everyday life. The more he engages with people and their struggles, the more he notices traits in himself that feel unfamiliar and unsettling: pride, a tendency to dominate, and at times a slip toward dishonesty. Throughout, his faith remains intact, and he seeks forgiveness from Allah while looking to the Seyh for guidance, hoping to stay true to his spiritual calling.

A shadow looms as the Sheikh’s rigorous insistence on rent collection—extended to everyone, even those who cannot pay—begins to clash with Muharrem’s growing sense of mercy. The Sheikh’s retreat leaves Muharrem without immediate counsel, and he is left to navigate a moral crossroad alone. At first, his approach to money is measured and fair; he shows compassion toward a family struggling to pay, trying to balance justice with mercy. But pressure mounts as he is urged to collect from all, regardless of circumstance, and he faces a painful choice between following his own inner voice and honoring the directives he has received from the Sheikh.

This crisis of spirit is not merely about money. It is a collision between Muharrem’s inner piety and the visible changes in his own character caused by this new responsibility. His sense of peace wavers, and the fear of losing his spiritual compass gnaws at him. The tension between devotion and the demands of reality pushes him toward a breaking point, one that tests his faith and his resolve to live by the values he holds dear. The struggle culminates in a startling turn of events: Muharrem slips into a catatonic state, resting in bed while the world—neighbors, the seminary, and even the Sheikh’s own circle—circles around him. He is cared for by the Sheikh’s daughter, a presence who remains close yet remains almost unseen by him, as he lies in a liminal space between fervent devotion and the fragility of human frailty.

In the end, the story traces a portrait of spiritual crisis and quiet resilience. Muharrem’s journey is not a fall from grace but a painful apprenticeship in the balance between piety and the imperfect, modern world he never truly chose to inhabit. It is a meditation on humility, accountability, and the stubborn, longing search for guidance when the path ahead grows unclear. Through his trials, the film asks a timeless question: how does a person of faith stay true when the pressures of life pull in opposing directions, and what does it mean to seek forgiveness when the distance between ideal and reality feels vast and unbridgeable?