Ali 'Imran 99: Say; “While you see and know (the Truth), why do you engage in turning way believers from the path of Allah, by polluting Allah’s path to look crooked? Allah is not unaware of what you are doing.”

We have come to Surah Al-Imran, verse 99.

Say: O People of the Book, while you see and know the truth, why, trying to make Allah's way look crooked, do you set out to turn the believers from Allah's way? Allah is not unaware of what you do, it says. Yes, although the verses all confirm one another, and though they seem to resemble one another, there are many differences between them at times. Once people start turning away from Allah and placing the love of kufr in their hearts: Who are these? Way back in the first barzakh, in the realm of Lahut, at that address 'Elestü bi-Rabbiküm', when Allah Almighty said 'I am your Lord', those who, out of their arrogance and pride, saw Allah Almighty as like themselves, who, although they knew that they were created by a Lord, deny the One who created them and wait for the Lord of their imagination.

After that, the light of faith, which is Allah's path of guidance, into the darkness of shirk they drown. They, with their own minds, drown the light of faith in the darkness of shirk. Were Allah not to leave them in darkness; you know, it says Allah takes away their light; no. Then, you know, it says Allah blinded their eyes, stopped up their ears, sealed their hearts; yes. He sealed them, but, our Lord sealed them, but they had them sealed. Our Lord did not seal them of His own (?) and wish, using His own will on them. They had them sealed. Yes.

The (?) of the nafs seem pleasing to people. They cannot keep themselves from following that nafs. As we explained a moment ago, when he gets up for prayer, that nafs gives him such heaviness that he feels himself in such torment, in (?), but when it is entertainment, his eyes are lively, lively, his mouth opens two spans wide, his mouth waters, while he watches (?) the entertainment. Especially, the more contrary to Allah's command a thing is, the more events there are that go outside that (?), the more they are devoted to them. Who are these? Those who say 'Allah' and yet turn their backs on Allah, with weakness of faith in their hearts, or those who within their own ideologies turn their back on Allah and choose the paths of kufr: such people.

Beside those who love Allah and are with Allah, these feel themselves guilty, and to be free of that guilt they want people like themselves to increase. Now, those who smoke hashish and use heroin are, in our eyes, low people.

Drink is also forbidden, but hashish and heroin, which drag a person even more into misery, and which, settling traits Allah does not want into that person's body, (?) and incline to inhuman ways of living; and those who have such habits, there are people who use them as they please. That is why if such people are used to hashish and heroin, they look for people like themselves to take hashish and heroin. To have a pleasant chat with them, so that they are like-minded.

In this way people, thinking they will be rid of the feeling of guilt, try to turn people away from Allah's way. So just as those who use hashish and heroin want their kind to multiply, and to be rid of that feeling of guilt get people to say 'look, this one does it too', these too, to turn people from Allah's way, so that they can soothe their inferiority complexes, well, on these people who believe, they try to turn them from their paths; they set about it. With crooked, twisted words. Crooked, twisted. Because however much a person tries to speak the truth, he cannot. Because the truth is the way of the Truth (Haqq).

It will be crooked. Beside the truth, according to the verse 'The truth has come and falsehood has vanished', their talk will be crooked and twisted.

Before evil, also setting examples for one another, saying 'so-and-so does the same thing', they practically compete with one another. Abandoning Allah's way of guidance, they prefer misguidance for their nafs. Of course these people do not keep quiet. Because of what they imagine of pure and innocent people, with a sense of guilt, the believers and those who say 'Allah' they try to turn from their path. For their sense of guilt: Islam's being dignified, being peaceful, observing everything, well, that is, observing Allah's commands and accepting what comes from Him, being content with one's earnings; this gives peace to Islam.

Those who envy people with such feelings, those greedy for the world, those caught up in the passion of being the head through selfish feelings, those who want to put people under their own command: these too, with such traits as pride and arrogance, fame and glory, egotism, with their grandeur, their hearts never find peace. And Allah Almighty says: they are restless, and their hearts are restless and scattered, He says. So these, by seeking supporters like themselves, on such people, because they wish to satisfy their own selves, will of course speak to them in crooked, twisted words. Now, since the time has come, let me give an example from myself too.

