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EIGHTH SIGN

This section relates miracles which were manifested in connection with water.

I n t r o d u c t i o n

It is known that when such events as take place among groups of people are related individually and not contradicted by others, this indicates the veracity of the reports. For by virtue of his very nature, man is inclined to call a lie a lie. In particular if the people in question were the Companions who were more intolerant of lies than anyone else, if the incidents concerned God’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), and if the narrator was a renowned Companion, then certainly the narrator gives his report on behalf of all who witnessed the incident. However, each of the miracles involving water that we will cite below was transmitted through many channels, entrusted by many Companions to thousands of precise scholars of the following generation, who in turn passed them down, authentically, to the great interpreters of the Law of the second century. They too received them with complete seriousness and reverence, accepted them, then handed them down to the exacting scholars of succeeding centuries. Thus the traditions have reached our times, passing through thousands of strong, reliable hands. Moreover, the texts of Hadiths written down in the Era of Bliss, the era of the Prophet, were handed down in accurate form till they reached the brilliant scholars of the science of Hadith like Bukhari and Muslim. And they, through punctilious examination and classification, collected together those of the Hadiths that were undoubtedly authentic, and presented and taught them to us. May God reward them abundantly!

Thus, the flowing of water from the fingers of God’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) and many men drinking from it has the certainty of consensus. It is impossible that the gathering who narrated it would have agreed on a lie. The miracle is most definite. Moreover, it was repeated three times in the presence of three vast assemblies. A great many accurate scholars, primarily, Bukhari, Muslim, Imam Malik, Imam Shu‘ayb, and Imam Qatada, recorded from definitely authenticated narrations from a great many of the well-known Companions, primarily, the Prophet’s servants, Anas, Jabir, and Ibn Mas‘ud how abundant water had flowed from his fingers and the army drunk from it. From numerous narrations of this kind of miracle, we will cite here only nine examples.

F i r s t   E x a m p l e : Accurate books of tradition, in particular Bukhari and Muslim, report from an authentic narration from Anas: “About three hundred of us were together with God’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) in the place named Zawra’. He ordered us to perform the ablution for the afternoon prayer, but we could find no water. He then told us to bring a little water, which we did, and he dipped his auspicious hands into it. I saw water flow from his fingers like a fountain. His three hundred men performed the ablution with the water and drank from it.”¹

Anas relates this incident in the name of three hundred men. Is it possible that those three hundred people did not in effect assent to it, or in the event of their not assenting to it, not deny it?

S e c o n d   E x a m p l e : As narrated in accurate books, and foremost Bukhari and Muslim, Jabir b. ‘Abd Allah al-Ansari said: “We fifteen hundred people were thirsty during the Hudaybiyya expedition. The Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) performed the ablutions from a leather water-bag called a qirba, then he dipped his hand into it. Then I saw that water was flowing from his fingers like a spring. Fifteen hundred men drank from it and filled their water-bags.” Once, Salim b. Abi’l-Ja‘d asked Jabir: “How many of you were there?” He replied: “The water would have been enough even if there had been a hundred thousand people, but we were fifteen hundred.”²

Thus, the narrators of this clear miracle in effect number fifteen hundred, for it is man’s nature to reject lies. As for the Companions of the Prophet, who sacrificed their tribes and peoples, their fathers and mothers, their lives and all they possessed for the sake of truth and veracity, they could not have remained silent in the face of a lie, especially in the light of the warning given by the tradition, “Whoever knowingly tells a lie concerning me should prepare for a seat in Hell-fire.” Since they remained silent concerning this report, they accepted it, in effect joined Jabir, and confirmed him.

T h i r d   E x a m p l e : Again as related in the accurate books of Hadith and foremost Bukhari and Muslim, Jabir reported: “During the Buwat expedition, the Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) commanded: ‘Call for the ablutions!’ They said there was no water. He said, ‘Find a small amount!’ We brought a very small amount. He held his hand over the water while reciting something I could not hear, and then commanded: ‘Bring the caravan’s big trough!’ They brought it to me and I placed it before God’s Messenger. He put his hands in the trough and spread his fingers. I poured that very small amount of water onto his blessed hands, and I saw that abundant water was flowing from his blessed fingers and filling the trough. Then I summoned those who needed water. When they had all performed the ablutions with the water and drunk from it, I told the Noble Messenger that there was no one else. He lifted his hands, leaving the trough full to the brim.”³

Thus, this clear miracle of Muhammad (PBUH) has the certainty of ‘consensus in meaning,’ for since Jabir was most prominent in the matter, he had the right to recount it and proclaim it in everybody else’s name. Ibn Mas‘ud relates exactly the same thing in his narration: “I saw water flowing from the fingers of God’s Messenger as from a spring.”⁴ If a truthful, well-known group of Companions composed of Anas, Jabir, and Ibn Mas‘ud said: “We have seen it,” is it possible that they should not have seen it? Now combine these three examples and see how powerful and manifest a miracle it was, and how, if the three chains of transmission are combined, it proves the flowing of water from his fingers like ‘true consensus.’ Indeed, even Moses’ making water flow from twelve different places in a rock cannot be equated with the water flowing from Muhammad’s ten fingers, for water may gush out of rock -examples are to be found among ordinary events- but there is no equivalent of, no parallel for, water flowing in abundance, like from the Spring of Kawthar, from flesh and bone.

F o u r t h   E x a m p l e : Foremost Imam Malik in his esteemed book, Muwatta’, relates from the renowned Companion Mu‘adh b. Jabal: “During the Tabuk expedition we came across a spring flowing as meagrely as a piece of fine string. The Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) ordered: ‘Collect a little of the water!’ They collected some in the palms of their hands. God’s Messenger washed his hands and face in it, and we returned it to the spring. Suddenly the outlet of the spring opened up and water gushed forth; it was sufficient for the whole army.”⁵

Another narrator, even, Imam Ibn Ishaq, stated: “The water gushed forth from the spring under the earth making a roar like thunder. God’s Noble Messenger told Mu‘adh: ‘If you live long enough, you will see that this miraculous water will transform this place into gardens.’ And so it did.”

F i f t h   E x a m p l e : Foremost Bukhari relates from al-Bara’, and Muslim from Salama b. Akwa‘ and other authentic books of Hadith, unanimously relate: “During the Hudaybiyya expedition we came across a well. We numbered four hundred while the water in the well was barely sufficient for fifty. We drew the water and left nothing. Then God’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) came and sat at the head of the well. He asked for a bucket of water and we fetched one. He put some of his blessed spittle into the bucket and prayed, then poured the water into the well. Suddenly the well filled and frothed with water, filling to the top. The whole army drank their fill and watered their animals. They also replenished their water-bags.⁶

S i x t h   E x a m p l e : Again, foremost brilliant authorities of the science of Hadith like Muslim and Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, and the authentic books of Hadith, relate from a sound narration from the famous Abu Qatada: “We were going for help on the leaders being martyred in the celebrated Battle of Mu’ta. I had a water-bag with me. The Noble Prophet commanded: ‘Keep your water-bag carefully; there will be great need for it.’ Soon after, we began to suffer from thirst. We were seventy-two people. [According to Tabari, three hundred.] The Prophet said: ‘Bring me your water-bag!’ I did so, he took the bag and placed his lips on its mouth. I do not know whether or not he blew into it. Then seventy-two men came and drank from the bag and filled their bags. When I took it back, it was just as I had given it.⁷

See this decisive miracle of Muhammad (PBUH) and say: “O God! Grant him blessings and peace to the number of drops of water, and to his Family!”

S e v e n t h   E x a m p l e : The authentic books and foremost Bukhari and Muslim narrate from ‘Imran b. Husayn: “On one journey we and God’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) were without water. He said to me and ‘Ali: ‘There is a woman in such-and-such a place together with her beast which is laden with two full water-bags. Go and fetch her!’ ‘Ali and I went and found the woman and the water in exactly the place described, and brought her to God’s Messenger. He ordered: ‘Pour a little of the water into a vessel.’ We did so and he prayed for the blessing of increase. He then commanded everyone to come to fill his water-bag. All the people came, drank, and filled their water-bags. Afterwards he gave an order to collect something for the woman, and they filled her skirt.” ‘Imran said: “I imagined the two water-bags were constantly filling. The Noble Messenger told the woman: ‘You can go now. We did not take water from you; rather God gave us water from His treasury.’”⁸

E i g h t h   E x a m p l e : Scholars of Hadith, primarily Ibn Khuzayma in his Sahih, narrate from ‘Umar: “We ran out of water during the Tabuk expedition. Some people even slaughtered their camels, wrung out the innards and drank the liquid. Abu Bakr the Veracious requested the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) to pray. The Messenger raised his hands, and before he had lowered them clouds gathered, and such rain fell that we filled our containers. Then the rain stopped, and it had not fallen beyond the limits of the army.”⁹ That is to say, no chance was involved in the incident; it was purely a miracle of Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace).

N i n t h   E x a m p l e : Relating from ‘Amr b. Shu‘ayb, the grandson of ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Amr b. al-‘As, on whom they relied for explanations of Hadiths, the Four Imams narrated-from a sound narration: “Before his prophetic mission, the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) once came by camel to the place called Dhu’l-Hijaz near ‘Arafat with his uncle Abu Talib. Abu Talib said he was thirsty. The Prophet dismounted from the camel and struck the ground with his foot. Water gushed out and Abu Talib drank from it.”¹⁰

One of the researchers, however, stated that this incident should be considered to be of the category of irhasat,¹¹ because it occurred before his prophethood; however, since that time the spring of ‘Arafat has flowed from the spot, and may therefore be considered a wonder of Muhammad (PBUH).

Similar to these nine examples, ninety different narrations -if not ninety instances- have reported miracles concerning water. The first seven examples are as sound and definite as ‘consensus in meaning.’ For sure the last two are not supported by the narrations of numerous narrators or a strong chain of transmitters, but supporting and confirming the incident mentioned in the eighth example as narrated by ‘Umar, is another miracle reported by the authentic books of Hadith, including Bayhaqi and al-Hakim; it is as follows:

“‘Umar requested of God’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) that he should pray for rain, because the army was in need of water. The Messenger raised his hands, and at once clouds gathered and rain fell, enough for the army’s needs, then they dispersed.”¹² It was quite simply as though they were officials charged with watering the army; they came, poured down sufficient for its needs, then went.

Just as this narration corroborates and proves decisively the eighth example, so too the famous learned scholar, Ibn al-Jawzi, who was extremely fastidious in verifying Hadiths even rejecting as spurious many authentic ones, said that this event took place, but at the famous Battle of Badr. He stated that the verse,

And He caused rain to descend on you from heaven to clean you therewith¹³

refers to the incident. Since that is the case, certainly no room for doubt can remain. Furthermore, rain falling on the Prophet praying for it, suddenly, swiftly, before he lowered his hands, occurred on many occasions, and was on its own a miracle, concerning the reports for which there is consensus. It is also narrated with ‘consensus,’ that several times he raised his hands while in the pulpit and that rain fell before he lowered them.

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1. Bukhari, Wudu’ 32, 46; Manaqib 25; Muslim, Fada’il 45, 46; Tahara 60; Abu Da’ud, Muqaddima 5; Tirmidhi, Manaqib 6; Muwatta’, Tahara 32; Musnad iii, 132, 147, 170, 215, 289; Ibn Hibban, Sahih viii, 171; Tirmidhi (Ahmad Shakir) no: 3635.
2. Bukhari, Manaqib 25; Maghazi 35; Tafsir Sura al-Fath 5; Ashriba 31; Muslim, ‘Imara 72, 73; Musnad iii, 329; Ibn Hibban, Sahih viii, 159.
3. Muslim, Zuhd 74 no: 3013; Ibn Hibban, Sahih viii, 159.
4. Bukhari, Manaqib 25; Tirmidhi, Manaqib 6; Tirmidhi (Tahqiq: Ahmad Shakir) no: 3637; Darimi, Muqaddima 5.
5. Muwatta’, Safar 2; Musnad ii, 308, 323; v, 228, 237; Ibn Hibban, Sahih viii, 167; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa ii, 64; v, 236
6. Bukhari, Manaqib 25; Maghazi 35; Musnad iv, 290, 301; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa iv, 110.
7. Muslim, Masajid 311.
8. Bukhari, Tayammum 6; Manaqib 25; Muslim, Masajid 312; Musnad iv, 434-5; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa iv, 216; vi, 130.
9. al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id vi, 194; al-Hindi, Kanz al-‘Ummal xii, 353; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 190; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 600; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa ii, 63; Suyuti, al-Khasa’is al-Kubra ii, 105.
10. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 290; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 29; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa ii, 15-20.
11. For irhasat, see definition on page 200ff. (Tr.)
12. al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 128; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 601; Suyuti, al-Durar al-Manthur iii, 170.
13. Qur’an, 8:11.

YOUR SECOND QUESTION

Since the phrase, May Allah be pleased with him, is used for the Companions of the Prophet (PBUH), is it appropriate to use it for others with the same meaning?

T h e A n s w e r : Yes, it may be used, because unlike Upon whom be blessings and peace, which is a mark of Allah’s Messenger (PBUH), the epithet, May Allah be pleased with him, is not a mark particular to the Companions, but should be used for persons like the four Imams, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir Gilani, Imam-i Rabbani (Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi), and Imam Ghazali, who attained to the ‘greater sainthood’ known as the ‘legacy of prophethood,’ reaching the station of Allah’s pleasure. But generally among religious scholars, May Allah be pleased with him has been used for the Companions; May Allah have mercy on him, for the next two generations succeeding them; May Allah forgive him, for subsequent generations; and May his mystery be sanctified, for the great saints.

FIRST QUESTION

Is Hadhrat Khidr alive? If he is alive, why do some important religious scholars not accept this?

T h e A n s w e r : He is alive, but there are five degrees of life. He is at the second degree. It is because of this that some religious scholars have been doubtful about it.

The First Level of Life is that of our life, which is very restricted.

The Second Level of Life is that of the lives of Khidr and Ilyas (May Allah grant them peace), which is free to an extent. That is to say, they can be present in numerous places at the same time. They are not permanently restricted by the requirements of humanity like us. They can eat and drink like us when they want to, but are not compelled to like we are. The saints are those who uncover and witness the realities of creation, and the reports of their adventures with Khidr are unanimous and elucidate and prove this level of life. There is even one degree of sainthood which is called ‘the degree of Khidr.’ A saint who reaches this degree receives instruction from Khidr and meets with him. But sometimes the one at that degree is mistakenly thought to be Khidr himself.

The Third Level of Life is that of Idris and Jesus (May Allah grant them peace) which, being removed from the requirements of humanity, rises to an angelic level of life and acquires a luminous fineness. Quite simply, Idris and Jesus are present in the heavens with their earthly bodies, which have the subtlety of bodies from the World of Similitudes and the luminosity of star-like bodies. The Hadith the meaning of which is, “At the end of time, Jesus (Upon whom be peace) will come and will act in accordance with the Shari‘a of Muhammad (PBUH),”¹ indicates that at the end of time the religion of Christianity will be purified and divest itself of superstition in the face of the current of unbelief and atheism born of Naturalist philosophy, and will be transformed into Islam. At this point, the collective personality of Christianity will kill the fearsome collective personality of irreligion with the sword of heavenly Revelation; so too, representing the collective personality of Christianity, Jesus (Upon whom be peace) will kill the Dajjal, who represents the collective personality of irreligion, that is, he will kill atheistic thought.

The Fourth Level of Life is that of the martyrs. According to the Qur’an, the martyrs are at a level of life higher than that of the other dead in their graves. Since the martyrs sacrificed their worldly lives in the way of truth, in His perfect munificence, Almighty Allah bestows on them in the Intermediate Realm a life resembling earthly life, but without the sorrow and hardship. They do not know themselves to be dead, thinking only that they have gone to a better world. They enjoy themselves in perfect happiness and do not suffer the pains of separation that accompany death. For sure the spirits of the dead are immortal, but they know themselves to be dead. The happiness and pleasure they experience in the Intermediate World are not equal to that of the martyrs. Like if two men in their dreams enter a beautiful palace resembling Paradise; one knows that he is dreaming and the pleasure and enjoyment he receives are deficient. He thinks: “If I wake up, all this enjoyment will disappear.” While the other man does not know he is dreaming, and he experiences true happiness and pleasure.

The way the martyrs and other dead benefit from life in the Intermediate Realm is thus different. It has been established by innumerable incidents and narrations and it is certain that the martyrs manifest life in that way and think that they are alive. Indeed, this level of life has been illuminated and proved on repeated occasions by many occurrences like Hamza (May Allah be pleased with him) -the lord of the martyrs-protecting those that have recourse to him and performing and making performed matters in this world. I myself, even, had a nephew and student called Ubeyd. He was killed at my side and in my place and became a martyr. Then, when I was being held as a prisoner-of-war at a place three months’ distance away, I entered his grave in a true dream, which was in the form of a dwelling-place under the earth, although I did not know where he was buried. I saw him living the level of life of martyrs. He evidently thought that I was dead, and said that he had wept much for me. He thought that he was alive, but having retreated from the Russian invasion, had made himself a good home under the ground. Thus, through a number of such indications, this unimportant dream afforded the conviction as certain as witnessing it concerning the above-mentioned truth.

The Fifth Level of Life is that of the life of the spirits of the dead in their graves. Yes, death is a change of residence, the liberation of the spirit, a discharge from duties; it is not annihilation, non-existence, and a going to nothingness. Many evidences like innumerable occurrences of the spirits of the saints assuming forms and appearing to those who uncover the realities, and the other dead having relations with us while awake or sleeping and their telling us of things that are conformable with reality, evidences like these illuminate and prove this level of life. In fact, the Twenty-Ninth Word about the immortality of man’s spirit demonstrates this level of life with incontrovertible proofs.

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1. Bukhari, Mazalim 31; Buyu’ 102; Muslim, Iman 242, 343; Ibn Maja, Fitan 33.
 

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The Second Question explains that death is a bounty in accordance with Qur'anic verses.

The Twelfth Letter

In His Name, be He glorified!

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.

Peace be upon you and on your companions.

My Dear Brothers!                                        

You asked me a question that night and I did not reply, for it is not permissible to argue over the questions of belief. Your discussion of them was in the form of a dispute. For now I am writing very brief replies to your three questions which were the basis of your dispute. You will find the details in The Words, the names of which the chemist has written. Only, it did not occur to me to mention the Twenty-Sixth Word, about Divine Determining and man’s faculty of will; look at that too, but do not read it like a newspaper. The reason for my referring the chemist to study of those Words is this: doubts about matters of that sort arise from weakness of belief in the pillars of faith. Those Words prove all of the pillars of belief.

FIRST QUESTION

What wisdom does it spring from, Adam (Upon whom be peace) being expelled from Paradise and some of mankind, the sons of Adam, being sent to Hell?

T h e A n s w e r : The wisdom of it concerns the charging of duties; Adam was sent charged with such a duty that the unfolding of all mankind’s spiritual progress and the revealing of all mankind’s potentialities and man’s essential nature being a comprehensive mirror to all the Divine Names, are the results of it. If Adam had remained in Paradise, his rank would have been fixed like that of the angels; man’s potentialities would not have unfolded. In any case, the angels, whose ranks are unchanging, are numerous, and there is no need for man to perform that sort of worship. Indeed, since Divine wisdom required a realm of accountability appropriate to the potentialities of man, who would traverse infinite degrees, he was expelled from Paradise for his well-known sin, sin being the requirement of man’s nature and contrary to that of the angels. That is to say, just as Adam being expelled from Paradise was pure wisdom and pure mercy, so is it just and right that the unbelievers should be sent to Hell.

As is mentioned in the Third Indication in the Tenth Word, the unbeliever only committed one sin in a short life, but within the sin was infinite wrongdoing. For unbelief is an insult to the whole universe; it negates the value of all beings, it denies the testimony to Divine Unity of all creatures, and is contempt towards the Divine Names, the manifestations of which are to be seen in the mirrors of beings. Therefore, in order to avenge the rights of beings on the unbeliever, the beings’ monarch, the All-Compelling One of Glory, casts the unbelievers into Hell, and this is pure right and justice. For an infinite crime demands infinite punishment.

SECOND QUESTION

Why are devils created? Almighty Allah created Satan and evils; what is the wisdom in it? Isn’t the creation of evil, evil, and the creation of bad, bad?

T h e A n s w e r : God forbid, the creation of evil is not evil, the ‘acquisition’ of or desire for evil, rather, is evil. For creation and bringing into existence look to all the consequences, whereas such desire looks to a particular result, since it is a particular relation. For example, there are thousands of consequences of rain falling, and all of them are good. If through mischoice, some people receive harm from the rain, they cannot say that the creation of rain is not mercy, they cannot state that the creation of rain is evil. For it is due to their mischoice and inclination that it is evil for them. Also, there are numerous benefits in the creation of fire, and all of them are good. But if some people receive harm from fire through their misuse of it and their wrong choice, they cannot say that the creation of fire is evil; because it was not only created to burn them. Rather, they thrust their hands into the fire while cooking the food through mischoice, and made that servant inimical to themselves.

In Short: The lesser evil is acceptable for the greater good. If an evil which will lead to a greater good is abandoned so that a lesser evil should not be, a greater evil will then have been perpetrated. For example, there are certainly some minor material and physical harms and evils in sending soldiers to fight a jihad, but in the jihad is a greater good whereby Islam is saved from being conquered by infidels. If the jihad is abandoned due to those lesser evils, then the greater evil will come after the greater good has gone. And that is absolute wrong. Also, for example, to amputate a finger which is infected with gangrene and has to be amputated is good and right, although it is apparently an evil. For if it is not amputated, the hand will be amputated, and that would be a greater evil.

Thus, the creation and bringing into existence of evils, harms, tribulations, satans, and harmful things, is not evil and bad, for they are created for the many important results they yield. For example, satans have not been set to pester the angels, and the angels cannot progress; their degrees are fixed and deficient. However, in the world of humanity the degrees of progress and decline are infinite. There is an extremely long distance through which to progress, from the Nimrod’s and Pharaoh’s as far as the veracious saints and the prophets.

Thus, through the creation of satans and the mystery of man’s accountability and the sending of prophets, an arena of trial and examination and striving and competition has been opened so that coal-like base spirits may be differentiated and separated out from diamond-like elevated spirits. If there had been no striving and competition, the potentialities in the mine of humanity which are like diamonds and coal would have remained equal. The spirit of Abu Bakr the Veracious at the highest of the high would have remained on the same level as that of Abu Jahl at the lowest of the low. This means that since the creation of satans and evils looks to great and universal results, their being brought into existence is not evil or bad. The evils and instances of bad that arise from abuses and the particular causes known as inclination or choice pertain to man’s ‘acquisition’ and choice, not to Divine creation.

I f y o u a s k ? The majority of humanity become unbelievers due to the existence of Satan and embrace unbelief and suffer harm, despite the sending of prophets. If, according to the rule “the majority has the word,” the majority suffers evil as a result, then the creation of evil is evil, and it may even be said that the sending of prophets is not a mercy. Is that not so?

T h e A n s w e r : Quantity has no importance in relation to quality. The true majority looks to quality. For example, if there are a hundred seeds of the date-palm and they are not put beneath the earth and watered and so do not undergo a chemical reaction and manifest a struggle for life, they are only a hundred seeds worth virtually nothing. But if they are watered and are subject to the struggle for life, and then eighty out of the hundred rot due to their faulty make-up, but twenty become fruit-bearing trees, can you say, “watering them was evil because most of them rotted?” Of course, you cannot say that, for that twenty have become like twenty thousand. One who loses eighty and gains twenty thousand suffers no harm, and it cannot be evil.

And for example, a peahen lays one hundred eggs, and they are worth five hundred kurush. If the hen sits on the hundred eggs and eighty are spoilt and twenty hatch into peacocks, can it be said that there was a high loss and the affair was evil; that it was bad to put the broody hen on the eggs and an evil occurred? No, it is not thus, it is rather a good. For the peacock species and egg family lost eighty eggs worth four hundred kurush, but gained twenty peacocks worth eighty liras.

Thus, through the sending of prophets and the mystery of man’s accountability, and through striving, and fighting with satans, in return for the hundreds of thousands of prophets and millions of saints and thousands of millions of purified scholars they have gained, who are like the suns, moons, and stars of the world of humanity, mankind has lost the unbelievers and dissemblers, who are numerous in regard to quantity, insignificant in regard to quality, and like harmful beasts.

THIRD QUESTION

Almighty Allah sends calamities and inflicts tribulations; is this not tyrannical towards the innocent in particular, and animals even?

T h e A n s w e r : God forbid, the sovereignty is His. He holds sway over His possessions as He wishes. Moreover, a skilful craftsman makes you a model in return for a wage and dresses you in a bejewelled garment that he has most artistically fashioned. Then in order to display his art and skill, he shortens it and lengthens it, measures it and trims it, and he makes you sit down and stand up. Are you able to say to him: “You have made the garment which made me beautiful ugly. You have caused me trouble, making me sit down and stand up.” Of course, you cannot say that. If you did say it, you would be crazy.

In just the same way, the All-Glorious Maker has clothed you in a most artistically wrought being bejewelled with faculties like the eye, the ear, and the tongue. In order to display the embroideries of various of His Names, He makes you ill, He afflicts you with tribulations, He makes you hungry, He fills you, He makes you thirsty; He makes you revolve in states like these. In order to strengthen the essence of life and display the manifestation of His Names, He makes you journey in numerous such conditions. If you say: “Why do you inflict these calamities on me?”, as is indicated in the comparison, a hundred instances of wisdom will silence you. In any event, calm, repose, idleness, monotony, and arrest from action are forms of non-existence, and harm. Action and change are existence and good. Life finds its perfection through action, it progresses by means of tribulations. Life manifests various actions through the manifestation of the Divine Names, it is purified, finds strength, it unfolds and expands, it becomes a mobile pen to write its own appointed course; it performs its duty, and acquires the right to receive reward in the hereafter.

Thus, the answers to the three questions in your dispute are briefly these. Explanations of them are to be found in the thirty-three Words.

My Dear Brother!

Read this letter to the chemist and to those who heard the argument whom you think suitable. And convey my greetings to my new student, the chemist, and tell him the following:

“It is not permissible to discuss subtle matters of belief like those above in a social gathering in the form of an unbalanced dispute. As an uncontrolled contest, while being a panacea it becomes a poison. It is harmful for both those who speak and those who listen. It is permissible to discuss such matters moderately and fairly as a exchange of ideas.” And tell him: “If doubts occur to you about matters of this sort and you cannot find the answer in the Words, then write to me privately...” And tell the chemist: “The following meaning occurred to me concerning the dream he had about his late father: since his late father was a doctor perhaps he had been of benefit to some of those close to Allah, and at the time of his death the spirits of those blessed people who had been gratified by him were seen by the one closest to him, his son, in the form of birds; it occurred to me that they came to meet him with a sort of welcoming that would be intercession for his spirit.” I send greetings to all the friends who were together here that night, and I pray for them.

The Enduring One, He is the Enduring One!

S a i d  N u r s i

The Seventh Letter

In His Name, be He glorified!

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.

May peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings for ever and ever.

My Dear Brothers!

I gather you told Samli Hafiz¹ to ask me two things:

THE FIRST

“Like the dissemblers in early times, the people of misguidance of modern times make the marriage of Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) with Zaynab a pretext for criticism, considering it to have been to satisfy the lusts of the soul.”

T h e A n s w e r : God forbid, a hundred thousand times! Such vile doubts cannot be directed at that lofty one! Yes, he was such that from the age of fifteen to forty when the blood is fiery and exuberant and the passions of the soul enflamed, he sufficed and was content with a single older woman like Khadija the Great (May Allah be pleased with her) with complete chastity and purity-as is agreed by friend and foe alike. His then having numerous wives after the age of forty, that is, when bodily heat subsides and the passions are quietened, is evidence proving decisively and self-evidently to those who are even a little fair-minded that such marriages were not to satisfy the carnal appetites, but were for other important reasons and instances of wisdom.

One of those instances of wisdom is this: like his words, the actions, states, conduct, and deeds of Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) are the sources of religion and the Shari‘a, and the authority for its injunctions. While the Companions transmitted the outward, public things, the transmitters and narrators of the private matters of religion and injunctions of the Shari‘a which were manifested from his private conduct in the personal sphere, were his wives; they performed this function. Perhaps half of the personal matters of religion and the injunctions concerning them come from them. That is to say, numerous wives of differing temperament were required to perform this necessary duty.

Now let us consider his marriage with Zaynab. In connection with the verse,

Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but [he is] the Messsenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets,²

which is one of the examples given in the Third Ray of the First Light in the Twenty-Fifth Word, it is written that with its many aspects, a single verse states meanings appropriate to the understandings of all classes of men.

One class’s share of understanding of the above verse is this: according to a sound narration based on his own admission, Zayd, the Noble Messenger’s (Upon whom be blessings and peace) servant whom he addressed as “my son,” divorced his proud wife because he did not find himself equal to her. That is to say, with his perceptiveness, Zayd realized that Zaynab had been created with an elevated character different to his and that it was in her nature to be a prophet’s wife. Since he found himself to be by nature unequal to her as a spouse and this caused incompatibility, he divorced her. At Allah’s command, His Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) took her. That is, as indicated by the verse,

We joined her in marriage to you³

showing that it was a heavenly contract, this marriage was out of the ordinary, above external relations, and purely on the orders of Divine Determining. Thus, the Most Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) submitted to the decree of Divine Determining and was compelled to do so; it was not at the behest of carnal desire.

The verse,

In order that [in future] there may be no difficulty to the believers in [the matter of] marriage with the wives of their adopted sons⁴

comprises an important injunction of the Shari‘a, a general instance of wisdom, and a comprehensive, general benefit pertaining to this decree of Divine Determining; it indicates that adults calling the young “my son” is not forbidden, as is the matter of zihar, that is, a man saying to his wife “you are like my mother,” so that ordinances should change due to it. Also, great ones looking to their followers and Divine Messengers looking to their communities and addressing them in fatherly fashion, is due to the functions of leadership and messengership; it is not in respect of their human personalities so that it should be inappropriate for them to take wives from them.

Another class’s share of the understanding of this verse is this: a great ruler looks on his subjects with paternal compassion. If he is a spiritual king holding both outward and inward rule, since his compassion is a hundred times greater than that of a father, his subjects look on him as their father, as though they were his real sons. A father’s view is not easily transformed into that of a husband, and a girl’s view into that of a wife. So, since according to this it is inappropriate in the public view for a prophet to take in marriage the believers’ daughters, with the purpose of repelling such a doubt, the Qur’an says: “On account of Divine mercy the Prophet has compassion for you, he deals with you in fatherly fashion, and in the name of messengership you are like his children. But in regard to his human personality he is not your father so that it should be inappropriate for him to take a wife from among you. And if he calls you “Son,” in respect of the rulings of the Shari‘a, you cannot be his children!...”

The Enduring One, He is the Enduring One!

S a i d N u r s i  

____________________

1.One of the students of the Risale-i Nur, his proper name was Tevfik Göksu. He was known as Samlı since he had lived in Damascus for twenty years, where his father had ben an army officer. He was born in Barla in 1887, and died there in 1965. See, N.Sahiner, Son Sahidler, i(new ed. 1993), 288.
2.Qur'an, 33:40.
3. Qur'an, 33:37
4. Qur’an, 33:37.

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The Eighth Letter states that compassion is more elevated, brilliant and sincere than love, which is a means of the names in basmala by interpreting the names the Merciful and the Compassionate in basmala.

SECOND QUESTION

Verses like the following in the All-Wise Qur’an, the Criterion of Truth and Falsehood,

Who creates death and life that He may try you, which of you is the best in conduct,¹

make it understood that “death is created like life; it too is a bounty.” Whereas apparently death is dissolution, non-existence, decay, the extinction of life, the annihilator of pleasures; how can it be created and a bounty?

T h e A n s w e r : As was stated at the end of the answer to the First Question, death is a discharge from the duties of life; it is a rest, a change of residence, a change of existence; it is an invitation to an eternal life, a beginning, the introduction to an immortal life. Just as life comes into the world through an act of creation and a determining, so too departure from the world is through a creation and determining, through a wise and purposeful direction. For the death of plant life, the simplest level of life, shows that it is a more orderly work of art than life. For although the death of fruits, seeds, and grains appear to occur through decay and dissolution, their death is in fact a kneading which comprises an exceedingly well-ordered chemical reaction and well-balanced combining of elements and wise formation of particles; this unseen, orderly and wise death appears through the life of the new shoots. That is to say, the death of the seed is the start of life of the shoot; indeed, since it is like life itself, this death is created and well-ordered as much as is life.

Moreover, the death of the fruits of living beings and animals in the human stomach is the beginning of their rising to the level of human life; it may therefore be said “such a death is more orderly and created than their own life.”

Thus, if the death of plant life, the lowest level of life, is thus created, wise, and ordered, so also must be the death that befalls human life, the most elevated level of life. And like a seed sown in the ground becomes a tree in the world of the air, so a man who is laid in the earth will surely produce the shoots of an everlasting life in the Intermediate Realm.

As for the aspects of death that are bounties, we shall point out four of them.

The First: It is a great bounty because it is to be freed from the duties and obligations of life, which become burdensome, and is a door through which to join and be united with the ninety-nine out of a hundred of one’s friends who are already in the Intermediate Realm.

The Second: It is a release from the narrow, irksome, turbulent, and agitated prison of this world, and, manifesting an expansive, joyful, troublefree immortal life, it is to enter the sphere of mercy of the Eternally Beloved One.

The Third: There are numerous factors like old age which make the conditions of life arduous and show death to be a bounty far superior to life. For example, if together with your very elderly parents who cause you much distress were now in front of you your grandfather’s grandfathers in all their pitiful state, you would understand what a calamity is life, and what a bounty, death. Also for example, it is understood how difficult are the lives in the conditions of winter of the beautiful flying insects, the lovers of the beautiful flowers, and what mercy are their deaths.

The Fourth: Just as sleep is a comfort, a mercy, a rest, particularly for those afflicted by disaster and the wounded and the sick, so too is death, the elder brother of sleep, a pure bounty and mercy for those struck by disaster and suffering tribulations which drive them to suicide. However, as is proved decisively in many of the Words, for the people of misguidance, death is pure torment like life, and pure affliction, but it is outside the discussion here.

____________________

1. Qur’an, 67:2.
 

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The Third Question is a reasonable explanation of where Hell is situated. It explains reasonably that there are two kinds of Hells: the Greater and Lesser Hells. It points out that they are two manifestations of Allah's favor and wrath, two fruits of the tree of the universe and two products of this world.

The Sixth Letter

In His Name, be He glorified!

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.

May Allah’s peace and His mercy and His blessings be upon you and upon your brothers so long as day and night continue and the ages follow on in succession and the sun and moon endure and the two stars in Ursa Minor are in opposition.

My hard-working brothers, zealous friends, and means of consolation in these lands of exile known as the world!

Since Almighty Allah has made you shareholders in the meanings He has imparted to my mind, it is surely also your right to share in my feelings. In order not to sadden you unduly, I shall skip the excessively grievous part of my loneliness in exile and shall relate another part to you, as follows:

These last two or three months I have been very much alone. Sometimes once every two or three weeks I have a guest with me; the rest of the time I am alone. And for nearly three weeks now there have been none of those working in the mountains near me; they have all dispersed...

One night in these strange mountains, silent and alone amid the mournful sighing of the trees, I saw myself in five exiles of different hues.

The first: due to old age, I was alone and a stranger away from the great majority of my friends, relations, and those close to me; I felt a sad exile at their having left me and departed for the Intermediate Realm. Then another sphere of exile was opened within this one: I felt a sad sense of separation and exile at most of the beings to which I was attached, like last spring, having left me and departed. And a further sphere of exile opened up within this, which was that I had fallen apart from my native land and relations, and was alone. I felt a sense of separation and exile arising from this too. Then through that, the lonesomeness of the night and the mountains made me feel another pitiable exile. And then I saw my spirit in an overwhelming exile, which had been prepared to journey to eternity both from this exile and from the transitory guest-house of this world. I said to myself suddenly, My Allah, how can these exiles and layers of darkness be borne? My heart cried out:

My Lord! I am a stranger, I have no one, I am weak, I am powerless, I am impotent, I am old;

I am without will; I seek recourse, I seek forgiveness, I seek help from Your Court, O Allah!

Suddenly the light of belief, the effulgence of the Qur’an, and the grace of the Most Merciful came to my aid. They transformed those five dark exiles into five luminous and familiar spheres. My tongue said:

Allah is enough for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs.¹

While my heart recited the verse:

And if they turn away, say: Allah is enough for me, there is no god but He; in Him do I place my trust, for He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne.²

My mind too addressed my soul, crying out in distress and terror, saying:

Cry not out at misfortune, O wretch, come, trust in Allah!

For know that crying out compounds the misfortune and is a great error.

Find misfortune’s Sender, and know it is a gift within gift, and pleasure.

So leave crying out and offer thanks; like the nightingale, smile through your tears!

If you find Him not, know the world is all pain within pain, transience and loss.

So why lament at a small misfortune while upon you is a worldful of woe? Come trust in Allah!

Trust in Allah! Laugh in misfortune’s face; it too will laugh.

As it laughs, it will diminish; it will be changed and transformed.

And like Mawlana Jalal al-Din,³ one of my masters, said to his soul, I too said:

“He said: ‘Am I not your Lord?’, and you assented. So what is thanks for that ‘Yes’? It is to suffer tribulation. And what is the true meaning of tribulation? It means to be the door-knocker on the abode of poverty and annihilation.”

So then my soul declared: “Yes, yes, through impotence and reliance on Allah, and poverty and seeking refuge with Him, the door of light is opened and the layers of darkness are dispersed. All praise be to Allah for the light of belief and Islam!” I saw what an elevated truth the following lines of the famous Hikam Ata’iyya express:

“What does the one who finds Allah lose? And what does the one who loses Him find?”⁴

That is, the one who finds Him finds everything, while the one who does not find Him, can find nothing. If he does find it, it will only bring him trouble. And I understood the meaning of the Hadith, “Tuba (happiness) for strangers in exile.”⁵ And I offered thanks.

And so, my brothers, for sure these dark exiles were lit up through the light of belief, but they still affected me to an extent, provoking the following thought: “Since I am a stranger and I am in exile and I shall go to exile, I wonder if my duties in this guest-house are finished? Should I hand over the Words to you and completely sever all my ties?” For this reason I asked you if the Words that have been written are sufficient or are lacking something. That is, is my duty finished, so that with ease of heart I can cast myself into a light-filled, pleasurable, true exile, forget the world, and say like Mawlana Jalal al-Din,

“Do you know what the sama’ is? To become unconscious of existence,

“To taste eternity in absolute annihilation.”?

Asking, “can I search for an elevated exile?”, I troubled you with these questions.

The Enduring One, He is the Enduring One!

S a i d N u r s i                

____________________

1. Qur’an, 3:173.
2. Qur’an, 9.129.
3. Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi, born in Balkh in 604/1208. He migrated to Konya with his father, where he died in 672/1273. He was author of the Mathnawi, and pir of the Mevlevi Order.
4. Ibn ‘Ata’illah al-Iskandari, Sharh al-Hikam al-‘Ata’iyya, 208.
5. Muslim, Iman 232; Tirmidhi, Iman 132; Ibn Maja, Fitan 15; Darimi, Riqaq 42; Musnad i, 184, 398; ii, 177, 222, 389; iv, 73.

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The Seventh Letter explains the wisdoms behind the polygamy of Hz. Muhammad (pbuh) and especially his marriage with Zaynab.

The Tenth Letter

In His Name, be He glorified!

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.

[This consists of the answers to two questions.]

T h e F i r s t concerns the footnote to the long sentence describing the transformations of minute particles in the Second Aim of the Thirtieth Word.¹

‘The Clear Book’ and ‘The Clear Record’ are mentioned in many places in the All-Wise Qur’an. Some Qur’anic commentators said they are the same, while others said they are different. Their explanations as to what are in reality differ, but in short, they said they are titles for Divine knowledge. However, through the effulgence of the Qur’an I have formed this opinion: the Clear Record is a title for a variety of Divine knowledge and command which looks to the World of the Unseen rather than the Manifest World. That is, it looks to the past and the future more than the present. That is, it looks to the origin, progeny, roots and seeds of things more than their external existence. It is a notebook of Divine Determining. The existence of this notebook has been proved both in the Twenty-Sixth Word and in a footnote in the Tenth Word.

Yes, the Clear Record is a title for an aspect of Divine knowledge and the Divine command. For since the origins, roots, and sources of things result in their existences with perfect order and extreme art, they show that they are ordered in accordance with a notebook of the principles of Divine knowledge. And since the results, progeny, and seeds of things comprise the programmes and indexes of beings that will come in the future, they surely infer that they are miniature collections of Divine commands. For example, it may be said that a seed resembles the programmes and indexes which will set in order all the parts of the tree, and is like a miniature embodiment of those creative commands, which specify the index and programme.

In Short: The Clear Record is like a programme or index of the tree of creation, the branches of which have spread throughout the past and the future and the World of the Unseen. The Clear Record with this meaning is a notebook of Divine Determining and a collection of its principles. Minute particles are despatched to their duties and motions in the bodies of things through the dictation and decree of those principles.

As for the Clear Book, it looks to the Manifest World rather than the World of the Unseen. That is, it looks to the present more than the past and the future. It is a title, a notebook, a ledger, of Divine power and will more than of knowledge and command. If the Clear Record is the notebook of Divine Determining, the Clear Book is the notebook of Divine power.

That is to say, the perfect art and order in the beings, essences, attributes, and qualities of all things show that they are being clothed in existence through the principles of a perfect power and the laws of a penetrating will. Their forms are determined and specified, each is given definite proportions and a particular shape. This means the power and will have a universal, general collection of laws, a great ledger, according to which the particular existences and forms of things are cut out, sewn, and clothed. The existence of this notebook, like the Clear Record, has been proved in the matters concerning Divine Determining and man’s will. See the foolishness of the people of misguidance, heedlessness, and philosophy, for they perceived the Preserved Tablet of Creative Power and the manifestation, reflection, and similitude in things of that perspicacious book of dominical Wisdom and Will, but, God forbid, calling it “Nature,” they made it blind. Thus, through the dictation of the Clear Record, that is, through the decree of Divine Determining and according to its principles, Divine power writes and creates the chains of beings, each of which is a sign in the creation of beings, on the page of time known as ‘the Tablet of Appearance and Dissolution,’ and causes the motion of particles...

This means that the motion of particles is a vibration, a movement, arising from that writing and copying, in the passage of beings from the World of the Unseen to the Manifest World, from Knowledge to Power. As for the Tablet of Appearance and Dissolution, it is an ever-changing notebook, a slate for writing and erasing, in the sphere of contingency of the Supreme Preserved Tablet -which is fixed and constant- that is, in beings, which constantly manifest life and death, existence and annihilation; it is the reality of time. Yes, like everything has a reality, so does time; the reality of what we call ‘time’, a mighty river which flows through the universe, is like the page and ink of the writing of Power in the Tablet of Appearance and Dissolution.

None knows the Unseen save Allah.

S e c o n d Q u e s t i o n : Where will the Great Gathering and Last Judgement take place?

The Answer : The knowledge is with Allah alone. The elevated instances of wisdom the All-Wise Creator displays in all things, and His even attaching vast instances of wisdom to a single insignificant thing, suggests to the point of being plain that the globe of the earth does not revolve in a circle aimlessly and pointlessly, but revolves around something important; it depicts the circumference of a vast arena. It travels around a huge place of exhibition and hands over its immaterial produce to it; because in the future the produce will be displayed there before the gazes of men. That is to say, it will fill the circle, the circumference of which is a distance of approximately twenty-five thousand years; Syria will be like a seed, according to one narration;2 the arena of the Great Gathering will be expanded out of that region. All the immaterial produce of the earth is for now sent to the notebooks and tablets of the arena which is beneath the veil of the Unseen, and in the future when the arena is opened up, the earth will also pour its inhabitants into it. Its immaterial produce will also be transposed to the Manifest Realm from that of the Unseen. Yes, like an arable field, a spring, or a measure, the earth has produced crops enough to fill that vast arena, and the creatures that will occupy it have flowed on from the earth, and those that will fill it have departed from it. That is to say, the globe of the earth is a seed, and the arena of the Great Gathering, together with those within it, a tree, a shoot, and a store. Indeed, just as a point of light becomes a luminous line or circle on moving at speed, the earth too, through its rapid, purposeful motion is the means of depicting a circle of existence, and together with that circle of existence and its produce, to the formation of the arena of the Great Gathering.

Say, the knowledge of it is with Allah alone.3

The Enduring One, He is the Enduring One!

S a i d  N u r s i

____________________

1. See, The Words (Sözler Neşriyat 1992), pages 517-2, fn. 21.(Tr)
2. al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak ii, 440; Musnad iv, 447; v, 3, 5.
3. Qur’an, 67:26.

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The Eleventh Letter offers a spiritual drug against the delusion of Satan by interpreting the verse "feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan". (an-Nisa: 76) It also points how weak the contemporary civilization is compared to the miraculousness of the Quran.

The Second Letter

In His Name, be He Glorified!

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.

[Part of the letter written in response to a gift from his above-mentioned, well-known student]¹

T h i r d l y : You sent me a present, and want to break an extremely important rule of mine! I do not say: “I don’t accept presents from you in the same way that I don’t accept them from Abdülmecid² and Abdurrahman,³ my brother and nephew,” because since you are more advanced than them and closer in spirit, even if everyone’s gifts are refused, just this time, yours may not be refused. But in connection with this, I shall tell you the reason for my rule. It is like this:

The Old Said never accepted favours. He preferred death to becoming obliged to people. He never broke that rule of his despite suffering great hardship and difficulty. This characteristic, which was left as a legacy by the Old Said to this wretched brother of yours, is not asceticism or artificial self-sufficiency, but is based on four or five serious reasons.

The First: The people of misguidance accuse religious scholars of making their learning a means of subsistence. They attack them unfairly, saying: “They are making knowledge and religion a means of livelihood for themselves.” It is necessary to show this to be false by action.

The Second: We are charged with following the prophets in disseminating the truth. In the All-Wise Qur’an, those who do this say,

My reward is only due from Allah * My reward is only due from Allah⁴

and display independence. The sentence in Sura Ya. Sin.,

Follow those who ask no reward of you, and who have themselves received guidance⁵

is most meaningful regarding this matter of ours.

The Third: As is explained in the First Word, one should give in Allah’s name and take in Allah’s name. Whereas mostly either the one giving is heedless and gives in his own name and implicitly puts the other under an obligation, or the one who receives is heedless; he gives the thanks and praise due to the True Provider to apparent causes and is in error.

The Fourth: Reliance on Allah, contentment, and frugality are such a treasury and wealth that they can be exchanged for nothing. I do not want to take things from people and shut up that inexhaustible treasury and store. I offer hundreds of thousands of thanks to the All-Glorious Provider that since my childhood He has not compelled me to remain under obligation and be abased. Relying on His munificence, I beseech His mercy that I may also spend the remainder of my life in accordance with this rule.

The Fifth: As a result of many signs and experiences over the past year or two I have formed the firm conviction that I am not permitted to receive the people’s goods and particularly the gifts of the rich and of officials. Some of them make me ill... rather, they are made to be like that, they are made so that I cannot eat them. Sometimes they are turned into a form that upsets me. This means that it is in effect an order not to receive the goods of others and is a prohibition to receive them. Moreover, I have a need for solitude, I cannot receive everyone all the time. Accepting the people’s gifts necessitates considering their feelings and accepting them at times I do not want to. And I do not find that agreeable. I find it more agreeable to eat a small piece of dry bread and wear clothes patched in a hundred places, and be saved from artificiality and sycophancy. It is disagreeable for me to eat the best quality baklava and wear the finest clothes at the hands of others and be obliged to consider their feelings.

The Sixth: The most important reason for self-sufficiency is what Ibn Hajar, the most reliable scholar of our school of law, says: “If you are not righteous it is forbidden to accept something intended for the righteous.”⁶

Thus, due to greed and ambition, the people of this age sell the smallest gift very expensively. They imagine a sinful wretch like myself to be righteous or a saint and they give him a loaf of bread. If, God forbid, I consider myself to be righteous, it is a sign of pride and points to the absence of righteousness. If I do not consider myself to be righteous, it is not permissible to accept those goods. Also, to receive alms and gifts in return for actions directed towards the hereafter, means consuming the eternal fruits of the hereafter in transitory form in this world.

The Enduring One, He is the Enduring One!

S a i d  N u r s i

____________________

1. This refers to Hulûsi Yahyagil, “the first student of the Risale-i Nur.” From Elazig in eastern Turkey, he was then serving as a captain in the army stationed at Egridir. He first visited Bediuzzaman in the spring of 1929. In Bediuzzaman’s words, “his zeal and seriousness were the most important reason for the last of The Words (Sözler) and the Letters (Mektûbat) being written. See, Barla Lahikasi, 18. Also, Necmeddin Sahiner, Son Sahitler, i (1st ed.), 33-55. (Tr.)
2. Abdülmecid (‘Abd al-Majid) was Bediuzzaman’s younger brother. A teacher of the religious sciences, then a Mufti, he translated parts of the Risale-i Nur into Arabic, and Isharat al-I‘jaz and al-Mathnawi al-Nuri (Mesnevi-i Nuriye) from Arabic into Turkish. He died in 1967. (Tr.)
3. Abdurrahman was the son of Bediuzzaman’s elder brother, Abdullah. He was born in Nurs in 1903. His spiritual son, student, and assistant, he joined his uncle in Istanbul following Ist World War, and published a short biography of him at that time. He died in 1928. (Tr.)
4. Qur’an, 10:72, etc.
5. Qur’an, 36:21.
6. Ibn Hajar al-Haythami al-Shafi’i, Tuhfat al-Muhtaj li-Sharh al-Minhaj i, 178.

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The Third Letter explains that there are infinite difficulties in the way of unbelief by using a description showing the conciseness and eloquence of the vow of the Quran on the rising and setting of the stars and that there is infinite ease in the way of belief and oneness.

THIRTEENTH SIGN

Another of the miracles of Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace) of which there are numerous instances, which are reported unanimously, is the sick and the wounded being healed through his blessed breath. The reports of this kind of miracle are, as a whole, ‘unanimous in meaning.’ Some of the instances of these miracles also are considered to be ‘unanimous in meaning.’ And if the others are single reports, since they have been rendered and confirmed as authentic by the exacting authorities of the science of Hadith, they afford the certainty of science. We shall mention a few instances of the miracles out of many.

F i r s t   E x a m p l e : The learned scholar of the Maghrib, Qadi Iyad, in his Shifa’ al-Sharif,¹ narrates through an elevated chain of authorities and numerous lines of transmission that Sa‘d b. Abi Waqqas, the Prophet’s servant and commander, and commander-in-chief of the army of Islam in the time of ‘Umar, the conqueror of Iran, and one of the ten promised Paradise, said: “I was at the Noble Prophet’s side during the Battle of Uhud. He shot arrows at the unbelievers until his bow broke. Then he gave arrows to me, telling me to shoot them. The arrows he gave me were without flights, that is, without the feathers which help them fly. He was ordering me to shoot them, which I did, and they flew like flighted arrows, hitting the unbelievers’ bodies and piercing them. At that point, Qatada b. Nu‘man was hit in the eye by an arrow; it was struck out of his head, so that it was sitting on the side of his face. Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) took the eye in his blessed, healing hand and placed it in its socket; it was healed as though nothing had happened to it and became the better of his two eyes. This event became very widely known. A grandson of Qatada, even, once described himself to ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz as, “I am the grandson of one who, when Allah’s Most Noble Messenger placed his eye back in its socket after it had been struck out, it was suddenly healed and became his best eye.”² He said this in verse, introducing himself to ‘Umar in that way.

It is also related through an authentic narration that during the battle known as the Yawm Dhi-Qarad, Abu Qatada was hit in the face by an arrow. Allah’s Prophet touched his face with his blessed hand. Abu Qatada said: “I felt no pain at all, nor did the wound fester.”³

S e c o n d   E x a m p l e : The authentic books of Hadith, and foremost Bukhari and Muslim, report that the Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) had appointed ‘Ali al-Haydari as standard-bearer during the Battle of Khaybar, but his eyes were aching severly due to illness. The moment the Noble Messenger applied his healing spittle to his eyes, they were cured, with no trace of the discomfort remaining.⁴ The following morning, ‘Ali conquered the citadel of Khaybar by removing its extremely heavy gate and using it in his hand as a shield. During the same battle, Salama b. al-Akwa‘’s leg was struck and split open by a sword; Allah’s Messenger breathed onto it, and the leg was at once healed.⁵

T h i r d   E x a m p l e : Authorities on the Prophet’s life, and foremost Nasa’i, report from ‘Uthman b. Hunayf, who said: “A blind man came to Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) and said: ‘Pray so that my eyes may be healed and I may see!’ The Prophet said: ‘Go and take the ablutions, then pray two rak‘ats, and say: O Allah! I beseech you and I turn to you, for the sake of the Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of Mercy. O Muhammad! I turn to your Sustainer, for your sake and through you, asking that He uncover my sight. O Allah, make him my intercessor!’ He went and did this, and when he returned, we saw that his eyes had opened and he could see very well.”⁶

F o u r t h   E x a m p l e : A great authority, Ibn Wahab, reports: “The hero Mu‘awwidh b. ‘Afra’, one of the fourteen martyrs of the Battle of Badr, had his hand cut off by Abu Jahl the Accursed while fighting with him. He took the hand with his other hand and went to the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace). Allah’s Messenger stuck the hand in its place and spread his spittle over it. It was at once healed. Mu‘awwidh went again to fight and continued to do so until he was martyred.”⁷

Imam Jalil b. Wahab also reports: “During that same battle, Hubayb b. Yasaf was struck on the shoulder by a sword so that he received a grievous wound with part of it almost severed. The Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) joined the arm and shoulder back together again and breathed on it, and it was healed.⁸

Thus, for sure these two incidents are separate, single reports, but if an authority like Ibn Wahab considered them to be sound, and if they occurred during a battle like that of Badr, which was a spring of miracles, and if there are many other examples which resemble these two incidents, for sure it may be said that they definitely occurred. Indeed, there are perhaps a thousand examples established in authentic traditions for which the blessed hand of Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was healing.

A  Q u e s t i o n : You describe many things as being reported unanimously through many channels, but we are hearing most of them for the first time. Surely something the various reports of which are numerous and unanimous cannot remain thus secret?

T h e   A n s w e r : There are numerous things concerning which there is consensus in their various reports and which are self-evident to the learned scholars of the Shari‘a, but are unknown to those who are not one of them. For the scholars of Hadith there are many such things, which for poets have not even the status of isolated reports, and so on. The specialists of all the sciences explain the theories and axioms of their science, and the ordinary people rely on them, and either submit to them, or become one of them and see for themselves. Now, the events the reports of which we describe as forming ‘true consensus,’ ‘consensus in meaning,’ or which express certainty like ‘consensus,’ have been shown to be thus by both the scholars of Hadith, and the scholars of the Shari‘a, and the scholars of the principles of religion, and by most of the other levels of the ‘ulama. If ordinary people in their heedlessness or the ignorant who close their eyes to the truth do not know this, the fault is theirs.

A Passage Worthy of Being Written In Gold and Diamonds

Yes, it was mentioned above: small stones glorifying praising Allah in his hand:; in accordance the verse, "When you threw, it was not you who threw," earth and small stones in the same hand becoming missiles and projectiles against the enemy, routing them; and according to the verse, "And the moon split," the moon splittinng at a sign of the fingers of the same hand; and water flowinglike a spring ftom the ten fingers of the same hand , and their providing a whole army with water; and the same hand being healing to the sick and wounded-all this shows what a wondrous miracle of Divine Power that blessed hand was. It was as if for friends its palm was a small place for the remembrance of Allah, for as soon as small stones entered it, they glorified Allah and recited His Names; while in the face of enemies, it was a small dominical ammunitions store which when pebbles and earth entered it, they were transformed into missiles and projectiles. And for the sick and the wounded it was a small pharmacy of the most Merciful One which was a cure for whatever ills it touched. When it rose with Glory, it split the moon, giving it the shape of two bows, while when it was lowered with Beauty, it became like a spring of mercy with ten spigots pouring forth the water of Kawthar. If the single hand pf such one is the means of those wondrous miracles, is not  then to be understood clearly how acceptable he is before the Creator of the Univers, and how loyal he is to his cause, and how fortunate are those who declare their allegiance to him?

F i f t h   E x a m p l e : Having explained and authenticated it, Imam Baghawi relates: “At the Battle of Khandaq, ‘Ali b. al-Hakam’s leg was broken by the blow of an unbeliever. The Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) rubbed it. At the moment he did so, it was healed so that ‘Ali b. al-Hakam did not even dismount from his horse.”⁹

S i x t h   E x a m p l e : The scholars of Hadith, and foremost Imam Bayhaqi, relate: “‘Ali was very ill. In his distress, he was moaning and praying for himself. The Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) came and said: ‘O Allah! Grant him healing,’ and touched ‘Ali with his foot. He told him to stand, and ‘Ali was at once cured. He stated: ‘I never again suffered from that illness.’”¹⁰

S e v e n t h   E x a m p l e : This is the well-known story of Shurahbil al-Ju‘fi. He had a morbid growth in the palm of his hand so that he could hold neither his sword nor the reins of his horse. Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) rubbed the growth with his blessed hand and massaged it; not a trace of it remained.¹¹

E i g h t h   E x a m p l e : Six children each the object of a different miracle of Muhammad (PBUH).

