Al-A'raf 98: Or, were the people of those nations confident that Our punishment would not come to them while they were having joy during daytime?

Verse 98 of Surah Al-A'raf: Or did the people of the lands, in the forenoon, while amusing themselves, feel secure that Our punishment would not come to them, it says. You know, in the previous verse it says at night, did they feel secure that Our punishment would come to them, would not come to them, it says. Its coming, according to the verse, at night. Now the forenoon. What does this mean? Twenty-four hours, night and day, every moment, when Allah Almighty will send His punishment, people do not know, so from the punishment Allah Almighty will send they can never feel secure. Secure. But those who know Allah, who fear Allah, saying Allah may send us a punishment at any moment, they do not feel secure from it.

Those who know Allah, you see, those siddiqs, those people of faith, those people of faith I mean, of righteous faith, those of high rank, they know that it is not known when or where Allah will send which affliction. It lies within our Lord's power, within His knowledge. And look what the verse below says: from Allah's punishment did they feel secure? That is, at every moment, from Allah's punishment, at every moment did they feel secure? But none other than the losing people, none other than the losing people, can feel secure about Allah granting such a respite, it says. That is, those righteous servants. As I said a moment ago.

They cannot feel secure. That is, we do not feel secure. At any moment our Lord may send an affliction. Any moment. We pray: our Lord, when You are going to give us these afflictions, if You are going to give that affliction to that town, if that too is in Your decree, from that town, just as You brought out its prophets, we too are leaving. That is how we pray. Because we cannot change Allah's law. If there is something there, if that punishment is for a town, deliver us from that town, we say. Deliver us. Take us out of that town, my Allah, we say. Yes. Well, we are not secure.

So, as we wrote in the previous verse, Allah Almighty has programmed this universe with a program. According to this program, where, when and what kind of event He will create is in Allah Almighty's hands. So in the previous verse, while asleep at night; in this verse while amusing themselves in the forenoon. Yes.

So in the previous verse, while asleep at night; in this verse, in the forenoon while amusing themselves; in the next verse, the verse I mentioned a moment ago, without giving any notion of time, that He can punish at any moment and that the knowledge of this is with Allah, by making this known He warns people. What does it say? O people, do not take My verses lightly. Seeing that time is ample, in this world where you live in a bed of roses, never feel yourselves secure, never feel yourselves safe. Why am I not safe? Right now I am safe, no, I'm not. Right now I am not safe. I am safe under my Lord's mercy.

Because right now an earthquake, this building collapsing, come on then, you, how did you feel yourself safe? Yes, could it happen? Of course it could. You cannot say it won't. You cannot say it won't. So I am not safe. I only take refuge in my Lord. Under my Lord's protection. But if this is in my destiny, I submit to that destiny too. That is, if in an earthquake here the building is to collapse on my head and I am to die under it, I accept that too. Because the program is so, or it has been approved that way, it will be so. Let us accept that too. Yes.

In this case, in no way can we, from our living, from this life of ours we see as a bed of roses, regarding our lifespan as long, be secure from Satan's deceiving us. If, without fail, we live in a way that feels Allah's punishment over us at every moment, carrying on like that, then do you know what comes of it?

Remembering Allah comes of it. And when you remember Allah, you can do no evil. So Allah Almighty, through His verses, that His Essence be known, that we remember Him, that in any affliction from our Lord at any moment we take refuge in our Lord, and that we have no helper but Allah to save us, how beautifully He proves this to us with His verses. With His verses.

Yes.

Did you feel secure from Allah's punishment, that you, Allah, the Owner of this universe, forgetting, carried away by your own pleasures, made gods of your nafs?

In a hadith the Prophet says this:

Beware the insight of the believer. He sees with the light of Allah, he says. With the light of Allah.

