Al-Baqarah 272: It is not your responsibility to give them guidance, but guidance is given to whoever wishes to be guided from Allah. Whatever you spend (on the path) of good, you spend for yourselves. But (already) you spend only for Allah’s contentedness. Whatever you give (on the path) of good things, a full reward will be given to you and you will not be wronged.

Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 272: Guiding them is not a debt upon you. We said that the verses always confirm one another. No verse contradicts any other verse. There's probably a wedding outside. Is (?) playing? What is it doing?

Yes.

Some sounds are coming from outside. Now: guiding them is not a debt upon you, it says. What does Allah Almighty say in His verse? If this were made up by a human, many words in it would contradict one another, it says. Yes.

So why am I saying this now? Their guidance (?), it is no debt. You know, Allah Almighty, in the Elestü bi-Rabbiküm address, to people, when He said 'We are your Lord, I am your Lord', made a covenant with them, we said, made a covenant. Everyone's wish and desire became his aim, and that aim became his destiny, we said; so no one can change anyone's destiny. And the verse 'You cannot will unless We will' is also a verse that confirms what I said. That is, it says: only I have the might and power to change these characters. But since We made each person's wish and desire, his aim, his destiny, and in line with Our wish and desire too, We programmed it this way so that people prove themselves what kind of person they are, and since We will not interfere with their partial will, no one but Us can change it, that is, these destinies.

In this case there is also a book with Us, in the Preserved Tablet, in the Preserved, to which afterwards neither an addition nor an omission is made, it says. So in this case, guiding anyone is not an obligation upon anyone. Upon anyone. Look what it says anyway: guiding them is not a debt upon you. Yes. No one can guide anyone. Only a conveying of the message is made. Conveying. Conveying. But guidance is granted to whoever asks of Allah. Now, we said they also explained this verse wrongly. What does it say here? 'To whoever asks of Allah', that is how we explained it. If we look at verse 272 of Surah Al-Baqarah, there it says this:

'But Allah guides to the right path whom He wills,' it says. 'Whom He wills' — no. That cannot be. Now, according to the Quranic knowledge you learned from me, how wrong and superstitious a piece of information this is. According to the Quranic knowledge you learned from me. Yes. Now it becomes clear that it is superstition. Because, as we are all servants of Allah, Allah makes no distinction among us. Whoever asks of Allah, Allah gives to the one who asks. As I said a moment ago, we will enter through that door of mercy. Or we will enter through that treasure door. What is it? The door of repentance.

Allah Almighty does not say to someone coming to repent, 'you come, you don't come.' So we will keep correcting the mistakes here as we go. And you will learn this Quranic knowledge even better. Yes.

But guidance is granted to whoever asks of Allah. So, as people come into the world: one comes as Islam, lives as Islam, goes as Islam. One comes as Islam, lives as an unbeliever, goes as Islam. One comes as Islam, lives as Islam, goes as an unbeliever. Why is this so? Everyone comes upon the nature of Islam. This coming upon the nature of Islam is the giving of bodies to it. Within these bodies, those people, if they wish, live as Islam and, according to their destiny, go as unbelievers. If they wish, they live as unbelievers and, according to their destiny, go as Islam. If they wish, they live as Islam, live as Islam upon this nature, and go as Islam.

Yes. No one ever has the authority to change anyone's destiny. Yes. Whatever good you give in charity, you give for your own selves. So this (?) of giving in Allah's sight, that is, of giving charity: one gives up one's goods and property. In return for your helping people with these, with your goods, Allah Almighty in many of His verses speaks of you attaining great ranks. So, although in so many verses He asks so much for you to give, to give charity, the verse I feared most, as I said, the verse I did not want to explain, whereas, however much Allah Almighty says, give from your goods and property, why were you afraid, Hodja? Why didn't you give?

