Ar-Ra'd 13: And the thunder exalts (Allah) with praise. And the angels (exalt Allah) with awe. While they argue about Allah, Allah strikes those (whose time is up) with lightning that Allah sends. And Allah is the One whose punishment is severe.

Which verse of Surah Ar-Ra'd did we say? The 13th verse. The 13th verse. The 13th verse. Yes.

Now, in the 13th verse of Surah Ar-Ra'd it was rendered wrongly; we are reading the wrong rendering.

We are addressing those who say: Who are you anyway? You are rejecting the verses. He has a mind; let him use his mind. Where is the error? Let him know that. When it comes to it, is Allah free of deficient attributes? God forbid, of course He is free of deficient attributes, you say. And then you slander Allah. What does it say? The thunder glorifies Allah with praise. And the angels, too, glorify Him out of awe of Him. While they dispute about Allah, that is, while they dispute about Allah, He sends thunderbolts and with them strikes whom He wills, and He is severe in punishment, it says. So now Allah strikes whomever He wills.

What would that person say? You gave me a life, but within this life You gave me no chance to repent to You. Why didn't You strike the others, why did You strike me — wouldn't he say that? He would; if it were me, I would say it.

How it blames Allah Almighty! It has Him strike whomever He wills. Whereas He sends those thunderbolts and with them strikes the one who wills it, those who deserve it. His life is over; he has proven himself. In this case, just as He destroyed the people who were subject to destruction with a cry, with water, by drowning them in the sea, with earth- quakes, with the Ababil birds, here too Allah Almighty strikes those people with a thunderbolt. But his life is over. Not whom He wills, but the one who wills. He has finished his duty toward Allah Almighty, has proven what kind of person he is. And his life span is complete.

How will he go? He will go by thunderbolt. The way each of them goes is determined. In this case, those thunderbolts strike, and He is severe in punishment. Who? Allah Almighty. He is severe in punishment. Yes. Now: the thunder glorifies Allah with praise. What does this mean? Open Surah An-Nur for me.

Probably the 31st verse. Let me look at it. Or the 35th verse. It must be 35. Let me look at 35. Surah An-Nur.

Let's look from here.

Of Surah An-Nur, look at the 35th verse, what it says. They rendered this one wrongly too. First let me read their wrong rendering. Since these verses confirm one another, let's support the verse with verses for you too. First we read the wrong rendering. Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth. The likeness of His light is like a niche in which there is a lamp. That lamp is inside a crystal glass. That glass is as if a pearl-like star, upon which the shadow of the east and the west does not fall. It is as if lit from the oil that comes from the olive. Its oil almost gives light even if no fire touches it.

This is light upon light. Allah brings to His light whom He wills. Oh, how nice.

That is exactly why the address "Elestü birabbiküm", in Surah Al-A'raf, verse 172, they have covered with ashes. Because if they went into it, they would find the truth, they would find the truth. They covered the partial will with ashes, closed it off. Even the great ones don't go into those areas. Who is it you call great? If Allah informs you, if the Great One, your Lord, informs you through verses, the covenant between the universal will and the partial will — if He informs you of it, if He proves it to you in Surah Al-A'raf, which great one are you talking about? Which human's great one are you talking about?

The Great One, Allah, informs us through His verses.

Yes. So He brings to His light whom He wills. Then why did we make a covenant with Allah Almighty? What was the reason?

Yes. Now to the correct one: we have understood that this is crooked. Let's open up the meaning here. The meaning of the same verse together with this. Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth. The light here is the knowledge of Allah Almighty. It is His keeping the universe upright with His knowledge. With His knowledge. His setting the lunar system in the sky, all the galaxies in the sky completing their course without touching one another, the earth turning on its own axis in 24 hours, turning around the sun in 365 days and 6 hours — (?) Allah is to be the light of the heavens and the earth.

That is, He creates what He creates firmly, having created it with His knowledge. His knowledge. The likeness of that light is like a niche in which there is a lamp, it says. Light. What is it? A light that Allah Almighty has given to the human heart. What is this light? Do you know what that light is? Like when you close your eyes — children have a marble. A marble made of glass, like this. Inside it there are, you know, various, various, various, various colors, lively like this. This is in the outward sense. If one goes a bit further in a scientific direction: compress olive oil. Compress it under pressure like this.

