Ali 'Imran 170: They are joyful from the Grace that Allah has bestowed upon them. And they want to give glad tidings to those behind that could not join them. There is no fear upon them, and they will not be saddened.

Yes, we will come to our lesson. I think we left off at verse 170. Surah Al Imran, verse 170. The verse.

From the grace and generosity of Allah, with what He has given them, with what He has given them, rejoicing, they are granted provision in the presence of their Lord. Who are these? The martyrs. The martyrs. Allah Almighty has made them alive too. Do not call them dead, He says. Do not call them dead. They are provided for from where you do not know. Now, those listening to me, (?), might say this: these are alive, and the Prophet is alive too. What is the difference between them? They might say that. One might think so, and rightly. Anything can come to mind. He is alive, they are alive.

One was created before the universe was created; from his light this universe, and then from his spirit people were created. First the prophets; since people were created from the spirits of the prophets, indirectly all people were created from the spirit of the Prophet, so he is a mercy to the worlds. Since the worlds were created from his light too, he is again a mercy to the worlds. One goes right back to there. One existed before anything was created, alive; the other was created from him, later. There is a difference between the two. One; second, one is a prophet, and none of them can match the prophets.

The other is the martyrs. They too are, more or less, servants Allah loves. They too are those who are alive after death. Spirits that gain power. There is a difference. What does it say? From Allah's grace, it says. Look, Allah — from Allah's grace and generosity, with what He has given them, rejoicing, with what He has given them. What does He give? He shows them the highest Paradise. He welcomes them with a smiling face. Allah Almighty welcomes them with a smiling face. Because they sacrificed their lives to Allah for our Lord's religion. So Allah Almighty welcomes them with a smiling face and bestows grace on them.

It's not me saying it, mind you. Look, the verses will say it now. The verses that follow will say it too. What does it say?

Rejoicing, they are granted provision in the presence of their Lord. In the presence of their Lord, look. Wasn't Allah supposed to be invisible? To those who say Allah cannot be seen, (?), what does it say? He welcomes them with a smiling face. He welcomes them with joy. (?) people of faith are not saying anything to them. I'm not saying this to condemn them, mind you. Look, situations like this. They need protecting too. Those who understand it that way need protecting. They say Allah cannot be seen. That comes, more than from faith, from a great faith in and reverence for Him. We all have reverence, but of course one person's reverence is greater.

What does one do? He cannot be seen, cannot be known. Meaning He is great. Fine. He knows it that way. His knowledge goes that far. But if he stands up against those who have mastered this knowledge, he gets a beating. He gets a beating. Everyone should know their limits. Now, let's say I live in Istanbul.

I tell people my address.

Those who don't know Istanbul describe where I live from the address, but they don't know what kind of place it is. I know what kind of place it is. Alongside the descriptions there is evidence. What? There's this building there, this factory there, this over there, that here, I say. The others imagine my address according to their own minds and make it up. There is a big difference. There is a big difference. Yes. What are we saying now? From Allah's grace and generosity, with what He has given them, rejoicing, they are granted provision in the presence of their Lord. In the presence of their Lord. (?) In the presence of their Lord.

To their martyr brothers who will come after them and have not yet joined them, they wish to give the good news that there is no grief or fear, and to feel that joy, it says. They feel it. For them too. What does it say about them, with Allah? They feel the joy of the good news that there is no grief or fear. So they say to those who will come after: O our brothers, what are you waiting for? Look how well our Lord welcomed us. With what a beautiful face He welcomed us. What provisions He has given us. What are you waiting for, they say. Come. Come. The station of, well, is very high. A very high station.

Those who reach the station of martyrdom, seeing that Allah Almighty's promise is true, in the hereafter (?) of what they imagined, when honour and generosity are shown to them, within the beauty and life of that place, with the awe and joy that rank gives a person, they wish to come to the world again and again, give their lives for Allah and fall as martyrs.

In this joy and peace, the one who, while still in the world, has won his hereafter, having passed his test in the world successfully, those who attain eternal bliss in the hereafter are in the ease of those who have finished their work and succeeded. And they have won Paradise as well. Why had we come into the world anyway? We had come to prove what kind of person we are. While reading these verses I was moved, and I said, we couldn't even become martyrs. I said, how can I write this before reaching that station of martyrdom? After that, Allah, through inspiration, giving us certain feelings of Islam, and the saying that the ink of scholars is like the blood of martyrs, comforted us.

Ja'far al-Tayyar, the uncle of (?), made Yemen Muslim. He would cry constantly. Constantly. Because he could not become a martyr. He would cry constantly. The blessed man. (?) O Ja'far, you did more than a martyr: you made the whole people of Yemen Muslim. The whole people of Yemen became Muslim. When asked, is this not enough for you, (?) it was not enough. It pains me while my companions become martyrs one by one, he says. Staying here, he says, with my hands tied, he says, being here like this pains me, he says. Finally, when he returns to Medina, the Prophet (peace be upon him) sends him to a battle.