Why don't you say these things? I said I would explain when the time came. Against these conscience-exploiters, 'another hodja has come out. Look, he too is feathering his own nest,' they would say; so as not to harm Islam, I did not want to say it. But I said I would explain it to you when the time came. Look, now I am explaining. Here is the verse. Don't blame me. Allah is saying this. Allah is saying this. I am not asking anything for myself from you, God forbid. My reward is with Allah alone. Yes. Give in the way of Allah. Give in the way of Allah. After securing yourselves, after taking your precautions, the decree of course is Allah's, one gives charity in the way of Allah.

Whatever good you give in charity, you give for your own selves. Because Allah Almighty: whoever buys paradise with their lives and their goods. We will come to those verses. (?) Allah created the goods, Allah created the life, Allah created paradise, Allah gave them to you; if you can give in charity what He gave you and give it to Allah, He sells you paradise. Yes. That's all. To make people attain His mercy, Allah Almighty creates small causes and wants to bring you to His mercy. 'You give only for Allah's pleasure anyway,' it says. Look how beautiful. Not for our nafs; we give for Allah's pleasure.

'Whatever you give as good, its recompense will be given to you in full, and you will not be wronged,' it says. Wronged. Look at the benefit of giving. Look at the benefit of giving charity.

'Hodja, I gave, but will I perhaps be wronged?' Look what Allah Almighty says in His verse. Who can be as faithful to his word as Allah? No one can. So, if Allah Almighty is free of deficient attributes and creates causes to open the doors of mercy to His servants, and since Allah will never (?) what He says, what does it say? Look: and you will not be wronged, it says. What does it say once more (?)? 'Whatever you give as good, its recompense will be given to you in full.' In full. And it is given as even more. In this case you will not be wronged either, it says. Never. Allah does not wrong people.

But you give and then you speak of regret. Or you rub it in people's faces. Except those. They are wronged. But look, let me say now, (?) in the verse just before, 'Whatever good you give in charity, you give for your own self. You give only for Allah's pleasure anyway,' it says. Do you see? 'You give only for Allah's pleasure anyway.' Yes.

Now we can read our commentary. After explaining this much, we can also tell you some things from our commentary. People, being free within their partial will and, within their own will, in proportion to the covenants they gave, those who turn their backs on Allah, by their rebelling against Allah, Allah Almighty to the Prophet (peace be upon him): 'O My Beloved, you cannot turn them into an obedient nafs.'

What did we say at the start? Guiding them is not (?) upon you, it says. We are explaining this here. Let's read it once more. People, being free within their partial will, that is, their own attributes and sins, within their own will, within their wishes and desires, these sins and attributes that they will have written for themselves, only within their own responsibility, yes, in proportion to the covenants they gave within their own will, those who turn their backs on Allah, by those who rebel against Allah, by their rebelling, 'O My Beloved, you cannot turn them into an obedient nafs. And you are not responsible for this either.

You are only one who conveys,' He says, to the Prophet (peace be upon him). 'I sent you to convey the message. Not to use force.' 'Mercy is from Me' (?), Allah Almighty. Yes. Allah Almighty knows who will turn back, who will not turn back, who will go obedient, and who will go as wrongdoers against their own selves, all those to come until the Day of Judgement. In this case Allah Almighty, within the freedom of being human, using our reason, within what is right, since the way of reason is one, all together living our Lord's commands in our hearts in the most beautiful way, earning His mercy, from this world to the hereafter, our Lord, who wants us to go as a nafs obedient to our Lord, tries to explain His verses to us in the most beautiful way.

He explains. And He has this made known to people through His scholars. He raises them. He raises scholars, and within these (?) these scholars light people's way under the light of the verses. Yes.

'O My Beloved! You cannot turn them into an obedient nafs.' I explained this a moment ago. 'And you are not responsible for this either. You are only one who conveys,' He says. Since people come into an unseen world, so that they do not blame Allah Almighty, Allah Almighty sends messengers to people to remind them of their Lord. Messengers. Yes.

What was it? Allah Almighty sent people to Esfel-i Sâfilîn, the so-called lowest of the low, this world of dominion. Now, we said Esfel-i Sâfilîn; people think Esfel-i Sâfilîn is hell. Hell.

