An-Nisa 31: If you abstain from the major sins that you have been forbidden to commit, We will cover your minor sins and admit you to a dignified place.

Surah An-Nisa, verse 31: If you avoid the major sins you are forbidden, We will cover your minor sins and admit you to an honorable place, says Allah Almighty.

Now you cannot say this is a minor sin, that is a major sin. I mean, saying this one is a minor sin, that one is a major sin. But some of the major sins, as far as we know: committing fornication, sinking into habits like gambling and drink, getting mixed up in an evil like interest; these are major sins. But if you regard minor sins as small and keep on doing them, you will pass on to the major sins too. In this respect, the major ones are hidden in the minor and the minor in the major, among sins. What this means: strive not to do any of them. Strive not to do any of those sins. Things like these: in fact, when the major sins are avoided, for example when evils like drink, gambling, fornication, interest are avoided, the others slowly disappear by themselves.

For example, one of the major sins is swindling people, seizing their money, their property, their possessions; this is also a major sin. Perhaps from drink, gambling, fornication, let me say, you repent and ask forgiveness, repent and ask forgiveness, and if you are purified, if you are purified, my Lord cleanses you; but if you take someone's rights and claims for yourself, you are obliged to obtain that person's forgiveness. That is why, if we set out to label this as minor, that as major, we are mistaken. In Islam we both corrupt our own religion and become oppressors against our own nafs. In this situation one must avoid all sins in the best way.

When He says, We will cover those minor sins for you: the small sins, knowingly or unknowingly, that a person commits through error, Allah Almighty already knows when He feels the sorrow in your heart. You sink into a sorrow. Well, you repent and ask forgiveness. He forgives you that at once. Where does He forgive? Where? Even if you do not repent of it. For example, together with that sorrow. When you (?) a prayer time, the noble angels take the sins on your left shoulder. After the prayer is performed, after the prayer is performed, the noble angels say to our Lord, shall I put his sins back on his shoulder?

And Allah Almighty says: erase the minor sins he committed between those two prayers, put the others back. This is what He means by, We forgive you these minor sins. Yes. If a person fears Allah, makes what Allah Almighty has forbidden unlawful for his own nafs and avoids it, Allah places His light in the hearts of such people. Surah An-Nur, verse 35: Allah is the illuminator of the heavens and the earth. The description of His light in the believer's heart is as if there were a lamp in a niche. The lamp is inside a glass enclosure. That glass enclosure is like a shining pearl-like star. This lamp, from a blessed olive tree on which no shadow falls at the sun's rising and setting, is as if lit. This is such a pure oil that, almost, even if fire did not touch it, it would give light.

This is light upon light. Light upon light.

Allah brings whom He wills to His light. Allah gives people such parables. Allah knows everything. Now, we will open up this verse too when its time comes, but let us touch on it here. Let us open up the verse in Surah An-Nur a little for you. It should be on page 355, let us have a look. Mu'min, Surah An-Nur, 351. Yes, 35, 353. On the page, Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth, He says.

If we open this up like this: Allah Almighty created the seven layers of heavens. The heavens and the earth. He made the sun, the moon and the earth system satellites of one another, and placed many planets in the heavens too. None of them collides with another, nor do they come closer to or move away from one another. This is Allah Almighty illuminating the universe with His knowledge, I mean giving it life, holding a light to it. They call this a light. Light, illumination.

The likeness of His light is like a niche in which there is a lamp, He says. The likeness of His light. Now, a light. A light, but what kind of light? If a person cleanses his heart of everything other than Allah, I mean cleanses it of evils, in their place Allah Almighty puts into his heart that light He speaks of, that niche with His knowledge. We will call this a niche. How does He describe it? A lamp lit from olive oil, like a lamp burning brightly.

When people advance in spirituality, this is the first light a person will see. If he cannot see this, that person cannot advance in that spirituality. Allah Almighty addresses both the outward and the inward. If He had said to appear in this person, Allah Almighty would have told people something imaginary. There is a glass marble children play with, a marble, inside it there are many colors. It resembles that, but it is not like that. That glass marble, sparkling, constantly able to change color, (?).

Spiritually, a person sees this. Even if it is with (?), even with his eyes closed, even in his waking state, he sees this. In those first moments he reaches it. So: the removal of everything other than Allah from his heart, and Allah Almighty's placing His light there. That light is the forerunner of the inspiration Allah Almighty will give you. Yes. That forerunner. If you cannot find it, you cannot receive that inspiration.

We continue now. That lamp is inside a crystal globe. As I said a moment ago, a glass marble. And that globe is like a star resembling a pearl, which shines sparkling, constantly changing color.

It is lit from a blessed tree attributed neither to the east nor to the west, I mean, from oil that comes from the olive, He says. It is lit (?).