The First: Ibn Abi Shayba, a meticulous researcher and well-known scholar of Hadith, relates that a woman brought her child to Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace). The child had an affliction; he could not speak and was an idiot. Allah’s Messenger rinsed his mouth with water and washed his hands, then gave the water to the woman, telling her to give it to the child to drink. After the child had drunk it, nothing remained of his illness and affliction, and he became so intelligent, he surpassed even the brightest of the rest.¹²

The Second: According to an authentic narration, Ibn ‘Abbas said: “An insane child was brought to the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace). He placed his blessed hand on the child’s chest and the child suddenly vomited a small black object like a cucumber. The child was healed and went home.”¹³

The Third: Imam Bayhaqi and Nasa’i relate through an authentic chain of transmission that a child called Muhammad b. al-Hatib had been scalded by a pan of boiling water and his whole arm burnt. Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) touched the arm, spreading his spittle over it; the same instant it was healed.¹⁴

The Fourth: A child who was not young but was mute came to the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace). He asked the child: “Who am I?” The child, who had been mute from birth, replied: “You are the Messenger of Allah,” and started to speak.¹⁵

The Fifth: Jalal al-Din Suyuti, who was honoured with conversing with Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) on many occasions while awake and was the leading scholar of his age, explaining and authenticating a narration, reports: Soon after being born, a famous person called Mubarak al-Yamama was taken to the Prophet. On his turning to the baby, it started to speak, saying: “I testify that you are the Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet exclaimed: “May Allah bless you!” The child never spoke again in his infancy, and later became famous as Mubarak al-Yamama (the blessed one, Yamama), since he had been the object of this miracle of the Prophet and his prayer.¹⁶

The Sixth: One time, an ill-mannered youth interrupted the prayer of the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), by passing in front of him while he was performing it. Allah’s Messenger said: “O Allah, cut short his paces!” After this the child was unable to walk as a punishment for his bad behaviour.¹⁷

The Seventh: A shameless woman, who was like a child, asked for a piece of the food Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was eating. He gave her some, but she said: “No, I want a piece from your mouth.” So he gave her a piece, and, after eating the morsel, she became the most modest and bashful woman in Madinah.¹⁸

There are not eighty but perhaps eight hundred further examples of this miracle similar to the eight mentioned above, most of which are related in the Hadith books and books of the Prophet’s biography. For sure, since the blessed hand of Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was like a pharmacy of Luqman the Wise, and his spittle was like a spring of Khidr’s water of life, and his breath soothing and healing like that of Jesus (Upon whom be peace), certainly many people would have recourse to him; and the sick, children, and the insane did flock to him in great numbers, and they were all healed. Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Yamani, known as ‘Tavus’, even, who made the Hajj forty times and for forty years performed the morning prayer with the ablution of the preceeding night prayers, and who met with many of the Companions and was one of the greatest scholars of the generation following them, stated and made the certain report that however many lunatics came to Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), placing his hand on their chests, they were all healed; not one was not cured.¹⁹

Thus, since a great scholar such as that who had direct connections with the era of the Prophet, made such definite and general statements, for sure, none of the sick who came to Allah’s Prophet were not healed; they were all healed. Since this was the case, certainly thousands would have had recourse to him.

____________________

1. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 322; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 651; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id vi, 113; Muslim, Fada’il al-Sahaba 42 no: 2412; Ibn Hibban, Sahih ix, 65.
2. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 322; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id vi, 113; al-Hindi, Kanz al-‘Ummal xii, 377; Ibn al-Qayyim, Zad al-Ma’ad (Tahqiq: Arnavudi) iii, 186-7; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 295.
3. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 322; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 113; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 653.
4. Bukhari, Jihad 102, 144; Maghazi 38; Fada’il al-Sahaba 32, 34; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 38.
5. Bukhari, Maghazi 38 (from Yazid b. ‘Ubayd); Abu Da’ud, Tibb 19; al-Sa’ati, al-Fath al-Rabbani Sharh al-Musnad xxii, 259.
6. Tirmidhi, Da’wat 119 no: 3578; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak i, 526; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa vi, 166; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 322.
7. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 324; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 656; Ibn Sayyid al-Nas, ‘Uyun al-Athar i, 261.
8. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 324; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 656; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya vi, 164; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa vi, 134.
9. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 324; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 656; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 118; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id iv, 134.
10. Tirmidhi, Da’wat 1121; Musnad i, 83, 107, 128; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 323; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 656; Ibn Hibban, Sahih ix, 47; al-Mubarakfuri, Tuhfat al-Ahwazi 3635.
11. al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id viii, 298; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 324; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 657.
12. Ibn Maja, Tibb 40 no: 3532; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 324; ^Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 657.
13. Darimi, Muqaddima 4; Musnad iv, 172; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 324; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 657; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id ix, 2; Tabrizi, Mishkat al-Masabih iii, 188.
14. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 324; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 657; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 121; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id ix, 415; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya i, 295; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iv, 62-3.
15. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 319; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 105; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya iv, 158-9.
16. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 319; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 105; Suyuti, Kanz al-‘Ummal iv, 379; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya iv, 159.
17. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 328; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 137; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 663.
18. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 325; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 657; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id viii, 312.
19. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 335; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 676.

The Fifth Letter

In His Name, be He glorified!

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.

In his Letters (Maktubat), Imam-i Rabbani¹ (May Allah be pleased with him), the hero and a sun of the Naqshbandi Order, said: “I prefer the unfolding of a single matter of the truths of belief to thousands of illuminations, ecstasies, and instances of wonder-working.”

He also said: “The final point of all the Sufi ways is the clarification and unfolding of the truths of belief.”

He also said: “Sainthood is of three sorts: one is the ‘lesser sainthood,’ which is the well-known sainthood. The others are the ‘middle sainthood’ and the ‘greater sainthood.’ ‘Greater sainthood’ is to open up by way of the legacy of prophethood a direct way to reality without entering the intermediate realm of Sufism.”

He said also: “The spiritual journeying on the Naqshi way is with two wings.” That is, “Through having firm belief in the truths of faith and carrying out the religious obligations. If there is defect in these two wings, the way cannot be traversed.” In which case, the Naqshi way consists of three ‘veils’:

The First and most important is direct service to the truths of belief; Imam-i Rabbani travelled this way in his later years.

The Second is service to the religious obligations and Glorious Sunna under the veil of the Sufi way.

The Third is to work to eliminate the sicknesses of the heart by way of Sufism and to journey with the feet of the heart. Of these, the first is the equivalent of obligatory, the second, close to obligatory, and the third, Sunna.

Since the reality of the matter is thus, my conjecture is that if persons like Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir Gilani² (May Allah be pleased with him) and Shah Naqshband³ (May Allah be pleased with him) and Imam-i Rabbani (May Allah be pleased with him) were alive at the present time, they would expend all their efforts in strengthening the truths of belief and tenets of Islam. For they are the means to eternal happiness. If there is deficiency in them, it results in eternal misery. A person without belief may not enter Paradise, but very many have gone to Paradise without Sufism. Man cannot live without bread, but he can live without fruit. Sufism is the fruit, the truths of Islam, basic sustenance. In former times, through spiritual journeying from forty days to as much as forty years, a person might rise to some of the truths of belief. But now, if through Almighty Allah’s mercy there is a way to rise to those truths in forty minutes, it surely is not sensible to remain indifferent to it.

Thus, those who have studied carefully the thirty-three Words state that they have opened up just such a Qur’anic way. Since this is a fact, I am of the opinion that the Words written about the mysteries of the Qur’an are a most appropriate medicine and salve for the wounds of this time, and a most beneficial light for the totality of Islam which has been subject to the assaults of darkness, and a most right guide for those wandering bewildered in the valleys of misguidance.

You know that if misguidance arises from ignorance, it is easy to dispel. Whereas if it proceeds from science and learning, it is difficult to eliminate. In former times, the latter were one in a thousand, and of these only one in a thousand could come to the way through guidance. For such people fancy themselves. And they do not know, but they suppose that they do know. I think that Almighty Allah has bestowed the Words at this time, which are flashes of the Qur’an’s miraculousness, as an antidote to this atheistic misguidance.

The Enduring One, He is the Enduring One!

S a i d N u r s i           

___________________

1. Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi was also known as Imam-i Rabbani, Ahmad Faruqi, and as the Regenerator of the Second Millenium. He lived in India 971/1563 - 1034/1624, where he purified the religion of Islam of polytheistic accretions and efforts to degenerate it, and reformed Sufism. (Tr.)
2. Sayyid ‘Abd al-Qadir Gilani (Geylani), known as the Gawth al-A’zam, was the founder of the Qadiri Order and a towering spiritual figure in the history of Islam. He lived 470/1077-561/1166. (Tr.)
3. Muhammad Baha’uddin Naqshband. He was the founder of the Naqshbandi Order, and died in 791/1389 in Bukhara. (Tr.)

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The Sixth Letter describes the state of Badiuzzaman Said Nursi away from home and expresses the consolation given by the verse "For us Allah sufficeth, and He is the best disposer of affairs".

The Fourth Letter

In His Name be He glorified!

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.

May Allah’s peace and mercy and blessings be upon you, and upon my brothers especially.......

My Dear Brothers!

I am now on a high peak on Çam Dağı (Pine Mountain), at the top of a mighty pine-tree in a tree-house. In lonely solitude far from men, I have grown accustomed to this isolation. When I wish for conversation with men, I imagine you to be here with me, and I talk with you and find consolation. If there is nothing to prevent it, I would like to remain alone here for one or two months. When I return to Barla,¹ I shall search for some means for the verbal conversation with you I so long for, if you would like it. For now I am writing two or three things which come to mind here in this pine-tree.

The First: This is somewhat confidential, but no secrets are concealed from you. It is as follows:

Some of the people of reality manifest the Divine Name of Loving One, and through that manifestation at a maximum degree look to the Necessarily Existent One through the windows of beings. In the same way, but just when he is employed in service of the Qur’an and is the herald of its infinite treasuries, this brother of yours who is nothing, but nothing, is given a state whereby he manifests the Divine Names of All-Compassionate and All-Wise. God willing, the Words [the Risale-i Nur] manifest the meaning of the verse: He who has been given wisdom, has been given great good.²

The Second: This saying concerning the Naqshbandi Order suddenly occurred to me: “On the Naqshbandi way, one must abandon four things: the world, the hereafter, existence, and abandoning itself.” It gave rise to the following thought:

“On the way of impotence four things are necessary: absolute poverty, absolute impotence, absolute thanks, and absolute ardour, my friend.”

Then the rich and colourful poem you had written, “Look at the multicoloured page of the book of the universe, etc.” came to mind. I looked at the stars on the face of skies through it. I said to myself, if only I had been a poet and completed it. And although I have no ability to write poetry or verse, I still began, but it was not poetry. However it occurred to me, that is how I wrote it. You, my heir, may transform it into poetry and set it into verse. What suddenly came to mind was this:

Then listen to the stars, listen to their harmonious address!

See what wisdom has emblazed on the decree of its light.

Altogether they start to speak with the tongue of truth,

They address the majesty of the All-Powerful, All-Glorious One’s sovereignty:

We are each of us light-scattering proofs of the existence of our Maker,

We are witnesses both to His Unity and His Power,

We are subtle miracles gilding the face of the skies for the angels to gaze upon.

We are the innumerable attentive eyes of the heavens which watch the earth, which study Paradise.³

We are the innumerable exquisite fruits which the hand of wisdom of the All-Glorious and Beauteous One has fastened

To the celestial portion of the tree of creation, to all the branches of the Milky Way.

For the inhabitants of the heavens,

We are each of us a travelling mosque, a spinning house, a lofty home;

 Each is an illumining lamp, a mighty ship, an aeroplane.

We are each of us a miracle of power, a wonder of creative art

Created by the Powerful One of Perfection, the All-Wise One of Glory;

A rarity of His wisdom, a marvel of His creation, a world of light.

We demonstrated to mankind innumerable proofs,

We made them hear with these innumerable tongues of ours;

But their accursed unseeing, unbelieving eyes did not see our faces,

They did not hear our words.

And we are signs that speak the truth:

Our stamp is one, our seal is one,

We are mastered by our Sustainer,

We glorify Him through our subjugation,

We recite His Names,

We are each of us in ecstasy,

A member of the mighty circle of the Milky Way.

The Enduring One, He is the Enduring One!

S a i d N u r s i                          

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1. Barla: the village in Isparta Province in S.W. Turkey where Bediuzzaman spent eight years in exile, from 1926-1934. (Tr.)
2. Qur’an, 2:269.
3. That is, since innumerable miracles of power are exhibited on the face of the earth, which is the seed-bed and tillage for Paradise, the angels in the world of the heavens gaze on those miracles, those marvels. And similarly to the angels, the stars, like the eyes of the heavenly bodies, gaze on the finely fashioned creatures on the earth, and in so doing look at the world of Paradise. At the same time they look on both the earth and Paradise; they observe those fleeting wonders in an enduring form in Paradise. That is to say, in the heavens, there are prospects of both worlds.

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The Fifth Letter explains that sainthood is divided into three as small, great and medium sainthood, that the purpose of tariqahs is the development of the truths of belief and following the practices of the Prophet (pbuh) and that Risale-i Nur does it in a shorter time.

The Eleventh Letter

In His Name,

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.

[This letter forms a significant remedy and points out four small gems from the treasuries of four verses.]

My Dear Brother!

The All-Wise Qur’an taught my soul these four different matters at various times. I am writing them now so that those of my brothers who wish may also receive instruction or a share of them. With regard to subject matter, each has been shown as a sample, a small jewel, from the treasuries of truths of four different verses. Each of the four topics has a different form and a different benefit.

FIRST TOPIC

Indeed the wiles of Satan are weak.¹

O my soul which despairs at doubts and scruples! The association of ideas and imaginings, suppositions, that occur to one are a sort of involuntary expression or depiction. If it arises from good and luminosity, the qualities of such a depiction and reality pass to an extent to its form and image. Like the sun’s light and heat pass to its image in a mirror. If the depiction is of something evil and dense, the qualities and decree of the original cannot pass to its form and spread to its image. For example, the reflected form in a mirror of something unclean and corrupt is neither unclean nor corrupt. Nor can a snake’s image bite.

As a consequence, to imagine unbelief is not unbelief, and to imagine abuse is not abuse. Particularly if it is involuntary and is a hypothetical assumption that occurs to one, it is altogether harmless. Furthermore, according to the Sunni school (Ahl al-Sunna wa’l-Jama‘a), the badness or uncleanness of a thing according to the Shari‘a is because it is prohibited by Allah. Since such things are involuntary associations of ideas, imaginings that occur to one without one’s consent, prohibitions do not concern them. However ugly and unclean a form they take, they are not ugly and unclean.

SECOND TOPIC

This was a fruit of the Pine, Cedar, and Black Poplar trees of Tepelice in the mountains of Barla, which, since it has been included in The Words, has not been repeated here.

THIRD TOPIC

The two following matters are part of the examples given in the Twenty-Fifth Word showing the impotence of present-day civilization before the miraculousness of the Qur’an. They are two examples out of thousands proving how unjust is the law of present-day civilization, which opposes the Qur’an:

Just as the Qur’anic decree,

And for the man a portion equal of that of two women²

is pure justice, so too is it pure compassion. Yes, it is justice, for the overwhelming majority of men take a wife and undertake to provide for her. As for women, they take a husband and load their livelihood on him, and this makes up for the deficiency in what they have inherited. It is also mercy, for a weak girl is greatly in need of kindness from her father and brothers. The Qur’an decrees that she receives kindness from her father without worry. Her father does not consider her anxiously, thinking of her as “a harmful child due to whom half of his wealth will pass to the hands of a stranger.” Anxiety and anger are not mixed with his kindness. She also receives her brother’s kindness and protection free of rivalry and jealousy. He does not consider her “as a rival who will destroy half the family and give an important part of our property to someone else.” There will be no resentment and hostility mixed with his feeling of compassion and protection towards her. Thus, the girl, who is delicate and weak by nature, is apparently deprived of a small part, but in place of it she gains inexhaustible wealth in the form of the compassion and kindness of those close to her. Also, to give her more than her due with the idea of being more merciful to her than Divine Mercy, is not kindness, but a great wrong. Indeed, the savage greed of the present time, which recalls the appalling tyranny of burying girl children alive in the Age of Ignorance due to savage jealousy, may possibly open the way to merciless wickedness. Like this one, all Qur’anic rulings confirm the decree,

And we did not send you but as a Mercy to all the worlds.³

FOURTH TOPIC

And to the mother, a sixth.⁴

This low civilization has caused an injustice by giving daughters more than their due, and it perpetrates an even greater injustice by not giving the mother what is her right. Yes, the compassion of mothers is a most sweet, subtle, and lovely manifestion of dominical mercy, and among the truths of the universe, is one most worthy of respect and reverence. A mother is so generous, so compassionate, so self-sacrificing a friend that driven by her compassion she will sacrifice all her world, her life, and her comfort for her child. A timid hen, even, the simplest and lowest level of motherhood, will cast herself at a dog and attack a lion in order to protect her young, through a tiny manifestation of that compassion.

And so, to deprive a mother, who is the bearer of such an honourable and elevated truth, of the property of her child is an appalling injustice, a most savage lack of respect, a compounded wrongful insult, an ingratitude for bounties, that causes the Divine Throne of Mercy to tremble and adds poison to a most brilliant and benefical cure for man’s social life. If those human monsters who claim to love humanity cannot understand this, for sure true humans can. They know that the All-Wise Qur’an’s command of,

And to the mother a sixth,

is pure truth and pure justice.

The Enduring One, He is the Enduring One!

S a i d N u r s i

____________________

1. Qur’an, 4:76.
2. Qur’an, 4:176.
3. Qur’an, 21:107.
4. Qur’an, 4:11.

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The Twelfth Letter explains why Adam was expelled from Paradise, why some people will go to Hell, why Satan and evil things were created, and why calamities and tribulations are inflicted on even the innocent people and animals.

THE MEANING OF YOUR FOURTH QUESTION

After Jesus (Upon whom be peace) kills the Dajjal (Antichrist) at the end of time, most people will enter the true religion. But it says in some narrations: “The end of the world will not occur so long as there remain on the earth those who say, Allah! Allah!”¹ So how after most people have come to believe, will most people become unbelievers?

T h e A n s w e r : Those whose belief is weak deem it unlikely that what is narrated in a sound Hadith, “Jesus (Upon whom be peace) will come, he will act in accordance with the Shari‘a of Islam, and he will kill the Dajjal,” will come about. But if the reality of this is explained, no reason remains to deem it unlikely. It is as follows:

The meaning expressed by this Hadith and those about the Sufyan and the Mahdi,² is this: at the end of time two currents of irreligion will gain strength.

One of them: Under the veil of duplicity, a fearsome individual named the Sufyan will deny the messengership of Muhammad (PBUH), and coming to lead the dissemblers, will try to destroy the Islamic Shari‘a. To oppose him, a luminous individual called Muhammad Mahdi of the Family of the Prophet will come to lead the people of sainthood and perfection, who are bound to the luminous chain of the Family of the Prophet, and he will kill the current of dissemblers, which will be the collective personality of the Sufyan, and scatter it.

The Second Current: A tyrannical current born of Naturalist and Materialist philosophy will gradually become strong and spread at the end of time by means of materialist philosophy, reaching such a degree that it denies Allah. A savage who does not recognize the king or accept that the officers and soldiers in the army are his soldiers ascribes a sort of kingship and rulership to everyone and to all the soldiers. In just the same way, the members of that current, who deny Allah, each ascribes dominicality to his soul like a little Nimrod. And the greatest of them, the Dajjal, who will come to lead them, will manifest awesome wonders, a sort of spiritualism and hypnosis; he will go even further, and imagining his tyrannical, superficial rule to be a sort of dominicality, he will proclaim his godhead. It is clear just what foolish buffoonery it is for impotent man, who may be defeated by a fly and cannot create even a fly’s wing, to claim godhead.

At that point when the current appears to be very strong, the religion of true Christianity, which comprises the collective personality of Jesus (Upon whom be peace), will emerge. That is, it will descend from the skies of Divine Mercy. Present Christianity will be purified in the face of that reality; it will cast off superstition and distortion, and unite with the truths of Islam. Christianity will in effect be transformed into a sort of Islam. Following the Qur’an, the collective personality of Christianity will be in the rank of follower, and Islam, in that of leader. True religion will become a mighty force as a result of its joining it. Although defeated before the atheistic current while separate, Christianity and Islam will have the capability to defeat and rout it as a result of their union. Then the person of Jesus (Upon whom be peace), who is present with his human body in the world of the heavens, will come to lead the current of true religion, as, relying on the promise of One Powerful Over All Things, the Bringer of Sure News has said. Since he has told of it, it is true, and since the One Powerful Over All Things has promised it, He will certainly bring it about.

Indeed, it is not far from the wisdom of an All-Wise One of Glory Who all the time sends the angels to the earth from the heavens, sometimes in human form (like Gabriel appearing in the form of Dihya), and sends spirit beings from the Spirit World making them appear in human form, and even sends the spirits of most of the dead saints to the world with similitudes of their bodies, it would not be far from His Wisdom -even if he was not alive and present with his body in the skies of the world, and had truly died and departed for the furthest corner of the hereafter- to clothe Jesus (Upon whom be peace) in his body and send him to the world, so to bring the religion of Jesus to a good conclusion; for such a momentous result. Indeed He promised it because His wisdom required it to be thus, and since He promised it, He will most certainly send him.

When Jesus (Upon whom be peace) comes, it is not necessary that everyone should know him to be the true Jesus. His elect and those close to him will recognize him through the light of belief. It will not be self-evident so that everyone will recognize him.

Q u e s t i o n : There are narrations which say: “The Dajjal has a false paradise into which he puts those that follow him, and he also has a false hell into which he casts those who do not follow him. He even has made one of his mount’s ears into a paradise and the other into a hell... his body is of such-and-such vast dimensions...”;³ they describe him like this?

T h e A n s w e r : The Dajjal is superficially like a human being. But he is arrogant and pharaoh-like and has forgotten Allah, so is a foolish satan and intriguing man who calls his superficial, tyrannical rule godhead. But his huge current of atheism, his collective personality, is truly vast. The awesome descriptions of the Dajjal in the narrations allude to that. At one time, the commander-in-chief of the Japanese army was depicted with one foot in the Pacific Ocean and the other ten days’ distance away in Port Arthur. The collective personality of the commander-in-chief’s army was shown by depicting him in that way.

The Dajjal’s false paradise are the alluring amusements and enticements of civilization. His mount is means of transport like the railway; at one end of the train is the fire-box which sometimes sprays fire on those who do not follow him. The other of the mount’s ears, that is, the other end of it, has been furnished like Paradise, and he seats his followers in it. Anyway, the railway, an important mount of dissolute and cruel civilization, brings a false paradise for the dissolute and the worldly, while for the people of religion and Islam like the angels of Hell it brings dangers in the hand of civilization, and casts them into captivity and indigence.

For sure, with the emergence of the true religion of Christianity and its being transformed into Islam, it will spread its light to the great majority of people in the world, but when the end of the world is close an atheistic current will again appear and become dominant. According to the rule, “The word is with the majority,” no one will remain on earth who says, “Allah! Allah!;” that is, “Allah! Allah!” will not be uttered by a significant group which holds an important position on the earth. The people of truth will form a minority or will be defeated, but they will remain permanently till the end of the world. Only, the moment Doomsday occurs, as a sign of Divine mercy, the spirits of the believers will be seized first so that they do not see the terrors of the Last Day, and it will break forth over the unbelievers.

____________________

1. Muslim, Iman 234; Tirmidhi, Fitan 35; Musnad ii, 107, 201, 259; al-Hakim, al-Mus-tadrak, vi, 494.

2. For Hadiths about the Mahdi and Sufyan, see the ‘Fifth Ray.’ [The Rays-Sualar-forms the fourth volume of the Risale-i Nur Collection, and is in preparation for publication. Tr.]

3. For Hadiths about the Dajjal, the Antichrist, see the Fifth ‘Ray.’ See, page 78, fn. 6.

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Fifth Question: Will the immortal spirits be affected by the events of the Last Day?

YOUR THIRD QUESTION

What was the wisdom in the tragic and cruel treatment those blessed persons received?

T h e A n s w e r : As explained above, there were three basic reasons for the pitiless cruelty of Husayn’s opponents during Umayyad rule:

One was the pitiless principle of politics: “Individuals may be sacrificed for the welfare of the government and preservation of public order.”

The Second was the cruel rule of nationalism, “Everything may be sacrificed for the well-being of the nation,” since their rule was based on racialism and nationalism.

The Third: The traditional vein of rivalry of the Umayyads towards the Hashimites was found in some people like Yazid, and he displayed a merciless ability to be cruel.

A Fourth Reason: The Umayyads, taking Arab nationalism as the basis of their rule, looked on the members of other nations -who were found among Husayn’s supporters- as slaves, and had wounded their national pride. So, since the other nations had joined Husayn’s community with mixed intentions and to take revenge, they excessively affronted the Umayyad’s fanatic nationalism and were the cause of the extremely cruel and pitiless well-known tragedy.

The four reasons mentioned above are outward and apparent. When it is considered from the point of view of Divine Determining, the results pertaining to the hereafter and the spiritual rule and spiritual progress that the tradegy gained for Hadhrat Husayn and his relatives were of such high worth that the distress they suffered due to it became extremely easy and cheap. Like if a soldier dies after an hour’s torture and becomes a martyr, he attains such a rank that another could reach it only if he strove for ten years. If the soldier was to be asked after he had died, he would reply that he had gained much for very little.

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Fourth Question: It is said that Hz. Isa (Jesus) will descend to the earth at the end of time, kill the Antichrist (Dajjal) and that most people will enter the true religion. However, they also say there will be nobody who will says ‘Allah! Allah!’ on Doomsday.

About the Miracle of the
Splitting of the Moon

[Addendum to the Nineteenth and Thirty-First Words]

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

The Hour is nigh, and the moon is split. * But if they see a sign, they turn away, and say: “This is evident magic.”¹

Philosophers and their unreasoning imitators, who want to eclipse with their vicious delusions the Splitting of the Moon, which is a miracle of Muhammad (PBUH) that shines like the moon, say: “If the Splitting of the Moon had occurred, it would have been known to the whole world and would have been related throughout the subsequent history of man.”

T h e  A n s w e r : Since the Splitting of the Moon was demonstrated as an evidence of prophethood, and happened instantaneously, at night when people were asleep, and before a gathering who, although they witnessed such an evidence, denied it; and since there were obstacles hindering the sighting of it such as mist, clouds, and time-differences between different parts of the world; and since at that time science and civilization were not widespread, and observation of the skies was very limited, and the event itself was exceptional, there was, therefore, nothing to necessitate that it should have been seen all over the world and passed into the general histories. For now, listen to Five Points out of many that will scatter those clouds of delusion concerning the Splitting of the Moon.

FIRST POINT

The extreme stubbornness of the unbelievers there at that time is well-known and is recorded in history. And yet, when the All-Wise Qur’an announced this event to the whole world through saying:

And the moon is split,

not one of those unbelievers, who denied the Qur’an, spoke up to give the lie to this verse; that is, not one of them denied the event it was announcing. If the event had not been considered as a definite fact by the unbelievers at that time, they would have taken the verse as a pretext, denied it in a most fearsome manner, and tried to attack and overthrow Muhammad’s (PBUH) claim to prophethood. However, the biographies of the Prophet and histories mentioning the event relate nothing to suggest that the unbelievers denied it. The only thing that history relates is, as the verse

And [they] say, “This is evident magic”

points out, the unbelievers who saw the event declared it to be magic, and said that if the caravans in other places had seen it, it was true, otherwise he had bewitched them. The caravans arriving the following morning from the Yemen and other places announced that they had seen such a happening. So the unbelievers then said of the Pride of All the Worlds (PBUH) that, Allah forbid, the magic of Abu Talib’s orphan had affected the heavens.

SECOND POINT

The majority of the most illustrious scholars, like Sa‘d al-din Taftazani, declared that like the Prophet had satisfied the thirst of a whole army with water flowing from his fingers, and the whole congregation had heard a dry wooden post against which Muhammad (PBUH) had leant while delivering the sermon weep on being separated from him, the Splitting of the Moon had been transmitted by numerous authorities. That is to say, these events had been passed down from group to group forming such a vast congregation that a conspiracy to lie would have been impossible. Like the appearance of the famous Haley’s Comet a thousand years ago had been unanimously reported, and the existence of the island of Ceylon was certain due to unanimous reports, although we had not seen it.

It is therefore unreasonable to foster baseless doubts in such certain, witnessed matters. It is enough that they are not impossible. And as for the Splitting of the Moon, it is quite as possible as a mountain’s splitting with a volcanic eruption.

THIRD POINT

Miracles are for proving claims to prophethood and for convincing those who deny such claims, they are not for compelling people to believe. Therefore, miracles have to be manifested to those who hear claims to prophethood at a degree that will persuade them. Just as it would be contrary to the All-Wise and Glorious One’s wisdom to display them all over the world or in so self-evident a manner that all would be compelled to believe, so would it also be contrary to the mystery of man’s accountability. For this accountability requires “opening the door to the reason and not cancelling the power of choice.” If the All-Wise Creator had left the moon split for one or two hours in order to show it to the whole world as the philosophers wished, and it had been recorded in all the general histories of man, then it would have been like all other occurrences in the heavens and would not have been an evidence to Muhammad’s (PBUH) claim to prophethood and been special to it. Or else it would have been such a self-evident miracle that it would have annulled the reason’s power to choose, and compelled the reason to accept it; willy-nilly, it would have had to assent to his prophethood. Someone with a coal-like spirit like Abu Jahl would have remained at the same level as someone with a diamond-like spirit like Abu Bakr the Veracious; the mystery of man’s accountability would have been lost. It was due to this mystery that, being both instantaneous, and at nighttime, and at a time of sleep, and time differences, mist, and cloud and other factors concealing it, it was not shown to the whole world and did not pass into the histories.

FOURTH POINT

Since this event occurred instantaneously at night while everyone was sleeping, of course it was not seen all over the world. Even if some people had seen it, they would not have believed their eyes. And if it had made them believe, such a significant event would not have become a permanent source for future histories through isolated individual reports.

In some books it is written that after the moon split into two halves, it fell to earth, but veracious scholars have rejected such additions, saying that they were perhaps added by dissemblers with the intention of belittling this evident miracle, and making it valueless.

Also, that time in England and Spain, which were then enveloped in mists of ignorance, would have been just after sunset, in America it would have been daytime, and in China and Japan, morning. And in other places there would have been other obstacles preventing it from being seen. Now consider these unreasoning objectors who say that the histories of peoples like the English, Chinese, Japanese, and Americans do not mention it, and that therefore it did not occur. A thousand curses be on the heads of those who toady to Europe and repeat such things.

FIFTH POINT

The Splitting of the Moon happened neither of its own accord in consequence of certain causes, nor as a result of chance, nor was it a natural event that occurred through the ordinary laws of nature. Rather, the All-Wise Creator of the Sun and the Moon caused it to happen as something out of the ordinary in order to confirm His Messenger’s messengership and to illuminate his claim.

As the mystery of guidance, the mystery of human responsibility, and the wisdom of prophethood required, it was demonstrated as a convincing proof to a number of people specified by dominical wisdom. The mystery of wisdom required that it was not shown to people in every region of the world, who had not yet heard of Muhammad’s (PBUH) claim to prophethood. Numerous obstacles prevented them, therefore, such as mist, cloud, and time-differences, and the fact that in some countries the moon had not risen, and in others the sun had risen, while in others it was morning, and in yet others the sun had just set.

If it had been shown to all and sundry, it would have been shown as a result of the Sign of Muhammad (PBUH), and a miracle of prophethood, in which case his messengership would have been so manifest that everyone would have been compelled to affirm it. No choice would have remained for man’s reason. And belief is attained through the reason and the power of choice. The mystery of human responsibility would have been lost. And if it had been shown merely as an occurrence in the heavens, its connection with Muhammad’s (PBUH) messengership would have been severed, and it would have retained no peculiarity to him.

To Conclude: There is no longer any doubt concerning the possibility that the Splitting of the Moon occurred; it has been proved decisively. And now we shall mention six² of the many evidences pointing to its occurrence.

The concurrence of the Companions of the Prophet, who were all men of justice, on its occurrence.

Their agreement in expounding the verse, And the moon is split of all exacting commentators on the Qur’an.

The fact that, relying on numerous different chains of authorities and lines of transmission, all the scholars of the Prophetic Traditions and transmitters of the sound narrations narrated the event.³

The testimony of all the saints and the veracious, those who receive inspiration, and uncover the mysteries of the creation.

The confirmation of learned scholars and theologians, whose ways differ greatly from one another.

The fact that the Community of Muhammad (PBUH) accepted its occurrence, which, on an established principle, never agrees upon error.

These six evidences prove the Splitting of the Moon as clearly as the sun.

CONCLUSION

Up to here this Addendum has been in the name of establishing the truth, and for the sake of silencing those enemies who deny it. Its concluding sentences will now be in the name of the truth and for the sake of belief. Establishing the truth spoke as above, now the truth speaks:

The Seal of the Office of Prophethood, who was the luminous moon of the heavens of messengership, proved his sainthood through his Ascension. This was the greatest wonder and supreme miracle of sainthood, achieved through his worship, which was so elevated as to make him Allah’s beloved. That is to say, by travelling with his earthly body through the heavens, his superiority and his being Allah’s beloved were demonstrated to the dwellers of the heavens and inhabitants of the lofty worlds. So too, through the moon, which is bound to the earth and suspended in the heavens, being split into two halves at the sign of an inhabitant of the earth, it displayed a miracle to the other inhabitants of the earth which indicated the former’s messengership. Thus, the person of Muhammad (PBUH) flew to the very summit of perfections on the two luminous wings of messengership and sainthood-like the two luminous unfolded wings of the moon; he ascended to the distance of two bow-lengths; he became the cause of pride of both the inhabitants of the heavens and the inhabitants of the earth....

Upon him and upon his Family be blessings and peace such as will fill the earth and the heavens.

Glory be unto You! we have no knowledge save that which You have taught us; indeed, You are All-Knowing, All-Wise.

***

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1. Qur’an, 54:1-2.
2. That is to say, there are six proofs concerning the event in the form of a sixfold consensus. Unfortunately, the explanation of them is brief, and they deserve more.
3. Musnad i, 377, 413, 447, 456; iii, 207, 220, 275, 278; iv, 81; Tafsir Ibn Kathir vi, 469.

THIRD MATTER

An important matter that has not been solved by philosophy and reason.

Every day in [new] splendour does He [shine]!¹* Indeed, your Sustainer is Doer of what He will.²

Q u e s t i o n : What is the reason for and wisdom in the astonishing unceasing activity in the universe? Why do these fleeting beings not stop, but continuously change and are renewed?

T h e   A n s w e r : To explain the wisdom in this would require a thousand pages. And so we shall leave aside a full explanation and squeeze an extremely brief summary of it into two pages.

If a person performs a natural function or social duty and works enthusiastically to do so, one who observes him carefully will certainly understand that there are two things that make him perform the duty:

The First are the benefits, fruits, and advantages which result from the duty, which are called ‘the ultimate cause.’

The Second: There is a love, a desire, a pleasure, which cause the duty to be performed enthusiastically, and these are called the ‘necessitating cause and reason.’

For example, eating food; the pleasure and longing arising from appetite drive a person to eat, and afterwards, the result of eating is nourishing the body and perpetuating life. In the same way, And Allah’s is the highest similitude,³ based on two sorts of Divine Names, the awesome and astonishing endless activity in the universe is for two vast instances of wisdom, each of which is also infinite:

T h e   F i r s t : Almighty Allah’s Most Beautiful Names have incalculable sorts of manifestations. The variety in creatures arises from the variety of the manifestations. The Names require to be manifested in a permanent fashion; that is, they want to display their embroideries; that is, they want to see and display the manifestations of their beauties in the mirrors of their embroideries; that is, they want every instant to renew the Book of the Universe and missives of beings; that is, they necessitate the continuous meaningful writing, and to display each missive to the study and gaze of the the Most Pure and Holy Essence, the One signified, as well as to all conscious beings; they require to make each of the missives read.

T h e   S e c o n d   R e a s o n   a n d   I n s t a n c e   o f   W i s d o m : Just as activity in creatures arises from an appetite, a desire, a pleasure, and there is a definite pleasure in all activity, rather, all activity is a sort of pleasure; so too, in a suitable way and form appropriate to His essential self-sufficiency and absolute riches and in a manner fitting for His absolute perfection, the Necessarily Existent One has boundless sacred compassion and infinite holy love. And He has a boundless sacred ardour arising from that sacred compassion and holy love, and an endless holy joy arising from that sacred ardour, and, if one may say so, an infinite sacred pleasure arising from the sacred joy. And pertaining to that Merciful and Compassionate One, is, if the term is permissible, a boundless sacred gratification and infinite holy pride arising from the boundless feeling of compassion that springs from the sacred pleasure, sacred gratification and pride which arise from the gratitude and perfections of creatures which result from their abilities emerging from the potential to the actual and their developing within the activity of power. It is these which necessitate in boundless fashion, an endless activity.

Thus, it is because philosophy, science, and natural philosophy do not know this subtle instance of wisdom that they have confused unconscious Nature, blind chance, and lifeless causes in this utterly knowing, wise, percipient activity, and falling into the darkness of misguidance, have been unable to find the light of reality.

Say, “Allah [sent it down];” then leave them to plunge in vain discourse and trifling.⁴

O our Sustainer! Do not cause our hearts to swerve now that You have guided us, and bestow mercy upon us from Yourself; indeed, You are the Bestower of Gifts.⁵

O Allah! Grant blessings and peace to the Solver of the talisman of Your universe to the number of atoms of beings, and to his Family and Companions, so long as the earth and the heavens persist.

The Enduring One, He is the Enduring One!

S a i d  N u r s i

***

____________________

1. Qur’an, 55:29.
2. Qur’an, 11:107.
3. Qur’an, 16:60.
4. Qur’an, 6:91.
5. Qur’an, 3:8.

The Sixteenth Letter

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

Men said to them: “A great army is gathering against you,” and frightened them. But it [only] increased their belief; they said: “For us Allah suffices, and He is the best Disposer of Affairs.”¹

This letter manifested the meaning of the verse, But speak to him mildly,² and was not written vehemently. It is the answer to a question asked me explicitly and implicitly by many people.

[To reply is not agreeable to me and I do not want to, for I have bound everything to reliance on Allah. But since I have not been left in peace to myself in my own world and since they have directed my attention towards the world, I am compelled to propound five Points in the language of the Old Said in order to explain the reality of the situation both to my friends, and to ‘the worldly,’ and to those in authority, so as to save not myself, but my friends and my Words, from the suspicions and ill-treatment of ‘the worldly.’]

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1. Qur’an, 3:173.
2. Qur’an, 20:44.
 

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First Point: It is about the fact that the aim of serving the Quran prevented Badiuzzaman Said Nursi from politics.

SEVENTH SIGN

We will give in this Sign a few examples from among the Prophet’s (PBUH) miracles that relate to his effecting increase in food and that are definite to the degree of ‘consensus in meaning.’ But before going into the subject, some introductory comments will be appropriate.

I n t r o d u c t i o n

Each of the following examples of miracles is narrated, as authentic, through various -sometimes as many as sixteen- chains of transmission. Most of them occurred in the presence of large assemblies, and were narrated by many truthful persons of good repute from among those present. For example, from among seventy men who partook of four handfuls of food and were filled, one relates the incident, and the others do not contradict him. Their silence thus indicates their confirmation. For if in that era of truth and truthfulness the Companions, who were lovers of the truth and earnest and honest, had witnessed even the tiniest lie, they would have rejected and denied it. But the incidents we will be citing were narrated by many, and the others who witnessed them remained silent. Thus, each of these incidents has the certainty of ‘consensus in meaning.’

Furthermore, books of both history and the Prophet’s biography testify that, next to the preservation of the Qur’an and its verses, the Companions worked with all their strength to preserve the deeds and words of Allah’s Most Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), and especially those relating to the injunctions of the Shari‘a and to miracles, paying extreme attention to their accuracy. They never neglected even the tiniest aspect of his conduct, actions, and states. This and the fact that they recorded them is testified to by books of Hadith.

In addition, in the Era of Bliss, they wrote down and recorded very many of the Hadiths concerning the injunctions of the Law and his miracles. The ‘Seven ‘Abd Allah’s’ in particular recorded them in writing. And especially ‘Abd Allah b. al-‘Abbas, known as ‘the Interpreter of the Qur’an,’ and ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Amr b. al-‘As some thirty to forty years later, and the thousands of exacting scholars of the generation that followed the Companions recorded the Hadiths and miracles in writing. And still later, chiefly the four great interpreters of the Law and thousands of exacting scholars of Hadith related them and preserved them in writing. Then two hundred years after the Hijra, foremost Bukhari and Muslim and the six accepted books of tradition, undertook the duty of their preservation. Many severe critics such as Ibn al-Jawzi emerged who identified false reports which had been produced by deniers, the unthinking, the ignorant, or those who had recalled them wrongly. Later, learned and exacting scholars like Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, who seventy times was honoured in a waking state by the presence and conversation of Allah’s Noble Messenger (PBUH), differentiated the diamonds of authentic traditions from other sayings and fabrications.

Thus, the incidents and miracles we shall speak of, have come down to us through numerous, perhaps uncountable, strong and trustworthy hands, and have reached us in sound condition.

All praise be to Allah, this is from the bounty of my Lord.

It is for this reason that one’s mind should be freed from the notion that these incidents have been distorted or confused in any way in being passed down all the way from that time to the present.

T h e   F i r s t   E x a m p l e of definite miracles concerning the Prophet’s increase of food through his blessing. The six accurate books of tradition, Bukhari and Muslim included, unanimously relate that during the feast on the occasion of the Prophet’s (PBUH) marriage to Zaynab, Anas’s mother, Umm Sulaym, prepared a dish by frying two handfuls of dates in oil and sent it with Anas to the Prophet. The Noble Prophet told him: “Go and invite so-and-so [naming some persons], and also invite whomever you encounter on your way.” Anas invited those named and those he met. About three hundred Companions came and filled the Prophet’s room and anteroom. Then the Prophet said: “Make circles of ten.” He placed his blessed hand on that little amount of food, uttered supplications, and told them to help themselves. All of them ate and was fully satisfied. Afterwards the Prophet asked Anas to remove the food. Anas later related: “I could not tell if there was more of it when I set it down, or when I removed it.”¹

S e c o n d   E x a m p l e : Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, the Prophet’s host, relates that when the Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) honoured his house, he had prepared a meal for two, which would suffice the Prophet and Abu Bakr. But the Prophet told him: “Invite thirty men from among the distinguished Ansar!”² Abu Ayyub said: “Thirty men came and ate. He then said: ‘Invite sixty men,’ which I did, and they also came and ate. The Prophet said again: ‘Invite seventy more.’ I invited them; they came, and when they finished eating, there was still food left in the bowls. All who came embraced Islam and took the oath of allegiance after witnessing this miracle. One hundred and eighty men ate the food of two men.”³

T h i r d   E x a m p l e : It is reported through many chains of transmission from ‘Umar b. al-Khattab, Abu Hurayra, Salama b. Akwa‘, Abu ‘Amrat al-Ansari and others that on one expedition, the army went hungry. They referred themselves to the Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace), and he told them: “Gather whatever food is left in your saddle-bags.” Everyone brought a few pieces of dates and put them on a mat. The most they could put together was four handfuls. Salama related: “I estimated it amounted to the size of a sitting goat.” Then the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) announced: “Everyone bring his dish!” They pressed forward, and no one in the whole army remained with an empty dish, all the dishes were filled. There was even some left over. One of the Companions later said: “I realized from the way that increase was obtained that if the whole world had come, the food still would have been sufficient.”⁴

F o u r t h   E x a m p l e : As recorded in all of the Six Books including Bukhari and Muslim, ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Abu Bakr al-Siddiq relates: “We, one hundred and thirty Companions, were with the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) on an expedition. Dough was prepared to the amount of about four handfuls, a goat was slaughtered and cooked, and its liver and kidneys were roasted. I swear by Allah that from that roasted meat [liver and kidneys] Allah’s Messenger gave a small piece to each and put the cooked meat into two large bowls. After we had all eaten until we were filled there was still some left over, which I loaded onto a camel.”⁵

F i f t h   E x a m p l e : As is recorded in the Six Books, Jabir al-Ansari related under oath: “During the Ahzab expedition on the celebrated day of Khandaq, about a thousand people ate from four handfuls of rye bread and a young cooked goat; yet food was still left over. That day the food had been cooked in my house, and after the one thousand people had left, the pot was still boiling with meat in it, and bread was being made from the dough; for the Prophet had wetted the dough and the pot with his blessed mouth, beseeching Allah for plenty.”⁶

S i x t h   E x a m p l e : According to an authentic narration from Abu Talha, the uncle of Anas who served Allah’s Messenger, the Messenger fed seventy to eighty men with a small amount of rye bread that Anas had brought under his arm. The Messenger ordered: “Break the bread into small pieces!”, and prayed for increase. Because the house was small, they came ten at a time, and left having filled themselves.⁷

S e v e n t h   E x a m p l e : It is related as authentic in accurate books such as Shifa’ al-Sharif and Muslim that Jabir al-Ansari narrated: “Once a man asked the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) for food for his household. The Messenger gave him a half load of barley. For a long time he ate of the barley together with his family and guests. They would look and see that it did not finish. So they measured it to see by how much it decreased. After that the blessing of abundance was gone and the barley began to dwindle rapidly. The man went to the Messenger and related what had happened. Allah’s Messenger replied: “If you had not put it to the test by measuring it, it would have lasted you a life-time.”⁸

E i g h t h   E x a m p l e : According to accurate books such as Tirmidhi, Nasa’i, Bayhaqi, and Shifa’ al-Sharif, Samura b. Jundub related that a bowl of meat was brought to the Prophet (PBUH). From morning to evening, many groups of men came and ate from it.⁹

In accordance with the explanation we gave in the introduction to this section, this is not the narration of Samura alone, since Samura narrated this incident on behalf of, and with the approval of, all those present.

N i n t h   E x a m p l e : It is also narrated by reliable and trusted scholars such as the well-known author of Shifa’ al-Sharif, Ibn Abi Shayba, and Tabarani, that Abu Hurayra related: “The Noble Messenger commanded me, ‘Invite the poor Makkan migrants who have made the Bench [suffa]¹⁰ of the Mosque their home and who number more than a hundred.’ So I went and searched for them and gathered them together. A tray of food was set before us, and we ate as much as we wanted, then we arose. The dish remained full as it was when set down, only, the traces of fingers on the food were visible.¹¹

Thus, this incident is related by Abu Hurayra in the name of all the People of the Bench, supported by their confirmation. Hence, the incident is as definite as if all the People of the Bench had related it. Is it at all possible that if it had not been true those men of truth and perfection would have remained silent and not denied it?

T e n t h   E x a m p l e : According to an authentic narration from ‘Ali, the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) once gathered the Bani ‘Abd al-Muttalib. They were about forty, including some who would eat a young camel and drink a gallon of milk in one meal. Yet for them he had prepared only a handful of food. All ate and were satisfied, and the food remained just as it had been before. Later he brought milk in a wooden bowl that would have been sufficent for only three or four persons. They all drank their fill.¹²

Thus, a miracle of plenty as definite as ‘Ali’s courage and loyalty!

E l e v e n t h   E x a m p l e : According to an authentic narration, on the occasion of ‘Ali’s marriage to Fatima al-Zahra, The Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) ordered Bilal al-Habashi: “Have bread made from a few handfuls of flour; also slaughter a young camel!” Bilal relates: “I brought the food and he put his hand on it to bless it. Later, the Companions arrived in groups, ate, and left. From the remaining food, he sent a full bowl to each of his wives, saying that they should eat and feed anyone who visited them.”¹³

Such blessed plenty was indeed necessary for such a blessed marriage!

T w e l f t h   E x a m p l e : Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq related from his father Muhammad al-Baqir, and he from his father, Zayn al-‘Abidin, and he from ‘Ali, that Fatima al-Zahra had prepared enough food for herself and ‘Ali. She then sent ‘Ali to invite the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) to come and eat with them. Allah’s Messenger came and told them to send a dish of food to each of his wives. Fatima said that after a dish of food had been set aside for himself, ‘Ali, Fatima, and their children, they lifted up the saucepan and it was full to overflowing. Through Allah’s will, they ate of the food for a long time afterwards.¹⁴

Why do you not believe this miracle of increase just as if you had witnessed it with your own eyes, since it comes from this luminous, elevated chain of transmission? Satan himself could find no excuse in this face of this one.

T h i r t e e n t h   E x a m p l e : Veracious authorities such as Abu Da’ud, Ahmad b. Hanbal, and Bayhaqi, narrate from Dukayn al-Ahmasi b. Sa‘id al-Muzayn, and from Nu‘man b. Muqarrin al-Ahmasi al-Muzayn, who with his six brothers was honoured with the Prophet’s conversation and was a Companion, and by way of Jarir through numerous chains of transmission from ‘Umar b. al-Khattab, that Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) ordered ‘Umar b. al-Khattab: “Equip with provisions for a journey four hundred horsemen from the Ahmasi tribe!” ‘Umar replied: “O Messenger of Allah! What we have in hand is the equivalent of a seated young camel.” The Messenger said: “Go and give it to them!” So he went, and out of that half load of dates, gave the four hundred horsemen sufficient provisions. And he stated that it remained as before, without diminishing.¹⁵

Thus, this miracle of plenty occurred in connection with four hundred men and ‘Umar in particular. They are behind the narrations, supporting them, and their silence confirms them. Do not ignore these narrations because they are related by a few individuals only, for if the incident had only been reported by a single individual, it still would have the certainty of ‘consensus in meaning.’

F o u r t e e n t h   E x a m p l e : All the accurate books of tradition, and foremost Bukhari and Muslim, narrate that when Jabir’s father died, he was heavily in debt. His creditors were Jews. Jabir offered the creditors all his father’s possessions but they did not accept them. The fruit produced by his orchard over many years would have been insufficient to defray the debt. The Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) said: “Pick and gather in all the fruit in the orchard!” They did so, then the Noble Messenger walked around the crop and prayed. Then Jabir gave from the amount corresponding to his father’s debt. What was left was as much as the annual produce of the orchard. And according to another narration, it was equal to the amount he gave the creditors. The Jews were amazed and astounded at this.¹⁶

See, this clear miracle of plenty was not only reported by a few narrators like Jabir; many people connected with it described and narrated it, thus giving it the degree of ‘consensus in meaning.’

F i f t e e n t h   E x a m p l e : Exact scholars, and foremost Tirmidhi and Imam Bayhaqi, related through a sound chain of authorities from Abu Hurayra that Abu Hurayra said: “During one expedition -that of Tabuk according to another narration- the army went hungry. Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) asked: ‘Is there nothing?’ I said: ‘I have one or two dates in my saddle-bag.’-According to another narration, it was fifteen.- He said: ‘Bring them here!’ I took them to him, and he plunged his hand into them and took a handful. He put them into a dish, and offered a supplication for their increase. Then he called the men in groups of ten and they all ate of them. Then he said: ‘Take what you brought, hold it, and do not turn it upside down.’ I put my hand in the bag; there were in my hands as many dates as I had brought. Later, during the lifetime of the Prophet (PBUH), and those of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthman, I ate of those dates.” -It is narrated through another chain of transmission: “I gave several loads of those dates to be used ‘in Allah’s way.’ Later the bag containing the dates was plundered when ‘Uthman was assassinated.”¹⁷

Abu Hurayra was a constant and important student and disciple among the People of the Bench, the sacred school and tekke of the Teacher of the Universe, the Pride of the World (PBUH). In addition, the Prophet had prayed for his strength of memory. The miracle of plenty he reported which occurred in a large gathering like the expedition of Tabuk, should therefore be as sound and certain as the word of a whole army.

S i x t e e n t h   E x a m p l e : Foremost Bukhari, and the accurate books relate, through an authentic narration, that once Abu Hurayra was hungry, so he followed the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) into his house. There they saw that a cup of milk had been brought as a gift. Allah’s Messenger said to him: “Call all the People of the Bench!” Abu Hurayra relates: “I said to myself, I could drink all the milk myself, as I was most in need of it. But since it was Allah’s Messenger’s order, I fetched the People of the Bench, who numbered more than a hundred. Allah’s Messenger told me to offer milk to them. I gave the cup to each one by one, and each drank until satisfied. At the end, the Messenger told me, ‘The rest is for me and you.’ As I drank, Allah’s Messenger kept telling me to drink more, until I said, ‘I swear by the Glorious One who sent you with the truth that I am too full to drink any more.’ Then Allah’s Messenger drank the rest, invoking the name of Allah and offering Him thanks.”¹⁸ May it be a blessing for him a hundred thousand times!

This indubitable, manifest miracle, as pure and sweet as milk itself, is related by all Six Books with their sound narrations, and foremost Bukhari, who committed to memory five hundred thousand Hadiths. Moreover, it is narrated by a celebrated, loyal, and brilliant student of the Prophet’s blessed school of the Bench, Abu Hurayra, who also cited as witness -rather, represented- all the other students of the Bench. Therefore, not to regard such a report as having the certainty of ‘consensus,’ either one’s heart should be corrupted, or one’s brain, destroyed! Is it ever possible that such a truthful person as Abu Hurayra, who devoted all his life to the Prophet’s Hadiths and to religion, and who heard and himself transmitted the Hadith, “Whoever knowingly tells a lie concerning me should prepare for a seat in Hell-fire,”¹⁹ should have related an unfounded incident or saying that would have made him the target of the contradiction of the People of the Bench, and that would have caused doubt concerning the value and soundness of all the other Hadiths he had memorized? Allah forbid!

O our Sustainer! For the sake of the blessings You bestowed on Your Most Noble Messenger, bestow the blessings of abundance on the favours with which You have provided us!

A n   I m p o r t a n t   P o i n t : It is well-known that when assembled together, weak things become strong. Fine threads are twisted, and they become a strong rope; strong ropes are wound together, and no one can break them. In this Sign, we have shown from among fifteen different kinds of miracles only one, that related to the blessings of increase and plenty, and the sixteen examples we have given constitute barely a fifteenth of this one kind. However, each of the examples mentioned is a proof on its own, with enough strength to prove prophethood. Even if some of them -supposing the impossible- were to be regarded as weak, they could still not properly be called such, since whatever is united with the strong also becomes strong.

When considered together, the sixteen examples given above constitute a great and strong miracle through the strength of definite, indisputable ‘consensus in meaning.’ And, when this miracle is joined by fourteen other miracles of plenty that have not been mentioned, it manifests a supreme miracle which is as unbreakable as a collection of strong ropes. Now add this supreme miracle to the fourteen other kinds of miracle, and see what a definite, decisive and irrefutable proof they provide for the prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH)! Thus, the pillar of Muhammad’s prophethood, formed by such a collection, has the strength of a mountain. Now you have understood how unreasonable it is to regard as unstable and liable to fall that lofty, firm heaven, due to doubts arising from lack of understanding in particular matters and examples. Certainly those miracles concerning increase and plenty show that Muhammad the Arabian (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was the beloved official and honoured servant of One All-Compassionate and Munificent Who creates all sustenance and provides all beings with it, for contrary to His practice, He sent him banquets of different varieties of food out of nothing, from the pure Unseen.

It is well-known that the Arabian Peninsula is a place where water and agriculture are scarce. For this reason, its people, and particularly the Companions in the early days of Islam, suffered want and scarcity. They were also frequently afflicted with thirst. Due to this, the important of the manifest miracles of Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace) concerned food and water. Rather than being miracles proving his claim to prophethood, these wonders were on account of need and like Divine gifts, dominical bounty, and banquets of the Most Merciful One for His Most Noble Messenger. For those who saw the miracles had already assented to his prophethood. However, as the miracles took place, their belief increased and became more luminous.

____________________

1. Bukhari, Nikah, 64; Muslim, Nikah 94, 95; Tirmidhi, xxxiii, 21; Nasa’i, Nikah 84; Abu Da’ud, Adab 95; Musnad iii, 29; v, 462; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 294.
2. Ansar-Helpers: those of the Madinan Companions who had the migrants from Makkah to stay in their houses. (Tr.)
3. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 292; al-Haythami, al-Majma’ al-Zawa’id vii, 303; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 33; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 604.
4. Bukhari, Sharika 1; Jihad 123; Muslim, Iman 44, 45; Musnad iii, 11, 418.
5. Bukhari, Hiba 28; At’ima 6; Muslim, Ashriba 175; Musnad i, 197, 198; al-Sa’ati, al-Fath al-Rabbani xx, 55.
6. Bukhari, Maghazi 29; Muslim, Ashriba 141; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 31; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 290; Suyuti, Kanz al-‘Ummal xii, 409, 424.
7. Bukhari, At’ima 6, 48; Muslim, Ashriba 142, 143; Musnad iii, 218; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 291, 297; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 31.
8. Muslim, Fada’il 3 No: 2281; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa vi, 114.
9. Tirmidhi (Tahqiq: Ahmad Shakir) no: 2629; Abu Da’ud, Muqaddima 9; Musnad v, 12, 18; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak ii, 618.
10. The People of the Bench: those among the Makkan migrants (Muhajirun) who lived in the outer part of the Mosque, who devoted their lives to the preservation and dissemination of the Qur’an, Sunna, and Hadith, and whose livelihood was provided by the Prophet (PBUH). (Tr.)
11. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 293; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 606; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id viii, 308; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa vi, 101.
12. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 293; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 607; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 36; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id viii, 302-3; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Fada’il al-Sahaba (Tahqiq: Vasiyyullah) 1220; Musnad i, 159.
13. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 297; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 613; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa iii, 160.
14. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 294; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 608; Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani, al-Matalib al-‘Aliya iv, 73 no: 4001.
15. al-Sa’ati, al-Fath al-Rabbani xx, 85; Musnad v, 445; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 294; ^Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 609; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa v, 365.
16. Bukhari, Vasaya 36; Buyu’ 51; Sulh 13; Istiqrad 18; Nasa’i, Vasaya 3, 4; Musnad iii, 313, 365, 373, 391, 395, 398; Ibn Hibban, Sahih viii, 167; al-Sa’ati, al-Fath al-Rabbani xx, 60; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 295.
17. Tirmidhi, Manaqib 47 no: 3839; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa vi, 110 (through various lines of transmission); Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 295; al-Sa’ati, al-Fath al-Rabbani xx, 56; Tabrizi, Mishkat al-Masabih iii, 191 no: 5933.
18. Bukhari, Riqaq 17; Tirmidhi, Sifat al-Qiyama 36 no: 2477; Musnad ii, 515; Tirmidhi (Tahqiq: Ahmad Shakir) no: 2479; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 15; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 296.
19. Bukhari, ‘Ilm 39; Jana’iz 33; Anbiya’ 50; Adab 109; Muslim, Zuhd 72; Abu Da’ud, ‘Ilm 4; Tirmidhi, Fitan 70; ‘Ilm 8, 13; Tafsir 1; Manaqib 19; Ibn Maja, Muqaddima 4; Darimi, Muqaddima 25, 46; Musnad i, 70, 78.

