An-Nur 42: The bounties (properties) of the heavens and the earth belong to Allah, and return is only to Allah.

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Ve lillâhi mülkü's-semâvâti ve'l-ard, ve ila'llâhi'l- masîr. To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and the return is only to Him. Every soul shall taste death; your return is to Me.

There is no living being that has stayed alive ever since the world was founded.

Every created living being surely has an end. Since man too came into the world to prove what kind of person he is, with the actual deeds he did within the lifetime he will live here, with the rewards and sins he received, we will again migrate to the realm of the Hereafter, our true realm. We will migrate, but will what we did here remain with us as profit? So Allah Almighty, the Owner of the worlds who sent us here — since He sent us to prove in the world what kind of person we are — tomorrow in the realm of the Hereafter, Allah Almighty, who is Eleysa'llâhu bi-ahkemi'l-hâkimîn, in the Supreme Court on that day, according to His verse that says judgment belongs to Allah alone — our Lord, who has no partner, equal or peer beside Him, will decide about us.

So: you are this kind of person. How? You are a very fine, very perfect person. You are (?) among the servants; to Paradise. So: you are this kind of person. How are you? You are a hypocrite, a non-Muslim. You were ungrateful for the blessings you were given. Although I created you, you did not know Me. And your place is Hell, He will say.

To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. Because that there is no god besides Allah, in the previous verse Allah Almighty has proven by knowledge. All living and non-living matter, the heavens and the earth and what is between them, have known their Lord's remembrance — according to this verse, if Allah Almighty made all matter know His Being and made it remember His name, then Allah Almighty has proven that besides His Being there is no other god. What does Allah Almighty say? The heavens and the earth and what is between them, the remembrance of their Lord they have known. Why does He say this?

What is the reason? The reason: in this whole universe He created, the living and non-living, seen and unseen, with the seven layers of heavens, with the Throne of Allah surrounded — within this enclosed (?), since all created things are what Allah created, in order to prove this, Allah Almighty makes the living beings He has created remember His Being. If there is another creator, He says, let him too make what he created remember him, make it remember. If there had been such a creator too, He says, he would take what he created and I would take what I created, and all would be drowned in corruption, He said.

This means that the heavens and the earth and what is between them knowing Allah Almighty's remembrance symbolizes that there is no god besides Allah, just as a factory gets a patent for the material it produced. By making these living and non-living materials remember His Being, Allah Almighty brings tawhid to light. He proves that there is no god besides Allah. In that case, of course, He will be the absolute owner of what He created. From the atom to the globe, all created things will belong to Allah. Every soul shall taste death. The inheritance of the heavens and the earth will remain to Allah, it says.

Yes, this means that these material things we own produce a temporary ownership over us. What does it say? Death is real, inheritance is lawful. That is, by dying you proved yourself over these materials. Now this material — because you contributed to it with your actual deeds — to those who come from your (?), from your loins, we will leave it as inheritance. We will leave it, but whose is the true inheritance? The inheritance of the heavens and the earth belongs to Allah, as it says. Because He created it, He will take it, and He will dispose of it as He wishes. What does His disposing mean? To prove that Allah Almighty has no need of what He created, however many people there are in the realm of Barzakh, however many of our souls, they will come into the world.

After they too live their lives and prove themselves, Allah Almighty will bring about the Day of Judgment. What does it say about the coming of the Day of Judgment? The mountains passing like clouds, the world being carded like wool, the seas swelling, the world throwing out what is inside it, the heavens flowing like molten metal. If Allah Almighty needed these, would He do these things?

Would you scatter your material, the material in your hand, throw it away like this? This means His purpose in creating these is to bring us into the world, and Allah Almighty, free of deficient attributes — after man in the world has proven himself, because of the punishment He will give them in the Hereafter, so that people do not say: My Allah, if You had sent me to a realm where Your Being is not seen, if You had sent me prophets and books, how beautifully I would have worshipped You there. So according to this verse, this verse 134 of Surah Ta-Ha or 137 — according to this verse, Allah Almighty, since He is free of deficient attributes, although in the Hereafter what kind of person we are He knows, since He is free of deficient attributes, since no one can question or interrogate Him, created these worlds, and on this world we are travelers.

And we are guests on this world.

The host has granted his guest some opportunities in this world. But as a trust. You cannot be its owner.

When leaving here you must hand over this trust. The host's grace and generosity to you: use it as you wish within your lifetime, but when you leave I will take these from you, He says. A verse also says this about it. Or do you own a single particle of your world? If that were so, not even as much as the kernel of a particle of your world would be given to you, it says. Yes. That is, in your world, to a creating from nothing, to an art of it, do you belong? Are you able to create a single particle, to bring it into being from nothing? If you had created that particle, you would find the secret of creation and meet your own needs yourself, and I would give you nothing, He says.

So, since everything created from the atom to the globe is in need of Allah, and Allah Almighty, needing none of them, is free of what He created, He has taken the attribute Hayy. Hayy. All created things need Allah, but Allah is free of what He created. In that case, everyone in this world is a traveler; in the guesthouse we must thank the host for what is given. And must remain grateful to Him. While this is so, if a person eats and drinks and then turns his back on Allah, is ungrateful, this person, and the one who thanks Allah and knows that the blessings given were given by his Lord as a grace to his person — the latter has a separate place too.

The two are not put on the same scale. Yes. In that case, Allah Almighty, as the Owner of all He created, comes to address people.

O people! The return is only to Me, He declares. With this verse — that people are not without responsibility in the world, that every soul will receive the return for what it did, that because every person of reason grasps Allah they have no place to flee or take refuge, and that surely that Day of Judgment will come, and again surely on that Day of Reckoning, people, with what they did, being called to account, that Allah's promise is true — when we are returned to Allah people will see and understand this. Yes. These verses being opened up one after another like this — what a beautiful warning to us. What warning? As I explained just now: that you are guests in the world, that to prove what kind of person you are, this opportunity was given to you, and that you too, making use of this opportunity — that no being besides Allah can help you, that there is no god besides Allah and that surely your return is to Allah, and that, to be with Him immersed in blessings, for your life in the worldly realm you will surely see the return — how beautifully, with verses, like this part by part, Allah Almighty tells us.

Part by part. Yes.