Ali 'Imran 134: Those muttaqi are the ones who spend (for the cause of Allah) during wealth and during adversity, who restrain their anger and forgive people. Allah likes those who behave well.

Surah Al-i Imran, verse 134. Those who are God-fearing, who in plenty and in hardship, for Allah's sake, spend. They swallow their anger and forgive people. And Allah loves those who do good. Now, in the previous verse, in the previous one, what was Allah Almighty saying? Let's see now. (?)

Yes.

Hasten to your Lord's forgiveness and to a Paradise prepared for the God-fearing whose breadth is as the heavens and the earth, it says. (?) The God-fearing. And of the God-fearing, the qualities we have probably told you here, what do we say?

taqwa is avoiding doubtful things. Well, now, here we open it up, like this we say: these people have many qualities; those who work for Allah's sake and mix nothing forbidden into their earnings, who do not take anyone's right for themselves, who in hardship and plenty, for Allah's sake, look after those in need and protect them, who do not abandon their worship, who pray the night prayer of tahajjud, who are content with what comes from Allah, and who are patient. Those who urge one another to patience for Allah's sake. Those who are forgiving to Allah's servants and are not (?) towards them.

Those who harbour no deceit or envy in their hearts towards people. Those who have these qualities are the people of taqwa, we say, and Allah Almighty supports the people of taqwa in this verse. Now what does it say? Those who are God-fearing, who spend for Allah's sake in plenty and in hardship, swallow their anger and forgive people. And Allah loves those who do good.

The qualities of the God-fearing whom He mentioned and described in the previous verse Allah Almighty declares in this verse. He declares it here. We already listed it before. They spend for Allah's sake in hardship and in plenty. The Prophet (peace be upon him), in one of his hadiths, says that if a believer cannot share the state of another believer, his faith has not reached perfection, he says. These are the God-fearing. So, people whose nafs has found peace; if someone, with the person in front of him, cannot share his state, cannot feel those feelings, he is not God-fearing. God-fearing people are those who have (?) their nafs and reached perfection.

Such people are those who feel within themselves the hunger, the sorrows, the pain and grief or the joys of the people before them. The God-fearing.

So the God-fearing, those I mentioned and described in the previous verse: Allah Almighty declares the qualities of the God-fearing in this verse. They spend for Allah's sake in hardship and in plenty. The Prophet (peace be upon him), in one of his hadiths, says that if a believer cannot share the state of another believer, his faith has not reached perfection. God-fearing people are those who have (?) their nafs and reached perfection.

Even if they go towards an evil, its end leads to good. Because neither from their hands, nor from their hands, nor from their tongues does evil come forth. Allah Almighty turns it into good for them.

Such people feel within themselves the hunger, the sorrows, the pain and grief or the joys of the people before them. This is exactly what it is in a person of perfected nafs. Therefore these people of taqwa, even when they are in want, since they are aware of the state of the people before them, from those in need they never hold back their helping hand. Well, Hodja, what kind of talk is this? While you are in need yourself, how do you hold out your hand to him? A helping hand? But you are in need too. You have nothing, so how did you hold it out? You may say that, of course. Because you don't feel those feelings.

Now let's give an example here. Hasan and Husayn had fallen ill. Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and our mother Fatima: if they recover, they say, we will fast for a day. One day.

The children recover. And that day they fast.

Back then, of course, there was (?). There was want, too. There was poverty. Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) sends dates that would fill one person but on which two could get by, (?). They are about to break the fast in the evening, there's a knock at the door. The door. Who is it? they ask. He says: I am an orphan, I'm hungry. I've been hungry for two days, for three days. Give me something for Allah's sake. When he says this, Ali and our mother Fatima look at each other. He's been hungry two or three days, we've been hungry one day. Let's give this to him, (?), let him eat his fill, they say.

He takes it. He gives his food to them. They themselves break the fast with water, on the second day the fast goes on.

On the second day he sends some wheat home. Our mother Fatima (?) it, makes flour of it, (?) bread. That is, she makes bread, they'll eat (?), in the evening they'll (?) break.

This time again, at the same time, there's a knock at the door.

They look at each other. Fatima and Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), in both their hearts: let's open the door, it says. Who is it? they ask. I am a captive, he says. I've been hungry for days. Give me something for Allah's sake. He's been hungry for days? They've been hungry two days too.

Anyway one person would barely be full, two people (?), they give that bread to him too, and feed him. Third day, the fast goes on again. There's nothing to eat, so they break the fast with water. Third day, the fast goes on.

Again he sends some grains of barley, our mother Fatima pounds it, makes bread, in the evening they will eat. Right at the time to break the fast, there's a knock at the door again. When they both look at each other, this passes through their hearts: Our Lord is testing us.

Thereupon they ask, who is it?

(?) the person calls out. I am an orphan. I'm hungry. I've been hungry for days, he says. Give me something for Allah's sake.

They take it. What they were eating, their food, they give to him. This is a test, of course. That's what passes through both their hearts. On the third day they break the fast with water. On the fourth day, at the afternoon prayer, behind the Prophet, while Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) is praying, this verse comes. Ve yut'imûne't-taâme alâ hubbihî miskînen ve yetîmen ve esîrâ. Whoever, for Allah's sake, it says, the orphan, the captive and the poor, feeds the orphan, the captive and the poor, I Myself, it says, will receive them with a smiling face in the hereafter, it says. Allah Almighty.

Now people who have such faith say, though he is in need himself: I can be patient, but this one cannot.

So if he has food he gives it to him; if not, from his spouse, his friends, for him he finds help. That's how he holds out a helping hand. Not for himself, mind you, for them. If you can feel those feelings, fine; if you can't, there's still more to go. Still more to go. What are we saying? Therefore these people of taqwa, even when they are in want, of the people before them, since they are aware of their state, to those in need their helping hand they never hold back from holding out. Doing every deed for Allah's sake, without looking back at what they did, without telling people of the good they did for their ego's sake, seeking Allah's pleasure, they are people of character who do good, these ones.

When they are angered by people, they swallow their anger. They see created beings as Allah's creation. For Allah's sake, without retaliating, without entering into an ego (?), they prevent evils. The state of those who anger the God-fearing shows, beside the God-fearing, that the person has not reformed his nafs and that they are in ignorance. Those who forgive these persons' mistakes for Allah's sake, these God-fearing people, are people of good character. People with such good character, because of their good conduct, Allah loves too. Now you see a man showering the person before him with insults.

Imam al-Ghazali says this: When a person gets angry with you, he says, and against you starts to rattle things off, at once take a paper and pen, what he says write down. Which of them you have, which you don't. Throw away what you don't have, struggle with what you do have, he says. How beautifully he puts it. Yes. In this case, when the other person, with his ego's feelings, (?) qualities that person does not have, that person sees that truly this is someone drenched in ignorance, swimming in it. What should he do? If he answers him back, he drops to (?) level. He only warns him for Allah's sake.

For Allah's sake. That is, he tries to correct his mistakes. When he doesn't accept those either, then he leaves without answering him. Yes. Now when we too explain the truths, some people, because they are loaded with superstitions, to the truths we explain, these truths matching the verses, saying, there's this hadith here, there's that verse there, they try to confront us. With every verse, every hadith they show, that none of them has anything to do with it they realise too, and their ignorance comes out. Well now, should we get angry at them? Get angry? They don't know. You see they really are in ignorance.

They are trying to do something. But in the end, God willing, they come to us. To us. Yes.