At-Tawbah 10: They do not recognize any covenant or any agreement about a mu’min. They are the aggressors.

We have come to Surah At-Tawbah, verse 10. Regarding a believer they recognize neither covenant nor treaty. For they are the aggressors themselves. This is about non-Muslims, people with no light of faith in their hearts.

Here we mean this. People who have spoken the testimony of faith but are bound by superstitions still have in their hearts a light of faith.

But if, against Allah's true word, with those superstitions they stand up against the truth, that light of faith in their hearts, over time, since they are bound by those superstitions, will cast them into doubts. Those doubts will drown them in despair. In that despair they will fall into stress. That's when Satan will roam freely in him. Freely. And the feelings of the nafs that Satan gives him he will like. He will like them. And then he will lose that light of faith too. That's where Allah's verse will come true. Do not go toward the fire prepared for the disbelievers. Why would I go? With those superstitions.

As long as you are bound by them. As long as you stand against the truth. As long as you don't use your reason. As long as you don't weigh truth against falsehood, with that ignorant mind not grasping the truth, by standing against the truth you are slowly going toward the fire prepared for the disbelievers, that's what it means. Yes.

People with no light of faith in their hearts cannot master their nafs. Therefore a person who cannot discipline and reform his nafs, according to the desires and wishes of the nafs, giving in to irresistible desires, both toward their own selves and toward those around them, harmful people they become. For their own nafs desires they are in a state to constantly harass people. These people can't do evil because they fear the laws. But where there are no laws and people don't see them, every kind of evil they commit; therefore they are aggressors.

I compare the superstitionists with these people. The superstitionists.

To the (?) these give, these do their duty. And although the superstitionist says (?) upon the natural disposition of Islam, he, worse than what this non-Muslim does, takes an axe to the religion of Islam.

One of them says, in this man's ear, he says, he takes satanic whisperings for the truth, he says. He takes satanic whisperings for the truth, he says. This pitiful person. Satan is never able to whisper into my ear. That's one. So either Satan whispers into your ear and you know it very well, or with words you hear here and there, with words, you are bound by those superstitions. We prove everything he says anyway. With the words he speaks he proves himself that he is a superstitionist. To us, Satan is not able to whisper. He cannot whisper. You may say, did you think yourself that great? Now I'll tell you a verse.

My business is always with verses. I have nothing to do with superstitions. With verses. "Whenever We set out to give revelation to a prophet, Satan inevitably," it says, "sets out to put into his heart desires of the nafs," it says. Now I'm explaining the verse the wrong way, since that's how they wrote it. "We," it says, "cancel the whisper Satan gives, and into his heart," it says, "We reveal what is right," it says. This is the wrongly explained verse. Whereas in the verse: "Whenever We set out to give revelation to a prophet," it says, now I'm telling the right one, "even if Satan insists on trying to put desires of the nafs into his heart," it says, "We give the revelation firmly into his heart.

Satan's whisper," it says, "(?) remains and vanishes away." So I am bound by Allah's verses. If Satan tried to whisper to me, he would hit Allah's verses like armor and go right back. Superstitious one, Satan only whispers into your ear, not mine. He cannot whisper to me. Now can you understand? With everything you say, you sink yourself. With everything you say, you sink yourself. Look, I answer you with verses, and with their meanings too. You can't grasp even the shadow of these; though you can't grasp even the shadow of these verses I understand, how can you get up and say to a Muslim, to a person tasked by Allah, this man, this man is a heretic?

And do you know what else he says? "We, Ahl al-Sunnah, (?)." That is, we have belief in and love for the Ahl al-Bayt. But he doesn't even call a friend of Allah a friend of Allah; even if he comes from his lineage, as long as he goes outside the religion of Islam, our love for him, he says, doesn't remain, he says. Now he throws us outside the religion of Islam. Outside the religion of Islam. Well, superstitious one, in what I've explained, can you find a single word outside the religion of Islam?

Look, I always speak with verses.

What they speak is always mere talk. No verse in return. If he cited a verse, I'd be glad. But he could show verses unrelated to me; so far he hasn't been able to, he could, out of his ignorance. Instead of doing that, if he said, "You explained this verse like this, Hodja, explain this one to us," maybe he would find the truth. So every person has a covenant given to Allah Almighty; that covenant he cannot break for anyone. If this glass is a 100-gram glass, I can't put 100 plus 100 grams in it; it would overflow. If this glass is 100 grams, and the person, up to here, up to where this tea shows, is filled with (?), and he still has capacity to receive, if his degree is high, then when he says, "Hodja, you explained this part like this, but its meaning (?) to me, can you open it up?", that means he is receptive.