You will see the millions of cells inside it teeming. Millions, maybe billions of cells — you will see them teeming inside that olive oil. And now Allah gives an example from olive oil. Look what it says.

That lamp is inside a crystal glass. A crystal glass. That is: either your compressing olive oil inside a (?) and seeing its cells, or Allah Almighty placing that light into your heart by way of inspiration. How does the light get in there? How does that light get in there? Now put olive oil in a bucket. Filled to the brim with olive oil. Or put water. There's water in the bucket to the brim. Try to fill this bucket with mercury. Since mercury is heavier than water, it will sink to the bottom and push the water out. And then, when you fill the vessel with mercury, not a trace of the water will remain.

Likewise, when a person is governed by Allah's verses, when he struggles with his nafs and removes the worldly attachments from his heart, then Allah likewise places His light into his heart. Yes, that glass is as if a pearl-like star, upon which the shadow of the east and the west does not fall. Do you know what it says? On the knowledge We gave by inspiration into the heart of that person who possesses light, neither the shadow of outward knowledge nor of falsehood can cast a shadow, it says. The shadow of the west and the east, it says. The sun rises from the (?); He likens the sun's rising to outward knowledge, and He likens the sun's setting to superstitions. On that, neither the shadow of the outward nor of falsehood falls, it says. Who is this possessor of knowledge?

It is the person our Lord raised with the inspiration He gave to that person's heart. Yes.

Your hodja of outward knowledge cannot explain this. He cannot know this verse either.

Yes. With superstitious words — "Arabic grammar goes here, it is this," "no, this Arabic grammar goes there, it is that" — with all sorts of tricks they show off to people, and because there is Arabic, they instill falsehood into people's brains. Yes.

the shadow of the east and the west does not fall upon it; as if from the oil that comes from the olive it is lit; its oil almost gives light even if no fire touches it. that is, when We raise that person, it says, when We raise him and make the verses known to his heart by inspiration, even if you silence his mouth, his body speaks, it says. His body. Yes. Now, having explained this much, the continuation of the same verse. The thunder glorifies Allah with praise. Allah Almighty, who creates with knowledge — those positive and negative clouds He created with knowledge, when they pass close to each other, a noise arises as lightning flashes, right?

Its glorifying is Allah Almighty's creating it with the power of His knowledge. Otherwise there is no life or soul in them, that they should glorify Allah.

It is our Lord's creating them with the power of His knowledge. How does it glorify? The heavens and the earth. And what is between the two have known the remembrance of their Lord, it says. Each substance's atoms, the nuclei inside those atoms — plus and minus, neutron and proton — while turning around their own axes, even if we don't hear it, give off a sound. Allah Almighty, whichever of His names He will have whichever substance remember, has that substance remember Him with that name. The reason? The reason: today a factory somewhere makes an invention and takes out its patent. Does this belong to me, it asks.

It belongs to me. No one else may print it, it says, or use it. As long as I do not permit it. Likewise Allah Almighty, by making His essence remembered — the heavens and the earth and what is between them have known the remembrance of their Lord, according to the verse. Allah Almighty, by making His essence remembered, makes known that there is no god but Allah and that He is the absolute ruler, owner and creator of this created universe.

The verses are clear.

And the angels too glorify Him out of awe of Him.

What is Allah Almighty's majesty? Toward the angels. Angels are genderless. Angels are just like robots. They are genderless and they are like robots. Allah Almighty has programmed them. But they are alive. Alive. In this case, the angels know their Creator, and since they are by their owner programmed, of course the angel will fear His majesty — the angel will. It will fear far more than we do. Why will it fear more than we do? I mean, when I say it will fear more than we do: the human of whom it says, they are like the four-legged animals roaming the earth — it will fear more than that human.

Otherwise, a human who is truly human fears even more than the angel does. Now why does the angel fear Allah so much? It is programmed. It knows He is its owner. If He wished, He could annihilate it in an instant. It knows that too. As for man — although Allah has given to man, he thinks himself unbridled and free, turns his back on all of Allah's blessings, is ungrateful, eats and drinks what He gives without giving thanks, like the four-legged ones — although that animal even remembers its Lord, this one is ungrateful toward Allah Almighty.

