Al-Baqarah 90: How sad that they ruined themselves for their envy for whom Allah (created first and) wished to grant Prophethood. Hence, what they have earned is; suffering and wrath. For those deniers, there is a humiliating punishment.

Our lesson is Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 90 — the noble verse. Yes. Envying that Allah bestows prophethood on whomever He wills of His servants, and denying the Book Allah sent down — how evil is it that they squandered themselves. So they incurred wrath upon wrath. For those disbelievers there is a humiliating, degrading punishment, it says. Who says this? Allah Almighty.

Yes.

Here, before moving on to the commentary of the verse, that is, before reading from the book, to you — about this verse, what we told our young ones here a little while ago, let us tell you as well. 'To whom He wills of His servants' — when He wills whom of His servants, isn't He then ascribed an attribute? 'Why to Ahmet, to Mehmet and not to me, if only He had granted me something too' — this may come to a person's mind.

Pay close attention to the verse.

It was always the people's willing. And here it is Allah's willing.

It is not that Allah sends whom He wills to Paradise and whom He wills to Hell. A person himself goes to Paradise if he wills, to Hell if he wills. Because if he does the evils Allah Almighty said not to do, it was not Allah who caused his going to Hell. He caused it himself. So why is it Allah's willing here? Pay close attention. 'Envying that Allah grants prophethood to whom He wills of His servants,' it says. To whom? To the prophets. Not to servants other than the prophets. Put your finger on this. Why? 'He willed the prophets but did not will me.' Before we were even created, the Prophet's (peace be upon him) soul — Allah Almighty created it.

From that soul He created the souls of the prophets who were to come. He created them first. First. This is it. The first created are Allah's willing. What is this? Allah Almighty will create prophets. Just as He created, as He willed, the soul of the Prophet, here too He wills; now He will create prophets. Those who would come until the Last Day — or rather, until the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) — He knows the prophets who would come. It is all a program. However many prophets were to come, from the soul of the Prophet He creates them first. This is Allah's willing. And what does the verse say now?

'That Allah grants prophethood to whom He wills of His servants.' To whom He wills. This 'granting prophethood to whom He wills' — because they could not find many equivalents for the Turkish word, because we could not find them, the verses have been explained this way. We, of course, explain it here. In that case, since the souls of their peoples were created from the souls of those prophets, the prophets are like the fathers and elders of their peoples. That is why the prophets Allah Almighty first created, from the Prophet's (peace be upon him) soul — created from his soul — say this: 'I am the first of Islam, I am the first of Islam.' Well, with so many prophets, which one is the first of Islam?

From the Prophet's soul, the one created first, then the other created — first one is created, then the other is created. That is, if we take this as the Prophet's soul, the firsts are always taken from it. The firsts are not taken from these. If they were also taken from these, from those firsts, the firsts would disappear. The first would come here. But since they are always taken from here, always from this, these become firsts. The firsts of Islam. Yes.

The verses of the Quran,

with a bare mind (?) cannot be opened. But unfortunately, today people, without fearing Allah, by their own minds, haphazardly, as they please, say things.

They have found the field empty. Empty. They talk.

If only they knew how they have sold their own selves to this punishment, to that fire of Hell. Yes.

We come to the explanation of the verse.

Whom Allah Almighty would send as prophets was programmed in the first barzakh.

In one of His verses: '(?) there is a Book, written by the pure and clean hands of angels; it is preserved in the Preserved Tablet. Nothing is later added to it or taken from it.' Everything is written down. That is, programmed beforehand. Our Lord knows what He will do and how. He has written that program too. Had it written.

'It is preserved in the Preserved Tablet. Nothing is later added to it or taken from it' — according to this verse, who would come as a prophet is a matter within our Lord's knowledge. We cannot know. How do we know? We know by history. That is, by past events. That is, by the writings that have reached us, the true writings' writings. So, of the true writings that have reached us so far, by people's own reckoning, which is the finest writing? The verse of the Quran. Through the verses of the Quran we know how our Lord created. Allah Almighty tells us. This is the finest history. This is the finest politics.

This is the finest knowledge too. This is the greatest peace too. This is the truth. There is no falsehood in it. Yes. In that case, it says, He sends whomever He wills. That is, the first created — He will create first, from that soul, the Prophet's (peace be upon him) soul — that part He took, that part, within His will. That is: if He wills — His willing. Here, you see, the Jews, because of the kufr in their hearts, became envious when the prophet did not come from among them.

