Al-Fatihah 3: Ar-Rahman, Ar-Raheem (Most Gracious, Most Merciful).

We left off at the third verse of Surah Al-Fatiha.

The third verse: Bismillahirrahmanirrahim, Errahmanirrahim.

With the attribute Rahman, His mercy is for everyone in the universe; with the attribute Rahim, in the hereafter, it is only for the believers.

So the meaning of the verse: He is Rahman and Rahim.

In this world His mercy is for all His creatures. Why? In this world His mercy is for all His creatures.

Allah Almighty did not create these worlds as a game and a plaything. Allah Almighty willed that He be known, and in proportion to this will, for Himself to be known, He would create such a being that this being, without being programmed, would program itself and would know its Creator. So Allah Almighty created a part from Himself. A part from Himself.

"From My light I created Muhammad, and from his light the universe," He says. "And I gave him of My spirit." To whom? To Muhammad (peace be upon him). Allah Almighty's spirit is in no being other than man.

We are opening up some details too. Of course, we said that if we wrote the verses in a way so they are fully understood, we would write loads of books, camel-loads. Camel-loads. Yes. If you ask what this has to do with it, we will now come to the connection too. So, our Lord, when He willed that He be known, gave His light from Himself, from the light of Himself the light of the Prophet, then gave him of His spirit. And He found man to be the noblest of creation. So, so Allah Almighty made a covenant with people in the world of spirits.

This is the point where people do not know what this covenant is, and so people fall into errors. They try to explain things according to their own heads.

Surah Al-A'raf of the Holy Quran, verse 172 — (?), let us say. "With those who would emerge from the offspring of the children of Adam We made a covenant and said: We are your Lord." So there, all the spirits, according to their own wishes and desires, had their own intentions written for them as their fate.

Because of Allah Almighty's attribute of being Allah, so that the state of no one being able to question (?) Him could come about, that is, to make manifest that He is free of deficient attributes — since the spirits there saw the one before them, their Lord, face to face as like themselves, that is, in a human form, they could not believe in Him as Lord; since he waited for the Lord of his imagination, if that person had right there been called to account, he would have said: if You had sent me to an unseen world, we would have worshipped You there. So that they cannot say this, there is Allah Almighty's attribute of being Allah.

No one will be able to question or query Him. Why? Because Allah Almighty will have brought out all the questions that could be asked, and people will be cut off from questions. So, in order for people to be cut off from questions, He created the material world. He sent them to an unseen world. Here He gives life to all His creatures. Until when? Until each person proves what kind of one he is — man lives his life within a given lifespan. So in this world people, from Allah Almighty's attribute Rahman, benefit, in whatever way they live. In whatever way. Even in rebellion. Even in strife. So, however they live, Allah Almighty, with His attribute Rahman, provides for them until a set time, that is, until the end of their lives.

Then, according to the verse "all souls will taste death" — yes, according to the verse "all souls will taste death" —

people will live out their lives within a certain time. So Allah Almighty, Who knows in what way and in what situation people will do what, to prove that He is free of deficient attributes and so that no one can question Him and they are cut off from questions, creates this material world called the unseen world. And by giving him a set lifespan in this world, He makes him prove himself to himself. This is Allah's attribute Rahman. Yes. Let us also read the attribute Rahman as we wrote it. Allah Almighty created all these worlds as He willed. Except only man and the jinn, who hold free will, He programmed all His creatures for the tasks they will do.

Yes. Those programmed cannot go outside the program. Who are they? Animals and jinn, I mean angels. All of these have been programmed within a program. They cannot go outside that program. Just as when you load a program onto a computer, outside that program you cannot get any operation from that computer. In the same way Allah Almighty has programmed people this way, or rather creatures this way, and people, according to their own wishes and desires — people and jinn, according to their own wishes and desires — have had themselves programmed by Allah Almighty. For the people He brought into this world, for the life of this world to be maintained, Allah Almighty has created many creatures.

And these creatures filter and clean this world He created. Clean it. This world He created — the creatures He created one after another filter and clean it. Yes, those programmed cannot go outside the program. Since they were created in proportion to Allah Almighty's will, the matter of reward and sin has been removed for these creatures. Because Allah Almighty programmed them. In return for what He Himself programmed, those programmed beings, since they can do nothing of their own accord, bear no guilt. Because our Lord programmed them. Allah Almighty has opened His (?) mercy. He does not, by making these creatures take revenge on one another, make them sinners and call them to account.

