An-Nisa 146: However, those who repent and straighten their behavior and embrace Allah firmly and dedicate their religion sincerely to Allah are different. Those are with the believers (mu’min). And soon, Allah will give a great reward to the believers (mu’min).

They know that it is like (?). Look, we use it in a figurative sense. A bridge. If you fall from this bridge, (?) to Hell. Those who say: there is the Sirat bridge. In fact there is no such bridge. Now, what's the situation? In roughly twenty-five, thirty verses, even more, we have extracted the verses showing there is no such bridge. We're writing a translation, you know, (?) from the beginning. We will read these to you together with the surahs. In the light of these 25-30, perhaps more, verses. Will they be able to show me a single verse that the Sirat bridge exists?

Words used in a figurative sense sometimes live on like this as superstitions in religion. But to reason, like a proverb, it's a nice thing. I mean, they frighten people. But instead of frightening with such superstitions, it would be better if they told the truth.

Allah Almighty says: We will receive the believers with a smiling face. Well now, these make the believers cross over Hell with sledgehammers, hooks, maces. Where is the smiling face in that?

It's something astonishing. We will show you the verses, inshallah. Yes.

Those who, for show and in return for some benefit, do not perform worship — who expect their reward only from Allah — such people are with the believers. They join the ranks of those who attain salvation. The believers know that this world serves like a bridge crossing to the hereafter. That's why, in this world, with deeds of the nafs, they do not waste their lives in vain. What does the human nafs not want? What is the human nafs like? Think of a flood disaster. It happened in Japan, you know, the tsunami wave. Whatever was in its way it swept away, the ships. It is (?) wilder than that, too.

Think of a fire disaster. You know, forests burn and they can't stop it. Even wilder than this. Think of an earthquake disaster. An earthquake disaster that shakes all buildings from their place and sinks them into the ground. Even worse than that. But man has such a will that he will master his nafs. Within these desires and wishes, if against this nafs that pushes you not to fulfill anything Allah Almighty wants, you wage jihad, you will join Allah's beloved servants. Jihad against the nafs. Yes. From evil, from adultery, from gambling, from alcohol, from that swamp life that looks beautiful, from every kind of carnal whim, if you protect yourself for Allah's sake, if you make Allah's verses a shield against that nafs, you turn your back on its desires and wishes.

If you live in peace within your Lord's commands, you will be blessed with your Lord's light. Allah puts His light in your heart. That light gives you zeal. It opens your inner sight. And Allah, who created you, gives you life through inspiration. If you strive for your Lord, will Allah leave you alone? Do you think He is indifferent? Your Lord. Yes.

That's why one must be wise. I say again: we will always put our reason to work.

Yes. They know that their time is very precious. I mean, they know that life is very precious. Why? Do not wish for death, says the Prophet in his hadiths. To stay in the world for a moment is better than lying under the ground for a thousand years, he says. If I stay in the world for a moment and in that moment say Allah, Allah — I fit the purpose for which Allah Almighty creates, and in that respect, since Allah created me so that His essence would be known, I, as a human by my creation, so that my Lord's essence be known, fitting the purpose for which He created — when I say Allah, He says to me: Here I am, My servant.

O My servant, you speak, command, what do you want? Allah, Allah. So they know that this time is precious. With every breath, with the word Allah, or remembering their Lord inwardly, neither buying nor trade (?) them from My remembrance — according to the verse in which He says this, if one is with one's Lord, they regard these times as a prize and want to spend every moment remembering their Lord. In a verse Allah Almighty says this:

Those of Mine who, from remembering Me, cannot pray for themselves, He says. Who cannot pray. We answer him as if he had prayed in the best way, He says. Imagine. In the best way. This is what must be lived.

One must stay away from idle talk.

These are all, as ways of life, in people's lifetimes the stages they go through. And what does Allah Almighty say? We will judge Our servants by the best of the deeds they did in the world, He says. Yes.