They showed jealousy with jealousy. Although they were in such hardship and prayed every moment, waiting for a prophet, they denied the Quran and the Prophet. Why did they deny? Their pride, arrogance, selfishness, their seeing themselves as close to Allah. Their saying, 'The fire will not touch us for more than three days.' Their saying, 'Well, we are of the lineage of Jacob.' You — from whom does Jacob's lineage come? From Abraham, and before that from Adam. From whom does Adam come? He comes from the soul of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Well, you ignorant one, if you cannot grasp these things, and if, because he did not come from your own lineage, you at once turn against Allah's command, then you turn against your own forefather too.

Because they are your forefathers too. You turned against your forefathers. Indeed, what did Jacob say? He said to his sons, 'Promise me you will worship no god but Allah.' And he said, 'Promise me you will keep worshipping Allah.'

Well, since you are of his lineage — you, who not even your forefather, not even your forefather's word, heed, and who in the first barzakh did not recognize Allah as Allah and rebelled against Allah — you are one of those wrongdoers. This is how you prove yourself in the world. They denied the Quran and the Prophet. Even if Allah Almighty had sent a prophet from among them, they would still have denied. Why would they have denied? Because they are lineage-obsessed, materialistic people. People devoted to lineage and to material things. What would they say? 'Is he worthy of it, Ahmet?' 'It suited me,' one would say. Another would say, 'It suited (?) him, it suited (?) this one,' they would say. Then they would turn on each other.

Yes. However many miracles you show them, they will not come to their senses. Korah had treasures. Korah would dress himself up once a week. And the keys to his treasures, it says, took forty people to carry; in one narration, seven people carried those keys. He would say, 'This is my right; I am the richest man in the world.' He would boast before his people. He would gather his people, appear before them and boast of his throne, his crown, his palace, his wealth. And the Jews would envy him. They would say, 'Oh, if only we were like Korah.' Gentlemen, what I am saying is not a story; it is a verse, a verse.

I am telling you verses. I don't know stories. I am telling you verses. Again, one such day Korah appears before his people; just as he is full of pride and arrogance, boasting before his people, Allah Almighty sinks him together with his palace into the depths of the earth. This time the Jews say, 'Thank goodness we were not in his place.' Well, after so many events, so many miracles, so many (?), evils and blessings they went through, still persisting in denial — can you not see that such people are devoid of reason? If they had reason, they would save their own selves from punishment.

So then, well, if they lack reason, how have they turned the world's wealth toward themselves and run this world like this? A mind that does not know Allah is not a mind.

The inheritance of the heavens and the earth will remain to Allah. Every soul will taste death. According to His verse saying, 'To Allah is the return of all things.' What kind of mind is this, that takes Allah's property from Allah, thinks it his own, relies on it, and with it, in pride and arrogance, turns his back on Allah? Can such a mind be called a mind? So it is a bare mind.

What does one man say?

The beginning of it there was — I forgot. 'Wealth is a lie, property is a lie, here, have a little lie yourself,' he says. Huh? Yes, see what it says? 'Owner of wealth, owner of property.' Where is its first owner? 'Wealth is a lie, property is a lie, here, have a little lie yourself,' he says. Here, have a little lie yourself. So, if this world is the shadow of the Hereafter, what is a shadow? It is the sun striking a tree, a building, striking a body, and that body's shadow falling there. When that sun disappears, the shadow disappears too. With the end of your life, your sun will end, that shadow will vanish.

When you migrate to the true realm, that wealth and property of yours will not benefit you. So what kind of mind is this, that you lay claim to Allah's property and forget the Hereafter, that you will go into your Lord's presence? Can this mind be called a mind?

Indeed, as far as Allah Almighty made the Torah known, the commands of the Torah they did not obey either. They did not obey. They denied the prophets — once rebellion lies in people's nature, in their covenant — Once rebellion lies in people's nature, in their covenant. Now, according to the passage just above: indeed, as far as Allah Almighty made known in the Torah, they did not obey the commands of the Torah either. What did He say? 'Do not shed one another's blood, do not unjustly drive one another out of your homes, obey your mother and father.' Allah Almighty lists eight commands to them.

They fulfilled none of them.

