Yunus 105: And (I was Ordered) to turn towards the religion as a Haneef (a person who knows the Creator, Allah is the One and Only God) and not be amongst the idolaters.

Abraham (peace be upon him), from a young age, although his father was an idolater, although he was among an idolatrous people, from a young age did not worship idols, believed they could not be gods, could not be Allah, and believed in the One Allah. A person who from a young age never worshipped idols in any way, who knew only the One Allah, is a Hanif. The Prophet (peace be upon him) too, because Allah Almighty raised him, is a Hanif. Well, Hodja, are Muslims Hanifs too? Since Muslims know by hearing and seeing, they are people of faith. People of faith. They are Muslims.

Abraham and the Prophet themselves, from childhood, among people, without ever hearing of Islam, without knowing the One Allah, without hearing it from people, and while all people worshipped idols, even at a young age, at a young age not believing in them, believing in the One Allah — such a person. We too have believed since a young age, but we saw it from our father, saw it from our mother; we came to it by seeing, by seeing. And they instilled the religion of Islam in us, made it known to us, and with that we heard and came. In this respect we are out of Hanif-hood.

So two of them are Hanifs.

Others can be found here and there. Up to a certain age.

Well, even though, even though the prophets, all of them, knew their Lord, even at that young age, and believed in the One Allah, still, those characters are there. Still, because of the particular environment one is in, there is a state of adapting to that environment. A state of adaptation. Later, later they are supported by the ocean of prophethood. Supported. For instance, let me explain this to you with an example. An example. We are Muslims. Believers are something different.

People who, as Muslims, are not believers are something different.

Both are Muslims. People of faith. But the believer — the person to whom He says, "O soul at rest, with your Lord pleased with you and you pleased with your Lord, among My servants" — the strength of his faith in Allah Almighty — from what? Because he has come to know the tajalli, the tajalli. The other Muslim, so long as he has not attained the status of believer, at times wavers about the hereafter. He falls into doubt about Allah and His Messenger. If they say "I don't," let them tell it to the back of my ear. To the back of my ear. What saves him is his faith, faith, tawhid. It saves the covenant he made with Allah.

Even though he wavers, he never leaves the religion of Islam. His being in doubt, his wavering, does not mean leaving the religion of Islam. Why am I saying this? Because he has not attained the status of believer. That believer has no going back, you see, that is, no falling. Into the nafs mulhima, the nafs mutmainna radiya — I said radiya — mulhima, or into the nafs ammara, there is no falling for them. In this case the believer is one thing, the Muslim another; and the prophets are in exactly this state, in the status of believer. But when prophethood comes, then the tajalli increases even more, that is, the heart becomes even more at rest, at rest.

Therefore Hanif: by no one, by no one in the world — even if there is (?) from idol worshippers, without conforming to their mentality — people who worship the One Allah. Now let me give another example of this. I remember how I was at four years old. How I was at four.

I used to defy Azrael. Azrael. Saying he couldn't take my life. Who is Azrael, I used to say. I knew Allah, I loved Him. I know Allah. I'm only four years old. But I have a mother and father. They pray. They pray. So I still saw some things from them. I saw some things. At four, as soon as my mind opened. Even though I knew myself. Even though I believed in the One Allah. In the One Allah. Still, I saw some things from my mother and father. On that path a person is influenced a little. The prophets are outside even of this. even without seeing it, yes, without ever having seen it, our Prophet (peace be upon him), and also Abraham, never at all believed in idolatry.

And although no one handed them the truth, they knew the One Allah. That is the meaning of Hanif. Hanif. Now, what does Allah Almighty say? "And to me: as a Hanif — that is, without serving anyone in your heart, as one who recognizes Allah's oneness — turn your face to the religion." To the religion, that is, turn it to Allah. "And never be among the polytheists" — this was commanded, He says. Yes.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) was commanded to be a Hanif. The meaning of the command here: the Prophet (peace be upon him) — Allah Almighty raised him and he was made a mirat to His essence. Mirat. The meaning of mirat: (?). Süleyman Çelebi expresses this very beautifully. "I took My essence as a mirat to your essence," he says. That is, "I created to see My essence in your essence," he says. What does this mean? I gave you a portion of My own spirit. A portion. I made you (?) with the attributes of My essence.

