An-Nisa 173: For those who believe and do righteous deeds, Allah will give their rewards fully and Allah will grant more (rewards) from Allah’s blessing. Those who turn away from being Allah’s servants and are arrogant, Allah will punish them severely. They will not be able to find a friend or helper other than Allah.

Verse 173.

To those who believe and do good deeds Allah will give their rewards in full, and there is more besides. There is more. And He will grant them even more out of His grace. See, He will also grant out of His grace. Why? We said that before reading the rest of the verse. Because for the good deed you have done, one against three, five, seven, seventy, seven hundred — Allah Almighty increases it. (?) That is the 'more' as well. Now what does it say? To those who believe and do good deeds Allah will give their rewards in full, and to them He will grant even more out of His grace. As for those who turn away from His servitude and are arrogant, He will punish them painfully.

May Allah protect us. By 'painfully' He means their burning in Hell, the torments they will suffer, the torments their bodies will suffer in pain. They will find for themselves, besides Allah, neither a friend nor a helper. Besides Allah there is neither a helper nor a friend. Yes.

Those who believe in Allah and His Messenger, and who do good deeds — people who believe in the face of Allah's commands, are afraid of doing evil. They know that the evil they would do earns them sin, and if they go before their Lord with that burden of sin, they also know they will enter Hell, the abode of punishment. For this reason they refrain from sin. They avoid it. That is, they avoid evil and situations in which they would sin. These are the ones who believe in Allah and His Messenger and do good deeds. Those who prevent strife, who help people, who (?) the right, who can protect from evils like drink, gambling and adultery both themselves and others, who prevent oppression, who keep Allah's commands for Allah's sake, who protect their families and raise them well — just as Allah gives them their rewards in full, He will also give them rewards from Himself besides.

Reward. Who could be as true to his word as Allah? The reward Allah gives is not like the rewards of this world. Those in this world are passing. But the reward of the eternal abode of bliss in the hereafter — a person's (?), attaining mansions and palaces, young (?) going around them, and serving them, every wish being fulfilled — what a beautiful reward this is. Yes.

As for those who turn away from His servitude and are arrogant, He will painfully punish them. Allah Almighty. May Allah protect us. The owner of the universe, who created all that exists from atom to globe and knows their states, who has absolute power — against Allah, man falls into pride and arrogance. He does not bow to Him, does not acknowledge Him as Lord, yet eats and drinks what Allah gives. If he is not grateful, Allah will, in the hereafter, punish such people painfully. Painful. That is, burning him in fire. A painful punishment.

When they eat of the fruit of the zaqqum tree, its fruit is such that it shreds people's bowels, it says. In a way that the stomach pain is unbearable. And it is such, it says, that it will boil a person's bowels. In this state a person will become thirsty, and that hot boiling water (?) he will drink. May Allah protect us. Isn't this a painful punishment? For the human body. May Allah protect us from such a punishment.

The owner of the universe, who created all that exists from atom to globe and knows their states, who has absolute power — against Allah, man falls into pride and arrogance, does not bow to Him, does not acknowledge Him as Lord, eats and drinks what Allah gives, and if he is not grateful — and ungrateful people are ungrateful. Allah Almighty says: would We ever diminish the wealth of one who gives thanks? Just be grateful to Allah. Abraham, too, remembered his Lord much. He thanked Allah greatly. 'O my Lord,' he says one day, as his flock grows, the flock grows very large. 'I cannot escape the burden of responsibility for these,' he says.

'Take them from me,' he says. That is, 'reduce the flock,' he says. Reduce the flock. And Allah Almighty says: whenever you are ungrateful for what you eat and drink, if you do not give thanks, then I will take it from you. 'Oh my God, I cannot do that,' he says. I cannot do that. So that is one report; this is the report. Again, in answer to Abraham's prayer, Allah Almighty creates the wolf, and the wolf decimates the flock. Yes. That is why we will always give thanks to Allah. This is gratitude.

They will find for themselves, besides Allah, neither a friend nor a helper. Why? They cannot find one. Because in the hereafter, for the people from whom Allah Almighty has lifted His mercy, no one will intercede.

