Al-A'raf 2: (This is) a Book, which was sent down to you so that you may warn people and give advice to the believers with it. So, do not have any doubt in your heart regarding this matter.

Verse 2 of Surah Al-A'raf.

This is so that you warn people with it,

that is, Allah Almighty sent people to an unseen world where His Essence is not seen. He also created the mind incomplete, partial — the mind. With this partial mind man will know only the Essence of Allah Almighty, with this mind. In a state where good and right are to be distinguished. But the capacity of this mind, in proportion to each person's covenant with Allah Almighty, in proportion to the covenant; as the general common aspect, although all are knowers of the truth, that is, of Allah, although they are knowers, in people's knowing or not knowing Allah Almighty, since they are not robots, according to the degrees of their states of self, towards Allah Almighty, with the height of the mind, the greater capacity of the mind, between those who use this mind and those who don't, there is a way the mind works. For instance, Allah Almighty, they say, has given the human mind at most twelve percent. Twelve percent of the mind — that's how they imagine it.

Nobody knows anything. Some say eighteen percent, some say twenty-four percent. But the right one is probably 12%, since it is a partial mind. 4%, they say, the ignorant use. 8% normal people use. 12%, they say, scholars use. Because the capacity expands. Yes. Now in this case every person has a need to learn. That is, even a scholar will be shown the way. A scholar too will be shown the way. The scholar will show the way to people of his own kind. He will tell them as much as he has learned. Well, where will he learn this from? Through inspiration from Allah Almighty's Essence, through spirituality, or else through those raised by the heirs of the prophets.

In this way, so that people, within their own capacities, grasp Allah Almighty better, long for Him more, and with His love increase their nearness to our Lord, their intimacy — Allah Almighty says the Holy Qur'an, to warn people, so that you give advice to believers, is a Book sent down to you. A Book sent down to you so that you give advice to believers. Yes. Let there be no doubt in your heart about this. That is, this is a Book sent directly by Us. Let there never be any doubt in your heart. Why does He say this too? Because all verses confirm one another — in this verse what does it say? We said it in the previous verse.

You did not expect this Book to be given to you, He says. You did not expect it. Now that Book you did not expect is being sent down to you. So let there be no doubt in your heart, He says. This is a Book sent entirely from the Truth. Plus, in the verse: whenever, He says, We set out to give Our verses to a prophet by revelation, surely, He says, surely Satan puts temptation into his heart. But because Allah Almighty's (?), that is, the verses, which He gave into that prophet's heart by revelation — because He set those verses firmly, He says. Now the meaning of setting firmly here: since they are words that confirm one another, not false, not words that contradict one another, and because they are very firm, insightful, confirmed and grounded, He says, the temptation Satan gives strikes against these verses and is cancelled, He says.

It strikes this solid formula and is cancelled. But that too they interpreted wrongly when they interpreted those verses. Allah Almighty supposedly cancels Satan's temptation. And then His own revelation was given. Yes. We corrected these, by Allah's permission and grace, God willing.

With this Book, with the Holy Qur'an, so that you warn people, into your heart We sent it down. Remember, 'Gabriel taught the Prophet' — Allah protect us. This is a very bad thing. That is, very ignorantly, these go as far as shirk. Gabriel can never teach the Prophet.

Words like 'he revealed it to his heart' come up. Never, Allah protect us. These lead to shirk. Words like these.

That's why one must be very careful with the words that come out of the mouth. The word that comes out of a person's mouth. We're human; sometimes a word slips out of our mouth. It comes out. But doesn't it come out of me too? It does. I correct it at once. I understand that it's incomplete, that it's wrong. At once I say no, it's not like that. That's how it is. We're human, a word comes out of our mouth. For instance, the other day I said a word. (?). I said, of the Creator, you know, of what He created — 'the owner of the Creator', we said. Can the Creator have an owner? It's the owner of the created things.