The Seventeenth Letter

[The Addendum to the Twenty-Fifth Flash]

A LETTER OF CONDOLENCE

ON THE DEATH OF A CHILD

And in His Name, be He glorified!

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.

My Dear Brother of the Hereafter, Hafiz Halid Efendi!

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

And give good news to the patient, * Those who when afflicted with calamity say: To Allah do we belong and to Him is our return.¹

My brother, your child’s death saddened me. But, “the command is Allah’s,” contentment with the Divine decree and submission to Divine Determining is a mark of Islam. May Almighty Allah grant you all patience. And may He make the deceased a supporter and intercessor for you in the hereafter. I shall explain Five Points which are truly good news and offer real consolation for you, and pious believers like you:

FIRST POINT

The meaning of the phrase, immortal youths² in the All-Wise Qur’an is this: with this phrase, the verse indicates and gives the good news that the children of believers who die before reaching maturity will remain perpetually as eternal, lovable children in a form worthy of Paradise; that they will be an everlasting means of happiness in the embrace of their fathers and mothers who go to Paradise; that they will be the means for ensuring for their parents the sweetest of pleasures like loving and carressing children; that all pleasurable things will be found in Paradise; that the statements of those who say that since Paradise is not the place for reproduction, there will be no loving and carressing of children are not correct; and that gaining millions of years of pure, painfree loving and caressing of eternal children in place of a short time like ten years of loving children mixed with sorrows in this world is a great source of happiness for believers.

SECOND POINT

One time, a man was in prison. They sent one of his lovable children to him. The unhappy prisoner suffered both his own sorrows, and since he could not make the child comfortable, he was grieved also at his hardship. Then the compassionate judge sent a man to him with a message which said: “For sure this child is yours, but he is my subject and of my people. I shall take him and look after him in a fine palace.” The man wept in anguish. He said: “I won’t give you my child who is my solace!” His friends said to him: “Your grief is meaningless. If it is the child you pity, he will go to a spacious and happy palace in place of this dirty, stinking, distressing dungeon. If you are grieved for yourself and are seeking your own benefits, if your child remains here, you will suffer much distress and pain at the child’s difficulties in addition to your single dubious, temporary benefit. If he goes there, it will be of manifold advantage for you, for it will be the cause of attracting the king’s mercy and will be an intercessor for you. The king will want to make you meet with him. He surely will not send him to the prison so that you can see him; he will release you from the prison, summon you to the palace, and allow you to meet with the child there. On condition that you have confidence in the king and you obey him....”

My dear brother, like this comparison, you must think as follows, like other believers when their children die: the child was innocent, and his Creator is All-Compassionate and All-Generous. He has taken him to His most perfect grace and mercy in place of my deficient up-bringing and compassion. He has released him from the grievous, calamitous, difficult prison of this world and sent him to the gardens of Paradise. How happy for the child! If he had stayed in this world, who knows what form he would have taken. Therefore, I do not pity him, I know him to be fortunate. There remains the benefits for myself, and I don’t pity myself for those, and I do not grieve and be sorrowful. For if he had remained in the world, he would have secured ten years of a child’s temporary love mixed with pains. If he had been righteous and if he had been capable in the matters of the world, perhaps he would have helped me. But with his death, he has become like an intercessor who is the means to ten million years of a child’s love in eternal Paradise and to everlasting happiness. Most certainly, one who loses some dubious, immediate benefit and gains a thousand certain, postponed benefits does not display grief and sorrow, he does not cry out in despair.

THIRD POINT

The child who died was the creature, possession, servant, and together with all his members, the artefact of a Most Compassionate Creator, and belonging to Him, was a friend of his parents, put temporarily under their supervision. The Creator made the father and mother servants of the child. In return for their services, He gave them pleasurable compassion as an immediate wage. Now, if as the requirement of mercy and wisdom, that All-Compassionate Creator, Who owns nine hundred and ninety-nine shares out of a thousand of the child, takes the child from you and puts an end to your service, to cry out in grief and despair due to that apparent single share in the face of the true owner of the thousand shares in a manner that recalls complaint, does not befit a believer; it befits rather the people of neglect and misguidance.

FOURTH POINT

If the world had been eternal, and man was to have remained in it eternally, and separation had been eternal; grievous sorrow and despairing woe would have had some meaning. But since this world is a guest-house, wherever the dead child has gone, you, and we too, shall go there. Moreover, this death is not particular to him, it is a general highway. And, since separation is not for ever, in the future, both in the Intermediate Realm and in the hereafter, he will be met with. One must say, the command is Allah’s. He gave him and He took him away. One must say, “All praise be to Allah for every situation,” and offer thanks in patience.

FIFTH POINT

Compassion, one of the most subtle, beautiful, agreeable, and sweet manifestations of Divine mercy, is a luminous elixir. It is much more direct than passionate love; it swiftly becomes a means to union with Almighty Allah. Metaphorical love and worldly love are transformed into true love with the greatest difficulty, and find Almighty Allah, but compassion binds the heart to Him in a shorter, purer fashion-and without difficulty. Both father and mother love their child more than all the world. When their child is taken from them, if they are fortunate and if they are true believers, its turns their faces from this world and finds the True Bestower of Bounties. It says: “Since the world is transitory, it is not worthy of the heart’s attachment.” Wherever the child has gone, a person forms an attachment with that place, and this gains for him high spiritual rank.

The people of neglect and misguidance are deprived of the happiness and good news of these Five Points. You can see from the following how grievous their situation is: they see their only child in the throes of death and due to their imagining the world to be eternal and as a result of their heedlessness and misguidance, they think death is non-existence and eternal separation. They think of him in the earth of his grave in place of his soft bed, and due to their heedlessness or misguidance, they do not think of the Paradise of mercy and heaven of bounty of the Most Compassionate of the Compassionate; you can see by comparison what despairing sorrow and grief they suffer. Whereas belief and Islam say to the believer: his All-Compassionate Creator will take this child of yours who is in the throes of death from this base world and take him to Paradise. He will make him both an intercessor for you, and an eternal child. Separation is temporary, do not worry.

Say, the command is Allah’s. * To Allah do we belong and to Him shall we return,

and bear it patiently.

The Enduring One, He is the Enduring One!

S a i d  N u r s i

***

____________________

1. Qur’an, 2:155-6.
2. Qur’an, 56:17; 76:19.

ELEVENTH SIGN

As the Tenth Sign explained miracles of the Prophet related to trees, the Eleventh Sign will describe how rocks and mountains among lifeless creatures also demonstrated prophetic miracles. Here we cite a few out of numerous instances.

F i r s t   E x a m p l e : The great scholar of the Maghrib, Qadi Iyad, in his Shifa’ al-Sharif, with a celebrated chain of authorities, and great imams like Bukhari, report through an authentic narration, from Ibn Mas‘ud, the Prophet’s servant: “While eating together with Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), we used to hear the food glorifying Allah.”¹

S e c o n d   E x a m p l e : Accurate books of Hadith report from Anas and Abu Dharr through an authentic narration: “Anas, the Prophet’s servant, said: ‘We were together with Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) when he took up a handful of small stones and they began to praise Allah in his blessed palm. Then he put them in Abu Bakr the Veracious’s hand and again they glorified Allah.’”² In his line of transmission, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari says: “Then he put them into ‘Umar’s hand, and again they glorified Allah. Then he took them and put them on the ground, and they were silent. Then he again took them, and put them in ‘Uthman’s hand, where again they began to glorify Allah.” Abu Dharr and Anas relate: “He put them in our hands and they were silent.”³

T h i r d   E x a m p l e : It is established through a sound narration from ‘Ali, Jabir, and ‘A’isha al-Siddiqa: “Rocks and mountains would say to Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), ‘Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah!’” In ‘Ali’s chain of narration, it says: “Whenever we went around in the environs of Makkah in the early of days of his prophethood, the trees and rocks we encountered would declare: ‘Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah!’”⁴ While in his chain of transmission, Jabir says: “Whenever the Noble Messenger came across rocks and trees, they would prostrate before him, that is, demonstrating obedience to him, they would declare: ‘Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah!’”⁵ In one of Jabir’s narrations, the Messenger said: “I know a rock that salutes me.”⁶ Some said that he intended the Black Stone of the Ka‘ba. In her line of transmission, ‘A’isha said: “Allah’s Messenger said: ‘When Gabriel brought me the message, I would never pass by a rock or a tree without it saying, ‘Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah!’”⁷

F o u r t h   E x a m p l e : Reported through an authentic narration from ‘Abbas: “Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) covered ‘Abbas and his four sons (‘Abd Allah, ‘Ubayd Allah, Fadl, and Qusam) with a piece of cloth called mula’at, praying: ‘O my Sustainer! This is my uncle; protect through me these his sons and veil them from the Fire, as I veil them with this cloth!’ The roof, door, and the walls of the house joined in the prayer at once, saying, Amen! Amen!”⁸

F i f t h   E x a m p l e : Accurate books, notably Bukhari, Ibn Hibban, Da’ud, and Tirmidhi, unanimously report from Anas,⁹ Abu Hurayra,¹⁰ ‘Uthman Dhi’n-Nurayn,¹¹ and Sa‘d b. Zayd,¹² from among the ten promised Paradise: “Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) climbed Mount Uhud together with Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, ‘Umar al-Faruq, and ‘Uthman Dhi’n-Nurayn. Either due to their awesomeness, or out of its own joy and happiness, the mountain began to tremble and stir. Allah’s Messenger said: ‘Steady! For upon you are a prophet, a veracious one (siddiq), and two martyrs!’

This tradition is giving news from the Unseen that ‘Umar and ‘Uthman were going to be martyred. As a supplement to this tradition, it is narrated that when Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) migrated from Makkah pursued by the unbelievers, they climbed the mountain called Thubir. The mountain said: “Leave me, O Messenger of Allah! I am afraid that Allah will punish me if they strike you on me.” Then Mount Hira called to him: “Come to me, O Messenger of Allah!” For this reason, men of intuition feel fear on Mount Thubir and a sense of safety on Mount Hira.

As can be understood from this example, these vast mountains are each an individual servant of Allah; each glorifies and praises Him; each is charged with duties. They recognized and loved Allah’s Messenger; they are not without purpose or owner.

S i x t h   E x a m p l e : Reported through an authentic narration from ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Umar:¹³ “While delivering the sermon from the pulpit, Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) recited the verse:

No just estimate have they made of Allah, such as is due to Him: on the Day of Judgement the whole earth will be but His handful, and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand,¹⁴

and said: ‘Allah the Compeller is exalting Himself and saying: I am the Compeller! I am the Compeller! I am the Mighty! I am the Most High!’ As he said this, the pulpit so trembled and shook that we were frightened it would cause Allah’s Messenger to fall.”¹⁵

S e v e n t h   E x a m p l e : It is reported through an authentic narration from Ibn ‘Abbas,¹⁶ known as ‘the Scholar of the Muslim Community’ and ‘Interpreter of the Qur’an,’ and Ibn Mas‘ud, the servant of the Prophet and one of the great scholars of the Companions,¹⁷ that they said: “On the conquest of Makkah, there were three hundred and sixty idols around the Ka‘ba, fixed with lead to the stone. That day, the Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) pointed to each of the idols in turn with a stick he was holding curved like a bow, saying,

The Truth has arrived and falsehood has perished; indeed, falsehood is ever bound to perish.¹⁸

Whichever one he pointed to, it fell down.¹⁹ If he pointed to the face of the idol, it fell backwards; otherwise it fell on its face. Thus they all toppled over and fell to the ground.²⁰

E i g h t h   E x a m p l e : This is the famous story of the well-known monk Bahira. Before the beginning of his prophethood, Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was travelling towards Damascus to trade together with his uncle Abu Talib and some of the Quraysh. They rested when they came near the church of Bahira the monk. Bahira, who was a hermit and did not mix with people, suddenly came out. He saw Muhammad the Trustworthy (PBUH) among the caravan, and said: “He is the Lord of the World; he will be a prophet.” The Quraysh asked: “How do you know?” The holy monk replied: “I saw a small cloud over the caravan as you were coming. When you sat down, the cloud moved toward him and cast its shadow over him. I also saw trees and rocks prostrate themselves before him, which they do only before prophets.”²¹

There are at least eighty examples of the same kind as these eight instances. When they come together, these eight instances form a chain so strong that no doubt can break it or shake it. Taken as a whole, this sort of miracle, that is, the speaking of inanimate beings in order to testify to his prophethood, expresses the same certainty as ‘consensus in meaning.’ Each example receives strength greater than its own from the strength of the whole. Yes, a slender pole becomes strong on coming together with stout poles. On becoming a soldier and joining the army, a weak, powerless man becomes so strong he may challenge a thousand men.

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1. Bukhari, Manaqib 25; Tirmidhi, Manaqib 6 (Tahqiq: Ibrahim A’wad) no: 3633; Musnad i, 460; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 306; ^Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 627; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya vi, 97-8, 133.
2. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 306; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 70; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 627.
3. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 306; al-Haythami, Majma^ al-Zawa’id v, 179; vii, 298-9; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya vi, 132-3.
4. Tirmidhi, Manaqib 6; Darimi, Muqaddima 4; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id viii, 260; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak ii, 607; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 628.
5. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 307; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 71.
6. Muslim, Fada’il 2; Tirmidhi, Manaqib 5; Musnad v, 89, 95, 105; Ibn Hibban, Sahih viii, 139.
7. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 307; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 71; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id viii, 259.
8. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 608; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 628; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak ii, 309; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id ix, 269-70.
9. Bukhari, Fada’il al-Ashab 5, 6, 7; Tirmidhi, Manaqib 19, no: 3697; Abu Da’ud, Sunna 9 (Bab: Fi’l-Khulafa’).
10. Muslim, Fada’il al-Sahaba 6 no: 2417; Tirmidhi, Manaqib 19.
11. Tirmidhi, Manaqib 19.
12. Tirmidhi, Manaqib 19; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 450.
13. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 308; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 75.
14. Qur’an, 39:67.
15. Muslim, Sifat al-Qiyama 19-26; Musnad ii, 88; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak ii, 252; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 308; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 75; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 630; Ibn Hibban, Sahih ix, 214.
16. Muslim, Jihad 87 no: 1781.
17. Bukhari, Maghazi 48; Mazalim 32; Tafsir al-Qur’an 12; Tirmidhi, Tafsir al-Qur’an 18 (Bab: Sura Bani Isra’il); Ibn Hibban, Sahih no: 1702.
18. Qur’an, 17:81.
19. In Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, and other books, this much is recorded. Only in the following is the Hadith complete.
20. al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id wa’l-Manba’ al-Fawa’id vi, 176 (from Ibn Mas^u\d).
21. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 308; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 631; Tirmidhi, Manaqib 3 (Bab: Maja’ fi Badi’ al-Nubu\wwa); al-Mubarakfuri, Tuhfat al-Ahwazi no: 3699; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak ii, 615; Ibn Hisham, Sirat al-Nabi 115.

FIRST POINT

It is asked: “Why have you withdrawn from politics and now have nothing to do with it?”

T h e A n s w e r : The Old Said of nine or ten years ago was involved in politics a certain amount; indeed, thinking he would serve religion and learning by means of politics, he was wearied for nothing. And he saw that it is a dangerous way which is doubtful and full of difficulties and for me superfluous, as well as forming an obstacle to the most necessary duties. It is mostly lies and there is the possibility of unknowingly being a tool in the hand of Europe. Furthermore, one who enters politics is either successful or is in opposition. As for being successful, since I am neither an official nor a deputy, to work in politics is unnecessary and nonsense for me. Politics has no need for me so that I should interfere for nothing. If I join the opposition, I would do so either with ideas or with force. If it was with ideas there is no need for me, for the questions are all clear, and everyone knows them as I do. To wag one’s chin pointlessly is meaningless. If I join the opposition for the purpose of force and to provoke an incident, there would be the possibility of committing thousands of sins in order to obtain a doubtful goal. Many people would be afflicted by disaster on account of one. So saying that in conscience he could not accept committing sins and causing the innocent to commit sins due to a one or two in ten possibility, the Old Said gave up cigarettes together with the newspapers, politics, and worldly conversation about politics. Decisive evidence for this is the fact that for the past eight years I have not read a single newspaper nor listened to one being read. Let someone come forward and say that I have read one or listened to one. Whereas eight years ago the Old Said used to read perhaps eight newspapers every day. Furthermore, for the past five years I have been under the closest scrutiny and surveillance. Anyone who has observed the slightest hint of political activity should say so. But for someone like me who is nervous, fearless, and without attachment, who considers the best stratagem to be without stratagem, his ideas will not remain secret for eight days, let alone eight years. If he had had the appetite and desire for politics, he would not have left any necessity for investigation and scrutiny, he would have given voice like the firing of a cannon.

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Second Point: Working seriously, sincerely and truly for the service of belief and eternal life necessitates staying away from politics.

THE MEANING OF YOUR SIXTH QUESTION

Does the verse,

Everything will perish save His countenance¹

include the hereafter, Paradise, and Hell, and their inhabitants, or does it not include them?

T h e A n s w e r : This question has been much discussed by the scholars, the saints, and those who uncover the realities of creation. The word is theirs in this matter. Moreover, the verse is very broad and contains many levels. The majority of scholars said that it does not include the everlasting realm, while others said that those realms too will perish for just an instant, a brief interval of time, but so brief a time that it will not be perceived that they have been annihilated and returned. But the absolute annihilation stated by some of those who uncover the realities whose ideas are extreme, is not right. For since the Most Pure and Holy Divine Essence is eternal and everlasting, His attributes and Names are also surely eternal and everlasting. And since His attributes and Names are everlasting and eternal, the everlasting beings and immortal ones in the realm of eternity which are the mirrors, manifestations, impresses, and places of reflection of His attributes and Names of necessity will not go to absolute non-existence.

I shall now write one or two points that occur to me from the effulgence of the Qur’an:

The First: Almighty Allah is the possessor of such Absolute Power that He can despatch and bring into being existence and non-existence most easily, as though they were two houses in relation to His power and will. If He wishes He can do this in a day or in an instant. Anyway there is no absolute non-existence, for His knowledge is all-embracing. And there is nothing outside the sphere of Divine knowledge so that something can be cast there. The non-existence within the sphere of His knowledge is external non-existence and a title for something concealed but existent in Divine knowledge. Some scholars have called these beings existent in Divine knowledge “latent realities.” In which case, to go to extinction is to be temporarily divested of external dress and to enter upon existence in Divine knowledge, existence in meaning. That is to say, transitory, ephemeral beings leave external existence and their essences are clothed in what has the meaning of existence; they pass from the sphere of Divine power to that of Divine knowledge.

The Second: As we have explained in many of the Words, in regard to their faces which look to themselves, all things are nothing. They do not possess existences which are of themselves independent or constant. And they do not possess realities which subsist of themselves. But in regard to their aspects that look to Almighty Allah, that is, that signify a meaning other than themselves, they are not nothing. For in that aspect are to be seen the manifestations of eternal Names. That aspect is not doomed for non-existence, for it bears the shadow of an eternal existent. It has a reality, it is constant, and it is elevated. For it is a sort of constant shadow of the eternal Name which it manifests.

Furthermore, Everything will perish save His countenance is a sword to cut man’s attachment to things other than Allah. It looks to the transitory things of this world in order to sever attachment to ephemeral things in this fleeting world, which is not for Almighty Allah’s sake. That is to say, if his attachment is for Allah’s sake, on account of the face which looks to Him, for Him, man cannot embrace what is other than Him so that his head should be cut off with the sword of Everything will perish save His countenance.

In Short: If it is for Allah, if a person finds Allah, it cannot remain other than Him so that his head should be severed. If he does not find Allah and does not look on his account, everything is other than Him. A person has to use the sword of Everything will perish save His countenance, he has to rend the veil so that he can find Him.....

The Enduring One, He is the Enduring One!

S a i d  N u r s i

***

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1. Qur'ân, 28:88
 

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Sixteenth Letter: It includes the answers of Badiuzzaman Said Nursi as five points to questions about the social life and politics in the period of one-party administration.

NINTH SIGN

One of the various kinds of miracles of Allah’s Most Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) is that like human beings, trees obeyed his orders, and moving from their places, came to him. There is also ‘consensus in meaning’ in the reports of these miracles, like those of water flowing from his fingers. They have been narrated in numerous forms and through numerous channels. Indeed, the consensus concerning trees leaving their places and coming to him may be considered as ‘explicit,’¹ because the best-known of the Companions such as ‘Ali, Ibn ‘Abbas, Ibn Mas‘ud, Ibn ‘Umar, Ya‘la b. Murra, Jabir, Anas b. Malik, Burayda, Usama b. Zayd, and Ghaylan b. Salama, each reported the same miracle with certainty. Hundreds of scholars of the succeeding generation narrated the miracle from one of the above-mentioned Companions through a different line of transmission, as though transmitting it to us in the form of multiple ‘consensus.’ Thus, this miracle of the trees has decisively and indisputably the certainty of ‘consensus in meaning.’ We will now cite only a few examples of this great miracle, although it was repeated many times.

F i r s t   E x a m p l e : Foremost, Imam Maja, and al-Darimi narrate from Anas b. Malik and ‘Ali, and Imam Bayhaqi from ‘Umar, that the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was saddened at the denial of the unbelievers. He prayed: “O my Sustainer! Give me a sign that I shall no longer see anyone who contradicts me!”² According to Anas, Gabriel was also present, upon whose instruction Allah’s Messenger called to a tree at the side of the valley. It came near him. He then told the tree to go back; it returned and settled itself in its place.

S e c o n d   E x a m p l e : In Shifa’ al-Sharif, Qadi Iyad, the leading scholar of the Maghrib, relates from ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Umar through an exalted and sound chain of narrators: “On one expedition, a beduin approached the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace). Allah’s Messenger asked him: ‘Where are you going?’ He replied: ‘To my family.’ Allah’s Messenger asked him: ‘Don’t you want something better than that?’ The beduin asked: ‘What is that?’ The Messenger said: ‘That you bear witness that there is no god but Allah, He is One, He has no partner, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.’ The beduin asked: ‘What is witness to this testimony?’ Allah’s Messenger said: ‘The tree beside the valley shall bear witness.’” Ibn ‘Umar said: “Shaking, the tree cleft the earth and came to Allah’s Messenger. He asked the tree three times to testify; each time it testified to his truthfulness. When he ordered, it went back and settled in its place.”³

According to the authentic narration of Ibn Sahib al-Aslami, Burayda reports: “When we were with the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) on an expedition, a beduin came and asked for a sign, that is, a miracle. The Messenger said: ‘Tell that tree that Allah’s Messenger summons it!’ Then he pointed to a tree; it swayed to right and left, brought itself out of the ground with its roots, and came to the presence of the Messenger, saying: ‘Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah!’ The beduin said: ‘Now let it go to its place again!’ He commanded, and it went. Then the beduin said: ‘Allow me to prostrate before you.’ The Messenger replied: ‘No one is permitted to do that.’ The beduin said: ‘Then I will kiss your hands and feet,’ and he permitted him.”⁴

T h i r d   E x a m p l e : Foremost the Sahih of Muslim, and the authentic books of Hadith relate that Jabir said: “We were together with Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) on an expedition when he searched for a place to answer the call of nature. There was no secluded place. So he went towards two trees, caught hold of the branches of one of them, and pulled. Obeying him, the tree went together with him to the second tree. It was like an obedient camel being led by its reins. Having in this way brought the two trees together, he said: ‘Join together over me, with Allah’s permission!’ The two trees joined together and formed a screen. After relieving himself behind them, he ordered them to go back, and they returned to their places.”⁵

According to another narration, Jabir said: “Allah’s Messenger commanded me: ‘Tell those trees to join together for the relief of Allah’s Messenger!’ I told them to do so, and they joined together. Then, while I was waiting, Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) emerged, and indicated to left and right with his head. The two trees returned to their places.”⁶

F o u r t h   E x a m p l e : Usama b. Zayd, one the brave commanders and servants of the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), reports in an authentic narration: “We were together with Allah’s Messenger on an expedition. There was no secluded, private place in which to answer the call of nature. He asked: ‘Can you see any trees or rocks?’ I replied: ‘Yes, I can.’ He ordered: ‘Speak to them and tell them to join together for the relief of Allah’s Messenger; also tell the rocks to gather together as a wall.’ I went and said as he commanded. I swear that the trees joined together and the rocks formed a wall. Allah’s Messenger after relieving himself, again commanded: ‘Tell them to separate!’ I swear by the Glorious One in the grasp of Whose power I am that the trees and rocks separated, and returned to their places.”⁷

These two incidents which were reported by Jabir b. Usama were also reported by Ya‘la b. Murra, Ghaylan b. Salama al-Thaqafi, and Ibn Mas‘ud, referring to the Battle of Hunayn.⁸

F i f t h   E x a m p l e : Reported by Imam b. Fawrak, known as ‘the foremost scholar of his time’ and ‘Shafi‘i the Second’ for his excellence in interpretation: “While travelling on horseback one night during the Ta’if expedition, sleep overcame Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace). While in that state a lote-tree loomed up before him. To make way for him and not to hurt his horse, the tree split in two, and the Noble Messenger, on the horse, passed between the two parts of the tree.” The tree has remained as two trunks, in that honoured position, up to our time.⁹

S i x t h   E x a m p l e : Ya‘la b. Murra relates in an authentic narration: “During an expedition, a tree -called either talha or samura- came, passed around Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) as if circumambulating, and went back to its place. Allah’s Messenger said: ‘The tree requested of Allah that it should salute me.’”¹⁰

S e v e n t h   E x a m p l e : Scholars of Hadith relate from Ibn Mas‘ud with an authentic narration: “When the jinn of Nusaybin came to the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) in the place called Batn al-Nakhl in order to find guidance, a tree informed him of their coming.” Also, Imam Mujahid relates from Ibn Mas‘ud in the Hadith: “The jinn asked for a proof of his prophethood, so the Noble Prophet commanded the tree, and it left its place, came to him, then returned to its place.”¹¹ That single miracle was sufficient for the race of jinns. So if a human being does not come to believe having heard of a thousand miracles like this one, is he not more of a devil than those described by the jinn as, “Some foolish ones among us”?¹²

E i g h t h   E x a m p l e : Tirmidhi reports in his Sahih from Ibn ‘Abbas through a sound narration: “Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) asked a beduin: ‘Will you testify that I am the Messenger of Allah if a branch of that tree comes to me when I call to it?’ He replied: ‘Yes.’ The Messenger called to the branch. It broke off and jumped over near him, then jumped back when he told it to do so.”¹³

Like these eight examples, there are many others related through many chains of transmission. Seven or eight strands of rope form a strong cable when they come together. Similarly, these miracles concerning trees, which were reported on the authority of the best-known and most veracious Companions in thus numerous chains of transmission, certainly have the strength of ‘consensus in meaning,’ indeed, ‘true consensus.’ In fact, they take on the form of ‘consensus’ when passed down by the Companions to the following generation. In particular, the accurate books of Hadith such as Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Hibban, and Tirmidhi, made the chains leading back to the time of the Companions so sound, and they kept them thus, that reading a Hadith, say in Bukhari, is like hearing it directly from the Companions.

If, as seen in the above examples, trees recognize Allah’s Messenger(Upon whom be blessings and peace) testify to his prophethood, visit and salute him, and obey his orders, and those lifeless, unreasoning creatures who call themselves human beings do not recognize him or believe in him, will they not be more worthless than a dead tree, and like a piece of wood, fit for the fire?

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1. Kattani, Nazm al-Mutanathir 137.
2. Ibn Maja, Fitan 23 no: 4028; Darimi, Muqaddima 3; Musnad i, 223; iii, 113; iv, 177; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 302; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 620; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id ix, 10; al-Hindi, Kanz al-‘Ummal ii, 354.
3. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 298; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 615; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa vi, 14; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id viii, 292; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya vi, 125; al-‘Asqalani, al-Matalib al-‘Aliya iv, 16 no: 3836; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak ii, 620; Ibn Hibban, Sahih viii, 150.
4. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 299; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 49.
5. Muslim, Zuhd no: 3012.
6. Darimi, Muqaddima 4; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 299; ^Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 616; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 51.
7. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 300; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 617-9; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 51; al-‘Asqalani, al-Matalib al-‘Aliya iv, 8-10 no: 3830.
8. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 301; al-Hindi, Kanz al-‘Ummal xii, 403.
9. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 301; ^Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 619; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 57.
10. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 301; ^Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 619; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 53; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id ix, 6-7; Musnad iv, 170, 172; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak ii, 617.
12. Qur’an, 72:4.
13. Tirmidhi, Manaqib 6; al-Mubarakfuri, Tuhfat al-Ahwazi no: 3707; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id ix, 10.

THE FIRST KIND

This kind of irhasat comprises the tidings of Muhammad’s (PBUH) prophethood given by the Torah, the Bible, the Psalms of David, and the scriptures revealed to other prophets, as stated by the Qur’an. Indeed, since those Books are revealed scriptures and those who brought them were prophets, it is necessary and certain that they should have mentioned the one who would supersede their religions, change the shape of the universe, and illuminate half the earth with the light he brought. Is it possible that those scriptures, which foretold insignificant events, would not speak of the most important phenomenon of humanity, the prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH)? Yes, since they would certainly speak of it, they would either denounce it as a falsehood and so save their religions from destruction and their books from abrogation, or they would affirm it, and through that man of truth, save their religions from superstition and corruption. Now, both friend and foe agree that there is no sign of any such denouncement in the scriptures, in which case there must be affirmation. And since there is certain affirmation, and since there is a definite reason and fundamental cause for such affirmation, we too shall demonstrate through three categorical proofs the existence of this affirmation:

F i r s t  P r o o f : Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) says to them through the tongue of the Qur’an: “Your scriptures describe and confirm me; they confirm me in the things I say.” He challenges them with verses such as,

Say, “Bring the Torah and read it, if you are men of truth!”¹

Say, “Come, let us gather together, our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves; then let us earnestly pray and invoke the curse of Allah on those who lie!”²

Despite his continuously taunting them with verses such as these, no Jewish scholar or Christian priest was able to show he had made any error. If they had been able to, those very numerous and very obdurate and jealous unbelievers and dissembling Jews and the whole world of unbelief would have proclaimed it everywhere. The Prophet also said:

“Either you find any error of mine, or I shall fight you until I destroy you!” And they chose war and wretchedness. That means they could not find any error. For if they had, they would have been saved from all that.

S e c o n d  P r o o f : The words of the Torah, the Bible, and the Psalms do not have the miraculousness of those of the Qur’an. They have also been translated again and again, and a great many alien words have become intermingled with them. Also, the words of commentators and their false interpretations have been confused with their verses. In addition, the distortions of the ignorant and the hostile have been incorporated into them. In these ways, the corruptions and alterations have multiplied in those Books. In fact, Shaykh Rahmat Allah al-Hindi, the well-known scholar, proved to Jewish and Christian scholars and priests thousands of corruptions in them, and silenced them. Nevertheless, despite these corruptions, in our times the celebrated Husayn Jisri (May Allah have mercy on him) extracted one hundred and ten indications to the prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH), and included them in his Risalat al-Hamidiya. This was translated into Turkish by the late Ismail Hakki of Manastir; whoever wishes may refer to it.

Also, many Jewish and Christian scholars acknowledged and admitted that the attributes of Muhammad the Arabian (Upon whom be blessings and peace) were written in their Books. The famous Roman Emperor Heraclius, who was a non-Muslim himself, said: “Jesus foretold Muham-mad’s coming.” ³

Also, another Roman ruler called Muqawqis, the Governor of Egypt, and celebrated Jewish scholars and leaders such as Ibn Suriya, Zubayr b. Batiya, Ibn Akhtab and his brother Ka‘b b. Asad, although remaining non-Muslim, admitted: “He is described in our Books.”⁴

Also, some of the well-known Jewish scholars and Christian priests gave up their obduracy on seeing Muhammad’s (PBUH) attributes as described in the above-mentioned books, and believed in him. They then pointed out these references to other Jewish and Christian scholars, and convinced them. Among them were the famous ‘Abd Allah b. Salam, Wahb b. Munabbih, Abu Yasir, the two sons of Sa‘ya, Asid and Tha‘laba, and Shamul.⁵ The latter lived at the time of Tubba‘, the ruler of Yemen. Shamul became a believer before Muhammad’s prophetic mission and without ever seeing him, just as Tubba‘ did.⁶ While the guest of the Bani Nadir before the prophetic mission, a gnostic called Ibn al-Hayyaban declared: “A prophet will soon appear, and this is the place to which he will emigrate.” He died there. Later, when that tribe was at war with Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), Asid and Tha‘laba came forward and cried out to the tribe: “By Allah, he is the one Ibn al-Hayyaban promised would come.”⁷ But they did not heed him, and paid the penalty.

Also, many of the Jewish scholars like, Ibn Yasin, Mikhayriq, and Ka‘b al-Ahbar, became believers on seeing the prophetic attributes in their Books, and silenced those who did not accept faith.⁸

Also, the famous Christian scholar and monk, Bahira, who was mentioned above:⁹ Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was twelve years old when he went to Damascus with his uncle, and it was for his sake that Bahira invited the Quraysh. For he had seen a cloud casting its shadow on the travelling caravan. When it continued to do so, he realized that the one he was seeking had remained with the caravan, and had sent someone to fetch him. He told Abu Talib: “Return to Makkah! The Jews are exceedingly jealous and will resort to treachery, for his attributes are described in the Torah.”

Also, Nestor the Abyssinian, and the ruler of that country, the Negus, came to believe on seeing Muhammad’s attributes written in their Books.¹⁰

Also, a well-known Christian scholar called Daghatr became a believer on seeing the description of the Prophet, and was martyred when he proclaimed this among the Byzantines.¹¹

Also, from the Christian leaders, Harith b. Abi Shumar al-Ghasani and the prominent rulers and religious leaders of Damascus such as Sahib al-Ilya, Heraclius, Ibn Natur and al-Jarud, entered the fold of Islam, after seeing the Prophet’s description in their Books. Of them, only Heraclius concealed his belief for the sake of worldly rule.¹²

Also, like these, Salman al-Farsi had also formerly been a Christian. He searched for the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) after seeing his description.¹³

Also, a famous scholar called Tamim, and the well-known Abyssinian ruler, the Negus, and the Abyssinian Christians, and the priests of Najran, all unanimously declared that they had seen the Prophet’s description in their Books, and had come to believe in him.¹⁴

T h e  T h i r d  P r o o f : Here, as examples, we shall point out from the Gospel, the Torah, and the Psalms, a few instances of verses concerning our Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace).

First: In the Psalms, there is the following verse:

O Allah, send to us after the period between prophets one who will establish an exemplary model.¹⁵

Here, “One who will establish an exemplary model” refers to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

A verse from the Gospels says:

The Messiah said: “I am leaving for my father and your father, so that He may send you the Paraclete,”¹⁶

that is, Ahmad Muhammad.

A second verse from the Gospels:

I ask from my Lord for the Paraclete that he may abide with you forever.¹⁷

Paraclete, meaning ‘the distinguisher of good from evil,’ is the name of our Prophet in those Books.

A verse from the Torah says:

Verily Allah told Abraham that Hagar -the mother of Isma‘il- will bear children. There will emerge from her sons one whose hand will be above all, and the hands of all will be opened to him in reverence.¹⁸

Another verse from the Torah:

And He said to Moses: “O Moses, verily I shall send them a prophet like you, from the sons of their brothers [the children of Isma‘il]; I shall place My word in his mouth, and shall punish whoever does not accept the words of the one who will speak in My name.”¹⁹

A third verse from the Torah:

Moses said: “O Lord! Verily I have found in the Torah the best of Communities that will emerge for the benefit of humanity, that will enjoin good and forbid wrong, and that will believe in Allah. Let it be my Community!” Allah said: “That is the Community of Muhammad.”²⁰

A REMINDER: In those books, the name of Muhammad is given in Syriac form, such as Mushaffah, Munhamanna, Himyata, and names meaning Muhammad in Hebrew. Otherwise the name of Muhammad is explicitly mentioned only in a few places, which were also altered by the jealous Jews.²¹

A verse from the Psalms of David states:

O David! A prophet will appear after you, named Ahmad Muhammad; he will be truthful, and he will be a chief, and his Community will be forgiven.²²

One of the Seven ‘Abd Allah’s, ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Amr b. al-‘As, who made extensive studies of the earlier scriptures, and ‘Abd Allah b. Salam, who was the earliest to accept Islam from among the famous Jewish scholars, and the famous scholar Ka‘b al-Ahbar from among the Children of Israel, all pointed out in the Torah, which was not then corrupted to its present extent, the following verse, which after addressing Moses, then addresses the Prophet-yet-to-come:

O Prophet, verily We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of glad tidings, a warner and a protection for the unlettered. You are My bondsman, and I have named you ‘the Reliant on Allah.’ You shall not be harsh, stern, and clamorous in the market places, nor shall you requite evil with evil, but instead pardon and forgive. Allah shall not take you unto Himself until you straighten a crooked people by causing them to say, “No god but Allah.”²³

Another verse from the Torah:

Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger, his birthplace is Makkah, he will emigrate to Tayba, his rule will be in Damascus, and his Community will constantly praise Allah.²⁴

In this verse, a Syriac word meaning Muhammad is mentioned for the word Muhammad.

Here is another verse from the Torah:

You are My bondsman and messenger, and I have named you ‘Reliant on Allah,’²⁵

which is addressed to a prophet who is to come after Moses, and is from the progeny of Isma‘il, the brother of Isaac.

In the following verse from the Torah,

My chosen bondsman is not harsh or stern,²⁶

the meaning of Mukhtar (chosen) is the same as ‘Mustafa,’ a name of Muhammad.

In several places in the Gospels, a prophet who will come after Jesus is referred to as “the Master of the World.” He is described as:

He will have with him a staff of iron with which he will fight, as will his people.²⁷

This verse indicates that a prophet will come with a sword, charged with waging jihad. Qadib min hadid (literally, staff of iron) means sword. And so will be his community. In agreement with the Biblical verse mentioned above, and referring to it as well as some other verses, the following Qur’anic verse at the end of Sura al-Fath also states that his community, like him, will be commanded to wage jihad:

And their similitude in the Gospel is like a seed that sends forth its blade, then makes it strong; it then becomes thick, and it stands on its own stem, filling the sowers with wonder and delight. As a result, it fills the unbelievers with rage at them.²⁸

In the Thirty-Third Chapter²⁹ of the Fifth Book of the Torah, there is the following verse:

The Lord came from Sinai, rose up unto us from Sa‘ir, and shined forth from Mount Paran.³⁰

In this verse, with the phrase “the Lord came from Sinai,” the prophethood of Moses is mentioned; with the phrase “rose up unto us from Sa‘ir” (Sa‘ir being a mountain near Damascus), the prophethood of Jesus is indicated. And the phrase “He shined forth from Mount Paran (the Paran Mountains being the mountains of Hijaz), gives tidings of the prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH), all will agree. Moreover, confirming the sentence, “This is their similitude in the Torah,”³¹ is the following verse of the Torah concerning the Companions of the Prophet who would shine forth from the Paran Mountains:

The flags of the blessed ones will be with him, and they will be on his right.³²

In this verse, the Companions are described as “the blessed ones,” that is, his Companions are blessed, righteous men, the beloved ones of Allah.

In the Forty-Second Chapter of the Book of Isaiah, there are the following verses:

See My servant, whom I uphold; My Chosen One, in whom I delight. He will reveal justice to the nations of the world.... He will encourage the fainthearted, those tempted to despair. He will see full justice given to all who have been wronged. He will not be satisfied until truth and righteousness prevail throughout the earth, nor until even distant lands beyond the seas have put their trust in him.³³

Here, the verses explicitly describe Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace), the prophet at the end of time.

In the Fourth Chapter of the Book of Micah, are the following verses:

But in the last days it shall come to pass that the mountain of the House of Allah will be the most renowned one of all the mountains of the world, praised by all nations; people from all over the world will make pilgrimage there. “Come,” they will say to one another, “let us go up to the mountain of Allah and the House of Allah.”³⁴

These verses obviously describe the most blessed mountain in the world, Mount ‘Arafat, and the worship and proclamations of “Allah is Most Great!” of those making the Hajj, who will flock there from all climes, and the Community of Muhammad, famous for the Divine Mercy it will receive.

In the Seventy-Second Chapter of the Psalms, there are the following verses:

And he will reign from sea to sea,

And from the River to the ends of the earth.

The kings of Yemen and the Islands

All will bring their gifts.

And to him all the kings will prostrate themselves,

All the nations will serve him.

...............................

And he will live,

And on his behalf prayer will be made constantly,

All day long he will be praised.

...............................

His name will prove to be to time indefinite,

It will continue as long as the sun.

All will be blessed in him,

All nations will praise him.³⁵

These verses describe the Glory of the World, the Prophet Muhammad (Upon be blessings and peace) in most clear fashion. Apart from Muhammad the Arabian, what prophet has come since David (Upon whom be peace) who has spread his religion from East to West, made kings pay tribute, and brought rulers to submission as though prostrating; to whom every day one fifth of mankind offer benedictions and prayers, and whose lights have irradiated from Madinah? Has there been any other?

Again, the Turkish translation of John’s Gospel, Chapter Fourteen verse twenty,³⁶ says:

I shall not speak with you for much longer, for the ruler of the world is coming, and I am nothing compared with him.

Thus, the title Ruler of the World means Glory of the World. And the title of Glory of the World is one of the most famous of Muhammad the Arabian’s (Upon whom be blessings and peace) titles.

Again in John’s Gospel, Chapter Sixteen verse seven, it says:

But I am telling you the truth. My departure is but for your benefit. For, unless I depart, the Comforter will not come.³⁷

Now see, who other than Muhammad the Arabian (Upon whom be blessings and peace) is the Ruler of the World and true consoler of men? Yes, the Glory of the World is he, and he is the one who will save transitory man from eternal extinction and thus comforts him.

Again, the eighth verse of Chapter Sixteen in John’s Gospel:

When he comes, he will give the world convincing evidence concerning its sin, its righteousness, and its judgement.³⁸

Who other than Muhammad the Arabian (Upon whom be blessings and peace) has turned the world’s wrongdoing into righteousness, saved men from sin and associating partners with Allah, and transformed politics and world rule?

Also from the Gospel of John, the eleventh verse of Chapter Sixteen:

There is deliverance from judgement, for the Ruler of this World has already been judged.³⁹

Here “the Ruler of the World” is certainly Ahmad Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace), for he is known as the Master of Humanity.⁴⁰

Also, in John’s Gospel, the thirteenth verse of Chapter Twelve:⁴¹

But when he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you all to the truth, for he will not be presenting his own ideas, but will be passing onto you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.⁴²

This verse is explicit. Who apart from Muhammad the Arabian (Upon whom be blessings and peace) has called all men to the truth, whose every statement was based on Revelation, has spoken what he had heard from Gabriel, and informed man in detail about the resurrection of the dead and the Hereafter? Who other than he could do this?

Also, the Books of other prophets include names in Syriac and Hebrew that correspond to the various names of the Prophet (PBUH), such as Muhammad, Ahmad, Mukhtar. For example, in the scriptures of the Prophet Shu‘ayb, his name is Mushaffah,⁴³ and means ‘Muhammad.’ In the Torah, he is mentioned as Munhamanna, which again means ‘Muhammad,’ and as Himyata,⁴⁴ which means ‘the Prophet of al-Haram.’ In the Psalms, he is called al-Mukhtar.⁴⁵ Again in the Torah, the name is al-Hatam al-Khatam.⁴⁶ Both in the Torah and in the Psalms, it is Muqim al-Sunna,⁴⁷ in the scriptures of Abraham and in the Torah, he is mentioned as Mazmaz,⁴⁸ and again in the Torah, as Ahyad.

Allah’s Most Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) himself said: “In the Qur’an, my name is Muhammad, in the Bible, Ahmad, and in the Torah, Ahyad.”⁴⁹ In fact, the Bible refers to him as “The one with the sword and the staff.”⁵⁰ Indeed, the greatest of the prophets who wielded the sword, and was charged with fighting in Allah’s way together with his community, was Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace). The Gospels also describe him as “wearing a crown.”⁵¹ Yes, this title is particular to Allah’s Messenger, for “crown” means turban, for in former days, it was the Arabs who as a people, all wore the turban and headband. This definitely therefore refers to Allah’s Messenger.

The term Paraclete in the Gospel, or Faraqlit, is defined in Biblical interpretation as “the one who distinguishes truth from falsehood.”⁵² It is therefore the name of one who in the future will lead people to the truth.

In one place in the Gospels, Jesus (Upon whom be peace) says: “I am going so that the Lord of the World may come.”⁵³ Who other than the Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) has come after Jesus who will be the Ruler of the World, distinguish and separate truth from falsehood, and guide mankind in place of Jesus? That is to say, Jesus (Upon whom be peace) was constantly giving his community the good news: Another will come; no need will remain for me. I am his forerunner and herald. Confirming this is the following verse of the Qur’an:

And remember, Jesus, the son of Mary, said: “O Children of Israel! I am the Messenger of Allah unto you, confirming that which was revealed before me in the Torah and bringing the good tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmad [the Praised One].”⁵⁴

Yes, in the Gospels, Jesus gave the glad tidings many times, that the greatest leader of mankind would come. He is mentioned with various names, in, of course, Syriac and Hebrew-which scholars have seen, which bear the meaning of Ahmad, Muhammad, and the Distinguisher between Truth and Falsehood. That is to say, on many occasions Jesus (Upon whom be peace) told of the coming of Ahmad (Upon whom be blessings and peace).⁵⁵

Q u e s t i o n : Why is it that while the other prophets foretell the coming of Muhammad (PBUH), Jesus (PUH) does so more fully and in the form of good news?

T h e  A n s w e r : Because Ahmad (Upon whom be blessings and peace) defended Jesus (Upon whom be peace) against the fearsome denials and slander of the Jews, and saved his religion from corruption. Furthermore, in the face of the burdensome Shari‘a of the Children of Israel, who did not recognize Jesus, he came with an elevated Shari‘a which was easy, all-encompassing, and completed the deficiencies of Jesus’ Shari‘a. For these reasons, Jesus often gave the good news, the Ruler of the World will come!

Now it is clear that in the Torah, the Gospels, the Psalms of David, and in the scriptures of other prophets, there are numerous discussions of a prophet who is to come at a later time, many verses mentioning him. Just as we pointed out examples of these, showing that he is mentioned in these Books under various names. Who, other than Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace), the Prophet of the end of time, could it be that these scriptures of the prophets speak of so repeatedly in their verses, and with such importance?

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1. Qur’an,
2. Qur’an, 3:61.
3. Ibn Sayyid al-Nas, ‘Uyun al-Athar ii, 26; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 364.
4. Suyuti, al-Khasa’is al-Kubra ii, 139; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 366; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 744-5; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya iv, 80, 81, 272; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa iii, 362; Waqidi, Kitab al-Maghazi 403-4; Abu Na’im, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa i, 85.
5. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 366; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 744-5; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya iv, 80-1; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa iii, 361-2; Waqidi, al-Maghazi 405-4; Ibn Jawzi, Sifat al-Safwa iii, 361-2; Abu Na’im, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa i, 79; ii, 492.
6. Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa i, 367; ii, 526; vi, 240-9; al-Hindi, Kanz al-‘Ummal xi, 401; xii, 390-408; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 364; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 739-43; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id viii, 240.
7. Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa ii, 80-1; iv, 31; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 744-5; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 137; Abu Na’im, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa i, 82; Ibn al-Jawzi, Sifat al-Safwa, i, 87.
8. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 364; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 739; Ibn al-Jawzi, Sifat al-Safwa i, 87; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 87-8, 135; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa 161-3; Abu Na’im, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa i, 78-9.
9. See, page 169 fn. 176. Also: Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa ii, 24; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 158.
10. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 364; ‘Ali al-Qari Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 744.
11. See, page 202, fn. 297.
12. Bukhari, Bad’ al-Wahy 6; Shahadat 28; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 744; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 121, 150-1; Qastalani, al-Mawahib al-Ladunniya vi, 198; Tabarani, al-Mu’jam al-Kabir iii, 2108; Ibn ‘Adiyy, al-Kamil fi’l-Du’afa iii, 1094; Abu Na’im, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa i, 101-2.
13. al-‘Asqalani, Fath al-Bari, vii, 222; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa ii, 82; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya ii, 310-6; Musnad v, 437; Ibn Hisham, Sirat al-Nabi i, 233; Abu Na’im, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa no: 213; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 604; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 364; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 670; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 144; Abu Na’im, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa i, 258-64.
14. Musnad i, 461; Abu Da’ud, Jana’iz 58; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 364; ^Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 744-6; Jisri, Risale-i Hamidiye (Turkish trans.) i, 240; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 163.
15. Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 104, 115.
16. Halabi, al-Sirat al-Halabiya i, 352; Jisri, Risale-i Hamidiye (Turkish trans.) i, 250; Qastalani, al-Mawahib al-Ladunniya vi, 201.
17. ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 743; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 99; Jisri, Risale-i Hamidiye i, 255; Gospel of John, 14:16.
18. ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 743; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 105-6; Genesis, Chap. 16.
19. ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 743; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 86; Halabi, al-Sirat al-Halabiya i, 347.
20. ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 746; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 107-18.
21. Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 112-3; Qastalani, al-Mawahib al-Ladunniya vi, 189.
22. Halabi, al-Sirat al-Halabiya i, 353; Kandahlawi, Hayat al-Sahaba i, 18; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya ii, 326; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 739; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 122.
23. Bukhari, Buyu’ 5; Halabi, al-Sirat al-Halabiya i, 346; Darimi, Muqaddima 2; Kandahlawi, Hayat al-Sahaba i, 17; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya ii, 326; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 105, 135; al-‘Ajurri, al-Shari’a 444, 452; Qastalani, Mawahib al-Ladunniya vi, 192; Isaiah, chap. 42.
24. Darimi, Muqaddima 2; Halabi, al-Sirat al-Halabiya i, 346-51; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 739; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 116; Abu Na^im, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa i, 72.
25. See, fn. 314. (This is part of the same verse.)
26. Darimi, Muqaddima 2; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 105, 119; ^Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 739.
27. Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 99, 114.
28. Qur’an, 48:29
29. Deuteronomy, 33:2.
30. Halabi, al-Sirat al-Halabiya i, 348; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 113.
31. Qur’an, 48:29.
32. Halabi, al-Sirat al-Halabiya i, 348; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 113; Deuteronomy, 33:2.
33. Isaiah, 42:1-4, 10.
34. Micah, 4:1-2.
35. Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 91-104; Jisri, Risale-i Hamidiye (Turkish trans.) i, 410; Psalms, 72:8, 10, 11, 15-17.
36. 14:30. (Tr.)
37. ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 743; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 99.
38. Âli al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 743; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 99.
39. Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 95-7; al-Anwar al-Muhammadiyya.
40. Yes, he is such a lord and ruler that in most centuries for one thousand three hundred and fifty years he has had at least three hundred and fifty million followers and subjects, who have obeyed his commands in complete submission, and every day renew their allegiance to him by calling down Allah’s blessings on him.
41. 16:13. (Tr.)
42. Halabi, al-Sirat al-Halabiya i, 346; ^Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 743.
43. Halabi, al-Sirat al-Halabiya i, 353; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 112; Qastalani, Mawahib al-Ladunniya vi, 189.
44. Halabi, al-Sirat al-Halabiya i, 346, 354; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 112-3.
45. Halabi, al-Sirat al-Halabiya i, 353; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 112; Qastalani, al-Mawahib al-Ladunniya vi, 189; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 739.
46. Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 114.
47. Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 115.
48. Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 113; Halabi, al-Sirat al-Halabiya i, 353.
49. Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 108, 112; Halabi, al-Sirat al-Halabiya i, 353.
50. Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 114; Halabi, al-Sirat al-Halabiya i, 353.
51. Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 113, 114; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 739.
52. Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 112.
53. See, page 208, fn. 328.
54. Qur’an, 61:6.
55. At the site of the tomb of Sham’un al-Safa, the famous traveller Evliya Chelebi came across the following verses from the Gospels, written on gazelle hide: “A youth from the progeny of Abraham is to be a prophet. He will not be a liar; his birthplace will be Makkah; he will come with piety; his blessed name is Ahmad Muhammad;• those who obey him will prosper in this world and the next.”
•The word, written as ‘Mawamit,’ was corrupted from ‘Mamad,’ itself a corruption of Muhammad.

THE THIRD KIND

These are irhasat including the wondrous events which occurred at the time of, and in conjunction with, the birth of Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace). There were also events that occurred before his prophetic mission which were miracles. They were many, and we shall mention a few examples which became famous, have been accepted by the authorities on Hadiths, and whose authenticity have been established.

The First: On the night of the Prophet’s birth, both his mother, and the mothers of ‘Uthman b. al-‘As and ‘Abd al-Rahman b. ‘Awf, who were with her, saw a brilliant, widely scattered light, about which they said: “At the time of his birth we saw such a light that it lit up the east and the west for us.”¹

The Second: That night most of the idols in the Ka‘ba toppled over and fell to the ground.²

The Third: That night the famous aywan of Chosroes’ palace shook and cracked apart, and its fourteen pinnacles collapsed.³

The Fourth: That night the small lake of Saveh which was considered to be holy, sank into the ground,⁴ and at Istakhrabad the fire which, burning continuously for a thousand years, the Zoroastrians had worshipped, was extinguished.⁵

Thus, these four events indicated that the one had just been born would abolish fire-worship, destroy the palace of the Persian kings, and prevent those things being sanctified which Allah did not permit.

The Fifth: Although they did not coincide with the night of his birth, certain events that took place not long before it are also included in the irhasat of Muhammad (PBUH). One is the War of the Elephant, which is mentioned in the Qur’an in Sura al-Fil. Abraha, the king of Abyssinia came to destroy the Ka‘ba, driving a huge elephant called Mahmudi before his forces. When they came close to Makkah, the elephant was unable to move. They could not make it move forward, and had to retreat. While retreating, a flock of birds attacked and routed them, and they fled. This extraordinary story is recorded in detail in the history books. The event was one of the proofs of the prophethood of Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace), for it occurred close in time to his birth and saved the Holy Ka‘ba, his qibla, birthplace, and native land from Abraha’s destruction.

The Sixth: According to the testimony of Halima al-Sa‘diya and her husband, when Allah’s Messenger was with them in his childhood, they frequently saw a cloud above him shielding him from the sun. They told everyone this, and it was well-known and authenticated.⁶

Also, as testified to by the monk Bahira, when the Noble Messenger went to Damascus at the age of twelve, he saw a cloud casting a shadow over his head, and he pointed this out.⁷

Again before his prophetic mission, one time Allah’s Messenger returned from a trading journey he made together with Khadija’s servant, Maysara, when Khadija saw two angels shading him like clouds. She mentioned this to her servant Maysara, and he replied: “I observed the same thing throughout our journey.”⁸

The Seventh: It is established in a sound narration that before his prophetic mission, Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) sat down beneath a tree. Although the place was dried up, it suddenly grew green. The tree’s branches inclined over his head, twisting back and shading him.⁹

The Eighth: When the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was small, he stayed in Abu Talib’s house. Whenever he ate together with Abu Talib and his household, they would eat to repletion; whereas when he was not present, they were not satisfied.¹⁰ This is both well-known and definite.

Also, Umm Ayman, who looked after and served the Prophet when he was small, said: “Allah’s Messenger never complained about being hungry or thirsty, neither when small nor when he was older.”¹¹

The Ninth: It is both well-known and definite that unlike other members of her tribe, his wet-nurse Halima al-Sa‘diya’s goats and possessions were very productive and abundant.¹²

Also, flies did not bother him; they never alighted on his clothes or blessed body¹³ -just as one of his progeny, Sayyid ‘Abd al-Qadir Gilani, received this legacy from his forefather, for flies never alighted on him either.