For them there is being left alone there. So what is being alone? Allah Almighty has cut off His mercy from him. His Lord, his owner, no longer stands up for him. Isn't he alone? Yes. When a person is left in every kind of torment and (?), his owner comes to his aid, doesn't he? If someone sends me somewhere and they block my way, seize me or try to beat me, the person who sent me there immediately stands up for me. 'Hey friend, stop right there, he's my man.' 'What are you doing? Why are you beating him?' He sends his men and rescues me. He rescues me. But if I turn away from the one who sent me there and try to turn things to my own advantage, he says to you, 'Serves you right. Serves you right — would you do such trickery (?)' — he leaves you alone there.

So in the hereafter too, our Lord who created us — against Him there, those who opposed Him in the world, when His mercy is lifted from them there in the hereafter, they will be left alone. The angels of Hell, for them, for punishment created — when these angels punish them, their owner will not stand up for them. They will (?) cruelty upon cruelty, pain upon pain. As we said in our earlier lesson, people tell the story that when bad men were caught, they would ask him: forty mules or forty cleavers? Yes.

What are we saying? Besides Allah, neither a friend nor a helper will they find for themselves. Allah is the guarantor of all His creatures and their provision.

Allah Almighty guarantees the provision of all His creatures. El rızkı Teala Allah. He does not leave what He created without provision. 'What are you saying, Hodja? Don't you see it today in Africa, in Somalia? Their skin clings to their bones.'

Yes. Within their destinies, through events that take place before people's eyes, people are tested by one another. They are tested by one another. Sometimes with want, sometimes with hunger, sometimes with scarcity, sometimes with plenty. This is their destiny, within the covenants those people gave to their Lord. If you go further, you would be meddling with destiny — may Allah protect us. Beyond that belongs to our Lord. You cannot enter into destiny. But we are tested by one another. Yes.

In the material world, throughout their lives, to everyone — whether they know Allah or not, deny Him or not — so that they take themselves as witness to themselves and to Allah, He gives them their provision. Because He will keep them alive. He will keep them alive within that provision. That person will prove in his dealings what kind of person he is. 'Did you think you would die without proving what kind of person you are?' — make this verse always an earring in your ear. Yes, in your dealings, in your trade, in your speech, in your conduct and actions, let the verse 'Did you think you would die without proving what kind of person you are' come to your mind.

And may this verse always whisper in your ear.

If this verse whispers in your ear, then in your speech, your actions, your dealings, your trade, you will always be measured. Measured.

Since there is no other god besides Allah, at the end of their lives, when they are called to account before Allah Almighty in the hereafter, they can find for themselves besides Allah neither a friend nor a helper. Because besides Allah, the absolute owner and ruler of the worlds, there is no other god.

In that case, from those who turned away from Allah during worldly life, who did not obey Allah, Allah Almighty cuts off His attribute of mercy in the hereafter, and he remains there forever, (?) helper and friend. What helper, what friend remains? It is over now.

But see: since Allah Almighty does not withhold His mercy from people, again, for those He created there, it says, after they burn for many thousands of years, they no longer feel or taste, it says. That is, He will take away their nerve senses, and as logs of Hell they will remain there forever.

Yes.

May Allah protect us all from opposing Allah like this, from stepping outside His command. What is meant by friend and helper is the one who removes people's troubles, who in hard times helps them and brings them to safety. Since all beings are in need of Allah, in the hereafter all created beings will receive help from Allah. Created beings, from Allah. But to those who turned their backs on Allah in worldly life, in the hereafter Allah will not look at them. They will have neither a friend nor a helper who can remove their troubles. What is their trouble? Entering Hell. And what is in Hell? A great punishment, and remaining in that punishment forever.

These will remain in the eternal torment of eternal life. Once Allah has lifted His attribute of mercy from them, they will be able to find neither a friend nor a helper. As we said above, who is a friend? If he is my friend, when I suffer a loss, when I get into a dead end, my friend lends me a hand. 'You were my friend. Here, take this.' 'How much did you lose?' 'This much.' 'This is as much as I can do for you.' 'Take it. Try to make good your loss again.' Or my foot is twisted. I cannot walk. I turn to my friend right away. He comes and puts me in a car. Takes me to the hospital. Has me treated.

He does not leave my side. A friend? A helper. But Allah resembles neither such a friend nor such a helper. That is a comparison here. He is the owner of us all. Far more than people stand up for people, Allah Almighty stands up for His creatures. So if we turn our backs on such a Lord, if in our own helplessness we fall into pride and arrogance, and Allah Almighty on that Day of Reckoning lifts His attribute of mercy from us, then there we are left alone forever. May Allah protect us.