He said, 'When entering this gate, say this.' They said something else. 'I raised the Mount above them as a shade.' Still they rebelled against Allah. Which of Allah's words did they do? And in this situation, even Moses, who had saved them — during his prophethood, by worshipping the calf the Samiri had made, they, even if only for a while, turned their backs on Moses. They turned their backs on Allah. After so many miracles. Among those miracles, was it the calf that brought them across? Was it the calf that destroyed Pharaoh in the Red Sea, that you, (?) your crossing, worshipped the calf? The love of the calf had, after all, settled in their hearts.

These are people in whose hearts, when it comes to associating partners with Allah, the love of shirk has settled. These are selfish people who think of nothing but their own selves.

And if these people had truly thought of their own selves, they would have obeyed Allah.

Even if I were turned between two millstones in this world — and to my Lord I say it just so. (?) Even if You turn me between two millstones, I am pleased with You. After all, this place will come to an end. As long as You are pleased with me. In the other world. In the other world, be pleased with me. This is reason: of the true realm, the true existence, holding to its foundation; reforming your nafs, trusting in your Lord — this. Otherwise: you come into the world, see this body merely as a body, abandon the Hereafter for this body's whims, pull every kind of intrigue, every kind of (?), and then say, 'I am clever.' People truly swimming in (?) — truly one must pity them.

Yes, we are human. Because in that punishment of Hell, those people — their cries there, for a person who is truly human, gnaw at the conscience. Today, even if a non-Muslim were your mortal enemy, if you saw him thrown into fire and burning there, at the very least, from that fire, at least with that conscience of yours you would try to save him. So we too say, 'O Allah, these too are Your creatures.' If they are to be reformed, reform them too. Yes, may they too not be left to the punishment. They denied the prophets — once in people's nature, in their covenant, rebellion lies, such people can never again come to the path of truth ever.

Because they gave their covenant that way; the nature is such, desire and wish lie that way. They can by no means come to Allah's path again. Such people can never again come to the path of truth; for everything that comes from Allah, an excuse they find, and look for ways to distance themselves from Allah.

Because rebellion is in their nature, it is impossible to satisfy them. However many miracles you show them, still they will not believe. These are the grandchildren of Abu Jahl.

When I say 'grandchildren of Abu Jahl', don't say, 'Look here, I don't come from that lineage, speak properly.' Even if you don't come from that lineage, sharing the same mindset, you are of those Abu Jahls' grandchildren. In mindset. That is, the father of the ignorant. The grandchildren of that father of the ignorant. In ignorance. Yes.

The reason given to people was given to know their Lord, yet out of stubbornness these people drown the light of faith in the darkness of shirk; although they know that Allah Almighty cannot be opposed, what kind of whim of the nafs is it, that consents to endure every kind of punishment, or their nafs seems pleasing to them, so they do what their nafs says. What kind of nafs is this? What kind of mind is this?

They take Allah's command lightly, they squander themselves. On what do they squander themselves? They leave (?) to the eternal fire of Hell in the Hereafter. This is their squandering of their selves.

Later we will come to verses where Allah Almighty says the same: what an evil thing they squandered their selves on, He will say. They squandered. These are all the meanings of the verses. Something that contradicts reason and logic — what is it? They take Allah's command lightly, they squander themselves. So what these people do is something that contradicts reason and logic. It becomes manifest in these people.

If we read this from up there onward, we will understand this part better.

Such people can never again come to the path of truth. Finding an excuse for everything that comes from Allah, they look for ways to distance themselves from Allah. The reason given to people was given to know their Lord, yet out of stubbornness these people drown the light of faith in the darkness of shirk; that Allah Almighty cannot be opposed, although they know — what kind of whim of the nafs is it, that consents to endure every kind of punishment, or their nafs seems pleasing to them, so they do what their nafs says. They take Allah's command lightly. They squander themselves. This is something that contradicts human reason and logic.

It becomes manifest in these people. Such people become a fine example to learn from for others. So, by the verse saying, 'For those disbelievers there is a humiliating, degrading punishment,' they too have become despised and degraded people.

Now, 'despised and degraded' — what is 'despised'? Being looked down upon. What is 'degraded'? In a low state. Abjectly. Yes. So they incurred wrath upon wrath.

By denying Jesus, son of Mary, and by killing the prophets, they incurred one wrath. Then, by denying the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the Quran, they incurred another wrath; and moreover, by the verse saying, 'For those disbelievers there is a humiliating, degrading punishment,' in the Hereafter they will be punished with the very worst of punishments. It is announced that such people will remain in Hell forever. 'May Allah protect us from such (?),' it says.