Back (?), in Fatih, I was telling people some things. A Hoca Efendi was listening behind me. Eighty or so. He was eighty-something years old. He had taught as a hodja in Fatih. He was listening behind me. And I began to explain Esfel-i Sâfilîn. İlle'llezîne âmenû ve amilu's-sâlihâti fe lehum ecrun gayru memnûn This, in the verse before: 'We turned them to Esfel-i Sâfilîn.' That is, We sent them down. (?) hell, they would say? And we say: if this were hell, (?) the Prophet (peace be upon him) came to the world of dominion too. Then him too? He came to hell? What does it say next?

'Except those who do good deeds,' it says. They are excepted.

'O man,' it says. 'What has happened to you that you denied? What has happened to you that you denied?' Eleysallâhu bi-ahkemi'l-hâkimîn: Is Allah not the judge of judges, it says. Eh? Right away the Hoca Efendi, eighty-something years old, may Allah be pleased with him. He was probably from the Black Sea region too. (?), he said. So until that age he had known it that way. So Allah Almighty does not call anyone to account (?). And that person there (?). Now what do we say people are? He sent them to Esfel-i Sâfilîn, to the (?) world, to the lowest of the low. The lowest layer of the first of these seven heavens, that is, the world; He sent them there, to the world.

So that within this world a person does not say, 'My Allah, (?) sent to an unseen world, I knew nothing of myself. If You had sent me books and scholars, I would have obeyed You'; look how beautiful. Just as in the hereafter realm, in that Elestü bi-Rabbiküm address, He stood before us and said 'I am your Lord', in the world of dominion too, unseen, since He will not call to account any person who has not heard, He sends them prophets, scholars, books. Allah, this is Allah. Eternal without end and without beginning, outward and inward, besides whom there is no god, the owner of all this dominion, of this property He created, Allah makes His essence known to us very beautifully. Yes.

So, His sending mankind to the world, to the lowest layer of the world, and sending man to what He calls Esfel-i Sâfilîn, the lowest of the low, and so that man does not blame Allah Almighty, since our Lord is free of deficient attributes, He sends scholars and prophets to people. He sends books. So that they guide people. So that people do not say, 'You sent me to an unseen world. You closed the hereafter to me. In this world I did not know what to do. As my Lord, You did not show me the way,' so that they do not say this, what a beautiful order our Lord has set up. So no one can blame Allah Almighty.

Yes. Since people come into an unseen world, so that they do not blame Allah Almighty, Allah Almighty sends messengers to remind people of their Lord. Messengers. So that people do not say, 'You sent us to an unseen world; had You made Yourself known to us, we would then have obeyed and worshipped You.' So Allah is free of deficient attributes. He creates every kind of event that could come to people's minds, and a person, within his own will, proves what kind of person he is through the deeds he has done. Yes, how beautiful, here we have explained that Allah Almighty is free of deficient attributes.

Indeed, if you pay attention, the commentaries are told to you not so much in (?) words but in terms of the verses and in the language of speech. In the language of speech. The essence: where to go, what to do. Yes.

So, Allah is free of deficient attributes. He creates every kind of event that could come to people's minds. This is Allah Almighty's, Allah's attribute. All the questions that all people, from our father Adam until the Day of Judgement, will ask, Allah Almighty creates as (?), and within those (?) people, by the deeds they have done, (?) from the questions. And a person, within his own will, proves what kind of person he is through the deeds he has done. For this reason, if a person, rebellious to Allah, has had his destiny written within his own will as rebellious, He says: you are not responsible for guiding them.

Allah Almighty says to the Prophet (peace be upon him): 'People who gave Me a covenant with (?) obedience like this, you are not responsible for guiding them. Because it is not possible for the written destiny to change or be changed again,' He says. But guidance is granted to whoever asks of Allah. To whoever asks of Allah: one who knows Allah as Allah, who, when making the covenant with Allah Almighty, obeyed Allah and recognised his Lord as Lord, and gave his covenant as obedient to his Lord.

