An-Nisa 175: For those who believe in Allah and embrace Allah firmly, Allah will give them the ocean of forgiveness and blessing, and Allah will guide them to a path that leads closer to Allah.

To verse 175 of Surah An-Nisa we have come.

As for those who believe in Allah and hold fast to Him, Allah will immerse them, with mercy from Himself, in an ocean of grace and will lead them on a straight path to Himself. On a straight path to Himself. Whoever believes in Allah and holds fast to Him — what does holding fast mean? 'Hold on to the rope of Allah,' it says.

Hold on to Allah's rope. But some people who do not know themselves stretched a rope across the road. This happened in Istanbul, in Karnıca. 'This is Allah's rope, hold on to it' — everyone held on to that rope.

Yes. That is, out of the Muslims' faith, but out of the ignorance of that poor man who leads them, Islam became decked with superstitions.

Yes. Those who knew and those who did not gave fatwas as they saw fit. As they saw fit.

As we always say, someone said: a person who runs every matter by his own reason is like a legless man wearing an artificial leg. What he did yesterday, he says, he tries to change today. So those who think themselves hodjas, who around themselves gather people, and who see (?) and think it a beam — such people, steering people with superstitions as they please — when they set about it, our religion came to this state.

Man has wronged his own self. Man. Because a person must not talk about what he does not know.

But look at our times.

In our times people, on verses they have no knowledge of, as they please, give fatwas to suit themselves, their own interests. Fatwas. In this way they have degenerated the religion. But will Allah Almighty not ask them about this? He will. Yes.

That is why, if a person fears Allah, he does not speak on a subject he does not know.

The number of people who, putting two words side by side, speak with words that do not agree with each other grew and grew. And so people drifted away from religion. Instead of (?), saying 'the verse says this' — instead of the false, wrong words he says, if a person said two words that would make Allah and His Messenger beloved, believe me, he would attain Allah's mercy. Yes. But where are such people? Those who even bend the verses toward their own interests and exploit people's consciences.

So these people this world, just like a non-Muslim living it, seeing it in (?), its pleasures and delights enjoying, exploiting people's consciences, thinking they are living — poor people preparing their own ruin. Yes. In verse 175 of Surah An-Nisa: As for those who believe in Allah and hold fast to Him, Allah will immerse them, with mercy from Himself, in an ocean of grace, and will lead them on a straight path to Himself.

Whoever holds fast to Allah's religion. What does this holding fast mean? First, Allah Almighty says: enter the religion. How will you enter the religion? Eşhedü en lâ ilâhe illallah ve eşhedü enne Muhammeden abdühû ve resûlüh. I have entered the religion. But I will profess it with the tongue and affirm it with my heart. I will affirm it. 'But Hodja, did we see Allah, then, that I say I bear witness that there is no god but Allah?' we say. 'Aren't we then telling a lie?' 'Isn't Allah Almighty making us tell a lie?' What did we say? Eşhedü en lâ ilâhe illallah — I bear witness that there is no god but Allah.

How would I know? And eşhedü enne Muhammeden abdühü ve resulühü — again I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger, we say. And didn't Allah Almighty send this verse: 'We sent you to an unseen world so that you believe in the unseen.' Belief in the unseen, according to this verse. Plus, in the address 'Elestü bi-Rabbiküm', when He said, 'I am your Lord', we saw Allah Almighty's very Self. Allah does not make us bear witness to something we have not seen. We saw. And the Prophet beside Him, His servant and messenger. That servant and messenger of His, Muhammad (peace be upon him), before all people, a father, an elder — all spirits come from him anyway — says 'Yes, this is our Lord,' giving support. Support.

Now, in this light, the call to prayer, too, proves this. When the call to prayer is recited, I always remember that Elestü bi-Rabbiküm. While the call to prayer is recited. What does it say? Allahu Ekber, Allahu Ekber. Allah is great. Yes, of course. There is none great but Him.

Eşhedü en lâ ilâhe illallah. I bear witness that there is no god but Him. Eşhedü enne Muhammeden Resûlullah. And again I bear witness that he is His servant and messenger. Yes, he too, beside Him, saying 'our Lord', gives support. Hayye ale's-salâh — so, it says, come to your Lord's command, to His worship. Hayye ale'l-felâh — so worship Him and find salvation, it says. Salvation. Look at the call to prayer — I always remember that place when it is recited. (?) again Allahu Ekber, Allahu Ekber, Allah (?), it says; la ilahe illallah — there is no god but Him. That world always comes before my eyes.

The call to prayer is not empty. It too is a testimony. So He sent you to the world of the unseen. Now He has you bear witness to that unseen. In fact, you saw. When your soul reaches your throat, those worlds will appear to you. All the worlds in which you made a covenant with Allah Almighty will spread before your eyes. But after the door of repentance has closed. When he says, 'Send me back once more, my God, I will worship You' — since your character will not change, even if We sent you back not once but several times, you would do the same thing again, says Allah Almighty. Yes. That is why a person, as we always say, must treasure his life in this world.

