Al-Furqan 76: They will remain there for eternity. How beautiful a place of dwelling and settlement.

We have come to verse 76 of Surah Al-Furqan.

They say,

Is there a verse about being eternal in Paradise and Hell?

It is full of verses. Have you read the book Allah sent you? If I had read it, I would not say this. I would not use ignorant words. Look what it says here: Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Halidine fîhâ, ebedâ. Fîhâ. Hasunet müstekarran ve mukâmâ. They will stay there forever. What a fine place of settling and residence it is. There is no death, after all. If there were death for people's spirits, these verses would have no validity. There is no death for spirits; there is death for bodies.

Spirit, nafs and life — this body, this body is entrusted to that spirit. When Allah Almighty takes the body, death begins. It returns to the world of barzakh, from which there is no coming back. Yes. So Allah's righteous servants, those who in the world believe in Allah and the hereafter, who obey the prophets, who show reverence to the Holy Quran, who, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, by his hadiths saying "Take on the morals of Allah", governing themselves, take the verses of the Quran as their morals, who follow Allah's commands, who avoid what Allah has forbidden, who with obedience and worship turn to Allah, who are in repentance, who in their helplessness ask Allah for their full wishes, who ask Allah for their wishes, who seek the world of the hereafter rather than the life of this world, will stay in the gardens forever.

These are eternal in the gardens. Those who turn their backs on these, forever in Hell. Because in Paradise and Hell there is no more death.

Why is there no death? Because the bodies are gone; with spirits, into Paradise and Hell we will enter. Again, I can't help saying it. Today's professor put people into Paradise with bodies. Yes. But one of our youngsters, on hearing this, said: Hodja, come on, let's go. The time has come, he said. Yes.

Because in Paradise and Hell there is no more death. People who enter these places are immortal both in Paradise and in Hell. The people of Hell will remain subjected to an undying punishment in Hell. In return for what they did in the world, by their denial of Allah and their disbelief in the hereafter, they will stay forever in Hell, what an evil place of return. As for the people of Paradise, in return for what they did in the world, their belief in Allah and the hereafter, their obedience and respect toward the prophets and the books, their not failing in reverence toward them, their wanting deeds that please Allah, in return for winning Paradise, their attaining their wishes in Paradise, their living, in Paradise, the abode of eternal bliss, an immortal life amid joy and delight — this will surely bring these people peace, and these people will have attained true victory.

True victory is this. Innâ fetahnâ leke fethan mübînâ. We will soon give you a victory, it says. Yes.

So Paradise is such a fine place of return and such a fine land to dwell in. (?) would a person seek the shadow of an object while the object itself is there? When the light striking the object is gone, the shadow will vanish too. The person will have toiled in vain. What does this mean? You are deceived by the world and governed by this object your eye sees. You do not see the blessings Allah has given you. If you (?) your back to the Truth, tomorrow when you depart from here, then just as that shadow vanishes, the world too will slip from your hands. In the presence of Allah Almighty, with no coming back, you will be called to account.

It is like this in this universe. The sun strikes an object, a shadow forms. But when the sun sets, the shadow vanishes too. Human life is like this too. He is not aware that he lives within the appearance of a shadow. That in his lifetime he was occupied with the shadows of objects, at the moment of death he will understand. At that moment of death, when the worlds of reality are shown to him, that the time he spent in the world was wasted, that everything apart from what Allah and His Messenger made known is empty, he will realise. When he wants to return to the world and to be in obedience and worship in his duty of servanthood to Allah, the chance is gone from his hands; he has set out on the journey to the world of reality from which there is no coming back.

So if a person becomes a servant of Allah, he is mindful of Allah's commands and prohibitions; if he obeys Allah, Allah will admit them into the gardens, such a fine place of return, and will give until His servants are pleased with Him. What an endless blessing, and what an endless bliss this is. What man could not imagine in the world, Allah Almighty granting it to people in the hereafter, Allah being of vast mercy, loving His servants greatly, and offering them His blessings eternally — thereby He will make His servants pleased with Him. Yes.