The banner, he says, my uncle Ja'far will hold, he says. Then so-and-so (?), then so-and-so (?), then so-and-so (?), and then, he says, withdraw, appoint a commander among yourselves, he says. So he names one by one those who will become martyrs.

Before going to battle, Ja'far al-Tayyar says: O Messenger of Allah, pray for me, I have a (?) from you. Tell me, my uncle, he says. Let me have two wings in Paradise, he says, and let me fly with those wings in Paradise, he says.

Allah Almighty accepts his prayer. They even cut off his arm; as the banner falls, he takes it with the other arm, the other arm. As it falls there, they cut that arm too; he takes (?) his mouth, then another one arrives and takes the banner. And there he falls as a martyr. He says: I saw my uncle flying in Paradise, he says. Yes, (?).

He is the only one among people who will fly in Paradise. Two wings, with his two wings, his hands and arms whole, (?), in the hereafter he will fly with his two wings.

Yes so those who give their lives for the religion of Islam, who fight for Allah in the way of Allah, their ranks with Allah will rise very high. Because to keep His religion standing until the Day of Judgement the life given to him, which Allah bestowed on him, he bestows back on Allah, he gives it. And Allah has no need of his life. He in turn fulfils His promise. What does He say? Who is truer to his word than Allah? He makes them heirs to Paradise. And to the highest gardens at that, beneath which, it says, rivers flow, gardens with rivers flowing beneath them. The gardens of Eden.

They, also feeling the joy of their brothers who will come after them and have not yet become martyrs, in the joy that they too will attain this beautiful life, await their brothers who will become martyrs. We wrote these things living them. As if we had become martyrs too, we are there; our Lord welcoming us with a smiling face, us being shown generosity and honour; and those coming after, we see who will come. There is an openness of unveiling. As if we were calling to them from there. What are you waiting for? Don't wait, come. Look at the life here; never be deceived by that swamp of the world.

Strive a little more. Just a little more effort. Come on, keep striving, you're coming. I mean, like this. It's as if we are living it like this. Yes.

In the joy that they too will attain this beautiful life, they await their brothers who will become martyrs. To those who, while living in this world, fear what they will do there on passing to the hereafter, the stations that Allah, by His grace and generosity in the hereafter, has given them, they wish to announce to their brothers who will become martyrs. Look, in the world we were afraid. How will we go, what will we do? What will our place there be, we wondered? we used to say. But now, seeing these stations our Lord has granted us, don't wait at all, they say. Come after us. They call out to them.

That is how they await them.

A person living in this world, even if he lives 100 years, even if like Noah he lives 950 years among his people, in the end you will depart this transient world through death. You will pass on to the hereafter, which is your eternal life. So the splendour and pomp, the joy and pain of this world will one day come to an end.

Yes.

So the wise person who uses his mind is the one who, while living the treasure of life, builds up his hereafter. We always say this. Life is a treasure for a person. If you can't use this treasure well, when you go to the realm from which there is no return, regret will be of no use. It says: there are some things that never come back. A life lived, it says, never comes back. A word that leaves the mouth never comes back. An arrow that leaves the bow does not come back either. Yes. That is why a person must be wise. Wise, and know that life is a precious gain. Live, if you like, amid various losses.

Writhe, if you like, in poverty. (?), if you like, between two millstones. In the end this suffering ends, but if you conform to your Lord's purpose in creating you, your (?), pain and grief, your sufferings in this world, in the hereafter, if you knew your Lord, turn into a treasure, into wealth, into a form of life that people cannot attain even in hope. Because Allah grants you the highest stations. Because you knew that this world is temporary. You did not turn to look at the (?) of this world. You worshipped your Lord for your Lord's sake, and you said He does not place on a person a burden he cannot bear.

You accepted what came from Allah, and your reverence for your Lord, your duties towards Him, you did not neglect. This is the greatest person. Greatness, through wealth, property, money, fame, renown, does not come about. Greatness is that of the person who wins Allah's love, who attains Allah's mercy. And on that Day of Reckoning, Allah Almighty to them will give a gift. What gift is this? The gift of interceding. They will intercede for those sinners. Now, those who in the world were high through wealth, property, fame and renown, if they went as sinners, it means their greatness was of no use there.

That was in the world. If you look on such people in the world as great, you too will become small among them. So greatness is within your own self, in your own conscience, between you and Allah, in your feeling towards your Lord; that is where greatness is. Let there be greatness in your faith. In your faith. Become intimate with Him, with your Lord, so that you may join the servants Allah loves. Yes.

So the splendour and pomp, the joy and pain of this world will one day come to an end. So the wise person who uses his mind is the one who, while living the treasure of life, builds up his hereafter. Blessed is the one who does not abandon Allah but is with Allah, it says. Yes.