Of course guidance will be granted to him. Yes. Guidance will be granted. Because whoever rules himself by Allah's commands and prohibitions, Allah Almighty, (?) as judge, will deal with him justly and open to him the paths of guidance.

Yes. Thank you.

Now, if a person says to another, 'Do this work of mine like this', and that person does that person's work, of course the person who had his work done will pay that person a wage. So those who carry out Allah Almighty's commands and prohibitions, since they carried out Allah Almighty's command, Allah Almighty will open the doors of guidance to them. He will open the doors of mercy to them. He will make him (?). He will forgive his sins. He will grant him reward. Yes. What did we say? One who knows Allah as Allah, who, when making the covenant with Allah Almighty, obeyed Allah and recognised his Lord as Lord, gave his covenant as obedient to his Lord.

Of course guidance will be granted to him. Because whoever rules himself by Allah's commands and prohibitions, Allah Almighty will deal with him justly and open to him the paths of guidance.

Whatever good you give in charity, you give for your own selves. Whatever good you give in charity. No one can pay anything for anyone. Everyone does it for his own self. Whoever does good and kindness to Allah's servants and gives his wealth for Allah has in fact not given away his wealth; the wealth that seems to have been given in charity is like a single seed you plant in the soil that becomes the ear you will harvest when the time comes. Look what a beautiful example we give here. How beautiful. While writing these, with the inspiration our Lord gave us, how beautiful it is for people. Sir, we give an example.

What do we say? Whatever good you give in charity, you give for your own selves. In relation to this verse: whoever does good and kindness to Allah's servants and gives his wealth for Allah has in fact not given away his wealth. He has not given away his wealth. The wealth that seems given in charity, that is, seems given away, is like a single seed you plant in the soil that becomes the ear you will harvest when the time comes. One to a hundred, one to fifty, one to seventy, whatever our Lord gives. Or an ear with seven heads, in each ear a hundred grains. Yes, the charity you give to Allah's servants for Allah is for your own self, and becomes provision you send ahead to the hereafter.

I will set off from here and go to America. I'm giving an example. Can I go without money? I will save up money. My outbound plane ticket, my return plane ticket, my hotel money there, what I will eat there and the sightseeing there, taking these into account, a certain amount: if it is this much, then under these conditions I will stay so many days, tour so many days and come back. What do I do? I also take a bit more in reserve so that I am not stranded there. Well, if you think of this for a land you will go to, your eternal homeland, from which there is no return, that land where you will live forever, that residence, what are you sending there from here?

What will you send?

You cannot send money, you cannot send your goods either; only by giving in charity from the goods our Lord gave us, by giving charity to people whose need our Lord shows, who show their need to our Lord, can you become the owner of that place, the owner of that property, the owner of that paradise. How will you become so? 'Whoever buys his paradise,' it says.

The charity you give to Allah's servants for Allah becomes, for your own self, provision you send ahead to the hereafter. You give only for Allah's pleasure anyway. 'Whatever you give as good, its recompense will be given to you in full,' it says in the verse. We are explaining this. Allah Almighty, meaning the Muslims, there is a hint there. 'You give for Allah anyway,' it says. Now there is a distinction here.

A non-Muslim does not give for Allah. Because his (?) is the god of matter. He gives either for his nafs or for his own interest. Only a Muslim gives charity for Allah. The Muslim, and among the Muslims, among the people who have come and gone, among the prophets, the one with the most faith, the most magnificent, the most a friend of Allah is Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him). The measure of this being so is the Praised Station being given to him in the hereafter. The measure of this being so is his being a mercy to the worlds. His coming as such. Mercy. This being so is because he is alive.

Yes.

What do we say here?

'You give for Allah anyway,' it says.

In this case the Prophet (peace be upon him) made Islam, our Lord's command, known to people. For the continuation of His religion until the Day of Judgement, sir, and for the loftiness and completion of His religion, he was sent last.