So, because of their somewhat harsh behaviour towards each other, according to the verse about when the animals are gathered, they will take their due from one another and then vanish. Yes. Only one pair each of the first created creatures will enter paradise. The others will vanish. A pair each of the first created creatures will enter paradise. Yes.

But according to the verses about when the animals are gathered, on the Day of Resurrection these animals will take their due from one another and cease to exist. When we come to these verses, it will be explained to you in more detail — so we said. As for people, in order to know their Lord, unlike all the creatures created and willed by Allah Almighty, people's will has been given to them. For this reason, in humans and jinn, in proportion to their own will, reward and sin have come about. Yes. So since jinn and humans are left free in their own will, their wishes and desires have been given to them as fate — fate; within these fates these humans or jinn were programmed, and Allah, Who knows what they will do within that program, what those who will come until the Resurrection will do, by sending them to an unseen world — so that those who deny His existence and those who do not can be separated — granted them a life in the unseen world.

Yes.

As for people — so that they know their Lord, people, so that they know their Lord, were willed to be created by Allah Almighty. Let us open this up a little. As for people, so that they know their Lord, people were willed by Allah Almighty to be created. That is, our Lord: I will create such a being that on this being in no way will I apply any harm, any torment, any violence or any fear — My word. With their own being, to know Me or not, they will be left free. With their own will. So: a part from the universal spirit. A part. And with a mind He gave and a will He granted them.

Unlike all created beings, people's will has been given to them.

For this reason, in humans and jinn, in proportion to their own will, reward and sin have come about. Yes.

Here, in what I said a moment ago: all humans and jinn, with their own will, by emerging as a being, because they had themselves programmed, have been left free to know their Lord or not, to carry out the religious law or not; and for this reason they are held responsible for what they do. Yes.

These people, who appear as a single substance — that is, when we say "appear as a single substance": me, as "my Hodja," you see. Or you see me as Hodja Efendi. Ahmet, Mehmet, Fatma. You see them as one being. One person. One being. In fact it is not so. Look, pay close attention to the words of Yunus Emre. "I wrapped myself in flesh and bone; I appeared as Yunus." Think of it like this. You have a car.

You are the car's driver.

Wherever this driver steers the car, it goes there. Now think of this car as your own body. (?) two hands, two feet, a head, two eyes, two ears, a nose, eating and drinking, tongue, (?), familiarity, the spirit's (?) window. So, Allah Almighty's address is not to our bodies, but to our spirit. So this being that I see as single is in fact a pair. Only Allah is One. One, yes. He is Subhan, He is pure, and He is Ahad, One in His essence. Now these people, who appear as a single substance, in fact consist of two substances. That is, one outward, and one inward, the spirit. Yes. (?) while in the world of spirits, Allah Almighty's addressing the spirits —

Yes.

In fact, from substance, Allah Almighty — unlike all created beings, people's will has been given to them. For this reason, in humans and jinn, in proportion to their own will, reward and sin have come about, we said. Yes. These people, who appear as a single substance, in fact consist of two substances. (?) while in the world of spirits, through Allah Almighty addressing the spirits, "Your Lord is Me" — through their receiving this address, and through the characters being written for them as fate according to the covenant people gave there — in the material world, by putting on the garment of a body, the spirit's appearance as outward substance has been brought about.

What was it? The being that appears like two substances — like one substance — that is, the being that appears as one body, in fact consists of two substances. One outward, one inward. The inward is the spirit, the outward is these bodies. Now Allah Almighty has set up such an order that in this order people are made to depend on eating and drinking. Made to depend on need. So, for that person to be able to prove what kind of being he is, he is made to depend, in the outward world, with an outward body, a physical body, on eating and drinking; and this person's inclination towards the world, according to his own character, his behaviour towards people, whether he heeds halal and haram or not — this, within his own character, symbolises his own being, the fate he gave to Allah Almighty.

So, of what kind of being he is, man makes himself a witness before Allah Almighty, before those around him and before himself. With what? By putting on this garment of a body, being made to depend on eating and drinking, and the world appearing attractive to him and presenting needs. Whether man values Allah Almighty or his own self, and when taking these materials Allah Almighty created, does he heed Allah's commands and prohibitions? Or does he amass without caring about halal or haram? Does he respect people's rights? Or, for his own self, his own interest, does he treat them as nothing? And in his buying, selling and trade, does he remember his Lord? Does he (?) out of fear of his Lord?

Or, without remembering Him, only to satisfy his own selfish feelings — is he doing his trade in this existence? These make us witnesses before our Lord. These actions we have done. And we prove what kind of person we are.

