WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:29.980 Transcription by CastingWords 00:30.000 --> 00:59.980 Transcription by CastingWords 01:00.920 --> 01:04.860 The most important of these are university entrance exams. 01:05.960 --> 01:11.160 Most young people describe university entrance exams as turning points in their lives. 01:11.160 --> 01:18.120 They think that an exam lasting just a few hours will shape their whole futures. 01:18.120 --> 01:26.840 They therefore spend years working, going without sleep, giving up a whole range of social activities 01:26.840 --> 01:30.060 and devote themselves solely to their studies. 01:30.060 --> 01:37.460 Their only aim is to get into the university of their choice. 01:38.400 --> 01:42.100 They demonstrate great patience and determination in order to do so. 01:42.100 --> 02:00.240 A person whose greatest ambition in life is to own a nice house, on the other hand, 02:00.240 --> 02:04.700 first needs to possess the necessary financial resources to acquire it. 02:06.300 --> 02:10.580 Such people work day and night to find a good job and improve their means, 02:10.940 --> 02:14.540 for which reason they make great efforts to earn as much as possible. 02:14.540 --> 02:24.800 Only after long years of work and sacrifice can that person buy the house that he has set his heart on. 02:24.800 --> 02:33.300 As well as these, if a person also has ambitions such as obtaining wealth, 02:33.780 --> 02:37.520 the esteem of society, fame and a specific career, 02:37.520 --> 02:42.900 then he needs to work hard for them and be prepared to endure certain difficulties. 02:45.400 --> 02:49.840 Yet these examples you are watching are restricted to the transitory benefits 02:49.840 --> 02:52.560 that can be acquired in the life of this world. 02:54.020 --> 02:56.740 And all these benefits disappear with death 02:56.740 --> 03:00.600 or can suddenly be taken away while one is still alive. 03:00.600 --> 03:07.500 For instance, a young person who has spent the years 03:07.500 --> 03:10.440 doing nothing but working in order to pass his exams 03:10.440 --> 03:14.920 can lose his life in an accident without even having taken those exams. 03:14.920 --> 03:31.360 Or the house that someone bought after years of hard work 03:31.360 --> 03:35.200 can burn down, destroying all that effort and hard work. 03:44.920 --> 04:05.200 All the things that people want to lay their hands on 04:05.200 --> 04:07.640 in the life of this world are transitory. 04:08.440 --> 04:11.960 Yet alongside these, there is also a real life 04:11.960 --> 04:14.080 of endless beauty and infinite blessings. 04:15.080 --> 04:18.280 That is the life in the hereafter that comes after we die. 04:18.920 --> 04:22.560 The life of this world is merely a temporary testing place 04:22.560 --> 04:27.200 in which people are tried before they reach the infinite hereafter. 04:41.960 --> 04:50.920 God has created people for a purpose, one which He has revealed in the Qur'an. 04:58.920 --> 05:03.920 God has created people for a purpose, one which He has revealed in the Qur'an. 05:03.920 --> 05:06.440 God has created people for a purpose. 05:09.440 --> 05:12.560 I only created jinn and man to worship me. 05:19.360 --> 05:24.000 Stretching away in front of man, who was created solely to worship God, 05:24.560 --> 05:27.840 is a short lifespan of some sixty to seventy years. 05:27.840 --> 05:33.540 years, and that life flows constantly like sand in an egg timer. 05:33.540 --> 05:39.340 People live in a constant countdown to the hereafter. 05:39.340 --> 05:45.440 Time inevitably destroys everyone and everything, and those who devote themselves to this temporary 05:45.440 --> 05:50.720 world will suffer a terrible loss. 05:50.720 --> 05:59.460 That is because the life of this world is terribly short compared to that of the hereafter. 05:59.460 --> 06:07.200 This fact is revealed in a verse. 06:07.200 --> 06:20.180 The life of the world compared to the hereafter is only fleeting enjoyment. 