He is receptive. He will take it in. If he isn't receptive, he will stand against the religion of Islam with superstitions like this, toward the fire, toward the fire prepared for the disbelievers he will go.

So regarding a believer they recognize neither covenant nor treaty. Who are they? Non-Muslims. For they are the aggressors themselves. People with no light of faith in their hearts cannot master their nafs. Therefore a person who cannot discipline and reform his nafs, according to the desires and wishes of the nafs, giving in to irresistible desires, both toward their own selves and toward those around them become harmful people. For their own nafs desires they are in a state to constantly harass people. These people do no evil when they fear the laws. Because they fear the laws very much. They don't fear Allah that much.

But where there are no laws and people don't see them, every kind of evil they commit. Therefore they are the aggressors themselves. At the same time, to satisfy their nafs feelings, should they prevail, by satisfying their own nafs desires on the defeated, they deal with them without recognizing Allah's limits. May Allah protect us.

Do you know how I was raised?

Let me tell you. I was raised so as not to retreat before an enemy, not to retreat, to fight them until only my last bullet remains, that's how I was raised. I: don't surrender to a non-Muslim. Yes. Don't be subjected to his filthy desires. That's why in the military, look what they used to say. In the military. If in war, but those old ones weren't like today's. Those old ones: if you're even taken captive before the enemy and to all their cruelties, sufferings and tortures you're subjected, rather than give up your life under that torture, bravely, manfully, he says, without opposing Allah's command, he says, tasting death while fighting them, martyrdom, (?), rising to the rank of the strugglers, is more virtuous for you, didn't they say that, he says.

With Allah Almighty the situation is this, by His verse. Yes. So what does Allah Almighty say in His verse anyway? Regarding a believer they recognize neither covenant nor treaty. Yes. For they are the aggressors themselves.

While our Lord's verses about non-Muslims are this clear, to fear them and surrender to them, does that befit a Muslim? They only fight, it says, from behind fortified fortresses, it says. They can't come out before you and fight. They fight behind fortified fortresses. And there, I am your helper, says Allah Almighty. I am your helper. Allah is behind you, and you fight. You fight with the Owner, the Creator of the worlds. Would you surrender to a non-Muslim? Would you leave Allah's ranks? Then you'd be subjected to every kind of torture. Haven't you seen Iraq? Haven't you seen other countries?

Yes.

Let the superstitionists keep busy with Arabic. Let them busy themselves with the words of the word. Not with the meanings. They don't understand the verses anyway. According to Arabic grammar, if this is like this, it becomes like that, if it comes here, it becomes like this. "This man doesn't know Arabic." What is this? How can it be? Keep at it, keep at it. Keep at it a bit more. Yes. You knew Arabic, and look, you conquered the worlds. How nicely you opened up the verses to people. And how nicely you guided people. Just look.

The Arabs also know Arabic very well. The Quran came down in the language of the Quraysh. look how well they too explained these verses, and to the whole world how nicely they opened up and (?) the meanings.

You superstitionists, pull yourselves together. Look, I say it again. I have no Arabic. But you, verse within verse. Mix the verses with separate words however you like. Stand up against me however you like. I (?) these for you. (?). Your Arabic won't be enough for this. A Muslim, as long as the light of faith is in his heart, this Muslim too may sin, but he never commits the sin a disbeliever commits. Even in a place where there's no law and among those who don't see him, his law is the light of faith in his heart, yes, and the fear of Allah.

His law, because of the light of faith in his heart, is the fear of Allah. These people cannot commit the crime a disbeliever commits. So when a disbeliever and a Muslim are compared: the disbeliever's aggression, his not keeping faith with his words, when he gains strength the word of the strong gaining value, just like in the law of the jungle the dominion the strong animal sets up over the weak, toward people living through such situations a Muslim can never commit such a crime.

Because of their enmity toward Allah and His Messenger and these states of theirs, such people, toward Muslims, and since they're enemies, toward Muslims who keep faith with their word, recognize neither covenant nor treaty. As long as they are strong, to bend Muslims to their own desires and wishes they want. As long as they are weak against Islam, though their hearts don't consent, they make a treaty with their mouths and act as if they consent to the treaty. So Allah, His creations, and what those who believe in His essence and those who don't, in their souls, keep hidden, He thus reveals to people.

Yes.