What He calls la sharqiyyatin wa la gharbiyyatin: on east and west no light falls, that is what He says. What does He say? Attributed neither to the east nor to the west, attributed. Now the sun rises from the east; they call the place where the sun rises outward knowledge. The sun sets in the west; they call this false knowledge. You know, I say superstitions; those. So on the talk about the verses that comes out of the mouth of a person who has inward knowledge falls neither the shadow of that outward nor the shadow of that false. Yes, his, I mean, it gives light even if no fire touches it, I mean, that person, if you tie his hands, tie his feet, even silence his mouth, his body will come to the point of speaking, because he is a boiling spring; he is a person who receives inspiration from his Lord. Yes, this too, He says, is light upon light. Of course there will be light upon light; I mean, a person's honorable creation is a light, well, his being a Muslim is a light, and his entering among those Allah Almighty loves and His giving inspiration to his heart is a light. According to this verse, if a person fears Allah, avoids what Allah Almighty has made unlawful and worships and obeys his Lord, does Allah Almighty leave such servants alone? If you say Allah, does Allah leave you alone? Well, Hodja, today many Muslim countries are all Muslim and they say Allah, but they are not freed from oppression.

They are not freed from oppression.

Pay attention. At the head of most Muslim countries there are Freemasons.

When we say a Muslim country, most Muslims are ruled by superstitions. Still, according to their intentions, Allah does not give them a big calamity but has them slapped from right and left. That much. For example, today Allah Almighty, as He says in His verse, We give them two or three calamities a year, does not expose them to such disasters but has them slapped a little here and there. In this situation it becomes the game of non-Islamic centers.

Today, to the person who will use his mind, to those whose eyes see, whose eyes are open, not to the blind, nor to the sightless, not to those whose hearts are closed, nor to those whose ears are deaf; they are like the living dead; to the one whose eyes are a little open, if he looks around like this and uses his mind, he sees what is what. The uprisings that began in Morocco, in Tunisia, to Egypt, from there to Libya, from there to Yemen. Did they keep these waiting for this day? All of them, one a coincidence, two a coincidence, three coincidences. Are all of them happening in the same way?

What is the world after?

The world knows better than you and me. It knows that the end of the world will come. Some are after moving their own places to other places, and in this moving after gaining a foothold in some places. And some are after shelter out of fear for their lives. After shelter.

In our country, in our country, our people are more resolute than other Muslims, more sound-minded people, and those who want to stir up Turkey could not stir it up. But they know that in the future there is an unavoidable war. That in about 15 years there is an unavoidable war, they know. This week too, so that Turkey is left alone, those who see Turkey growing strong, by making other Muslim countries rebel, by fitting in their own men and putting them at their head, are (?) to leave Turkey alone. But the people who think they can bring Turkey, well, into such a state as to deal with it like this.

In this way these games go on. These games go on. That is why we need to be wise. Uprisings breaking out in our country harm us all. All of us. Look, we see those who rebel. What happened. Today the regret of those in Iraq, the regret of those in (?). The enemy leaves you neither chastity nor honor nor dignity. On top of that he makes you like a slave and takes your life too. The fine, fine money you received in your homeland, or the living, well, that sustenance, you will badly miss the good life behind it. In this respect, the Prophet says this so beautifully in his hadith. Even if the commander over you is as small as a raisin stalk, obey him, he says.

If you cannot perform your worship in a homeland, starting an uprising in that homeland is not your business. Nor is it an Islamic duty given to you. Then your Islamic duty is to leave that homeland. What does He say? Then emigrate, He says. Allah's earth is wide, He says. Allah's earth is wide. Emigrate. Look, He does not say (?) in the homeland. Love of the homeland, he says, is from faith. In this situation, if we look at the states around us like this, because our people are superior to other people both culturally and in education, they cannot really meddle here. Except for a few who have sold out.

Except for those who want to deceive the ignorant and draw people toward certain targets with provocations. And their accounts are being closed anyway.

Yes, as long as you say Allah, Allah will not leave you alone. But perhaps we will be exposed to some calamities. Allah Almighty, in His word, since we came to this world for a test, We sometimes test you with your lives, sometimes with your wealth, He says.

Whoever draws near to Allah, Allah draws nearer to him than the servant who draws near to Him; whoever comes to Me walking, I go running, He says. Whoever remembers Me within himself, I remember him in such a company, He says, a company better than his. What is this better company? Those who remember Allah, who gather as a congregation and remember their Lord: Allah Almighty asks the angels, the angels, to bear witness. Do you see, He says. Look at My servants, He shows them to them. Not to bear witness, rather He shows them. Look, do you see My servants? Have they seen Me? He says. No, my Allah, they have not seen.

Look how they understand Me though they have not seen Me. Well, have they seen Me that they remember Me? No, they have not seen, my Allah. Look, well, how do they remember Me without seeing Me? They shine on earth like the stars in the sky. In this situation Allah Almighty sends greetings to that company through the angels. Go and convey My greeting to that company, He says.

Yes. If you lean your back on Allah, (?), Allah will never leave you alone. But according to our Lord's verse, when He says, We test you sometimes with your wealth, sometimes with your lives, that much will happen too; you will be tested. You will prove what kind of person you are. Did you think you would die without proving what kind of people you are, He says. Yes. Of course we will prove ourselves. Then we will be content with what comes from our Lord. We will not go to rebellion. Yes.