06:20.180 --> 06:26.060 It is very clear that the purpose behind the creation of man, a being who possesses reason, 06:26.060 --> 06:33.480 conscience and common sense, is not to acquire temporary benefits in the short life of this world. 06:33.480 --> 06:39.680 Man is tested, and the aim behind is for him to win the beauty of endless life in the hereafter. 06:50.180 --> 07:17.180 Man is tested by good and evil. 07:17.180 --> 07:21.420 Man is tested by good and evil. 07:21.420 --> 07:26.180 A person may encounter all kinds of trouble in this world. 07:26.180 --> 07:34.020 Moments of trouble and difficulty can occur when least expected. 07:34.020 --> 07:36.940 For instance, a rich man can grow poor. 07:36.940 --> 07:42.080 He may encounter failure in an area in which he had always previously succeeded. 07:42.080 --> 07:49.840 He may lose a loved one, or fall ill, or be crippled. 07:49.840 --> 07:53.460 Yet all these things are meant to test him. 07:53.460 --> 07:58.320 The important thing is for people to live by the morality of the Koran in these moments 07:58.320 --> 08:05.500 of difficulty, to call on God at all times, to give thanks for his situation, and realize 08:05.500 --> 08:20.200 that there is good and beauty in them. 08:20.200 --> 08:26.440 On the other hand, another person may live in wealth and plenty and enjoy many blessings. 08:26.440 --> 08:32.500 In that case, too, he needs to display the kind of morality that God will find pleasing, 08:32.500 --> 08:39.540 turn to God in all his actions, and take great care to obey his commands and advice. 08:39.540 --> 08:44.300 That is because abundance can make someone caught up in the transitory joys of this world 08:44.300 --> 08:48.740 and forget about the hereafter. 08:48.740 --> 08:57.820 Yet a person who has faith is never ungrateful to God, no matter what blessings he may enjoy. 08:57.820 --> 09:03.400 The Koran describes the tests that believers may face in this world and the kind of attitude 09:03.400 --> 09:05.340 they should adopt in the face of them. 09:14.300 --> 09:19.700 We will test you with a certain amount of fear and hunger and loss of wealth and life 09:19.700 --> 09:21.480 and fruits. 09:21.480 --> 09:24.460 But give good news to the steadfast. 09:24.460 --> 09:31.100 Those who, when disaster strikes them, say, We belong to God, and to him we will return. 09:31.100 --> 09:35.080 Those are the people who will have blessings and mercy from their Lord. 09:35.080 --> 09:36.740 They are the ones who are guided. 09:44.300 --> 09:50.560 Those who are poor, many of whom, people, thick to mind, or Quran. 09:50.560 --> 09:54.040 Those such star-spit figures, often remember that the power of the Lord is when x де Malull. 09:54.040 --> 09:56.400 Seowym arsebed with these to the life Bronze lives in the beginning of the fact 09:56.400 --> 09:59.140 We will return to a joyful tenían' story of God's comments and comment. 09:59.140 --> 10:01.040 Those of you Rudyard said they must be prized but willing to率. 10:02.960 --> 10:07.240 Those who were virulent with the time. 10:08.040 --> 10:11.640 This was the last thing that waited for us to celebrate. 10:11.740 --> 10:14.240 Our two of them achieved the opportunity to give you joy from a career to päеловa. 10:14.300 --> 10:21.300 There are many beauties and attractions in this world that can influence or distract people. 10:21.300 --> 10:34.300 Those who ignore the existence of the hereafter get caught up from the day they are born in a terrible passion to acquire these things which appear so attractive to them. 10:34.300 --> 10:39.300 God speaks of these attractions in the Koran. 10:39.300 --> 10:54.300 To mankind the love of worldly appetites is painted in glowing colors, women and children, and heaped up mounds of gold and silver, and horses with fine markings, and livestock in fertile farmlands. 10:54.300 --> 11:01.300 All that is merely the enjoyment of the life of the world. The best homecoming is in the presence of God. 11:09.300 --> 11:25.300 People's passions for this world can take different forms. Yet actually securing these desires gains them nothing on its own, because the life of this world is brief and transitory. 