That's how words come out. One must correct it at once. But in this way, 'he taught the Prophet', or 'he revealed' — God forbid, these lead to shirk. Learning in this way also drags people to ruin. Yes. What do we say? With this Book, with the Holy Qur'an, so that you warn people, into your heart We sent it down. In the verse I mentioned a moment ago, Allah Almighty says: We, when We are to reveal a verse into the Prophet's heart, invariably, He says, Satan into his heart, He says, sir, may go on putting temptation. But Allah reveals His verses firmly, He says, into His servant's heart, and Satan's temptation there is cancelled against that verse, He says.

That is the meaning. That too they interpreted wrongly, in this way. Allah supposedly cancels what Satan gives. And then He gave the verses Himself. That's how far the understanding goes. There's no knowledge, no knowledge. The knowledge of the Qur'an is something else entirely. Allah protect us. People interpret it all wrong. Because they cannot grasp the fine points, those places, they interpreted it this way. Now we are setting it right anyway. Yes, so that you give advice to those who believe in Allah and the hereafter — to those who believe in Allah and the hereafter; it does not say, so that you give advice to all people. If it had said 'so that you give advice to all people', all those people should have been honoured with Islam, but the Prophet would have fallen into the position of having failed to invite them to Islam.

But by saying 'to those who take advice', you have done your duty fully. You made known to people the revelation from Allah. Only those who take advice were advised by it. They took this path. Those who do not take advice, (?), turned their backs and left. You have done your duty, My beloved, He says. Yes. The verses are subtle, the meanings are subtle. It is a Book given from Us as (?), so that you give advice and lead them to guidance. To lead to guidance, by the Book's that foundational ruling, that is, by its sharia rulings, on the path Allah Almighty made known to us, for instance what is forbidden, what is haram, from what we will find relief, from what we will fall into afflictions, that is, stress — it knows.

In the sharia ruling, the rulings — if we trust in Allah, our Lord, within that destiny of ours, whatever it is anyway — if we surrender to our Lord, since Allah Almighty sent us to the world for a test, having won the test, with patience, trusting in our Lord, if we (?) our backs to our Lord, we attain peace. And with that peace we both win the test and see our Lord's mercy upon us openly. And you'll see that things have become smooth, those visible troubles have vanished, all matters have become easy, opened up before you. Every uphill has a downhill, every downhill has an uphill, they say.

So you are charged only with entrusting the truth to people in this Book, with making it heard to them. Yes, as I said a moment ago, if it had said all people — 'into your heart We', we said — to those who believe in Allah and the hereafter, it says. So that you give advice to those who believe in Allah and the hereafter; if it had said all people and he had not been able to bring people to the path, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would have taken on the responsibility. But by saying to believers, to those who believe in the hereafter, Allah Almighty sent His verses; whoever wishes will (?) to it, and whoever wishes, from this treasure, without benefiting, will turn his back and go with the whims of his self.

So (?) world: here the good and the bad will live together. But they will be (?) and separate from one another. Yes.

Your only duty is to convey the truth to believers with this Book, to make it heard to them — that is your duty. You are not responsible for those who will not take advice from the Qur'an, He says. Yes, you are not responsible for them.

But where does responsibility begin? With fulfilling the duty that Allah Almighty gave to the Prophet (peace be upon him) or to the other prophets. For instance, if we (?) an example: Jonah, when he fled from responsibility, without conveying the truth to people, sir, when he refrained and went away, Allah Almighty, (?): 'Is it to go away from My people,' He says, 'that I sent you as a prophet?' (?) at sea they draw lots, the ship is about to sink. (?) had to be thrown into the sea to get rid of the load; they threw him into the sea. The lot fell on him, and in the sea, in the belly of the fish, according to one narration, about forty days he stayed, and was in distress. Then: La ilahe illa ente subhaneke inni kuntu mine'z- zalimin. When he said, 'I have wronged myself, O Allah, forgive me,' He brought him out onto land.

