At-Tawbah 21: Their Lord gives them the glad tidings of mercy from Allah’s side, and paradises which will satisfy them and in which there are unending provisions.

(?), the pleasures and good life? He gives these up for Allah, in return.

When they strive for the religion of Islam to live, such people, in rank and degree, are higher in the sight of Allah. Because these people, although immersed in worldly blessings, by waging jihad with their wealth and lives give up the cravings of the nafs against what their nafs desires — the cravings of the nafs. They submit to Allah's wishes and strive for the religion of Islam to live; that is the kind of people they are. When they are killed waging jihad for Allah, they are honoured with the ranks of martyrdom. Because we have moved away from this feeling and thinking, we live unaware of Islam.

The feelings of the nafs have engulfed our whole self. Our only desire in life is to eat, drink and have intercourse, to enjoy pleasure and the good life.

Those evil ways that would not even occur to Satan — people, with the feelings of their nafs, in a way that degenerates the religion of Islam, walking around stark naked (?): that they do not fear Allah, and the religion of Islam that our ancestors handed over to us for 1400 years, we finished it off in 50–60 years.

Even of the people who speak of Islam, most of them, most of the many people at the head of Islam are either (?) or using religion as a tool to exploit people's consciences — exploiters, and at the same time running after ideology, running after ideology, people who have split their religion into factions and are among the dividers.

Today someone said something like this to me. 'This is the Fethullahçıs' course,' he says. Their tutoring school. 'And this,' he says, 'is a tutoring school we opened for the sake of Allah. They take students for six thousand, seven thousand lira, and we take students for one thousand seven hundred, one thousand eight hundred lira. On top of that, twenty, twenty-two orphans we teach for free,' he says. 'We teach orphans for free. Those people,' he says, 'those who are not of their own, there they do not accept,' he says, 'those who are not of their own.' That's what that person said, wasn't it?

Is that right? You were with him, I suppose. Yes. Now, if he said that, I will read you a verse. My business is with Allah's verses. I don't tell stories.

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim What does it say here: 'Do not be among those who split their religion and become factions.' According to this, did they split into factions? Did they not refuse those not of their own? A Muslim 'not of their own' — what does that mean, what does that mean? 'Each of these boasts about what they have,' it says. Is this (?) being lived today? It is. Is there division (?) among them? I haven't said it until now, but I will now say their names: neither the Süleymancı with the Nurcu, nor the Nurcu with the Fethullahçı, nor the Fethullahçı with the Kaplancı comes together. Just as the Christians split their religion, they separate into factions, into groups.

What is the reason?

They will declare me an enemy, but I never shy away from speaking the truth. The reason is their own worldly interests. Not educating people. And serving dark ambitions. Though they themselves are being used as tools, they don't even know it.

Yes, Islam is not this. Islam is speaking the truth. Allah Almighty says: 'Spread truth and justice where you are.' If there is a Muslim at one end of the world and a Muslim at the other, the two are brothers. Among brothers there is no quarrel of 'you' and 'me'. There is no claim of 'you are of me, I am of you'.

So in this situation, you decide how such people are Muslims. You judge. My evidence is the verses. What is their evidence?

The ideologies of Ahmet and Mehmet, out of the feelings of the nafs.

Yes. See how beautifully Allah Almighty shows us the way here. (?). Why do you, to Allah's verse, to the One who created you, not obey, and instead go after those superstitions, serving dark ambitions — serving the ideologies, as a tool, to their minds; your own mind you let them hold in pledge, and you follow after them.

Yes. And then if you say, 'I serve the religion of Islam', you are not serving the religion of Islam. You are serving for your own worldly interest. The proof is plain to see. If you served the religion of Islam, among your Muslim brothers no distinction would be made. You would take him in too. You would try to educate him too.

They trade with one another. They give advice to one another. What does this mean? What does this mean?

Yes.

These people are, in terms of faith, much closer to Allah Almighty, persons whose degrees in the sight of Allah are much greater. Who are they?

Those who wage jihad with their wealth and their lives. Yes.

And then

it doesn't suit them. It doesn't suit the people I'm talking about. 'This man is sowing discord in the religion.' If I am sowing discord in the religion — not with your words — can you show me a proof? Can you show a verse? Look, I am showing you a verse. My path is the path of Allah. Whose path is your path?

Of ideologies, of those who turn their backs on Allah, who serve dark ambitions, of people on the path of books written that way — don't show me their words. Show me Allah's verse. I am showing you Allah's verse. If you truly love Allah, if you serve for Allah, take your head between your two hands and think a little. Try to see the truth.

'Their Lord gives them glad tidings, with mercy from Himself and good pleasure, of gardens for them with unending blessings in them,' it says. To whom? To such people.

The life of this world is temporary. You are on a journey in this world. On a journey. The swamp of the world looks to you like the beautifully opened flower of the zaqqum tree that grows in the middle of hell. Do you know about its fruit? Allah Almighty describes it.

Whoever eats of its fruit, it says, his intestines come to the point of boiling, as it were. They come to the point of (?). And a heat overcomes him. On top of it, it says, he drinks boiling water. And for him also a mixed water, it says. That too is (?). The world looks rosy to you like this. The attraction of this world pleases your nafs. It follows Satan and the taghut. If you follow the world to satisfy the feelings of your nafs, you load your world on yourself, become the porter of the world, your hereafter you come to (?).

Yes.

So the life of this world is a rare blessing. This life of the world — with nothing can it be compared; this lifetime is that precious. I will tell you with a hadith that it is precious. 'Do not wish for death,' it says. 'To stay one moment in this world is better than lying a thousand years under the ground,' it says.

Why is staying one moment in the world better? Allah willed that His Being be known through man. When that person says 'Allah' once in the world, because it accords with Allah's purpose of creation, it is better than your lying a thousand years under the ground. You cannot compare this with any value.

So, 'their Lord gives them glad tidings, with mercy and good pleasure from Himself, of gardens in which, for them, there are unending blessings.'

Well, if you are deceived by this temporary worldly life and follow it, and tomorrow turn the eternal abode of bliss into a dungeon, will you have done something wise? Yes.

There's the adhan here. There's the adhan in Ankara. The night prayer.

People who believed in Allah, did not leave Allah's path and did not go beyond what Allah says; those who do not exchange the hereafter for the temporary benefits of this world, who for Allah every kind of hardship endure, who emigrate if necessary and wage jihad if necessary — holding great ranks in the sight of Allah, they are granted Allah's glad tidings of paradise.

Allah Almighty, for these people — in the unseen world, that is, in this world where our Lord is not seen — for what they have done out of devotion to Him, their good and beautiful deeds, since Allah is generous and has need of nothing, in return for the good these people have done, just as He multiplies their rewards many times over, He also from Himself, to such people, grants favours, and these people are rewarded. What does Allah Almighty say in a verse too: 'You will be treated according to the best deed you did in the world, with the best of it, and there are also rewards (?) given to you in the sight of Allah,' it says. Whatever they are, then, whatever rewards they are. Yes, the temporary world.

We are all Allah's servants. We have been created by our Lord. There is no distinction or discrimination among people. We are brothers. We are people created by the same Lord. In that case, whoever turns his back on his Creator, if he turns it, as Allah Almighty has commanded: 'they are not of you' — saying so, to those who go against Allah's command, we too presumably, yes