Pay attention to the words. Look, I am not saying "with the attribute of My essence." "With the attributes of My essence I made you (?)." Pay attention to the words.

These are words — the Prophet, as 124,000 prophets, can be seen in their guise, can be seen in the form of 124,000 prophets, plus, since from the Prophet's spirit the prophets' spirits, and in those prophets' spirits the spirits of the peoples were created, the Prophet, spiritually as well, although he is seen in a certain form — and as Allah Almighty, at the covenant of Elestü bi-Rabbiküm, was seen in what He called His true form — the Prophet too can, spiritually, be seen in many forms.

He is seen with a beard and without a beard, with a moustache and without a moustache, seen young, seen old; he changes form too. Yes. What was it? When He says "I took My essence as a mirat to your essence": I created you from My essence as (?). I adorned you with attributes. I took My essence as a mirat to your essence. I created you to see My essence in you. Yes. In this case the Prophet (peace be upon him) is the first being Allah Almighty created before creating this universe. Allah Almighty's first created being. Before the worlds were created.

When Allah Almighty willed to create, willed to create, in this case from his light He created the universe, and from his spirit, people. In this case the Prophet is a mercy to the worlds. In this case, given that every mind, every mind — when we think with sound reason in the light of the verses — before the Prophet (peace be upon him) no being had been created, and Allah Almighty created him as a light from His essence, then, by asking that light questions, it sweated, and from that sweat He created a jewel; the heavens, the earth and what is between them He created from his light, then gave him of His spirit and created all people — now I ask every sound mind a question.

I ask the person of sound reason, the person who says "I am a scholar" (?). In this case, how could Gabriel (peace be upon him) teach the Prophet? How could Gabriel bring revelation to the Prophet? How could Gabriel cover the Sidra, and Gabriel, with Gabriel — when He says tenezzelü'l-melâiketü ve'r-rûh, although Gabriel is on earth, although he comes and goes to the Prophet, the Night of Power, being the 27th night of Ramadan, from the Preserved Tablet descending to Sidrat al-Muntaha — although on that day Allah Almighty to the earth with (?) — the fools confused this with Gabriel. If it is Gabriel's coming to the Prophet, then every day is the Night of Power.

Or every moment is the Night of Power. That is, the coming of the Quran from the Preserved Tablet to the world. So it is: tenezzelü'l-melâiketü ve'r-rûh. The angels and the spirit descend to earth. Is this Gabriel? If Gabriel comes to the Prophet, then, when this verse says tenezzelü'l-melâiketü ve'r-rûh, the 27th night of the Night of Power — abolish it. Let every time Gabriel (peace be upon him) came to the Prophet be the Night of Power. One: since the Prophet has passed on to the hereafter, and Gabriel will no longer come to him either, abolish the verse. There is no more Night of Power, then.

Doesn't it come to that meaning? There is no Night of Power. Isn't that what they are saying anyway? "The verses go by the old times. Not now. They don't address the present," they say. Yes. Change meaning after meaning. Who does this? Those wretched people who say "scholar." And people who have accepted it this way. And then, saying "this man is playing with our creed," truly bound by superstitions, wretched people trying to (?) over the truth of the religion of Islam. Wretched people. Not using their minds — who, to tear the religion of Islam apart, planted superstitions in Islam and tore apart the religion of Islam — people who mortgaged their own minds to the minds of those people.

Wretched people.

Yes. Allah Almighty says: I gave you minds; do you never think? He says. Don't believe what I say either. Use your mind. Research right and wrong yourself. I am telling you the truth. If he too is telling the truth, research both. Whichever is right, take your place beside it. Take your place beside the truth. If he is right, tell me: Hodja, what you are explaining, to such-and-such verses, runs contrary. Tell me, "You are misleading," that is. But no mind, regarding the proofs I have shown people in the light of the verses, can say, "You are wrong."

Not because I pass judgment in advance.

Yes.

Now you understand the situation. How much they (?) the verses. Of course. Then the Night of Power is abolished too.

If this is Gabriel — if he descends to earth on the Night of Power and never descends to earth again. Because there is no prophet.

The Night of Power is abolished too.

And what? Allah's verses are valid until the Day of Judgment. Until the Day of Judgment.

