Al-Ma'idah 102: A nation before you had asked them and after this, they became deniers of these.

Surah Al-Ma'idah, verse 102: A people before you asked about such things, and then came to deny them. See how fine: do not ask for something you cannot do, and do not press on it. Then, when it is made clear to you, you remain under its burden, and perhaps you meet with calamities. A people before you asked about such things, and then came to deny them. If people cannot show complete submission to Allah Almighty, they become weak in faith. Yes. He has said the Kalima-i Shahada. He is a Muslim. But his submission is not complete.

A person whose nafs has not risen to mutmainna is a Muslim person. A Muslim person.

However much, of his faith, of his faith, however much he bears witness to Allah's existence,

knows of being raised in the hereafter,

believes there will be resurrection after death — who is this? A Muslim, of course. knows that the Books and the prophets are true, realizes he will be called to account at the Great Judgment, he is still in doubt. Still in doubt. Whoever says "I have no doubt", let him tell me what is behind my ear. Let him tell me what is behind my ear. He deceives himself. Until he rises to mutmainna. Until he attains the rank of believer. "O soul at peace, go, your Lord pleased with you and you pleased with your Lord, among My servants. Go to your Paradise" — until they enter among the people He says this to, those people are in doubt.

Sometimes, about his faith, he tells himself: yes, it is so. I believe, I have faith. After a while he falls into doubt again. Will we really be resurrected? Is there really a world of the hereafter? And to them it seems like (?). It seems very far away. He looks to living that world. Why do we say veli, evliya? There are velis, there are evliya. These velis, these evliya, are people who have come to know their Lord's manifestations, who have reached that state — believing people. Then are you, too, (?) a veli and evliya? Have you too risen to tranquility, are you a person cleansed of doubt?

Well, then what will become of us, Hodja?

Allah Almighty sent us to a (?) world. So, according to the verse where He says, "We made you on the earth peoples and tribes so that you may quickly know one another," though we came into the midst of Islam, of Islam's 99 percent, and of the 9 (?), we are, God willing, among those who gave Allah Almighty a good covenant. In this case Allah Almighty wants us to continue on this path. He wants faith in the unseen. In the unseen. He wants faith. Faith in this. Even if you are in doubts, this doubt of yours is normal, He says. It is normal. Because you (?) My Essence in this world without spiritually knowing the manifestations.

Your rank is that much, He says. According to your longing and appetite, your rank is this much. In this case I have accepted you among those who worship My Essence, who obey, He says. You said your Kalima-i Shahada, didn't you; He accepts you as such. Then fall into doubt as much as you like after that. What do you do? You pray your prayer, and you are in doubt. You keep your fast, give your zakat, go on your Hajj. But from time to time you cannot free yourself of that doubt. When will you be free? When you come to know the manifestations. When you rise to a tranquil nafs. Nafs-i ammara: doubt.

Nafs-i lawwama: doubt about prayer and (?). Nafs-i mulhima: doubt. The people of karamat. (?) Doubt. Like the friend of Mawlana's father, who had tayy-i makan and still went as an unbeliever. But when one rises to tranquility, the manifestations begin. After that there is no turning back for him. That is, he does not fall to nafs-i ammara or to kufr.

He is a believer. A believer, believers have no turning back. That is why Allah Almighty addresses the believers as "the soul that has found peace." Why does He say "soul that has found peace"? Why does He not call these people of faith "soul that has found peace"? Why does He address them as "O you who believe"? Or: "Tell those believers," or: "their eyes" — that they guard against the forbidden. To the believers. To the believing women. "Tell the believing women to guard their eyes from the forbidden." Who are the believing women?

Women.

In addressing these, who have no turning back, He gives us life. That is, He gives life to Islam. What does He say? Allah Almighty says: let those believing women guard their eyes from the forbidden, let them cover their heads. No. Well, if a Muslim woman uncovers her head today, does she not become an unbeliever by Allah's verse? But He is not calling out to the one who has merely believed. To whom does He call? To the believing women. Because the believing woman will not uncover her head. She would give her head, but not uncover it. That is the believing woman. Ah, if you force her to uncover it, that does not mean she uncovered it herself.

Deeds depend on intentions. Yes. In this case, people, until they become believers, until they become believing women, are in doubt. They are in doubt about Allah's oneness. Their faith is one thing. The heart being at peace is another. The heart being at peace is in the fourth state of the nafs.

