An-Nisa 77: Have you not seen those who were told to restrain their hands (from fighting), to establish the prayer, and to pay Zakah (obligatory alm)? After this, when fighting became obligatory upon them, they started fearing people as they fear Allah, and feared them even more and said; “Oh Our Lord! Why did You prescribe fighting for us? Could You not have delayed fighting for some time?”, Tell them; “The enjoyment of this world is little; for those who fear Allah, the Hereafter is better, and you will not be wronged even by a thread.”

Verse 77 of Surah An-Nisa is where we left off. (?) our daughter says so. Sir, Surah An-Nisa, it says, verse 77. In the verse. Allah Almighty:

Have you not seen those to whom it was said 'Hold back your hands from fighting, perform the prayer and give the zakat'?

Then, when fighting was prescribed for them, a group of them at once began to fear — as one fears Allah, our Lord Allah, it says, or even with greater fear — they began to fear people, and said 'Our Lord, why have You prescribed fighting for us? If only You had postponed it for us a little while, postponed it, and not prescribed fighting for a while longer — would that not be possible? Would it not have been possible?' they said. Say to them: the benefit of this world is insignificant. For those who fear Allah, the Hereafter is better, and you will not be wronged by even a hair's breadth.

The Prophet came from Mecca the Honoured to Medina the Radiant. That is, he emigrated.

We call them the Muhajirun: those who emigrated from Mecca the Honoured to Medina the Radiant, leaving the persecution and hardship of the polytheists of Mecca — we do not say fleeing, we say leaving —

the Ansar of Medina the Radiant, who opened their arms to them, as we call them, those people; they come as guests to the Ansar. Those people share their homes and food with them. They become brothers, they embrace.

After a while the polytheists of Mecca plunder their belongings and stone their houses. The hypocrites, in order to (?) them: 'They have destroyed your houses, your (?). They have taken your belongings to the market, they are selling them. Why are you staying here?' When this was said, those (?), the Muhajirun, said to the Prophet (peace be upon him): 'O Messenger of Allah, when will war break out? When will our Lord give the command to fight?' They said. 'Let us fight them,' they said. So when Allah Almighty sent the verse: you fight, fight against injustice, fight those who fight you — some of those people were seized by this kind of feeling.

So Allah Almighty sends the verse to prevent those feelings of theirs.

What does it say? Have you not seen those to whom it was said 'Hold back your hands from fighting, perform the prayer and give the zakat'? Then, when fighting was prescribed for them, a group of them at once, as one fears Allah, or even with greater fear, began to fear people. They began to fear people and said 'Our Lord, why have You prescribed fighting for us? If only You had postponed it for us a little while and not prescribed fighting for a while longer — would that not have been possible?' they said. Say to them: the benefit of this world is insignificant. For those who fear Allah, the Hereafter is better, and you will not be wronged by even a hair's breadth. Yes.

Although some people wanted jihad, when the verse of jihad came, they shrank from fighting and did not want to make jihad, and upon this the verse was sent. So that the verses are better understood, Allah Almighty creates events and in response to these events sends His verse.

Yes.

In fact, although these verses that were sent seem to be addressed to the noble Companions, they are general. They include all people who will come until the Day of Judgement. We said it in our earlier lessons, and when the time comes (?) we will say it again. The verses address the past, the present and the future. Yes.

Allah Almighty is calling out to the people who will come until the Day of Judgement. People who are Muslim cannot bear injustice. Against the persecution and hardship done to them, they say: if this state goes to war, we will fight. But when such an event befalls people, they begin to speak against the state. Saying 'was this the time, or couldn't we have got through these events', out of fear for their lives, out of fear that their property would slip from their hands. At the same time, out of fear of losing their comfort and pleasure, thinking they will be exposed to hardships and falling into distress, even to Allah Almighty: why did You create these people like this?

That is, why did You create them so that they would fight one another? Couldn't You have made them better, brothers to one another? — with words like these. Sir, saying 'why did You prescribe this war for us', they may fall into rebellion and unbelief. So to prevent this rebellion of theirs, Allah Almighty says in His verse the following. Say to these people: the goods of this world are insignificant. Why insignificant? Because, as we said in our earlier lesson, we are travellers in this world. There is no one who can take even an atom from this world to the Hereafter. This is not possible.

