Hud 114: And establish the prayer (Salah) at the two ends of the day and in the first hours of the night, because good deeds remove bad deeds (sins). This is a reminder to those who desire to take advice.

Here, too, Allah Almighty, in Surah Hud, verse 114: at the two ends of the day and in the first hours of the night, perform the prayer.

Two ends.

Well, this is noon and afternoon. The two ends of the day. Noon and afternoon. And in the first hours of the night, perform the prayer. In its first hours. The two ends of the day.

Not noon and afternoon. The morning and evening prayers. The morning and evening prayers. The two faces of the day, because the sun rises in the morning. That is, the morning prayer is performed before it rises; and after it rises, until the sun has risen a spear's length, this is a disliked time. It used to be the time of the sun-worshippers. Outside of these sun-worshippers, that is, after the sun has risen a spear's length, which corresponds to 42-45 minutes, you can perform the morning prayer up until the noon prayer, the morning prayer; but the reward of the prayer performed between imsak and sunrise you will not receive.

Some say, some, that after the sun rises you make up the morning prayer as a missed prayer, they say. This is wrong. In our religion, one prayer time does not begin before another time has ended. One time does not end, it says, before another time begins. So since the noon time has not yet begun, the morning time has not ended. If you say to me, "This is your own idea," if you say that: The Prophet (peace be upon him), with Bilal the Abyssinian, from a journey while returning, "O Abyssinian" (night is falling on them), "let me rest a little; you me, I you," he says, "you rest, I will watch over you.

And for a while," he says, "let me rest, and you watch over me." "Alright, alright," he says, "O Messenger of Allah." The Prophet (peace be upon him): "Let the Abyssinian, for a certain time, sleep, let him get his sleep," he (?). He himself, of course, continues worshipping.

Toward morning, that is, toward imsak, he wakes Bilal the Abyssinian up. "Now you keep watch like this, I will rest a little," he says. Meanwhile Bilal the Abyssinian, on a rock, while sitting, sees, on the opposite side a little further ahead, a tent. There is a tent ahead.

Those in that tent are performing the morning prayer.

The sun rises. Meanwhile those in the tent say: those people sitting over there, are they not Muslims? "These did not pray," they say. "This man did not pray," they say.

Thereupon, after the sun rises, the men come and see that it is Bilal the Abyssinian. "O Abyssinian, Abyssinian, Abyssinian": he has dozed off.

There he misses the morning prayer. The Abyssinian (?) out of fear. The Prophet, too, resting, with that fear, the Prophet too wakes up with his gasp. He sees that the sun has just risen, and just as he is about to go to the Abyssinian, Gabriel (peace be upon him) arrives. "O Muhammad, Allah Almighty sends you His greetings. Our Lord Himself put the Abyssinian and you to sleep.

So that those of your community who, being tired, being ill, or being absent-minded, for the morning prayer cannot get up, would not have to make it up as a missed prayer, He (?) you." He says. As a mercy to his community. Yes. The morning prayer, the morning prayer is also witnessed, it says. It is a very virtuous prayer. So: the two ends of the day, the morning and evening prayers, and the first hours of the night, it says. Pray in the first hours of the night: the night prayer. Yes, now when the sun is setting, pay attention to the sky like this: a redness appears. That is the evening prayer, that redness.

After this evening prayer is performed, after a while the redness disappears. In its place something like a faint brightness, this something like brightness covers it. And this shows that the night prayer time has begun. The Shafi'is, those in the Shafi'i school, meaning this, can perform their prayer half an hour before us. And we perform our prayer half an hour later. Of the Shafi'is: since the Shafi'is perform the night prayer according to this brightness, they still perform it on time. And the Hanafis even better. After that, since these are the first hours of the night, in a nicer way our night prayer we perform. All of these are right.

Just as they see the moon and begin Ramadan, well, see the moon and celebrate the holiday, in this case ours too, by the earth turning on its own axis, by meridians and parallels, by the earth's rotation, by at what hour the moon or the day begins and ends; well, in our fasting according to the Gregorian calendar, that is right and this is right. Yes, with the clock (?), they fast one day before us, and we one day later, it turns out. Yes. So: at the two ends of the day and in the first hours of the night, perform the prayer. For good deeds remove bad deeds, sins, it says. Good deeds. That is, prayer leads a person to good deeds, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) declares.

If the acts of worship you perform do not keep you from evil, they are (?), he says. So the small sins we commit between two prayers Allah Almighty removes through our performing the prayer, and forgives. Our small sins.

This is a reminder for those who want to take advice, it says. For those who want to take advice. So the partial will lies in man. Yes. Every person, by his own will, is free to know Allah or not know Him, to obey His command or not. But the advice is from our Elder, from the One who created us, from our Lord; and because of our duty of servanthood to Him, because our Lord created us in helplessness, He gives advice. Of course we will heed the advice. We will heed that advice. Yes.

When a person stands up for prayer, when he stands, on the left side of his shoulder, Kiramen Katibin, the angel, to Allah Almighty: "O my Lord, shall his sins stay in place?" "Take them," He says, "put them down. Put them down. Let that servant of Mine stand before Me without sin," He says. Then, after he has performed the prayer: "O Allah, these sins, shall I return them?" he says to Him; "not of My glory (?), what I took," he says, "the rest shall I give back?" "Erase them," He tells him. Yes, prayer is this valuable. Indeed, in the Hereafter we will be asked first about prayer. And prayer is the pillar of the religion.

That is why it is a pillar.

The meaning of "the two ends of the day": we have said the day begins with the imsak time, with the imsak time. (?) the imsak time of the day beginning for that day is the imsak time, the start of the day; but with sunrise: when it says "the two ends of the day", it is sunrise; with the entering of the day it is the imsak time.