Beware, do not misunderstand what I say. Do not say, "Even though we said the Kalima-i Shahada, this man does not accept us within the religion of Islam." Never, never. God forbid — what are we saying? We are saying doubt does not leave a person. What doubt is this? Is there really a hereafter? Will we be called to account before our Lord? However confidently you tell yourself this, from time to time one falls into doubt. What, do I know? We know because we have lived it.

Do you know what Allah Almighty says now, look? The scholars and the angels bear witness to Allah's existence, He says. What did He say? The scholars and the angels bear witness to Allah's existence. Well, God forbid, Allah protect us, is He lying here? He means the scholars, He means the angels. So these have seen. Who are these scholars? "Of your scholars," he says, "their passing to the hereafter is like the sun going and darkness coming." What else? Who are these scholars? "The scholars of my ummah are like the prophets of the Children of Israel," he said, people.

So these are the ones at peace. Those at peace. Yes. If you do not find in yourselves what these verses describe, you are not the people these verses describe. From time to time. I am not saying always. From time to time you fall into hesitation. You fall into doubts. Isn't that so, Nihmet? No? You have no doubt? You don't? From time to time. Can any of you tell me, "I am completely certain, never otherwise"? Then you are a veli. You are one of the evliya. Look, it separated at once. Veli and evliya separated at once. The scholar separated at once. The believer separated. But when we say people of faith — even if you have doubts, as long as you do not deny Allah, do not deny His Messenger, do not deliberately deny a verse of the Quran, you are a Muslim.

The deeds you bring about are your rewards and your sins.

Yes.

If people cannot show complete submission to Allah Almighty, they become weak in faith. So here faith is weak. For example, I have submitted to Allah. I say my faith is strong. But the path Allah Almighty has shown weighs on me. Since it does not please my nafs, God forbid, I turn my back on it. Doesn't that happen? I have faith. I say I am a Muslim. I can never give up what my nafs desires. And since what the nafs desires lies outside Allah Almighty's (?), I act outside the verses. God forbid. By "I" I mean people. God forbid. Today, the believers and velis who say "my faith is strong", the scholars excepted — to people whose nafs has not risen to tranquility, to people, from a state of the nafs, Satan and the world look very beautiful.

Some cannot restrain themselves on the path of lust. Some cannot restrain themselves on the path of the world. Some cannot restrain themselves on the path of the forbidden. On all sorts of paths these people are captives of their nafs. In this case, because of weakness of faith, from time to time they carry out traits Allah Almighty does not want. These, with their rewards and sins, as long as they do not leave Islam, are responsible before Allah Almighty. Everyone is responsible; so this state points to weakness of faith. To weakness of faith.

Such states show that people's faith has not reached perfection, that they have not been able to reform their nafs. In the face of the questions people have asked, when they receive answers they do not like, because they turn away from carrying out Allah's commands, they even fall into kufr. The Jews too would come and ask the Prophet: "If he says this, accept; if he says that, don't believe, come back," they would say. Yes, the people of the Prophet Salih asked that a camel come out of a rock. Then this miracle appears. But the people of the Prophet Salih slaughter the camel because of their denial.

And Allah destroys this people.

So, anything you cannot do, neither ask it of your Lord nor ask the scholars. Anything you cannot do. For example, I constantly pray to Allah Almighty like the prayer Abraham (peace be upon him) made. "O Allah," says Abraham, while raising the House of Allah, "accept this worship of ours from us. Join us among the righteous servants. Make imams from our descendants. Grant them the values of this world and the hereafter. Keep us firm on the right path, O Allah," he says. If I am not worthy of this, I don't say it. I don't say it. If I say it, I try to be worthy. I try to be worthy of it.

Do you never make mistakes, Hodja? There is no human without mistakes. Then I make the prayer of Jonah. Lâ ilâhe illâ ente sübhâneke innî küntü mine'z-zâlimîn. O my Lord, I have wronged myself, forgive me, I say. Forgive me. Yes.

A person will be true to his word. Who is truer to his word than Allah, He says. Abu Bakr too said to the Prophet: "O Messenger of Allah, of Allah Almighty's" — he says — "how many morals do I have?" When you said "take on the morals of Allah," how many of His morals do I have, I wonder? "You," he says, "are short of six or seven," he says. The Prophet. Yes. Look at the morals, how beautiful. Within these morals, of course, his faithfulness to his word is that strong too.

