Ali 'Imran 73: Do not believe in anyone besides those who follow your religion. Say; “The straight path is only the path of Allah.” Also, (do not believe) that others were given (things that are) similar to what you were given; or that they will bring arguments against you in the presence of your Lord. Say “grace and goodness are in the hand of Allah. Allah gives them to those who desire.” Verily, Allah is Wasi (generous in Allah’s grace) and Aleem (All-Knowing).

A. Metin Saruhan · 16 February 2022 · Misinterpreted Verses

The misinterpretation

Do not believe in anyone but those who follow your religion. (My Messenger) Say; The right way is only the way of Allah. Also (they said among themselves) (do not believe) that the like of what was given to you has been given to anyone else, or that they will bring proofs against you in the presence of your Lord. Say; Grace and grace are in the hands of Allah. He gives it to whomever he wishes. Allah's mercy is wide and He knows everything.

The right translation

Do not believe in anyone besides those who follow your religion. Say; “The straight path is only the path of Allah.” Also, (do not believe) that others were given (things that are) similar to what you were given; or that they will bring arguments against you in the presence of your Lord. Say “grace and goodness are in the hand of Allah. Allah gives them to those who desire.” Verily, Allah is Wasi (generous in Allah’s grace) and Aleem (All-Knowing).

Explanation

The wrong opening in this verse is this: Say, "Grace and bounty are in the hand of Allah. He gives it to whom He wills. However, we have already explained in the previous Verses that our Lord's will is not over people, that He made a covenant with people at Kalu Bela and that He has written the desires and wishes of people as their destiny. Here again, we are repeating the opening of the verse that we have written in the past.

Where this verse is wrong is when they say: (Allah gives His mercy to whom He wills). Our Lord does not discriminate between people. If we elaborate on this point, it will be better understood.

Allah created man as a particle of His Spirit. He gave man a mind to govern himself and to judge himself with his own will. In this situation, He made a covenant with human beings. Our Lord says in the 172nd verse of Surah A'râf: (172- He made the descendants of the children of Adam to bear witness against themselves, lest you say on the Day of Resurrection, "We were unaware of this", and said: I am your Lord. (They said) yes, we bear witness (to that).

So after man was created in the realm of Lahut, when he made a covenant with Allah (swt), whatever he wanted from our Lord, Allah (swt) gave him what he wanted and wrote his destiny. After that, if Allah (swt) removes His will from man and our Lord exercises His will on man, what does He want from man? If Allah, who has the power and might, puts whom He wills in Paradise and whom He wills in Hell, if He creates whoever He wills as a disbeliever and whoever He wills as a Muslim, if He bestows His mercy on whomever He wills and withholds His mercy from whomever He wills, are we not characterizing our Lord by making Allah (swt) unjust among His servants?

This realm is a shadow and a counterpart of the Hereafter. In the worldly realm, when people disobey the laws of the state, cheat people, kill people, etc., and commit crimes outside the laws of the state, and are caught for their crimes and sent to prison after being sentenced by a judge, did the judge send these people to prison, or did they punish themselves for their crimes? Of course, they punished themselves for their crimes.

So when people make a covenant with Allah (swt) in the Elestu bi Rabbikum address, their own desires and wishes become their destiny. If people are punished or rewarded for the actual deeds they have done with their desires and wishes within this destiny, they will be rewarded for the deeds they have done. In this case, Allah (swt) does not have any will over people with the decisions they make with their own will while they are living in the world. Those who ask Allah will go to paradise and those who ask Allah will go to hell.

This is entirely the result of the actual actions of human beings based on the decisions they make within their own will. Those who ask Allah for guidance will be guided. Those who turn their backs on Allah and do not embrace the religion of Islam, those who rebel against the commands of our Lord, those who disregard the laws of Allah, those who associate partners with Allah, or those who obey the verses of Allah's revelations that suit them and deny the others, will surely be punished with the punishment they deserve, and they will be included in Hell, the place of torment.

What is said in the video

Here there is another long verse, verse 73.

Do not believe anyone except those who follow your religion, they say. Who are these? Non-Muslims. O Messenger, say: The right path is only the path of Allah. What is this right path? The Sirat al-Mustaqim. The straight path is the path of Allah. What is this path of the Sirat al-Mustaqim? A path that wins Allah's pleasure, that at its end brings one to one's Lord unites with, and enters the highest Paradise a path. A path leading to the highest Paradise. The crooked paths besides it go outside Allah's pleasure and are a path leading to Hell. Again they said among themselves: That the like of what was given to you has been given to anyone else, or that before your Lord they will bring arguments against you, do not believe that either, it says.

Why not believe it? Because the truth has come and falsehood has vanished.

Say: Grace and bounty are in Allah's hand. He gives it to whom He wills. This is where they got the verse wrong. I wrote the correct one the same way; we're changing this part, of course. He gives it to whom He wills, it says. Allah's mercy is vast and He knows everything truly. That is right. Now let's read the correct one together with this part. I'm going through it quickly, we have already explained it. Do not believe anyone except those who follow your religion. O Messenger, say: The right path is only the path of Allah. Again they said among themselves: That the like of what was given to you has been given to anyone else, or that before your Lord they will bring arguments against you, do not believe that either.

Say: Grace and bounty are in Allah's hand. Now we are putting it right here. Say: Grace and bounty are in Allah's hand. He gives it to whoever wills it. Allah's mercy is vast and He knows everything truly. When it says Kulli shay'in qadir, ruler over all things, of all things the Owner, the Creator