Al-Baqarah 19: Or, their situation resembles those who are left under rain showers, lightning and thunder in the deep darkness of the night sky. Out of fear of death from the thunder, they put their fingers in their ears. Allah is the One Who Encompasses infidels with Allah’s knowledge and Might.

We come to verse 19, as it is written in the commentary, isn't it, it becomes more vivid this way. Or their state is like that of people who, in the night's dense darkness in the sky, amid pouring rains, are caught in lightning and thunder; it is like that. They press their fingers into their ears from the thunderbolts, in fear of death. Allah encompasses the disbelievers with His knowledge and power. What a fine example you give; these are all similes. To those deprived of the light of Allah Almighty, our Lord gives one more example like this. The rain pouring from the sky is Allah Almighty, with His attribute Ar-Rahman, in the universe giving life to all He has created by raining down His mercy.

Giving life. What does it say? Or their state, in the night's dense darkness in the sky, among the rains pouring down. What is the dense darkness? It is the person who has turned his back on Allah's light and who, in those swamps, in darkness, remains, who does not benefit from that rain, that mercy, but flees from it. And who stops his ears even though that word of truth gives life, who does not want to see it (?) — it gives you a fine example.

The rain pouring from the sky is Allah Almighty, with His attribute Ar-Rahman, to what He created in the universe, to all He created, giving life by raining down His mercy. Although this whole universe benefits from the mercy of Allah Almighty, people who remain in darkness, who turn their backs on the truth and, out of stubbornness, drown the light of Allah in the darkness of shirk. Turning their backs on the truth, they drown Allah's light in the darkness of shirk, those people. Such people, although they benefit from all that Allah Almighty created, never want to hear the word of Allah when the word of truth is spoken.

Now we say: although this whole universe benefits from the mercy of Allah Almighty.

What is this based on? It is based on Allah Almighty's attribute Al-Hayy. Here that word, the word here, proves Allah Almighty's attribute Al-Hayy. Allah Almighty, with the attribute Al-Hayy, that is, the Ever-Living, gives life to all His creatures but (?) from His creatures — the attribute Al-Hayy. What we have written here is the counterpart of this attribute Al-Hayy. What do we say here? Although this whole universe benefits from the mercy of Allah Almighty, people who remain in darkness, who, although benefiting from the mercy of Allah Almighty, turn their backs on it and leave themselves in darkness; against the truth, turning their backs on the truth, they drown Allah's light in the darkness of shirk out of stubbornness.

Such people, although they benefit from all that Allah Almighty created, when the word of truth is spoken, never want to hear the word of Allah.

For this reason they become enemies of Allah Almighty and of those who love Allah Almighty. You see that a person, a person comes and speaks to you rudely. My dear man, what's the matter, has there been some talk between you and me? Is there some dialogue between you and me? In fact he is not my enemy. He is the enemy of my beard. He is the enemy of my being a Muslim. There are such mentalities that they, those who are enemies of Allah, against those who take on Allah's attributes also become enemies, and think that by tormenting them they will take revenge on Allah — wretched people.

Yes.

All these places, we said like this, we said we would open these places up for you. We passed over them in code. And wa alaykum salam, welcome back from the prayer.

For this reason, we have said, they become enemies of Allah Almighty and of those who love Allah Almighty. These people.

Where the word of Allah is spoken, out of their own greed and frayed nerves they lose themselves.

They are seized by a (?). By a fury. Even in one verse Allah Almighty says, these people come to a state in which the clouds in the sky would be torn apart. They become that furious. Yes.

So as not to hear talk of truth, they stop their ears. That is in the thunder, it says. Those who stop their ears. Or they sow discord there.

So the states of such people — in the night's darkness, in the sky (?) and among the rains, with lightning and thunderbolts striking, people going through the fear of death — are likened to the states of those people, we have said. They go through the fear of death. When people hear the word of Allah, from Allah's mercy, death comes to their minds. And when death comes to their minds, they say: is this the time for it? And towards you they (?). Yes. So although Allah Almighty is the One who encompasses all beings with His knowledge, in this verse He says He is the One who encompasses the disbelievers.

This verse, for people who do not know themselves, is a very sad matter, we have said; for people who do not know themselves, that is, for non-Muslims. That is to say: the One who created people and gave their will into their own hands, Allah Almighty, willed that His Being be known by people through their own will. People who made a covenant with Allah Almighty in the first barzakh, if they gave Allah Almighty a good covenant, Allah, who placed the created beings under the command of people, worldly and otherworldly, because of such people's good covenants, knows in His pre-eternal knowledge that they will not oppose Allah Almighty; knowing that they will not commit an evil deed, Allah Almighty says of them that they are the ones who attain salvation.

Look, He does not encompass these. What is attaining salvation? In Surah Al-Fath: Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. We will soon give you a victory, it says. To whom will He give victory? To whom? People who have become servants to Allah and the community of His Beloved, governed by their Lord's commands. These are the ones who reach true victory, it says. It says so in the verses below. Those who reach true victory. The victories people win in the world are temporary. You celebrate, it comes and goes. Or many of them are forgotten. But in Islam, if you have earned the mercy of the Truth and attained the mercy of your Lord, you have won eternal victory.

You have entered through the gates of the paradise Allah promised and attained the words of those angels who say: peace be upon you. This is true victory.

Yes. People who made a covenant with Allah Almighty in the first barzakh, if they gave Allah Almighty a good covenant, Allah, who [placed] the created beings' — who placed the created beings under people's command, worldly and otherworldly, because of such people's good covenants, knows in His own knowledge that they will not oppose Allah Almighty. For this reason He says: We are the encompassers of the disbelievers. Not Islam, not the Muslim. What did He say? He says it is for the one who does not know himself anyway. This word is very grave. Allah Almighty, knowing that these will not commit an evil deed, says of them that they are the ones who attain salvation.

In this verse Allah Almighty says true victory, in the sight of Allah, is the victory of those who attain salvation.

In that case, these are the ones who attain their wishes.

Those who gave a bad covenant.

Those who rebel against Allah, the Glorious and Most Holy. Those, He says, We have encompassed. He encompassed them. What does it say? We encompass the disbelievers little by little from ways they do not know, it says. Doesn't it say so? Then, when it says We have encompassed them, the verses all support one another. Look how beautiful.

Those, He says, We have encompassed. That is, their freedom — they are like prisoners in a prison life where their freedom is not in their hands.

Isn't the world a prison? When we die we will leave here and go. But it is like a prison life where their freedom is not in their hands.

Yes.

Just as, because of the crimes they committed, a state's laws take away the freedom of those in prison and encompass them, Allah Almighty too says: We encompass the disbelievers like this. (?) The disbeliever —

although in the world he seems to have his freedom in his hands, with the evil deeds and actions he has committed, with the acts he did outside Allah's commands, these, within the lifetime Allah has given him, although he seems free, according to the verse 'all things are returned to Allah', and according to the verse that says all souls will taste death and in the end the return of every living thing, the return of everything, is to Allah, they will be caught there. So these are the encompassed.

Yes.

While We made a covenant with (?) people: if you oppose Us and rebel, if you oppose Us and rebel, corrupt truth and justice on earth, drown (?) on earth, We too will encompass you, worldly and otherworldly. We will encompass you.

We send you to the world of mulk, where you seem free and unaccountable; there, for a short time, We hold you as witnesses over yourselves before Us (?), and in the end, with the verse 'the return is to Us', We seize you and push you to the place you deserve, that is, to the one called 'what an evil place of return', hell, He says.

Yes. May Allah protect us from such an end. Yes.