In the face of the questions people have asked, when they receive answers they do not like, because they turn away from carrying out Allah's commands, they even fall into kufr. The people of the Prophet Salih asked that a camel come out of a rock. Then this miracle appears. But the people of the Prophet Salih slaughter the camel because of their denial. And Allah destroys this people.

Yes. The Children of Israel applied to their prophet: "Appoint a commander for us. Let us strive in jihad in the way of Allah," they say. A commander. They are held captive in the desert of Tih, you know; "appoint a commander for us," he says. He says it to their prophet.

When Saul was appointed king over them, they shrank from fighting jihad with him. They are imprisoned in the desert of Tih.

Saul, as their commander — that is, David (peace be upon him).

When he was appointed commander, the wealthy people among them: "We are wealthier, so-and-so is wealthier, why wasn't he made commander?" That is the ego of whims. They are still in the same feelings. They are generations of the same lineage. They are lineages of the same generation.

Yet their prophet says to them about Saul: he is wiser than you and stronger than you and possessor of wisdom.

Yes. In this case, although Allah Almighty sent Saul to them, they went to (?). And the people of Jesus asked Jesus that a table be sent down from the sky. They ask for a meal. Those who see this miracle also deny it. Their shapes are changed into swine.

Now if a person, from his prophet, asks for a miracle, and his prophet shows that miracle to those people, and those people, despite seeing that miracle, deny it, then this (?) a public case. Allah Almighty seizes them then. But if a people asks a miracle of its prophet and that prophet does not show that miracle, upon that people Allah does not send calamity. How is calamity given? If they ask their prophet, and their prophet shows them that miracle from Allah, and they deny that miracle, they get a public case and are destroyed. Like the camel coming out, so to speak; as the people of Ad and the people of Lot said the same (?), as they denied certain things, Allah Almighty those peoples destroyed.

Again, according to reports, the Companions asked the Prophet questions. The Prophet, mounting the pulpit to answer these questions, says: "As long as I occupy this station, ask whatever questions you have."

Yes, and me too, don't I say the same? The heaviest question in the world — prepare it and ask it; if my Lord has given me this station, and if I am His heir, ask the heaviest question in the world, look, I don't dodge it, I am telling you, as long as you learn your religion. Learn your religion.

If you ask a question and I cannot answer, I will step down from here anyway. Yes.

The question I give (?), but it will be according to the verses.

So, according to the report, the Companions asked the Prophet questions. The Prophet, mounting the pulpit to answer these questions, says: "As long as I occupy this station, ask whatever questions you have." Thereupon Abdullah ibn Hudhafa stood up and asked: "O Messenger of Allah, who is my father?" Yes.

He asked: "Who is my father?" And the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Your father is Hudhafa." His father had died. When another Companion said, "O Messenger of Allah, where is my father?", the Prophet (peace be upon him) answered: "Your father is in the fire." And Suraqa ibn Malik: to the question "O Messenger of Allah, is Hajj obligatory on us every year?" the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not answer. When he pressed this question three times, then: "O Suraqa, if I had said Hajj is obligatory every year, Hajj would have become obligatory for people every year." Yes. Going on Hajj every year would have been heavy on people.

Now, at one point — listen carefully to the words I said: "Ask me too whatever you ask about our religion. I am an heir of the Prophet, I will answer," I said. The answer the Prophet would give, the one I give — I am not someone who has reached that prophetic station, so that like him I would know who his father was, or know where his grandfather is. If you ask me such questions of karamat, I have no state at all to tell you through karamat. I was given verses. And I am obliged to answer you in the light of the verses. Concerning our religion. About the questions of our religion. Ask whatever you want.

But don't ask about superstitions. Ask about superstition, about such matters of the unseen — like who was my father, who was my mother, who was I, where is my father, what about my grandfather. I am not someone who occupies the prophetic station. I am not a prophet either. Yes. Everyone has a capacity, and within that capacity there are answers he will give. Yes. My capacity is to enlighten you in the light of the verses, within the capacity of our language.

For this reason people would have abandoned the obligations and fallen into kufr. That is, if Hajj were obligatory every year. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said in reply to his Companions: "If I do not answer some of the questions you ask, do not insist." Yes. How beautiful the verses are. How beautiful the hadiths are. If we too do not answer, don't insist.

If we do answer, it won't suit you. Asking every question (?) would tangle people's affairs, the obedience and worship they are to do, so insisting on questions that are not answered means a person taking on a burden he cannot bear. Therefore it is better not to insist on getting answers to questions. Yes.