So of course the angels will greatly fear Allah's majesty. If we too knew that our owner is Allah, if we too knew that, since for the mistakes we make every moment an atom's weight of good and an atom's weight of evil is recorded, tomorrow at the great tribunal we will give account in the presence of Allah Almighty, and for a deed we cannot account for thought about what we would do in His presence, and adjusted ourselves in this world accordingly, of course we would fear even more than the angels. Because we are the noblest of creatures. Because He created us honored above the worlds.

Yes.

He sends thunderbolts and with them strikes the one who wills, the one who wills, those who deserve it. And He is severe in punishment. Yes.

"The thunder glorifies Allah with praise" — this verse is a verse spoken in a figurative sense. Otherwise there is neither life nor soul nor mind in the clouds. Verses spoken in figurative senses like this we will also come across later. The meaning of the glorification here: the heavens and the earth and what is between them have known the remembrance of their Lord, according to the verse. Allah Almighty has stamped His symbol on everything He created and has proven that there is no god but Him.

Since He created the nuclei of the atoms of all living and non-living things He created as positively and negatively charged nuclei, their turning around one another's axis makes His essence remembered. When people advance in knowledge and find some random substance, that is, when this substance has no positive and negative nuclei — about this substance that does not remember its Lord, people, falling into doubt — was this piece perhaps by someone else created? — so that they would not be led into such suspicion and doubt, with the proof that there is no god but Him, He has made all particles remember His essence.

Indeed. If what is in the heavens and on earth and between them has known the remembrance of their Lord, and people found a substance and looked and saw that it has no positive and negative nuclei. But this substance — well then, if they had the power to hear this sound too, when those positive and negative electrodes turn around their own axes, if there were an ear able to hear that sound, like David — what does David say? He would know the remembrance those mountains and stones give off. That is why it says: "Let me remember You, my Lord, with the mountains and stones. Let me remember You, my Lord, with the birds at dawn." That ear, the inner ear, hears it.

So if there were such an ear and it saw the substance not remembering, good heavens, this by Allah was not created, you would say. Because what does Allah do with what is between the heavens and the earth? He has already made them remember Him. So you would say: is there another creator besides this? You would say that about it. Allah Almighty: the clouds He created, the waters they carry, the positive and negative electric charges on them — their power is very great; when lightning strikes, until it is grounded it splits building, tree, whatever there is; we see this. His making known, as a representation, the power and grandeur of Allah, who creates this event with knowledge, is in fact His remembering His own essence in the face of the greatness of His essence.

Yes. When I say this, when I say this, this event comes to my mind. 1502 When the Prophet (peace be upon him) ascended in the Mi'raj and came face to face with Allah Almighty, he begins to praise Allah Almighty. Then Allah Almighty says: your praising. Your praising Me has become like the (?) of your ummah, He says. At that moment, he says, a grain whiter than sugar and sweeter than honey came into my mouth, he says. A grain. These words poured from my tongue, he says: I cannot extol Your essence as You extol Your essence. No one can comprehend Allah. What a beautiful word. No mind can comprehend Allah.

But Allah can (?) Himself with very beautiful descriptions. So: I cannot extol Your essence as You extol Your essence. However much I know You, however much I know, I cannot know You as You know. Because You possess the power to create. Yes. Yes.

In the face of this knowledge and power, the noble angels too extol Allah's loftiness and greatness in remembrance. While people dispute about Allah, Allah sends thunderbolts and with them strikes the one who wills. In the time of Moses (peace be upon him), a community that did not believe that Allah revives people after killing them — while they stood watching, they tasted death as the thunderbolt struck; then, pointing to His reviving them by His power, Allah tells people that He is capable of everything.

Here too, again: those who will it. Not whom Allah wills. Pay attention. Those who will.

They say: we will not believe you until we see Allah openly. Who says this? The Jews.

We will not believe you until we see Allah openly. So while they stood watching, it says, Allah (?). Since they will not be able to see Allah openly, Allah Almighty kills them. Allah Almighty, who will be seen beyond death, after showing His essence, brings them back to life and revives them.

Whatever Allah's word was at first, so it is in pre-eternity. And so it is in eternity. That is why He did not appear with His essence even to Moses. In this case man is truly very ungrateful toward Allah.