Since being created as a body is Allah Almighty's will, all the outward worlds and created beings, from Allah Almighty's attribute Rahman, find life and benefit from His mercy. So this — this outward body's appearance in this form, its outward appearance — within our Lord's knowledge and awareness, to prove what kind of person we are, we have been given this garment of a body to wear. So here the following situation arises. We say: people, those of sound mind — all these are transient. We, in front of a video camera, being filmed, as an actor are playing. Our script was written back in the first barzakh.

We do not know the unseen. We do not know what covenant we gave either. Nor do we know even one second ahead in our fate. So I say: when an actor plays his part, he represents another character. Or that script he represents. So you are the character of that script, and you represent your script.

You play it, and in this appearance you make yourself a witness. In this world, from our Lord's attribute Rahman, you benefit. Whatever you are, whether idolater, or Zoroastrian, religious or irreligious. Whatever you are, Allah's mercy in the universe is for everyone. He will let you benefit from His mercy. But tomorrow, on that Day of Judgement, at the great court, when your account is reckoned, "alas" will be of no use. So if you take your steps accordingly, tread firmly and listen to Allah's verses, submit to your Lord's commands as much as you can, we get away safely. Otherwise we are in a bad way.

Now we come to the attribute Rahim. If in this world we looked after our own interests, ran after our nafs, followed the steps and footprints of Satan, took our enemies for friends — if we took the nafs and Satan for friends, in the hereafter, from our Lord's attribute Rahim we cannot benefit. There, when Allah's attribute Rahim is lifted from people, people are left there without anyone, alone.

Yes. So — paradise and hell — we are explaining the attribute Rahim. Paradise and hell were created for reward and sin. When we say "they were created for reward and sin," these people, through the deeds they have done, earn reward and sin. So paradise and hell — for those who earn reward or who earn sin, to be either rewarded or punished — are places created for that. To put it with an example: whoever has followed his Lord's commands, for him there are mansions, castles, palaces. And whoever has turned his back on Him, for him there are prisons.

There are places of punishment. Yes.

Of the people whose will was put in their own hands — in this world, outward and unseen, those who, because of the good deeds they did, gained Allah Almighty's nearness and attained the rank of believer, that is, those who believe in Allah and submit to Him, who fear Allah, who hold fast to the religious law, who turn to piety and, passing the inspired nafs (nafs-i mulhime), rise to the contented nafs (nafs-i mutmainne) — they got away safely. The believers, those aware of the manifestations — yes, gaining Allah Almighty's nearness, these are the believers. Those who attain the rank of believer, benefiting from Allah Almighty's attribute Rahim, without seeing any torment, attaining our Lord's mercy, will be rewarded.

The believers. They will rise first anyway, and their accounts will be reckoned first too. Even though the polytheists and sinners will all rise together after them, in the hereafter, so that these are not kept waiting long, first the account of the believers, the righteous servants, will be reckoned, and without facing any hardship, under our Lord's attribute Rahim, with His smiling face, with His pleased manner and welcome, the believers will attain peace, and for them there are guides. When they bring them to paradise and let them in, those in paradise will say: Peace be upon you; you are safe here now.

To those believers. Yes. For him to be a believer, he broke his nafs in this world.

He followed Allah's commands. He did not follow Satan's footsteps. He knew his friend as friend and his enemy as enemy. That is, the nafs, Satan and the world he knew as enemies. But according to Allah Almighty's verse, "Approach your world as is due" — according to this verse,

people who, in order to obtain on earth what they need, follow Allah Almighty's command, heed halal and haram, respect people's rights, approach their world and obtain their world in that way — these are the ones who attain their Lord's mercy. Those who attain the rank of believer. Through Allah Almighty's attribute Rahim, with our Lord's smiling face, with His pleased welcome, their accounts will be reckoned at once, and they will be sent to the highest paradise. That is why "My mercy in the hereafter is only for the believer," He declares. For the believer.

So is His mercy not for the others? His mercy — again, those who were Muslim, Muslim, their accounts are examined in fine detail, examined, and again under our Lord's attribute Rahim they will be treated — even if they will be treated under the attribute Rahim, there will also be some who suffer punishment. Punishment. That is, some will also enter hell. But these are not eternal, of course. Because they went as Muslims, but they went as sinners. In hell their nafs will become content, and they too will come out of there. So the attribute Rahim manifests there too, but indirectly. Not directly.

Like in football there is a direct kick and an indirect kick. Yes. Here too, when it says the attribute Rahim (?), directly, without any believer seeing hell or entering it, they will go straight to paradise. Yes.