Ali 'Imran 133: And run towards the mercy of your Lord and towards the Paradise which spans as large as the heavens and the earth, and which has been prepared for the muttaqi (who abstain from sins).

Surah Al-Imran, verse 133. In the verse: to your Lord's forgiveness and, prepared for the God-fearing, whose breadth is as the heavens and the earth, to Paradise hasten, it says. Look how beautiful. What did we say in the previous lesson? In Paradise, like this world, there are seven sections, seven continents, right, seven continents. Europe, Asia, America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, what else? South America. I guess we counted it. South America. Yes, South America, North America, right? Yes. And we said — Hodja, may Allah be pleased with you, we say. May Allah be pleased with all of us. We said,

the places given to people, we said — I repeat my words exactly; since they're inner (batin), they don't get lost, I repeat them word for word. My words — what's missing or extra — I can tell from what was said. We said: for the people who will come from our father Adam until Judgment Day, in Paradise and in Hell maybe billions of people — every moment in the world, look, right now is it 7 billion, the world's population, or 5 billion? It has a population of 6.5 billion.

The people since our father Adam — if they stayed in the world, there'd be no room in the world. There'd be no room left in the world. Now you think about its breadth. What does it say in the verse anyway, look? Now, that word I spoke the other day, Allah Almighty in His verse confirms. What does He say? To your Lord's forgiveness and, prepared for the God-fearing, whose breadth is as the heavens and the earth, to Paradise hasten, it says. Hasten to a Paradise whose breadth is as the heavens and the earth.

How shall we hasten to Paradise? What must we do?

Allah Almighty, in this verse, to us: O people, I was a hidden treasure, I wished to be known, and near to My Being and as a (?) of My Being We created mankind, and held them as addressees of Our Being. In that case We made the earth wide for you, We placed all your needs on the earth, so that, using your reason, you know there is no god but Allah, so that you know, and recognize Me as Creator, as your Master. And I, in return for this, against that beautiful (?) of yours, sir, as inheritance will grant you Paradise, He says. What is Paradise? Mansions, palaces, grounds flowing beneath them, (?), those thrones, those clothes, garments, those — let's say, around you, who have never seen daylight, I mean attendants, and under those shades, reaching for whatever fruit you want, and from there taking it, eating it, tasting it.

Well, where will you find this pleasure? And there you won't age either. Men 33 years old, and women eighteen years old. One day, to the Prophet, an old, elderly woman says: O Messenger of Allah, can I enter Paradise? When she asks, (?) — you, in this state, can't enter Paradise, he says. She's saddened. Why, O Messenger of Allah, what's wrong with me, she says, what deficiency is there? I told you you can't enter in this state, he says; what's wrong with my state, she says. Well, you're old; you'll enter there at eighteen, he says. At eighteen — she rejoices. Yes. Women eighteen. Men thirty-three. Vigorous.

And no aging at all. An endless life. An eternal and endless life. Hodja, doesn't one get bored there? Ha. You may say that. In the world you suffer so much hardship. Or you enjoy pleasures. As you age, you grow old, lose your strength, and still you want to live, to live. Let me live, you say. You fear death. Well, more of those feelings, the desires to live, will be loaded on people there. And no person, of what he lives, will want his time not to pass — it's such an endless life. In pleasure and delight. In this world — look, I'm along in years, I'm 72. When I look back, it's as if only this much time passed and went.

Well, if you ask: do you want to live? let me tell you my feelings. Mine of course isn't like everyone's.

I have a trait. I want to get to the end of everything right away, I mean. If I'm transient in this world, let me (?) to the hereafter as soon as possible, I mean, go. Anyway, let me catch my end there. These are my feelings. But what does the Prophet say? Don't wish for death. Having one foot left in your world, than lying a thousand years under the earth, is better, he says. So I don't want death. Why don't I want it? I say: my Lord has given me knowledge. I'll tell people this knowledge as long as this soul stays in this body. As long as I have breath or strength. I'll tell people this. That's why I don't want death.

So everything has a wish and desire, a way of living. There too you'll see your relatives, see your acquaintances, travel around, so many places, so many places. Well Hodja, one gets bored looking at one thing. What will we do? Allah Almighty solved that too. Well, what did He do? There the air isn't like this air you know. Like (?), full of life. As if the air would hit your face like a ball, but you look and it's air. Everything constantly changes shape. Bubbling.

Hodja, you describe it as if you'd seen it. If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't say it anyway. (?) I saw. That's why there's no (?), no (?) there. There, there's desire and longing for every moment. There is Paradise. Well, what happened to you that, swept up in this world's life, these beautiful places Allah promised you — you abandoned them? Was this your nafs's honor — it took you off to evils, and outside Allah's command it took you. It kept you from your five daily prayers. It made you lie for the world. It made you act hypocritically toward your most beloved. Is it worth it then? For a monotonous, black-and-white world.

So use your reason. Allah invites us to His mercy. Satan and taghut, and your nafs invite you to the fire. Take your place beside the friend if you wish, or beside the enemy if you wish. Because your partial will too — everyone has a destiny. It's only for us to tell; what does Allah Almighty say: (?), I call no one to account. Yes. Surah Al-Imran, 133rd verse. To your Lord's forgiveness and, for the God- fearing prepared, whose breadth is as the heavens and the earth, to Paradise hasten, it says. To Paradise. Allah Almighty is Ghafur, Rahim — Ghafur, Rahim. He greatly forgives sins and is compassionate.

Allah has no need of His creatures. So with Allah saying "hasten to your Lord's forgiveness", our Lord to people thus — our Lord calls out to people as follows. O people! The Paradise I prepared for you — the land each of you will own is as much as between the heavens and the earth. To attain such wide and abundant wealth, compete, He declares.