In the time of Moses (peace be upon him), a community that did not believe in Allah's people being revived after death — while they stood watching, they tasted death as the thunderbolt struck; then, pointing to His reviving them by His power, Allah tells people that He is capable of everything. Allah's punishment is the most severe. In the face of the torture and torment people inflict on one another, a person, not (?) this torture and torment, dies. He dies in the end, I mean. However much torture you inflict. Three hours, five hours, a day, three days, five days — even if you flay his skin, even if you cut out his tongue, it's over, this agony will end.

It will end in a few hours, in a few days.

Yes. In the end he is freed from this torture and torment by his death. But since Allah's punishment in the hereafter is continuous and deathless, it is the most severe of punishments. The never-ending tortures and torments of a deathless world — how will people be able to endure them? And on top of that, if these tortures and torments are continuous.

You who listen to me, believe it or not. By my Lord's doing, I saw a counterpart of the verse in hell. You know where it says "throwing sparks like yellow camels"; such a — two sides as hemispheres joining at the top, like this, the inside completely pinkish, yellowish, like this. An oven, but such an oven. I mean, such a fire. But not worldly fire. An angel, a zabaniya angel, wearing kıspet, exactly like a wrestler's kıspet — leather breeches below, bare above — on his head the hair fully in a bun. He grabs the man and, hop, in he goes. Count to six. I mean, five, six seconds. He takes the man out of there, puts him on the ground.

The man lies face down on the ground. Face down, unconscious. I am watching. A few more seconds pass. Say, five, six more seconds pass. Allah Almighty, in His verse: their skins, it says, pitch black, are like cracked earth, it says. Exactly like dry earth cracking, it starts to split, piece by piece. I'm looking like this, watching, and underneath, a fresh, snow-white skin comes again. Just as this world is the likeness and shadow of the hereafter, it resembles a snake shedding its skin. But the snake sheds its skin entirely. This cracks like the ground, like earth cracking. Fresh skin emerges from underneath.

When it begins to crack and the skin begins to show, that white, snow-white skin of the person begins to show — of course this is not the spiritual body —

the person begins to come to, begins to stir. To come to. When he regains that skin, he takes him again, puts him in there again, and it goes on like this. May Allah protect us from such a punishment. Amen.

Now, can someone who hasn't seen this open up this verse like this? Yes.

But since Allah's punishment in the hereafter is continuous and deathless, it is the most severe of punishments. The never-ending tortures and torments of a deathless world — how do people endure them? And on top of that, if these tortures and torments are continuous. O man! Think a little. What if the Allah you deny exists — if that Allah you deny exists, if what is said is true, then in the world of the hereafter what will become of us? If Allah does not exist, then while living in the world, saying "these are what Allah said" and acting on it in belief, we suffer no harm either. Is there any harm, do we suffer any harm?

No. What are we doing? We even gain health. If Allah does not exist, we die and are gone. That's all. But if He exists, then we are in a sorry state. If we didn't do what Allah said, then we are in a sorry state.

Moreover, ablution, prayer and fasting make it possible for people to live healthily. (?) ablution prevents a person's heart disease. Heart disease. Rinsing the mouth with water, putting water into the nose, wiping the head, cleaning the nape and the ears, washing the feet, washing the elbows relaxes the heart. One. Second, you discharge the static electricity on a person into the earth with water, and you feel relieved. With ablution. Since Allah Almighty knows how people will live healthily in life, He has set rules. So that no wrong is done to them. And if one steps outside these rules, take note: Hospital doors are full of patients.

Pharmacies can't keep up with medicine. To (?) medicine.

I am turning 76. I don't take medicine. No medicine. But I try to apply what my Lord said. I don't go about without ablution. I don't even eat without ablution. Without ablution. Yes.

So, moreover, ablution, prayer and fasting make it possible for people to live healthily. They are rules set for people's health. We lose nothing by doing them. So, before going into the swamp the nafs constantly calls a person to, be wise. With reason prevailing over the nafs, find the truth on Allah's way, on the straight path. Be with it. What gives man a new life, frees his heart from worldly attachments, holds a light before him, gives that person peace and joy — Allah's verses — be governed by them, so that, freed from distress, you may find peace. Otherwise from distress and unrest you cannot be freed.