Ash-Shu'ara 141: (The nation of) Thamud also accused their Messenger of lying.

We have come to verse 141 of Surah Ash-Shu'ara.

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Kezzebet Semûdü'l-mürselîn. The people of Thamud too accused the messengers of lying, it says. Their prophets.

The prophet Salih was sent as a prophet to the people of Thamud; his people denied the prophet. A people who don't believe in Allah won't believe in a prophet anyway. If you don't believe in Allah. What did they say? We don't believe you. If you show us a miracle, we will believe.

What miracle do you want?

Bring a camel out of that rock.

Allah Almighty brings a camel out of that rock. One day of the week the camel will drink the water. The camel will graze in the pasture, no one will interfere, no one will (?) it.

Thereupon the people kill the camel by cutting its legs. Now, if a person, a people, a people asks Allah for something,

and Allah Almighty shows them a miracle, and they turn their back on that miracle and then betray it, Allah Almighty files a public case against that people. That is, He destroys them.

If He shows it of His own accord, nothing happens to the one who doesn't believe. He lives out his destiny.

Were you able to grasp this point? Yes, this is the important point. That is, if a people asks to see a miracle from Allah and Allah shows it, and if that people betrays it, turns its back on the miracle, He destroys that people. No — if Allah Almighty shows a miracle, a miracle, for example Moses, the drought, right? He gives it. Pharaoh doesn't say, "Give me drought." Locusts come, blood comes, right? Frogs come. Sir, each time they say, "Tell your Allah, we will believe." But they don't say, "Show us a wonder, a miracle." In the end, after so much betrayal, when he takes the people and leaves, as Moses crosses the Red Sea, although he says "you believed", He says, "Now you believe?" And Allah Almighty knows that he did not believe.

"You," He says, "today I will show your lifeless body to the worlds as a lesson," He says. Yes. Now the people of Thamud also want a miracle. From there a (?) comes out. Let's read. To the peoples who deny Allah's prophets, Allah Almighty, with the prophets He sent, does so in order to bring people out of the darkness into the light. Since Allah Almighty will not hold anyone responsible for what He has not made known, He sends people prophets and books.

Since no person can change any person's covenant, still Allah, so that people become aware of His essence, sends them messengers. Why does He send messengers? So that a person won't say, won't say, "Sir, if You had made it known to me, if You had made it known to me — You sent me to a (?) world — if You had made it known to me, I would have done what You said."

So that he won't say this. So that he won't say it, Allah Almighty sends prophets. You know, verse 134 of Surah Ta-Ha, before this, that is before the Quran, before the Reminder, if We had destroyed you with a punishment, you would have said this, it says:

"You sent us to a world where You are not seen; if only You had sent us, that is, prophets and books, we would have obeyed You there."

We did it this way so that you wouldn't say that, it says. That is, We created these worlds. I placed you in this world where My essence, hidden from you, is not seen, He says. Here is a prophet for you, here are books for you. Well, after this there is no prophet. There are scholars. There are scholars. There are people our Lord has raised.

Allah will maintain His religion until the Last Day. Until the Last Day. Sir, in this case, as the meaning of that verse, Allah Almighty, what does He say? So that they become aware of His essence, He sends them messengers. Since the mind He gave people knows its Lord and is able to distinguish truth from falsehood, Allah, addressing people's minds, warns people through prophets. Through prophets. But although man knows by reason that Allah Almighty exists, with the rebellion in his nafs and his betrayal of Allah, he turns his back on his Lord. Yes. In the earthly world, since the human nafs takes pleasure in living out its own desires and wishes, man likes, not the right path shown to Allah and to his mind, but, in not knowing Allah, to turn toward the swamp into which his own nafs has dragged him — that he enjoys.

Now say to a person: brother, over there there's a free theater. Free. Or there are tickets at a cheap price, 5 lira. There's a theater. There are stars. What stars are these? Stars of Hell. There are. The whole city flocks there. City by city, with a few exceptions. If you say, brother, over there the Quran is being recited, please come, there's also a feast — you won't find one in a thousand of those who go to that theater there. One in a thousand, it says, but it's not even one in a hundred. So the human nafs has run wild in rebellion against Allah, like (?). You know, an earthquake happens, a fire happens, it sweeps away what is before it, it's the same.

What holds this back a little? A person's faith.

It holds it back a little. For a non-Muslim, matter holds it back. A little. Their gods are matter.