Hodja, we can't even tour the world — how will we tour there? That's what comes to one's mind.

Have you ever seen tayy-i mekan? I did tayy-i mekan once too. Then I lost it; I was ignorant, young. Then I attained our Lord's knowledge. When I put my head on the pillow, where do I wish to go? I'd go and tour Mecca, Medina, Istanbul, or some part of the world. How do you go, how do you come back? There's no time and space. For the spirit. That's why you go and come back. Those places even feel narrow to you. If you have good faith and own this much land, you tour those places, see them.

(?), so that you know.

While people live worldly life, for the goods they dream of and increase, night and day they work, they strive to obtain those fortunes. Allah Almighty, however, in the highest Paradise this wealth, eternally, has prepared for people. Right? They've been prepared for people. It's clear anyway.

So they're waiting for their owners. Who are these owners? You or me or Ahmet, Mehmet, whoever — Muslims, that is. Yes. Isn't there anyone who wants this wealth? — so He calls people to Himself, says Allah Almighty. It's been prepared. Perhaps to those who desire it — Allah Almighty makes it known to people. And whichever of them desire it, they work with all their might. For what? Let's say he prays the five daily prayers. Sir, he doesn't stray from honesty. Never lies. Doesn't act hypocritically. Doesn't gossip or backbite. How beautiful. Doesn't violate anyone's right. And this person does good to people as much as he can.

Does good. So these are righteous people. Righteous servants.

These are the people who, there, compete for the wealth Allah promised. But is it for there? There are those who compete for there. And there are those who compete apart from that. Hodja, we didn't understand a thing from your words. What do you mean by "apart from that"?

If I remind you of a saying of Yunus Emre, you'll understand. Paradise, Paradise, what they call it is a few houris, a few youths — give it to whoever wants it. I need You, You, he says. So, those who long for Allah beyond Paradise. Those who yearn for Allah and worship Him before His beauty. Yes, so it's not necessarily for Paradise.

In that case, of Rabia Hatun an anecdote comes to my mind.

One day Dhun-Nun al-Misri and his friend visit Rabia Hatun. Rabia Hatun asks Dhun-Nun al-Misri's friend: you, why do you worship, she says. By God, I fear Allah very much, he says, that's why I worship, he says.

She asks Dhun-Nun al-Misri: why do you worship? By God, he says, I love Paradise very much, he says, that's why I worship, he says.

To Dhun-Nun al-Misri she says: you're like a person who expects wages for a job, she says.

And to his friend she says: you, she says, a person working under fear of a beating you resemble, she says. Well then, for whom, they say, how, why do you worship, they say. I, she says, neither for Paradise nor for Hell, she says. I worship because I yearn for my Lord, she says. Yes, and what does Yunus Emre say? Paradise, Paradise, what they call it is a few houris, a few youths — give it to whoever wants it; me, You I need. So, just as we miss our mother, our father, so much, when we're away from home. We want to go and see them at least once a year if they live far away. As long as we're able, we want to run to them every moment.

Because we miss them. We love them.

But why don't you miss your Creator this much, and, loving Him, what He says you don't carry out? When it comes to talk, you say "my faith is strong". Well, make a comparison with your mother, your father, your loved ones in the world. Do you love those loved ones more, or do you love Allah more? Say it without fooling yourself, though. So always use your reason. Decide with your conscience. Yes.

He also makes known in His verse who will desire this wealth. This isn't a place prepared for owners of land and property. It's prepared for people of taqwa, who give charity in Allah's way. For those who own such great lands, goods, (?) on this earth it's not prepared, (?). It's prepared for the God-fearing.

Taqwa means avoiding doubtful things.

For example, when a friend, a neighbor or an acquaintance offers you something, this thing offered — the (?) who offers it, did he earn it lawfully, or unlawfully earn it? If about this person's earnings you're informed, if you know that he earns honestly, you take this offer, accept it, eat it. If not — if you doubt that he earned lawfully, the person before you, when you see he'd be hurt, not refusing it, not hurting him, this person's offering you give to someone in need, for his good, and you become a person of taqwa; you don't eat it. People with this behavior are those who heed the lawful and the unlawful. These people have many traits: those who work for Allah and mix no unlawful into their earnings, those who don't seize anyone's right; those who, in hardship and plenty, for Allah look after and protect the needy; those who don't abandon their worship; those who at night pray the (?) prayer; those who accept what comes from Allah and are patient; those who for Allah recommend patience to each other; who are forgiving to Allah's servants and don't (?) them; who don't harbor jealousy toward people in their hearts later on — so those who possess these traits are people of taqwa.

yes

These traits make a person perfect. The earlier question: whom do they call a Murshid-i Kamil? Look how nice. We're writing here: whom do they call a Murshid-i Kamil? So Allah the noblest of creatures, man, to hold as addressee of His Being — for this He created him. The One who created the worlds, Allah, the person He holds as addressee of His Being, with a character befitting His Being, in His presence wants to see. And people who possess these morals and traits are honorable, dignified and sensitive people. So taqwa, bringing man to this state — in essence and word true, knowing no trickery or evil, wishing people well, when to them from people an affliction comes, remembering Allah and being patient, and attributing that person's actions to his ignorance and forgiving — such people they are.

Who are they? The Murshid-i Kamils. That's the answer to that question. So Allah Almighty, to see people in these feelings, advised them to beautify their character, and in return for this, both His beauty and in the hereafter land and wealth as much as between the heavens and the earth He will give; He commands people to hasten to it. Allah Almighty — by correcting a nation's character, in their social life how love and respect among them will take root, how they'll behave toward each other, how within these behaviors their unity and togetherness they'll preserve — with this verse, to us He declares.

Yes