He went back to his people again. That is responsibility. With the prophethood duty given to the prophets, toward people the responsibility of (?) the truth. Yes.

You are only charged with conveying the truth to believers with this Book, with making it heard to them. You are not responsible for those who will not take advice from the Qur'an. If they do not take advice from the Holy Qur'an, if they turn away, do not grieve over it. Because you have done your duty. Let there be no doubt in your heart about your duty. Let there be no doubt about your duty. Yes. Yes.

Does not take advice from the Holy Qur'an. If they turned their backs, do not grieve over it. Why? Because, My beloved, do not mind those who call you a liar, He says. In their time they betrayed Me too. That is, they called Me a liar too. Where? At that address 'Elestu bi Rabbikum', waiting for the lord in their imagination, they denied Me, He says. Yes. All the counterparts of the verses are in the words. If they do not take advice from the Holy Qur'an, if they turn their backs, do not grieve over it. Because you have done your duty. Let there be no doubt in your heart about your duty. Yes. That people, using the mind Allah Almighty gave, using the mind, may know that the Holy Qur'an is the word of Allah, that it is a Book sent so that with it they find the truth.

Yes. What did we say? What did we say a moment ago? When Allah Almighty created people, they have a common side, all people. Every mind's knowing that the one who created it is a Lord. Then, to be able to use his mind, or according to the covenant he gave, his in Allah Almighty's sight, according to his degrees of self, with the mind's unfolding, understanding Allah Almighty's verses better and, after understanding, both applying them and explaining them to people. Of course this varies according to people's states of self. What does it say? There are three kinds of scholar. Three kinds. The first knows, doesn't do, explains. But he doesn't do it himself.

This one (?) for burning. The second: that scholar applies it himself but doesn't explain. This one too is fit for burning, it says. A miser of knowledge. The third both knows, applies and explains, it says. This one is like the sun, it says. This one is like the sun. Yes. So according to people's states of self, people's degrees, mind capacity. Yes. The ability to use one's mind.

That the Holy Qur'an is the word of Allah, that it is a Book sent so that with it they find the truth, they should know. People have come into an unseen world. Within the life of this world they live unaware of themselves. Right.

We live as far as our mind reaches. Unaware of ourselves. Still, though Allah Almighty, through the religion of Islam, has made known to us the verses and how we are to live, yes, here, look, Allah Almighty (?).

Do not be with the dead, He says.

Do not be with the dead. That is, do not be with people whose heart and self have not found (?), have not found life.

In the state of sleepwalkers unable to govern themselves with that partial mind, and beyond that, the dead.

Sleepwalkers, those unaware of themselves.

He speaks and doesn't know what he's saying. When he comes to, he doesn't know what he said either. He has spoken. Sleepwalkers. So people unaware of themselves, if they get up and say, I am aware of myself — that comes out bigger than their size (?). Now, that the Holy Qur'an is the word of Allah, that it is a Book sent so that with it they find the truth, they should know. People have come to a lost world. Within the life of this world they live unaware of themselves. If there were no verses, we would live unaware of ourselves. What we are, what (?) we became, what became of us.

We would live in contradiction, in darkness and swamps. So Allah Almighty, with the Holy Qur'an — to hold a light before people, to make known to them what they will do, to cut off their questions against Allah Almighty, and to save people, in the great world He sent them to, from their hardships — it is the Book He sent down. Pay attention here. To cut off their questions against Allah Almighty. People's. Allah had the attribute of being Allah. People would not be able to question or interrogate Him. (?), Allah Almighty would have made manifest all they would ask. And man, seeing the deficiency in his own self, would not be able to question or interrogate Allah Almighty.

Yes. So. What is the Holy Qur'an like? Consider people as a primary-school child. He can't read or write. A child needs to learn, needs a teacher.

When his mother and father teach him — all people, look, we're saying, consider as a child. The created, created people. This one needs to learn. And for learning, the primary-school teacher teaches reading and writing. It's in the Qur'an.