By the Gregorian calendar, it is twelve at night. In the Arabic calendar it starts from the night, and from the night, with imsak, it ends. Although it is dark, the day has turned. That is, it has ended. The other day has ended. We have entered a new day. It has become morning. Brightness is now near. In this verse "zulef" occurs. Its meaning is "near to the light". Yes. And this is the imsak time, between imsak and sunrise.

The other is the evening, the setting of the day. Between these two ends there are three times.

The time starting with imsak until sunrise is the morning time. The sun's zenith point, that is, the moment it turns while shining its rays straight down on the earth, is the noon time. Between noon and the end of the day is the afternoon time. At these two ends of the day, pray at three times. The morning prayer, the noon prayer, the afternoon prayer. How beautifully Allah Almighty describes the daytime prayers in this verse. What does it say? At the two ends of the day. And in the first hours of the night, perform the prayer. Yes.

When the sun shines straight from overhead, it is again a disliked time. Or the time of the sun coming to its zenith, that is, to shining straight down, from a few minutes before, is a disliked time. Normally they say this is a time of about five minutes. Again, the sun-worshippers used to worship the sun at this time. When the sun turns, the sun turns, that is, when you plant a stick and its shadow falls to the opposite side, the noon time has begun. When the length of this stick, the stick you have planted, grows twofold, the afternoon time begins. Yes, in this case, morning and evening: when one prays at the two ends of the day, noon falls within it; and by saying "the first hours of the night" the night prayer is meant; the five daily prayers, in this way,

well, our Lord has made known to us. The other is the evening, the setting of the day; between these two ends there are three times. The time starting at imsak until sunrise is the morning time. The sun's zenith point, that is, the moment it turns while shining its rays straight down on the earth, is the noon time. Between noon and sunset is the afternoon time. At these two ends of the day, pray at three times. The morning prayer, the noon prayer, the afternoon prayer. How beautifully, we say, Allah Almighty, in this verse, the daytime prayers describes. Yes. That it says "and in the first hours of the night, perform the prayer" is the sunset, the evening prayer time.

After sunset, with the disappearance of the redness the sun makes in the sky, the time that begins is the night prayer time. (?) it is the verse that describes the five daily prayers.

They say, people: does Allah Almighty mention prayer in the Quran?

So these people have never opened and read their own book.

A person has many books. A general knowledge book, a Turkish book, a math book, a physics book, some other book. There are many books. Apart from these, these are still good, informative books of knowledge. Apart from these there are storybooks, novels, fairy-tale books.

People who long for light,

living in darkness, instead of books that would advance them in technology or develop themselves, read love books, novels, storybooks. And with their fantasy worlds they race within the circle of ignorance. And when you ask him, because he longs for this light, he says: "I am an enlightened person, I read so-and-so's novel." The poor man, how much he has remained in ignorance, in those darknesses, that he reads books which people who do not know themselves, in an inferiority complex, wrote (?): he admits it himself. So this person, because he has remained in darkness, longing for light, because he longs for light, says "I am for enlightenment", and so that pleasant words are said to him, because he longs for those words, strips his body completely naked, and saying "I am civilized", envies those animals that are more civilized than us.

So what does it say? Those animals are more civilized than us; envying those animals, poor people who make their bodies naked. Look, in the verse Allah Almighty says: beware, let Satan not deceive you and strip you completely naked. Let him not strip off your clothing and make you naked, it says. How beautifully Allah Almighty puts it with His verse. And these, however naked they are, what a mentality it is, how Satan has set a net for them and keeps them occupied in this net, whoever dresses more nakedly, undresses, they get the feeling "that one dressed very well". Astonishing. Unbelievable. And then let them deceive us with prayers.

You, separate from one another; you, distance yourself from Allah's path; you, do not know yourself; you, envying the darkness, longing for light, say "I am enlightened". And then, while even animals protect their dignity and honor, and even monogamous living animals protect their own existence, you come along. Do not recognize decency and manners.

Envy those states, the way non-Muslims today sleep around with one another.

And by saying "do not go toward the fire prepared for them", if you are with those who cross the limits and go toward those fires, then of course in this case, to those who want to take advice this prayer brings no benefit. Except, however, those who want to take advice.

To those who do not want to take advice, prayer brings no benefit. Because they do not come near prayer either. There are some people who cannot pray. But their conscience aches at Allah's advice. That day comes. The day comes, God willing, when Allah to him too, that is, he himself breaks that nafs of his. He turns back to the path of his Lord. But then there are also, as I said: does Allah Almighty mention prayer in a verse? Well of course, you read all the books, you read novels, but your own book, the book that is yours, you do not read. "Hodja, what is my book?" My book, look, here, my book is this.

Look. My book is this. Let me show it like this. Asr-ı Saadet. Asr-ı Saadet, but what Asr-ı Saadet. Yes.

Allah's Book. The Book He sent to me. Not to me: that He sent to us. When I say "us", I mean people, all people. Ah, those who want to take advice, it says. What does it say? This is a reminder for those who want to take advice. It is a reminder for Muslims. Who are those who want to take advice? Muslims. It is a reminder for them. Yes.

Good deeds remove evil. One day the Prophet (peace be upon him) turns to his Companions. "O my Companions, if a river flowed in front of your house and you, five times a day, washed in a river, in this river, would anything remain on you?" he says. And his Companions say, "Nothing would remain, O Messenger of Allah." And the Prophet (peace be upon him): "Likewise, the five daily prayers cleanse people of sins," he declares: good deeds.