The Tenth: After Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was born, and especially on the night of his birth, there was a great increase in falling stars. As shown with decisive proofs in the Fifteenth Word, falling stars are a sign and indication of jinns and devils being barred from receiving news of the Unseen. Thus, since Allah’s Messenger had appeared in the world together with Revelation, it was necessary to prevent the knowledge about the Unseen being transmitted by soothsayers, diviners, and jinn, which was inaccurate and mixed with lies, so that their knowledge should not cause any doubts about Revelation, and should not resemble it. Before the prophetic mission, soothsaying was widespread. Then the Qur’an brought it to an end after it was revealed. Indeed, many soothsayers accepted Islam, for they could no longer find their informers, who were jinns. That is, the Qur’an had put an end to it. And these days a new type of soothsaying has appeared in the form of mediums among the spiritualists of the West. However, we shall not go into that now.

I n  S h o r t : Very many events occurred and individuals appeared confirming and causing others to confirm the prophethood of the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) before the commencement of his mission. For sure, before the appearance of the one who was going to be the ruler of the world¹⁴ and would change the world’s spiritual shape, and would make this world into the tillage for the next, and proclaim the high value of the creatures of the world, and show to man and jinn the way to eternal happiness and save them from everlasting extinction, and solve the obscure talisman of the world and riddle of the wisdom in its creation, and would know and make known the purposes of the universe’s Creator, and recognize the Creator and acquaint Him to all men-before such a one appeared, surely everything, all species and realms of beings would be happy at his coming, would await him and welcome and applaud him, and if his coming was made known to them by their Creator, they in turn would announce it. Just as we saw in the above Signs and examples how each realm of creature displayed his miracles as if welcoming him, and confirmed his prophethood through the tongue of miracles.

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1. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 466; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 750; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 311; al-Sa’ati, al-Fath al-Rabbani xx, 2030.
2. Suyuti, al-Khasa’is al-Kubra i, 119-31; ii, 272; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa i, 19.
3. ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 750; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa i, 126; Suyuti, al-Khasa’is al-Kubra i, 128; ii, 272.
4. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 367; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 751; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa i, 127; Suyuti, al-Khasa’is al-Kubra i, 128.
5. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 367; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 751; ‘Ali al-Qari al-Makki, al-Masnu’ fi Ma’rifat al-Hadith al-Mawdu’ ‘al-Mawdu’at al-Sughra’ (Tahqiq: Abu Ghudda) 18.
6. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 368; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 318; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 753.
7. See, page 169, fn. 176.
8. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 368; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 318; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 753; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa ii, 65.
9. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 368; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 318; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 753. See, Concordance.
10. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 367; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 315; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 751; Abu Na^im, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa i, 166.
11. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 368; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 325; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 752; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa vi, 125.
12. See, page 210, fn. 239.
13. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 368; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 319; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 753; Sha’rani, al-Tabaqat al-Kubra i, 109.
14. Yes, the Sultan of Lawlak* was such a leader that his rule has been continuing for one thousand three hundred and fifty years. Every century after the first, he has had at least 350 million followers and subjects. With half the globe under his banner, every day his followers renew their allegiance to him in perfect submission by calling down on him peace and blessings, and obey his commands.
•’Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 6. [See also, page198, fn. 286 ].

SEVENTEENTH SIGN

After the Qur’an, the greatest miracle of Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was his own self. That is, the elevated moral virtues brought together in his person which as friend and foe agreed, every aspect of which were of the very highest level. A hero of the greatest bravery, ‘Ali, said again and again: “Whenever the fighting grew fierce, we would take refuge behind Allah’s Messenger.” Like this, his was the highest and unattainable degree in all praiseworthy qualities. For this greatest miracle, we refer readers to the Shifa’ al-Sharif of Qadi Iyad, the learned scholar of the Maghrib, for he described and proved beautifully this miracle of praiseworthy moral qualities.

A further great miracle of Muhammad (PBUH) which is verified by friend and foe alike is his illustrious Shari‘a, the like of which neither came before it nor will come after it. For a partial explanation of it, we refer readers to all the thirty-three Words, thirty-three Letters, thirty-one Flashes, and thirteen Rays which we have written.

Among his greatest miracles, a certain one, the many reports of which are unanimous, is the Splitting of the Moon. This miracle is related through many chains of transmission from many of the leading Companions like Ibn Mas‘ud, Ibn ‘Abbas, Ibn ‘Umar, ‘Ali, Anas, and Hudhayfa. In addition, the Qur’an announced this supreme miracle to the whole world with the verse:

The Hour is nigh, and the moon split.¹

The obdurate idolators of the Quraysh at that time could not deny what this verse states; they could only declare that it was “magic.” That is to say, the unbelievers also confirmed the splitting of the moon as certain. For this supreme miracle, we refer readers to the Addendum of the Thirty-First Word.

Furthermore, just as the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) showed the inhabitants of the earth the miracle of the Splitting of the Moon, so too he showed the inhabitants of the heavens his supreme miracle of the Ascension. Referring that greatest miracle to the Treatise on the Ascension, the Thirty-First Word, which demonstrates with decisive proofs -even to deniers- how luminous, exalted, and true a miracle it was, we shall mention here only his journey to Jerusalem, the preliminary part of the miracle of the Ascension. For it was a miracle too that when asked by the Quraysh the following morning, he provided them with a description of the Masjid al-Aqsa. It was as follows:

The morning after the night of the Ascension, he informed the Quraysh about the Ascension. They dismissed it as false, and said: “If you really went to the Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, then describe to us its doors, walls, and condition.”

Allah’s Noble Messenger later said: “I was annoyed by their question and denial in a way that I had never been annoyed before. Suddenly, Allah Almighty lifted the veil between me and the Masjid al-Aqsa and showed it to me; I looked at it, and saw and described it.”² Then the Quraysh understood that he was giving the correct and complete description.

The Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) also told them: “During the journey, I saw one of your caravans. It will arrive here tomorrow at such-and-such a time.” They waited for the caravan. It was delayed for an hour, so in order that the Messenger’s prediction should be right, the sun was arrested for an hour, as is confirmed by those who investigated the event. That is to say, in order to prove what he said to be right, the earth stopped its journeying, its duty, for an hour, and that immobility was shown as the sun being arrested in its motion.³

Thus, the mighty earth abandoned its duty in order to confirm a single statement of Muhammad the Arabian (Upon whom be blessings and peace), and the mighty sun witnessed it. And so you may understand how unfortunate are those who do not affirm him nor obey his commands, and how fortunate are those who affirm him and say: “We have heard and we obey!”; so offer praise and thanks to Allah for Islam and belief!

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1. Qur’an, 54:1.
2. Bukhari, Manaqib al-Ansar 41; Tafsiru Sura 17; Muslim, Iman 276, 278; Tafsiru Sura 17; Musnad i, 309; iii, 377; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 191.
3. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 284; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 591-2; Suyuti, al-Durar al-Muntathira 193; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id viii, 296; al-Sa’ati, al-Fath al-Rabbani vi, 155; al-Albani, Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Da’ifa 972.

The Thirteenth Letter

In His Name!

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.

Peace on those who follow Guidance, and may those who follow their own desires be censured!

My Dear Brothers!

You frequently ask about my situation and how I am, and why I have not applied for my release papers, and concerning my indifference towards politics and the state of the world. Since you have repeated these questions on numerous occasions, and also ask me them in meaning if not in fact, I am compelled to reply to them not as the New Said, but in the language of the Old Said.

YOUR FIRST QUESTION

Are you comfortable? How are you?

T h e A n s w e r : I offer a hundred thousand thanks to the Most Merciful of the Merciful that He has transformed the various wrongs ‘the worldly’¹ perpetrate against me into various forms of mercy. It is like this:

Having given up politics and withdrawn from the world, I was living in a mountain cave and thinking of the hereafter when ‘the worldly’ wrongfully plucked me from it and sent me into exile. The All-Compassionate and Wise Creator turned the exile into mercy; He transformed the solitude on the mountain, which was unsafe and exposed to factors that would harm sincerity, into a retreat in the safe and sincere mountains of Barla. While a prisoner-of-war in Russia I formed the intention to withdraw into a cave towards the end of my life and offered supplications for that purpose. The Most Merciful of the Merciful made Barla the cave and bestowed the benefits of a cave, but He did not burden the difficulties and troubles of a cave on my weak being. Only, in Barla there were two or three people who were suspicious, and due to their groundless fears I suffered torments. It was as though those friends were thinking of my comfort, but due to their suspicions, they caused harm both to my heart and to the service of the Qur’an.

Moreover, although ‘the worldly’ gave the document in question to all the exiles, and released the criminals from prison and offered them an amnesty, they wrongfully did not give it to me. In order to further employ me in the service of the Qur’an and make me write to a greater extent the lights of the Qur’an called the Words, my Compassionate Sustainer left me in untroubled manner in this exile and transformed it into a great instance of compassion.

In addition, although ‘the worldly’ left all the influential and powerful leaders and shaykhs who could interfere in their world in the towns and cities and permitted them to meet with their relatives and everyone, they wrongfully isolated me and sent me to a village. With one or two exceptions they gave permission to none of my relatives and fellow-countrymen to visit me. My All-Compassionate Creator transformed that isolation into a vast mercy for me. It left my mind clear and was the means of my receiving the effulgence of the All-Wise Qur’an as it is, free of all malice and ill-will.

Also, ‘the worldly’ considered the two commonplace letters I wrote in two years at the beginning of my exile to be excessive. And now even, they do not look favourably on one or two visitors coming to me purely for the sake of the hereafter once every ten or twenty days or once a month; and they have harassed me because of this. My All-Compassionate Sustainer and All-Wise Creator transformed that tyranny into mercy, for He transformed it into a desirable solitude and acceptable retreat for me during these Three Months, which will gain a spiritual life of ninety years. All thanks be to Allah for all conditions, my condition and comfort is thus.....

YOUR SECOND QUESTION

Why don’t you apply for your release papers?

T h e A n s w e r : I have been sentenced by Divine Determining in this matter, not by ‘the worldly.’ My application is to Divine Determining.

Whenever it gives permission, whenever it halts my sustenance here, then I shall go. The reality of this is as follows: there are two causes of everything that befalls one, one apparent and the other, real. ‘The worldly’ are the apparent cause; they brought me here. As for Divine Determining, that was the true cause; it sentenced me to this isolation. The apparent cause acted wrongfully, whereas the true cause acted with justice. The apparent one thought like this: “This man serves learning and religion excessively, he may interfere in our world.” Because of this possibility, they exiled me and perpetrated a threefold wrong. Divine Determining saw that I could not truly serve religion and learning with sincerity, so it sentenced me to this exile. It transformed their compounded tyranny into a multiple mercy. Since in my exile Divine Determining is dominant and it is just, I have recourse to it. For sure, the apparent cause has certain pretexts and things; that means it is meaningless to make application to them. If they possessed some right or some powerful cause, then application could have been made to them also.

Although I have completely given up their world -may it be the end of them- and their politics -may it rebound on them- since the pretexts and suspicions they think up are of course baseless, I do not want to imbue their suspicions with reality by applying to them. If I had an appetite to meddle in world politics, the reins of which are in the hands of Westerners, it would not have remained thus secret for eight hours let alone eight years; it would have leaked out and shown itself. Whereas for eight years I have felt no desire to read a single newspaper, and I have not read one. For four years I have been here under surveillance, and there has not been the slightest sign of my meddling in politics. That is to say, service of the All-Wise Qur’an is superior to all politics so that it does not allow one to lower oneself to world politics, which consists mostly of falsehood.

The second reason for my not applying is this: to claim a right before those who suppose wrong to be right, is a sort of wrong. I do not want to perpetrate such a wrong.

YOUR THIRD QUESTION

Why are you so indifferent towards world politics? You don’t change your attitude at all, even in the face of so many events occurring in the world; does this mean you consider them to be good, or are you frightened so that you are silent?

T h e A n s w e r : Service of the All-Wise Qur’an severely prohibited me from the world of politics. It even made me forget about it. For the whole story of my life testifies that fear has never taken me by the hand and prevented me taking the way I considered to be right, nor can it. And why should I be frightened? I have no connection with the world apart from the appointed hour. I have no family and children to think of. It is not wanting to preserve worldly glory and renown which consists of hypocritical, undeserved fame, may Allah bless those who help in destroying it. There only remains the appointed hour and that is in the hands of the All-Glorious Creator. Who has the power to interfere with it before the time of its coming? Anyway we are among those who prefer honourable death to degradation in life. Someone resembling the Old Said spoke the following lines: We are those for whom there is no middle way; For us is either the place of honour among the people, or the grave.²

Indeed, service of the Qur’an prevents me from thinking of socio-political life. It is like this: human life is a journey. I saw at this time through the light of the Qur’an that the way has entered a swamp. The caravan of mankind is stumbling forward in stinking and filthy mud. Part of it is travelling a s afe way. Part of it has found certain means to save itself as far as is possible from the muddy swamp. The great majority are travelling in darkness in the stinking, filthy, muddy swamp. Twenty per cent suppose the filthy mud to be musk and ambergris because they are drunk, and are smearing it over their faces and eyes... they stumble on till they drown in it. However, eighty per cent understand it is a swamp and realize it is stinking and filthy, but they are bewildered and cannot see the safe way... Thus there are two solutions for these:

The First: to bring the drunken twenty per cent to their senses with a club.

The Second to point out the safe way to the bewildered by showing them a light.

I look and see that eighty people are brandishing clubs at the twenty, while the light is not shown truly to the unhappy and bewildered eighty. And even if it is shown, since those showing it have both the club and the light in one hand, it does not inspire confidence. The bewildered man anxiously wonders: “Does he want to attract me with the light then hit me with the club?” And sometimes when, due to some defect, the club is broken, the light flies away too or else is extinguished.

And so, the swamp is the dissolute social life of mankind, which breeds heedlessness and misguidance. The drunkards are those obdurate people who take delight in misguidance, and the bewildered, those who detest misguidance, but cannot extract themselves from it. They want to be saved, but cannot find the way: they are confused. As for the clubs, they are the political currents. And the light, the truths of the Qur’an. Light cannot be disputed, nor can enmity be held towards it. No one can detest it apart from Satan the Accursed. And so, in order to hold in my hand the light of the Qur’an, I said, “I seek refuge with Allah from Satan and from politics,” and throwing away the club of politics, embraced the light with both hands. I saw that in the political currents, there are lovers of those lights in both the opposition and the supporters. It is necessary that no side and no group casts aspersions on or holds back from the lights of the Qur’an which are shown, or from the teachings of the Qur’an, which are far superior to all political currents and partisanship and are exempt from and free of all their biased considerations. Unless they be the satans in human form or animals in human dress, who imagine irreligion and atheism to be politics and support them...

All praise be to Allah, because I withdrew from politics, I did not reduce the daimond-like truths of the Qur’an to the value of fragments of glass amid accusations of political propaganda. Indeed, the diamonds increase their value in the view of every group in brilliant fashion.

And they shall say: “All praise be to Allah, Who has guided us to this [felicity]; never could we have found guidance, had it not been for the guidance of Allah; indeed it was the truth that the prophets of our Sustainer brought to us!”³

The Enduring One, He is the Enduring One!
S a i d  N u r s i

* * *

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1. ‘The worldly’ (ehl-i dünya): those whose view is restricted to the life of this world, and who disregard the hereafter, or those who sell religion for this world. (Tr.)

2. Abu Firas al-Hamadani. (Tr.)

3. Qur’an, 7:43.

THIRD POINT

My friends who wonder how I am and are astonished at my meeting every calamity silently with patience ask the following question: “How can you endure the difficulties and troubles with which you are faced, whereas formerly you were very proud and angry and could not endure even the least insult?”

T h e A n s w e r : Listen to two short incidents and stories and you shall receive your answer:

The First Story: Two years ago an official spoke insultingly and contemptuously about me behind my back. They later told me about it. For about an hour I was affected due to the Old Said’s vein of temperament. Then through Almighty Allah’s mercy the following fact occurred to me; it dispelled the distress and made me forgive the man. The fact is this:

I addressed my soul saying: if his insults and the faults he described concern my person and my soul, may Allah be pleased with him, because he recounted the faults of my soul. If he spoke the truth, he drove me to train my soul and he helped in saving me from arrogance. If he spoke falsely, he has helped to save me from hypocrisy and undeserved fame, the source of hypocrisy. No, I have not been reconciled with my soul, for I have not trained it. If someone tells me there is a scorpion on my neck or breast or else points it out to me, I should be grateful to him, not offended. But if the man’s insults were directed towards my belief and my attribute of being servant of the Qur’an, it does not concern me. I refer him to the Qur’an’s Owner, Who employs me. He is Mighty, He is Wise. And if it was merely to curse at me, insult me, and destroy my character, that does not concern me either. For I am an exile, a prisoner, a stranger, and my hands are tied, and it does not fall to me to try to restore my honour myself. It rather concerns the authorities of this village where I am a guest and under surveillance, then of the district, then of the province. Insulting the prisoner of a person, concerns the person; he defends the prisoner. Since the reality of the matter is this, my heart became easy. I said,

My [own] affair I commit to Allah; for Allah [ever] watches over His servants.¹

I thought of the incident as not having happened. But unfortunately it was later understood that the Qur’an had not forgiven him...

The Second Story: This year I heard that an incident had occurred. Although I only heard a brief account of it after it had happened, I was treated as though I had been closely connected with it. Anyway I do not correspond with anyone, and if I do, I only write extremely rarely concerning some question of belief to a friend. In fact I have written only one letter to my brother in four years. Both I prevent myself from mixing with others, and ‘the worldly’ prevent me. I have only been able to meet with one or two close friends once or twice a week. As for visitors to the village, once or twice a month perhaps one or two used to meet with me for one or two minutes concerning some matter to do with the hereafter. In exile, a stranger, alone, with no one, I was barred from everything, from everyone, in a village which was unsuitable for someone like me to work for a livelihood. Even, four years ago I repaired a tumble-down mosque. Although with the certificate I had from my own region to act an imam and preacher I acted as imam in the mosque for four years (May Allah accept it), this past Ramadan I could not go to the mosque. Sometimes I performed the five daily prayers alone. I was deprived of the twenty-fivefold merit and good of performing the prayers in congregation.

And so, I showed the same patience and forbearance in the face of these two incidents that befell me as I did towards the treatment of that official two years ago. Allah willing I shall continue to do so. I think like this and say: if this ill-treatment, distress, and oppression inflicted on me by ‘the worldly’ is for my faulty soul, I forgive it. Perhaps my soul will be reformed by means of it, and perhaps it will be atonement for its sins. I have experienced many of the good things in this guest-house of the world; if I experience a little of its trials, I shall still offer thanks. If ‘the worldly’ oppress me because of my service to belief and the Qur’an, it is not up to me to defend it. I refer it to the Mighty and Compelling One. If the intention is to destroy the regard in which I am held generally, to expunge undeserved fame, which is baseless and causes hypocrisy and destroys sincerity, then may Allah bless them! For I consider being held in regard by people generally and gaining a name among them to be harmful for people like me. Those who have dealings with me know that I do not want respect to be shown to me, indeed, I can’t abide it. I have even scolded a valuable friend of mine perhaps fifty times for showing me excessive respect. If their intention in slandering me, belittling me in the eyes of the people, and defaming me is directed towards the truths of belief and the Qur’an of which I am the interpreter, it is pointless. For a veil cannot be drawn over the stars of the Qur’an. “One who closes his eyes only himself does not see; he does not make it night for anyone else.”

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1. Qur’an, 40:44.

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Fourth Point: It is the answer given to the doubtful questions of the worldly. This answer explains the divine assistance that cannot be denied by any means as a karamah belonging to the service of the Quran.

THIRD SIGN

The miracles of the Most Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) were extremely varied. Since his messengership was universal, he was distinguished by miracles that related to almost all species of creation. Just as the supreme lieutenant of a renowned ruler, arriving withmany gifts in a city where various peoples live, will be welcomed by a representative of each people, who acclaims him and bids him welcome in his own language; so too when the supreme Lieutenant of the Monarch of Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity honoured the universe by coming as an envoy to the inhabitants of the earth, and brought with him the light of truth and spiritual gifts sent by the Creator of the universe, which were connected to the truths of the whole universe, each species of creation - from water, rocks, trees, animals and human beings to the moon, the sun and the stars- each welcomed him and acclaimed his prophethood, each in its own language, and each bearing one of his miracles.

Now it would require a voluminous work to mention all his miracles. As punctilious, investigating scholars have written many volumes concerning the proofs of his prophethood, here we will briefly point out only the general categories into which fall the miracles that are definite and accepted as accurate reports.

The evidences of the prophethood of Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace) fall into two main categories:

T h e   F i r s t is called irhasat and includes the paranormal events that happened at the time of his birth, or before his prophetic mission.

T h e   S e c o n d group pertains to all the remaining evidences of his prophethood, and contains two subdivisions:

The first are those wonders that were manifested after his departure from this world in order to confirm his prophethood, and the second, those that he exhibited during the era of his prophethood. The latter has also two parts:

The first, the evidences of his prophethood that became manifest in his own personality, his inner and outer being, his moral conduct and perfections, and the second, the miracles manifested in the outer world. The last part again has two branches:

One, those concerning the Qur’an and spirituality, and the other, those relating to materiality and the universe. This last branch is again divided into two categories:

The first involves the paranormal happenings that occurred during his mission either to break the stubbornness of the unbelievers, or to augment the faith of the believers. This category has twenty different sorts, such as the splitting of the moon, the flowing of water from his fingers, the satisfying of large numbers with a little food, and the speaking of trees, rocks and animals. Each of these sorts has also many instances, and thus has, in meaning, the strength of confirmation by consensus. As for the second category, this includes events lying in the future that occurred as he had predicted upon Allah’s instructions. Now, starting from the last category, we will summarize a list of them.¹

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1. Unfortunately, I could not write as I had intended. Without choice, I wrote as my heart dictated, and I could not completely conform to the order of this classification.

THE MEANING OF YOUR FIFTH QUESTION

Will the immortal spirits be grieved at the events of the Last Day?

T h e A n s w e r : They will be grieved according to their degrees. They will be grieved in the same way that they are grieved at the overwhelming, wrathful manifestations of the angels towards themselves. In respect of his mind and conscience a person is affected by those trembling in the snow and cold outside while he himself is inside in the warm. Similarly, since they are connected to the universe, according to their degree, immortal spirits are affected by the awesome events of the universe. The Qur’an indicates and alludes to this and to the tormented being afflicted in a grievous manner, and those destined for happiness being struck by wonder and amazement, and even rejoicing. For the All-Wise Qur’an always mentions the extraordinary events of the resurrection in the form of threats; it says: “You will see it!” Whereas those who will witness it physically are those living at the Last Day. That is to say, the spirits whose bodies have rotted in their graves also have a share of those Qur’anic threats.

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Sixth Question: Does the verse, ‘Everything will perish save His countenance’ (al-Qasas, 28:88) include the hereafter, Paradise, and Hell?

EIGHTEENTH SIGN

The greatest miracle of Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), an eternal one, is the All-Wise Qur’an, which comprises hundreds of evidences of his prophethood, and forty aspects of whose own miraculousness have been proven. The Twenty-Fifth Word has explained concisely and proved these forty aspects in its approximately one hundred and fifty pages. Therefore, referring that supreme miracle, a treasury of miracles, to that Word, here we shall explain only one or two points.

First Point: The levels of people in understanding themiraculousness of the Quran.

Second Point: The Quran challenging the people of knowledge and understanding.

Third Point: The real meditation in the nature of the Quran.

S e c o n d  B r a n c h

This concerns corpses, jinns, and angels recognizing Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace). There were very many instances of this. We shall describe a few examples which are famous and have been related by reliable scholars, firstly about corpses. As for jinns and angels, the many reports concerning them are unanimous, and examples of them number not one but a thousand. And so, examples of the dead speaking:

The First is this: Hasan al-Basri, an important and loyal student of Imam ‘Ali and the greatest authority among the scholars of the external and esoteric sciences in the time of the generation subsequent to the Companions, related: “A man came weeping to Allah’s Messenger. He said: ‘I had a little girl; she drowned in such-and-such stream nearby. I left her there.’ Allah’s Messenger pitied the man and said they would go there together. They went, and the Messenger called to the dead girl, saying her name. At once the dead girl replied: ‘I am present and answer your call gladly.’ Allah’s Messenger asked her: ‘Do you want to return to your father and mother?’ She replied: ‘No, I have found something better here!’”¹

The Second: Important authorities like Imam Bayhaqi and Imam b. ‘Adiyy relate from Anas b. Malik: Anas said: “An elderly woman had a single son who suddenly died. The righteous woman was very grieved and prayed: ‘O Allah, I left my home and migrated here only to obtain Your pleasure and to pay allegiance to Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) and to serve him. For the sake of Your Messenger, return my son to me, who was the only person to look after me.’” Anas said: “The dead man rose up and came and ate with us.”²

In the following lines from the celebrated poem Qasida al-Burda, Imam Busiri refers to this extraordinary event: Were his wonders to correspond to his virtue in greatness / Mere mention of his name would have animated decayed bones.

The Third: Scholars like Imam Bayhaqi relate from ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Ubayd Allah al-Ansari: ‘Abd Allah said: “I was present when Thabit b. Qays b. Shammas fell as a martyr in the Battle of Yamama and was buried. As he was being put in his grave, a voice suddenly came from him, saying: ‘Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, Abu Bakr is the Veracious [Siddiq], ‘Umar, the martyr, and ‘Uthman, pious and merciful.’ We uncovered him and looked: he was dead and lifeless, yet he was foretelling ‘Umar’s martyrdom even before he had succeeded to the Caliphate.³

The Fourth: Imam Tabarani, and Abu Na‘im in his Dala’il al-Nubuwwa, relate from Nu‘man b. Bashir: “Zayd b. Kharija suddenly dropped down dead in the marketplace. We took his body to his house. That evening between sunset and the night prayer, while the women were weeping all around him, he exclaimed: ‘Silence! Silence!’ Then, saying: ‘Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger! Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah!’, he spoke most eloquently for a while. We looked: he was dead, without life.”⁴

Thus, if lifeless corpses affirm his prophethood and the living do not, for sure they are more dead than the dead and more lifeless than corpses!

As regards angels appearing and serving Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), and jinns believing in him and obeying him, these facts have been reported numerously and unanimously. They have been stated explicitly in many verses of the Qur’an. At the Battle of Badr, according to the Qur’an, five thousand angels served him as soldiers in the front line, like the Companions. Indeed, those angels acquired distinction among the angels, like the men who fought in that battle.⁵ There are two aspects to be considered in this matter:

The First is the fact that the existence of the different sorts of jinn and angels is as definite as that of the varieties and species of animals and human beings, and that they have relations with us. We have proved this decisively in the Twenty-Ninth Word as certainly as two plus two equals four, and we refer their proof to that Word.

The Second Aspect is members of the community of Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) seeing them and speaking with them, as a miracle of his.

Thus, the leading scholars of Hadith, and foremost Bukhari and Muslim, unanimously relate: “One time, an angel, that is, Gabriel, appeared in the form of a man dressed in white. He approached Allah’s Messenger(Upon whom be blessings and peace), who was sitting among his Companions, and asked: ‘What is Islam, what is belief, and what is goodness? Explain them.’ The Messenger explained them, and the Companions gathered there both received valuable instruction, and saw the person clearly. Although he seemed like a traveller, he displayed no sign of a journey. He suddenly rose and disappeared. Allah’s Messenger then said: ‘Gabriel did that in order to teach you!’”⁶

Also, the authorities on Hadith relate through certain and authentic narrations of the degree of ‘consensus in meaning’: “The Companions saw Gabriel with Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) many times in the form of Dihya, who was very handsome.” For instance, ‘Umar, Ibn ‘Abbas, Usama b. Zayd, Harith, ‘A’isha al-Siddiqa, and Umm Salama established and related certainly: “We frequently saw Gabriel with the Allah’s Messenger in the form of Dihya.”⁷ Is it at all possible that such people would say that they had seen him if they had not?

Also, the conqueror of Persia, Sa‘d b. Abi Waqqas, who was one of the ten promised Paradise, relates in an authentic narration: “At the Battle of Uhud we saw two white-dressed persons either side of Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), guarding him like sentries. We understood that they were the angels, Gabriel and Michael.”⁸ Is it possible that if such a hero of Islam says he saw them, he had not seen them?

Also, Abu Sufyan b. Harith b. ‘Abd al-Muttalib, the Prophet’s cousin, relates in an authentic narration: “At the Battle of Badr, we saw horsemen dressed in white between the sky and the earth.”⁹

Also, Hamza pleaded with the Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) to see Gabriel. So he showed him to Hamza in the Ka‘ba, but he could not endure it and fell to the ground unconscious.¹⁰

There were numerous occurrences like these of angels being seen. They all demonstrated one sort of the Miracles of Muhammad (PBUH), and show that the angels too were like moths drawn to the lamp of his prophethood.

When it comes to jinns, it was not only the Companions, it frequently occurs that ordinary members of the Muslim community meet with them and see them. But the most certain and authentic reports are given us by the leading scholars of Hadith, who say: Ibn Mas‘ud related: “I saw the jinn on the night they accepted Islam at Batn al-Nakhl. I likened them to the Zut, a tall-statured Sudanese tribe; they resembled them.”¹¹

There is also the incident concerning Khalid b. al-Walid, which is famous and has been authenticated and accepted by the leading scholars of Hadith: when the idol called ‘Uzza was destroyed, a jinn came out of it in the form of a black woman. Khalid cut it into two with his sword. The Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) said in connection with this: “They used to worship it inside the idol ‘Uzza; it can no longer be worshipped.”¹²

Also, is a narration from ‘Umar: he said: “While we were with Allah’s Messenger, a jinn called Hama came in the form of an old man carrying a staff; he accepted Islam. The Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) instructed him in some of the short Suras of the Qur’an, which he listened to and then departed.”¹³ Some scholars of Hadith have questioned this last incident, but the most important of them declared it to be authentic. In any event, it is unnecessary to describe this sort at length, for the examples of it are many. We would only add this:

Through the light of Allah’s Most Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), through his training, and through following him, thousands of spiritual poles and purified scholars like Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir Gilani have met and spoken with angels and jinn. This fact has reached the degree of ‘consensus’ a hundred times over through innumerable instances.¹⁴ Yes, members of the community of Muhammad (PBUH) being in contact with angels and jinn, and speaking with them, occurs through the miraculous guidance and instruction of the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace).

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1. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 320; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 106.
2. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 320; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya vi, 292.
3. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 320; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 649; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya vi, 157-8.
4. Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya viii, 291 (through various lines); al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id v, 179-80 (through two lines of transmission).
5. Bukhari, Maghazi 11.
6. Bukhari, Iman 37; Muslim, Iman 1-7.
7. Bukhari, Fada’il al-Ashab 30; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id ix, 276-7; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Fada’il al-Sahaba (Tahqiq: Vasiyyullah) no: 1817, 1853, 1918; Musnad i, 212; al-‘Asqalani, al-Isaba i, 598.
8. Bukhari, Maghazi 18; Libas 24; Muslim, Fada’il 46-7 no: 2306; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 361.
9. Musnad i, 147, 353; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 362; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 281; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 735.
10. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 362; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 282; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 736.
11. Musnad (Tahqiq: Ahmad Shakir) vi, 165 no: 4353; Suyuti, al-Khasa’is al-Kubra i, 343; ii, 361.
12. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 362; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 287; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 738; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya iv, 316; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id vi, 176.
13. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 363; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 287; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa v, 416-8.
14. Ibn Taymiyya, al-Tawassul wa’l-Wasila 24; Ibn Taymiyya, Majmu’ al-Fatawa xi, 307.

T h i r d   B r a n c h

The protection and preservation of Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was a clear miracle, and many instances of it are indicated by the clear truth of the verse, And Allah will defend you from men.¹ For sure, when Allah’s Messenger appeared, he was not only challenging one group, or one people, or a few rulers, or one religion; he was rather challenging single-handed all kings and the people of all religions. And yet until he died in perfect ease and happiness and rose to the heavenly court, for twenty-three years he was without guard or protector and was exposed to numerous plots, with his own uncle his greatest enemy and his own tribe and people hostile to him. This shows what a powerful truth the above-mentioned verse expresses and what a firm point of support it was. We shall mention only a few events classed as definite as examples.

First Event: Scholars of Hadith and the Prophet’s biography report unanimously that the Quraysh had made a certain agreement to kill Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace). Upon the suggestion of a demon in human form, so as to prevent discord within the Quraysh, at least one member of every branch of the tribe formed a group of nearly two hundred men under the leadership of Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab, and they staged a surprise attack on the Prophet’s house. ‘Ali was together with Allah’s Messenger. He had told him to sleep that night in his bed. The Messenger waited till the Quraysh came and completely surrounded the house, then he went out and threw a handful of earth at their heads, and not one of them saw him. He passed through them and disappeared.² When he reached the cave of Hira, two pigeons and a spider became his guards, and protected him against all the Quraysh.³

The Second Event: It certainly occurred that when they emerged from the cave and set off towards Madinah, they were followed by a very brave man called Suraqa, who, for a large reward, had been sent by the leaders of the Quraysh to kill them. Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) and Abu Bakr the Veracious had seen Suraqa coming when they came out of the cave. Abu Bakr had been anxious, but Allah’s Messenger said: “Do not be anxious, Allah is with us!”,⁴ as he had in the cave. Abu Bakr looked at Suraqa: his horse’s hooves were stuck in the sand. He was freed and started following them again. Then again the horse became transfixed, and something like smoke was rising from where its hooves were stuck. At that point he understood that it was beyond his power and anyone else’s power, to harm Allah’s Messenger. He cried for mercy. The Messenger freed him, but said: “Go back, but make sure no one else comes after us.”⁵

In connection with this incident, we should also mention that a shepherd spotted them and immediately set off for Makkah to inform the Quraysh. But on arriving at the city, he forgot why he had come. No matter how much he tried, he could not remember. He was obliged to return. Then later he understood that he had been made to forget it.⁶

The Third Event: The leading scholars of Hadith relate through many chains of transmission that at the Battle of Ghatafan and Anmar, a bold tribal chief called Ghurath got close to the Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) without anyone seeing him, his sword ready in his hand. He said to Allah’s Messenger: “Who will save you from me?” Allah’s Messenger replied: “Allah!” Then he prayed: “O Allah, save me from him, if You thus will!” Suddenly, Ghurath received a blow from the Unseen between the shoulders and his sword fell to the ground. The Noble Messenger picked up the sword and said: “Now who will save you from me?” Then he forgave him. The man returned to his tribe. Everyone was astonished at the bold, valiant fighter, and asked him what had happened to him and why he had done nothing. He replied to them: “That’s the way it happened. I have come now from the best of men.”⁷

In an incident similar to this at the Battle of Badr, a dissembler approached the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) from behind when no one was aware of it. Just as he was raising his sword to strike, Allah’s Messenger turned and looked at him; the man trembled and his sword slipped to the ground.⁸

The Fourth Event: This is well-known almost to the degree of ‘consensus in meaning,’ and is given by most Qur’anic commentators as the immediate reason for the revelation of the verse,

Indeed We have put yokes round their necks right up their chins, so that their heads are forced up [and they cannot see]. And We have put a bar in front of them and a bar behind them, and further, We have covered them up, so that they cannot see.⁹

It is also related by the most learned commentators and scholars of Hadith. They relate that Abu Jahl took an oath, saying: “I shall strike Muhammad with a stone if I see him prostrating.” He took a large stone and went to find Allah’s Messenger. He lifted his hands to cast the stone, when he saw him prostrating, and they remained raised. Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) stood up on completing the prayers, and Abu Jahl’s hand was released. He could move it either because the Prophet permitted, or because there was no longer any need for it to remain thus.¹⁰

In another similar incident, a man from the same tribe as Abu Jahl, al-Walid b. Mughira according to one narration, went to the Ka‘ba with a large stone in his hand, to strike the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) while he was prostrating, but the man’s eyes were sealed and he could not see the Messenger entering, nor was he able to see the people who had sent him; he could only hear their voices. When Allah’s Messenger finished praying, his eyes were opened, for no need remained for them to be sealed.¹¹

Also, it is related through an authentic narration from Abu Bakr the Veracious that after the Sura about Abu Lahab had been revealed, his wife, Hammalat al-Hatab (the wood carrier) Umm Jamil, came to the Ka‘ba with a stone in her hand. She saw Abu Bakr, who was sitting beside the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), and asked him, “Where’s your friend? I hear that he mocked me. If I see him, I will hit him in the mouth with this rock.” She could not see Allah’s Messenger, although he was sitting beside him.¹² Of course, a wood-carrier of Hell like that could not enter the presence of the ‘Sultan of Lawlak,’¹³ who was under Divine protection, and see him. How could she?

The Fifth Event: It is related through a sound narration that ‘Amir b. Tufayl and Arbad b. Qays conspired to assassinate Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace). ‘Amir said: “I’ll keep him busy, and you strike him.” They went, but Arbad did not do anything. Amir asked him later why he did not strike him. Arbad answered: “How could I? Every time I intended to hit him, I saw you between us. How could I have struck you?”¹⁴

The Sixth Event: It is related through an authentic narration that at the battle either of Uhud or Hunayn, Shayba b. ‘Uthman al-Hajabayya, whose uncle and father Hamza had killed, crept up stealthily on the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) in order to avenge them. On his raising his drawn sword, it suddenly slipped from his hand. Allah’s Messenger turned and looked at him, putting his hand on his chest. Shayba later said: “At that moment there was no one in the world I loved more.” He believed in him. The Messenger told him to go and fight. Shayba said: “I went and fought in front of Allah’s Messenger. If I had come across my own father at that time, I would have struck him!”¹⁵

Also, on the day of the conquest of Makkah, a man called Fadala approached Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) with the intention of striking him. The Messenger looked at him, and said, smiling: “What have you told yourself?”, praying that he might be forgiven. Fadala became a believer, and said: “At that moment there was no one in the world I loved more.”¹⁶

The Seventh Event: According to a sound narration, at the very moment some Jews, with the intention of assassinating him, were going to drop down a large rock on Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), while he was sitting, he rose through Divine protection; so the plot came to nothing.¹⁷

There were many events similar to these seven. The scholars of Hadith, and foremost Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim, relate from ‘A’isha that after the verse, And Allah will defend you from men was revealed, Allah’s Messenger told those who guarded him from time to time: “O men, leave me, for Allah, the Great and Mighty, protects me!”¹⁸

Thus, from the beginning up to here, this treatise shows that every species of being, every realm of creation in the universe, recognized the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), and was connected with him. His miracles were manifested in every one of them. This means that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was the official and Messenger of Allah Almighty, but in regard to His titles of Creator of the Universe and Sustainer of all Creatures. For example, every office or department of government knows and recognizes a high-ranking official, an inspector, of the king, and whichever of them he enters, those in it show an interest in him, for he acts in the name of the king of all of them. If he is only an inspector in the judiciary, then only that department of government recognizes him; the other offices do not. And if he is an inspector in the army, the civil service does not recognize him. It is understood, then, that all the realms and spheres of Divine rule, every species and group from the angels to the flies and spiders, knew and recognized Allah’s Messenger, or had been informed about him. That is to say, he was the Seal of the Prophets and the Messenger of the Sustainer of All the Worlds. And his prophethood was more comprehensive and all-embracing than those of all the preceding prophets.

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1. Qur’an, 5:70.
2. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 349; Musnad (Tahqiq: Ahmad Shakir) iv, 269 no: 2009; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id ii, 228.
3. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 349; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 236; see page, fn. 246, 247.
4. Qur’an, 9:40.
5. Bukhari, Anbiya’ (Bab: ‘Alamat al-Nubuwwa fi’l-Islam, Fada’il Ashab al-Nabi, Manaqib al-Muhajirin wa Fadlihim, Hijrat al-Nabi wa Ashabihi); Muslim, no: 2009; Ibn Hibban, Sahih 65; ix, 11. See, Concordance.
6. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 351; Âli al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 715.
7. Bukhari, Jihad 84, 87; Maghazi 31-2; Muslim, Salat al-Musafirin, 311 no: 843; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 347-8; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id ix, 7-8; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 29-30.
8. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 347; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 710.
9. Qur’an, 36:8-9.
10. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 351; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 241; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id viii, 227; Muslim, No: 2797; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya iii, 42-3.
11. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 351; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 242.
12. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 349; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 233; al-Haythami, Majma^ al-Zawa’id i, 353; Ibn Hibban, Sahih viii, 152; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak ii, 361.
13. This refers to the Hadith Qudsi: “But for thee, but for thee, I would not have created the spheres.”(Tr.)
14. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 353; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 249; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa v, 318.
15. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 353; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 248; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id vi, 183-4; ^Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 718; al-‘Asqalani, al-Isaba ii, 157.
16. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 353; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 248; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 718.
17. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 353; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 243; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 176; Abu Na^im, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa ii, 489-90.
18. Tirmidhi, v, 351 no: 3406; Tirmidhi (Tahqiq: Ahmad Shakir) no: 3049; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 352; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak ii, 313.

F i r s t B r a n c h

The animal realm recognized Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) and displayed his miracles. There are numerous examples of this Branch. Here as examples, we shall mention only those which are well-known and definite to the degree of ‘consensus in meaning,’ or have been accepted by authoritative scholars, or have been deemed acceptable by the Muslim community.

The First Incident: This is well-known to the degree of ‘consensus in meaning,’ and concerns the two pigeons coming and waiting at the entrance to the cave of Hira, where Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) and Abu Bakr the Veracious hid from the pursuing unbelievers, and the spider veiling the entrance with a thick web, like a curtain holder. Ubayy b. Khalaf, one of the leaders of the Quraysh whom Allah’s Messenger killed with his own hand at the Battle of Badr, looked at the cave. When his companions suggested that they enter, he replied: “Why should we? I see a large spider’s web which appears to have been there since before Muhammad was born. And look, those two pigeons are there. Would they remain there if there was someone in the cave?”¹

In an instance similar to this, a blessed pigeon cast a shadow over the head of Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) during the conquest of Makkah, which was related by Imam Jalil b. Wahab.²

Also according to a sound narration, ‘A’isha al-Siddiqa relates: “We had a bird in our house called a dajin, similar to a pigeon. When Allah’s Messenger was present it would stay quiet, but as soon as he left the house, the bird would start hopping to and fro without stopping.”³ Thus, the bird was obedient to the Messenger, remaining quiet in his presence.

The Second Incident: This is the extraordinary story of the wolf, which has been narrated through a number of chains of transmission from some well-known Companions and about which is ‘consensus in meaning.’ In short, Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, Salama b. al-Akwa‘, Ibn Abi Wahab, and Abu Hurayra, and Uhban, a shepherd who was involved in another event, relate through numerous chains of transmission: “A wolf seized a goat and the shepherd saved it from the wolf. The wolf exclaimed: ‘Don’t you fear Allah? You have deprived me of my sustenance!’ The shepherd muttered to himself: ‘How strange! Can wolves speak?’ The wolf said to him: ‘You’re the strange one, for beyond the hill is someone calling you to Paradise. He is a Messenger of Allah, yet you do not recognize him!’” Although all the lines of transmission agree on the wolf’s speech, in his report, which has a strong line, Abu Hurayra says: “The shepherd said to the wolf: ‘I am going to see him, but who will look after my goats?’ The wolf replied: ‘I’ll look after them.’ So the shepherd handed over the herd to the wolf and went to see the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), believed in him, and returned to his herd. The shepherd found the wolf; not a goat had been lost. So he slaughtered one for the wolf, for it had become his teacher.”⁴

According to one chain of transmission, one of the chiefs of Quraysh, Abu Sufyan, and Safwan saw a wolf pursuing a gazelle into the enclosure of the Ka‘ba. As it returned, the wolf spoke, telling of the prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH). They were astonished. Abu Sufyan said to Safwan: ‘Don’t let’s tell anyone of this; I’m frightened everyone will join him and Makkah will be emptied.^’5

In Short: The story of the wolf gives one complete conviction, and is as certain as those unanimous reports about which there is ‘consensus in meaning.’

The Third Incident: This is the narrative of the camel, which was unanimously related through some five or six chains of transmission by famous Companions such as Abu Hurayra, Tha‘laba b. Malik, Jabir b. ‘Abd Allah, ‘Abd Allah b. Ja‘far, and ‘Abd Allah b. Abi Awfa, who are at the start of the chains. A camel approached Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), prostrated itself before him as if saluting him, and spoke. According to a number of lines of transmission, the camel had been angered in a garden, and become wild, attacking anyone who approached it. When Allah’s Messenger appeared, it came to him, prostrated as a sign of respect, and knelt down. The Messenger put a bridle on it, and the camel said to him: “They made me do the heaviest work and now they want to slaughter me. That’s why I went wild.” The Messenger asked its owner if this was true. “Yes,” he replied.⁶

Also, Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) had a camel called ‘Adba’. After he died, out of its grief, the camel neither ate nor drank, till it died.⁷ A number of important authorities including Abu Ishaq Isfara’ini related that it spoke with the Prophet about a certain story.⁸ In another instance, in an authentic narration, Jabir b. ‘Abd Allah’s camel became exhausted on a journey and could no longer continue. Allah’s Messenger gave it a slight prod. Such joy and nimbleness did the camel receive from that prod of the Prophet that due to its speed it could not be caught up with, nor could its reins be seized.⁹

The Fourth Incident: The authorities on Hadith and foremost Bukhari report that it was rumoured one night that the enemy was attacking outside Madinah. Brave horsemen went out to investigate. On the way they saw someone coming. They looked and saw that it was the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace). He told them there was nothing. He had mounted Abu Talha’s famous horse, as his sacred courage impelled him to, and had gone before everyone else to investigate, then returned. He told Abu Talha: “Your horse is extremely swift and unfaltering.” Whereas previously it had been extremely slow. After that night, there was no horse to compete with it.¹⁰ On another occasion, as related in an authentic narration, while on a journey at the time for prayer, the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) told his horse to stop. It stopped, and until he had finished praying the horse did not make the slightest movement.¹¹

The Fifth Incident: Safina, the servant of the Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace), was commanded by him to go to the Governor of Yemen, Mu‘adh b. Jabal. He set off and on the way encountered a lion. Safina said to it: “I am the servant of Allah’s Messenger!” Upon which the lion made a sound as if saying something, and left without molesting him.¹² According to another narration, Safina lost his way when returning, and met with a lion. Not only did the lion not molest him, it showed him the way.

Also, it is narrated from ‘Umar that he said: “A beduin came to the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace). He was holding a lizard. He said: ‘If this reptile testifies to you, I shall believe in you; otherwise I will not.’ Allah’s Messenger asked the lizard, and it testified to his messengership most eloquently.”¹³

Also, the Mother of Believers, Umm Salama relates: “A gazelle spoke with the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), and testified to his messengership.”¹⁴

Thus, there are numerous examples similar to these. We described a few that are famous and certain. And to those who do not recognize and obey the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), we say this: O man! Take a lesson from these! The lion and the wolf recognized and obeyed him; you, then, should try not to fall lower than an animal!

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1. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 313; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 368; Musnad i, 248; San’ani, al-Musannaf v, 389; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya iii, 179-81; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id vii, 27; Ibn al-Qayyim, Zad al-Ma’ad (Tahqiq: Arnavudi) iii, 52; al-Tabrizi, Mishkat al-Masabih no: 5934; Maruzi, Musnad Abu Bakr al-Siddiq no: 73; Zayla’, Nasb al-Ra’ya i, 123; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id vi, 52-3.
2. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 313; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 637.
3. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 309; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 632; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 79; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id ix, 403.
4. Musnad iii, 83, 88; Musnad (Tahqiq: Ahmad Shakir) xv, 202-3, nos: 8049, 11864, 11867; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 310; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iv, 467; Ibn Hibban, Sahih viii, 144; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id viii, 291-2; al-Sa\^ati, al-Fath al-Rabbani xx, 240; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya vi, 141.
5. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 311; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 84.
6. Darimi, Muqaddima 4; Musnad iv, 173; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id ix, 4; al-Sa’ati, al-Fath al-Rabbani xxii, 50-1; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 87; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya vi, 135; al-Albani, Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahiha 485; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak ii, 99, 100, 618.
7. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 313.
8. ^Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 637.
9. Muslim, Mithaqat 109 no: 715; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 145.
10. Bukhari, Jihad 46, 82; Adab 39; Muslim, Fada’il 48 no: 2307; Ibn Maja, Jihad 9; Abu Da’ud, Adab 87 no: 4988; Tirmidhi, Fada’il al-Jihad nos: 1685-7.
11. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 315; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 95.
12. Tabrizi, Mishkat al-Masabih iii, 199 no: 5949; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 606; al-‘Asqalani, al-Matalib al-‘Aliya iv, 125 no: 4127; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id ix, 366-7; Abu Na’im, Hilyat al-Awliya’ i, 368-9; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya vi, 147.
13. al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id viii, 293-4; al-Hindi, Kanz al-‘Ummal xii, 358; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya vi, 149-60; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 632; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 79.
14. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 314; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 91; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id viii, 295.

The Fifteenth Letter

In His Name, be He glorified!

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.

Please click on the following links to continue reading;

First Question: Why did the Companions not discover the troublemakers with the eye of sainthood since they were superior to saints and why were three of the four Rightly-Guided Caliphs martyred?

Second Question: What is the true nature of the wars that started at the time of Hz. Ali (May Allah be pleased with him)? How can those who killed and those who were killed be explained?

Third Question: What was the wisdom behind the cruel treatment to Ahl al-Bayt?

Fourth Question: It is said that Hz. Isa (Jesus) will descend to the earth at the end of time, kill the Antichrist (Dajjal) and that most people will enter the true religion. However, they also say there will be nobody who will says ‘Allah! Allah!’ on Doomsday.

Fifth Question: Will the immortal spirits be affected by the events of the Last Day?

Sixth Question: Does the verse, ‘Everything will perish save His countenance’ (al-Qasas, 28:88) include the hereafter, Paradise, and Hell?

FOURTEENTH SIGN

Another numerous sort of the various kinds of miracle of Allah’s Most Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) were the wonders manifested as a result of his prayers. This kind is definite and there is ‘true consensus’ in their many reports. The instances and examples of it are so numerous as to be incalculable, and many of these have reached the degree of ‘consensus,’ or have become famous as such. Others have been related by such authorities that they bear the same certainty as well-known ‘consensus.’ As examples, we shall quote only some of the numerous instances of this kind of miracle that are very well-known and nearest in degree to ‘consensus,’ giving some particulars of each instance.

F i r s t   E x a m p l e : The fact that prayers of the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) for rain were always accepted has been transmitted by authorities of Hadith, primarily Bukhari and Muslim. There were times when in the pulpit he raised his hands to pray for rain, and before he had lowered them even, rain began to fall. As mentioned above, once or twice when the army had run out of water, the clouds came and poured forth rain. Before his prophetic mission, even, during his childhood, the Prophet’s grandfather ‘Abd al-Muttalib would go to pray for rain with him, and the rain came out of respect for Muhammad (PBUH). The fact became celebrated through a poem of ‘Abd al-Muttalib. And after the Prophet’s death, ‘Umar prayed making ‘Abbas the means, saying: “O our Sustainer! This is the uncle of your Beloved. Send us rain for his sake!” And it rained.¹

Bukhari and Muslim also relate that Allah’s Messenger was asked to pray for rain. He did so and such rain fell that they were compelled to ask him to pray for it to stop. He did so, and it stopped at once.²

S e c o n d   E x a m p l e : It is almost as well-known as those incidents about which there are many unanimous reports that when the number of Companions and believers had still not reached forty, Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) prayed secretly while performing his worship: “O Allah! Strengthen Islam by means of either ‘Umar b. al-Khattab or ‘Umar b. Hisham.” A few days later, ‘Umar b. al-Khattab came to believe and was the means to proclaiming and upholding Islam, so that he acquired the title of Faruq [Discerner between truth and falsehood].³

T h i r d   E x a m p l e: Allah’s Messenger prayed for various distinguished Companions for different purposes. His prayers were all accepted in so brilliant a fashion that the wonders of these prayers reached the degree of a miracle. For instance, foremost Bukhari and Muslim relate that he prayed for Ibn ‘Abbas as follows: “O Allah! Give him knowledge of religion and teach him interpretation.”⁴ This supplication was accepted in such a way that Ibn ‘Abbas gained the glorious title of ‘Interpreter of the Qur’an’ and reached the elevated degree of ‘learned scholar of the Muslim community.’ When still very young even, ‘Umar used to include him in the gatherings of the religious scholars and leading Companions.⁵

Also, foremost Bukhari and the writers of books of authentic Hadith relate that the mother of Anas entreatied Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace): “Pray that your servant Anas will be blessed with abundant wealth and offspring.” The Prophet prayed, saying: “O Allah! Grant increase to his wealth and offspring and bless what you bestow on him.” Towards the end of his life, Anas said swearing by Allah: “I have buried a hundred of my progeny with my own hand. No one has been as fortunate as myself in regard to wealth and possessions. You can see that my wealth is truly abundant. All these are the result of Prophet’s prayer for the blessing of plenty.”⁶

Also, foremost Imam Bayhaqi, and the scholars of Hadith relate that Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) prayed that one of the ten promised Paradise, ‘Abd al-Rahman b. ‘Awf, be blessed with abundance of wealth. Through the blessing of that prayer, he acquired such wealth that on one occasion he donated seven hundred camels together with their loads to Allah’s cause.⁷ See the blessings of plenty resulting from the Prophet’s prayer, and say: “How great are Allah’s blessings!”

Also, narrators of Hadiths, and foremost Bukhari, relate: “Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) prayed that ‘Urwa b. Abi al-Ja‘da might do profitably at trade. ‘Urwa said: ‘Sometimes I would go to the marketplace in Kufa and come home in the evening having made a forty thousandfold profit.’” Imam Bukhari says: “If he took earth in his hand, he still would make a profit from it!”⁸

Also, he prayed that ‘Abd Allah b. Ja‘far would acquire an abundance of wealth, and he became so rich he was famous for it. He also became as famous for his generosity as he was for the wealth he obtained through the Prophet’s prayer for the blessing of plenty.⁹

There are numerous instances of this sort of miracle, but we consider the four described above to be sufficient as examples.

Also, foremost Imam Tirmidhi relates: “The Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) prayed for Sa‘d b. Abi Waqqas: ‘O Allah, answer his prayer!’¹⁰ After that everyone feared his malediction, and the answering of his prayers also became famous.

On another occasion, Allah’s Messenger prayed for the famous Abu Qatada that he might remain young: “May Allah prosper your face! O Allah, bless his hair and his skin!” When he died at the age of seventy, he was like a youth of fifteen.¹¹ This is related through a sound narration.

Also, the famous story of the poet Nabigha. He recited one of his poems before Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), which ran: “Our glory and praise have reached to the skies; we want to ascend even higher.” Allah’s Messenger asked jokingly: “Where, beyond the skies?” Nabigha replied: “To Paradise.” He then recited another of his meaningful poems, and the Prophet prayed: “May Allah not spoil your mouth!” It was through the blessing of this prayer of the Prophet that he did not have a single tooth missing when he was one hundred and twenty years old. Whenever he lost a tooth, another would appear in its place.¹²

Also, it is related through an authentic narration that he prayed for Imam ‘Ali: “O Allah, protect him from heat and cold!” Through the blessing of this prayer, Imam ‘Ali used to wear summer clothes in winter, and winter clothes in summer. He used to say: “I never suffer from heat or cold, thanks to that prayer.”¹³

Also, he prayed for Fatima: “O Allah, do not give her the pains of hunger!” And Fatima used to say: “I never suffered from hunger after that prayer.”¹⁴

Also, Tufayl b. ‘Amr asked Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) for a miracle to show to his tribe. The Prophet prayed: “O Allah, illuminate him!”, and a light appeared between his eyes. Later it was transferred to the end of his staff, and he became famous as Dhi’l-Nur, the Possessor of Light.¹⁵ These incidents are all from well-known Hadiths that are certain.

Also, Abu Hurayra once complained to the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) that he sometimes suffered from forgetfulness. Allah’s Messenger told him to spread out a piece of cloth. He then made some movements with his blessed hand as though taking some invisible objects and putting them on the cloth. He repeated this two or three times, then told him to gather up the cloth. Abu Hurayra later swore that through the mystery of this prayer of the Prophet’s, he never again forgot anything.¹⁶ This event is also among well-known Hadiths.

F o u r t h   E x a m p l e : We shall describe here a few events regarding maledictions of Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace).

The First: The Persian Shah Parviz tore up the letter sent to him by the Prophet. When Allah’s Prophet received news of this, he prayed: “O Allah, rend him as he rent my letter!”¹⁷ It was as a result of this malediction that Chosroes Parviz’s son Shirviya cut him to pieces with a dagger. And Sa‘d b. al-Waqqas broke his kingdom apart, so that in no part of the Sasanid empire did his sovereignty remain. However, the Emperor of Byzantium and other kings did not perish since they respected the Prophet’s letters.

The Second: An event almost as well-known as those reported unanimously, which some verses of the Qur’an allude to, is this: in the early days of Islam, the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was performing the prayers in the Masjid al-Haram, when the chiefs of the Quraysh gathered and maltreated him. At the time, Allah’s Prophet called down curses on them. Ibn Mas‘ud stated: “I swear that at the Battle of Badr I saw the corpses of all those who had ill-treated him and received his curse.”¹⁸

The Third: On their denying him, Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) prayed that a large Arab tribe called the Mudariyya would be afflicted with drought and famine. All rain ceased and drought and famine occurred. Then the Quraysh, a branch of the Mudariyya, pleaded with the Prophet, and he prayed. Whereupon the rains came and put an end to the drought.¹⁹ Having been reported unanimously, this incident is also well-known

F i f t h  E x a m p l e : The fact that the Prophet’s (PBUH) maledictions against particular persons were accepted and realized in a dreadful way is illustrated by numerous instances. We shall recount three of these by way of example.