The believers know that this world serves like a bridge crossing to the hereafter. That's why they do not waste their lives in vain in this world with deeds of the nafs. They know that their time is very precious. All of these correspond to verses.

These. If a sultan, inviting (?), inviting his people, opened the treasury door to the invited and to those who wish granted the right to take from the treasury as much as they wish, which of us would not go to that treasury and load up worldly goods we could not even carry, I say. Which of us would not take our sacks, our carts to the treasury that sultan opened, and set about loading that treasure which we truly could not lift, could not carry away — which of us wouldn't? Yes, do you know what we resemble? Those who don't use their reason, who live in their worldly lives — we resemble such people. But those who don't use their reason.

You're traveling on a ship, in the middle of the ocean, and on the ship there are all kinds of jewels.

The waves begin to come one after another like mountains, the ship sinks. You are on the water with a life jacket. So that the jewels on the ship don't sink, they have been tied to life preservers. They float on the sea. Instead of saving your life, you go after the jewels. First save your life. This world, under the waves of such a wild ocean, is a piece of ground able to drown a person — such a piece. In this swamp, in this sunken world, instead of saving your life, instead of being a servant to your Lord, for a few hours of temporary life, at the blessings of the world you lunge. Now is this the work of reason? Did you use your reason?

Well, Hodja, shouldn't we work for the world? Look what Allah Almighty says: approach your world as needed, and build up your world too, He says. He does not always just invite you to Himself, but while doing that, while using the world, do not forget Me, He says. I suppose it is understood; to the wise no explanation is needed. Yes. Since we value temporary worldly blessings so much, Allah Almighty, the Sultan of sultans, within people's lifetimes, by opening the treasuries of the gates of mercy, offers people the endless blessings of the hereafter.

And sadly, people, faced with the truth, do not see this treasure and toward it behave indifferently. The believers know the value of this treasure. Every moment, everywhere, they are with Allah, remember Allah, and, not wishing to depart even a hair's breadth from His command, Allah's treasury of mercy (?), they want to attain the blessings of the hereafter. The sins people commit through heedlessness or without knowing are the human attributes of people. They will do these. If you had committed no faults at all, We would destroy you and create servants who commit faults, He says. That is why Allah Almighty created our reason incomplete, so that we make mistakes, and because of the mistakes we make, know our helplessness, and because of our helplessness, take refuge in Allah's mercy (?).

Why is it like this? As I said (?), because He gave from His spirit, because close to His essence He created us.

So that we know our helplessness before Him. Yes.

If a person had not been created incomplete and had not made these mistakes, he would be a being equal to Allah. God forbid — Allah has not created a being equal to His essence.

Now you'll say: Hodja, the words don't match. No, they do. An equal being means equal. Being able to do what He does. Being a partner to Him. That is, judging by His knowledge, having the power to create. Is it an equal being? Or is resemblance beneficial? Yes. Therefore there is no one among the created who is not, toward Allah, found in fault and in (?). But when these people realize the mistakes they made, feeling shame before their Lord, in tears seeking repentance and forgiveness for their mistakes, Allah Almighty accepts their repentance and grants them His pardon and forgiveness. Why? He accepts their repentance.

Because He had created them incomplete. He was going to commit faults. He would know his helplessness. That was Allah Almighty's will. To the people who fulfill that will, Allah Almighty too would keep His covenant. He would forgive them. Look how beautiful (?). Yes. These were the believers, and they have Allah's promise. And Allah Almighty promises — look — and Allah will soon give the believers a great reward, He says; His promise is soon. Allah created the time of the material world, compared to the time of the hereafter, as a very quickly passing time.

Therefore a human lifetime lived in the material world equals a time of about 1-2 hours. That's why Allah uses 'soon' in His verse to give the believers the good news of His promise of great rewards. He gives the good news of His promise of great rewards. What is this great reward? The reward is from Allah. It is lasting and permanent. It is not like the reward of this world. These, in Allah's sight, (?) are those who win the victory and the people of Paradise. We say of those who win that Paradise: they won the victory. A great victory. Yes.