Even though people say it like this, even what I said is incomplete. What I said, "until the Day of Judgment." Since Allah's verses are self-subsisting (qayyum) with His essence, they are valid with the Day of Judgment and after the Day of Judgment too. "In Allah's word you will find no (?)," He says. Allah's promise is true. That His promise is true you will see in the hereafter as well. So it is valid there too. Not only until the Day of Judgment. It is valid at the Day of Judgment and, after the Day of Judgment, in the realm of reality.

Yes.

So the meaning of mirat is mirror. What is a mirror? His seeing His essence in His essence. Indeed, when you look into a mirror, you see yourself. What is this? By giving a portion of His spirit, from His essence, within attributes creating the Prophet — He gives of His spirit. Creating within attributes. Not creating in one attribute. Only the Prophet. Being created within attributes. Because we said that from him the spirits of the prophets were created. And since from those spirits the spirits of people were created, since all people indirectly came into being from the Prophet, these portions, these portions are a portion from the Prophet.

In this respect the Prophet (peace be upon him) is, above the worlds, the one with the highest station, the owner of the Praised Station (Maqam Mahmud), a prophet. Yes.

Actually, there are words that, when said very deeply,

people cannot grasp all at once; anyway, because we tell it all at once, people (?), slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly. So

Allah Almighty raised the Prophet (peace be upon him), and he was made a mirat to His essence; mirat means mirror, that is, He willed to see His essence in the Prophet. In this respect He raised him beautifully. He endowed him with exalted morals. In this respect the Prophet (peace be upon him) is faultless toward people, and only toward the essence of Allah Almighty is he deficient and faulty. Yes. Toward the essence of Allah Almighty. And how do we understand this? In the verse: I have forgiven your past sins. Toward whom? Toward Allah Almighty. Toward people, complete and perfect. I have forgiven your future sins too.

His future sins — toward His essence.

In this case, endowed with an upbringing and character above the worlds, the Prophet (peace be upon him), since he was created as a human, is human; and since Allah Almighty would not create a being equal to His essence — here, with this sentence, I close it: the secret of creation. Since He will not give a mind that could enter this secret of creation, the human mind does things deficiently and wrongly. It commits errors. In this case, if the human mind had the power to create a being out of nothing, if Allah Almighty had given such a mind to man, all people would be gods, they would create. They would possess creation. With their selfishness, people would (?) devour one another.

What a fine order this is. In the universe a single god, a single Allah, a single Creator. And all He has created are His servants, and to them He gives provision and shows mercy. Abundant in mercy, a bountiful sovereign. What a fine order. Unity, togetherness.

And to man what a beautiful value He gives. And, creating man as a being above the worlds, think of a father bending over his child with compassion, loving him dearly — think of how dearly, how dearly he loves that child. Since no created being can love what it creates as much as Allah Almighty, at the peak of His love toward people, without burdening people, He made the earth a bed for people — and today we went on a trip. The grasses on that earth, the animals grazing on those grasses — "O man," I say to (?) too. Look what Allah Almighty says, He says. O man, this animal whose meat, milk and skin you benefit from, you cannot look after it. It would be a burden to you.

I will feed it with the grasses I spread on this nature, on this world called nature; I will give it drink; and you benefit from its meat, its milk, its skin, everything; eat, drink, rejoice, He says — I'm telling you. When you see those grasses. Look, before your eyes hundreds of miracles appear every day; you are blind, you don't see, He says. Look at the value He gives to man: He has put all creatures at man's command.

Just as that father raises his child in the best way and wants to lay the whole world at his feet. If it's a car, a car; if a motorbike, a motorbike; if a yacht, a yacht — he gives it to him. Allah, even more than that, has put the worlds at man's command. The worlds. Who are these worlds? On earth He created 17,000 worlds. We are the caliphs of this world. When He says caliph — in such a way that we exercise our rule over His creations — the beings He placed at our command and the value He gives to man.

Yes. Now

we read the verses and move on, but the verses, then, are not simply (?), not like that, it seems. There is meaning within meaning here.

I say this seriously: sometimes I feel distressed; some things I cannot explain; it goes toward the secret. I can't explain it; I just skim over it like this. If I tried to explain it, it would never end anyway. I just skim over it and move on. And notice: when I first sit down, my head is fresh, you see, I don't explain the verses in less than half an hour, forty-five minutes. The second and third verses I go through briefly. From tiredness.

