Al-Hajj 40: They are the ones who have been driven away unrightfully from their homes only because they said, “Allah is our Lord”. Verily, if some people had not prevented (the evil deeds of) other people (just for the sake of Allah), then, monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques, (places) in which Allah’s name is mentioned plentifully, would be perished. Surely, Allah helps those who help Allah (Allah’s religion). Surely, Allah is Qawiyy (Mighty) and Azeez (Exalted).

The fortieth verse is a verse that has been wrongly explained. Let's see where its mistake is. What does the wrong one say? They are none other — that is, the polytheists — none other than them, merely because they said, "Our Lord is Allah," they are people unjustly driven out of their homes. The Muslims, by whom? Because they were unjustly oppressed by the polytheists, merely for saying "Allah", because they were oppressed, they were driven from their homes. Yes, here "they" are not the polytheists; the believers are meant by Allah Almighty. "They are none other," it says — that is, the Muslims.

Merely because they said "Our Lord is Allah" — here we are reading the thing, we are reading the wrong verse, we will find its mistake here. They are people unjustly driven out of their homes. Up to here it is correct. If Allah had not repelled some people, their evils, by means of another part and prevented them, this part, this much of it spoils the meaning of the verse. It ascribes an attribute to Allah. What does it say? Let's read it here once more. If Allah had not repelled some people, their evils, by means of another part and prevented them. Now, that is, Allah makes people do evil, and Allah makes people do good, and He prevents their evils with good people, with good people. It is not like that.

How then? What do we say? If some people's evils, for Allah's sake, other people had not repelled and prevented. For Allah's sake. It is not that Allah repels the evils of some bad people by means of some people. Some people repel the evils of those bad people for Allah's sake. Yes. If other people had not repelled and prevented them, surely monasteries in which Allah's name is mentioned abundantly, churches, synagogues and mosques would have been destroyed, it says. Now then, according to this verse, monasteries, synagogues, churches — since it mentions them here in this Quran, do they have no validity?

It is saying it.

Listen to this carefully. What is it saying here now? If some people, for Allah's sake, had not repelled the evils of some people, if, for Allah's sake, other people had not repelled and prevented it, surely, in which Allah's name is mentioned abundantly, monasteries — that is, in today's monasteries Allah's names are mentioned abundantly. Churches — aren't there? There are. Well, synagogues and mosques would have been destroyed, it says. Then their religions are clearly valid too. The verse "inne'd-dîne indallâhi'l-İslâm" would collapse.

Now pay attention here.

By sending this verse, Allah Almighty means the following. Monasteries, the book sent to Moses, churches, synagogues — that is, the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel are meant here. In the time of the Torah, the validity at that time, in Moses' time — did it not have enemies? But those who stood behind Moses prevented their evils. Those hostile to the Psalms, those hostile to David — those who were with David were preventing the evils of those hostile to David. Well, those hostile to Jesus, too — those who were with Jesus were preventing the evils of those hostile to Jesus. This is what this verse is.

Don't let a meaning like the one I said a moment ago come to your mind. People understand it like that. And they say they too have religions. So, by saying it this way, Allah Almighty — that the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel are true, that they were sent by Allah, and that against Allah's commands the other side was constantly in rebellion, and against Allah, with feelings of grudge and hatred, attacked Islam. They too are on the fitra of Islam. Who? Those who followed their prophets. That is why: inne'd-dîne indallâhi'l-İslâm. "With Me the religion is Islam," He says. Whoever believed in their prophet — in Moses, in David, in Jesus, whoever believed — they are on the fitra of Islam.

And these, these people — the verses sent according to the understanding of that time, those verses appear in the Holy Quran. They are mentioned like this. I suppose this part is understood. Yes. I'm reading the verse once more, so that it is understood well.

What are we saying?

They are none other — merely because they (?) "Our Lord is Allah", people unjustly driven out of their homes. Who? The believers. That is, those who emigrated from Mecca the Ennobled and came to Medina the Illuminated as emigrants. If, for Allah's sake, other people had not repelled the evils of some people and prevented them, surely monasteries in which Allah's name is mentioned abundantly, monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques would have been destroyed.

Allah certainly helps those who help Him, who help His religion. Without doubt Allah is Strong, Mighty. Until now, against the Ottoman Empire, every ten years Europe united in Crusades and attacked; the Ottomans, relying on Allah, putting Allah behind them, hoping for His help, fighting with the cry of "Allah", brought Europe to its knees. Yes. Now, with our hearts filled with joy, our president at our head, Tayyip, has also put Allah behind him, and saying "Allah", in the way Allah commanded, has made weapons for us to stand on our own feet, and has taken Türkiye out of being a Türkiye whose agenda is set from outside and that bows to their agenda, and made it a Türkiye that sets the agenda.

But unfortunately, unfortunately, as our Lord commands here too, with external enemies and, above all, the more dangerous internal enemies wrestling, our state is going through a great trial and a bottleneck. But as long as it says "Allah", our back will not touch the ground. Yes.

