Al-Baqarah 128: Oh our Lord! Make us among those who submit to you and raise from our offspring a community that obeys you. Show us the manners of worship and accept our repentance. Indeed, You are Tawwab (the One who accepts repentance) and Raheem (the One who very generously accepts repentance).

Abraham and Ishmael continue their prayers. Our Lord, make us of those who submit to You.

Yes, what does it say? Our Lord, make us of those who submit to You. Make us of those who obey You.

And from our descendants too, bring forth a community that obeys You.

From his line, Muhammad; from his line, the imams descending from Hasan and Husayn, and from his line, from his loins, from the Ahl al-Bayt, the people who are Sayyids, and by their prayer, those coming from that line being the imams of their time. Yes, this is the blessing of the prayer. What does it say now? And from our descendants too, bring forth a community that obeys You. Show us our ways of worship. Accept our repentance. Surely it is only You who accepts repentance much, the Most Merciful — You alone.

These verses move people deeply; they move me deeply.

Living it is something else entirely — living it. There must be living it. Without this living, what a person says stays in words; it does not pierce the heart.

The pain of the arrow that pierces the soul, the heart, is different. The pain of an arrow that pierces a person's body is different.

Whoever lives it knows and tastes it. These things those who converse intimately with their Lord, who are aware of His manifestations, who have attained some of their Lord's secrets, know very well. As far as our tongue allows, we describe our feelings as if they were their feelings anyway. As Abraham and Ishmael were building the Baytullah, as their love for Allah Almighty grew, they prayed both for themselves and for the people who would come from their descendants.

So that those coming from their descendants would not return to the age of ignorance, that is, so that they would not sink into ideologies other than the religion of Islam, wishing from the heart that they would worship Allah, the One, besides whom there is no god, they entreat Allah Almighty. That is, they pray.

Abraham, who believed so certainly in the existence of Allah Almighty: O Allah, make us of those who submit to You.

That is, we take refuge in You, O Allah, from the vanity that comes to our nafs from the deeds we do.

We have known You as the Creator. We have known You as the Owner of the worlds. And our love for You is something else entirely. Just as a person longs for his mother and father. That father and mother (?) their child. While raising that child in the best way, they become a support behind him, and just as that child longs with yearning for that father and mother, even more than this, with an even greater feeling, since Allah is the Creator of them all, since He is the absolute Owner of this universe, since Allah Almighty holds that person as one addressed by His Essence, those people's love for Allah grows, and their prayers in the face of their love for Him.

Yes: O Allah, make us of those who submit to You. That is, after we have known You and recognised You, do not leave us alone with our nafs. And what does the Prophet (peace be upon him) say?

I swear by Allah, in whose hand is the power over my soul, he says. That is, he has surrendered himself to Allah just as he is — listen to this part well — I swear by Allah, in whose hand is the power over my soul, he says. So, the power over his soul: surrendering with his whole being to Allah Almighty; when he speaks, it is not he himself, but our Lord speaking to people through him. Is there a verse for this? Of course. Would I say it if there were no verse? He does not speak idly. If he were a person, never would he speak idly. If his intellect is deficient, he was created deficient. So, according to the verse 'he does not speak idly', in whose hand is the power over his soul, and who moves by His direction personally, and on earth whom He commands and through whom He speaks — a person.

The Prophet (peace be upon him).

That is why he does not speak idly. There is a verse. And what does it say? Abraham too: Do not leave us alone with our nafs. The sins that will come from us as human beings, forgive us. Forgive us. Although it speaks about the Prophet (peace be upon him): Your past and future sins too He forgave. What are the future sins? The seventieth meaning of the verse, when he received it every day, (?)? He said repentance. Is there nothing above the seventieth meaning? What? For his being deficient. And for explaining deficiently toward Allah Almighty, His (?) his sins against His Essence. Not against created beings, mind you.