Here, as a symbol of the Muslim giving only for Allah, they wrote a couplet for the Prophet (peace be upon him). A couplet. In that couplet it says: 'el fakri fakri, el fakri fakri — did he not say? — that one of the worlds, fakri (?), fakri (?), this heart of mine found fakr in fana.' Yes. Although I have explained this to you, let me explain it once more. In Arabic, fakr is owning everything and yet knowing in one's heart Allah as the owner of all goods and property, and surrendering to Him. The meaning of fakir is not poverty. In Arabic the poor one is miskin. That is, one who has no goods or property.

But fakr is this. He says decisively: el fakri fakri. That is, even if all the goods of this world were yours, that person knows that the owner of goods and property is Allah. Even the One who created this body of ours and its owner is Allah. Even the owner of the One who created us from nothing, gave us our spirit and left us free in our will, is Allah. We have no other door to go to but Him, do we? The person who surrenders even his spirit to his Lord, who goes as far as 'la mevcude illallah', that is the fakr he calls fakr: the state of the person who, after surrendering goods and property all to his Lord, surrenders to Him; it occurs only in Muslims; in the more advanced stages of Muslims, in the believers, sir, this state arises, but Muslims experience it too; indeed, what does it say? 'You give for Allah,' it says. To whom? To the Muslims. Even if they do not come from the secret of that fakr, in those who come indirectly from his spirit, and in the heart of a person who accepts Islam, knows his Lord as true and surrenders to the owner of the worlds, this ability lies.

Indeed, what does it say? 'You give for Allah.' Yes.

Allah Almighty, here we said that Allah Almighty, meaning the Muslims: 'You give seeking Allah's pleasure.' It is impossible for a Muslim to give charity in the name of anyone but Allah. That is impossible. For this reason, since Allah knows this state of the Muslim, He says: 'You give anyway seeking Allah's pleasure.' Whatever is given, its recompense is paid to you in full. No injustice is ever done, and people are not wronged.

Here a meaning like this emerges. A person earns and appears to be the owner of (?).

In fact, with his death neither his goods remain nor his property. All of it, created by Allah, has remained to Allah. Here is the verse. Every soul shall taste death. The dominion of the heavens and the earth will remain to Allah. The inheritance of the heavens and the earth, (?), belongs to Allah. The inheritance of the heavens and the earth. Because He created it. He is eternal and everlasting. The people who lived their lives on it, in a temporary worldly life, busied themselves with those goods and properties. And finally, having proved themselves, they went to the hereafter. There is also a proverb like this: Owner of goods, owner of property — where is its first owner?

Goods are a lie, property is a lie. Go on, amuse yourself a while. Yes. The world of amusement is in fact the world of proving what kind of person we are. Do not forget this. We have written here anyway: according to the verse where it says 'the inheritance of the heavens and the earth belongs to Allah', goods and property remain to Allah. Worldly goods are tools given to us for matters of reward and sin. If we use these tools as Allah says, we can transfer them to the hereafter. How? By giving charity, by giving, by giving for Allah. To whom? To the one in need. To whom? To mosques. To Quran courses.

To helping Allah's religion. Yes. To students who study for Allah. Giving charity to these is your worshipping Allah in the most beautiful way. If we use these tools as Allah says, we can transfer them to the hereafter. If you came having given from this glass of yours (?) to someone in need in charity, this will appear before me in the hereafter, with even more. But if Satan frightens us with stinginess, with poverty, and out of stinginess we hide it, and do not give it to the one in need either, and we have a surplus but, beyond our own needs, we do not give it to them, then we go back there like a (?).

If we use these tools as Allah says, we can transfer them to the hereafter. If we cannot use them, we leave them here and go to the hereafter stark naked, without provision. So Allah, so that we may be at ease in the eternal life, constantly encourages us to good and kindness.

After these verses have passed, after these verses on giving charity have passed, and never again, perhaps there are some of you who do not know me, yes, just as I have not explained until now, you do good and kindness, give, I do not easily say that. Because people look for faults where there are none; 'is this hodja feathering his own nest?' they fall into such thoughts. In this case, listen to these well. Things I won't tell you much about, but which in fact deserve much attention and which will make people rich in the hereafter: these are the verses. Listen to them well.