The First: He uttered the following curse against ‘Utba b. Abi Lahab: “O Allah, beset a dog on him from among your dogs!” Some time later ‘Utba went on a journey during which a lion sought him out from among the caravan, and tore him to pieces.²⁰ This incident was famous and is narrated as authentic by the authorities on Hadith.

The Second: This is Muhallim b. Jaththama: he unjustly killed ‘Amir b. Adbat, but Allah’s Messenger had sent him as the commander of a force to fight in Allah’s way. When the news of this reached the Messenger, he was angry and cursed him, saying: “O Allah, do not grant forgiveness to Muhallim!” Muhallim died a week later. They put him in his grave, but the grave cast him out. They buried him in several different places, but each time the grave rejected him. Finally they built a strong wall between two rocks, and in this way the corpse was housed.²¹

The Third: Once Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) saw a man eating with his left hand. He ordered him to eat with his right hand. The man replied: “I can’t.” The Messenger said as a malediction: “Henceforth you will be unable to raise it.” And after that he was unable to use it.²²

S i x t h  E x a m p l e : Here we shall mention several events which are certain, from among the numerous wonders resulting from prayers of the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), and from his touch.

The First: Allah’s Messenger gave Khalid b. al-Walid, known as Allah’s Sword, several of his hairs and prayed for his victory in battle. Khalid put them in his cap. As the result of the hairs and the blessings of the prayer, there was never a battle in which he then fought, but he was victorious.²³

The Second: Salman al-Farsi had formerly been a slave of the Jews. His masters had asked for a very high ransom, saying: “In order to gain your freedom, you must plant three hundred date-palms, and after they bear fruit, give us forty okkas²⁴ of gold in addition to the fruit.” He went to the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) and explained his situation. Allah’s Messenger then planted the three hundred palms in the region of Madinah; only one of them was planted by someone else. That year, all three hundred trees bore fruit, with the exception of the one planted by the other person. The Messenger uprooted it and planted another, and it too bore fruit. He then rubbed some of his spittle on a piece of gold the size of a hen’s egg, and offered a prayer. He gave it to Salman, telling him to go and give it to the Jews. Salman al-Farsi went and gave them forty okkas of gold out of that piece, while it remained in its original state.²⁵ This miraculous incident, which was narrated by the most trustworthy and respected authorities, was the most significant event in Salman’s entire life.

The Third: A woman Companion called Umm Malik used to give the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) butter from a leathern bag called an ‘ukka, as a gift. On one occasion Allah’s Messenger uttered a prayer over it while returning it to her, and told her not to empty it and squeeze it. Umm Malik took the ‘ukka, and thereafter as a result of the blessing of the Prophet’s prayer, butter was found in it whenever her children asked for it. This continued for a long time, until they squeezed it, and the blessing disappeared.²⁶

S e v e n t h  E x a m p l e : There are also many examples of water becoming sweet and emitting a pleasant smell as the result of the Prophet’s prayer and his touching it; we shall mention several by way of example:

The First: Scholars of Hadith, and foremost Imam Bayhaqi, report that the well known as Bi’r al-Quba would sometimes dry up. On Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) pouring the water with which he had taken ablutions into the well and offering a prayer, its water became abundant and it never again dried up.²⁷

The Second: Scholars of Hadith, including Abu Na‘im in his Dala’il al-Nubuwwa(Evidences of Prophethood), report that when Allah’s Messenger spat into the well in Anas’ house and prayed, it became the sweetest water in Madinah.²⁸

The Third: Ibn Maja reports that a bucketful of water from the spring of Zamzam was brought to the Messenger. He took a little of it into his mouth then emptied it into the bucket. The bucket then emitted a sweet scent like musk.²⁹

The Fourth: Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal reports that a bucketful of water was drawn from a well. After Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) had put some of his spittle in the bucket and poured it into the well, it began to emit a sweet scent like musk.³⁰

The Fifth: Hammad b. Salama, who was a man of Allah and was trusted and accepted by Imam Muslim and the scholars of the Maghrib, reports that the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) filled a leather bag with water, and breathed into it while praying. He then tied it up and gave it to some of the Companions, saying: “Do not open it except when you perform the ablutions!” When they opened the bag to take ablutions, they saw pure milk with cream at its opening.³¹

Thus, these five instances have been narrated by well-known and important authorities. Together with those that are not mentioned here, they prove the occurrence of this kind of miracle as definitely as those about the various reports of which there is ‘consensus in meaning.’

E i g h t h  E x a m p l e : There were numerous instances of barren and dry goats producing milk, and abundantly at that, through the touch and prayers of Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace). We shall mention only two or three which are well-known and certain, as examples:

The First: All the reliable books of the Prophet’s biography relate that when Allah’s Prophet and Abu Bakr the Veracious were migrating to Madinah, they came to the house of Umm Ma‘bad, called Atika Bint Khalid al-Khuza‘i. There was an extremely thin, barren, and dry goat there. Allah’s Messenger asked Umm Ma‘bad: “Has this no milk?” She replied: “It has no blood in its body, how should it produce milk?” The Prophet stroked its loins and teets, and prayed. Then he said: “Bring a vessel, and milk it.” They milked it, and after the Messenger and Abu Bakr had drunk, all the people of the house drank to repletion. The goat grew strong, and remained thus blessed.³²

The Second: This is the famous story of Shat b. Mas‘ud: before becoming a Muslim, Ibn Mas‘ud used to act as a shepherd for certain people. Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) went together with Abu Bakr the Veracious to the place where Ibn Mas‘ud and his goats were. Allah’s Messenger asked Ibn Mas‘ud for some milk. On replying that they were not his but the property of someone else, Allah’s Messenger told him to bring him a barren, dry goat. So he brought a nanny-goat who had not been mated for two years. Allah’s Messenger stroked its teets with his hand and prayed. Then they milked it, and obtained sweet milk which they drank. Ibn Mas‘ud came to believe after witnessing this miracle.³³

The Third: This is the well-known story of Halima Sa‘diya, the foster mother, that is, wet-nurse, of the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace). There was drought where the tribe was found, and all the animals were thin and without milk. They could not find sufficient to eat. But when the Messenger was sent to his foster mother there, through the blessing he brought, Halima Sa‘diya’s goats would return in the evening with both their stomachs and their teets full, contrary to everyone else’s.³⁴

There are further instances in the books of biography similar to these, but these examples are sufficient for our purpose.

N i n t h  E x a m p l e : We shall recount here a few out of many instances of wonders which were manifested after Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) had touched the faces and heads of certain people, and prayed.

The First: He passed his hand over the head of ‘Umar b. Sa‘d, and prayed. When the man died at the age of eighty, through the blessing of that prayer, there was not a single grey hair on his head.³⁵

The Second: He placed his hand on Qays b. Zayd’s head, and prayed. Through the blessing of the prayer and effect of his touch, when Qays reached a hundred years of age, his head was white except for where Allah’s Messenger had placed his hand; that had remained totally black.³⁶

The Third: ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Zayd b. al-Khattab was both small and ugly. Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) touched his head with his hand and prayed. Through the blessing of his prayer, ‘Abdurrahman acquired the loftiest stature and most beautiful form.³⁷

The Fourth: ‘A’idh b. ‘Amr received a wound on the face during the Battle of Hunayn. Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) wiped away the blood on his face with his hand. The part of his face that the Messenger had touched acquired a shining brilliance, which the scholars of Hadith described as resembling a white blaze on a chestnut horse.³⁸

The Fifth: He passed his hand over Qatada b. Malhan’s face and prayed, and Qatada’s face began to shine like a mirror.³⁹

The Sixth: When Zaynab, the daughter of the Mother of Believers Umm Salama and the stepdaughter of Allah’s Messenger was a child, the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) sprinkled some of his ablution water on her face. With the touch of the water, her face acquired an extraordinary beauty.⁴⁰

There are numerous further examples similar to these, most of which have been narrated by the leading scholars of Hadith. Even if we suppose each of these instances to be a single report and weak, as a whole they still demonstrate an absolute miracle of Muhammad (PBUH) which has the certainty of ‘consensus in meaning.’ For if an event is narrated in numerous different forms, the occurrence of the basic event becomes definite. Even if each form is itself weak, it still proves the basic event.

For example, a noise was heard; some people said that a house had collapsed. Others said it was a different house, and so on. Each narration may be a single report, and weak, and untrue, but the basic event was that a house had collapsed; that was certain and they were unanimous concerning it. However, the six instances we enumerated above were both authentic, and some of them became famous. Suppose we consider each of these to be weak, all together they still demonstrate the certain existence of an absolute miracle of Muhammad (PBUH), like the absolute collapse of the house in the comparison.

Thus, Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) performed definite and clear miracles from every category. The instances of them are the forms or examples of those universal and absolute miracles. Just as the Messenger’s hand, fingers, spittle, breath, and speech, that is, his prayer, were the means of numerous miracles, so too, his other subtle faculties and emotions and senses were the means of many wonders. The books of biography and history have described them and demonstrated that in his conduct, physical being, and senses were many evidences of his prophethood.

____________________

1. Bukhari, Istisqa’ 3; Fada’il Ashab al-Nabi 11.
2. Bukhari, Istisqa’ 19; Ibn Maja, Iqama 154; Muslim, Salat al-Istisqa’ 8 no: 897; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya vi, 91-2; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 327.
3. Tirmidhi, Manaqib 18 no: 1683; al-Albani, Mishkat al-Masabih no: 6036; al-Mubarakfuri, Tuhfat al-Ahwazi no: 3766; Ibn Asir al-Jizri, Jami’ al-Usul no: 7428; Ibn Hibban, Sahih ix, 17; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak ii, 465; iii, 83, 502; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 327; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa ii, 215.
4. Bukhari, Vudu’ 10; ‘Ilm 17; Fada’il al-Ashab 24; Muslim, Fada’il al-Sahaba 138; Ibn Hibban, Sahih ix, 98; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 327; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 661; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 130; Ibn al-Asir, Jami’ al-Usul ix, 63; Musnad i, 264, 314, 328, 330; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iv, 534.
5. Musnad i, 338; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Fada’il al-Sahaba no: 1871; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 535; ^Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 661.
6. Bukhari, Da’wat 19, 26, 47; Muslim, Fada’il al-Sahaba 141, 142 nos: 2480-1; Musnad iii, 190; vi, 430; Ibn Hibban, Sahih ix, 155; al-Mubarakfuri, Tuhfat al-Ahwazi x, 330.
7. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 326; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 659; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 125.
8. Bukhari, Manaqib 28; Ibn Maja, Sadaqat 7; Musnad iv, 375; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 327; al-Sa’ati, al-Fath al-Rabbani xxii, 326.
9. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 327; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 661; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id v, 286; Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani, al-Matalib al-‘Aliya no: 4077-8.
10. Tirmidhi, Manaqib 27 no: 3751; Ibn Hibban, Sahih no: 12215; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 499; Abu Na’im, Hilyat al-Awliya’ i, 93; Abu Na’im, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa iii, 206; al-Albani, Mishkat al-Masabih iii, 251 no: 6116; al-Mubarakfuri, Tuhfat al-Ahwazi x, 253-4 no: 3835; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Fada’il al-Sahaba ii, 750 no: 1038; Ibn al-Asir, Jami’ al-Usul x, 16 no: 6535.
11. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 327; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 660; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 128.
12. ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 661; Ibn Hajar, al-Isaba fi Tamyiz al-Sahaba no: 8639; al-‘Asqalani, al-Matalib al-‘Aliya no: 4060; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l Nihaya vi, 168.
13. al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id ix, 122; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Fada’il al-Sahaba no: 950; Ibn Maja, Muqaddima ii, 117; Musnad i, 99, 133; Musnad (Tahqiq: Ahmad Shakir) ii, 120 no: 1114; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 133.
14. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 328; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 134; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id ix, 203.
15. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 328; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 134; ^Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 662.
16. Bukhari, ^Ilm 42; Manaqib 28; Buyu’ 1; Harth 21; Muslim, Fada’il al-Sahaba 159 no: 2492; Tirmidhi, Manaqib 46, 47; Musnad ii, 240, 274, 428; al-Mubarakfuri, Tuhfat al-Ahwazi x, 334 no: 3923; Ibn al-Asir, Jami’ al-Usul (Tahqiq: Arnavud) ix, 95; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya vi, 162; al-Sa’ati, al-Fath al-Rabbani xxii, 405, 409-10; Abu Na’im, Hilyat al-Awliya’ i, 381; al-‘Asqalani, al-Isaba no: 1190.
17. Bukhari, ‘Ilm 7; Jihad 101; Maghazi 82; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 328; al-Sa’ati, al-Fath al-Rabbani xxii, 159.
18. Bukhari, Salat 109; Manaqib al-Ansar 45; Muslim, Jihad 107 no: 1794; Musnad i, 417.
19. Bukhari, Tafsir 30; 28:3; 44:3-4; Da’wat 58; Istisqa’ 13; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 328; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 663; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa ii, 324.
20. See, page 140, fn. 76. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 329; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 664.
21. Ibn Maja, Fitan 1 no: 3930; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 329; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 665; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 142; Ibn Hisham, Sirat al-Nabi iv, 247; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya iv, 224-6.
22. Muslim, Ashriba 107 no: 2021; Ibn Hibban, Sahih viii, 152; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 328-9; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 666.
23. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 331; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id ix, 349; al-‘Asqalani, al-Matalib al-^Aliya iv, 90 no: 4044; al-Hakim, al-Mustradrak iii, 289.
24. 1 okka was the equivalent of 1,282 gr. or 2.8 lbs. (Tr.)
25. Musnad v, 441-2; Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat al-Kubra, iv, 53-7; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id ix, 332-6; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ 332; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak ii, 16.
26. Muslim, Fada’il 8 no: 2280; Musnad iii, 340, 347; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 332.
27. Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa vi,
28. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 331; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 668.
29. Ibn Maja, Tahara 136 no: 659; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 332; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 669.
30. al-Sa’ati, al-Fath al-Rabbani xxii, 667.
31. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 334; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 160.
32. Tabrizi, Mishkat al-Masabih (Tahqiq: al-Albani) no: 5943: al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id vi, 58; viii, 313; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak ii, 109; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya iii, 190-1; Ibn al-Qayyim, Zad al-Ma’ad iii, 55, 57; Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat al-Kubra i, 230-1.
33. Musnad (Tahqiq: Ahmad Shakir) v, 210 no: 3598; Ibn Hibban, Sahih viii, 149; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya vi, 102.
34. al-Sa’ati, al-Fath al-Rabbani xx, 192-3; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id viii, 220-1; Abu Na’im, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa i, 111-3; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya ii, 273; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 366; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 750; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 313.
35. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 334; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 673.
36. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 334; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 674.
37. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 335; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 676-7.
38. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 334; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id ix, 412; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 487.
39. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 334; al-^Asqala\ni, al-Isaba iii, 225; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id v, 319.
40. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 334; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 163; al-Haythami, Majma^ al-Zawa’id ix, 259.

THIRD POINT

A brief but true reflection on the essential nature of the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition was once inspired in my heart as a Divine bounty. Now I will give below a translation of that Arabic piece.

The six aspects of the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition are brilliant and luminous; neither doubt nor misgiving can penetrate it. For its back leans on Allah’s Throne; there is the light of Revelation in that aspect. Before it and its goal is the happiness of both worlds; it has laid its hand on post-eternity and the hereafter, and contains the light of happiness and Paradise. Above it shines the seal of miraculousness. Beneath it lie the pillars of proof and evidence. Its inner face is pure guidance, while its right causes the mind to affirm it with phrases like “Will they not think?” Providing spiritual sustenance to hearts, its left causes the conscience to testify to Allah’s blessings. So from what side, what corner, can the thieves of doubt and misgiving enter the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition?

Yes, the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition contains the meaning of the consensus of the books of the prophets, the saints, and those who affirm Divine Unity, whose centuries, ways, and temperaments were all different. That is, those who sought the truth through either the intellect or heart mentioned in their books the All-Wise Qur’an’s concise decrees and principles, in such a way as to confirm them. Thus, they are like the roots of the heavenly tree of the Qur’an.

The All-Wise Qur’an is also based on Revelation and is Revelation. For the Glorious One Who revealed it, demonstrated and proved it was Revelation through the miracles of Muhammad (PBUH). And the Qur’an too, which reveals, shows through the miraculousness on it that it comes from the Divine Throne. Then the alarm of the Most Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) to whom it was revealed, when it was first revealed and his unconscious state during its revelation and his sincerity and veneration towards the Qur’an, which were greater than everyone’s, all demonstrate that it was Revelation coming from pre-eternity; it was his guest.

Moreover, the Qur’an is self-evidently pure guidance, for observedly its opposite is the misguidance of unbelief. It is also of necessity the source of the lights of belief, and the reverse of this is of course, darkness. We have proved this decisively in many of the Words.

Furthermore, the Qur’an is of a certainty the assembly of truths; illusion and superstition cannot intrude on it. The elevated perfections which the World of Islam, to which it gave form, and the Shari‘a, which it manifested, display testify and prove that it is pure truth and contains no contradictions. Its discussions concerning the World of the Unseen testify to this too, like those concerning the Manifest World.

Without doubt, the Qur’an also leads to the happiness of both worlds, and urges man to it. If anyone doubts this, let him read the Qur’an once and heed what it says. Moreover, the fruits the Qur’an produces are both perfect and living. In which case, the roots of the tree of the Qur’an are founded in reality and are living. For the life of the fruit points to the life of the tree. See, how many perfect, living, luminous fruits it has produced each century, like the saints and purified scholars!

Also, with a conviction arising from innumerable various signs, it may be said the Qur’an is accepted and sought after by both men, and jinn, and angels, for when it is recited, they gather round it, drawn like moths.

And together with being Revelation, the Qur’an has been strengthened and fortified with rational proofs; the unanimity of the wise and intelligent testifies to this. The great scholars of theology, and the geniuses of philosophy like Ibn Sina and Ibn Rushd unanimously demonstrated the Qur’anic principles, in accordance with their own methods and proofs.

The Qur’an is also affirmed by all sound natures. So long as it is not corrupted in any way, human nature confirms it. For an easy conscience and peace of mind are to be found through its lights. That is to say, unspoilt human nature affirms it through the testimony of a tranquil conscience, and says to the Qur’an through the tongue of disposition: “Our natures cannot be perfected without you!” We have proved this truth in many places.

The Qur’an is also observedly and self-evidently an eternal and perpetual miracle; it always displays its miraculousness. It never dies away like other miracles, its time never comes to an end; it is everlasting.

Furthermore, there is such breadth in the Qur’an’s guidance that the Angel Gabriel and a young child may listen to its same lesson side by side, and both receive their share. And a brilliant philosopher like Ibn Sina may study the same of its lessons side by side with an ordinary reciter, and they both receive their instruction. It may even happen that due to the strength and purity of his belief, the common man may benefit more than Ibn Sina.

Also, there is in the Qur’an such an eye that it sees and encompasses the whole universe, and holds it before it like the pages of a book, describing its levels and worlds. Like a watchmaker turns, opens, shows, and describes his clock, the Qur’an does the same with the universe, as though it was holding it in its hand. The Qur’an of Mighty Stature is thus; it declares: “Know that there is no god but Allah,” and proclaims the Divine Unity.

O Allah! Make the Qur’an our companion in this world, and a friend for us in the grave, and at the resurrection an intercessor, and on the Bridge a light, and from the Fire a shield and screen, and in Paradise a companion, and in all good works, a guide and leader. O Allah! Illuminate our hearts and graves with the light of belief and the Qur’an; and illumine the proof of the Qur’an for the sake of and in veneration of the one to whom the Qur’an was revealed, and grant blessings and peace to him and his Family from the Most Merciful One, the Gentle One. Amen.

THE MEANING OF YOUR SECOND QUESTION

What was the nature of the wars that started in the time of ‘Ali (May Allah be pleased with him)? In what way should we describe those who took part in them, and those who died and those who killed?

T h e A n s w e r : The war called the Event of the Camel between ‘Ali and Talha, and Zubayr and ‘A’isha the Veracious (May Allah be pleased with all of them) was the struggle between pure justice and relative justice. It was as follows:

‘Ali took pure justice as fundamental and in accordance with his judgement of the Law, proceeded on that basis, as was the case in the time of the Caliphs Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. Those who opposed him said that at that time the purity of Islam permitted pure justice, but since with the passage of time various peoples whose Islam was weak had entered Islamic social life, to apply pure justice was extremely difficult. For this reason, their judgement of the Law was to proceed on the basis of relative justice, known as the lesser of two evils. Dispute over interpretation of the Law led to war. Since the interpretations had been purely for Allah’s sake and for the benefit of Islam, and war was born of interpretation of the Law, we may surely say that both those who killed and those who were killed gained Paradise, and both acted rightfully. However accurate was ‘Ali’s interpretation, and however much in error those who opposed him, they still did not deserve punishment. For if one who interprets the Law extracts the truth, he gains two rewards, but if he does not extract it, he still earns one reward, the reward for interpreting which is a form of worship; he is forgiven his error. A learned person who is widely known amongst us, and who speaks the truth, wrote in Kurdish: “Don’t gossip about the war between the Companions, for both killer and killed were destined for Paradise.”

Pure justice and relative justice may be explained like this: according to the allusive meaning of the verse,

If any one slew a person -unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land- it would be as if he slew the whole people,¹

the rights of an innocent man cannot be cancelled for the sake of all the people. A single individual may not be sacrificed for the good of all. In the view of Almighty Allah’s compassion, right is right, there is no difference between great and small. The small may not be annulled for the great. Without his consent, the life and rights of an individual may not be sacrificed for the good of the community. If he consents to sacrifice them in the name of patriotism, that is a different matter.

As for relative justice, a particular is sacrificed for the good of the universal; the rights of an individual are not considered in the face of the community. A sort of relative justice is attempted to be applied as the lesser of two evils. But if it is possible to apply pure justice, to attempt to apply relative justice is wrong. It may not be attempted.

Thus, saying it was possible to apply pure justice in the time of the Caliphs Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, Imam ‘Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) constructed the Islamic Caliphate on the same basis. Those who opposed him and objected to him said that it was not possible to apply it because of the great difficulties, and judged according to the Law that they should proceed with relative justice. The other reasons related by history are not true reasons, they are pretexts.

I f  y o u a s k : What was the reason for Imam ‘Ali’s lack of success relative to his predecessors in regard to the Islamic Caliphate, despite his extraordinary capabilities, unusual intelligence, and great deservedness?

T h e A n s w e r : That blessed person was worthier of important duties other than politics and rule. If he had been completely successful in politics and government, he would have been unable to truly gain the meaningful title of ‘King of Sainthood.’ Whereas he gained a spiritual rule far surpassing the external and political Caliphate, and became like a Universal Master; in fact, his spiritual rule will continue even until the end of the world.

When it comes to Imam ‘Ali’s war with Mu‘awiya at Siffin, that was a war over the Caliphate and rule. That is to say, taking the injunctions of religion, the truths of Islam, and the hereafter as the basis, Imam ‘Ali sacrificed some of the laws of government and pitiless demands of politics to them. Whereas Mu‘awiya and his supporters left aside resoluteness and favoured permissiveness in order to strengthen Islamic social life with their politics of government; they supposed themselves to be compelled to do so due to the demands of politics, and choosing permissiveness, fell into error.

As for Hasan and Husayn’s struggle against the Umayyads, that was a war between religion and nationalism. That is, the Umayyads planted the Islamic state on Arab nationalism and put the bonds of nationalism before those of Islam, therefore causing harm in two respects:

The First Respect: They offended the other nations and frightened them of.

The Other: Since the principles of racialism and nationalism do not follow justice and right, they are tyranny. They do not proceed on justice. For a ruler of racialist leanings prefers those of the same race, and cannot act justly. According to the clear decree of, Islam has abrogated what preceded it. There is no difference between an Abyssinian slave and a leader of the Quraish, once they have accepted Islam,² Islam has abrogated the tribalism of Ignorance; the bonds of nationalism may not be set up in place of the bonds of religion; if they are, there will be no justice; right will disappear.

Thus, Husayn took the bonds of religion as the basis, and struggled against them as someone who executes justice, until he attained the rank of martyrdom.

I f  i t i s  s a i d : If he was so right and just, why was he not successful? Also, why did Divine Determining and Divine Mercy permit them to meet with the tragic end they did?

T h e A n s w e r : It was not Husayn’s close supporters, but those of other nations who had joined his community, and due to their wounded national pride, harboured feelings of revenge towards the Arab nation; they caused harm to the pure, shining ways of Husayn and his supporters, and were the cause of their defeat.

The wisdom in their tragic end from the point of view of Divine Determining is this: Hasan and Husayn and their family and descendants were destined for a spiritual rule. It is extremely difficult to bring together worldly rule and spiritual rule. Therefore, Divine Determining made them feel disgust with the world; it showed them the ugly face of the world, so that they should cease to feel any attachment to the world with the heart. They lost a temporary and superficial rule, but were appointed to a splendid and permanent spiritual rule. They became the authorities of the spiritual poles among the saints instead of commonplace governors.

____________________

1. Qur’an, 5:32.

2. Bukhari, Ahkam 4; ‘Imara 36, 37; Abu Da’ud, Sunna 5; Tirmidhi, Jihad 28; ‘Ilm 16; Nasa’i, Bay’a 26; Ibn Maja, Jihad 39; Musnad iv, 69, 70, 199, 204, 205; v, 381; vi, 402, 403.

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Third Question: What was the wisdom behind the cruel treatment to Ahl al-Bayt?

The Addendum to the Sixteenth Letter

In His Name!

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.

Without reason ‘the worldly’ became suspicious of a powerless stranger like myself, and imagining me to have the power of thousands of people, put me under numerous restrictions. They did not give permission for me to stay one or two nights in Bedre, a district of Barla, or on one of the mountains of Barla. I heard that they say: “Said has power equal to that of fifty thousand soldiers, we cannot therefore set him free.”

So I say: You unhappy people whose view is restricted to this world! How is it that you do not know the matters of the world, despite working for the world with all your strength, and govern it like lunatics? If it is my person you fear, it is not fifty thousand soldiers, one soldier even could do more than me. That is, he could be posted at the door of my room and tell me: “You can’t go out!”

But if it is my profession and my being herald of the Qur’an and the moral strength of belief that you fear, then you are wrong, it is not fifty thousand soldiers, you should be aware that in respect of my profession I have the strength of fifty million! For through the strength of the All-Wise Qur’an, I challenge all Europe including your irreligious people. Through the lights of belief I have published I have razed the sturdy bastions they call the physical sciences and Nature. I have cast down lower than animals their greatest irreligious philosophers. If all Europe was to gather, of which your irreligious people are a part, through Allah’s assistance, they could not make me recant a single matter of that way of mine. Allah willing, they could not defeat me....

Since the matter is thus, I do not interfere in your world, so don’t you interfere in my hereafter! If you do, if it will be of no avail.

What is determined by Allah cannot be turned by force;

A flame that if lit by Allah, cannot be extinguished by puffing

‘The worldly’ are exceptionally and excessively suspicious of me; quite simply, they are frightened of me. Imagining things non-existent in me, which even if they were existent would not constitute a political crime and could not be the cause of accusation, like being a shaykh, or of significant rank or family, or being a tribal leader, and influential, and having numerous followers, or meeting with people from my native region, or being connected with the affairs of the world, or even entering politics, or even the opposition; imagining these things in me, they have been carried away by groundless fears. At a time even that they are discussing pardoning those in prison and outside, that is, those that according to them cannot be pardoned, they have quite simply barred me from everything. A bad and ephemeral person wrote the following good and enduring words:

If tyranny has cannon, shot, and forts,

Right has an untwistable arm, a constant face.

And I say:

If the worldly have rule, power, and strength,

Through the Qur’an’s effulgence, its servant

Has unfaltering knowledge, an unsilenceable voice;

He has an unerring heart, an unquenchable light.

Many friends, as well as a military commander under whose surveillance I was, repeatedly asked: “Why don’t you apply for the release papers and put forward a petition?”

T h e   A n s w e r : I do not apply and I cannot apply for five or six reasons:

The First: I did not interfere in ‘the worldly’s’ world so that I should have been convicted and apply to them. I was convicted by Divine Determining; my faults are before it, and I apply to it.

The Second: I believe and have certain knowledge that this world is a swiftly changing guest-house. Therefore, it is not the true homeland and everywhere is the same. Since I am not going to remain permanently in my homeland, it is pointless to struggle for it; it is not worth going there. Since everywhere is a guest-house, if the mercy of the guest-house’s Owner befriends one, everyone is a friend and everywhere familiar. Whereas if it does not befriend one, everywhere is a load on the heart and everyone hostile.

The Third: Application is within the framework of the law. But the way I have been treated these six years has been arbitrary and outside the law. The Exiles’ Law was not applied to me. They looked on me as though I had been stripped of all the rights of civilization and even of all worldly rights. To apply in the name of the law to those whose dealings with me have been thus outside the law is meaningless.

The Fourth: This year, the local official applied in my name for me to stay for a few days in the village of Bedre, which is like a district of Barla, for a change of air. How can those who reject such an unimportant need of mine be applied to? If they are applied to, it would be a futile and degrading abasement.

The Fifth: To claim a right before those who claim a wrong to be right, and to apply to them, is a wrong. It is disrespectful towards right. I do not want to perpetrate such a wrong and show disrespect for right. And that is that.

The Sixth: The distress and difficulty ‘the worldly’ have caused me has not been due to politics, because they know I do not meddle in politics and flee from it. Rather, knowingly or unknowingly, they torment me on account of aggressive atheism because I am bound to religion. In which case, to apply to them has the meaning of regretting religion and flattering the cause of aggressive atheism.

Moreover, Divine Determining, which is just, would punish me through their tyrannical hand on my applying to them and having recourse to them, for they oppress me because of my being bound to religion. As for Divine Determining, from time to time it represses me due to my hypocrisy before ‘the worldly,’ because of my deficiency in religion and in sincerity. Since this is so, for the time being I cannot be saved from this distress. If I apply to the worldly, Divine Determining would say: “Hypocrite! Pay the penalty for applying!” And if I do not apply, ‘the worldly’ say: “You don’t recognize us, go on suffering difficulties!”

The Seventh Reason: It is well-known that an official’s duty is to give harmful individuals no opportunity to cause harm and to assist those who are beneficial. Whereas the official who took me into custody approached me, an elderly guest at the door of the grave, when I was expounding a subtle aspect of belief contained in There is no god but Allah as though I was perpetrating some misdemeanour, although he had not been to me for a long time previously. He caused the sincere unfortunate who was listening to be deprived, and me to be angry. There were certain people here, and he attached no importance to them. Then when they acted discourteously in a way that would poison the life of the village, he started to be gracious and appreciative towards them.

Furthermore, it is well-known that someone in prison who has committed a hundred crimes can meet with the person who supervises him whether the official be of high or low rank. But in this last year, although two important people in the national government charged with supervising me have passed by my house several times, they have absolutely neither met with me nor asked after my condition. At first I supposed that they did not come near to me due to enmity, then it became clear that it was due to their fearful suspicions; they were fleeing from me as though as I was going to gobble them up. Thus, to recognize a government whose members and officials are like those men and have recourse to it and apply to it, is not sensible, but a futile abasement. If it had been the Old Said, he would have said, like ‘Antara:

The very water of life becomes Hell through abasement,

Whereas Hell with dignity becomes a place of pride.

The Old Said no longer exists, and the New Said considers it meaningless to talk with ‘the worldly.’ Let their world be the end of them! They can do what they like. He is silent, saying, we shall be judged together with them at the Last Judgement.

The Eighth Reason for my not applying: According to the rule, “The result of illicit love is merciless torment,” Divine Determining, which is just, torments me through the tyrannous hand of ‘the worldly,’ because I incline towards them, since they are not worthy of it. And saying, I deserve this torment, I am silent. For in the Great War I fought and strove as a Commander of a volunteer regiment. Applauded by the Commander-in-Chief of the army and Enver Paşa, I sacrificed my valuable students and friends. I was wounded and taken prisoner. Returning from captivity, I cast myself into danger through works like The Seven Steps, aiming them at the heads of the British, who had occupied Istanbul. I assisted those who hold me without reason in this torment and captivity. As for them, they punish me in this way for that help. Those friends here cause me in three months the hardship and distress I suffered in three years as a prisoner-of-war in Russia. And the Russians did not prevent me from giving religious instruction, although they regarded me as a Kurdish Militia Commander, a cruel man who had slaughtered Cossacks and prisoners. I used to instruct the great majority of my ninety fellow officer prisoners. One time, the Russian commander came and listened. Because he did not know Turkish, he thought it was political instruction, and put a stop to it. Then later he gave permission. Also, in the same barracks, we made a room into a mosque, and I used to lead the prayers. They did not interfere at all. They did not prevent me from mixing, or from communicating, with the others. Whereas my friends here, my fellow citizens and co-religionists and those for whose benefits in the form of religious belief I have struggled, have held me in a tortuous captivity not for three years, but for six, for absolutely no reason and although they know I have severed all my relations with the world. They have prevented me mixing with others. They have prevented me from giving religious instruction, despite my having a certificate, and even from giving private instruction in my room. They have prevented me from communicating with others. They have even barred me from the mosque which I repaired and where I acted as prayer-leader for four years, although I had the necessary certificate. And now, to deprive me of the merit of performing the prayers in congregation, they do not accept me as prayer-leader even for three private individuals, my permanent congregation and brothers of the hereafter.

Furthermore, if, although I do not want it, someone is to call me good, the official who holds me in surveillance is jealous and angry. Thinking he will destroy my influence, he entirely unscrupulously takes precautions, and pesters me in order to curry favour with his superiors.

To whom can someone in such a position have recourse other than Allah Almighty? If the judge is also the claimant, of course he cannot complain to him. Come on, you say! What can we say to this? You say what you like, I say this: there are many dissemblers among these friends of mine. A dissembler is worse than an unbeliever. For that reason they make me suffer what the infidel Russian did not make me suffer.

And so, you unfortunates, what have I done to you and what I am doing? I am trying to save your belief and am serving your eternal happiness! It means that my service is not sincere and purely for Allah’s sake so that it has the reverse effect. In return, you torment me at every opportunity. For sure, we shall meet at the Last Judgement. I say:

Allah is enough for us and the best of protectors.¹ * The best of lords and the best of helpers.²

The Enduring One, He is the Enduring One!

S a i d  N u r s i

***

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1. Qur’an, 3:173.
2. Qur’an, 8:40.

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Seventeenth Letter Child Condolence: It is a letter of condolence to the people whose children die at a young age. It is a glad tiding that the children who die before reaching the age of puberty will be given to their parents as cute children.

SIXTEENTH SIGN

The wonders that took place before his prophetic mission, but which were related to it, are called irhasat, and these too were indications and proofs of his prophethood. They were of three kinds:

The First Kind is the news given by the Torah, the Bible, the Psalms and other scriptures about Muhammad (pbuh).

The Second Kind is the news given by soothsayers, and people like saints and gnostics about Hz. Muhammad’s (pbuh) coming.

The Third Kind is some wondrous events that occurred at the time of the birth of Hz. Muhammad (pbuh).

SECOND POINT

Why does the New Said avoid politics with such vehemence?

T h e A n s w e r : He avoids it so vehemently in order to serve belief and the Qur’an, which is of the greatest importance, the greatest necessity and is the most pure and most right, in order not to sacrifice unnecessarily and officiously for one or two doubtful years of worldly life the working for and gaining of more than millions of years of eternal life. For he says: I am getting old and I do not know how many more years I shall live, so the most important question for me must be to work for eternal life. The prime means of gaining eternal life and the key to everlasting happiness is belief, so one has to work for that. But since I am obliged by the Shari‘a to serve people in respect of learning so that they may profit also, I want to perform such a duty. However, such service will either concern social and worldly life, which I cannot do, and also in stormy times it is not possible to perform such service soundly. Therefore, I left aside that aspect and chose the aspect of service to belief, which is the most important, the most necessary, and the soundest. I leave that door open so that the truths of belief I have gained for myself and the spiritual remedies I have myself experienced may be acquired by others. Perhaps Almighty Allah will accept this service and make it atonement for my former sins. Apart from Satan the Accursed, no one, be it a believer or an unbeliever, one of the veracious or an atheist, has the right to oppose this work. For unbelief resembles nothing else. In tyrannizing, vice, and grievous sins there may be an inauspicious satanic pleasure, but in unbelief there is no sort of pleasure at all. It is pain upon pain, darkness upon darkness, torment upon torment.

Just how contrary to reason it would be for someone like me who is unattached, alone, and compelled to atone for his former sins to leave aside working for an endless eternal life and serving a sacred light like belief, and to cast himself in old age into the unnecessary, perilous games of politics-just how contrary to wisdom, just what a lunacy it would be even lunatics would understand!

But if you ask why service to the Qur’an and belief prohibit me, I would say: Since the truths of belief and the Qur’an are each like diamonds, if I was polluted by politics, the ordinary people who are easily deceived, would wonder about those diamonds I was holding, “Aren’t they for political propaganda to attract more supporters?” They might regard the diamonds as bits of common glass. Then by being involved with politics, I would be wronging the diamonds and as though reducing their value. And so, O you whose view is restricted to this world! Why do you struggle against me? Why do you not leave me to myself?

If you say: The shaykhs sometimes interfere in our business, and they sometimes call you a shaykh.

I reply: Good sirs! I am not a shaykh, I am a hoja [teacher]. The evidence is this: I have been here four years and if I had taught a single person the Sufi way, you would have had the right to be suspicious. But I have told everyone who has come to me: Belief is necessary, Islam is necessary; this is not the age of Sufism.

If you say: They call you Said-i Kurdi; perhaps you have some nationalist ideas, and that doesn’t suit our interests.

I would reply: Sirs! The things the Old Said and the New Said have written are clear. I cite as testimony the certain statement, “Islam has abrogated the tribalism of Ignorance.” For years I have considered negative nationalism and racialism to be a fatal poison, since it is a variety of European disease. And Europe has infected Islam with that disease thinking it would cause division, and Islam would break up and be easily swallowed. My students and those who have had anything to do with me know that for years I have tried to treat that disease. Since it is thus, good sirs, I wonder why you make every incident a pretext to harass me? According to what principle do you cause me distress at every worldly incident, like punishing and inflicting trouble on a soldier in the West because of a mistake made by a soldier in the East due to the connection of the army, or convicting a shopkeeper in Baghdad because of a crime committed by a tradesman in Istanbul due to their being in the same line of business? How can the conscience demand this? What benefit can require it?

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Third Point: It explains an important reason for Badiuzzaman Said Nursi’s endurance against hard pressures with two examples.

SIXTH SIGN

According to an authentic narration, the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) said to Fatima: “You will be the first of my Family to join me [after my death].”¹ Six months later, what he said took place.

He also told Abu Dharr: “You will be expelled from here [Madinah], will live alone, and will die alone.”² All this came true twenty years later.

Once, as he awakened in the house of Anas b. Malik’s aunt, Umm Haram, he smilingly said: “I saw my community waging war on the seas like kings sitting on thrones.”³ Umm Haram requested: “Pray that I too will be with them.” He said: “You shall be.” Forty years later she accompanied her husband, ‘Ubada b. Samit, on the conquest of Cyprus. She died there, and her grave has ever since been visited by the believers. Thus, what the Prophet foretold proved to be true.

Also according to an authentic narration, he declared: “From the tribe of Thaqif, a liar will claim prophethood, and a bloodthirsty tyrant will appear.”⁴ With this, he gave tidings of the infamous Mukhtar, who claimed prophethood, and of the barbarous Hajjaj, who killed a hundred thousand people.

According to an authentic narration, he said: “Istanbul will be conquered, and blessed are the ruler and the toops that will conquer it.”⁵ He thus gave tidings that Istanbul would be conquered by Muslim hands, and that Mehmed the Conqueror would attain a high spiritual rank. His prediction again proved to be true.

He also said, according to an authentic narration: “Were religion to be hung on the Pleiades, men from Persia would reach up and lay hold of it,”⁶ indicating that matchless scholars and saints like Abu Hanifa would emerge from Iran. In addition, he foretold Imam Shafi‘i, saying: “A scholar from Quraysh who will fill all regions of the earth with learning.”⁷

According to an authentic narration, he said: “My community will be divided into seventy-three sects, and only one among them will attain salvation.” He was asked: “Who are they?” He replied: “Those who follow me and my Companions,”⁸ meaning the Sunnis or Ahl al-Sunna wa’l-Jama‘a.

He also declared: “The Qadariyya are the Magians of this community,”⁹ foretelling the emergence of the Qadariyya sect, which would be divided into different branches and reject Divine Determining or Destiny. He also foretold the Rafida, who would produce various offshoots.

Again according to an authentic narration, he said to ‘Ali: “As was true of Jesus, two groups of people will perish on your account: one because of excessive love, the other because of excessive enmity.¹⁰ Christians, on account of the deep love for Jesus, transgressed the limits and called him-God forbid!-‘the son of God,’ while the Jews, because of their hostility, went to another extreme by denying his message and virtue. Similarly, some will also incur loss through their exaggerated affection toward you. For them is the insulting name of Rafida.¹¹ And certain others will be excessively hostile to you. They are the Kharijites and the extremist partisans of the Umayyads, who will be called Nasiba.”

I t   m a y   b e   a s k e d   h e r e : Love for the Prophet’s Family is a command of the Qur’an and was greatly encouraged by the Prophet. The affection of the Shi‘a may therefore serve as an excuse for them, since deep affection may be likened to intoxication. Why, then, can the Shi‘a, especially the Rafida not benefit from their love, and why is their love described by the Prophet (PBUH) as transgression?

T h e   A n s w e r : Love is of two kinds:

The First is to love something or someone for the meaning it or he signifies. This means to love ‘Ali, Hasan, Husayn, and the Prophet’s Family in the name of Allah and of His Messenger. This kind of love augments the love of the Prophet, and becomes a means to love Allah Almighty. Thus, it is permissible, and its excess is not harmful or aggressive, nor does it call for reproach and hostility towards others.

The Second Kind of love takes the means as the object, it is to love something or someone for itself or himself. In it, one does not think of the Prophet, (PBUH) but devotes one’s love to ‘Ali on account of his bravery, and to Hasan and Husayn on account of their greatness and lofty qualities, no matter if one knows the Prophet or recognizes Allah. This love is not a means of love for Allah and His Prophet; besides, when excessive, it results in censure and enmity for others. It is on account of this kind of love that such people held themselves at a distance from Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, and fell into loss. Their negative love, indeed, is the source of misfortune.

According to an authentic narration, Allah’s Most Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) declared: “When Persian and Roman girls serve you, then calamity and misfortune will be with you, and your struggles will be between yourselves, with the wicked preying on the virtuous.”¹² After thirty years, his predictions came true.

Again, according to an authentic narration, he declared: “The fortress of Khaybar will be conquered at ‘Ali’s hand.”¹³ As a miracle of his prophethood and beyond all expectation, the following day ‘Ali ripped off the gate of the fortress of Khaybar, used it as a shield, and seized the fortress. When he threw it aside after the conquest, eight strong men -or according to another version, forty- tried to lift it, but could not do so.¹⁴

The Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) also predicted the Battle of Siffin between ‘Ali and Mu‘awiya, saying: “The hour shall not come until two parties with a single claim fight each other.”¹⁵

He also declared that a group of rebels would kill ‘Ammar.¹⁶ When ‘Ammar was killed at the Battle of Siffin, ‘Ali cited this as a proof that Mu‘awiya’s followers were rebellious; but Mu‘awiya interpreted it differently, and also ‘Amr b. al-‘As said: “The rebels are murderers, not all of us.”

The Noble Prophet (PBUH) also said: “As long as ‘Umar is alive, no sedition will erupt among you.”¹⁷ And so it happened.

Before accepting faith, Sahl b. ‘Amr was once captured in a battle. ‘Umar said to the Allah’s Messenger: “Allow me to pull out his teeth, for he, with his eloquent speech, incited the idolatrous Quraysh to wage war against us.” Allah’s Messenger replied: “It may be that he will assume a stance pleasing to you, O ‘Umar.”¹⁸ In fact, at the time of the Prophet’s demise, which caused panic and agitation, Sahl, with his well-known eloquence, calmed and comforted the Companions in Makkah with an address; while in Madinah Abu Bakr, with his great firmness, was also giving a very important address to comfort the Companions. Surprisingly, the two addresses resemble each other in regard to their wording.

To Suraqa, the Prophet once said: “You will wear the two bracelets of Chosroes.”¹⁹ Chosroes was wiped out during the Caliphate of ‘Umar. When Chosroes’ jewelry arrived, ‘Umar put the bracelets on Suraqa, saying, “Praise be to Allah Who took these off Chosroes and put them on Suraqa.”²⁰ This confirmed the report of the Prophet.

The Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) also declared: “Once Chosroes the Persian has gone, there will be no other.”²¹ So it turned out.

He once said to Chosroes’ envoy: “Chosroes has now been killed by his son Shirviya Parviz.”²² Upon investigating and finding out that he had indeed been murdered at that very time, the envoy accepted Islam. The name of the envoy occurs in some narrations as Firuz.

According to an authentic narration, the Noble Prophet (PBUH) once mentioned a secret letter that Khatib b. Balta‘a had sent to the Quraysh.

He sent ‘Ali and Miqdad to fetch it, saying, “There is a person at such-and-such a location bearing such-and-such a letter. Take it and bring it here.” They went and brought exactly the letter he had described from exactly the place. The Prophet (PBUH) summoned Khatib and asked him why he had done it. Khatib apologized, and the Prophet pardoned him.²³

Again, according to an authentic narration concerning ‘Utba b. Abi Lahab, Allah’s Messenger prayed: “May he be eaten by one of the dogs of Allah!”,²⁴ predicting the terrible fate of ‘Utba. For while on his way to the Yemen, ‘Utba was devoured by a lion. Both the malediction and the prediction of the Prophet were thus confirmed.

At the conquest of Makkah, as is also related in an authentic narration, Bilal al-Habashi went up onto the roof of the Ka‘ba and made the call to prayer, while Abu Sufyan, ‘Attab b. Asid, and Harith b. Hisham, from among the leaders of the Quraysh, were sitting together nearby. ‘Attab said: “My father was fortunate enough not to witness this moment.” Harith said contemptuously about Bilal: “Could Muhammad have not found someone other than this black crow to make the mu’ezzin?” Abu Sufyan said: “I am afraid to say anything, for he will come to know of whatever I say. Even if nothing else informs him, the rocks of this Batha [Makkah] will do so.” Indeed, a little later the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) encountered them and repeated to them their conversation word for word.²⁵ That very moment ‘Attab and Harith became Muslims.

See, wretched denier who does not recognize the Prophet! Two stubborn leaders of the Quraysh came to believe on hearing this single report of his from the Unseen. How corrupted your heart must be, for you hear about thousands of miracles having the certainty of ‘consensus in meaning’ like this one, and still you are not completely satisfied! However, to return to our subject.

According to an authentic narration, ‘Abbas was captured by the Companions in the Battle of Badr. When he was asked for ransom, he said he did not have money. Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) said to him: “You and your wife Umm Fadl hid that much money [he gave the exact amount] in such-and-such a place.”²⁶ ‘Abbas confirmed this, saying: “This was a secret known by only the two of us,” and became a Muslim.

Also according to an authentic narration, a dangerous Jewish sorcerer named Labid once concocted a strong and effective spell to harass the Allah’s Messenger (PBUH). He wrapped hair and thread around a comb, bewitched it, and threw it into a well. The Noble Messenger told his Companions including ‘Ali to go and bring the spell in the well, which they did, finding it exactly as described. As they unwrapped the hair, the Messenger’s discomfort lessened.²⁷

Again, according to an authentic narration, the Noble Messenger once gave the news of the awesome fate of an apostate to a group that included such important persons as Abu Hurayra and Hudhayfa, saying: “One of you will enter the Fire with a tooth bigger than Mount Uhud.”²⁸ Abu Hurayra related: “I was afraid, as later only two remained from that group, one of which was me. Finally, the other man was killed in the Battle of Yamama as one of the followers of Musaylima.”²⁹ The truth of the Prophet’s (PBUH) prediction was thus confirmed.

It is related through an authentic chain of reports that ‘Umayr and Safwan, before they became Muslims, once decided to kill the Prophet for a handsome reward that had been offered them. When ‘Umayr arrived in Madinah with this intention, the Noble Messenger summoned him, and, putting his hand on ‘Umayr’s chest, told him about what he had planned with Safwan. ‘Umayr answered, “Yes,” and became a Muslim.³⁰

Like those mentioned above, many predictions which the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) gave concerning the Unseen have been recorded in the six best-known, authentic books of Hadith, together with the chains of the narrators. As for the occurrences related in this work, they are definite to the degree of ‘consensus in meaning,’ being related in Bukhari and Muslim-which are accepted by the scholars as the most authentic sources after the Qur’an, and in the other collections like Tirmidhi, Nasa’i, Abu Da’ud, Mustadrak al-Hakim, Musnad al-Ahmad b. Hanbal, and Dala’il al-Bayhaqi.

Now, unthinking denier! Do not shrug these off, saying, “Muhammad the Arabian was clever!” Because the accurate predictions of Muhammad (PBUH) concerning the Unseen cannot be explained except in either of the following two ways: you will either suppose that this blessed person had such piercing vision and expansive genius that he saw and knew the past and the future and all the world; beheld the East, the West, and the whole universe; and discovered what happened in the past and what will happen in the future. Such a quality is not to be found in a human being, but if it was to be, it would certainly be a wonder, a gift, bestowed on him by the Creator of the world, which would itself be the greatest of miracles. Or you will believe this blessed person to be an official and a student of One under Whose disposal and observation everything stands, under Whose command are all ages and all the species and realms of beings in the cosmos, in Whose great ledger is recorded everything, so that He may show and communicate them to his student whenever He wishes. Thus, Muhammad the Arabian (Upon whom be blessings and peace) instructs others as he himself is instructed by the Lord of Pre-Eternity.

It is related in an authentic narration that when the Prophet appointed Khalid b. al-Walid to fight against Ukaydir, the head of the Dumat al-Jandal, he informed Khalid that he would find Ukaydir on a wild ox hunt, and that he would be captured without resistance. Khalid captured Ukaydir in exactly this way.³¹

According to an authentic narration, when the Quraysh hung up on the wall of the Ka‘ba a leaf on which were written words against the Bani Hashim, the Prophet said to them: “Worms have eaten the leaf, except the parts bearing the Names of Allah.”³² They examined the leaf to find it in the same condition as had been described.

According to an authentic narration, the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blesssings and peace) said: “There will be a big epidemic during the conquest of Jerusalem.”³³ When Jerusalem was conquered during the Caliphate of ‘Umar, a widespread epidemic caused in three days the death of about seventy thousand people.

Again, according to an authentic narration, the Prophet (PBUH) predicted that Basra³⁴ and Baghdad³⁵ would come into existence, which at that time had not been founded, that the treasure of the world would enter Baghdad, and that the Turks and the people living on the shores of the Caspian Sea would do battle with the Arabs and that the majority of them would later enter the fold of Islam,³⁶ and that among the Arabs they would come to dominate them. He said: “The Persians [non-Arabs] will almost predominate among you, consuming your booty and smiting you.”³⁷

He also said: “The ruin of my community will be at the hands of the wicked ones from Quraysh,”³⁸ suggesting the disorder caused by the wicked leaders of the Umayyads, such as Walid and Yazid.

He furthermore predicted that apostasy would take place in such areas as Yamama.³⁹

During the famous Battle of Khandaq, he declared: “From now on, I will make assaults on the Quraysh and their confederates, not they on me.”⁴⁰ This was also verified.

According to an authentic narration, he said a few months prior to his death: “One of Allah’s bondsmen has been given a choice, and he chose that which is with Allah.”⁴¹

About Zayd b. Suwahan, he said: “One of his limbs will precede him to Paradise.”⁴² In the Battle of Nihawand, one of his hands was martyred and in effect reached heaven first.

The incidents we have so far mentioned concerning predictions relating to the Unseen comprise only one out of his ten different kinds of miracle. Yet of this kind alone, we have not even mentioned one tenth. In addition to what is mentioned here, four general kinds of miracle concerning predictions of the Unseen have been described briefly in the Twenty-Fifth Word, which is about the miraculousness of the Qur’an. Now consider the kinds mentioned here together with the four extensive sorts communicated from the Unseen by the tongue of the Qur’an, you will see what conclusive, indisputable, sound, brilliant, and firm proof of his messengership they form. Indeed, anyone whose heart and mind are not corrupted will of a surety believe that Muhammad is the Messenger of, and receives knowledge from, a Glorious One Who is the Creator of all things, the One All-Knowing of the Unseen.

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1. Bukhari, Manaqib 25; Muslim, Fada’il al-Sahaba 101; Ibn Maja, Jana’iz 64; Musnad vi, 240, 282, 283; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 340.
2. al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 345; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 343; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 700; al-Asqalani, al-Matalib al-‘Aliya iv, 116 no: 4109; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya v, 8-9; al-‘Asqalani, al-Isaba iv, 64.
3. Bukhari, Ta’bir 12; Jihad 3, 8, 63, 75; Isti’dhan 41; Muslim, ‘Imara 160, 160; Abu Da’ud, Jihad 9; Tirmidhi, Fada’il al-Jihad 15; Nasa’i, Jihad 40; Ibn Maja, Jihad 10; Darimi, Jihad 28; Muwatta’, Jihad 39; Musnad iii, 240, 264; al-Albani, Sahih al-Jami’ al-Saghir vi, 24 no: 6620; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iv, 556.
4. Muslim, Fada’il al-Sahaba 229; Tirmidhi, Fitan 44; Manaqib 73; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 450; iv, 254.
5. al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iv, 422; Bukhari, Ta’rikh al-Saghir, no: 139; Musnad iv, 335; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id vi, 218.
6. Bukhari, al-Tafsir 62; Tirmidhi, 47; Tafsir Sura 3.
7. al-’Ajluni, Kashf al-Khafa’ ii, 52, 54.
8. Abu Da’ud, Sunna 1; Ibn Maja, Fitan 17; Tirmidhi, Iman 18; Musnad ii, 232; iii, 120, 148; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 679. See also, page 130.
9. al-Albani, Sahih Jami’ al-Saghir iv, 150; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak i, 185; Abu Da’ud, Sunna 5; Suyuti, al-Fath al-Kabir iii, 23; Musnad ii, 86, 125; v, 406.
10. al-Sa’ati, al-Fath al-Rabbani xxiii, 134; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Fada’il al-Sahaba (Tahqiq: Vasiyyullah) ii, 565; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 123.
11. al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id x, 22; al-Sa’ati, al-Fath al-Rabbani xxiv, 20-1.
12. Tirmidhi (Tahqiq: Ahmad Shakir) no: 2262; al-Albani, Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahiha 954; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id x, 232, 237.
13. Bukhari, Jihad 102, 143; al-Maghazi 38; Muslim, Fada’il al-Sahaba 34, 35; Musnad ii, 484; v, 333; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa iv, 205.
14. Suyuti, al-Durar al-Muntathira (Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi 1960) 118; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya iv, 189-190; al-’Ajluni, Kashf al-Khafa’ i, 365.
15. Muslim, Fitan 4; Ibn Hibban, Sahih viii, 259; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 704; al-Albani, Sahih Jami’ al-Saghir vi, 174 no: 7294.
16. Bukhari, Salat 63; Muslim, Fitan 70, 72, 73; Tirmidhi, Manaqib 34; Kattani, Nazm al-Mutanathir 126; Ibn Hibban, Sahih viii, 260; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak ii, 155; iii, 191, 397; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 339; al-Sa’ati, al-Fath al-Rabbani xxiii, 142.
17. Bukhari, Mawaqit 4; Fitan 22; Muslim, Iman 231; Fitan 27; Ibn Maja, Fitan 9; Musnad v, 401, 405.
18. ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 704; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 218; al-‘Asqalani, al-Isaba ii, 93-94; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iv, 282.
19. ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 703; al-‘Asqalani, al-Isaba no: 3115.
20. See, fn. 71. Also, Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 344.
21. Bukhari, Iman 31; Muslim, Fitan 76; Tirmidhi, Fitan 41; Musnad ii, 233, 240; v, 92, 99; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 337; al-Mubarakfuri, Tuhfat al-Ahwazi (Tahqiq: ‘Abd al-Wahhab) iv, 462, 663.
22. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 343; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 211; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 700; al-Albani, Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahiha 1427.
23. Bukhari, Jihad 141; Tafsir 60:1; Maghazi 46; Muslim, Fada’il al-Sahaba, 161; Abu Da’ud, Jihad 98; Tirmidhi, lx, 1; Musnad i, 79; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 301; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 342.
24. al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 139; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 664; Suyuti, Kanz al-‘Ummal nos: 438, 439.
25. al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 219, 220; al-‘Asqalani, al-Matalib al-‘Aliya no: 4366; Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawzi, Zad al-Ma’ad (Tahqiq: al-Arnavud) iii, 409-410; Ibn Hisham, Sirat al-Nabi ii, 413.
26. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 343; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 699; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 206, 207; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id iv, 85.
27. Bukhari, Tibb 47, 49, 50; Adab 56; Da’wat 57; Bad al-Khalq 11; Muslim, Salam 43; Ibn Maja, Tibb 45; Musnad vi, 57, 63, 96; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 706; Tabrizi, Mishkat al-Masabih (Tahqiq: al-Albani) iii, 174 no: 5893.
28. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ iv, 342; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 203; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id viii, 289-290; Tabrizi, Mishkat al-Masabih iii, 103.
29. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 342; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 298.
30. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 342, 343; original: al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id viii, 286-7; viii, 284-6.
31. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ iii, 218; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 704; Ibn al-Qayyim, Zad al-Ma’ad v, 538-9; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iv, 519; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya iv, 30.
32. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 345; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 720; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 706; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya iii, 96-7; Ibn Hisham, Sirat al-Nabi i, 371.
33. Bukhari, Tibb 30; Khiyal 13; Muslim, Salam 98, 100; Muwatta’, Madina 22, 24; Musnad iv, 195-6; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa vi, 383; Suyuti, al-Khasa’is al-Kubra, ii, 477-8.
34. al-Albani, Sahih al-Ja\mi^ al-Saghir vi, 268 no: 7736; Tabrizi, Mishkat al-Masabih no: 5433.
35. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 344; ^Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 703; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya x, 102; Tabrizi, Mishkat al-Masabih no: 5433.
36. Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Da’ud, Tirmidhi, and Ibn Maja narrated it. See, Tabrizi, Mishkat al-Masabih vi, 173.
37. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 341; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 194; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 692; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id vii, 310; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iv, 519; Musnad ii, 288, 296, 304, 324, 377, 520, 536; iv, 66; v, 38.
38. Bukhari, Manaqib 25; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iv, 479, 527, 572; Musnad ii, 288, 296, 301, 304, 324, 377, 520, 536; iv, 66; v, 38; (different wording): Ibn Hibban, Sahih viii, 215, 252.
39. Bukhari, Manaqib 25; Maghazi 70; Ta’bir 40; Muslim, Ru’ya 21, 22; Tirmidhi, Ru’ya 10; Musnad ii, 319, Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa v, 334-6; vi, 358, 360, 524.
40. Bukhari, Maghazi 29; Musnad iv, 262; vi, 394; Ibn Hibban, Sahih vi, 272.
41. Bukhari, Manaqib al-Ansar 45; Salat 80; Fada’il al-Sahaba 2; Tirmidhi, Manaqib 15; Abu Da’ud, Muqaddima 14; Musnad iii, 18, 478; iv, 211; v, 139; Ibn Hibban, Sahih viii, 200; ix, 58.
42. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 343; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 702; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 214; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id ix, 398; al-‘Asqalani, al-Matalib al-‘Aliya iv, 91 no: 4047.