Therefore, distinguishing between matter and faith, our nafs, since our nafs is an enemy of Allah, our nafs being an enemy of Allah, we will side not with our nafs but with our friend. In a person there are three enemies and three friends, so to speak. What are the enemies in a person? The nafs. Satan. And the world. The world looks attractive to you. How nice, these men have the latest model cars under them. These men have yachts. They have palaces. Don't you envy them? There's a life to live. The man goes around the casino every night, some nightclub. Sir, what do I know, the man lives it up.

Look at the nafs. How attractive (?) in the world. And Satan keeps hinting. Look how nicely the man lives. See? Come on, you follow him too. Look, the man drinks alcohol. Well, the tables are full. Glasses are raised. Yes. What is the friend? The friend is faith. What does it say? "But Allah Almighty has forbidden those." Faith says this. It says — faith — Allah Almighty sent a verse. Pay no mind to their strutting about in luxury in the world. Their strutting about in luxury in the world is for a short time, it says. Then I will think of the Hereafter, it says. Faith says this. And inspiration supports faith.

Allah Almighty's inspiration supports faith with verses. And reason, distinguishing crooked from straight, says faith speaks the truth. Now, either be on the enemy's side, or be on the friend's side. Yes.

In this respect, although his mind accepts the truth, a person who cannot part from the desires and wishes of his nafs lives without peace in this world. Without peace. He is also exposed to all kinds of calamities. And in the world of the Hereafter, receiving an eternal torment, he has exchanged the temporary worldly life with the eternal bliss of the world of the Hereafter. The people of Thamud are one of these. The people of Thamud.

They accused the prophets of lying, it says. Since no person can change any person's covenant, still Allah, so that people become aware of His essence, sends them messengers. Since the mind He gave people knows its Lord and is also able to know truth and falsehood, Allah, addressing people's minds, through prophets warns people. But although man knows by reason that Allah Almighty exists — how does he know? Even if all creatures deny it — "Yes, someone created me, but You didn't create me," he says. That's the denial. That is in the verse anyway. You know, when he says "You didn't create", because he sees Him as an essence — that is, He created in the form of an essence, He manifests in the form of an essence.

"How are You my Lord?" he says. But (?) he waits for the Lord who created him. Indeed, when he enters Hell, he says exactly this: "O Malik, tell your Lord." He can't say "our Lord". "Tell your Lord. Let the torment on us be lightened a little." If he said "our Lord" and there, (?) in his heart, said, "Yes, there is no god but You," would Allah, the Possessor of boundless mercy, keep him there forever?

Won't Muslims enter Hell? They will. Well, why does one enter Hell even though he goes as a Muslim? Because he is a sinner. Well, then, does the Muslim stay there in Hell forever? No. Then why does the disbeliever stay forever? That disbeliever asks the Muslim: "You believed in Allah, you were a Muslim. Why did you come here?" he says. And he says, "I, compared with you, with what you did," he says, "was not a bit behind. Maybe (?) did even worse deeds than you," he says. "My coming here, my deserving this punishment, (?) for me." Allah Almighty, hearing these words, says, "O My servant, your nafs has found peace; come out of there." He takes him out.

If his nafs found peace too, He would take him out of there too. But the more he burns there and suffers torment, the more his grudge against Allah grows. As his grudge grows, he stays forever, you see. In the end Allah's mercy will reach them too. In the end they will neither taste nor feel, it says. What does this mean? He will remove the nerve senses and they will no longer feel pain. Again after burning a thousand years, it says anyway. (?) after burning a thousand years — calculate the days of the world of the Hereafter. If a thousand years here is one day of the Hereafter, after burning (?) a thousand years they will not feel and not taste, it says. This is Allah Almighty's mercy reaching them.

And they will remain as logs of Hell, it says. Because there is no death for souls. It is eternal. Yes. May Allah protect us.

With his betrayal of Allah, he turns his back on his Lord. In the earthly world, since the human nafs takes pleasure in living out its own desires and wishes, man likes, not the truth that Allah and his mind show, but, in not knowing Allah, to turn toward the swamp into which his own nafs has dragged him. In this respect, although his mind accepts the truth, a person who cannot part from the desires and wishes of his nafs lives without peace in this world. He is also exposed to all kinds of calamities. And in the world of the Hereafter, receiving an eternal torment, he exchanges the temporary worldly life with the eternal bliss of the world of the Hereafter.

We said the people of Thamud are one of these.