I want to say this: I don't wander around the bazaar; from up to down home, from down to up home, I go; going and coming, wherever I go, everyone has a phone in hand, phone, strange ways of dressing, like this, when you look, believe me, no one remembers Allah and His Messenger. Everyone is after the desires of the nafs, after lustful feelings. You see this, like this. You see it. Are there no exceptions among them? There are. One by one. One by one. They can be seen. They too can be seen. Those who have work. Those going to their jobs. Or those going from place to place to earn a living. They too can be seen. But if we put it in percent, over ninety percent are all finished. In the city where I am.

And I say, my Allah, why does He not send an affliction here? I do say this. But I think this: surely there is a good person here. For the sake of that good person, just as when there are prophets or saints in a town Allah Almighty does not send an affliction to that town for their sake, look, here too there are such good people, so He does not send the affliction here. For the sake of those people. Yes. So, what are we saying? Did you feel secure from Allah's punishment, that you, forgetting Allah, the Owner of this universe, carried away by your own pleasure, made gods of your nafs? Allah, the Book, the Messenger are not on their minds at all.

Always chatter, from that, sir, amusing the heart, with this (?), showing off to one another, (?) (?), let me tell you, so-and-so dressed like this, I'll dress like that, astonishing really. Astonishing. How have they been carried away by these feelings? How, it says, though only a short time has passed over those lands We destroyed, how they follow in the footsteps of their forefathers, it says. And how these too, following in the footsteps of the non-Muslims, setting aside Allah and His Messenger this way, unaware of those verses, making gods of their own nafs, in the pleasures of the nafs.

(?) Yes.

Allah, the Owner of the universe, does not command evil and wickedness. He does not love those who associate partners with Him. So, by handing the earth over to such people, Allah Almighty does not let the balance of the world be upset. Well then, He gives those people afflictions. Did they feel secure from their punishment?

Now, as I said a moment ago, I look at these people again. Wondering whether they have peace. I mean, at those people. Surely, when you look deeper, by Allah, they have no peace.

In their homes, in their homes, the wife her father, nor do the children listen to mother and father. Unrest in all of them. All of them in unease. All of them under stress. We see them. That is the result of that way of life. Peace was supposed to be in Islam, wasn't it? Well, did you find peace when you lived Islam? Can you remember Allah and His Messenger at all in a day? Never mind a day, can you remember them in weeks, in this state? If you remembered, you would not do these things anyway. So you live in stress, in a restless world. What is your difference from a non-Muslim? If their hearts are restless and scattered, yours has become even worse.

And so in this state you throw yourself into the bazaar to find salvation. You will find followers to your own liking. Or, caught up in that stress, you will wear out hospital doors, and they are worn out already. Does a Muslim ever get ill? If so, they would have been ill in the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him). When the doctor started to leave, the gentlemen say: O Messenger of Allah, the doctor has started to leave. He calls the doctor and says: not a single Muslim falls ill. But you, he says, stay here as a means; let us assign you a monthly payment from the treasury, he says. Yes. What makes people restless is stress, depression.

Just as today all diseases spread from the unbelievers, all their sources, the filth, if all of it spreads from them, today in Islam too, in the same way, as a likeness of them living, today they are wearing out hospital doors. I have reached 73. I don't go to the doctor easily. And if I do go to the doctor, it's for little odds and ends. What are odds and ends? You know, maybe it's from calcification somewhere in me? Maybe some muscle pain or so. Things like that. Otherwise, thank Allah. I have no diabetes, no cholesterol, no heart trouble. Nothing at all. Thanks be to my Allah. Why? Because I carry out my Lord's commands.

I fasted for fifty years, forty-eight years. Forty-eight years. When I put a morsel in my mouth, wondering if I was fasting, I would stop. Yes. And so, by my Lord's command, I lived (?) not stepping outside His command. And Allah Almighty has, this body, in a way fitting (?), to those who live (?), a body that can serve over a long life, given to people. Well, if you don't keep this body running within Allah's command and don't use it that way, then the verse comes up for you. For the bodies I gave, it says, for the way you used them, I will call you to account, it says. These bodies are a trust to us.

So you will use this trust in the best way. You will use it by Allah's command. Within His command. Well, there may be small mistakes. Allah Almighty overlooks those anyway. Provided you ask for pardon and forgiveness. Yes.