Al-Ma'idah 35: Oh you believers! Fear Allah and look for ways to come close to Allah and struggle on Allah’s path so that you will attain salvation.

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O you who believe! Fear Allah! Seek a way to draw near to Him! And make jihad in His way, so that you may attain salvation.

Seek a way to draw near to Him, He says. Seek a way to draw near to Allah.

Things are as your eyes see them, not as (?), He says. Even though you do not see Me, We have the world (?) and outwardly spread beneath your feet, He says. We gave you such a mind that you knew these worlds and you have a Creator, an Owner, He says. You knew. So instead of coveting the Creator's creations, He says,

ways to draw near to the One who created them, He says. Yes, to draw near to the Creator of His creations, to the Creator of these worlds, seek a way, He says. And that is what (?) man needs anyway. O you who believe, fear Allah who created you. (?) to draw near to Him. Hold fast to Allah's verses. Observe Allah's commands. Avoid His prohibitions. Keep up your duty of servanthood to Allah. Reform your nafs through the worship you perform, so that you draw near to Allah. Yes.

You draw near to Allah. Reform your nafs through the worship you perform, so that you draw near to Allah. Otherwise we're in trouble. What does the Prophet (peace be upon him) say in his hadiths? If the worship you perform does not keep you from evils, it is (?) to you, he says. So what is worship? The pride, arrogance, glory, fame, ego, grandeur in our nafs and worldly desire — it is for breaking these. If we break these, what will happen? If we break these, these traits are not to the world for us; these traits — not deifying Allah's creations, but knowing their Creator as God, seeing the helplessness in our own nafs, and submitting to the One who created us.

Yes.

Allah has no need of worship and of people, of people seeking a way to draw near to Allah Almighty. Allah Almighty has no need of people at all. The worship people perform is for their own selves. Allah Almighty created man so that His Essence be known. If a person has taken a path to Him to know his Lord, it means he has won that victory. But if a person turns his back on the One who created him, it means he has wronged his own soul.

So Allah Almighty left people free in their will. Within this will, people, through the deeds they will do, whatever they do, must know that they do it in their own favor or against themselves — this they must know. In their own favor or against themselves. Are there verses about it? Of course. What you earn, He says, is the return for your own (?). Today, without anyone being wronged, what each has earned will be given to him in full, He says. So the one who competes in goodness and fulfils Allah's commands does it for his own self, and the one who competes in evil and leads in oppression has also done it for his own self.

Allah Almighty has no need of the deeds of either. He, in His Essence, (?); He wills what He wishes with the word kun, that is, "Be", and creates. He creates. That is why the need is for people. People need to take a path to Allah.

Allah's need of worship, and of people seeking a way to draw near to Allah Almighty — there is none. Because Allah loves people very much, He wants to offer them eternal bliss in the hereafter — to people. Because He made people His addressees. Look at people. They all descend from people. All people; and animals too descend from their own animals, their (?) kinds. Allah Almighty created man as the most honorable in the universe. Why did He create him the most honorable? Because He gave him a part of Himself. What does this part mean? He gave of His Spirit. What does this spirit mean? The universal spirit is Allah Almighty.

With the attribute of Essence, (?). So He created man resembling His Essence. Because He created him resembling His Essence, He gave him his will into his own hands. Thus He willed to be known through man. He willed to be known through man. So man, with his own deeds, with the good deeds and sins he did toward Allah, tomorrow at the Supreme Court will give account before his Lord; the good will reach paradise, and the evil, (?), "What an evil resting place", as He calls hell. Our Lord says: in paradise, in the presence of the Most Merciful, they are in the assemblies of truth, He says, those people. What was it?

In the assemblies of truth in the presence of the Most Merciful. When Allah Almighty resembles people — people — Allah Almighty resembled people, but because He gave of His Spirit — rather, when people resemble their Lord, since they are (?) from His forms, and He too, the commander-in-chief, the Owner of the worlds, the absolute Ruler of all beings, in the highest paradise, will converse with us and will appear to us. According to one narration, He will recite Surah Ar-Rahman. According to one narration. Well, but when it says in the assemblies of truth in the presence of the Most Merciful, Allah Almighty will also address people.