Although I constantly explain the verses, although we are Ahl al-Sunnah, although we speak the truth, those who read the verses backwards, who understand nothing of hadith and verses, say this man is an unbeliever, they say. He denies the hadiths, they say. They say so; they talk crookedly. Because they do not know. They know nothing of it. It does not suit them. Even if it does, it does not suit them; they see that they are finished. They go on their own way. Yet, as we said a moment ago, a wise person will use his mind and reflect. Our ancestors put it so nicely too: wherever you turn back from a loss, it is profit, they say.

Yes. Of course these people do not keep quiet. Because they (?) pure and innocent people, with a sense of guilt, the believers and those who say 'Allah' they set out to turn from their paths.

Allah is not unaware of anything that is done. The One present in every particle of the universe, aware even of the motions of atomic nuclei and of their movements, who knows the needs of the beings He created through the language of state or the language of the tongue, and wills no injustice for His creatures: Allah is surely aware of all that is done, of the deeds people have committed, or of what passes through their hearts. Here, Satan's: Elhamdülillah Yettine ve yettikümullah Here a story of Satan with Pharaoh comes to my mind. Yes.

At a time when Pharaoh claimed to be god, Satan comes to Pharaoh's door and knocks. No need to read this either. Let us tell it.

From inside, Pharaoh says: who is it?

Satan calls out. Satan calls out.

What kind of god are you? You ask who is at your door.

Who are you? Come in, he says. He goes in. Satan. Yes. Thereupon Pharaoh gets up and opens the door. Satan comes in and says this to Pharaoh: If a god like you has an adviser like me, we are enough to lead these people astray, he says. A god like you with an adviser like me. We are enough to lead these people astray, he says. O man! Even Satan, although he knows that Allah is Allah, that Allah watches over everything and is aware of it, could not keep himself from his grudge against Allah; he too, among those who take a stand against Allah, has entered. He knows that Allah is Allah. In fact, in the Battle of Badr the Meccans are preparing an army, with a great army, and Satan is their vanguard then; he is already inciting the Meccans.

With pomp they approach Badr. Satan sees what he sees. Today, he says, my eye is very sharp. I see what you do not see, he says. Farewell, then: he takes to his heels and runs back the way he came. What did he see? At Badr, against the Prophet's (peace be upon him) small army, Allah Almighty's (?) three thousand angels. Yes, again we say, O man, even Satan knows, Satan, Satan knows that Allah exists, but he could not break his nafs. Because he could not break his nafs, he rebelled against Allah.

Before us are proofs, before us are events that have happened. Will people still not see this state of Satan? And there are the examples of Pharaoh, of the peoples that were destroyed. Will people still not use their minds? Will they still not turn to Allah?

Allah Almighty shows people all the events. Yes.

The Prophet (peace be upon him), in his conversation with Satan, says: O Abu Amr, come, prostrate once at the grave of our father Adam, he says, and I will pray to my Lord for your forgiveness, he says. Satan gives this answer: By Him who sent you as a mercy to the worlds and made you the preacher of Hell, made you the preacher of Paradise, and made me, he says, the preacher of Paradise, of Hell: I swear by Allah that, he says, and he says: by Him who sent you as a mercy to the worlds and made you the preacher of Paradise and made me the preacher of Hell, I swear by Allah that, he says, I did not prostrate to him alive, so why should I prostrate to him dead, he says.

Look at his pride, pride, look at his arrogance.

Look at the arrogance of the accursed one.

Well, those who know Allah as Allah and yet on Allah turn their backs: what difference is there between them and this accursed one?

No difference at all. Then a person is gathered with the one he loves. How beautifully I put it. A person is gathered with the one he loves. Yes.

Just think once with sound reason. Allah, who created you most honourable, created you as the noblest of creatures, who said 'lekad halakna'l-insâne fî ahseni takvîm', creating man in the most beautiful form: Allah; because Satan did not prostrate to Adam, your forefather, because Satan did not prostrate, he was driven from His presence and cursed.

There is something missing or extra, an error here. Let us write it there.

Your error for, is it fitting for you to befriend a Satan who was cursed? Cursed when he did not prostrate to Adam, and having become an enemy to Adam's descendants; our Lord who created us also tells us this. Let us think of it like this: let me not give an example from you; let me give an example from myself. My father: someone is hostile to my father, is acting with hostility. He is acting with hostility to my father and leaves him exposed to oppression. As his child, can I make friends with the one who is hostile to him? Is this possible? He has wronged my father. My father has a right over me.