11:25.300 --> 11:38.300 The truth about the life of this world to which people are so passionately attached is described with an analogy in Surah 18 of the Koran. 11:38.300 --> 11:53.300 Make a metaphor for them of the life of the world. It is like water which we send down from the sky, and the plants of the earth combine with it, but then become dry chaff scattered by the wind. 11:53.300 --> 12:00.300 God has absolute power over everything. Wealth and sons are the embellishment of the life of the world. 12:00.300 --> 12:08.300 But, in your Lord's sight, right actions which are lasting bring a better reward and are a better basis for hope. 12:08.300 --> 12:37.300 All kinds of ornaments in this world, wealth, beauty, houses, jewels, position, fame and career, are nothing but short-term distractions and brief joys. 12:37.300 --> 12:53.300 All will inevitably fade away with time. Yet a great majority of people fail to realize that these are all temporary, and on the contrary spend all their time on them. 12:53.300 --> 13:06.300 Some constantly try to acquire belongings, others aim at esteem, and others at being successful in their jobs. 13:06.300 --> 13:15.300 Most people are so passionately attached to these things that they completely forget the everlasting life in the hereafter, which they will encounter after death. 13:15.300 --> 13:23.300 They regard death as nothingness, and thus never spare a thought to preparing for it. 13:23.300 --> 13:38.300 Muslims, however, greet the idea of leaving this world at death with joy and excitement. 13:38.300 --> 13:46.300 They hope to reap the rewards for their good deeds in this world from God in the everlasting life in the hereafter. 13:46.300 --> 13:56.300 They live in the joy and excitement of hoping to reach the everlasting beauty and joy of heaven. 13:56.300 --> 14:03.300 God has given them the great good news of His rewards. This is revealed in the Koran in these words. 14:03.300 --> 14:09.300 God has bought from the believers their selves and their wealth and returned for paradise. 14:09.300 --> 14:14.300 Rejoice, then, in the bargain you have made. That is the great victory. 14:14.300 --> 14:18.300 God of the world. 14:18.300 --> 14:23.300 God rest lovely. 14:23.300 --> 14:31.300 SearchingESS 14:32.300 --> 14:33.300 Atlant?" 14:34.300 --> 14:35.300 Fan… 14:36.300 --> 14:38.300 Perdue... 14:38.300 --> 15:08.280 Thank you. 15:08.300 --> 15:15.300 There is an important secret hidden in the atmosphere of trial that makes up this world. 15:15.300 --> 15:22.300 Those believers who are aware of it treat the difficulties they encounter with great eagerness, joy and patience. 15:22.300 --> 15:26.300 At the heart of this secret lies the fact of fate. 15:26.300 --> 15:31.300 A Muslim knows that God has created everything with its own destiny 15:31.300 --> 15:35.300 and that whatever happens to him does so by the will of God. 15:35.300 --> 15:42.300 This is how the Koran states that fact. 15:42.300 --> 15:46.300 The keys of the unseen are in his possession. 15:46.300 --> 15:48.300 No one knows them but him. 15:48.300 --> 15:51.300 He knows everything in the land and sea. 15:51.300 --> 15:55.300 No leaf falls without his knowing it. 15:55.300 --> 15:58.300 There is no seed in the darkness of the earth 15:58.300 --> 16:05.300 and nothing moist or dry which is not in a clear book. 16:05.300 --> 16:25.300 Man is a being who can be regarded as living dependent on time 16:25.300 --> 16:29.300 and looking at events only from the present moment. 16:29.300 --> 16:32.300 Yet the future is closed to him. 16:32.300 --> 16:39.300 He is not always able to see the long-term wisdom, beauty and benefits in the events he encounters. 16:39.300 --> 16:48.300 Yet God, who created time, sees and knows the lives of all time-dependent beings from outside time. 16:48.300 --> 16:54.300 What we are now dealing with is the fact of fate. 16:54.300 --> 17:00.300 Fate means God knowing every single event in the past and future in a single moment. 17:00.300 --> 17:09.300 In other words, events the end results of which are unknown are only actually unknown to us. 17:09.300 --> 17:16.300 God is fully aware of all the things we are not, together with their pasts and futures. 