Al-Anfal 70: Oh Prophet! To the captives that you hold, say, “Allah knows whether there is goodness in your hearts or not. If you turn to goodness, Allah will give to you something better than that which was taken from you and Allah will forgive you. Indeed, Allah is Ghafoor (Forgiving) and Raheem (the One who very generously accepts repentance).

Surah Al-Anfal, verse 70. O Prophet! Say to the captives in your hands: Allah, to those in whose hearts there is good, will give you better than what was taken from you, and will forgive you. For Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

Who are those in whose hearts there is good? Who are those captives? Not yet Muslim at that moment, unbelievers who fought with their army against the army of Islam. But to the person in whose heart there is good, that is, who will turn to Islam, how beautifully Allah Almighty has it said. And what does the Prophet say with the verse? O people, captives, do not grieve over what was taken from your hands. For these are materials for the test Allah gives you. Allah tests people both in plenty and in want. In this case, if there is good in your hearts, that is, if you gave Allah Almighty a good pledge at the address Elestü bi-Rabbiküm, in terms of lifestyle, living as the unbelievers do doesn't matter.

Your living as an unbeliever doesn't matter either. If you return in proportion to that good, Allah Almighty will give you more than what you lost, it says. Even more.

Now these change, meaning by meaning.

Some Muslims become captives in such a way that they don't even find most of what they lost. They barely scrape by on little.

In this case, is Allah Almighty's word left unfulfilled?

What was a person's provision? What he ate and drank, what he wore and wore out, that was his provision. Everything else is goods that will in the end be left as inheritance. Now, what does Allah Almighty say in a verse? They: their hearts are restless and scattered, it says. In this case, even if you gave people living as unbelievers the world itself, since their hearts are restless and scattered, since they also have stinginess, since they are not content with their state, with the desires of the nafs, not this world's goods, even if you gave them the goods of another world, they would still not be satisfied.

In this case, if you become Muslim, you are content with what Allah gives you, and if you put your trust in Him, then you will have risen even above that wealth of yours that is in return for those worldly goods. Because you became (?). You found (?) peace. Yes.

Allah Almighty's word is both outward and inward. Truly, if he becomes a captive, a captive, of those unbelievers who will turn to Islam, while living as an unbeliever, if he falls captive and becomes Muslim, Allah Almighty gives him more than what he had in hand. Than what he had. I have witnessed this. A man who rang the bell at a church in Bakırköy, who served as its caretaker.

He just makes do there. That's how he makes do there. He eats inside. He gets by there. He sleeps and gets up there. This man becomes Muslim. He leaves the church. He comes to the mosque.

They rent him a nice house. They give him pocket money. They give him money. Well, if needed, they offer to help him open a business. To him. And his life becomes much better than the other one. And he also finds peace of heart. Blessed are such people. Yes.

Since paying ransom from the captives' property, in return for ransom being taken from prisoners of war, weighed on them, Allah Almighty warned them: if in your hearts there had been love and devotion toward Allah, Allah would have granted you better than the ransom taken from you. Property and possessions, all this created universe belongs to Allah.

Those who deny Allah eat and drink of what Allah created, if they use it without trouble, of course, when war is waged against those who transgress against Allah and Allah's religion, surely ransom will be taken from them. But if in their hearts there is good that will turn to Allah and believe, Allah will give you better than what was taken from you. Now, whichever state takes captives from unbelievers, and among those unbeliever captives one becomes Muslim, prays, finds the truth, that state separates him from the other captives. If needed, if he doesn't want to return to his homeland, they provide him here with even better opportunities.

This is history. Yes.

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So, Allah Almighty: if you become Muslim, what you did in the time of ignorance will be forgiven you, and better than the property you acquired will be given to you. Again, your sins committed in the time of ignorance being met with pardon and forgiveness, you will attain salvation. For Allah is very merciful and very forgiving.