You probably notice. The first verse goes on and on. Yes.

So, by being faultless toward people and by being upon a perfectly straight religion, he is a Hanif.

What is the meaning here?

His being faultless toward people. That is, the Prophet (peace be upon him) is a person who by no one was taught "This is Allah, this is god" — such a person. That is being faultless toward people. Learned from no person, taught by no person. When he was sent to school — he is sent to school. His teacher comes: "Bismillahirrahmanirrahim" — he has been put into primary school.

"I won't say it, Hodja," he says. Why won't you say it? "Tell me its meaning," he says. "That's why," he says. "Unless you tell me its meaning, I won't say it," he says. That is, "I won't say it," he says. "Son, it has come down to us like this for hundreds of years," he says. "This is a custom," he says. "You will say Bismillahirrahmanirrahim," he says. "Sir, I won't say it," he says. "Tell me its meaning, then I'll say it." Thereupon his teacher, of course, doesn't know; he scolds him, and he goes outside and starts crying. His aunt Atika says, "Let me go and see this nephew of mine," and sees that he's crying. She comes right away and tells her older brother — that is, tells her brother.

He comes too and sees that he is indeed crying in the school yard. What happened, son? Such and such happened. Straight to the teacher.

The teacher says, "I told him to say Bismillahirrahmanirrahim," he says.

"And he said, I won't say it," he says. Well, why won't you say it, son?

"If you tell me its meaning, I'll say it," he says. "Otherwise I won't," he says. "How should I know its meaning?" says the teacher. "We're used to it like this, we just go on like this," he says.

His grandfather says, "Do you know, son?" "I know," he says. "What is it?" "The letter B (?) Allah's oneness," he says. "The letter Mim, to (?). The letter Sin, to His secret. To the fact that Rahman and Rahim belong to Allah's essence alone," he says. "You don't need schooling," he says, and takes him away.

Yes.

So, a person taught by no one and who even at that age knows his Lord — that is a Hanif. That is the meaning of Hanif. Now what do we say? His being faultless toward people goes all the way back there. Learned from no one. Taught by no one. And by being upon a perfectly straight religion, he is a Hanif. The believers among Muslims, compared to other Muslims, are more upright. More upright. Yes.

Sometimes, even though we read it, we have still skipped some gaps like this. They are more upright compared to Muslims. They are those who turn back from error. In fact, Muslims too are far more upright compared to non-Muslims. Here we are now opening up the upright ones. In the end, they are people who attain Allah's mercy. Those who abide by Allah's command, who are upon a perfectly straight religion, the religion of Islam, are those who attain salvation. They are not Hanifs. They are those who attain salvation. In the verse, "Turn your face to the religion. Never be among the polytheists." — what is meant by this: the Prophet (peace be upon him) is pure (saf) and clean toward people.

Clean. When we say saf, don't take it in our sense of saf.

You know — someone whose mind doesn't grasp things, a saf person, whom everyone fools. Not saf like that. His heart is freed from the masiva. He embraced people with a broad (?). Allah's servants he gathers within himself, wanting to invite them to the truth, wanting to invite them to salvation and desiring their salvation, struggling for them — such a prophet. And how beautifully Allah Almighty says it in the verse. "Your destroying yourself in this way over them," He says — your conduct, your wearing yourself out. A beautiful verse; it comes to my mind now, but I can't open it up. He warns the Prophet.

That is: do not destroy yourself in this way. The matter is — you know their destiny too. They will live out their destiny. They will live it. And however much you struggle as best you can, however much you tell the truth, however much you carry out your duty, you cannot make the deaf hear. And you can never make the dead hear, He says. So, to steer those people toward the truth, knowing they are a portion of himself, inviting them to salvation and approaching them in a way that wears himself out. His approaching those people. And there is a verse too: the prophets, it says, approach people from in front, from behind, from their right, from their left.

What does this mean? Regardless of their belittling them, turning their backs, or shunning them, they constantly deliver to those people the truth. Yes.

In the verse, what is meant by "Turn your face to the religion, never be among the polytheists": the Prophet (peace be upon him) is pure and clean toward people. That is, always wanting people's good, in order to invite them to salvation, he sets before them, in the finest way, so they understand the truth, talks.