17:16.300 --> 17:23.300 For this reason, the beginning and end of the test people are subjected to in this world are already clear. 17:23.300 --> 17:29.300 The past, present and future are all one in the sight of God. 17:29.300 --> 17:31.300 They are all over and done with. 17:31.300 --> 17:36.300 We, however, only learn of these events by experiencing them when the time comes. 17:36.300 --> 17:43.300 This knowledge of fate is truly great knowledge, and something of which those who deny God are unaware. 17:43.300 --> 17:52.300 It is knowledge by means of which Muslims display great patience in the face of difficulties and tests in this world. 17:52.300 --> 18:02.300 They live in the peace and security of knowing that everything that happens to them is destined. 18:02.300 --> 18:04.300 Ever planned 18:04.300 --> 18:06.300 Less�� 18:06.300 --> 18:11.580 4 18:11.580 --> 18:12.300 But 18:12.300 --> 18:17.300 May 18:17.300 --> 18:18.300 7 18:18.300 --> 18:20.300 Number 18:20.300 --> 18:23.300 The 18:23.300 --> 18:24.300 Last 18:24.300 --> 18:25.300 Not 18:25.300 --> 18:26.300 To 18:26.300 --> 18:27.300 May 18:27.300 --> 18:53.880 As is revealed in the Quran, no misfortune occurs except by God's permission. 18:53.880 --> 18:58.160 Whoever believes in God, he will guide his heart. 18:58.160 --> 18:59.780 God has knowledge of all things. 19:23.880 --> 19:30.600 No matter what terrible difficulties and problems a person may face, the fact is that these 19:30.600 --> 19:34.240 are only temporary. 19:34.240 --> 19:39.060 For instance, someone may be accused of a crime of which he is innocent and be treated 19:39.060 --> 19:40.660 unjustly. 19:40.660 --> 19:45.640 Yet there will inevitably come a time when the truth will out. 19:45.640 --> 19:50.260 Even if the mistreatment of the victim does not come to an end in this world, those who 19:50.260 --> 19:55.860 inflicted it on him will certainly get their recompense on the day of judgment. 19:55.860 --> 20:09.980 In the same way, a person who suffers an injustice can expect a great reward for his patience. 20:09.980 --> 20:19.980 Furthermore, in the Quran, God has revealed that he will create an ease with every difficulty. 20:19.980 --> 20:34.660 For truly with hardship comes ease. 20:34.660 --> 20:41.720 The believer trusts in God's infinite justice, expects easier times to follow difficult ones, 20:41.720 --> 20:46.660 and never falls into despair on account of the situation he is facing. 20:46.660 --> 20:52.220 He never forgets that the difficulties he faces will be repaid in a pleasing way, both 20:52.220 --> 20:55.480 in this world and the next. 20:55.480 --> 21:00.880 As for the way things will turn out, he is aware that he has no means of intervening, preventing, 21:00.880 --> 21:02.940 or stopping events. 21:02.940 --> 21:10.120 The difficulties he faces are all a means whereby he can educate himself, deepen his faith, improve 21:10.120 --> 21:15.500 his moral values, and raise his standing in Paradise. 21:15.500 --> 21:21.200 We must not forget that this is a state of mind that only those who sincerely believe in 21:21.200 --> 21:24.600 God and submit to destiny can experience. 21:32.940 --> 21:42.980 Because of their refusal to submit to destiny in the face of events, those who live far removed 21:42.980 --> 21:48.600 from religion become caught up in despair, fear, and tension, and believe that there is 21:48.600 --> 21:52.240 no way out. 21:52.240 --> 21:58.340 Since they have no hopes and expectations regarding the hereafter, they spend their lives in a state 21:58.340 --> 22:07.580 of unease and anxiety. 22:07.580 --> 22:17.600 One verse describes the position such people find themselves in. 22:17.600 --> 22:23.360 When God desires to guide someone, he expands his breast to Islam. 22:23.360 --> 22:28.980 When he desires to misguide someone, he makes his breast narrow and constricted, as if he 22:28.980 --> 22:32.160 were climbing up into the sky. 22:32.160 --> 22:44.680 That is how God defiles those who do not believe. 