For this, to those who obey Him, to those who want to be in the right with Allah, Allah gives help and, with the light He places in their hearts, helps such people see the truth.

He helps such people see the truth. I mean, Allah Almighty raises them to the station we call nafs-i mutmainna. There they become acquainted with the divine manifestations. These are the ones who become believers. That Surah An-Nur too appears like this in the hearts of believers.

These people, distinguishing truth from falsehood, on Allah's path reach the state of (?). Of course, we are again saying the verse. He will distinguish truth from falsehood. What does He say about it? Neither the shadow of the east nor the shadow of the west falls. This is with an inward knowledge our Lord gives to a person's heart. By showing them the verses of the Holy Quran, or by telling them some of their meanings, by inspiration. Neither the shadow of the east nor the shadow of the west falls. So whoever judges by Allah's verses and avoids the major sins Allah has commanded against, Allah forgives such people their minor sins.

Since these people are obedient to Allah, they try not to commit sins. The believers. What does Allah Almighty say in His verse? I have such servants that neither buying and selling nor trade keeps them from My remembrance. In this situation people, people: Hodja, are we going to do dhikr of Allah all the time? How will we earn the living of our home, our families? If one says that, look, we will now explain that people's understanding of Allah Almighty's word in that way is not like those understandings of theirs. Let us say I am a merchant or I sell some goods. For how much did I buy these goods, for how much am I selling them, am I earning a fair price from these goods? If I do something Allah does not like, well, I become a sinner. A customer comes, I speak nicely with that customer without breaking his heart, always as if Allah Almighty were watching us, I talk with him in that way, and in his favor, if he too is in need, I do business in his favor to meet his need: since I am constantly thinking of Allah, this becomes my remembrance of Allah.

In free time too, the same. So thinking of Allah, reflecting, or in free time saying the words of tawhid: they never forget Allah, except for people's trait of absent-mindedness. And they arrange their whole lives as if they see Allah Almighty.

But Allah, who created people deficient and fallible, however much a person may be in a state of avoiding sin, that person cannot be free of sin, and in his helplessness he surely commits sin. In fact, what does Allah Almighty say? If you had been servants who never sinned, We would destroy you and create servants who err, He says. Here too, because Allah Almighty created us close to His being, His creating us in helplessness, and our knowing our helplessness and asking Allah Almighty for our sins to be forgiven, is something in keeping with our Lord's purpose of creation. Yes.

If, with these sins he has committed, fearing Allah and knowing his helplessness, he repents to his Lord and asks forgiveness, Allah Almighty forgives the sins of such servants. Because He created us fallible.

Let us correct this word. Let us correct this matter of being created fallible. We all say it, but how were we created fallible? Bodily we have no fault. All created beings are in no way faulty in body. Within the task that creature will perform, no one could create a more beautiful body than that. Or have it made. Even a robot could not have it made. It cannot make it. Within the tasks they will do, created beings were created in the most perfect way. And man was created most honorable. I created man in the most beautiful form. Then where is the fault? In the deficiency of our minds; because there is deficiency in our minds we make mistakes, we make mistakes in our actual deeds.

With these mistakes we either sin, or because of deficient deeds, when we say, my Allah, our mind reached only this far, forgive us, here we were mistaken or we were sinners, it falls in line with our Lord's purpose of creation. And our Lord forgives us at once. Look what the Prophet (peace be upon him) says too. When you commit a sin, he says, do a good deed right after it. Let that good deed take away that sin, he says. Yes. So, people in this state, He says. Allah Almighty, addressing people in this state, Allah Almighty: because of the sins you committed through helplessness or without it being in your hands, since you turn to My being and repent, I forgive you and bring you to a valued and honorable position among people.

What is the valued and honorable position among people?

It is not being a sultan. Well, it is not being the chief of a (?) either. You can be.

The valued and honorable ones are those who correct their states of the nafs, are elevated in Allah's sight and enter among His saintly servants. Those who enter among His righteous servants. These are the sultans. So many sultans came and went from the world. All of them became dust and went. Even their names are no longer mentioned. But the people we call Allah's saintly servants on earth are still mentioned, because they are each a sultan. Evliyaullah, (?). Isn't it so? In our country too there are. There is Hacı Bayram Veli. There is Hazrat Eyüp Sultan. There are, I mean, many such people. These, there is Hazrat Mevlana.

I mean, counting them never ends. So look, these are sultans. Friends of Allah, and they have reached an honorable station. In this situation Allah Almighty has them (?) to people. Those who remember them pray for them. They pray good prayers for them. So this is the most honorable station. Plus, a person's entering among the righteous servants in Allah's sight, gaining the attribute of a believer, this world, since the property and possessions of this world are temporary, a person's catching the peace of the realm of the hereafter, the true home of bliss, attaining the gardens Allah Almighty has promised people: isn't this a great station, a great honor?

Isn't it a great victory? Yes. Allah Almighty (?) people like this.

This honorable and valued position, though it is not a worldly rank, the people of faith being morally upright and men of character makes them trustworthy people among others. With people trusting them, these people become respected and valued people among others. Allah thus fulfills His promise. And in the hereafter there are high positions and ranks for them. Yes.