Those who believe in Allah and hold fast to Him. This is how you will hold fast. Like this, you will say there is no god but Allah. You will say Allah's commands are the crown on my head. You will give your heart to your Lord. You will not fall short in your prayer, your fasting, your zakat, your hajj. If you have money, of course, you will go on hajj and give your zakat. Otherwise, your Lord (?) lifts it from you. Yes. So our Lord does not intend injustice toward us. Then, then, things that harm us — drink, gambling, adultery, interest — do not get involved with them, it says, do not go near them; the forbidden, never touch it, it says, the forbidden.

Compete with one another in doing good to people. Earn lawfully, feed lawfully. And could there be a greater happiness for a person than this? Could there be a greater honour for a person than this? He created man honoured. No one — as long as that person does not drink, does not gamble, does not commit adultery, does not get involved with interest, as long as he earns lawfully and turns to piety, as long as he masters his own self — to this person no one can say 'you have an eye above your brow', no one. No one can. Because that person is honourable. He has found dignity with Allah. All honour and dignity belong to Allah, it says, doesn't it?

Isn't Allah Almighty showing us the way with His verse? If honour and dignity are with Allah, and you obey His command in this way, won't you too become a possessor of honour and dignity?

Yes. So you must hold fast to Allah's religion like this, so that you gain dignity and honour.

As for those who believe and hold fast to Him, Allah will immerse them, with mercy from Himself, in an ocean of grace. Of course, as long as a person carries out His command in this way, the Lord to him says, 'Lebbeyk, My servant' — lebbeyk, you speak, He says, speak, command, you command. Allah says this. Yes. You — if you draw near to Him, He draws much nearer to you. And He will lead them on a straight path to Himself, and to him, to Himself a straight path — as long as by such conduct he struggles with his nafs, his Lord, opening up the inner worlds to him by unveiling, will show him the meaning of some Quranic verses, and perhaps to him He will manifest Himself with His very Self. That person, just as a magnet's filings are caught in its pull, will be drawn toward Allah Almighty.

These are things that are lived.

Otherwise, what is perfect does not come into words.

Whoever holds fast to Allah's religion, Allah opens for him from Himself the doors of the spiritual world — He opens them. See how beautiful. These are the things lived. This cannot be done by telling. But what is the beginning? Turning to the religion, holding fast. When a person wants to draw near to Allah, does Allah move away from that person? Could such a thing ever happen? Allah will say 'come to Me', and when a person turns to Him, Allah will move away from him? Is that possible? What's more, as long as a person draws near to Him, Allah Almighty will increase his longing and, with much greater openness of unveiling, will show him the worlds of meaning.

Then the person's heart will beat as a bird's heart beats. It will fly like a bird. Yes. His heart will celebrate. Celebrate.

Allah in return for the worship a person performs, teaches him what he does not know and, as far as He permits, shows him as much of the existence of the hereafter as he can bear — we said. These are the counterparts of the verses — words that are inner, that are Sufism.

What it calls a mercy from Himself and an ocean of grace: while a person lives in the material world, Allah Almighty, by showing him the worlds of truth, keeps him on a straight path to Himself. We said He will open his unveiling. He will show spiritual worlds.

As he draws near to Allah, as that servant draws near to Allah, Allah Almighty will show him the ways of the inner worlds. He will show the life of the inner worlds. He will show the counterparts of the verses. Yes. So He will set him on a straight path to Himself. Because that person, in the longing of the worlds he beholds and on Allah's path, remains bound from then on. When he sees them, that person remains bound. 'But Hodja, then what will we do about this world?' If you say that — that person, once he is governed by the truths, carries both this world and the next, the hereafter. Yes. They have now been stripped of superstitions.

Superstition does not easily get through to them. Allah Almighty (?) His light into their hearts. Neither the shadow of the East nor of the West falls on that light. That is, neither the words of outward knowledge affect him nor false words. He is now a light above them all.

And in the hereafter, too, Allah Almighty, with abundant gifts and bounty from His Self, immerses him in the ocean of mercy. That is, He places him among His righteous servants and says: for you, take the gardens beneath which rivers flow, gardens around you, rare ones, whom no human face has seen; ghilman; whom jinn have not touched, it says. Ghilman are servants around you offer you cups. As you drink from those cups — not like the cups of this world — it does not make a person drunk. It gives a person peace, and the more you drink from that cup, the more your longing grows — your longing for your Lord grows. As longing grows, your peace grows.

With that peace, your Lord pleased with you and you pleased with your Lord, you live an eternal abode of bliss.

Yes. So the life a person could not even imagine while in the material world, at the end of his life, in the hereafter, by being granted Allah's grace, he attains. By being granted Allah's grace.