The Nineteenth Letter

This treatise describes more than three hundred miracles. And as it describes the messengership of Muhammad (PBUH), itself a miracle, so is it itself a wonder in three or four respects, proceeding from the miracle of his messengership.

T h e   F i r s t : Although it is more than a hundred pages in length and is based on traditions and narrations, it was written in an unusual fashion-in the mountains and countryside, completely from memory, and without referring to any book. It was completed, moreover, in a few days by working two to three hours every day, for a total of twelve hours.

T h e   S e c o n d : Despite its length, this work did not cause tedium to its writer, nor does it lack pleasantness for its reader. In fact, it aroused such ardour and enthusiasm in even my apathetic scribes that in these hard and distressing times, as many as seventy copies were handwritten in this neighbourhood within a single year. Those aware of this property of the treatise concluded that this must be a wonder proceeding from the miracle of his messengership (Blessings and peace be upon him.)

T h e   T h i r d : In the copies handwritten by nine different scribes who did not communicate with one another, including one very inexperienced and unaware of ‘coincidence’¹-it was also before we were aware of the phenomenon- the words referring to the Noble Messenger ‘coincided’ to such a degree throughout the whole of the treatise, and in the fifth part for the words referring to the Qur’an, that any one who is fair to the slightest degree would not consider this to be the result of chance. In fact, whoever observed it definitely concluded that it was a mystery of the Unseen and a marvel proceeding from the miracle of Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace).

The Principles explained at the beginning of this treatise have extreme importance. As for the prophetic Hadiths related, they are accepted as authentic by the authorities on Hadith, and they report the most established phenomena concerning the messengership of Muhammad. Now, to enumerate the merits of this treatise, another treatise of the same length would be needed; we therefore invite those who wish to read it, if only once.

S a i d  N u r s i

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1.'Coincidence' (tawâfuq) refers to the unintentional correspondence of  letters or words in lines or patterns on one several pages.(Tr:)

A REMINDER: In this work, I have related many Hadiths, despite having no books to refer to. Should there be any errors in the wording of the Hadiths, I request that they either be corrected, or be considered as paraphrases of Hadith. For, according to the prevailing opinion, “To relate the meanings of Hadiths is permissible,” in which case the narrator puts the meaning of the Hadith into his own words. This being the case, Hadiths with possible errors of wording should be regarded as paraphrases.

* NOTE: The present translation of the Nineteenth Letter is based on a translation prepared by members of the Risale-i Nur Institute of America in 1976. (Tr.)

The Miracles of Muhammad (PBUH)

In His Name, be He glorified!

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

He it is Who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to make it supreme over all religion: and sufficient is Allah as a Witness. * Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah... [to the end of the verse]²

[Since the Nineteenth and Thirty-First Words concerning the messengership of Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace) prove it with decisive evidence, we assign the verification of that side of the subject to those Words. As a supplement to them we will merely show here, in Nineteen Signs, some of the flashes of that great truth.]

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2. Qur’an, 48:28-9.

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FOURTH POINT

The answer to a number of suspicious questions:

T h e   F i r s t : ‘The worldly’ say to me: “How do you live? What do you live on since you do not work? We don’t want people in our country who sit around idly and live off the labour of others.”

T h e   A n s w e r : I live through frugality and the resulting plenty. I am not obliged to anyone other the One Who Provides for me and I have taken the decision not to become obliged to anyone else. Yes, someone who lives on a hundred para, or even forty para, does not become obliged to anyone. I do not want to explain this matter. To do so is most disagreeable to me, as it may make me feel a sort of pride or egotism. But since ‘the worldly’ ask about it suspiciously, I reply as follows: since my childhood, throughout my life, it has been a principle of my life not to accept anything from the people, even zakat, not to accept a salary -only I was compelled to accept one for one or two years in the Darü’l-Hikmeti’l-Islamiye on the insistence of my friends- and not to become obliged to people for a worldly livelihood. The people of my native region and those who have known me in other places know this. During these five years of exile, many friends have tried earnestly to make me accept their gifts, but I have accepted none of them. And so, if it is asked me, “So how do you manage to live?”, I reply: I live through Divine bestowal and blessings. For sure, my soul deserves all insults and contempt, but as a wonder resulting from service of the Qur’an, I receive plenty and blessings which are a Divine bestowal in the matter of sustenance. In accordance with the verse,

But the bounty of your Sustainer rehearse and proclaim,¹

I shall recall the bounties Almighty Allah has bestowed on me, and mention a few examples by way of thanks. But together with being thanks, I am frightened that it will induce hypocrisy and pride so that blessed plenty will be cut. For to make known a secret Divine gift of plenty causes it to cease. But what can I do, I am compelled to tell them.

And so, The First: This six months one bushel (kile)² of wheat, consisting of thirty-six loaves of bread, has sufficed me. There is still some left, it is not finished. How much longer³ it will last, I do not know.

The Second: This blessed month of Ramadan I received food from only two houses, and both of them made me ill. I understood that I am prohibited from eating the food of others. The rest of the time, in the whole of Ramadan, three loaves of bread and one okka⁴ of rice sufficed me, as was witnessed and told by Abdullah ?avus, the owner of a blessed house and a loyal friend who saw my economizing. The rice even was finished two weeks after the end of Ramadan.

The Third: For three months on the mountain one kiyye⁵ of butter was enough for me and my guests, eating it every day together with bread. On one occasion even I had a blessed visitor called Süleyman. Both his bread and my bread were about to be finished. It was Wednesday. I told him to go and get some bread. For two hours’ distance to every side of us there was no one from whom he could have got any bread. He said that he wanted to stay with me on the mountain on Thursday night so that we could pray together. Saying, Our reliance is on Allah, I told him to stay. Later, although it had no connection with this and there was no reason for it, we both began walking till we reached the top of mountain. There was a little water in the ewer, and we had a small piece of sugar and some tea. I said to him: “Brother! Make some tea!” He set about making it and I sat down under a cedar-tree overlooking a deep ravine. I thought regretfully to myself: we have a bit of mouldy bread which will only just be enough for us this evening. What shall we do for two days and what shall I say to this ingenuous man? While thinking this, I suddenly turned my head involuntarily and I saw a huge loaf of bread on the cedar-tree in among the branches; it was facing us. I exclaimed: “Süleyman! Good news! Almighty Allah has sent us food.” We took the bread, and looking at it saw that no bird or wild animal had touched it. And for twenty or thirty days no one at all had climbed to the top of that mountain. The bread was sufficient for us for the two days. While we were eating and it was about to be finished, righteous Süleyman who had been the most loyal of loyal friends for four years, suddenly appeared from below with more bread.

The Fourth: I bought this sack coat that I’m wearing seven years ago second-hand. In five years I have spent only four and a half liras on clothes, underwear, slippers, and stockings. Frugality and Divine mercy and the resulting plenty have sufficed me.

Thus, there are numerous things like these examples and numerous sorts of Divine blessings. The people of this village know most of them. But do not suppose I am mentioning them out of pride, I have been forced to, rather. But do not think they were due to my goodness. These instances of plenty were either bestowal to the sincere friends who have visited me, or a bestowal on account of service to the Qur’an, or an abundance and benefit resulting from frugality, or they have been sustenance for the four cats I have which recite the Divine Names “O Most Compassionate One! O Most Compassionate One!”, which comes in the form of plenty and from which I benefit too.

Yes, if you listen carefully to their mournful miaowings, you will understand that they are saying, “O Most Compassionate One! O Most Compassionate One!” We have arrived at the subject of cats and it has recalled the hen. I have a hen. This winter every day almost without exception she brought me an egg from the treasury of Mercy. Then one day she brought me two eggs and I was astonished. I asked my friends “How can this be?” They replied: “Perhaps it is a Divine gift.” The hen also has a young chick she hatched in the summer. It started to lay at the beginning of Ramadan and continued for forty days. Neither I nor those who assist me have any doubt that, being both young, and in winter, and in Ramadan, this blessed situation was a Divine gift and bestowal. And whenever the mother stopped laying, it immediately started, not leaving me without eggs.

S e c o n d   S u s p i c i o u s   Q u e s t i o n : ‘The worldly’ ask: How can we be confident that you will not interfere in our world? If we leave you free, perhaps you may interfere in it. Also, how do we know that you are not being cunning? How do we know that it is not a stratagem, showing yourself to have abandoned the world and not taking things from the people openly, but secretly?

T h e   A n s w e r : My attitude and situation in the Court Martial and in the period before the proclamation of the Constitution, which are known by many, and my defence in the Court Martial at that time called The Testimony of Two Schools of Misfortune, show decisively that the life I lived was such that I would not resort to the tiniest wiles, let alone cunning and subterfuge. If trickery had been resorted to in this last five years, application would have been made to you in sycophantic manner. A wilely man tries to ingratiate himself. He does not hold back; he always tries to deceive and hoodwink. Whereas I have not condescended to lower myself by responding to the severest attacks and criticisms levelled at me. Saying, I place my trust in Allah, I turned my back on ‘the worldly.’ Moreover, one who discovers the reality of this world and knows the hereafter, is not sorry if he is sensible; he does not turn back to the world and struggle with it again. Someone after the age of fifty who has no connection with anything and is alone, will not sacrifice eternal life for one or two years of the chatter and deception of this world. If he does so, he is not cunning, but foolish and crazy. What can a crazy lunatic do so that anyone should bother with him? As for the suspicion of outwardly abandoning the world while inwardly seeking it, in accordance with the verse,

Nor do I absolve my own self [of blame]; the [human] soul is certainly prone to evil,⁶

I do not exonerate my soul, for it wants everything bad. But in this fleeting world, this temporary guest-house, during old age, in a brief life, it is not reasonable to destroy eternal, everlasting life and eternal happiness for a little bit of pleasure. Since it is not profitable for the reasonable and the aware, my soul has willy-nilly had to follow my reason.

T h e   T h i r d   S u s p i c i o u s   Q u e s t i o n : ‘The worldly’ say: Do you like us? Do you approve of us? If you do like us, why are you stand-offish and have nothing to do with us? If you do not like us, that means you object to us, and we crush those who object to us.

T h e   A n s w e r : Not you, if I had loved your world, I would not have withdrawn from it. I don’t like either you or your world. But I do not interfere with them. For I have different goals, different points have filled my heart; they have left no place in my heart to think of other things. Your duty is to look to the hand, not to the heart. For you seek your government and your public order. So long as the hand does not interfere, what right do you have to interfere in the heart and say, “the heart should love us too,” although you are in no way worthy of it? Yes, just as I desire and long for the spring during this winter, but I cannot will it nor attempt to bring it, so too, I long for the world to be righted and I pray for it and I want the worldly to be reformed, but I cannot will these things, because I do not have the power. I cannot attempt them in fact, because it is neither my duty, nor do I have the capacity.

F o u r t h   S u s p i c i o u s   Q u e s t i o n : ‘The worldly’ say: we have experienced so many calamities, we no longer have confidence in anyone. How can we be certain that given the opportunity you won’t interfere like you want to?

T h e   A n s w e r : The previous points should give you confidence. In addition, since I did not interfere in your world while in my native region among my students and relatives, in the midst of those who heeded me and of exciting events, for someone who is alone in exile, with no one, a stranger, weak, powerless, turned with all his strength towards the hereafter, cut off from all social intercourse and correspondence, who has only found a few friends from far afield who are also turned to the hereafter, and who is a stranger to everyone else and whom everyone else regards as a stranger-for such a person to interfere in your fruitless and dangerous world would surely be a compounded lunacy.

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1. Qur’an, 93:11.
2. 36.5 lbs. (Tr.)
3. It lasted a year.
4. About 2.8 lbs. or 1,300 grammes. (Tr.)
5. About 2.8 lbs. (Tr.)
6. Qur’an, 12:53.

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Fifth Point: It is an answer that will silence the worldly for the rules and bid’ahs they offered to Badiuzzaman Said Nursi.

FIFTH SIGN

We will cite in this Sign a few examples of Hadiths concerning the matters of the Unseen.

It has come down to us through an authentic chain of transmission at the degree of ‘consensus,’ that the Noble Prophet declared from the pulpit in the presence of his Companions: “This my grandson Hasan is a master of men by means of whom Allah will reconcile two great groups.”¹

Forty years later, when the two largest armies of Islam met each other, Hasan made peace with Mu‘awiya, and thus proved the prophecy of his noble grandfather (Upon whom be blessings and peace).According to another authentic narration, the Prophet said to ‘Ali: “You will fight the perfidious, the just, and the deviator,”² thus predicting the battles of the Camel and Siffin, and that fought against the Kharijites.

He again said to ‘Ali, when he was displaying love for Zubayr: “He will fight against you, but will be in the wrong.”³

He also said to his wives: “One among you will take charge of a rebellion; many around her will be killed;”⁴ “and the dogs will bark all around her.”⁵ All these certain and authentic traditions are the proven predictions of the struggles of ‘Ali against ‘A’isha, Zubayr and Talha during the Battle of the Camel, against Mu‘awiya at Siffin, and against the Kharijites at Harawra’ and Nahrawan.

The Prophet (PBUH) also informed ‘Ali about a man who would stain ‘Ali’s beard with the blood of his own head.⁶ ‘Ali knew the man; it was ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Muljam the Kharijite.

He also mentioned a man marked with a peculiar sign, Dhu’l-Thudia. When the man was found among the dead of the Kharijites, ‘Ali showed him as a proof of the rightness of his cause, declaring at the same time the miracle of the Prophet.⁷

According to another authentic tradition related by Umm Salama and others, the Noble Prophet also predicted that Husayn would be killed at Taff (Karbala).⁸ Fifty years later the painful event took place as predicted.

He also repeatedly predicted that after his demise, his Family would face death, calamities, and exile, and gave some details.⁹ What he had predicted later came true exactly.

In this connection, a question may be asked: although ‘Ali, with his extraordinary bravery and profound knowledge in addition to his kinship to Allah’s Messenger, greatly deserved to be Caliph, why did he not precede others in holding the Caliphate, and why did Islam experience such disorder during his Caliphate?

A n s w e r : A great spiritual pole from the Prophet’s Family is reported as saying: “The Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) had desired that ‘Ali be Caliph, but it was made known to him from the Unseen that the will of Allah Almighty was different. He then abandoned his desire, submitting himself to Allah’s will.”

One of the reasons why Allah’s will was different could have been that after the demise of the Prophet (PBUH), when the Companions were more than ever in need of alliance and unity, if ‘Ali had taken the leadership, this would most probably have aroused in many persons and tribes a tendency to compete, because of his uncompromising nature, and fearless, ascetic, heroic, and independent character, and widely known courage -as was the case during his Caliphate- and divisions among the believers would have resulted.

Another reason for the delay of ‘Ali’s Caliphate is the following: at the time of his Caliphate, the Muslim community, which had rapidly developed through the intermingling of many tribes and peoples, possessed such traits as reflected the opinions of the seventy-three sects that the Noble Prophet (PBUH) had predicted would evolve in due time.¹⁰ Therefore, in the face of such disturbances, someone was then needed with the wondrous strength, courage, respectability and sagacity of ‘Ali, someone having the force of the respected Hashimites and the Prophet’s Family, so that he could resist the sedition. And indeed he did so, in a fashion conformable to the prediction of the Prophet, who had said to him: “I have fought for the revelation of the Qur’an; you will fight for its explanation.”¹¹ A further reason for this delay is that without ‘Ali, worldly rule would most probably have caused the Umayyad kings to go completely astray. However, being confronted with ‘Ali and the Prophet’s Family, and having to appear equal to them and to preserve their prestige before the Muslims, all the leaders of the Umayyad dynasty, even if not they themselves, in any event due to their encouragement and recommendations, their followers and supporters, worked with all their strength to preserve and disseminate the truths of Islam and belief and the Qur’anic decrees. Thus, they produced thousands of punctilious interpreters of the Law, and authorities on Hadith, and saints and purified scholars. Had they not been faced by the strong religiosity, sainthood, and virtuousness of ‘Ali and of the Prophet’s Family, it is possible that the Umayyads would from the very beginning have gone completely astray, as happened at the end of their rule, and as did the ‘Abbasids.

I t   m i g h t   a l s o   b e   a s k e d : “Why did the Islamic Caliphate not remain in the Prophet’s Family, since they were the most deserving and fitted for it?”

T h e   A n s w e r : Worldly rule is deceptive, and the Prophet’s Family had been appointed to preserve the decrees of the Qur’an and the truths of Islam. Not to be deceived by power, the one who was to hold it and the Caliphate had to be as sinless as a prophet, or as purehearted and unworldly as the Four-Rightly Guided Caliphs, ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz and the Mahdi of the ‘Abbasids. In fact, the Caliphate of the Fatimid dynasty which was founded in the name of the Prophet’s Family in Egypt, and the rule of the Almohads in Africa, and the Safavid dynasty in Iran showed that worldly rule was not suitable for the Prophet’s Family, for it caused them to neglect their primary duty, the protection of religion and the service of Islam. When, on the other hand, they gave up worldly rule, they brilliantly and most successfully served Islam and the Qur’an.

Now see: of the poles of sainthood descended from Hasan, especially the Four Poles¹² and above all ‘Abd al-Qadir Gilani, and the Imams of Husayn’s line, especially Zayn al-‘Abidin and Ja‘far al-Sadiq, each became like a spiritual Mahdi, dispelled wrongdoing and spiritual darkness, and spread the light of the Qur’an and the truths of belief. And in so doing each showed he was a true heir of his noble forefather.

I t   m a y   t h e n   b e   a s k e d : “What was the wisdom in the awesome and bloody dissension that was visited on blessed Islam and the luminous Age of Bliss, and what aspect of mercy was there in it, for they did not deserve such distress?

T h e   A n s w e r : Just as a heavy spring rainstorm stirs into action the potentialities of all the varieties of plants, seeds, and trees, and causes them to develop, so each blossoms in its particular way and performs the duties inherent in its nature, so too, the dissension visited on the Companions and their successors stirred their potentialities into action, which were all different and like seeds; it spurred them on. Exclaiming, “Islam is in danger! Fire! Fire!”, it put fear into all the groups and made them hasten to protect Islam. According to its abilities, each of the groups shouldered one of the numerous different duties of the Islamic community and strove in utmost earnestness. Some working for the preservation of the prophetic Hadiths, some for the preservation of the Shari‘a, some for the preservation of the truths of belief, some for the preservation of the Qur’an, and so on; each group undertook a particular duty. They strove in performing the duties of Islam. Numerous multicoloured flowers opened. And through the storm, seeds were cast to all the corners of the most extensive world of Islam; half the earth was transformed into a rose-garden. But sadly, together with the roses, the thorns of the deviant sects appeared in the garden.

It was as if the Hand of Power had shaken that era in wrath, rotated it with intense vigour, and electrified the men of zeal. Through the centrifugal force of that movement, a great many enlightened interpreters of the Law, luminous scholars of Hadith, holy memorizers of the Qur’an, gifted scholars, men of purity, and poles of sainthood were flung off and caused to emigrate to the remote corners of the world of Islam. It fired with enthusiasm all the people of Islam from East to West and awakened them to the treasures of the Qur’an. Now we return to our subject.

There are thousands of events that Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) predicted and that happened as he foretold. Here we shall mention a few of them. The majority of those we will cite are agreed upon by the six well-known and most authentic books of Hadith, particularly by Bukhari and Muslim. There is ‘consensus in meaning’ concerning the reports, while others, on account of being verified by meticulous researchers, may also be considered to have this certainty.

According to an authentic and certain narration, the Noble Messenger(Upon whom be blessings and peace) said to his Companions: “You will be victorious over all your enemies, will succeed in the conquest of Makkah,¹³ Khaybar,¹⁴ Damascus and Iraq,¹⁵ Persia, and Jerusalem,¹⁶ and will share among yourselves the treasures of the rulers of the greatest empires, the Byzantines and the Persians.”¹⁷ He did not say this as a matter of conjecture or personal opinion; he said it as if he had seen it, and what he said came true as predicted. This was despite the fact that at the time he foretold this he had to migrate to Madinah with a handful of followers, with the rest of the world, including the environs of Madinah, hostile to him!

He also repeatedly declared, according to authentic and certain narrations, that Abu Bakr and ‘Umar would outlive him and be his Caliphs, that they would act for Allah’s sake and within the bounds of the pleasure of Allah and that of the Prophet, that Abu Bakr’s rule would be short, and that ‘Umar would remain a long time to succeed in many conquests. Thus he said: “Incumbent upon you is following the path of those who come after me, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar.”¹⁸

He also declared: “The earth was laid out before me, and its eastern and western extremities were displayed to me; the realm of my community shall extend over whatever was laid out before me.”¹⁹ And his words proved to be true.

According to an authentic and certain narration, before the Battle of Badr, he pointed out one by one the places where the leaders of the Quraysh would be killed, saying: “Abu Jahl will be killed here, ‘Utba here, Umayya here, etc.,”²⁰ and added, “I shall kill ‘Ubayy b. Khalaf with my own hands.”²¹ His predictions all proved to be true.

Again, according to an authentic and certain narration, he informed his Companions about what was happening in the celebrated Battle of Mu’ta, near Damascus -at a distance of one month’s journey from where he was- as if he were seeing his Companions fighting in the battle, and said: “Zayd has taken the banner and been struck; now Ibn Rawaha has taken the banner and been struck; now Ja‘far has taken the banner and been struck; now one of Allah’s swords [i.e. Khalid] has taken it.”²² Two to three weeks later Ya‘la b. Munabbih returned from the battlefront. In his presence, the Noble Prophet described the details of the battle, and Ya‘la swore by Allah that what had taken place at the battle was exactly the same as the Prophet had described.²³

According to an authentic and certain narration, the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) said: “After me, the Caliphate will last thirty years; then it will be rapacious monarchy.”²⁴ “The beginning of this affair is prophethood and mercy; then it will be mercy and Caliphate; then it will be rapacious monarchy; then it will be arrogance and tyranny.”²⁵ He thus predicted the six-month-long caliphate of Hasan and the period of the Four Rightly-Guided Caliphs, and, following that, the transition of Caliphate to monarchy and monarchy’s being beset by intrigues and tyranny. This is exactly what later occurred.

Again, according to an authentic narration, he declared: “‘Uthman will be killed while reading the Qur’an.”²⁶ “And it may be that Allah will cause him to be dressed in a shirt at that time. His deposal may also be sought.”²⁷ These events, too, all took place exactly as predicted.

Also according to an authentic narration, while cupping the Prophet (PBUH), ‘Abd Allah b. Zubayr tasted his blessed blood. And then the Prophet said: “Woe unto the people for what shall befall them at your hands, and woe unto you for what shall befall you at their hands,”²⁸ predicting that ‘Abd Allah would lead the Muslims with extraordinary bravery, would face terrible attacks, and that because of him fearsome events would befall people. What he foretold came about exactly: during Umayyad rule, ‘Abd Allah b. Zubayr declared his Caliphate in Makkah, heroically fought in many battles, until finally Hajjaj the Tyrant attacked him with a large force, and following a fierce battle the illustrious hero was martyred.

Again, according to an authentic narration, he foretold the characteristics of the Umayyad dynasty²⁹ and the tyrannical rule of many of its monarchs, including Yazid and Walid,³⁰ and Mu‘awiya’s taking the leadership of the Muslims. He advised justice and gentleness, and said: “When ruling, act with forebearance.”³¹ He predicted that the ‘Abbasid dynasty would emerge after the Umayyads to remain in power for a long time, and said: “The ‘Abbasids will come forth with black banners and rule for much longer than they [the Umayyads] rule.”³² All these predictions proved to be true.

According to an authentic narration, the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) also said: “Woe to the Arabs for the evil that has drawn near,”³³ suggesting the dreadful disorders to be caused by Jenghiz and Hulagu, and their destruction of the ‘Abbasid state. All this proved to be true.

According to an authentic narration, when Sa‘d b. Abi Waqqas was gravely ill, the Prophet said to him: “It may be that you will be spared so that some may benefit by you, and others harmed by you,”³⁴ thus predicting that he would be a great commander winning many victories, and many peoples would benefit from him entering the fold of Islam, while others would be destroyed by him. His words proved to be true; Sa‘d led the Muslim armies, wiped out the Persian Empire, and caused many peoples to reach guidance, the path of Islam.

Also according to an authentic narration, when the Negus, the Abyssinian ruler, who had accepted faith earlier, died in the seventh year of the Hijra, Allah’s Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) informed his Companions about it; he even performed funeral prayers for him.³⁵ One week later came the news confirming the death of the Negus on the very same day as the Prophet had said.

According to an authentic narration, when the Noble Prophet was with his closest four Companions on the top of Mount Uhud (or Hira), the mountain began to tremble. He said, “Steady! For on you are a prophet, a veracious one [siddiq], and a martyr,”³⁶ and foretold the martyrdom of ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, and ‘Ali. It too proved true.

Now, O unfortunate, wretched man without heart who says that Muhammad (PBUH) was only a clever person and then closes his eyes to that Sun of Truth! Of all his fifteen different kinds of miracle, you have thus far heard only the hundredth part of one kind, that relating to his predictions which have the certainty of ‘consensus in meaning.’ To discover future events through one’s own sagacity and thus succeed even in one hundredth part of the Prophet’s predictions, one would have to be of the highest genius. Even if we merely called him a genius as you call him, could such a man with the sagacity of a hundred geniuses have ever seen anything wrongly? Or could he have ever stooped to reporting it wrongly? Not to heed the word of such a hundredfold genius concerning happiness in both worlds is therefore the sign of a hundredfold madness!

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1. Bukhari, Fitan 20; Sulh, 9; Fada’il Ashab al-Nabi 22; Manaqib 25; Darimi, Sunna 12; Tirmidhi, Manaqib 25; Nasa’i, Jum’a 27; Musnad v, 38, 44, 49, 51; ‘Abd Allah Kattani, Nazm al-Mutanathir 125.
2. al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, iii, 139, 140; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id vii, 138; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa vi, 414.
3. Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya vi, 213; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 366, 367; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 686, 687.
4. al-‘Asqalani, Fath al-Bari xiii, 45.
5. Musnad vi, 52, 97; Ibn Hibban, Sahih, viii, 258 no: 6697; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 120.
6. al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 113; Musnad i, 102, 103, 148, 156.
7. Bukhari, Manaqib 25; Adab 95; Istitaba 7; Muslim, Zakat, 148, 156, 157; Abu Da’ud, Sunna 28; Musnad iii, 56, 65.
8. Imam Ahmad, Fada’il al-Sahaba 1357; Musnad i, 85; iii, 242, 256; vi, 294; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 702.
9. Ibn Maja, Fitan 34.
10. See, Page 137 fn. 60.
11. al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id vi, 244; Musnad iii, 31, 33, 82; Ibn Hibban, Sahih ix, 46 no: 6898.
12. The Four Poles of sainthood, namely, ‘Abd al-Qadir Gilani, Ahmad Rufa’i, Ahmad Badawi, and Ibrahim Dasuqi. (Tr.)
13. ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Bukhari i, 678, 679. See, Concordance.
14. ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 679. See, Concordance.
15. ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 678. See, Concordance.
16. ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 678, 679. See, Concordance.
17. Bukhari, Jihad 15; Manaqib 25; Iman 3; Muslim, Fitan 75, 76; Tirmidhi, Fitan 41.
18. Tirmidhi, Manaqib 16, 37; Ibn Maja, Muqaddima 11; Musnad v, 382, 385, 399, 402.
19. Muslim, Fitan 19, 20; Abu Da’ud, Fitan 1; Tirmidhi, Fitan 14; Ibn Maja, Fitan 9; Musnad iv, 123, 278, 284.
20. Muslim, Jihad 83; Janna 76; Abu Da’ud, Jihad 115; Nasa’i, Jana’iz 117; Musnad i, 26; iii, 219, 258.
21. al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak ii, 327.
22. al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 298; Bukhari, Maghazi 44.
23. al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 210; Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawzi, Zad al-Ma’ad (Tahqiq: Arnavud) iii, 385.
24. Musnad v, 220, 221.
25. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 340; Musnad iv, 273.
26. al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 103.
27. See, al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 100.
28. al-‘Asqalani, al-Matalib al-‘Aliya iv, 21; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id no: 2708; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 554.
29. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 338; ‘Ali al-Qari, i, 683; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 179.
30. al-Albani, Sahih al-Jami’ al-Saghir no: 2579; al-Albani, Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahiha no: 1749; al-‘Asqalani, al-Matalib al-‘Aliya no: 4528.
31. al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id v, 186; Ibn Hajar, al-Matalib al-‘Aliya (Tahqiq: ‘Abd al-Rahman al-A’zami) no: 4085.
32. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 338; Musnad iii, 216-218; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 326.
33. Bukhari, Fitan 4, 28; Muslim, Fitan 1; Abu Da’ud, Fitan 1; Tirmidhi, Fitan 23; Ibn Maja, Fitan 9; Musnad ii, 390, 399; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak i, 108; iv, 439, 483.
34. Bukhari, Jana’iz 36; Manaqib al-Ansar, 49; Fara’id, 6; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 209; ^Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 699; Abu Na’im, Hilyat al-Awliya’ i, 94.
35. Bukhari, Jana’iz 57; Manaqib al-Ansar 38; Muslim, Fara’id 14; Abu Da’ud, Jihad 133; Buyu’ 9; Tirmidhi, Jana’iz 69; Nasa’i, Jana’iz 66, 67; Ibn Maja, Sadaqat 9, 13.
36. Bukhari, Fada’il al-Sahaba 101; Ibn Maja, Jana’iz 64; Musnad iv, 240, 282, 283; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’, i, 340.

A DIVINE GIFT AND

A MARK OF DOMINICAL FAVOUR

In the hope of complying with the meaning of the verse,

But the favour of your Sustainer, rehearse and proclaim,

I shall mention a mark of Almighty Allah’s favour and mercy which was apparent in the writing of this treatise, so that those who read it may understand its importance.

I had no intention of writing this treatise, for the Nineteenth and Thirty-First Words about the messengership of Muhammad (PBUH) had been written. Then suddenly I felt a compelling impulse to write it. Also my power of memory had been extinguished due to the calamities I had suffered. Moreover, in accordance with my way, I had not taken the path of narrative, that is, “he said that,” “it was said that,” in the works I had written. Furthermore, I had no books of Hadith or the Prophet’s biography available to me. Nevertheless, saying: “I place my trust in Allah,” I began. It was extremely successful, and my memory assisted me in a way that surpassed even that of the Old Said. Thirty to forty pages were written at speed every two or three hours. Once fifteen pages were written in a single hour. It was mostly narrated from such books as Bukhari, Muslim, Bayhaqi, Tirmidhi, Shifa’ al-Sharif, Abu Na‘im, and Tabari. My heart was trembling, because if there had been any error in relating them -since they are Hadiths- it would have been a sin. But it was clear that Divine favour was with us and there was need for the treatise. Allah willing, what has been written is sound. If perhaps there are any errors in the wording of some of the Hadiths or in the names of the narrators, I request that my brothers will look on them tolerantly and correct them.

S a i d N u r s i

Ustad Said Nursi, our master, dictated and we wrote the first draft. He had no books with him, nor did he refer to any. He would suddenly dictate at great speed, and we wrote. We would write thirty, forty, and sometimes more, pages in two or three hours. We formed the conviction that this success was itself a wonder proceeding from the miracles of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Abdullah Çavus
His student in permanent attendance on him.

Süleyman Sami
His scribe of rough drafts in permanent attendance on him.

Hâfiz Halid
His scribe of rough drafts in permanent attendance on him.

Hâfiz Tevfik
His scribe of rough and final drafts.

***

FIRST SIGN

The Possessor and Master of the universe surely does everything with knowledge, disposes every affair with wisdom, directs everything all-seeingly, treats everything all-knowingly, and arranges everything willing the instances of wisdom, purposes, benefits that are apparent in them. Since, then, the One Who creates knows, surely the One Who knows will speak. Since He will speak, surely He will speak to those who possess consciousness and thought, and those who will understand His speech. Since He will speak to those who possess thought, surely he will speak to mankind, whose nature and awareness are the most comprehensive of all conscious beings. Since He will speak to mankind, surely He will speak to the most perfect of mankind and those most worthy of address. Since He will speak to those who are most perfect, most worthy of address, highest in morality, and who will guide humanity; He will certainly speak to Muhammad, who, as friend and foe alike testify, is of the highest disposition and morality, who is obeyed by one fifth of humanity, to whose spiritual rule half of the globe has submitted, with the radiance of whose light the future of mankind has been illumined for thirteen centuries, to whom the believers, the luminous segment of humanity, renew five times daily the oath of allegiance, for whose happiness they pray, for whom they call down Allah’s blessings and bear admiration and love in their hearts. Certainly, He will speak to Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace) and indeed He has done; He will make him the Prophet, and indeed He has done; He will make him the guide for the rest of humanity, and indeed He has done.

SECOND SIGN

Allah’s Most Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) declared his prophethood, and presented to humanity such a decree as the Qur’an of Mighty Stature and such manifest miracles as number, according to the scholars, one thousand.¹ The occurrence of those miracles in their entirety is as certain as the fact that he declared himself prophet. In fact, as is shown by the words of the most obstinate unbelievers quoted in various places of the Wise Qur’an, even they could not deny the occurrence of his miracles, but only called them -God forbid!- sorcery, in order to satisfy themselves, or to deceive their followers.

The miracles of Muhammad (PBUH) have the certainty of confirmation by consensus to the hundredth degree. The miracle is the confirmation by the Creator of the cosmos of his declaration of prophethood; it has the effect of the words, “You have spoken truly!” Suppose that you said in the assembly of a ruler, while being observed by him, “The ruler has appointed me to such-and-such a position.” At a time when you were asked for a proof of your claim, the word “Yes” uttered by the ruler would sufficiently support you. Or, if the ruler changed his usual practice and attitude at your request, this would confirm your claim even more soundly and more definitely than would the word “Yes.”

In the same way, the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) claimed: “I am the envoy of the Creator of the universe. My proof is that He will change His unbroken order at my request and my prayer. Now look at my fingers: He causes them to run like a fountain with five spigots. Look at the moon: by a gesture of my finger, He splits it in two. Look at that tree: to affirm me and to bear witness to me, it moves and comes near to me. Look at this food: although it is barely enough for two or three men, it satisfies two or three hundred.” He demonstrated too hundreds of similar miracles.

However, the evidences of the veracity of this being and the proofs of his prophethood are not restricted to his miracles. All his deeds and acts, his words and behaviour, his moral conduct and manners, his character and appearance prove to the attentive his truthfulness and seriousness. Indeed, many people such as ‘Abd Allah b. Salam, the famous scholar of the Children of Israel, came to believe merely by seeing him, and said, “No lie can hide in this face, nor fraud be found in it!”²

Although many scholars who have researched the matter have concluded that the proofs of the prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH) and his miracles number about one thousand, there are thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of proofs of his prophethood. And hundreds of thousands of men with varying opinions have affirmed his prophethood in an equal number of ways. The Wise Qur’an alone demonstrates a thousand of the proofs of his prophethood, in addition to its own forty aspects of miraculousness.

Since prophethood is a phenomenon of humanity, and hundreds of thousands of individuals who claimed prophethood and performed miracles have lived and passed away,³ of a certainty the prophethood of Muhammad is superior to all the others. For whatever evidences, qualities, and attributes made prophets such as Jesus and Moses (Upon whom be peace) be known as prophets and were the means of their messengership, they were all possessed in a more perfect and comprehensive fashion by Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace). And since the causes and means of prophetic authority were more perfectly present in the person of Muhammad, this authority was to be found in him with more certainty than in all the others.

____________________

1. Al-‘Asqalânî, Fath al-Bârî vi, 454; Muslim (Sharh: nawawî) i,2.

2. Tirmidhî, Qiyâma 42; Ibn Mâja, Iqâma 174; At’ima 1; Dârimî, Salât 156; Isti’dhân 4; Musnad v, 451.

3. Musnad v, 266; Valîyyuddîn Tabrîzî, Mishkât al-Masâbîh iii, 122; Ibn al-Qayyimal-Jawzî, Zâd al-Ma’âd (Tahqîq: al-Arnacûd) i, 43-44.

NINETEENTH SIGN

It has been proved in the previous Signs most decisively and indubitably that the Most Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was Allah Almighty’s Messenger. His messengership being thus established through thousands of certain evidences, Muhammad the Arabian (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was the most brilliant and conclusive proof of Divine Unity and eternal happiness. In this Sign, we shall offer a concise and summary definition of that shining evidence, that articulate proof. For since he is the proof and his conclusion is knowledge of Allah, we must surely recognize the proof and learn the manner of his evidence. With an extremely brief summary, therefore, we shall describe in what ways he is a proof of it, and its correctness. It is as follows:

Like all the beings in the universe, Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) pointed through his own self to the Creator of the Universe’s existence and Unity; and he proclaimed with his tongue that evidence of his self, together with the evidence offered by all beings. Since he himself was the evidence, we shall point in fifteen Principles to its proof and integrity, its truthfulness and veracity.

F i r s t   P r i n c i p l e : This proof, who indicated to the universe’s Maker with both his self, and his tongue, and his conduct, and his speech, was both verified by the reality of the universe, and was veracious. For the evidence to Divine Unity made by all beings is surely confirmation of the one who proclaims that Unity. That is to say, the cause he proclaims is verified by the whole universe. Also, since the perfection of Divine Unity and absolute good of eternal happiness he expounded are in agreement and conformity with the beauty and perfection of all the truths of the world, he is certainly veracious in his cause. That is to say, the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was an articulate proof of Divine Unity and eternal happiness who was both veracious and verified.

S e c o n d   P r i n c i p l e : Also, since that veracious and verified proof performed thousands of miracles greater than all the previous prophets, came with a Shari‘a that will never be abrogated, and his call was to all men and jinn, he was surely the chief of all the prophets, and therefore gathered together in himself the essence and unanimity of all their miracles. That means the strength of the consensus of the prophets and the testimony of their miracles forms a support for his truthfulness and veracity. He is also the master and leader of all the saints and purified scholars who attain to perfection through his training and guidance and the light of his Shari‘a. In which case, gathered together in him were the mystery of their wonders, their unanimous affirmation, and the strength of their verifications. For they travelled the way their master opened up and left open, and they found the truth. In which case, all their wonder-working and verifications and consensus forms a support for their sacred master’s truthfulness and veracity. Also, as was seen in the previous Signs, this proof of Divine Unity was equipped with such certain, evident, and definite miracles and wondrous irhasat, and his prophethood was proved by such irrefutable evidences that their affirmation could not be disputed, even if the whole universe were to unite against him.

T h i r d   P r i n c i p l e : And in that herald of Divine Unity and giver of the tidings of eternal happiness who was himself a clear miracle were such elevated moral qualities, and in the duties of his messengership such sublime attributes, and in the Shari‘a he propagated such high virtues, that even his most bitter enemy had to confirm them, being unable to deny them. Since the highest and best moral qualities, the most elevated and perfect attributes, and the most precious and acceptable virtues were present in his self, his duties, and his religion, for sure, that being was the exemplar, model, personification, and master of the perfections and elevated moral qualities in beings. In which case, these perfections in his self, his duty, and his religion form a support for his veracity and truthfulness so powerful that it can in no way be shaken.

F o u r t h   P r i n c i p l e : And this herald of Divine Unity and happiness, who was the source of perfections and teacher of elevated virtues, did not speak of himself; he was made to speak. Yes, he was made to speak by the Creator of the Universe. He received instruction from his Pre-Eternal Master, then he taught. For the Creator of the Universe showed through the thousands of proofs of his prophethood, in part described in the above Signs, through all those miracles He created through his hand, that he was not speaking on his own account, but conveying His speech. Furthermore, the Qur’an that came to him shows through its forty aspects of miraculousness, outer and inner, that he was Almighty Allah’s interpreter. Also, through all his sincerity, fear of Allah, seriousness, reliability, and all his other qualities and conduct, he showed that he was not speaking his own ideas in his own name, but was speaking in the name of his Creator. In addition, all those who penetrate to reality who heed him have affirmed him with the truths they have investigated and laid open; they have believed with ‘knowledge of certainty’ that he was not speaking on his own behalf, but that the Creator of the Universe was causing him to speak and teaching, teaching by means of him. In which case, his veracity and truthfulness are supported by the consensus of these four powerful principles.

F i f t h   P r i n c i p l e : And this Interpreter of Pre-Eternal Speech saw spirit beings, conversed with angels, and offered guidance to men and jinn. He received knowledge surpassing the world of men and jinn, and even the worlds of spirits and the angels; he had access to, and relationships with, the realms that lie beyond theirs. The miracles mentioned previously and the story of his life, which have the authenticity of ‘consensus,’ all prove this fact. In which case, unlike soothsayers and others who give news of the Unseen, no jinn, no spirit being, no angel, and apart from Gabriel, not even the highest angels in attendance on Allah Almighty, could interfere in the tidings he gave. And on some occasions, he even left Gabriel, his companion, behind.

S i x t h   P r i n c i p l e : And this being, the lord of the angels, jinn, and men, was the most illumined and perfect fruit of the tree of the universe, and the personification of Divine Mercy, and the exemplar of dominical love, and the most luminous proof of the Truth, and the most radiant lamp of reality, and the key to the talisman of the universe, and the solver of the riddle of creation, and the expounder of the wisdom of the world, and the herald of Divine sovereignty, and the describer of the beauties of dominical art, and in regard to the comprehensiveness of his disposition, he was the most complete example of the perfections of beings. In which case, these attributes of his and his spiritual personality indicate, indeed, show that this being was the ultimate cause of the universe’s existence; that is to say, the universe’s Creator looked to this being and created the universe. It may be said that if He had not created him, He would not have created the universe. Yes, the truths of the Qur’an and lights of belief he brought to men and jinn, and the elevated virtues and exalted perfections apparent in his being are a decisive witness to this fact.

S e v e n t h   P r i n c i p l e : And this proof of the Truth and lamp of reality demonstrated a religion and Shari‘a that comprises principles ensuring the happiness of both worlds. Moreover, besides being comprehensive, it explains with complete correctness the universe’s truths and functions, and the Creator of the Universe’s Names and attributes. Thus, Islam and the Shari‘a are so comprehensive and perfect, and describe the universe and Himself in such a way, that anyone who studies it carefully is bound to understand that his religion is a declaration, a manifesto, describing both the One Who made this beautiful universe, and the universe itself. In the same way that a palace’s builder writes an instruction sheet suitable to the palace so that he may describe himself through its features, the religion and Shari‘a of Muhammad (PBUH) demonstrate through their clear elevatedness, comprehensiveness, and truth that his religion proceeded from the pen of the One Who creates and regulates the universe. Whoever ordered the universe so well is the One Who ordered this religion equally well. Yes, the perfect order of the one requires the perfect order of the other.

E i g h t h   P r i n c i p l e : Thus qualified by the above-mentioned attributes and sustained by totally unshakeable, powerful supports, Muhammad the Arabian (Upon whom be blessings and peace) proclaimed his message over the heads of men and jinn in the name of the World of the Unseen, turned to the Manifest World; he addressed the peoples and nations waiting beyond the centuries of the future; he called out to all jinn and men; he made all places and all times hear. Yes, we too hear!

N i n t h   P r i n c i p l e : And his address is so elevated and powerful that all the centuries heed it. Yes, all the centuries hear the echo of his voice.

T e n t h   P r i n c i p l e : And it is apparent from that being’s manner that he saw, and spoke accordingly. For at times of greatest peril, he spoke unhesitatingly, fearlessly, with utter steadfastness. On occasion he challenged the whole world on his own.

E l e v e n t h   P r i n c i p l e : And with all his strength he made so powerful a call and summons that he caused half the earth and a fifth of mankind to respond to his voice, declaring: “Yes, we have heard and we obey!”

T w e l f t h   P r i n c i p l e : And he called with such seriousness and instructed so fundamentally that he inscribed his principles on the face of the centuries and on the very stones of all corners of the world; he engraved them on the face of time.

T h i r t e e n t h   P r i n c i p l e : And he proclaimed the soundness of the injunctions he conveyed with such confidence and sureness, that should the whole world have gathered, they could not have made him revoke or abjure a single of those precepts. Witness to this are all his life and his illustrious biography.

F o u r t e e n t h   P r i n c i p l e : And he called and summoned with such confidence and trust that he became obliged to no one and no difficulty upset him; with complete sincerity and honesty, he accepted before anyone the precepts he had brought, and acted accordingly, and proclaimed them. And witness to this was his famous asceticism and independence, and his never stooping to the ephemeral glitter of this world, which were well-known by everyone, friend and foe.

F i f t e e n t h   P r i n c i p l e : And his obedience to the religion he brought, and his worship of his Maker, and his abstaining from whatever was forbidden, all of which he performed to a greater degree than everyone else, demonstrate conclusively that he was the envoy and herald of the Monarch of Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity; he was the most sincere servant of the One Who is worshipped by right, and the interpreter of His pre-eternal word.

The conclusion of these Fifteen Principles is this: the one qualified by the above-mentioned attributes proclaimed Divine Unity with all his strength repeatedly and constantly throughout his life, saying: “So know that there is no god but Allah.”

O Allah, grant him blessings and peace to the number of good deeds of his community, and to his Family.

Glory be unto You! We have no knowledge save that which You have taught us; indeed You are All-Knowing, All-Wise!

***

FIRST POINT

I f   i t   i s   a s k e d : The miraculousness of the Qur’an lies in its eloquence. But all classes of men have the right to have a share of its understanding, and only one learned scholar out of a thousand can understand the miraculousness in its eloquence?

T h e   A n s w e r : The All-Wise Qur’an has a different kind of miraculousness corresponding to the understanding of each class; it indicates the existence of its miraculousness to each in a different way. For example, to the scholars of rhetoric and eloquence, it exhibits the miraculousness of its extraordinary eloquence. To the poets and orators, it shows its exalted, beautiful, and original style, which no one can imitate although it pleases everyone. The passage of time does not cause its style to age, it always remains fresh and new. Its prose and word-order are so well-ordered that it is both elevated and pleasant. To soothsayers and other diviners of the Unseen, it displays its miraculousness in its extraordinary reports concerning the Unseen. To historians, it demonstrates its miraculousness by giving information concerning events of past ages, as well as those of the future, and of the Intermediate Realm, and of the hereafter. To social and political scientists, it shows the miraculousness in its sacred principles. Yes, the Great Shari‘a, which proceeds from the Qur’an, indicates that mystery of miraculousness. To those occupied with knowledge of Allah and cosmic truths, it shows the miraculousness of the sacred Divine truths in the Qur’an, or else it indicates the existence of that miraculousness. To the Sufis and saints, it shows the miraculousness in the hidden mysteries of its verses, which constantly rise and fall like waves in the sea of the Qur’an. And so on. To each of forty classes of men, it opens up a window and shows its miraculousness. The ordinary people even, who only listen to the Qur’an understanding a little of its meaning, confirm that it does not resemble any other book. They say: “The Qur’an is either below all the other books we have heard read, which not even an enemy could claim -just as it is impossible- or it is superior to all of them and is thus a miracle.” Now, in order to help him, we shall explain further the miraculousness which the ordinary man understood by just listening. It is as follows:

When the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition appeared challenging the whole world, it aroused passionate feelings of two kinds in people:

The First: In friends, the desire to imitate it; that is, the desire to resemble the style of their beloved Qur’an, and a wish to speak like it.

The Second: In enemies, the desire to criticize and dispute it; that is, the wish to invalidate its claim of miraculousness by competing with its style.

Thus, because of these two intense emotions, millions of books were written in Arabic, and are to be seen. Now, whoever listens to the most eloquent, the most brilliant, of these books being read together with the Qur’an is bound to say that the Qur’an does not resemble any of them. That means that the Qur’an is not of the same level as them. In which case, it must either be inferior to all of them, which together with being impossible a hundred times over, no one, not even Satan, could claim,¹ or the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition is superior to all of them.

Furthermore, the All-Wise Qur’an demonstrates its miraculousness before the uneducated mass of people, who do not understand its meaning, by not wearying them. Indeed, they say: “If I hear the finest and best known poems two or three times, I become bored of them. But the Qur’an never wearies me; even, the more I listen to it, the more it pleases me. It cannot therefore be written by man.”

And to children who try to memorize it, the All-Wise Qur’an shows its miraculousness by settling in their memories with the greatest of ease, despite their small, delicate, weak and simple heads being unable to retain for long a single page of other books, and many of the verses and phrases of that large Qur’an resembling one another, which should cause muddle and confusion.

And even to the sick and the dying, who are disturbed by the slightest sound and noise, the murmuring and sound of the Qur’an makes felt a sort of its miraculousness, by being as sweet and agreeable for them as Zamzam water.

I n   S h o r t : The All-Wise Qur’an demonstrates its miraculousness to forty different classes and groups of people, or it indicates to the existence of its miraculousness. It neglects no one. Even for those who can comprehend only what their eyes see and who have no ear to hear with, no heart to feel with, and no knowledge to judge with, the Qur’an alludes to its miraculousness in a fashion.² It is like this:

In the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition handwritten by the calligrapher Hafiz Osman and later printed, many of the words look to one another. For example, if a needle is passed through the word “dog” in the phrase “they were seven, the dog being the eighth” in Sura al-Kahf (18:22) and through the underlying pages, with a slight deviation it will go through the word “Qitmir” in Sura al-Fatir (35:13), thus establishing the dog’s name. In a similar way, the words “they will be all brought before us” (muhdarun/-in) occur twice in Sura Ya. Sin. (36:53 and 75), the first overlying the second. The same words are again repeated twice in Sura al-Saffat (37:57 and 127), and these look both to each other and to those in Sura Ya. Sin. Also, the phrase “in pairs” (mathnà) occurs only three times in the Qur’an, and two of these corresponding cannot be mere coincidence.³ There are numerous similar examples. One word even coincides with slight deviation on five or six underlying pages. And I have seen a copy of the Qur’an in which passages looking to one another on facing pages were written in red ink. At that time I said that that too indicated another sort of miracle. Some time later I saw that many phrases looked to others on the reverse of pages, corresponding to one another in a meaningful way. Thus, since the arrangement of the Qur’an in the writing and script of printed copies of the Qur’an also is through the guidance of the Prophet and Divine inspiration, it contains the sign of a sort of miraculousness. For it is neither the work of chance, nor of the human mind. Sometimes there are deviations, but that is generally the fault of the printing, and if it had been absolutely in order, the words would have corresponded to one another exactly.

Furthermore, on every page of the Qur’an’s Suras of long and medium length which were revealed in Madinah, the word “Allah” has been repeated in the most wondrous manner. In addition to being repeated mostly five, six, seven, eight, nine or eleven times on the same page, the repetitions of the two sides of the same page or on facing pages display beautiful and significant numerical relationships.^{4, 5, 6, 7}

____________________

1. The important First Topic of the Twenty-Sixth Letter forms an explanation and elucidation of this sentence.
2. Here the mention of the aspect of its miraculousness directed to those without ear, heart and knowledge, and who see only with their eyes, is extremely concise, abbreviated, and even deficient. But it has been demonstrated most clearly and brilliantly in the Twenty-Ninth and Thirtieth Letters,• so that even the blind can see it. We have had written a copy of the Qur’an which shows this aspect of miraculousness, which, Allah willing, will be published, then everyone will be able to see it.
*The Thirtieth Letter had been planned and intended, but it gave up its place to Ishara\t al-I‘jaz (Signs of Miraculousness), while itself never materialized.
3. The phrase occuring towards the end of Sura al-Saba’ (34:46) corresponds to the same phrase as the beginning of Sura al-Fatir (35:1).
4. Also, for those who practise the recitation of the Divine Names and praises and supplicate Allah, the Qur’an’s adorned and rhymed words, and eloquent and artistic style, and the many virtues of its eloquence, which draw attention to itself, afford an elevated seriousness and sense of the Divine presence, and a collectedness of mind; they do not mar or spoil these. Whereas, rhetoric, artistic wording, rhyme and poetic composition of that sort usually weaken seriousness, make their elegance felt, disturb the sense of Allah’s presence, and distract attention. In fact, I frequently used to recite Imam al-Shafi’i’s famous supplication, which is the most subtle and serious of supplications, is composed in the most elevated versified form, and once caused the end of dearth and famine in Egypt. On reading it, I observed that since it was in verse and rhymed, it spoilt the elevated seriousness of the supplication. I recited it constantly for eight or nine years, and I was unable to reconcile the verse and rhyme with its serious nature. I understood from this that there is a sort of miraculousness in the rhyming and ordering and qualities of the Qur’an’s words, which are particular and natural and original to it, that preserves completely the seriousness and sense of the Divine presence, not spoiling them. Thus, even if those who recite supplications and the Divine Names and praises do not understand this sort of miraculousness with the mind, they perceive it with the heart.
5. Another aspect of the miraculousness of the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition is that it expresses the most elevated and brilliant degree of the Prophet’s (PBUH) belief, who manifested the Greatest Name.
It also expresses and instructs in a natural manner the religion of truth, which, being most vast, extensive, and lofty, sets forth the elevated truths of the worlds of the hereafter and of dominicality like a sacred map.
And it conveys in all His infinite glory and majesty, the address of the Creator of the Universe, in respect of His being the Sustainer of all beings. Certainly, in the face of the Qur’an’s exposition which is thus, if, in accordance with the verse,
Say: If the whole of mankind and the jinn were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce its like (17:88), all the minds of mankind were to unite and become a single mind, they could not contest it or oppose it. How could they? They are as distant from the Qur’an as the earth is from the Pleiades. For in view of the three above principles, it is certainly not possible to imitate the Qur’an, nor to compose its like.
6. At the bottom of every page of the Qur’an, the verses are complete, and they end rhyming in a fine way. The reason is this: when the verse called Muda\yana (2:292) provides the standard for the pages, and the Suras Ikhlas and Kawthar, the standard for the lines, this fine quality of the All-Wise Qur’an and sign of its miraculousness become apparent.
7. Because of unfortunate haste, we had to content ourselves in this section with some slight indications and brief instances and small signs of a highly important and magnificent wonder, one which from the point of view of the Risale-i Nur’s success is beautiful, illuminating, and encouraging. Now, that important truth and encouraging wonder -under the name of ^coincidence’ (tawa\fuq), and five or six sorts at that- forms a chain of wonders of the Risale-i Nur, and flashes of a visible sort of the Qur’an’s miraculousness, and a source of signs to the ciphers of the Unseen. Later, we had a copy of the Qur’an written which showed in gilded letters a flash of its miraculousness which appeared from the ‘coinciding’ of the word ‘Allah.’ And I wrote eight short pieces, called the Eight Symbols (Rumûzat-i Semaniye), which explain the subtle relationships evident in the coinciding of the Qur’an’s letters, and their allusions concerning the Unseen. I also wrote five treatises, one about the wonders of ‘Ghauth al-Gilani,’ three about those of ‘Ali, and one called Indications of the Qur’an (Ishârât-i Kur’aniye), which by means of tawa\fuq or ‘coincidences’, confirm, commend, and applaud the Risale-i Nur. That is to say, that important truth was perceived and written in summary fashion in the writing of the Miracles of Muhammad, but unfortunately the author saw and described only a tiny part of it; he continued without further pursuing it.

TWELFTH SIGN

This consists of three examples related to the Eleventh Sign, but which are examples of the greatest importance.

