Yusuf 38: I have followed the religion of my forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It does not befit us to associate anything as partners to Allah. This is a blessing of Allah to us and to mankind. But most people do not show gratitude.

What does it say here? I have followed the religion of my forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is not fitting for us to associate anything with Allah. This is from Allah's grace upon us and upon people. But most people are not grateful. If I too say that I descend from the Prophet, that I descend from Hussein, and if that is not confirmation, and if I keep away from associating anything besides Allah with Allah, if I keep away from gossip, backbiting and all such things, from worldly matters, and if purely for Allah's sake I tell Allah's verses to people, is that too much for people?

Here too Joseph (peace be upon him) is introducing himself. If we too introduce ourselves to these people, and these people, about us, against us, with all sorts of intrigues, put us in the class of liars, if these people try to cast falsehood upon the truth, in this case, if I always speak Allah's verses, and despite my speaking Allah's verses they call us fake, this word "fake", though I explain the verses, does it come down to fake verses? Doesn't it? Does it amount to denying the verses? Doesn't it? If he calls these verses fake, I mean this fake lesson, this fake hodja, when he ought to prove it in the light of the verses, if he cannot prove it in the light of the verses and we are presenting this, Allah's word, to people as the truth, then are the people who speak this way taking a stand against Allah's verses or not?

People who use their reason see these things very well. Yes, now look what Joseph says too. I have followed the religion of my forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. That is, he says he follows that religion and that he is one of them. He makes people feel assured. It is not fitting for us to associate anything with Allah. This is from Allah's grace upon us and upon people. But most people are not grateful, he says. Joseph (peace be upon him) continues to explain the religion of tawhid to the young men. I have followed the religion of my forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. That is, besides saying they believed in the one Allah, his saying my forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob means he was trying to tell the young men that he came from a prophetic lineage.

He wanted to give his words strong effect. Yes, to the effect, he wanted to give force to the effect of his words. Since I am of the prophetic lineage, associating anything with Allah does not befit us. And if we too descend from those imams, if we descend from those sayyids, then for us too slandering Allah and slandering the Messenger is not fitting. We only weed out those who slander them. For example, people who, though they don't know hadiths, don't know, don't know the hadith, say in one narration it's like this, in another it's like that, the two contradicting each other, and who take these for hadith: we are against such people.

Of these, one or two of them either is hadith or is not. One of them either is hadith or is not. Or neither of them is hadith. Because hadith has to be in the light of the verses. Hadith doesn't come about through such narrations. In one narration like this, in one narration like that. That isn't hadith. Yes. That's why people don't even know what hadith is. They only vaguely say it's the Prophet's word, his saying. They say it's his saying, but it has to be in the light of those verses. In the light of the verses. That hadith is to explain a verse to us.

Since we are of the prophetic lineage, associating anything with Allah does not befit us. From these words it is understood that his saying it does not befit us to associate partners with Allah comes from Allah showing His Being to His prophets by manifesting it, so that the prophets were at once reassured. In this way He makes known to His prophets that there is no other god besides Him. And the prophets, making known to people that no created being besides Allah is worthy of worship, invite people to the one Allah. Yes. These are all accounts of events that actually happened. Yes.

Moreover, prophets have the ability to persuade people. Because we know that Allah is one. There is no being worthy of worship other than Him. Allah is intertwined with His creation at every moment and knows their state. That we know and recognize Allah in this way is from Allah's grace upon us and upon people. Now a word comes up here. What do we say?

Prophets have the ability to persuade people, we say. This ability comes from speaking the truth. It comes from speaking the truth, what is right. And from their words always confirming one another. It comes from their never speaking falsehood. Since everything they say corresponds to the verses, their ability to persuade is great. Because people can see no deficiency. In that case, prophets have 17 sciences. There is fiqh, there is aqidah, there is kalam, there is hadith, there is hal, there is (?), I mean sciences. The sciences exist. These sciences also exist in the tasked person whom Allah Almighty has raised.

For this reason they never say things in a way that would contradict the words they have said. That is, their words are not such as to contradict one another. The verses always confirm one another. Because of this knowledge. Because of being raised by Allah Almighty. Yes.

Allah might have willed us to know Him without making Himself known to us. That is, without making Himself known to us: since I gave you a mind, and gave you a hidden spirit from My Being, you should have known Me. Then it would hardly be possible for people to know Allah, we say. Not easily, with this mind. In that case people would live in darkness, and after a life in crisis and distress, on passing to the hereafter, because they could not know Allah, they would incur Allah's wrath. We see that this is not so through the prophets and scholars He sent to people. Allah does not hold anyone accountable from a generation that has not heard.

Therefore Allah's making His existence known to people in the worldly realm, which is the unseen realm, and in the hereafter His promising the paradise He will give them, is from Allah's grace and generosity to people.

Most people do not see this grace and generosity Allah has given to people. (?) Allah's creation, they are not grateful to Allah. For this reason people live in heedlessness. Many of them regard these given blessings as their due, as their own doing, and living in (?) abundance they forget Allah. Thus, deprived of thanking Allah and knowing Him, in the hereafter they incur His punishment. May Allah protect us from such a life.