Yes. He also caused our father Adam to leave Paradise; he came into the world. And since he is an enemy of his descendants, to set his descendants against one another, he stirs up whatever strife, discord and every kind of intrigue he wants among them: how can you make friends with this Satan? Then, thinking this way, are you true to your forefather and to the One who created him? That is, are you loyal and faithful to them? Can you say this?

Making yourself, as the plaything of the one who is your enemy, his slave, making yourself, as the plaything of the one who is your enemy, his slave, and pleasing Satan: does it befit the honour of you, created as a noble creature? Yes. What does Allah Almighty say? He is your open enemy. Do not follow Satan's footsteps. Do not follow Satan's footsteps. In that case, if a person goes and follows the tracks of the one who is his enemy, Allah Almighty's 'lekad halakna'l-insâne fî ahseni takvîm', I created man in the most beautiful form; of whom He said this and whom He made vicegerent of the earth, to that man; by turning your back on your Lord, with the one who is an enemy to Allah and to man, if you go and make friends, can you say: I am a person devoted to Allah and to my forefather?

This is impossible. If you say so, you deceive yourself.

What does the Prophet (peace be upon him) say? Even if you see a person flying in the sky, do not believe him; the accursed one flies too. Look at his deeds, he says. Look at his actual deeds. So if you make friends with him and follow the tracks of that accursed one, and say: let me be devoted to Allah and my forefather, to the way of the Prophet (peace be upon him), if you say this, you deceive yourself, because on that path you have no deeds.

Yes.

In a hadith the Prophet says: a person is gathered with the one he loves. If, knowing full well that your enemy Satan is destined for Hell, you with him make friends, love him and go his way, you too will be gathered with him, and of the place where he is you will be worthy.

Well, Hodja, what's it to you? What are you talking about? Are you responsible for people, then? Is it your job to be their overseer? If you say that, you are right. Actually, one should not speak. But Allah Almighty loves His servants very much.

Because He loves His servants so much, He sends them prophets. Those prophets, by Allah's commands, to turn the servants to their Lord, it says, would approach them from their front, their back, their right and their left, it says. So, because Allah loves people so much, the people they have given a duty to also, from their right, from their left, from in front and from behind, and with the most beautiful comparisons and examples Allah has put into their hearts, explaining to people, to carry out the duty their Lord has given them, they work. Now I think it is understood. Yes.

Then, people have a conscience. What conscience is this? Compassion. If you go to bed hungry there while I go to bed full here, what does the Prophet say? He who knows his neighbour went to bed hungry while he himself went to bed full, his faith has not reached perfection, he says. Imagine. So, if he says a believer, a Muslim at one end of the world and a Muslim at the other, are brothers; brother (?), and in this case perhaps we will carry each other on our backs, we will convey the truth to each other. What does the Prophet (peace be upon him) say? The best of you are those who counsel one another to the truth, show the right path and protect one another from evil, he says.

People have very great ranks in Allah's sight.

Knowing their place in Allah's sight, people must behave in a way worthy of Allah. Man will protect his honour and dignity, his human dignity, for Allah, and of the other creatures created beneath them they will not be the slaves or caretakers. Caretaker of those created beneath oneself. That is, caretaker here means: entering their service, he will not become their servant.

Today those who keep dogs, which are makruh and may be used only where required, in their homes; when the Prophet in his hadith says a time will come when love of dogs will surpass love of people: those who become servants and slaves to dogs, who sleep and rise with them and, to please them, do all they can: such people, who, not knowing their own place, demean themselves and are left exposed before this verse. They are like the four-legged animals that roam the earth. Even more astray in their way. Yes. Those who overstep the limits Allah Almighty has set will surely, before Allah's justice, give account.

Let us read this part once more so that it is understood well. People have very great ranks in Allah's sight. Knowing their place in Allah's sight, people must behave in a way worthy of Allah. Man will protect his honour and dignity, his human dignity, for Allah, and they will not be the slaves or caretakers of the other creatures created beneath him. Those who overstep the limits Allah Almighty has set will surely, before Allah's justice, give account. Yes. What does it say? Every soul will taste death, and in the end your return is to Me, says Allah Almighty.