F i r s t   E x a m p l e:

And when you threw, it was not you who threw; it was rather Allah that threw.¹

As established by the researches of all Qur’anic commentators, and by the reports of the scholars of Hadith, this verse refers to the following incident during the Battle of Badr:

Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) took up a handful of earth and small stones and threw them at the army of the unbelievers, saying: “May your faces be deformed!” Just as these words entered the ears of all of them despite being a single phrase, so too the handful of earth entered the eyes of each one of the unbelievers. Each became preoccupied with his eyes, and although on the attack, the army suddenly turned tail and fled.²

Also during the Battle of Hunayn, the authorities on Hadith and foremost Imam Muslim report that like at the Battle of Badr, he again threw a handful of earth while the unbelievers were staging a fierce attack. Saying: “May your faces be deformed!”, the handful of earth struck the faces of each of them, with Allah’s leave, the same as words of the phrase entered the ears of each. Busy with their eyes, they retreated and fled.³ Since this extraordinary event at Badr and Hunayn is not within man’s power and ordinary causes, the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition states,

When you threw, it was not you who threw; it was rather Allah that threw.

That is, “The event was outside human power. It occurred, not through human ability, but in an extraordinary manner, through Divine power.”

S e c o n d   E x a m p l e : The accurate books and foremost Bukhari and Muslim narrate that during the Khaybar expedition, a Jewess roasted a goat, filling it with a very strong poison. She then sent it to Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace). The Companions had begun to eat it, when the Prophet suddenly said: “Withdraw you hands! It tells me it is poisoned!” Everyone pulled back his hand. But Bishr b. al-Bara’ had eaten a single morsel and died from the effects of the severe poison. The Noble Messenger sent for the Jewess called Zaynab and asked her why she had done it. The inauspicious woman said: “I considered that if you were a prophet, it would not harm you; and if you were a king, I would save the people from you.”⁴ According to some narrations, the Prophet did not have her put to death, but left her to Bishr’s family to be killed.⁵ Now listen to a few points demonstrating aspects of the miraculousness in this extraordinary incident:

The First: According to one narration, some of the Companions also heard the goat speaking.⁶

The Second: According to another narration, Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) said: “Say, Bismillah, then eat; the poison will not affect you.”⁷ Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani does not accept this narration, but others do.

The Third: The treacherous Jews wanted to deal a sudden blow at Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) and his close Companions, but being informed about this from the Unseen, the Prophet’s warning proved true, and their plot was uncovered and brought to naught. And when Muhammad (PBUH), from whom the Companions never heard an untrue statement, said: “This goat tells me that..., ” everyone believed him with conviction as sure as if they themselves had heard the goat.

T h i r d   E x a m p l e : This consists of three instances of another miracle which resembles ‘the Shining Hand’ and ‘Staff’ of Moses:

The First: Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal, explaining and authenticating a narration from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, reports: “One dark and stormy night, the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) gave Qatada b. al-Nu‘man a staff, saying: ‘This staff will light up ten yards all around you. You will see a dark shadow when you arrive at your house; it is Satan. Throw him out of the house and drive him away!’ Qatada took the staff and set off. It cast a light like Moses’ shining hand. He came to his house, where he saw the shadowy figure, and he drove it away.”⁸

The Second: While fighting the idolators during the great Battle of Badr, itself a source of wonders, ‘Ukkasha b. Muhassin al-Asadi had his sword broken. Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) gave him a stout staff in place of it, saying: “Fight with this!” Suddenly, with Allah’s leave, the staff became a long white sword, and he fought with it. He carried the sword on his person for the rest of his life until he fell as a martyr during the Battle of al-Yamama.⁹ This incident is certain, because throughout his life he carried the sword with pride and it became famous with the name of ‘Succour.’ Thus, two proofs of this incident are ‘Ukkasha’s pride, and the sword’s name, ‘Succour’ and its widespread fame.

The Third: It is narrated by authorities on Hadith like Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr,¹⁰ a celebrated scholar known as ‘the Scholar of the Age,’ that at the Battle of Uhud a cousin of the Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), ‘Abd Allah b. Jahsh’s sword was broken. Allah’s Prophet gave him a staff which became a sword in his hand. He fought with it, and after the battle that product of a miracle remained a sword.

In his Siyar, the well-known Ibn Sayyid al-Nas reports that some time later ‘Abd Allah sold the sword to a man called Bugha’ al-Turki for two hundred liras. Thus these two swords were each miracles like the Staff of Moses. But while no aspect of miraculousness remained in his staff after Moses’ death, these swords remained unchanged.

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1. Qur’an, 8:17.
2. al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id vi, 84.
3. Muslim, Jihad 76, 81 (Bab: Shahat al-Vujuh); Musnad v, 286.
4. From Abu Hurayra: Bukhari, Tibb 55; Jizya 7; Maghazi 41; Abu Da’ud, Diyat 6 nos: 4509, 4511, 1512; Darimi, Muqaddima 11; Musnad ii, 451.
From Anas: Muslim, no: 2992; Bukhari, al-Hiba 28; Abu Da’ud, Diyat, 6 no: 4508.
From Jabir b. ‘Abd Allah: Darimi, Muqaddima 11; Abu Da’ud, Diyat 6 no: 4510.
For the lines of transmission and narrations about this Hadith, see, Abu Da’ud, Diyat 6.
5. al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iii, 219; iv, 109; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa vi, 256, 264; Ibn al-Qayyim, Zad al-Ma’ad iii, 336.
6. al-Tabrizi, Mishkat al-Masabih no: 5931; Abu Da’ud, Diyat 6; Darimi, Muqaddima 11; al-Jizri, Jami’ al-Usul No: 8888; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id viii, 295-6.
7. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 317-9; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 645.
8. Musnad iii, 65; al-Sa’ati, al-Fath al-Rabbani xx, 66-7; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id ii, 166-7; al-Hindi, Kanz al-‘Ummal xii, 376; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 3323; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 671; al-‘Asqalani, al-Isaba no: 7076.
9. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 333; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 671; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 156; Ibn Hisham, Sirat al-Nabi i, 637; Ibn al-Qayyim, Zad al-Ma’ad (Tahqiq: Arnavudi) iii, 186.
10. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 333; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 157; Ibn Sayyid al-Nas, ‘Uyun al-Athar ii, 20; al-‘Asqalani, al-Isaba no: 4583.

FIFTH POINT

This concerns five small matters.

T h e   F i r s t : ‘The worldly’ ask me: Why do you yourself not practise the principles of our civilization, our style of life, and our manner of dressing? Does this mean you oppose us?

M y   r e p l y : Sirs! What right do you have to propose to me the principles of your civilization? Yet as though casting me outside the laws of civilization, you have wrongfully forced me to reside in a village for five years prohibited from all social intercourse and correspondence. While you left all the exiles in the town with their friends and relations, then gave them the papers granting them an amnesty, without reason you isolated me and did not allow me to meet with anyone from my native region with one or two exceptions. That means you do not count me as a member of this nation and a citizen. How can you propose to me that I apply your civil code to myself? You have made the world into a prison for me. Such things cannot be proposed to someone in prison. You closed the door of the world on me, so I knocked on the door of the hereafter, and Divine mercy opened it to me. How can the confused customs and principles of the world be proposed to someone at the door of the hereafter? Whenever you set me free and return me to my native region and restore my rights, then you can require me to conform to your principles.

S e c o n d   M a t t e r : ‘The worldly’ say: “We have an official department for instructing in the precepts of religion and truths of Islam. With what authority do you publish religious works? Since you are a convicted exile, you have no right to mix in these matters.”

T h e  A n s w e r : Truth and reality cannot be restricted. How can belief and the Qur’an be restricted? You can restrict the principles and laws of your world, but the truths of belief and Qur’anic principles cannot be forced into the form of worldly dealings, being given an official guise and in return for a wage. Those mysteries which are Divine gifts, those blessings, come rather through a sincere intention and giving up the world and carnal pleasures. Moreover, that official department of yours accepted me and appointed me as a preacher while I was in my home region. I accepted the position, but rejected the salary. I have the document in my possession. With the document I can act as an imam and preacher everywhere, because my being exiled was unjust. Also, since the exiles have been returned, my old documents are still valid.

Secondly: I addressed the truths of belief which I have written directly to my own soul. I do not invite everyone. Rather, those whose spirits are needy and hearts wounded search out and find those Qur’anic remedies. Only, to secure my livelihood I had printed a treatise of mine about the resurrection of the dead before the new script was introduced. And the former governor, who was unfair to me, studied the treatise, but did nothing against it since he could find nothing in it to criticize.

T h i r d   M a t t e r : Some of my friends remain apparently aloof from me because ‘the worldly’ consider me with suspicion and in order to appear favourable to ‘the worldly,’ indeed, they criticize me. But the cunning ‘worldly’ attribute their aloofness and avoiding me not to their loyalty to ‘the worldly’ but to a sort of hypocrisy and lack of conscience, and they look on those friends of mine unfavourably.

So I say this: O my friends of the hereafter! Don’t stand aloof from my being a servant of the Qur’an and run away. Because, Allah willing, no harm will come to you from me. Suppose some calamity is visited on you or I am oppressed, you cannot be saved by avoiding me. By doing that you will make yourselves more deserving of calamity and a blow. And what is there, that you should have these groundless fears?

F o u r t h   M a t t e r : I see during this time of my exile that certain boastful people who have fallen into the swamp of politics regard me in a partisan manner, with rivalry, as though I am connected with the worldly currents like they are.

Sirs! I am in the current of belief. Before me is the current of unbelief.

I have no connection with other currents. Perhaps some of those who work for a wage see themselves as excused to a degree. But to take up a position opposed to me in rivalry for no wage in the name of patriotism, and harass me, and oppress me, is a truly grievous error. For as was proved above, I have no connection at all with world politics. I have dedicated and vowed all my time and my life to the truths of belief and the Qur’an. Since it is thus, let the one who torments and harasses me in rivalry think that such treatment of his is similar to causing harm to belief in the name of atheism and unbelief.

F i f t h   M a t t e r : Since this world is transitory, and since life is short, and since the truly essential duties are many, and since eternal life will be gained here, and since the world is not without an owner, and since this guest-house of the world has a most Wise and Generous director, and since neither good nor bad will remain without recompense, and since according to the verse,

On no soul does Allah place a burden greater than it can bear¹

there is no obligation that cannot be borne, and since a safe way is preferable to a harmful way, and since worldly friends and ranks last only till the door of the grave, then surely the most fortunate is he who does not forget the hereafter for this world, and does not sacrifice the hereafter for this world, and does not destroy the life of the hereafter for worldly life, and does not waste his life on trivial things, but considers himself to be a guest and acts in accordance with the commands of the guest-house’s Owner, then opens the door of the grave in confidence and enters upon eternal happiness..²

^***

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1. Qur’an, 2:286.
2. The reason for these ‘sinces’ is this: I take no notice of the wrongs and tyranny perpetrated against my person and give them no importance. I say, “They are not worth worrying about,” and I do not interfere in the world.

Please click on the following link to continue reading;

The Addendum of the Sixteenth Letter: It was written with the tongue of the Old Said in order to dispel the groundless doubts and panics of the worldly and the irreligious people about Badiuzzaman Said Nursi though he abandoned the world and politics and to protect the value of knowledge.

SECOND POINT

At the time of Moses (Upon whom be peace), it was magic that was prevalent, so his most important miracles resembled it. And at Jesus (Upon whom be peace)’s time, it was medicine that was prevalent and his miracles were mostly of that kind. Similarly, at the time of the Most Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace), in the Arabian Peninsula four things were prevalent:

The First: Eloquence and rhetoric.

The Second: Poetry and oratory.

The Third: Soothsaying and divining matters of the Unseen.

The Fourth: Knowledge of past events and cosmology.

Thus, when the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition appeared, it challenged those with knowledge of these four fields.

Firstly, it made the men of rhetoric and eloquence bow before it; they all listened to it in astonishment.

Secondly, it filled the poets and orators with amazement, that is, those who spoke well and declaimed fine poetry, so that they bit their fingers in astonishment. It reduced to nothing the value of their finest poems written in gold, causing them to remove the famous ‘Seven Hanging Poems’, their pride and glory, from the walls of the Ka‘ba.

And it silenced the soothsayers and sorcerers, who gave news of the Unseen, and made them forget the knowledge they had received. It drove away the jinns, and put an end to soothsaying.

And it saved those with knowledge of the past and cosmology from superstition and falsehood, and instructed them in true facts and luminous knowledge.

Thus, these four groups bowed before the Qur’an in perfect wonder and veneration, becoming its students. At no time could any of them attempt to contest it.

I f   i t   i s   a s k e d : How do we know that no one could dispute or contest it?

T h e   A n s w e r : If it had been possible to dispute it, for sure someone would have attempted it. For their religion, their possessions, their lives, and their families had been put into peril. If they had disputed it, they would have been saved. If it had been possible, they were bound to contest it. And if they had done so, since the supporters, unbelievers, and dissemblers were many, and truly many, they were sure to have supported such a contest, and would have advertised it widely. Just as they spread everything that was against Islam. And if someone haddisputed the Qur’an and they had made it known to everyone, it would certainly have been recorded in the books of history in glittering terms. But all the histories and books are in evidence; apart from a few passages about Musaylima the Liar, there is nothing in any of them. Whereas for twenty-three years the All-Wise Qur’an continuously taunted and challenged them in a way that would increase their obduracy. It in effect said:

“Let someone unlettered like Muhammad the Trustworthy compose the like of the Qur’an. You can’t do it, so, come on, not an unlettered person, but someone very learned and literary. You can’t do that either. Rather than a single person, gather together all your scholars and men of eloquence, and let them assist one another, and the false gods on which you rely can also lend a hand. You won’t be able to do this either, so use the literary works of the past, and even call on those of the future to help you, and then compose the like of the Qur’an. And if you can’t do this, then do not compose all the Qur’an, but only ten Suras. Come on, you can’t manage ten which are truly like the Qur’an’s Suras, so put it together out of stories and fictitious tales; just produce the like of the word-order and eloquence. Don’t write a long Sura, just a short one. But if you can’t do this, your religion, lives, property, and families will all be in danger, both in this world and in the next!”

Thus, with these eight alternatives, the Wise Qur’an has challenged and silenced men and jinn, not for twenty-three years, but for one thousand three hundred. Nonetheless, in those early times, those unbelievers did not have recourse to the easiest way, dispute or contest, but chose the most fearsome way, that of war, putting their lives, possessions, and families into danger. That means, to dispute it was not possible.

And so, would not any intelligent person, particularly the people of Arabia at that time -and the Quraysh, who were very clever- have ensured that one of their literary men composed a Sura similar to one of the Qur’an’s and so be saved from the Qur’an’s attacks; would they have abandoned the short and easy way, cast all they possessed into peril, and travelled the way most fraught with difficulties?

I n   S h o r t : As the famous Jahiz put it: “Dispute with words was not possible, so they were compelled to fight with the sword.”

I f   i t   i s   a s k e d : Some learned scholars have said that not one of the Qur’an’s Suras, but not a single of its verses can be disputed, nor even a single sentence, nor a word, nor have they been disputed. But this appears to be exaggerated and the reason cannot accept it, for many of men’s words resemble those of the Qur’an. What is the reason for their saying this?

T h e   A n s w e r : There are two schools of thought concerning the miraculousness of the Qur’an.

The prevailing and preferred school states that the subtle qualities of eloquence and meaning in the Qur’an are beyond human power.

The second, and less preferred, school states that it is within human ability to dispute one of the Qur’an’s Suras, but Almighty Allah has prevented this as a miracle of Muhammad (PBUH). Like a man may rise to his feet, but if a prophet tells him that he cannot and he is unable to, then it is a miracle. This opinion is called the Sarfa School. That is, Almighty Allah prevented men and jinn from successfully disputing a single of the Qur’an’s Suras. According to this school, scholars who state that a single of its words cannot be disputed, are correct. Because since on account of its miraculousness Almighty Allah prevented them, they could not so much as open their mouths to dispute it. And even if they had done so, they could not have uttered a word.

However, according to the first-mentioned prevalent and preferred school of thought, that statement of scholars has the following subtle aspect: the All-Wise Qur’an’s phrases and words look to one another. It sometimes happens that a single word looks to ten places; in it are ten relationships and ten fine points of eloquence. We have pointed out examples of some of these in the commentary called Isharat al-I‘jaz (Signs of Miraculousness,) in the phrases of Sura al-Fatiha and those of,

Alif. Lam. Mim. * This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt.¹

For example, take a highly decorated palace; to situate in relation to all the decorations a stone which is like the central point of numerous, various decorations, is dependent on knowing the entire wall together with all its decorations. And to situate the pupil of the eye in a human head is dependent on knowing its relations with the whole body and all the body’s wondrous functions, together with the eye’s position in the face of those duties. In just the same way, the most advanced of the people of truth, have demonstrated numerous relationships in the Qur’an’s words and their aspects and connections with other verses and phrases. Scholars of the Hurufi School in particular, have gone further, explaining and demonstrating to their followers a page of hidden meanings in a single of the Qur’an’s letters.

Furthermore, since it is the speech of the Creator of all things, each of its words may be like a heart or seed. That is, a heart contained in an immaterial body formed of mysteries, or the seed of an immaterial tree.

Thus, words like those of the Qur’an, and even phrases or verses, may occur in man’s speech, but an all-encompassing knowledge is necessary to situate them exactly as they are in the Qur’an, taking into account the many relationships.

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1. Qur’an, 2:1-2.

TENTH SIGN

Corroborating the miracles concerning trees and reported in the form of ‘consensus,’ is the miracle of the moaning of the pole. Yes, the pole’s moaning in the Prophet’s mosque before a vast crowd because of its temporary separation from the Prophet (PBUH) both confirms and strengthens the instances of miracles related to trees. For the pole also was of wood; their substance was the same. However, the reports of this miracle itself form a consensus, whereas the others are thus as a group in one class, most of them individually or separately not attaining the degree of ‘explicit consensus.’

When delivering the sermon in the mosque, Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) used to lean against a pole consisting of a date-palm. But when the pulpit was made, he began to give the sermon from there. Whereupon the pole moaned and wailed like a camel; the whole congregation heard it. Only when the Prophet came down from the pulpit to it, and placed his hand on it, speaking to it and consoling it, did the pole stop moaning. This miracle of Muhammad (PBUH) was narrated through numerous chains of transmission, at the degree of ‘consensus.’

Indeed, the miracle of the moaning of the pole is very widely known and there is ‘true consensus’ concerning it.¹ Hundreds of authorities on Hadith of the subsequent generation narrated the miracle through fifteen chains of transmission from an illustrious group of Companions, and passed it down to succeeding centuries.² From that group, eminent scholars among the Companions and leading experts on Hadith such as Anas b. Malik³ and Jabir b. ‘Abd Allah al-Ansari⁴ -both servants of the Prophet, ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Umar,⁵ ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Abbas,⁶ Sahl b. Sa‘d,⁷ Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri,⁸ Ubayy b. Ka‘b,⁹ Burayda,¹⁰ and Umm Salama, the Mother of Believers,¹¹ each at the head of a chain of transmission, reported this same miracle to the Prophet’s community. Foremost Bukhari, Muslim, and the authentic books of Hadith gave accounts of this great miracle, concerning which there is consensus of reports, together with its lines of transmission for succeeding generations.

Jabir, in his chain of transmission, says: “Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) used to lean against a wooden pole called ‘the palm trunk’ while delivering the sermon in the mosque. The pole could not endure it when the pulpit was made and the Messenger used that for the sermon, and began to moan and wail like a pregnant camel.”¹² In his narration, Anas says: “It moaned like a water-buffalo causing the mosque to tremble.”¹³ In his narration, Sahl b. Sa‘d says: “And weeping increased among the people, on the pole’s moaning.” In his narration, Ubayy b. Ka‘b says: “It wept so much it split.” While in another narration, the Noble Messenger said: “It is weeping at being separated from the recitation of Allah’s Names and the mentioning of Allah during the sermon.” Still another narration reports that Allah’s Messenger said: “If I had not embraced and consoled it, it would have wept at being separated from Allah’s Messenger until Doomsday.” In his narration, Burayda reports: “When the pole began to moan, Allah’s Messenger put his hand on it and said, ‘If you wish, I will return you to the grove you came from; your roots will grow and you will flourish; you will produce new fruits. Or if you wish, I will plant you in Paradise, and Allah’s friends, the saints, will eat of your fruit.’ He then listened to the pole. The people behind Allah’s Messenger could hear it as it spoke, saying: ‘Plant me in Paradise, where there is no decay, so that Almighty Allah’s beloved servants will eat of my fruit.’ The Messenger said: ‘I will,’ and added: ‘It has preferred the eternal realm to that of transitoriness.’” Abu Ishaq Isfarani, one of the great authorities on theology, narrated: “Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) did not go to the pole, but it came to him, at his command. Then, at his command, it returned to its place.”¹⁴ Ubayy b. Ka‘b says: “After this extraordinary event, Allah’s Messenger ordered that the pole be put under the pulpit. It was put there and remained there until the mosque was pulled down before being rebuilt. Then Ubayy b. Ka‘b took it and kept it until it decayed.¹⁵

The famous scholar Hasan al-Basri would weep while teaching this miraculous event to his students, and say to them: “A piece of wood demonstrated love and longing for Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), so you should feel more love than that.”¹⁶ As for us, we say, Yes, and love and longing for him is shown through following his illustrious Practices and sacred Shari‘a.

A n   I m p o r t a n t   P o i n t

If it is asked : Why were the other miracles which were demonstrated in relation to food -to satisfy fully a thousand men with four handfuls of food in the Battle of Khandaq, and another thousand men with water flowing from the Messenger’s blessed fingers- not narrated through numerous chains of transmission as the miracle of the moaning of the pole, although the former two miracles occurred in the presence of larger crowds?

The Answer: The miracles that were manifested were of two kinds: one were manifested at the hands of Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), in order to make people assent to his prophethood. The moaning of the pole was of that kind. It occurred solely as a proof, an affirmation, of prophethood, to increase the believers’ faith, to urge the dissemblers to sincerity and belief, and to bring to belief the unbelievers. That is why everyone, the low and the high, saw it, and great attention was paid to broadcasting it. However, the miracles concerning food and water were wonders rather than miracles, or Divine favours rather than wonders, or, more than favour, they were banquets bestowed by the All-Merciful One because of need. For sure, they were proofs of his claim to prophethood and miracles, but their basic aim was this: the army was hungry so Almighty Allah provided a feast for a thousand men out of a handful of food from His treasury in the Unseen, just as He creates a thousand pounds of dates from a single seed. And for a thirsty army fighting in His way, He caused water to flow like the water of Kawthar from the fingers of the Commander-in-Chief, and gave them to drink.

It is for this reason that all the examples of the miracles concerning food and water do not attain the degree of the miracle of the moaning of the pole. However, in their entirety, the various kinds of these two miracles are as numerous and unanimously reported as the moaning of the pole. Moreover, not everyone could see the increase of food and water flowing from his fingers; they could only see the results. Whereas everyone heard the pole moaning, so it was more widely broadcast.

If it is asked: All the actions and conduct of Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) were recorded and transmitted by his Companions with extreme care. Why then are such great miracles only narrated through ten or twenty chains of transmission, when they should have been narrated through a hundred? Also, why are many narrated from Anas, Jabir, and Abu Hurayra, and few related from Abu Bakr and ‘Umar?

The Answer: The answer to the first part of the question has been given in the Third Principle in the Fourth Sign. Regarding the second part: just as someone in need of medicine goes to a doctor, mathematicians are consulted on mathematical problems, and questions to do with the Shari‘a are asked of the Mufti, and so on; so too, some of the scholars among the Companions were charged with the duty of instructing succeeding centuries in the Hadiths of the Prophet, working with all their strength for this end. Yes, Abu Hurayra devoted his entire life to memorizing Hadiths, while ‘Umar was occupied with the world of politics and the Caliphate. ‘Umar therefore narrated very few traditions, relying on persons like Abu Hurayra, Anas, and Jabir, to teach the Hadiths to the Muslim community. Furthermore, on a well-known, truthful, sincere, honest, and trusted Companion reporting an incident through one chain, it was regarded as sufficient, and no need remained for another to narrate it. This is why some significant events were narrated through only two or three chains of transmission.

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1. See, al-Kattani, Nazm al-Mutanathir 134-5.
2. Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya 125-132.
3. Bukhari, Manaqib 25; Tirmidhi, Manaqib 6; Jum’a 10; Ibn Maja, Iqamat al-Salat 199; Darimi, Muqaddima 6; Salat 202; Musnad i, 249, 267, 363; iii, 226; Ibn al-Asir al-Jawzi, al-Jami’ al-Usul no: 8899.
4. Bukhari, Manaqib 25l; Tirmidhi, Manaqib 6; Jum’a 10; Nasa’i, Jum’a 17; Ibn Maja, Iqamat al-Salat 199; Darimi, Muqaddima 6 (3 different lines from Jabir); Salat 202; Musnad iii, 293, 295, 306, 324.
5. Bukhari, Manaqib 25; Tirmidhi, Jum’a 10; Tirmidhi (Tahqiq: Ahmad Shakir) no: 505; Manaqib 6; Darimi, Muqaddima 6.
6. Tirmidhi, Manaqib 6; Jum’a 10; Darimi, Muqaddima 6; Salat 202; Musnad i, 249; Musnad i, 363.
7. Tirmidhi, Manaqib 6; Jum’a 10; Darimi, Muqaddima 6; Salat 202; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 62.
8. Darimi, Muqaddima 6.
9. Tirmidhi, Jum’a 10; Ibn Maja, Iqamat al-Salat 199; Darimi, Muqaddima 6; Musnad 139; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 62; al-Mubarakfuri, Tuhfat al-Ahwazi iii, 22.
10. Darimi, Muqaddima 6.
11. Tirmidhi, Manaqib 6; Jum’a 10.
12. See, Bukhari, Manaqib 25.
13. See, Darimi, Muqaddima 6.
14. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 304.
15. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 304; Ibn Maja, Iqamat al-Salat 199; Darimi, Muqaddima 6.
16. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 305.

Fourteenth Letter was not written.

FIFTEENTH SIGN

Just as rocks, trees, the moon and the sun recognized him and affirmed his prophethood by each demonstrating a miracle, so too, animals, the dead, the jinn, and the angels recognized that blessed being and affirmed his prophethood. For by each of those species of beings displaying a number of miracles, they demonstrated that they recognized him and proclaimed their affirmation of his prophethood. This Fifteenth Sign contains three Branches.

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First Branch explains how the animal species recognized and approved the Prophet (pbuh) as a miracle.

Second Branch explains how the dead bodies, jinn and angels recognized and approved the Prophet (pbuh).

Third Branch is a great miracle about the protection and preservation of the Prophet by Allah.

THE SECOND KIND

The signs of prophethood that were manifested by way of irhasat also include those tidings of his coming given before his prophetic mission in that time between prophets by the soothsayers and certain people known as saints and gnostics at that time; they published their claims and passed them down to subsequent generations in their poetry. These are numerous, and we shall mention some that are well-known, and have been accepted and narrated by the scholars of history and the Prophet’s life.

First: One of the rulers of Yemen, called Tubba‘, saw descriptions of Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) in former scriptures, and believed in him. He announced this by means of a poem, which went like this:

I bear witness to Ahmad, for he is a Messenger from Allah, the Creator of man;

Were I to live long enough to see him, I would be a minister and a cousin to him..¹

That is, I would have been like ‘Ali.

Second: Quss b. Sa‘ida was the most renowned and most significant orator of the Arabs, a monotheist, and man of enlightened mind. Before Muhammad’s prophetic mission, he announced his messengership with these lines:

Ahmad shall be sent forth amongst us, the best prophet ever sent;

Allah’s blessings be upon him, whenever a riding party sets out amidst cries!²

Third: Ka‘b b. Lu’ayy, one of the forefathers of the Prophet, announced Muhammad’s prophethood by way of inspiration as follows:

Suddenly, Muhammad the Prophet will appear,

Giving tidings most true.³

Fourth: Sayf b. Dhi-Yazan, one of the rulers of Yemen, read descriptions of Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) in the old scriptures, and believing in him, longed to see him. When ‘Abd al-Muttalib, Muhammad’s grandfather, went to Yemen with some of the Quraysh, Sayf summoned them and said: “A child will be born in Hijaz, with a mark between his shoulders resembling a seal. He will be the leader of all humanity.” Then, in private he told ‘Abd al-Muttalib: “You are his grandfather,”⁴ foretelling his prophethood in a wondrous way.

Fifth: Waraqa b. Nawfal was a cousin of Khadija. When the first Revelation came, the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was deeply shaken. Khadija described the event to the well-known Waraqa b. Nawfal, who told her to send him to him. Allah’s Messenger went to Waraqa and told him how the Revelation had come. Waraqa said: “Good news, O Muhammad! I testify that you are the awaited prophet who was foretold by Jesus.”⁵ That is, Do not worry! It was truly the coming of Revelation.

Sixth: Before the prophetic mission, a gnostic called Athkalan al-Himyari asked the Quraysh when he saw them: “Is there anyone among you who claims prophethood?” They replied in the negative. He again asked them at the start of his mission, and this time their reply was affirmative. Athkalan said: “The world is awaiting him!”⁶

Seventh: Ibn al-‘Ala, a famous Christian scholar, told of Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) before his mission, never having seen him. He later came, saw the Messenger, and said: “By the One Who sent you in truth, I found your description in the Gospels, and the Son of Mary gave glad tidings of your coming.”⁷

Eighth: Mentioned above was the Negus of Abyssinia, who declared: “Would that I had been the servant of Muhammad the Arabian (Upon whom be blessings and peace), rather than a king. To serve him would have been far superior to this sovereignty.”⁸

In addition to these tidings given by these learned men through Divine inspiration from the Unseen, soothsayers too gave news from the Unseen of the coming of Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), and of his prophethood, by means of jinn and spirit beings. These are numerous also, and we shall mention a few which are well-known, have reached the degree of ‘consensus in meaning,’ and are related in most of the books of history and the Prophet’s biography. Referring the lengthy accounts of them to those books, we shall give only a summary of them.

The First is the famous soothsayer, Shiqq, who had only one eye, one arm, and one leg; he was quite simply half a man. His repeated predictions concerning the messengership of Muhammad (PBUH) have passed into the history books, with the certainty of ‘consensus in meaning.^’9

The Second is the famous soothsayer of Damascus, Satih, who was a monstrosity lacking bones, and even limbs, whose face was in his chest and who lived a very long time. He was highly reputed at that time for the correct information he gave concerning the Unseen. The Persian king, Chosroes, even, sent a learned envoy called Mubezan to ask Satih to interpret a strange dream he had at the time of Muhammad’s birth, in which the fourteen pinnacles of his palace collapsed. Satih said: “Fourteen men will rule over you, then your empire will be destroyed. Also someone will come who will announce a religion; he will abolish both your religion and your empire,” sending news of this to Chosroes.¹⁰ In this way, Satih explicitly foretold the coming of the Prophet of the end of time.

As written in detail in the books of history and the Prophet’s biography, soothsayers like Sawad b. Qarib al-Dawsi, Khunafir, Af‘a Najran, Jidhl b. Jidhl al-Kindi, Ibn Khalasat al-Dawsi, and Fatima bint al-Nu‘man al-Najariyya, foretold the coming of the Prophet of the end of time, stating that that Prophet was Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace).¹¹

Also, one of ‘Uthman’s relations, Sa‘d b. bint al-Kurayz, received knowledge from the Unseen by means of soothsaying about the prophethood of Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace). In the early days of Islam, he told ‘Uthman Dhi’l-Nurayn to go and accept faith. ‘Uthman did so and entered the fold of Islam at the beginning. Sa‘d expressed the event with a poem, which went like this:

Through my words, Allah has guided ‘Uthman to the source

That yields righteousness; truly Allah guides to the truth.¹²

Like soothsayers, jinns who were invisible but whose voices were heard, called ha\tif, repeatedly foretold the coming of Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace). For example:

An invisible jinn shouted out the following to Dhayab b. al-Harith, and was the reason of he and others accepting Islam: “O Dhayab! O Dhayab! Listen to the oddest thing: Muhammad has appeared with the Book. He is calling on Makkah, yet they do not respond to him!”¹³

Another unseen jinn called out to Sama‘ b. Qarrat al-Ghatafani, “The truth has come in manifest radiance, the false is destroyed and uprooted,” and caused him and some others to believe.¹⁴

Such messages and good tidings of unseen jinns are extremely well-known and numerous.

Just as the voices of jinns and the soothsayers foretold him, so too idols and sacrifices slaughtered for the idols gave news of the prophethood of Allah’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace). For example:

One is the famous story of the idol of the Mazan tribe, who shouted out: “This is the Prophet who has been sent; he comes with the revealed truth,”¹⁵ telling of Muhammad’s (PBUH) prophethood.

Another is the well-known incident which caused ‘Abbas b. Mardas to accept Islam: there was an idol called Dimar, which one day called out: “Dimar was worshipped before the declaration of Muhammad; that misguidance can no longer continue.”¹⁶

Before he accepted Islam, ‘Umar heard an animal sacrificed to an idol exclaim: “O sacrificer, the means of success are at hand: an eloquent man proclaiming, No god but Allah!”¹⁷

There are very many more examples like these, which have been accepted as authentic and narrated in reliable books.

And just as soothsayers, gnostics, invisible jinns, and even idols and sacrifices told of Muhammad’s (PBUH) messengership, and each instance was the cause of people coming to believe in him, so too inscriptions on stones over and in graves, and on gravestones, like “Muhammad, a worker of righteousness, the trustworthy,” were the means of some people coming to believe.¹⁸ Because, in the time shortly before Muhammad lived, there were only seven men bearing that name, and not one of them deserved the epithet of righteous and trustworthy.¹⁹

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1. Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya ii, 166; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 363; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 740; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak ii, 388; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 138.
2. Suyuti, al-Fath al-Kabir ii, 133; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya ii, 230; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 363; ^Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 740; Tabarani, al-Majmu’ al-Kabir xii, 1254; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa ii, 101; Abu Na^im, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa i, 105.
3. Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya ii, 244; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 364; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 740; Abu Na^im, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa i, 89-90.
4. Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya ii, 328; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 343; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 740; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak ii, 388; Abu Na’im, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa i, 95-6; Halabi, al-Sirat al-Halabiya i, 187.
5. Bukhari, Bad’ al-Wahy 3; Anbiya’ 21; Ta’bir 1; Musnad (Tahqiq: Ahmad Shakir) iv, 304 no: 2846; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 363; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 743; ‘Ajurri, al-Shari’a 443; Abu Na’im, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa i, 217.
6. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 363; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 742; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 140.
7. ^Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 744; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 121, 208.
8. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 365; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 115; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa ii, 285.
9. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 364; ^Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 747; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 168-72; Abu Na^im, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa i, 123, 125.
10. Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya ii, 355-69; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa ii, 126, 129; Abu Na’im, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa i, 125; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 365; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 747; Suyuti, al-Khasa’is al-Kubra i, 128-30; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id viii, 848-9, 851.
11. Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya ii, 335; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa ii, 248; Abu Na’im, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa i, 125; Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 365; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 747; Suyuti, al-Khasa’is al-Kubra i, 128-30; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id viii, 248-9, 251.
12. Suyuti, al-Khasa’is al-Kubra i, 258.
13. Halabi, al-Sirat al-Halabiya i, 335-7; Suyuti, al-Khasa’is al-Kubra i, 358; Yusuf Nabhani, Hujjat Allah ‘ala’l-‘Alamin 181.
14. ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 748; Suyuti, al-Khasa’is al-Kubra i, 252.
15. Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa ii, 255; Halabi, al-Sirat al-Halabiya i, 325; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya ii, 337; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id viii, 242; ^Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 747; Suyuti, al-Khasa’is al-Kubra i, 252-71.
16. al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id viii, 246; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya ii, 341-2; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa i, 118.
17. Bukhari, Manaqib al-Ansar 35; al-Sa’ati, al-Fath al-Rabbani xx, 2030.
18. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 467; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 467; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’ i, 749; Halabi, al-Sirat al-Halabiya i, 354.
19. Halabi, al-Sirat al-Halabiya i, 131-4.

Fifth Matter

S e c o n d l y : You ask in your letter whether There is no god but Allah is sufficient on its own. That is, intending the second part, you ask: can someone who does not say Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah find salvation? The answer to this is lengthy, so for now we shall only say this:

The two parts of the confession of faith cannot be separated; they prove each other, comprise each other; one cannot be without the other. Since the Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was the Seal of the Prophets and the heir of all the prophets, he is at the start of all the ways leading to Allah. There can be no way to reality and salvation outside his mighty highway. All those with inner knowledge of Allah and the authorities of those who have researched into reality have said like Sa‘di Shirazi: “It is impossible, Sa‘di, to be victorious on the way of salvation, except by following Mustafa.” They also said: “All ways are closed except the highway of Muhammad.”

However, it sometimes happens that people may be on the highway of Muhammad (PBUH) and within it, without knowing that it is the highway of Muhammad.

And it sometimes happens that they do not know the Prophet, but the road they take is part of the highway of Muhammad (PBUH).

It happens too that being in a state of ecstasy or entirely immersed in contemplation or having withdrawn from the world, not thinking of the highway of Muhammad, There is no god but Allah is sufficient for them. Nevertheless, a most important aspect is this: non-acceptance is one thing, while the acceptance of non-being is another. Ecstatics and recluses or those who have not heard or do not know, do not know the Prophet or they do not think of him so that they should accept him. They are ignorant in that respect. They only know There is no god but Allah in regard to knowledge of Allah. They may be among those who will be saved. But if those who have heard of the Prophet and know his message do not affirm him, they do not recognize Almighty Allah. For them, the phrase There is no god but Allah alone does not express the affirmation of Divine Unity, which is the means of salvation. For that is not ignorant non-acceptance, which may be excusable to a degree, it is rather the acceptance of non-being, which is denial. A person who denies Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace), who with his miracles and works was the pride of the universe and glory of mankind, certainly can in no respect receive any light and will not recognize Allah. However... that is enough for now.

My Dear Brother!

YOUR FIRST QUESTION

Why didn’t the Companions discover the troublemakers with the eye of sainthood, so that it resulted in three of the four Rightly-Guided Caliphs being martyred? For it is said that the lesser Companions are greater than the greatest saints?

T h e A n s w e r : There are two Stations in this matter.

FIRST STATION

This question is solved by explaining as follows a subtle mystery of sainthood:

The Companions’ sainthood, known as the ‘greater sainthood,’ is a sainthood which arose from the legacy of prophethood, and, passing directly from the apparent to reality without travelling the intermediate path, looks to the unfolding of Divine immediacy. Although this way of sainthood is very short, it is extremely elevated. Its wonders are few, but its virtues many. Illuminations and wonder-workings are to be encountered infrequently on it. Moreover, the wonder-working of the saints is mostly involuntary; wonders appear from them unexpectedly as a Divine bestowal. And the majority of these illuminations and wonder-workings occur during their spiritual journeying, when they traverse the intermediate realm of the Sufi path; they manifest these extra-ordinary states because they have withdrawn to a degree from ordinary humanity. As for the Companions, due to the reflection, attraction, and elixir of the company of prophethood, they were not compelled to traverse the vast sphere of spiritual journeying present on the Sufi way. They were able to pass from the apparent to reality in one step, through one conversation with the Prophet (Blessings and peace be upon him). For example, there are two ways of reaching the Night of Power, if it was last night:

One is to travel and wander for a year and so come to that night. One has to traverse the distance of a year in order to gain this proximity. This is the way of those who take the way of spiritual journeying, which most of those who follow the Sufi path take.

The second is to slip free of and be divested of the sheath of corporeality, which is restricted by time, to rise in the spirit, and to see the Night of Power, which was last night, together with the night of the ‘Id, which is the day after tomorrow, as being present like today. For the spirit is not restricted by time. When the human emotions rise to the level of the spirit, present time expands. Time which is the past and the future for others is as though the present æor such a person.

And so, according to this comparison, in order to reach the Night of Power, one has to rise to the level of the spirit and see the past as though it was the present. The basis of this obscure mystery is the unfolding of Divine immediacy. For example, the sun is close to us, for its light and heat are present in our mirror and in our hand. But we are far from it. If we perceive its immediacy from the point of view of luminosity, and understand our relation to its image in our mirror, which is a similitude; if we come to know it by that means, and know what its light, heat, and totality are, its immediacy is unfolded to us and we recognize it as close to us and we become connected to it. If we want to draw close to it and get to know it from the point of view of our distance from it, we are compelled to embark on an extensive journeying of the mind, so that by means of thought and the laws of science, we may rise to the skies in the mind and conceive of the sun there, and through lengthy scientific investigation understand its light and heat and the seven colours in its light. Only after this may we attain to the non-physical proximity the first man attained with little thought through his mirror.

Thus, like this comparison, the sainthood of prophethood and of the legacy of prophethood looks to the mystery of the unfolding of Divine immediacy. The other sainthood proceeds mostly on the basis of proximity, and is compelled to traverse numerous degrees in spiritual journeying.

SECOND STATION

Those who were the cause of those events and instigated the trouble did not consist of a few Jews so that having discovered them the trouble could have been prevented. For with numerous different peoples entering Islam, many currents and ideas which were opposed to and contrary to one another had confused the situation. Particularly since the national pride of some of them had received awesome wounds at the blows of ‘Umar (May Allah be pleased with him); they were waiting to take their revenge. For both their old religion had been rendered null and void and their old rule and sovereignty, the source of their pride, been swept away. Knowingly or unknowingly, they were emotionally in favour of taking their revenge on Islamic rule. It was therefore said that certain clever and scheming dissemblers like the Jews took advantage of that state of society. That is to say, it would have been possible to prevent those events through reforming the social life and various ideas of that time. They could not have been prevented by discovering one or two troublemakers.

I f  i t i s s a i d : Why did ‘Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) not see his murderer, Firuz, who was at his side with that piercing eye of sainthood of his, although while in the pulpit he said to one of his commanders called Sariya who was a month’s distance away, “Sariya! The mountain, the mountain!”,1 making Sariya hear it and in wondrous fashion causing a strategic victory-showing how piercing his view was?

T h e A n s w e r : We answer with the answer that the Prophet Jacob (Upon whom be peace) gave. That is, it was asked of Jacob, “How did you perceive the odour of Joseph’s shirt from Egypt when you did not see him in the well at Cana’an close by?” He replied: “Our state is like lightening; sometimes it appears and sometimes it is hidden. Sometimes it is as though we are seated on the highest spot and can see everwhere. And sometimes we cannot even see the arch of our foot.”

In Short: However much man acts with choice, still, in accordance with the verse,

You do not will it except as Allah wills,²

Divine will is fundamental, Divine Determining is dominant. Divine will gives back human will. It confirms the statement, “If Divine Determining speaks, human power cannot speak, man’s will falls silent.”

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1. Tabari, Ta’rikh al-‘Umam wa’l-Muluk ii, 380; Abu Na’im, al-Dala’il iii, 210, 211; Bayhaqi, Dala’il al-Nubuwwa vi, 370; Suyuti, Ta’rikh al-Khulafa’ 128; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya vii, 131; al-‘Asqalani, al-Isaba ii, 3; Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, al-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqa 101; Imam Sahawi, al-Maqasid al-Hasana 474 no: 1331; Suyuti, al-Durar al-Muntathira 182 No: 462; al-‘Ajluni, Kashf al-Khafa’ ii, 380; al-Albani, Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahiha no: 1110.

2. Qur’an, 76:30.

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Second Question: What is the true nature of the wars that started at the time of Hz. Ali (May Allah be pleased with him)? How can those who killed and those who were killed be explained?

The First Addendum

to the Miracles of Muhammad (PBUH)

[The Nineteenth Word about the Messengership of Muhammad (PBUH) and the Miracle of the Splitting of the Moon have been included here due to their ‘station.’]

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

Also being the Fourteenth Flash, this Word consists of fourteen ‘Droplets.’

FIRST DROPLET

There are three great and universal things which make known to us our Sustainer. One is the Book of the Universe, a jot of whose testimony we have heard from the thirteen Flashes together with the Thirteenth Word of the Risale-i Nur. Another is the Seal of the Prophets (Upon whom be blessings and peace), the supreme sign of the Book of the Universe. Now, we must become acquainted with the Seal of the Prophets (Upon whom be blessings and peace), who is the second and Articulate Proof, and must listen to him.

Indeed, look at the collective personality of this proof: the face of the earth has become his mosque, Makkah, his mihrab, and Madinah, his pulpit. Our Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him), this clear proof, is leader to all the believers, preacher to all mankind, the chief of all the prophets, lord of all the saints, the leader of a circle for the remembrance of Allah comprising all the prophets and saints. He is a luminous tree whose living roots are all the prophets, and fresh fruits are all the saints; whose claims all the prophets relying on their miracles and all the saints relying on their wonder-working confirm and corroborate. For he declares and claims: “There is no god but Allah!” And all on left and right, that is, those luminous reciters of Allah’s Names lined up in the past and the future, repeat the same words, and through their consensus in effect declare: “You speak the truth and what you say is right!” What false idea has the power to meddle in a claim which is thus affirmed and corroborated by thousands?

SECOND DROPLET

Just as that luminous Proof of Divine Unity is affirmed by the unanimity and consensus of those two wings, so do hundreds of indications in the revealed scriptures, like the Torah and Bible,¹ and the thousands of signs that appeared before the beginning of his mission, and the well-known news of the voices from the Unseen and the unanimous testimony of the soothsayers, the indications of the thousands of his miracles, like the Splitting of the Moon, and the justice of Shari‘a, all confirm and corroborate him. So too, in his person, his laudable morals, which were at the summit of perfection; and in his duties, his complete confidence and elevated qualities, which were of the highest excellence; and his extraordinary fear of Allah, worship, seriousness, and fortitude, which demonstrated the strength of his belief, and his total certainty and his complete steadfastness, all show as clearly as the sun how utterly faithful he was to his cause.

THIRD DROPLET

If you wish, come! Let us go to Arabian Peninsula, to the Era of Bliss! In our imaginations, we shall see him at his duties and visit him. Look! We see a person distinguished by his fine character and beautiful form. In his hand is a miraculous Book and on his tongue, a truthful address; he is delivering a pre-eternal sermon to all mankind, indeed, to man, jinn, and the angels, and to all beings. He solves and expounds the obscure riddle of the mystery of the world’s creation; he discovers and solves the abstruse talisman which is the mystery of the universe; and he provides convincing and satisfying answers to the three awesome and difficult questions that are asked of all beings and have always bewildered and occupied minds: “Where do you come from? What are you doing here? Where are you going?”

FOURTH DROPLET

See! He spreads such a Light of truth that if you look at the universe as being outside the luminous sphere of his truth and guidance, you see it to be like a place of general mourning, and beings strangers to one another and hostile, and inanimate beings to be like ghastly corpses and living creatures like orphans weeping at the blows of death and separation. Now look! Through the Light he spreads, that place of universal mourning has been transformed into a place where Allah’s Names and praises are recited in joy and ecstasy. The foreign, hostile beings have become friends and brothers. While the dumb, dead inanimate creatures have each taken on the form of familiar officials and docile servants. And the weeping, complaining orphans are seen to be either reciting Allah’s Names and praises or offering thanks at being released from their duties.

FIFTH DROPLET

Also, through his Light, the motion and movement of the universe, and its variations, changes and transformations, cease being meaningless, futile, and the playthings of chance and rise to the level of being dominical missives, pages inscribed with the signs of creation, and mirrors to the Divine Names, and the world itself, a book of the Eternally Besought One’s wisdom. And while man’s boundless weakness and impotence make him inferior to all other animals and his reason, the means of transmitting grief, sorrow, and sadness, makes him more wretched, when he is illumined with that Light, he rises above all animals and all creatures. Through his illuminated impotence, want, and reason, through entreaty he becomes a petted monarch and through lamenting, a spoiled vicegerent of the earth. That is to say, if it was not for his Light, the universe and man, and all things, would be nothing. Yes, certainly such a person is necessary in such a wondrous universe; otherwise the universe and firmaments should not be in existence.

SIXTH DROPLET

Thus, that being announces and brings the good news of eternal happiness; he is the discoverer and proclaimer of an infinite mercy, the herald and observer of the beauties of the sovereignty of dominicality, and the discloser and displayer of the treasures of the Divine Names. If you regard him in that way, that is in regard to his being a worshipful servant of Allah, you will see him to be the model of love, the exemplar of mercy, the glory of mankind, and the most luminous fruit of the tree of creation. While if you look in this way, that is, in regard to his prophethood, you see him to be the proof of Allah, the lamp of truth, the sun of guidance, and the means to happiness. And look! His Light has lighted up from east to west like dazzling lightening, and half the earth and a fifth of mankind has accepted the gift of his guidance and preserved it like life itself. So how is it that our evil-commanding souls and satans do not accept with all its degrees the basis of all one such as that claimed, that is, “There is no god but Allah?”

SEVENTH DROPLET

Now, consider how, eradicating in no time at all their evil and savage customs and habits to which they were fanatically attached, he decked out the various wild, unyielding peoples of that broad peninsula with all the finest virtues, and made them teachers of all the world and masters to the civilized nations. See, it was not an outward domination, he conquered and subjugated their minds, spirits, hearts, and souls. He became the beloved of hearts, the teacher of minds, the trainer of souls, the ruler of spirits.

EIGHTH DROPLET

You know that a small habit like cigarette smoking among a small nation can be removed permanently only by a powerful ruler with great effort. But look! This being removed numerous ingrained habits from intractable, fanatical large nations with slight outward power and little effort in a short period of time, and in their place he so established exalted qualities that they became as firm as if they had mingled with their very blood. He achieved very many extraordinary feats like this. Thus, we present the Arabian Peninsula as a challenge to those who refuse to see the testimony of the blessed age of the Prophet. Let them each take a hundred philosophers, go there, and strive for a hundred years, I wonder if they would be able to carry out in that time one hundredth of what he achieved in a year?

NINTH DROPLET

Also, you know that an insignificant man of small standing among a small community in a disputed matter of small importance cannot tell a small but shameful lie brazenfaced and without fear without displaying anxiety or disquiet enough to inform the enemies at his side of his deception. Now look at that being; although he undertook a tremendous task which required an official of great authority and great standing and a situation of great security, can any contradiction at all be found in the words he uttered among a community of great size in the face of great hostility concerning a great cause and matters of great significance, with great ease and freedom, without fear, hesitation, diffidence, or anxiety, with pure sincerity, great seriousness, and in an intense, elevated manner that angered his enemies? Is it at all possible that any trickery should have been involved? Allah forbid! It is naught but Revelation inspired.²

The truth does not deceive, and one who perceives the truth is not deceived. His way which is truth is free of deception. How could a fancy appear to one who sees the truth to be the truth, and deceive him?

TENTH DROPLET

Now, look! What curiosity-arousing, attractive, necessary, and awesome truths he shows and matters he proves.

You know that what impels man most is curiosity. Even, should it be said to you: “If you give half of your life and property, someone will come from the Moon and Jupiter and tell you all about them. And will also tell you correctly about your future and what will happen to you,” if you have any curiosity at all, you would give them. Whereas that being tells of a Monarch Who is such that in His realm, the Moon flies round a moth like a fly, and the moth, the earth, flutters round a lamp, and the lamp, the sun, is merely one lamp among thousands in one guest-house out of thousands of that Monarch.

Also, he speaks truly of a world so wondrous and a revolution so tremendous that if the earth was a bomb and exploded it would not be all that strange. Look! Listen to Suras like, When the sun is folded up.³ * When the sky is cleft asunder.⁴ * [The Day] of Noise and Clamour,⁵ which he recites.

Also, he speaks truly of such a future that the future in this world is like a tiny mirage in comparison. He tells too most seriously of such happiness that the comparison between it and all worldly happiness is that between a fleeting flash of lightening and an eternal sun.

ELEVENTH DROPLET

Such wonders certainly await us under the outer veil of the universe which is thus strange and perplexing. One thus wonderful and extraordinary, a displayer of marvels, is necessary to tell of its wonders. It is apparent from that being’s conduct that he has seen them, and sees them, and says that he has seen them. He instructs us most soundly concerning what the Allah of the heavens and the earth, Who nurtures us with His bounties, wants and desires of us. While everyone should leave everything, therefore, and run to and heed this being who teaches numerous necessary and curiosity-arousing truths like these, how is it that most people are deaf and blind, and mad even, so that they do not see this truth, and they do not listen to it and understand it?

TWELFTH DROPLET

This Being is both an articulate proof and true evidence at the degree of the truth of the Unity of the Creator of beings, and a decisive proof and clear evidence for the resurrection of the dead and eternal happiness. Indeed, with his guidance he is the reason for eternal happiness coming about and is the means of attaining it; so too, through his prayers and supplications, he is the cause of its existence and means of its creation. We repeat here this mystery, which is mentioned in the Tenth Word, due to its ‘station.’

See! This being prays with a prayer so supreme it is as if the Arabian Peninsula and the earth too performs the prayers through his majestic prayer, and offers entreaties. See, he entreats in a congregation so vast it is as if all the luminous and perfected members of mankind from the time of Adam till our age and until the end of time, are following him and saying “Amen” to his supplications. And see! He is beseeching for a need so universal that not only the dwellers of the earth, but those of the heavens, and all beings, join in his prayer, declaring: “Yes! O our Sustainer! Grant it to us! We too want it!” He supplicates with such want, so sorrowfully, in such a loving, yearning, and beseeching fashion that he brings the whole cosmos to tears, making them join in his prayer.

And see! He prays for such a purpose and aim that it raises man and the world, and all creatures, from the lowest of the low, from inferiority, worthlessness, and uselessness to the highest of the high; that is, to having value, permanence, and exalted duties. And see! He seeks and pleads for help and mercy in a manner so elevated and sweet that it is as if he makes all beings and the heavens and the earth hear, and bringing them to ecstasy, to exclaim: “Amen, O our Allah! Amen!” And see! He seeks his needs from One so Powerful, Hearing, and Munificent, One so Knowing, Seeing, and Compassionate, that He sees and hears the most secret need of the most hidden living being and its entreaties, accepts them, and has mercy on it. For He gives what is asked for, even if through the tongue of disposition. And He gives it in so Wise, Seeing, and Compassionate a form that it leaves no doubt that that nurturing and regulation is particular to the All-Hearing and All-Seeing One, the Most Generous and Most Compassionate One.

THIRTEENTH DROPLET

What does he want, this pride of the human race, who taking behind him all the eminent of mankind, stands on top of the world, and raising up his hands, is praying? What is this unique being, who is truly the glory of the cosmos, seeking? Listen! He is seeking eternal happiness. He is asking for eternal life, and to meet with Allah. He wants Paradise. And he wants all the Sacred Divine Names, which display their beauty and decrees in the mirrors of beings. Even, if it were not for reasons for the fulfilment of those countless requests, like Mercy, Grace, Wisdom, and Justice, a single of that being’s prayers would have been sufficient for the construction of Paradise, the creation of which is as easy for Divine Power as the creation of the spring. Yes, just as his messengership was the reason for the opening of this place of examination and trial, so his worship and servitude to Allah was the reason of the opening of the next world.

Would the perfect order observed in the universe, which has caused scholars and the intelligent to pronounce: “It is not possible for there to exist anything better than what is in existence,” and would the faultless beauty of art within mercy, the incomparable beauty of dominicality, permit the ugliness, the cruelty, the lack of order of its hearing and responding to the least significant, the least important desires and voices, and its considering unimportant the most important, the most necessary wishes, and its not hearing, understanding, and carrying them out? Allah forbid! A hundred thousand times, Allah forbid! Such a beauty would not permit such an ugliness; it would not become ugly!

And so, my imaginary friend! That is enough for now, we must return. For if we remain a hundred years in this age in the Arabian Peninsula, we still would only completely comprehend one hundredth of the marvels of that being’s duties and the wonders he carried out, and we would never tire of watching him.

Now, come! We shall look at the centuries, which will turn above us. See how each has opened like a flower through the effulgence it has received from that Sun of Guidance! They have produced millions of enlightened fruits like Abu Hanifa, Shafi‘i, Abu Bayazid Bistami, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir Gilani, Shah Naqshband, Imam Ghazali and Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi. And postponing the details of our observations to another time, we must recite some benedictions for that displayer of miracles and bringer of guidance, which indicate a number of his certain miracles:

Innumerable peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad, to the number of the good deeds of his community, to whom was revealed the All-Wise Criterion of Truth and Falsehood, from One Most Merciful, Most Compassionate, from the Sublime Throne; whose Prophethood was foretold by the Torah and Bible, and told of by wondrous signs, the voices of jinn, saints of man, and soothsayers; at whose indication the moon split; our master Muhammad! Peace and blessings be upon him thousands and thousands of times, to the number of the breaths of his community; at whose beckoning came the tree, on whose prayer rain swiftly fell, and whom the cloud shaded from the heat; who satisfied a hundred men with his food; from between whose fingers three times flowed water like the Spring of Kawthar; and to whom Allah made speak the lizard, the gazelle, the wolf, the torso, the arm, the camel, the mountain, the rock, and the clod; the one who made the Ascension and whose eye did not waver; our master and intercessor, Muhammad! Peace and blessings be upon him thousands and thousands of times, to the number of the letters of the Qur’an formed in the words represented with the permission of the Most Merciful in the mirrors of the airwaves at the reciting of all the words of the Qur’an by all reciters from when it was first revealed to the end of time. And grant us forgiveness and have mercy on us, O Allah, for each of those blessings. Amen.