Hodja, does the Qur'an teach us reading and writing? When you ask that — we're speaking figuratively. What does it say? Allah never refrains from giving the example of a mosquito and what is greater, He says. That is, with His address to the most partial of minds, to the most intelligent person's state too, He gives a comparison both to this one and to that one, He says. He gives examples. Allah Almighty, to prove the existence of His Essence. So, like that primary-school child, Allah Almighty explains to them the existence of His Essence. That child will learn it. If we consider people as a child.

When we grow up a bit more, that is, they used their minds well, they enter a vocational school. They learn a profession. A profession. That profession has its fine points. These only — how that profession is done, how it is practised, or what situations arise. For instance, to give an example of this, like a doctorate, (?), he enters a university, learns medicine. But he can't perform an operation. To be able to do that he needs specialisation. So in that specialisation, the scholars, heirs of the prophets of Allah Almighty, have done that specialisation, have entered through our Lord's door of knowledge, and are charged with explaining the truth to people — such persons, scholars.

Scholars. I suppose these parts are well understood. With examples, with comparisons. So if we consider all people as a child, the Qur'an teaches you reading and writing. The Qur'an teaches you how you are to be bound to life and how you are to live. Further on, the Qur'an — embracing all the worlds, equipped with verses that make known that He shows mercy to all people with His Essence and that people are in need of Allah, and beyond that too, with many secrets, on condition that they belong to our Lord's Essence — Allah Almighty sends the Holy Qur'an to people as a mercy. He sends it as a light before them.

Yes.

That the Holy Qur'an is the word of Allah, that it is a Book sent so that with it they find the truth, they should know. People have come into an unseen world. Within the life of this world they live unaware of themselves. A child who hasn't even gone to school. Of course he's (?) unaware of himself. What would he know? He knows nothing. So if there were no Qur'an, he'd be like that child, like the child who knows nothing. And Allah Almighty would be ascribed attributes too. If He hadn't sent the Qur'an, or hadn't sent His verses, or hadn't sent His scholars, hadn't warned them: 'You both created our mind incomplete and sent us to a lost world, and didn't make Your Essence known to us. So we fell short toward You, in our incomplete mind,' they could have said.

But in this case, since Allah Almighty is free of deficient attributes, making known to people what they will do, what is needed, what things are needed, in what (?) they will be — Allah Almighty's making this known, with His being free of deficient attributes, shows that no one can question or interrogate Him. So Allah Almighty, with the Holy Qur'an — to hold a light before people, to cut off their questions against Allah Almighty, and to save people, in the realm of dominion He sent them to, from hardships — it is an exalted Book He sent down. The Holy Qur'an. Yes.

Allah Almighty, the owner of the universe, is compassionate and merciful to His creatures. Yes. Allah Almighty is not unjust. He says so anyway. Man is unjust toward his own self, He says. Allah is not unjust toward His creatures. If Allah were unjust toward His creatures, He would be ascribed attributes. What was it? He would be ascribed attributes. He would be their enemy. He would be the enemy of His creatures. With this enemy, sir, as if He had been unable to make His word prevail over him. In this case too, Allah Almighty would be ascribed attributes. Now, Hodja, this (?) we couldn't understand. 'He couldn't make His word prevail over him.' Sir, people who don't listen to Allah Almighty, who turn their backs on Him — isn't that failing to make His word prevail?

I'll (?) this part. The worlds, 17,000 worlds. On one side, two groups on one side. Two groups: jinn and humans. They have been left free in their own will. In their own will. Man, since he is honoured above all the worlds, is given a spirit. A spirit. In this case mankind, with his own will, is to come to know his Lord. This is Allah Almighty, with the summit of His art of creating, creating a being He holds as one addressed by His Essence, and willing to be known through it. Through it. Is He not known by His creations? He is not. Why? Because He programmed them. He Himself programmed them. How much does a robot know?