Talks. That is, hadiths. The noble hadiths. What we couldn't understand in a verse, the Prophet, in the light of the verses, speaks to them so that they understand the truth.

In this respect, Allah Almighty addressing some verses like these as if to the Prophet (peace be upon him) is actually an address to his community and to people — an address. Saying "Turn your face to the religion, never be among the polytheists" is as if addressing the Prophet; actually, for the Prophet (peace be upon him) to turn his face away from the religion is not even possible. The reason: as Abu Talib lay dying, Abu Sufyan, Abu Jahl, many people — that is, the leading polytheists of Mecca — say, "We will give your nephew ten wives.

In fact, as many as he likes. Let us give him a hundred camels. In fact, as many as he wants. Let us give him the keys of Mecca. If he is ill, let us have him treated.

As long as he gives up his cause."

He talks with his nephew. The Prophet (peace be upon him) gives them this answer. "In one hand," he says, "not those things — the sun, and in my other hand the moon — even if they gave them, still from my Allah I would not turn away," he says. Yes.

So again, it is Allah Almighty speaking in a figurative sense.

Now, people who don't understand this say, look, He talks to the Prophet like this. To the Prophet. Actually, a prophet complete and flawless toward the worlds, toward His essence only faulty — would Allah Almighty speak like this to such a prophet?

We have a saying too. A proverb. "I'm telling you, my daughter; understand it, my daughter-in-law."

Yes. Now what do the verses tell us? Turn your face to the religion. He is already conveying it. Who will turn it? We will turn our faces to the religion. To Allah's commands. To the sharia rulings. Well, never be among the polytheists. That is, do not corrupt your heart, envying the life of non-Muslims, saying "look, they live too," being deceived by a few hours of worldly life, toward the world's swamp, pushing yourself toward that swamp, do not destroy yourself. Yes. With verses like these, Allah Almighty, by addressing as if to the Prophet (peace be upon him), actually addresses his community and people.

In Allah Almighty's manner of speaking, if in this verse too the address had been directly to people, and if people had associated partners with Allah — people who had received Allah's direct command, doing other than what Allah said, as if defying Him, associating partners with Allah — such people would immediately have been destroyed on earth. At once. They tell a narration.

Hasan and Husayn were making ablution; they were going to pray. They see that one man is making his ablution all wrong.

Now, if they said to the man, "Uncle, the ablution you're making is wrong, it's not like that," it would hurt the man's pride.

Husayn says to Hasan — Husayn, the younger — "Brother," he says, "let me make ablution," he says, "and you watch me and see if my ablution is correct," he says. He makes an ablution.

Hasan says to Husayn, "O Husayn, you made a very fine ablution. Let me make an ablution too," he says, "and you watch me, whether I can do it properly too," he says, and he makes an ablution; the man too has stopped and is watching them, and finally he says, "My children, the ablution I make was no ablution," he says. The human nafs — when directly its own fault is spoken of, in such a way that it will (?) — since the nafs has not been reformed, that person (?). Yet Allah Almighty makes known that the human nafs is a ferocious monster, that the spirit should bring it under its own rule, (?), removing the masiva — according to the verse (?) — that one should promptly heed whoever warns him, and, to heed whoever warns of the truth, should reform his nafs.

But since the human nafs is not reformed, and since he does not know how to struggle with this nafs, when any fault aimed at him is pointed out, like a bolting horse the person starts mouthing off. So, toward such people, Allah Almighty, since He knows people's states, speaks as if to the Prophet. Actually it is to all people. Yes.

So

Allah Almighty, through the address to the Prophet (peace be upon him), gives people life. Granting them a lifespan until a certain time — and people who, within these lifespans, take Allah and those around them as witnesses over themselves will finally, in Allah's presence, for their deeds be called to account. Allah Almighty — to Habib-i Kibriya, Muhammad (peace be upon him), He is speaking, and shows people that associating partners is a great sin. He says, "Do not worship anything but Allah," you see — do not turn your face to anyone other than Allah. At the same time, in terms of completing their lives, it is His giving people an opportunity. Completing their lives.

That is, it is His giving them a chance to complete their lives on the path of truth. Yes.