Those who became Muslim and said only "Our Lord is Allah", because they did not compromise on Allah's religion, were oppressed by the polytheists; their goods and property were taken from them, and they were forced out of their homeland. For this reason the Muslims emigrated from Mecca the Ennobled to Abyssinia, to Medina the Illuminated and to other places. In the face of this emigration, to those who emigrated, to those who obey Allah Almighty, Allah Almighty promised that He would help. He had certain oppressors' oppression repelled by certain people and granted people life. As each community lived its time, whatever religion and book they belonged to — since the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel that Allah sent, and their prophets, and also the prophets who came after or before them were all on the fitra of Islam, the communities from one prophet to the next prophet are on the fitra of Islam.

Therefore, at the times when the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel were sent, their places of worship, in which Allah's name was mentioned and remembered abundantly — monasteries, churches, synagogues — were rightful places of worship. Then Allah, by sending the Prophet (peace be upon him), the Seal of the Prophets, as a mercy to the worlds, gathered all the books, that is, the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel, in the Holy Quran. Yes.

He also bound the religions to the religion of Islam. That is why: with Me the religion is Islam. Whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, that religion will never benefit him. That is, the Torah too was Islam. The Psalms too — those who believed in it were Islam. Well, those Christians who followed it in the Gospel — among the parts of the fitra of Islam, that is, the verses being told to the people of that time in a way they would understand, and being completed in the Quran. So when He says (?), it encompasses the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel too. That those who follow them, that is, follow the prophet, are also on the fitra of Islam, Allah Almighty informs us here.

Yes. Then Allah, by sending the Prophet (peace be upon him), the Seal of the Prophets, as a mercy to the worlds, gathered all the books, that is, the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel, in the Holy Quran. He also bound the religions to the religion of Islam. For this reason: with Me the religion is Islam. Whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, that religion will never benefit him — with these verses, these places of worship, according to these verses, no longer have any validity. No longer do synagogues, nor churches, nor — let me put it this way — other places of worship have any validity left.

However, since Allah Almighty left people free and at liberty in their will, people, in proportion to the covenants they gave Allah Almighty, by turning their faces from Allah away, denied the prophet whom Allah sent last, the Seal of the Prophets, and the Quran.

Yes.

Since all people are free in their beliefs, no person can interfere in any person's belief or (?) them.

Why?

In Surah Al-Kafirun: leküm dînüküm ve liye dîn — your religion is yours, and mine is mine. That's one. The real matter: Elestü bi-rabbiküm — when He said, "I am your Lord," there people were divided into three groups.

What did we say? The people of the right, the people of the left, and the group of the foremost. If He had compelled, Allah Almighty would have compelled them there and created them all on the fitra of Islam. He had the power to. But He left everyone free in their own will, and everyone had their own wish and desire, their aim, written for themselves as destiny. In this case, Allah Almighty, sending them to the world of dominion where His essence is not seen, which He calls veiled, so that in a (?) world they too would prove what kind of people they are, created these worlds. So no person, to any person's belief, with oppression, with tyranny, or with violence — "you will be Christian, you will be Muslim" — you cannot say that.

What has happened has happened, what is written is written; since He says, "With Us is a book preserved in the Preserved Tablet; nothing is later added to it nor taken away", no person can, on any person, put pressure to change his religion and culture, cannot threaten. "Well, Hodja, isn't there enjoining the good?" There is; what is it? Allah Almighty sends down rain from the sky — think of enjoining the good like this: a rain falling from the sky; if there is seed in that field, it grows in that rain and puts out its shoot; if, while that rain is falling, that seed is rotten, rain down as much rain of life on it as you want, it will still rot away on its own.

Yes. This is what enjoining the good is. That is, telling people the truth. But tyrannizing, or oppressing them, or using violence against them — just as there is no such verse, our Lord also does not want this from us in this way. Yes. Everyone is free and at liberty in their belief. But since Allah has made the truth heard to people, no one will be able to blame Allah or say to Allah Almighty, "I did not hear the truth." This is what enjoining the good is.

Every soul, with the covenant it gave Allah, will live its destiny in the world, make itself a witness before Allah, and depart.

Yes.

A question like this may come to mind: the ones mentioned in the verse — monasteries, churches and synagogues, the members of the religion that has synagogues — if their religions were not true, Allah would not have mentioned them in the Quran, it might be said. We explained this. There's no need to read it. But it is written here. Let's hear it from here once too. Let's see how it is written.

It is precisely to remove this question that explaining this verse somewhat in detail became necessary. We repeat: these places of worship were valid in their time. Allah Almighty mentioning these places of worship in this verse of His — in their time too, the oppressors did wrong to wronged people, to these religions, to people, to believers. Just as we explained. By resisting the oppressors, Allah kept His religion alive; He had the oppressor repelled by some people. Allah is Strong. Without doubt Allah helps those who help Allah's religion. He is absolutely powerful in His dominion. Allah prevails over everything.