22:44.680 --> 22:50.280 This troubled state described by the Koran is self-inflicted and stems from the fact that 22:50.280 --> 22:54.940 such people refuse to submit to the destiny created by God. 22:54.940 --> 23:00.720 The fact that the fate of man is in the hands of God, who is infinitely wise and powerful, 23:00.720 --> 23:05.980 and who rules everything, is actually a great blessing for a believer. 23:05.980 --> 23:12.800 People with little or no faith, however, are unaware of the value of that blessing. 23:12.800 --> 23:19.120 That is why they refuse to resign themselves to fate, and thus condemn themselves to difficulties 23:19.120 --> 23:21.760 all through their lives. 23:21.760 --> 23:28.020 In fact, this situation is one of the punishments in this world for refusing to place oneself in 23:28.020 --> 23:38.540 the hands of God. 23:38.540 --> 23:45.000 It is revealed in one verse that God does not wrong people in any way, rather it is people 23:45.000 --> 24:06.980 who wrong themselves. 24:06.980 --> 24:13.880 At this very moment, everyone in the world is racing towards death. 24:13.880 --> 24:19.900 Death is the same distance away from the very youngest person as the very oldest, since nobody 24:19.900 --> 24:27.380 knows who will die when or how. 24:27.380 --> 24:32.180 A young person walking in the street is no further from death than an old person waiting 24:32.180 --> 24:34.500 to die in his bed. 24:34.500 --> 24:38.000 Maybe that young person will have an accident in the next few minutes while crossing the 24:38.000 --> 24:43.180 road, thus putting an end to his life in this world. 24:43.180 --> 25:06.640 In short, we are all close to death. 25:06.640 --> 25:12.400 This proximity to death shows us how unimportant this world really is. 25:12.400 --> 25:17.760 Man's duty during the short time given to him in this world is to do his best to earn 25:17.760 --> 25:20.440 the hereafter. 25:20.440 --> 25:26.280 As the great Islamic scholar Bedi Uzzaman Said Nursi put it, for believers the world is a 25:26.280 --> 25:31.820 moving stall, a market standing on the road for only a short time. 25:31.820 --> 25:37.580 In other words, a person can do profitable business here and enjoy in the hereafter the 25:37.580 --> 25:52.880 everlasting rewards he has earned in this world. 25:52.880 --> 25:57.540 What sensible people need to do is to listen to the voice of their consciences and never 25:57.540 --> 26:03.060 forget that God is testing them. 26:03.060 --> 26:08.820 God has sent down the Koran as guide in the life of this world and his messengers and sincere 26:08.820 --> 26:11.540 believers as role models. 26:11.540 --> 26:17.000 No matter what troubles he may encounter, a person who turns to God with a sincere heart 26:17.000 --> 26:20.920 will eventually find ease and have success. 26:20.920 --> 26:26.780 In other words, one of the greatest secrets in this world of trial is that believers inevitably 26:26.780 --> 26:29.920 prevail in the end. 26:29.920 --> 26:36.240 From now on, the only thing a believer needs to do is to follow his destiny and take the 26:36.240 --> 26:40.800 superior morality revealed in the verses as a model. 26:40.800 --> 26:46.140 The situation of those who are faithful to God no matter what and look to the hereafter 26:46.140 --> 26:51.920 with patience and determination is revealed in the Koran in these words. 26:51.920 --> 27:00.320 Many a prophet has been killed when there were many thousands with him. 27:00.320 --> 27:06.280 They did not give up in the face of what assailed them in the way of God, nor did they weaken, 27:06.280 --> 27:08.380 nor did they yield. 27:08.380 --> 27:10.580 God loves the steadfast. 27:10.580 --> 27:17.080 All they said was, Our Lord, forgive us our wrong actions and any excesses we went to, 27:17.080 --> 27:23.580 and what we did, and make our feet firm and help us against these unbelieving people. 27:23.580 --> 27:29.840 So God gave them the reward of this world and the best reward of the hereafter. 27:29.840 --> 27:31.400 God loves good doers. 27:31.400 --> 27:48.040 God loves God. 27:48.040 --> 27:52.000 God bless you all. 27:52.000 --> 27:54.000 God bless you all.