It knows its owner in proportion to its program. But that robot, without being programmed, knowing its Lord in its own state — so Allah Almighty, by giving man of His spirit: in the spirit there is glory, fame, pride, arrogance, ego, grandeur, egotism — all of them. All of these are in every person too. By His giving from His whole to its partial. In this case, leaving man free in his own will, with such traits, submitting and saying, I am a created being, I was created by the Lord, and I am His servant — being held as one addressed by his Lord, as His likeness. That is, in Süleyman Çelebi's (?) Mevlid-i Nebi, what he calls mir'at, the mirror — appearing as that mirror.

So man, distinct from the other creatures, within his own will, free to do or not do, since he was left free — only for humans and jinn, for humans, paradise and hell were created. For the others they were not created. The others — when those animals are gathered, He says, in the hereafter, after they take their rights from one another they will vanish. So what is the thing that will not vanish? Only (?), they will come to paradise.

Who are the ones who don't vanish? Humans and jinn. They were left free with their own will. In this case Satan is the preacher of hell. What does the Prophet say anyway? After speaking with the Prophet (peace be upon him): 'O (?),' 'you,' he says, 'Adam (?),' he says, 'if you made one prostration at the grave or tomb,' he says, 'I would ask Allah Almighty for your forgiveness,' he says. And he says exactly this:

'By Allah, who made you the preacher of paradise and me the preacher of hell,' he says, 'I did not prostrate to him alive, so should I prostrate to him dead?' he says.

Yes. In this case, in this case, people's separating by their own will, and 'He could not make His word prevail' does not mean that; rather, through our Lord's creation of a very magnificent, miraculous being, by giving it a part of His Essence and holding it as one addressed by His Essence, by leaving it free in its own will — in this case these are distinguished from the other beings. Here, 'He did not make His word prevail' is said in this sense. Yes, what do we say? Allah Almighty, the owner of the universe, is compassionate and merciful to His creatures. He created people as the noblest of creatures and made them vicegerents of the earth.

So that people would not suffer, and from people's darkness to light, His word, which is the truth, to people He has sent. Guiding people, so that people, toward this transient realm of dominion not inclining, would reach the blessings of the realm of the hereafter, their true homeland, and that there is no other creator anyway, that the universe shows its need of Allah — to declare this to people, He has sent the Holy Qur'an to all the worlds as a light. Yes.

So Allah Almighty, the owner of the universe, is compassionate and merciful to His creatures. Because He is compassionate and merciful, Allah Almighty, the man to whom He gave a part of His Essence, He left free in his own will, and through this will He willed that His Essence be known. But one of the (?) says this in a couplet; now, as far as I remember, let me say it; I won't quite be able to say it as he said it. In this world, he says, some are Majnun, some are Layla. Sir, so I, he says, passed the climes of the self, to the Essence (?), he says, I came to You; neither are You, without me, known, nor are You known without me, he says.

Neither am I known without You, nor are You known without me, he says. Then he continues: (?), lest it be shirk, you erased it, he says. He says a beautiful word here; right now I don't remember it. He too proves so beautifully with these words that he reached somewhere. Yes.

In this case Allah Almighty, leaving people free in their own will, to the man He created as (?) — with man's wish and desire, whether he turns to Allah Almighty or not, with the deeds every soul has done and earned, with their good and bad deeds, they will be called to account; that Allah Almighty is capable of all things; and that those who know and those who don't, as we said above, in this world live and separate from one another, and in the eternal world too, after being called to account, one will be within the circle of punishment, and the other outside the circle of punishment will live in the world of joy and pleasure.

So wrestlers have a saying: hodri meydan, come and face me. So (?) self said hodri meydan — in the life of the world, with their love and affection toward Allah Almighty, or else their feelings toward Him, people will be called to account for the good and bad deeds they did.

Yes.

Whoever wishes takes advice from the Qur'an, and whoever wishes turns his back on it; what each one earns for his own two hands is the return.