Against His Essence. Against the Essence of Allah Almighty. Yes. And forgive us the sins that will come from us as human beings. We are helpless. Look. How do Ishmael and Abraham pray? Pay attention here. Show us our ways of worship. That's right. We worship. Whatever shortcoming we still have toward Your Essence in worship, show it to us.

Now we say the same thing. There is a rule our Lord has laid down. A rule. What is this rule? The Sharia rulings of the religion of Islam. But while fulfilling these Sharia rulings, we want to do even better, something higher. And we say to our Lord: our Lord will be even more pleased with us. If there is anything, let us know that too. O Allah, show us the way. Let us do that too. As far as we are able — for to do everything our Lord says we do not have the strength. Within our strength, accept from us what we will do within our strength. Light up our way. Shine a light for us. In some matters our minds do not grasp it either.

How we will decide, how we will (?) — so, before us, shine a light with Your verses and Your inspiration, O Allah, we say. Do not let us err and fall short in the decisions we make, and so bow our heads in shame before Your Essence, O Allah, we say. We pray. Yes.

So a person is helpless before the nafs. And because he is helpless, I say: we cannot know how to serve You. We cannot know how to serve You. We do our servanthood within what You have said, but, O Allah, so that we can be, in a higher state, worthy of You, worthy of the human quality of the human being You created, so that we can fulfil the duties You gave, whatever we need to do, since with this helpless mind of ours we cannot grasp it and work it out, light it up before us, O Allah, we say. We are helpless. We cannot know how to serve You. Show us the ways to serve Your Essence, and do not separate us from these ways.

Do not put the vanity of this passing, mortal world into our hearts. Indeed our return is to You — so they implore Allah Almighty. Yes. From our descendants, bring forth a community that will obey Your Essence. In their prayers. May they too know You by obedience to You and by worship. Jacob (peace be upon him) too gives his sons such advice. What does he say? Never worship anyone other than the one God who created us, do not bow down to anything else; give me your word, he says. Yes. And they say: we too will never turn to anyone other than Allah who created us, they say. Yes.

May they not return to the age of ignorance. That is, may they not join those who deny You. May they not turn to anyone other than You. The love in Abraham's heart for Allah Almighty overflowed. In the face of this love of Allah, his nafs was brought to perfection. That is why Allah Almighty called him: My Khalil, My close friend. My Khalil.

He reached an exalted station in the sight of Allah. Among His creatures, Allah Almighty loves human beings very much. Knowing this, Abraham prays to our Lord. In a verse, Allah Almighty says of Abraham: he used to sigh much.

He used to sigh much.

As I said a moment ago, it moves a person deeply. That sigh! What is this sigh? If only people knew that there is no god other than You. If only people, before the blessings You give, knew their helplessness and gave thanks. If only people in this world knew that You are the absolute Creator and Owner of these worlds, and that in the world of the Hereafter You will offer those people the delight of an endless life — if only they knew. If only they knew there is a Sovereign so abundant in mercy. If only he knew there is a Lord who loves man greatly, forgives his sins, and to him the highest (?) stations will give.

Yes.

Allah Almighty, in a verse, says of Abraham: he used to sigh much. What Abraham meant by his sighing: People, without knowing Allah's existence, (?) these people to that One, the Merciful, the sole Owner of these beings, Allah — if only they turned to Him. If all people submitted to Allah, did what He says, and (?) in a festive mood completed their lives and departed. Abraham used to wish for this. But seeing people's ignorance, their turning their backs on Allah he could not bear. And when he could do nothing, that one who sighed much would sigh deeply.

When he said to his father too: I will pray to Allah for you, O Abraham, do not be of the ignorant — upon this, toward Allah Almighty, he became repentant. That is why he used to sigh. What happened? (?).

Since people were created deficient, (?) from Allah Almighty; he used to repent much. For this reason, imploring Allah Almighty: O Allah, You accept repentance much, and it is You who are the Most Merciful, he says, within those feelings.