Because He created people like His Essence, He is very merciful to people, and He held them as addressees of His Essence. He held man as His addressee. The proof that He did is that His eternal word, His own word, the Holy Quran, He gave to people.

With His word He addressed people. Yes.

The Owner of the worlds who created you like this — how can you rebel against such a Lord, how can you turn your back, how can you turn away from worshipping Him, how can you not do what He says — with what power?

So the human nafs is (?), in a very monstrous state, a creature, the human nafs. But the spirit is in a position to gain mastery over it. If the human spirit cannot master that nafs, that nafs drags him into disgrace, abasement and punishment. But if his spirit rules over it, then in Allah's sight the person rises and takes his place in his Lord's assemblies of truth.

We continue. Allah's need of worship and of people seeking a way to draw near to Allah Almighty — there is none. Because Allah loves people very much, a life of eternal bliss in the hereafter He wants to offer them. So that people may obtain the hereafter's blessings, Allah Almighty sends people prophets and books. He makes His Essence known and tells people how they should behave. How they should behave.

Today people, in the desire and pride of the nafs, competing for what others will say. For what others will say.

There is a saying: to my hungry belly, cool highlands, those who, stark naked, want to show themselves as being of a high rank; by undressing, wanting to show themselves bodily — (?) minds.

These are people who, adorning themselves entirely with traits Allah does not want, compete in wronging their own souls. Well, is this how Allah Almighty wanted to see man, created so honorable?

Man should know his (?). He should know the purpose of his creation. He should worship his Lord. What should he say? O my Lord, Owner of the worlds, (?) (?), worthy of praise and worship, the One, my Allah.

Us — in the acts we did as helpless ones, knowingly, unknowingly — forgive us our (?). O our Lord, in our helplessness, within our strength, in the worship we performed, accept fully the shortcomings we made. On that Day of Judgment, in the torment of the gathering, grant us shelter in the shade. Protect us from the severity of that day. On that day, join us among the servants who meet it with a smiling face. Man should pray to his Lord. He should speak as if seeing Him, he should speak from his heart. And why did Allah create man? So that His Essence be known. Allah Almighty says, (?) servant.

I have forgiven all your sins. Only ask, He says, ask, request. Yes. Man, who is to become the sultan both of this world and of the hereafter — he chases after what others will say, and out of pride and arrogance he undresses. If he runs after what others will say, he will meet both the hardship of the world, its oppression, and the punishment of the hereafter.

So that people may obtain the blessings of the hereafter, Allah Almighty sends people prophets and books. He makes His Essence known and tells people how they should behave. If people continue their worship in Allah's way to draw near to Allah, Allah too places His light in their hearts, and the person's heart is purified of everything besides Allah.

In Allah's way, for Allah, make jihad. It does not necessarily mean waging war, killing people, using force to bring people into Allah's religion.

Jihad is of two kinds. Jihad with ideas. Of three kinds: jihad with your wealth.

And jihad with your life.

That is, make jihad by waging war. That is, with your life against those who attack your religion. With your thought, your knowledge, He says. With your wealth — give it in charity in Allah's way. Yes. Jihad does not necessarily mean war.

Learn the religion of Islam, your religion, well. Pay attention to Allah's word. What does Allah Almighty teach people? Learn these, and in Allah's way you too can teach other people. Make Allah's religion loved. In a verse Allah Almighty says: do not make religion difficult, make it easy. Allah does not will hardship for people. He does not place on people's backs the burden people can bear.

In this respect, whoever wants to draw near to Allah will first learn Islam himself, reform his own nafs, and then teach Islam, so that he can draw near to Allah. Yes.

Again in a verse, Allah Almighty: who is sweeter of speech than the one who tells of Allah, He says. Who is sweeter of speech than the one who tells of Allah? So, as human beings, the one who knows the purpose of creation — know the purpose of creation, enter the religion of Islam as servants of Allah, and, living Islam, believing in the books and prophets Allah sent, the one who knows as prophet the last He sent, the Seal of the Prophets, the master of both worlds, Muhammad (peace be upon him), who follows what was revealed to him, the Holy Quran, and tells of it — that person is the one who attains salvation.

When these people tell of Allah, who could be sweeter of speech than them? May Allah Almighty join all of us to His servants who attain salvation.