The inheritance of the heavens and the earth belongs to Allah. Every soul shall taste death, it says. The inheritance of the heavens and the earth will remain with Allah. The reason: Allah created everything; everything from the atom to the globe belongs to Allah, and since we are guests in this world, we are fed by being hosted by the master of the house. We are fed with the hospitality of the master of the house. In this case, the master's hospitality to us, and the places to sleep, food, drink, clothing and shelter that the master of the house has given us, belong to the master of the house, not to us. And in this world too we are in such a guesthouse.

From the atom to the globe — even this body of flesh and bone of ours that we appear in, even our body — knowing that it is a trust to us from our Lord, if we turn to our Lord with all our heart in that way, (?) the world of the Hereafter is, compared to this world, more beautiful; in the end it is the most beautiful. Yes. For those who fear Allah, the Hereafter is better. And you will not be wronged by even a hair's breadth. Moreover, since He has tied it to intentions, that is, to the intention of the deed, Allah Almighty gives one to three, five, seven, a hundred, seventy, seven hundred. This is generosity. Just keep your intention (?) toward your Lord.

Yes. There, no one is wronged. For a sin you have committed, you receive one sin. For a good deed you have done, you receive perhaps three, five, seventy, a hundred, seven hundred rewards. This is our Lord's gift to people. So in this situation Allah Almighty says in His verse: today. That is, on that Day of Judgement, when the Supreme Court is set up, on that day everyone is given in full the recompense of what he earned, of his own (?). Today no one will be wronged at all, it says. Everyone will be given what he has earned. Yes. Since Allah Almighty does not deem man worthy of these passing worldly goods, He wants to invite them to the eternal bliss of the world of the Hereafter and to bestow favours and generosity upon them.

Allah Almighty loves man very much. In this case Allah Almighty tells people how beautiful the abode of the Hereafter is, and to those who are devoted to their Lord, Allah Almighty promises that He will give the gardens of Paradise, the abode of eternal bliss. For this, by creating events in this world that look like calamities to people, Allah, the Possessor of wisdom, has actually created them for our benefit. That is, because He loves us very much, when in battles we give our lives for our Lord, we enter the class of the living. Do not call them dead. They are given provision in ways you do not know.

According to the verse, look where events that seem like a calamity in this world through death are turned. Yes. But people cannot understand these wisdoms. In this respect Allah commands people to patience and to obedience and worship to His Being.

Yes, Allah Almighty wants obedience and worship to be rendered to His Being by people. The goods of this world are insignificant compared to the world of the Hereafter. Allah Almighty declares to people that for those who do not fear people but fear Allah, the world of the Hereafter is better. Allah Almighty, in His attribute as the Judge of judges, makes known that He will not let people be wronged by even (?), and that every soul will surely receive the recompense of what it has earned. Allah Almighty is the Judge of judges.

In this case, Allah Almighty — for the mistakes His servants have made, or for the rebellions they committed in (?) of ignorance — when a person turns to Allah Almighty and repents from the heart, with a sincere heart, Allah Almighty changes even those sins of theirs into good deeds. In the hadith of the Messenger of Allah: even if your sins reached the clouds in the sky, when you repent with a sincere heart, Allah, it says, changes those sins of yours into good deeds. Yes. Abundant in forgiveness, abundant in pardon, abundant in mercy — we are the servants of such a sovereign.

Just think: such a Creator — God forbid — if we were (?). What would we do?

Perhaps for our pleasure we would hurt many people. Perhaps for our pleasure — just as people hold bullfights, just as people (?), make one another kill each other — who knows what we would have them do. But our Lord is such a Lord that He loves people so much that He does not want even the slightest persecution or hardship to touch them. But that sovereign, abundant in giving, is such a possessor of justice that (?) He does not hold the one who knows and the one who does not equal. He does not hold the one who worships and the one who does not equal. He does not hold the one who knows his Lord and the one who does not equal.

Yes.