[I have described the Evidences for the Prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH) which I have here indicated briefly in a Turkish treatise called Suaât-i Mârifeti’n-Nebî and in the Nineteenth Letter (The Miracles of Muhammad). There too aspects of the All-Wise Qur’an’s miraculousness have been mentioned briefly. Again, in a Turkish treatise called Lemeât and in the Twenty-Fifth Word (The Miraculousness of the Qur’an) I have explained concisely forty ways in which the Qur’an is a miracle, and indicated forty aspects of its miraculousness. And of those forty aspects, only the eloquence in the word order I have written in forty pages in an Arabic commentary called, Isharat al-I‘jaz. If you have the need, you may refer to those three works.]

FOURTEENTH DROPLET

The All-Wise Qur’an, the treasury of miracles and supreme miracle, proves the prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH) together with Divine Unity so decisively that it leaves no need for further proof. We shall therefore give its definition and indicate one or two flashes of its miraculousness which have been the cause of criticism.

The All-Wise Qur’an, which makes known to us our Sustainer, is as follows: it is the pre-eternal translator of the great Book of the Universe; the discloser of the treasures of the Divine Names concealed in the pages of the earth and the heavens; the key to the truths hidden beneath these lines of events; the treasury of the favours of the Most Merciful and of the pre-eternal addresses, which come forth from the World of the Unseen beyond the veil of this Manifest World; the sun, foundation, and plan of the spiritual world of Islam, and the map of the worlds of the hereafter; the distinct expounder, lucid exposition, articulate proof, and clear translator of the Divine Essence, attributes, and deeds; the instructor, true wisdom, guide, and leader of the world of humanity; it is both a book of wisdom and law, and a book of prayer and worship, and a book of command and summons, and a book of invocation and Divine knowledge-it is book for all spiritual needs; and it is a sacred library offering books appropriate to the ways of all the saints and veracious, the purified and the scholars, whose ways and paths are all different.

Consider the flashes of miraculousness in its repetitions, which are imagined to be a fault: since the Qur’an is both a book of invocation, and of prayer, and of summons, the repetition in it is desirable, indeed, it is essential and most eloquent. It is not as the faulty imagine. For the mark of invocation is illumination through repetition. The mark of prayer is strengthening through repetition. The mark of command and summons is confirmation through repetition. Moreover, everyone is not capable of always reading the whole Qur’an, but mostly is able to read one Sura. Therefore, since the most important purposes of the Qur’an are included in most of the longer Suras, each is like a small Qur’an. That is to say, so that no one should be deprived, certain of its purposes like Divine Unity, the resurrection of the dead, and the story of Moses, have been repeated. Also, like bodily needs, spiritual needs are various. Man is in need of some of them each breath; like the body needs air, the spirit needs the word Hu (He). Some he is in need of each hour, like “In the Name of Allah.” And so on. That means the repetition of verses arises from the repetition of need. And it makes the repetition in order to point out the need and awaken and incite it, and to arouse desire and appetite.

Also, the Qur’an is a founder. It is the basis of the Clear Religion, and the foundation of the world of Islam. It changed human social life, and is the answer to the repeated questions of its various classes. Repetition is necessary for a founder in order to establish things. Repetition is necessary to corroborate them. Confirmation and repetition are necessary to strengthen them.

Also, it speaks of such mighty matters and minute truths that numerous repetitions are necessary in different forms in order to establish them in the hearts of everyone. Nevertheless, they are apparently repetitions, but in meaning each verse has numerous meanings, numerous benefits, and many aspects and levels. In each place they are mentioned for a different meaning, benefit, and purpose.

Also, the Qur’an’s being unspecific and concise in certain matters to do with the cosmos is a flash of miraculousness, and is for the purpose of guidance. It cannot be the cause of criticism and is not a fault, like some atheists imagine.

If you ask: “Why does the All-Wise Qur’an not speak of beings in the same way as philosophy and science? It leaves some matters in brief form, and some it speaks of in a simple and superficial way that is easy for the general view, does not wound people’s feelings, and does not weary or tax the minds of ordinary people. Why is this?”

By way of answer we say: Philosophy has strayed from the path of truth, that’s why. Also, of course you have understood from previous Words and what they teach that the All-Wise Qur’an speaks of the universe in order to make known the Divine Essence, attributes, and Names. That is, it explains the meanings of the Book of the Universe to make known its Creator. That means it looks at beings, not for themselves, but for their Creator. Also, it addresses everyone, while philosophy and science look at beings for themselves, and address scientists in particular. In which case, since the All-Wise Qur’an makes beings evidences and proofs, the evidence has to be superficial so that it will be quickly understood in the general view. And since the Qur’an of Guidance addresses all classes of men, the ordinary people, which form the most numerous class, want guidance which is concise with unnecessary things beings vague; in a way that brings subtle things close with comparisons, and does not change things which in their superficial view are obvious into an unnecessary or even harmful form, lest it causes them to fall into error.

For example, it says about the sun: “The sun is a revolving lamp or lantern.” This is because it does not speak of the sun for itself and its nature, but because it is a sort of mainspring of an order and centre of a system, and order and systems are mirrors of the Maker’s skill. It says:

The sun runs its course.⁶

that is, the sun revolves. Through calling to mind the orderly disposals of Divine power in the revolutions of winter and summer, and day and night with the phrase, The sun revolves, it makes known the Maker’s tremendousness. Thus, whatever the reality of this revolving, it does not affect the order, which is woven and observed, and which is the purpose. It also says,

And set the sun as a lamp.⁷

Here, by depicting with the word ‘lamp’ the world in the form of a palace, and the things within it as decorations, necessities, and provisions prepared for man and living beings, and the sun as a subjugated candleholder, it makes known the Creator’s mercy and bestowal. Now look and see what this foolish and prattling philosophy says:

“The sun is a vast burning liquid mass. It causes the planets which have been flung off from it to revolve around it. Its mass is such-and-such. It is this, it is that.” Apart from a terrible dread and fearful wonder, philosophy gives to the spirit no knowledge that will perfect it. It does not speak of it as the Qur’an does. You may understand from this the value of the matters of philosophy, whose inside is hollow and outside, ostentatious. So do not be deceived by its glittering exterior and be disrespectful towards the miraculous expositions of the Qur’an!

[NOTE: The Six Drops of the Fourteenth Droplet in the Arabic Risale-i Nur, and especially the Six Points of the Fourth Drop, explain fifteen of the approximately forty sorts of miraculousness of the All-Wise Qur’an. Deeming those to be sufficient, we have limited the discussion here. If you wish, refer to them, and you will find a treasury of miracles...]

O Allah! Make the Qur’an healing for us, the writer of this and his peers, for all our ills, and a companion to us in our lives and after our deaths, and in this world, and in the grave, and at the Last Judgement an intercessor, and on the Bridge a light, and from the Fire a screen and shield, and in Paradise a friend, and in all good deeds a guide and leader, through Your grace and munificence and beneficence and mercy, O Most Munificent of the Munificent and Most Merciful of the Merciful! Amen.

O Allah! Grant blessings and peace to the one to whom was revealed the All-Wise Qur’an, the Distinguisher between Truth and Falsehood, and to all his Family and Companions. Amen. Amen.

The Enduring One, He is the Enduring One!

S a i d  N u r s i

***

____________________

1. In his Risale-i Hamidiye, Husayn Jisri extracted one hundred and fourteen indications from those scriptures. If this many have remained after the texts have become corrupted, there were surely many explicit mentions before.
2. Qur’an, 53:4.
3. Qur’an, 81:1.
4. Qur’an, 82:1.
5. Qur’an, 101:1.
6. Qur’an, 36:38.
7. Qur’an, 71:16.

The Eighteenth Letter

In His Name, be He glorified!

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.

[This Letter consists of ‘Three Important Matters.’]

Please click on the following links to continue reading;

First Important Matter: It explains with examples the mystery of the occasional contradiction of incidents seen and observed by saints through discovery with the realities in the visible realm.

Second Important Matter: It is an important explanation about unity of existence, which is a disputable issue.

Third Matter: It explains the wisdom behind the marvelous activities and changes in the universe.

THE FIRST IMPORTANT MATTER

Famous saints like Muhyi’l-Din al-‘Arabi (May his mystery be sanctified), the author of al-Futuhat al-Makkiya, and Sayyid ‘Abd al-Karim (May his mystery be sanctified), the author of a well-known book entitled Insan-i Kamil, speak of the seven levels of the globe of the earth and the white earth beyond the ‘Kaf’ mountain, and strange things which in Futuhat are called ‘mashmashiya.’ Are these true? But these places do not exist on the earth. Furthermore, these things that they say are not accepted by geography and science. And if they are not true, how can they be saints? How can people who say things contrary to reality and the truth in this way be ‘people of reality’?

T h e   A n s w e r : They are the people of truth and reality. They are also saints and those who witness the realities. They saw correctly what they saw, but since they were not correct in declarations they made while in the state of illumination and witnessing, which is without comprehension, and in their interpretations of their visions, which were like dreams, they were partially incorrect. People of illumination and witnessing of that sort cannot interpret their own visions while in such a state, just as a person cannot interpret his own dream while dreaming it. Those who can interpret them are the exact scholars of the legacy of prophethood, called ‘the purified ones.’ For sure, when they rise to the rank of the ‘purified ones,’ the people of witnessing of that group understand their errors through the guidance of the Qur’an and the Sunna, and they correct them; and they did correct them.

Listen to this story which is the form of a comparison and will illustrate this truth. It is like this:

One time, there were two shepherds who were from among those who approach reality with their hearts. They milked their sheep into a wooden pail and put the pail beside them. They laid their shepherd’s pipe on the pail, then one of them stretched out, overcome by sleep. He slept for a while. The other shepherd was watching him carefully when he saw something like a fly emerge from the sleeping man’s nose, look at the pail of milk, enter the pipe at one end, emerge from the other, then disappear into a hole under a bush. Some while later the thing emerged again, passed down the shepherd’s pipe, entered the sleeping man’s nose, whereupon he awoke. He exclaimed: “I had an extraordinary dream!” His friend replied: “May Allah make good come of it. What was it?” The other man said: “I saw a sea of milk stretching over which was a strange bridge. The upper part of the bridge was closed and contained windows. I passed through the bridge. I saw a grove of oaks, the tops of which were all pointed. Beneath them was a cave; I entered it, and I saw some treasure full of gold. How can this be interpreted, I wonder?”

His alert friend said to him: “The sea of milk you saw was this wooden pail, and the bridge, our shepherd’s pipe. The pointed oak trees were this bush, while the cave was this small hole. Get the pickaxe and I’ll show you the treasure.” He brought the pick and they dug under the bush, and there they found gold enough to make them both prosperous in this world.

Thus, what the sleeping man dreamt was right, and what he saw, correct, but because he had no comprehension while dreaming and no right to interpret the dream, he could not distinguish between the physical world and the non-material world and his assertions were partially wrong; he said: “I saw an actual physical sea.” But since the man who was awake could distinguish between the physical world and the World of Similitudes, he had the right to interpret the dream; he said: “What you saw in the dream was right, but it wasn’t an actual sea; our milk pail appeared to your imagination as a sea, and our pipe as a bridge, and so on.” That means the physical and spiritual worlds have to be distinguished from one another. If they are combined, the assertions appear wrong.

For example, you have a small room the four walls of which have been covered with four large mirrors. When you enter it, you see the small room to be as broad as a large arena. If you say, “I see my room to be as large as a broad arena,” what you say is correct. But if you assert, “My room is as large as a broad arena,” you would be wrong, for you are confusing the World of Similitudes with the actual world.

Thus, not having weighed them on the balances of the Book and Sunna, certain of the people of illumination’s descriptions of the seven levels of the globe do not comprise only its physical state from the point of view of geography. For instance, they said that one of the earth’s levels is that of the jinns and demons, and that it has a breadth of thousands of years. Whereas those strange levels are not situated on our globe, which revolves every one or two years. But if we suppose the globe to be like a pine-seed in the World of Meaning, the World of Similitudes, the Intermediate Realm, and the World of Spirits, the similitude of the tree that would be formed from it would be like a huge pine-tree in relation to the seed. Thus, in their spiritual journeyings, some of the people of witnessing have seen some of the earth’s levels in the World of Similitudes to be extremely extensive; they have seen them to stretch over a distance of thousands of years. What they saw was right, but because superficially the World of Similitudes resembles the physical world, they saw the two worlds blended together, and interpreted them thus. When they returned to the world of sobriety, since they lacked balance, and since they wrote exactly what they witnessed, it has been considered to be contrary to reality.

Like the similitudes of a large palace and large garden are situated in a small mirror, so similitudes and non-material realities of the extensiveness of thousands of years are situated in a single year’s distance of the physical world.

Conclusion: It is understood from this matter that the degree of ‘witnessing’ is much inferior to that of belief in the Unseen. That is to say, the uncomprehending illuminations of some of the saints relying only on ‘witnessing’ do not attain to the statements about the truths of belief of the purified and exact scholars, who are the people of the legacy of prophethood and who rely on the Qur’an and Revelation, not on ‘witnessing’ - which are about the Unseen but are lucid, comprehensive, and right. That is to say, the balance of all illumination, mental states, visions, and witnessings are the Book and Sunna. And their touchstone are the sacred principles of the Book and Sunna, and the conjectural rules of the purified and exacting scholars.

Please click on the following link to continue reading;

Second Important Matter: It is an important explanation about unity of existence, which is a disputable issue.

The Fourth Addendum
to the Miracles of Muhammad (PBUH)

[The Sixteenth Degree, on the Messengership of Muhammad (PBUH), from the Supreme Sign.]

Then that traveller through the world addressed his own intellect saying: “Since I am seeking my Master and Creator by means of the creatures of the cosmos, I ought before all else to visit the most celebrated of all these creatures, the greatest and most accomplished commander among them, according to the testimony even of his enemies, the most renowned ruler, the most exalted in speech and the most brilliant an intellect, who has illuminated fourteen centuries with his excellence and with his Qur’an, Muhammad the Arabian Prophet (May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him).” In order thus to visit him and seek from him the answer to his quest, he entered the blessed age of the Prophet in his mind, and saw that age to be one of true felicity, thanks to that being. For through the light he had brought, he had turned the most primitive and illiterate of peoples into the masters and teachers of the world.

He said too to his own intellect, “Before asking him concerning our Creator, we should first learn the value of this extraordinary being, the veracity of his words and the truthfulness of his warnings.” Thus he began investigating, and of the numerous conclusive proofs that he found we will briefly indicate here only nine of the most general ones.

THE FIRST

All excellent qualities and characteristics were to be found in that extraordinary being, according to the testimony even of his enemies. Hundreds of miracles were made manifest at his hands, according to explicit Qur’anic verses or traditions enjoying the status of tawatur.¹

Examples of these miracles are his splitting of the moon -And the moon split²- with a single indication of his finger; his casting of a handful of dust into the eyes of his enemies, causing them to flee -It was not your act when you threw, but Allah’s³- and his giving his thirsting army to drink from the water that flowed forth from his five fingers like the Spring of Kawthar. Since some of those miracles, numbering more than three hundred, have been set forth with decisive proofs in the remarkable and wondrous work known as The Miracles of Muhammad (the Nineteenth Letter), we leave discussion of the miracles to that book, and permit the traveller to continue speaking:

“A being who in addition to noble characteristics and perfections has all these luminous miracles to demonstrate, must certainly be the most truthful in speech of all men. It is inconceivable that he would stoop to trickery, lies and error, the deeds of the vile.”

THE SECOND

He holds in his hand a decree from the Lord of the universe, a decree accepted and affirmed in each century by more than three hundred million people. This decree, the Qur’an of Mighty Stature, is wondrous in seven different ways. The fact that the Qur’an has forty different aspects of miraculousnes and that it is the word of the Creator of all beings has been set forth in detail with strong proofs in the Twenty-Fifth Word, The Miraculousness of the Qur’an, a celebrated treatise that is like the sun of the Risale-i Nur. We therefore leave such matters to that work and listen to the traveller as he says, “There can never be any possibility of lying on the part of the being who is the conveyor and proclaimer of this decree, for that would be a violation of the decree and treachery toward the One Who issued it.”

THE THIRD

Such a Sacred Law, an Islam, a code of worship, a cause, a summons, and a faith did that being bring forth that the like of them does not exist, nor could it exist. Nor does a more perfect form of them exist, nor could it exist. For the Law appearing with that unlettered being has no rival in its administration of one fifth of humanity for fourteen centuries, in a just and precise manner through its numerous injunctions. Moreover the Islam that emerged from the deeds, sayings, and inward states of that unlettered being has no peer, nor can it have, for in each century it has been for three hundred million men a guide and a refuge, the teacher and educator of their intellects and the illuminator and purifier of their hearts, the cause for the refinement and training of their souls, and the source of progress and advancement of their spirits.

The Prophet is similarly unparalleled in the way in which he was the foremost in practising all the forms of worship found in his religion, and the first in piety and the fear of Allah; in his observing the duties of worship fully and with attention to their profoundest dimensions, even while engaged in constant struggle and activity; in his practice of worship combining in perfect fashion the beginning and end of worship and servitude to Allah without imitation of anyone.

With the Jawshan al-Kabir, from among his thousands of supplicatory prayers and invocations, he describes his Sustainer with such a degree of gnosis that all the gnostics and saints who have come after him have been unable, with their joint efforts, to attain a similar degree of gnosis and accurate description. This shows that in prayer too he is without peer. Whoever looks at the section at the beginning of the Treatise on Supplicatory Prayer, which sets forth some part of the meaning of one of the ninety-nine sections of the Jawshan al-Kabir, will say that the Jawshan too has no peer.

In his conveying of the message and his summoning men to the truth, he displayed such steadfastness, firmness and courage that although great states and religions, and even his own people, tribe and uncle opposed him in the most hostile fashion, he exhibited not the slightest trace of hesitation, anxiety or fear. The fact that he successfully challenged the whole world and made Islam the master of the world likewise proves that there is not and cannot be anyone like him in his conveying of the message and summons.

In his faith, he had so extraordinary a strength, so marvellous a certainty, so miraculous a breadth, and so exalted a conviction, illumining the whole world, that none of the ideas and beliefs then dominating the world, and none of the philosophies of the sages and teachings of the religious leaders, was able, despite extreme hostility and denial, to induce in his certainty, conviction, trust and assurance, the slightest doubt, hesitation, weakness or anxiety. Moreover, the saintly of all ages, headed by the Companions, the foremost in the degrees of belief, have all drawn on his fountain of belief and regarded him as representing the highest degree of faith. This proves that his faith too is matchless. Our traveller therefore concluded, and affirmed with his intellect, that lying and duplicity have no place in the one who has brought such a unique sacred law, such an unparalleled Islam, such a wondrous devotion to worship, such an extraordinary excellence in supplicatory prayer, such a universally acclaimed summons to the truth and such a miraculous faith.

THE FOURTH

In the same way that the consensus of the prophets is a strong proof for the existence and Unity of Allah, so too it is a firm testimony to the truthfulness and messengerhood of this being. For all the sacred attributes, miracles and functions that indicate the truthfulness and messengerhood of the prophets (Upon whom be peace) existed in full measure in that being according to the testimony of history. The prophets have verbally predicted the coming of that being and given good tidings thereof in the Torah, the Gospels, the Psalms, and other scriptures; more than twenty of the most conclusive examples of these glad tidings, drawn from the scriptures, have been set forth and proven in the Nineteenth Letter. Similarly, through all the deeds and miracles associated with their prophethood they have affirmed and -as it were- put their signature to the mission of that being which is the foremost and most perfect in the tasks and functions of prophethood. Just as through verbal consensus they indicate the Divine Unity, through the unanimity of their deeds they bear witness to the truthfulness of that being. This too was understood by our traveller.

THE FIFTH

Similarly, the thousands of saints who have attained truth, reality, perfection, wondrous deeds, unveiling and witnessing through the instruction of this being and following him, bear unanimous witness not only to the Divine Unity but also to the truthfulness and messengerhood of this being. Again, the fact that they witness, through the light of sainthood, some of the truths he proclaimed concerning the World of the Unseen, and that they believe in and affirm all of those truths through the light of belief, either with ‘knowledge of certainty,’ or with the ‘vision of certainty,’ or with ‘absolute certainty.’ He saw that this too demonstates like the sun the degree of truthfulness and rectitude of that great being, their master.

THE SIXTH

The millions of purified, sincere, and punctilious scholars and faithful sages, who have reached the highest station of learning through the teaching and instruction contained in the sacred truths brought by that being, despite his unlettered nature, the exalted sciences he invented and Divine knowledge he discovered-they not only prove and affirm, unanimously and with the strongest proofs, the Divine Unity which is the foundation of his mission, but also bear unanimous witness to the truthfulness of this supreme teacher and great master, and to the veracity of his words. This is a proof as clear as daylight. The Risale-i Nur too with its one hundred parts is but a single proof of his truthfulness.

THE SEVENTH

The Family and Companions of the Prophet -who with their insight, knowledge, and spiritual accomplishment are the most renowned, the most respected, the most celebrated, the most pious and the most keensighted of men after the prophets- examined and scrutinized, with the utmost attention, seriousness and exactitude, all the states, thoughts and conditions of this being, whether hidden or open. They came to the unanimous conclusion that he was the most truthful, exalted, and honest being in the world, and this, their unshakeable affirmation and firm belief, is a proof like the daylight attesting the reality of the sun.

THE EIGHTH

The cosmos indicates its Maker, Inscriber, and Designer, Who creates, administers, and arranges it, and through determining its measure and form and regulating it, has disposal over it as though it was a palace, a book, an exhibition, a spectacle. And so too it indicates that it requires and necessitates an elevated herald, a truthful unveiler, a learned master, and a truthful teacher who will know and make known the Divine purposes in the universe’s creation, teach the dominical instances of wisdom in its changes and transformations, give instruction in the results of its dutiful motions, proclaim its essential value and the perfections of the beings within it, and express the meanings of that mighty book; it indicates that he is certain to exist. Thus, the traveller knew that it testified to the truthfulness of this being, who performed these functions better than anyone, and to his being a most elevated and loyal official of the universe’s Creator.

THE NINTH

There is behind the veil One Who wishes to demonstrate with these ingenious and wise artefacts the perfection of His talent and art; to make Himself known and loved by means of these countless adorned and decorated creations; to evoke praise and thanks through the unnumbered pleasurable and valuable bounties that he bestows; to cause men to worship Him with gratitude and appreciation in the face of His dominicality, through His solicitous and protective sustenance of life, and His provision of nurture and bounty in such manner as to satisfy the most delicate of tastes and appetites; to manifest His Divinity through the change of seasons, the alternation of night and day, and through all His magnificent and majestic deeds, all His awe-inspiring and wise acts and creativity, and thereby to cause men to believe in his Divinity, in submission, humility and obedience; and to demonstrate His justice and truthfulness by at all times protecting virtue and the virtuous and destroying evil and the evil, by annihilating with blows from heaven the oppressor and the liar. There will of a certainty be at the side of this Unseen Being His most beloved creature and most devoted bondsman, who, serving the purposes that have just been mentioned, discovers and unravels the talisman and riddle of the creation of the universe, who acts always in the name of that Creator, who seeks aid and success from Him, and who receives them from Him-Muhammad of Quraysh (Peace and blessings be upon him!)

The traveller further said, addressing his own intellect: “Since these nine truths bear witness to the truthfulness of this being, he must be the source of glory of mankind and the source of honour for the world. If we therefore call him the Pride of the World and Glory of the Sons of Adam, it will be fitting. The fact that the awesome sovereignty of that decree of the Compassionate One, the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition that he holds in his hand, has conquered half the world, together with his individual perfections and exalted virtues, shows that he is the most important personage in the world. The most important word concerning our Creator is that which he utters.”

Now see: the foundation of the summons of this extraordinary being and the aim of all his life, based on the strength furnished by his hundreds of decisive and evident and manifest miracles, and the thousands of exalted, fundamental truths contained in his religion, was to prove and bear witness to the existence of the Necessary Existent, His Unity, attributes and Names, to affirm, proclaim and announce Him. He is therefore like a sun in the cosmos, the most brilliant proof of our Creator, this being whom we call the Beloved of Allah. There are three forms of great and infallible consensus each of which affirms, confirms, and puts its signature to the witness he bears.

The First: the unanimous affirmation made by that luminous assembly known and celebrated throughout the world as the Family of Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) including thousands of poles and supreme saints of penetrating gaze and ability to perceive the Unseen, such Imam ‘Ali (May Allah be pleased with him), who said, “Were the veil to be lifted, my certainty would not increase,” and ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani, Ghawth al-A‘zam (May his mystery be sanctified), who saw the Supreme Throne and the awesome form of Israfil while yet on the earth.

The Second: the confirmation made with a strong faith that permitted men to sacrifice their lives and their property, their fathers and tribes, by the renowned assembly known as the Companions, who found themselves among a primitive people and in an unlettered environment, devoid of all social life and political thought, without any scripture and lost in the darkness of a period between prophets; and who in a very brief time came to be the masters, guides, and just rulers of the most civilized and politically and socially advanced peoples and states, and to rule the world from east to west in universally approved fashion.

The Third: the confirmation provided with unanimous and certain knowledge by that lofty group of punctilious and profound scholars of whom in each age thousands spring forth, who advance in wondrous fashion in every science and work in different fields.

Thus, the testimony brought by this being to the Divine Unity is not particular and individual, but general and universal and unshakeable. If all the demons that exist were to unite, they could not challenge it. Such was the conclusion reached by the traveller.

In reference to the lesson learned in the School of Light by that traveller from the world, that wayfarer in life, when he visited in his mind the blessed age of the Prophet, we said at the end of the Sixteenth Degree of the First Station:

There is no god but Allah, the Necessary Existent, the One, the Unique, the Necessity of Whose Existence in Unity is indicated by the Pride of the World and the Glory of the Sons of Adam, through the majesty of the sovereignty of his Qur’an, the splendour of the expanse of his religion, the multiplicity of his perfections, and the exaltedness of his characteristics, as confirmed even by the testimony of his enemies. He bears witness and brings proof through the strength of his hundreds of manifest and evident miracles, that both testify to truth and are themselves the object of true testimony; and through the strength of the thousands of luminous and conclusive truths contained in his religion, according to the consensus of all the possessors of light, the agreement of his illumined Companions, and the unanimity of the scholars of his community, the possessors of proofs and luminous insight.

The Enduring One, He is the Enduring One!

S a i d  N u r s i

***

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1. Tawatur is the kind of report that is transmitted by numerous authorities, about which there is consensus, and no room for doubt. (Tr.)
2. Qur’an, 54:1.
3. Qur’an, 8:17.

The Third Addendum
to the Miracles of Muhammad (PBUH)

[This concerns the Messengership of Muhammad (PBUH) and is the answer, in concise index-like form, to the first of the three questions and difficulties in the Third Principle of the Thirty-First Word, about the Ascension of Muhammad.]

Q u e s t i o n : Why is this mighty Ascension special to Muhammad the Arabian (Upon whom be blessings and peace)?

T h e  A n s w e r  to  your  first  difficulty: It has been analysed in detail in the first thirty Words. So here we shall set out a concise list briefly alluding to the perfections of Muhammad (PBUH), to the signs of his prophethood, and to the fact that he was the most worthy to make the Ascension. It is as follows.

Firstly: Despite numerous corruptions in the texts of Holy Scriptures like the Torah, Gospels, and Psalms, in recent times even, an exacting scholar like Husayn Jisri extracted one hundred and fourteen indications of the prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH); these good tidings he set forth in his Risale-i Hamidiye.

Secondly: It has been proved historically that there were many predictions accurately forecasting the prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH), like those of the two soothsayers Shiqq and Satih, which, a while previously to his prophethood, gave news of it and the fact that he was to be the final prophet.

Thirdly: There were hundreds of extraordinary happenings, famous in history, called irhasat, that is, signs forewarning men of a coming prophet, like, for example, on the night of Muhammad’s (PBUH) birth, the idols in the Ka‘ba fell from their places and the famous palace of Chosroes the Persian was rent asunder.

Fourthly: History and the Prophet’s biographies show that he satisfied the thirst of an army with water flowing from his fingers, that in the presence of a large congregation in the mosque, the dry wooden support against which Muhammad (PBUH) was leaning moaned like a camel and wept on being separated from him when he mounted the pulpit, and that he was distinguished by close on a thousand miracles attested to by the verses of the Qur’an, such as,

And the moon split,¹

referring to the splitting of the moon, and verified by those who investigated them.

Fifthly: Anyone who considers the facts and is fair and just cannot hesitate to agree that, as is unanimously agreed by friend and foe alike, good moral qualities were to be found at the highest degree in his person, and that, in accordance with the testimony of all his dealings and actions, attributes and character of the greatest excellence were apparent in the way he performed his duties and proclaimed Islam. And in accordance with the fine qualities and conduct enjoined by the religion of Islam, laudable virtues of the highest order were to be found in the law he brought.

Sixthly: As is alluded to in the Second Indication of the Tenth Word, it is a requirement of wisdom that Divinity be manifested. And this desire of Divinity to be manifested is met at the greatest level and in the most brilliant fashion by the comprehensive worship performed by Muhammad (PBUH) in the practice of his religion. Also, wisdom and truth require that the Creator of the world displays His beauty in its utter perfection through some means. And the one who met that wish, and displayed and described His beauty in the most perfect fashion was self-evidently the person of Muhammad (PBUH).

It was also clearly Muhammad (PBUH) who, in response to the desire of the world’s Maker to exhibit and attract attentive gazes towards His perfect art within infinite beauty, heralded that art with the loudest voice.

And again it was necessarily Muhammad (PBUH) who, in response to the desire of the Sustainer of All the Worlds to proclaim His Unity in the levels of multiplicity, announced all the degrees of Unity, each at the greatest level of Unity.

And, as is indicated by the utter beauty in beings and as is required by truth and wisdom, the world’s Owner desires to see and display in mirrors, His infinite essential beauty and the subtle qualities of His exquisiteness. Again it was self-evidently Muhammad (PBUH) who, in response to that desire, acted as a mirror and displayed that beauty in the most radiant fashion, and loved it and made others love it.

And, in response to the desire of the Maker of the palace of this world to exhibit His hidden treasuries, filled as they are with the most wonderful miracles and priceless jewels, and through them to describe and make known His perfections, it was again self-evidently Muhammad (PBUH) who exhibited, described, and displayed them in the most comprehensive fashion.

And, since the Maker of the universe has made it in such a way that He adorns it with different varieties of wonders and embellishments and has included conscious creatures in it so that they might make tours and excursions and ponder over it and take lessons, wisdom requires that He should desire to make known the meanings and value of the works of art to those who observe and ponder over them. And it was again self-evidently Muhammad (PBUH) who, in response to this desire of the universe’s Maker, by means of the All-Wise Qur’an, acted as a guide in the most comprehensive fashion to jinn and man, and to spirit beings and angels.

Also, the All-Wise Ruler of the universe wishes, by means of an envoy, to cause all conscious beings to unravel the obscure talisman containing the aim and purpose of the change and transformations in the universe and to solve the riddle of the three perplexing questions: “Where do beings come from?”, “Where are they going?”, and, “What are they?” And again it was self-evidently Muhammad (PBUH) who, in response to this wish of the All-Wise Ruler, by means of the truths of the Qur’an, unravelled the talisman and solved the riddle in the clearest and most comprehensive fashion.

Also, the All-Glorious Maker of the universe desires to make Himself known to conscious beings by means of all His fine artefacts and to make them love Him through all His precious bounties, and, most certainly, to make known to them by means of an envoy the Divine wishes and what will please Him in return for those bounties. And again it was self-evidently Muhammad (PBUH) who, in response to this desire of the All-Glorious Maker, by means of the Qur’an, expounded those wishes and things that please Him by word and deed in the most exalted and perfect fashion.

Also, since the Sustainer of All the Worlds has given to man, who is the fruit of the universe, a comprehensive disposition which encompasses the universe and has prepared him for universal worship; and since, because of his faculties and senses, multiplicity and the world afflict man; the Sustainer desires to turn man’s face from multiplicity to Unity, from transience to permanence. And again it was self-evidently Muhammad (PBUH) who, in response to this desire, by means of the Qur’an, acted as a guide in the most comprehensive and complete fashion, and in the best way, and carried out the duty of prophethood in the most perfect manner.

Thus, among beings the most superior are animate beings, and among animate beings the most superior are conscious beings, and among conscious beings the most superior are true human beings, and among true human beings the one who carried out the above-mentioned duties at the most comprehensive level and in the most perfect form, would, of a certainty, rise through an all-embracing Ascension to the distance of two bow-lengths, knock at the door of eternal happiness, open the treasury of Mercy, and see the hidden truths of belief. Again it would be him.

Seventhly: As is plain to see, beings are made beautiful with the utmost degree of fine embellishment and adornment. Such an embellishment and adornment clearly demonstrate that their Maker possesses an extremely strong will to make beautiful and intention to adorn. The will to make beautiful and adorn demonstrates that the Maker necessarily possesses a strong desire and holy love towards His art. And among beings the one who displayed altogether in himself the most comprehensive and subtle wonders of art, and knew them and made them known and himself loved, and who appreciated the beauties to be found in other beings, declaring: “What wonders Allah has willed!”, and was most beloved in the sight of his Maker, Who nurtures and loves His art, was again most certainly him.

Thus, the one who, declaring: “All glory be to Allah! What wonders Allah has willed! Allah is most Great!” in the face of the exquisite qualities that gild beings and the subtle perfections that illuminate them, causes the heavens to ring out, and who, through the strains of the Qur’an, causes the universe to reverberate, and through his admiration and appreciation, his contemplation and display, and his mentioning of the Divine Names and affirmation of Divine Unity, brings land and sea to a state of ecstasy, was again self-evidently him (PBUH).

And so, according to the meaning of ‘the cause is like the doer,’ it is pure truth and sheer wisdom that the one in whose scales shall be found the equivalent of all the good deeds performed by his community, and whose spiritual perfections draw strength from the benedictions of all his community, and who, as a result of the duties he discharged in his prophethood, received immaterial recompense and boundless emanations of Divine Mercy and love, should advance by the stairway of the Ascension as far as Paradise, the Lote-tree of the farthest limit, the Divine Throne, and the distance of two bow-lengths.²

***

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1. Qur'ân, 54:1
2. See, Qur’an, 53:1-18.

SIXTH POINT

I shall recount a luminous experience and true vision I had in order to illuminate this meaning. It was as follows:

At one time I was pondering over the use of the first person plural in the verse You alone do we worship and from You alone do we seek help,¹ and my heart was seeking the reason why the first person singular had been been transposed into the first person plural of “we worship”( na‘budu). Suddenly from that “Nun” the mystery and virtues of performing the prayers in congregation was unfolded to me. I saw that my participating in the congregation in Bayezid Mosque, where I was performing the prayer, made each member of the congregation a sort of intercessor for me, who testified to and affirmed each of the statements I pronounced in reciting the prayers. In the midst of the great, multiple worship of the congregation, I received the courage to offer my deficient worship to the Divine Court. Then a further veil was lifted. That is, all the mosques of Istanbul were added. The city became like Beyazid Mosque. Suddenly I felt as though I was receiving their prayers and affirmation. Then within that, I saw myself in the mosque of the face of the earth, in the circular rows around the Ka‘ba. I declared: “All praise be to Allah, the Sustainer of All the Worlds!” I have intercessors to this great number; they say exactly the same words as I say in the prayers, confirming me. Since this veil was raised by the imagination, the Noble Ka‘ba became like the mihrab. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I called on the ranks of the congregation to testify and entrusted the interpreter of belief, “I testify that there is no god but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah” to the Black Stone. While saying this, a further situation was laid open before me: I saw that the congregation of which I was a part was separated into three circles:

The First Circle was the vast congregation of believers and those who affirm Divine Unity on the face of the earth.

The Second Circle: I looked and saw that I was part of a congregation consisting of all beings, all of which, performing prayers and glorification, were occupied with the benedictions and glorification particular to its group and species. Their worship consists of the activities we observe, called “the duties of things.” Declaring: “Allah is Most Great!” before this, I bowed my head in wonderment, and looked at myself:

Within a Third Circle I saw an astonishing microcosm which was apparently and in quality small, but in reality, number, and duties, great.

This, from the particles of my being to my external senses was a congregation in which every group was occupied with duties of worship and thanks. In this circle, the dominical inner faculty in my heart was saying: "You alone do we worship and from You alone do we seek help" in the name of the congregation. Just as in the two former congregations my tongue had said it, having formed the intention to say it in their names.

I n S h o r t : The 'Nun' of 'na'budu' indicates these three congregations. While pondering over this, the collective personality of Allah's Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), the Interpreter and Herald of the All-Wise Qur'an, was suddenly embodied in all its majesty in his immaterial pulpit in Madinah. Like everyone, I as though heard his address of "O you people! Worship your Sustainer,"² and everyone in those three congregations responded like me, saying, "You alone do we worship." In accordance with the rule, "When something is established, it is so through the things that necessitate it," the following truth was imparted to my mind:

Taking mankind as His addressee, the Sustainer of All the Worlds speaks with all beings, and His Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) conveys that lofty address to mankind, indeed, to all beings with spirits and consciousness. All the past and the future have become like the present; the address is being delivered to mankind, all of which is in a single gathering, in the form of a congregation the rows of which all differ. I then saw that each Qur'anic verse possesses an elevated power, eloquence, and beauty which it had received from the grandeur and compass of its station, its extremely numerous, various, and significant addressees, from the Pre-Eternal Speaker, the One of infinite glory and grandeur, and from its exalted Interpreter, who is at the rank of Allah's beloved; I saw each verse within a brilliant, truly brilliant, light of miraculousness. Then, not the whole Qur'an, or a Sura, or a verse, but each of its words seemed a miracle. "All praise be to Allah for the light of belief and the Qur'an," I said. And I emerged from my imagining, which was pure reality, the same as I had entered the 'Nun' of 'na'budu,' and I understood that not only the Qur'an's verses and words, but some of its letters, like the 'Nun' of 'na'budu,' were luminous keys to important truths.

After my heart and imagination had emerged from the 'Nun' of 'na'budu,' my mind came forward and said: "I want my share too. I cannot fly like you; my feet are evidences and proofs. The way leading to the Creator, the Worshipped One and One from Whom help is sought, has to be pointed out in the same 'na'budu' and 'nasta'in' [You alone do we worship and from You alone do we seek help], so that I can accompany you.” It then occurred to my heart to say the following to my bewildered mind:

Consider all the beings in the universe; whether living or inanimate, in perfect order and obedience they all have their worship which is in the form of duties. Although some of them lack feelings and intelligence, they perform their duties in most conscious, orderly, and worshipful fashion. That means there is a True Object of Worship, an Absolute Commander, Who impels them to worship and employs them.

Also consider the beings and particularly the living ones; while each has extremely numerous and various needs, which have to be met for its continued existence, its hands cannot reach the smallest of them; its power is insufficient. Yet they all receive their innumerable needs regularly, from unexpected places, at the appropriate time; this is clearly to be seen.

Thus, these boundless needs and this boundless want of beings and that extraordinary assistance from the Unseen and merciful succour self-evidently demonstrate that they have a Protector and Provider Who possesses absolute riches, is Absolutely Generous and Absolutely Powerful; it is from Him that everything and all living beings seek help and await succour, in effect saying: From You alone do we seek help. So then my mind declared: “We believe in this and assent to it!”

____________________

1. Qur'an, 1:4
2. Qur'an, 2:21.

Conclusion

In his Name, be He glorified!

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.

Concerning Backbiting

In the Fifth Point of the First Ray of the First Light of the Twenty-Fifth Word, a single Qur’anic verse having the effect of discouraging and restraining was shown to induce repugnance at backbiting in six miraculous ways. It was shown too how abominable a thing is backbiting in the view of the Qur’an, and that there is therefore no need for any further explanation of the subject. Indeed, after the Qur’an has made its declaration, there is neither the possibility nor the need for anything further.

The Qur’an reproaches the backbiter with six reproaches in the verse:

Would any among you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother?¹

and forbids him to commit this sin with six degrees of severity. When the verse is directed to those persons actually engaged in backbiting, its meaning is the following.

As is well-known, the hamza at the beginning of the verse has an interrogative sense. This interrogative sense penetrates all the words of the verse like water, so that each word acquires an additional meaning. Thus the first word asks, with its hamza: “Is it that you have no intelligence capable of discrimination, so that you fail to perceive the ugliness of this thing?”

The second word like asks: “Is your heart, the seat of love and hatred, so corrupted that it loves the most repugnant of things?”

The third word any among you asks: “What befell your sense of social and civilized responsibility that you are able to accept something poisonous to social life?”

The fourth word to eat the flesh asks: “What has befallen your sense of humanity that you are tearing your friend apart with your fangs like a wild animal?”

The fifth word of his brother asks: “Do you have no fellow-feeling, no sense of kinship, that you are able to sink your teeth into some wretch who is tied to you by numerous links of brotherhood? Do you have no intelligence that you are able to bite into your own limbs with your own teeth, in such lunatic fashion?”

The sixth word dead asks: “Where is your conscience? Is your nature so corrupt that you abandon all respect and act so repugnantly as to consume your brother’s flesh?”

According then to the total sense of the verse, as well as the indications of each of its words, slander and backbiting are repugnant to the intelligence and the heart, to humanity and conscience, to nature and social consciousness.

You see then that the verse condemns backbiting in six miraculous degrees and restrains men from it in six miraculous ways. Backbiting is the vile weapon most commonly used by the people of enmity, envy, and obstinacy, and the self-respecting will never stoop to employing so unclean a weapon. Some celebrated person once said: “I never stoop to vexing my enemy with backbiting, for backbiting is the weapon of the weak, the low, and the vile.”

Backbiting consists of saying that which would be a cause of dislike and vexation to the person in question if he were to be present and hear it. Even if what is said is true, it is still backbiting. If it is a lie, then it is both backbiting and slander and a doubly loathsome sin.

Backbiting can be permissible in a few special instances:

First: If a complaint be presented to some official, so that with his help evil be removed and justice restored.

Second: If a person contemplating co-operation with another comes to seek your advice, and you say to him, purely for the sake of his benefit and to advise him correctly, without any self-interest: “Do not co-operate with him; it will be to your disadvantage.”

Third: If the purpose is not to expose someone to disgrace and notoriety, but simply to make people aware, and one says: “That foolish, confused man went to such-and-such a place.”

Fourth: If the subject of backbiting is an open and unashamed sinner; is not troubled by evil, but on the contrary takes pride in the sins he commits; finds pleasure in his wrongdoing; and unhesitatingly sins in the most evident fashion.

In these particular cases, backbiting may be permissible, if it be done without self-interest and purely for the sake of truth and communal welfare. But apart from them, it is like a fire that consumes good deeds like a flame eating up wood.

If one has engaged in backbiting, or willingly listened to it, one should say: “O Allah, forgive me and him concerning whom I spoke ill,” and say to the subject of backbiting, whenever one meets him: “Forgive me.”

The Enduring One, He is the Enduring One!

S a i d N u r s i
____________________

1. Qur’an, 49:12.

The present work forms the second volume of the Risale-i Nur Collection and consists of the most important letters, and those of most general interest, written by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi to his students between 1928 and 1932,* while in exile in Barla, an isolated village in the province of Isparta in South-Western Anatolia. Its original title is Mektûbat. Other letters belonging to this period are included in one of the collections of additional letters, also volumes of the Risale-i Nur, called Barla Lahikasi (Barla Letters). The letters in the present volume cover many subjects and were set in order and numberered, not chronologically, by the author. They were largely written in reply to questions put by his students, and also in reply to criticisms of and attacks on various questions of belief and Islam made in that time of oppression by those inimical to religion and Islam. In order to enable readers unfamiliar with Bediuzzaman and his life and works to see the Letters in clearer perspective, included here is a brief outline of his life, the background to the writing of the Risale-i Nur and the Letters, and a description of their main characteristics.

____________________

*1932 is the conjectural date; it is not known certainly when the last letters were written.

Bediuzzaman’s Life

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi was born in 1877 in eastern Turkey and died in 1960 in Urfa, also in eastern Turkey. Readers may refer to his biography for details of his long and exemplary life, which spanned the last decades of the Ottoman Empire, its collapse after the First World War and the setting up of the Republic, then the twenty-five years of Republican Peoples’ Party rule, well-known for the measures taken against Islam, followed by the ten years of Democrat rule, when conditions eased a little for Bediuzzaman.

From an early age Bediuzzaman displayed an extraordinary intelligence and ability to learn, completing the normal course of medrese (religious school) education at the early age of fourteen, when he obtained his diploma. He became famous for both his prodigious memory and his unbeaten record in debating with other religious scholars. Another characteristic Bediuzzaman displayed from an early age was an instinctive dissatisfaction with the existing education system, which when older he formulated into comprehensive proposals for its reform. The heart of these proposals was the bringing together and joint teaching of the traditional religious sciences and the modern sciences, together with the founding of a university in the Eastern Provinces of the Empire, the Medresetü’z-Zehra, where this and his other proposals would be put into practice. In 1907 his endeavours in this field took him to Istanbul and an audience with Sultan Abdulhamid. Although subsequently he twice received funds for the construction of his university, and its foundations were laid in 1913, it was never completed due to war and the vicissitudes of the times.

Contrary to the practice of religious scholars at that time, Bediuzzaman himself studied and mastered almost all the physical and mathematical sciences, and later studied philosophy, for he believed that it was only in this way that Islamic theology (kalâm) could be renewed and successfully answer the attacks to which the Qur’an and Islam were then subject.

Bediuzzaman himself described an event in his youth which was decisive in giving him direction. It was learning of the explicit threats to the Qur’an made by Gladstone, the British Secretary for the Colonies. Gladstone’s stated intention to descredit the Qur’an, since it was the only way the British could truly dominate the Muslim peoples and achieve their inauspicious ambitions aroused an overpowering reaction in Bediuzzaman. He vowed: “I shall prove and demonstrate to the world that the Qur’an is an undying, inextinguishable Sun!” From that time he strove to employ his superior knowledge of both the traditional religious and the modern sciences in the service of the Qur’an; to prove its miraculousness, defend it against the attacks which were largely in the name of science and progress, and relate its truths in the light of modern advances in knowledge. He sought to prove that contrary to the claims of its enemies, the Qur’an was the source of true progress and civilization, and in addition, since this was the case, Islam would dominate the future, despite its relative decline and regression at that time.

The years up to the end of the First World War were the final decades of the Ottoman Empire and were, in the words of Bediuzzaman, the period of the ‘Old Said.’ In addition to his endeavours in the field of learning, he served the Empire and Islam through active involvement in social life and the public domain. In the War, he commanded the militia forces on the Caucasian Front against the invading Russians, for which he was later awarded a War Medal. To maintain the morale of his men he himself disdained to enter the trenches inspite of the constant shelling, and it was while withstanding the overwhelming assaults of the enemy that he wrote his celebrated Qur’anic commentary, Signs of Miraculousness, dictating to a scribe while on horseback. Stating that the Qur’an encompasses the sciences which make known the physical world, the commentary is an original and important work which Bediuzzaman hoped would serve as a model for future commentaries, as he was unable to complete it at that time. He was taken prisoner in March 1916 and held in Russia for two years before escaping in early 1918, and returning to Istanbul via Warsaw, Berlin, and Vienna.

The defeat of the Ottomans saw the end of the Empire and its dismemberment, and the occupation of Istanbul and parts of Turkey by imperialist forces. These bitter years saw also the transformation of the Old Said into the New Said, the second main period of Bediuzzaman’s life. Despite the acclaim he received and services he performed as a member of the Darü’l-Hikmeti’l-Islâmiye, a learned council attached to the Shaykh al-Islam’s Office, and combatting the British, Bediuzzaman underwent a profound mental and spiritual change in the process of which he turned his back on the world. Realizing the inadequacy of the ‘human’ science and philosophy he had studied as a means of reaching the truth, he took the revealed Qur’an as his “sole guide;” that is, he recognized revelation over reason. In recognition of his services to the Independence Struggle, Bediuzzaman was invited to Ankara by Mustafa Kemal, but on arrival there, found that at the very time of the victory of the Turks and Islam, atheistic ideas were being propagated among the Deputies and officials, and many were lax in performing their religious duties. He published various works which were partially successful in countering this.

Remaining some eight months in Ankara, Bediuzzaman understood the way Mustafa Kemal and the new leaders were going to take, and on the one hand that he could not work alongside them, and on the other that they were not to be combatted in the realm of politics. When offered various posts and benefits by Mustafa Kemal, he therefore declined them and left Ankara for Van, where he withdrew into a life of worship and contemplation; he was seeking the best way to proceed.

Within a short time, Bediuzzaman’s fears about the new regime began to be realized: the first steps were taken towards secularization and reducing the power of Islam within the state, and even its eradication from Turkish life. In early 1925 there was a rebellion in the east in which Bediuzzaman played no part, but as a consequence of which was sent into exile in western Anatolia along with many hundreds of others. Thus unjustly began twenty-five years of exile, imprisonment, and unlawful oppression for Bediuzzaman. He was sent to Barla, a tiny village in the mountains of Isparta Province. However, the attempt to entirely isolate and silence him had the reverse effect, for Bediuzzaman was both prepared and uniquely qualified to face the new challenge: these years saw the writing of the Risale-i Nur, which silently spread and took root, combatting in the most constructive way the attempt to uproot Islam, and the unbelief and materialist philosophy it was hoped to instill in the Muslim people of Turkey.

The Risale-i Nur

As the New Said, Bediuzzaman had immersed himself in the Qur’an, searching for a way to relate its truths to modern man. In Barla in his isolation he began to write treatises explaining and proving these truths, for now the Qur’an itself and its truths were under direct attack. The first of these was on the resurrection of the dead, which in a unique style, proves bodily resurrection rationally, where even the greatest scholars previously had confessed their impotence. He described the method employed in this as consisting of three stages: first Allah’s existence is proved, and His Names and attributes, then the resurrection of the dead is “constructed” on these and proved. Bediuzzaman did not ascribe these writings to himself, but said they proceeded from the Qur’an itself, and were “rays shining out of from [its] truths.”

Thus, rather than being a Qur’anic commentary which expounds all its verses giving the immediate reasons for their revelation and the apparent meanings of the words and sentences, the Risale-i Nur is what is known as a mânevî tefsir, or commentary which expounds the truths the Qur’an teaches. For there are various sorts of commentaries. The verses mostly expounded in the Risale-i Nur are those concerned with the truths of belief, such as the Divine Names and attributes and the Divine activity in the universe, the Divine existence and Unity, resurrection, prophethood, Divine Determining or destiny, and man’s duties of worship. Bediuzzaman explains how the Qur’an addresses all men in every age in accordance with the degree of their understanding and development; it has a face that looks to each age. The Risale-i Nur, then, explains that face of the Qur’an which looks to this age. We shall now look at further aspects of the Risale-i Nur related to this point.

In numerous of its verses, the Holy Qur’an invites man to observe the universe and reflect on the Divine activity within it; following just this method, Bediuzzaman provides proofs and explanations for the truths of belief. He likens the universe to a book, and looking at it in the way shown by the Qur’an, that is, ‘reading’ it for its meaning, learns of the Divine Names and attributes and other truths of belief. The book’s purpose is to describe its Author and Maker; beings become evidences and signs to their Creator. Thus, an important element in the way of the Risale-i Nur is reflection or contemplation (tefekkür), ‘reading’ the Book of the Universe in order to increase in knowledge of Allah and to obtain ‘certain’ belief in all the truths of belief.

Bediuzzaman demonstrates that the irrefutable truths, such as Divine Unity, arrived at in this way are the only rational and logical explanation of the universe, and making comparisons with Naturalist and Materialist philosophy, which have used science’s findings about the universe to deny those truths, show the concepts on which they are based, such as causality and Nature, to be irrational and logically absurd.

Indeed, far from contradicting them, in uncovering the order and working of the universe, science broadens and deepens knowledge of the truths of belief. In the Risale-i Nur many descriptions of the Divine activity in the universe are looked at through the eyes of science, and reflect Bediuzzaman’s knowledge of it. The Risale-i Nur shows that there is no contradiction or conflict between religion and science.

In addition, all these matters discussed in the Risale-i Nur are set out as reasoned arguments and proved according to logic. All the most important of the truths of belief are proved so clearly that even unbelievers can see their necessity. So too, inspired by the Qur’an, even the most profound and inaccessible truths are made accessible by means of comparisons, which bring them close to the understanding like telescopes, so that they are readily understandable by ordinary people and those with no previous knowledge of these questions.

Another aspect of the Risale-i Nur related to the face of the Qur’an which looks to this age, is that it explains everything from the point of view of wisdom; that is, it explains the aims and purposes of everything. It considers things from the point of view of the Divine Name of All-Wise.

Also, following this method, in the Risale-i Nur Bediuzzaman solved many mysteries of religion, such as bodily resurrection and Divine Determining and man’s will, and the riddle of the constant activity in the universe and the motion of particles, before which man relying on his own intellect and philosophy had been impotent.

While in Barla, Bediuzzaman put the treatise on Resurrection and the pieces that followed it together in the form of a collection and gave it the name of Sözler (The Words). The Words was followed by Mektûbat, Letters, the present collection of thirty-three letters of varying lengths from Bediuzzaman to his students. And this was followed by Lem’alar, The Flashes Collection, and Sualar, The Rays, which was completed in 1949. Included in these last two are Bediuzzaman’s defence speeches from the trials at Eskishehir in 1935 and Afyon in 1948-9. Together with these are the three collections of Additional Letters, for each of Bediuzzaman’s main places of exile, Barla Lahikasi, Kastamonu Lahikasi, and Emirdag Lahikasi.

Bediuzzaman’s Letters

Thus, during that period of despotism when, under the name of secularization, those in power were seeking the virtual eradication of Islam and Islamic-Turkish culture and their substitution by irreligion and materialist philosophy of Western origin, Bediuzzaman himself with his unequalled learning, extraordinary clear vision and foresight, and courage, and his writings, became a point of hope and strength for the people. Despite the adverse conditions and efforts to isolate him in Barla, he began to attract ‘students’-so-called since he described himself as a teacher. Drawn by those “lights of belief” in that dark time, they willingly suffered the persecution of the authorities and assisted Bediuzzaman by writing out and spreading the Words. The writing and dissemination was another unique feature of the Risale-i Nur; Bediuzzaman would dictate at speed to his students who acted as scribes. He had no books for reference and the writing of religious works was of course forbidden. They were all written therefore in the mountains and out in the countryside. Handwritten copies of the treatises or the letters were then made of the originals and these were conveyed to the Risale-i Nur students and secretly copied out in their houses. These copies were passed from village to village, and then from town to town, with more and more copies being made on the way till eventually they spread throughout Turkey.

Travel was not easy, and Bediuzzaman communicated by letter with those of his students who lived in towns and villages other than Barla. Largely in reply to their questions, the letters offer important guidance on numerous points of belief and Islam, explained in the light of the Risale-i Nur and its way, and in the face of the misguidance of the times. Indeed, they form an important source and authority on many subjects for all Muslims today.

Since some of his students had previously been attached to Sufi orders, he sometimes explains the way of the Risale-i Nur to them through comparisons with the Sufi way. The primary aim of the Risale-i Nur is the saving and strengthening of belief. Employing both the intellect and the heart, Bediuzzaman described it as Reality (haqiqat) and Shari’a, rather than tariqat, that is Sufism. It is the highway of the Qur’an, which teaches the true affirmation of Divine Unity; true and certain belief, attained in a short time through investigation and the exercise of the reason. The direct way to Reality and knowledge of Allah, which is the way of the Companions of Prophet (PBUH) through “the legacy of Prophethood.”

Some of the Letters offer guidance and encouragement to the students through answering criticisms and misrepresentations put forward by atheists and the enemies of religion, concerning both points of Islam, and Bediuzzaman himself. Others expose the plans to corrupt Islam through the introduction of innovations. They show how on the one hand Bediuzzaman was absolutely uncompromising in the face of enemies to religion, and on the other his complete fairness and moderateness in adjudicating points of conflict and controversy within Islam. All these illustrate his profound knowledge of many subjects, as well as the clarity and power of his style, which is based on logic.

Bediuzzaman did not ascribe the Risale-i Nur to himself; he saw it as a Divine favour bestowed because of need, with himself as the means. In some of his letters he writes that he feels justified in describing these “Divine favours which pertain to the service of the Qur’an” to his students, in order to encourage them in the exceedingly difficult conditions of the time, since they were a mark of the acceptability of both his writings and their service. A number of them were mentioned above. Bediuzzaman pointed out that the fact the Risale-i Nur proves the most important of the truths of belief and the Qur’an was a clear mark of Divine favour. For it had proved and demonstrated, for example, such questions as bodily resurrection before which even geniuses like Ibn Sina had confessed their impotence, and many mysteries concerning Almighty Allah, which are of such breadth and profundity that they cannot be comprehended by the human mind. Yet, Bediuzzaman stated, these truths were explained by means of comparison by someone in “the wretched situation” he was in so that they could be understood by even the most ordinary and uneducated of people. Furthermore, no one, from religious scholars to philosophers, had been able to put forward any criticisms of the treatises or to challange them. The writing too had been with extraordinary speed at the most distressing times, often when he had been afflicted with illness. For example, a profound treatise like the Thirtieth Word had been written in six hours in an orchard, while the lengthy Nineteenth Letter, recounting the Miracles of Muhammad, had been written in a total of twelve hours partly in the rain on the mountains, referring to no book at all. There was also the question of the ‘coincidences,’ or mutual correspondence of words in the hand-written copies of the Risale-i Nur, and of the Qur’an, for which readers may refer to the present work.

In relating these Divine favours to his students, Bediuzzaman was impressing on them the importance of the Qur’anic way of the Risale-i Nur and its function of saving and strengthening belief at that time when the very foundations of Islam were being threatened. In a way outside their own will and knowledge, they were being employed, they were being made to work. Indeed, within the twenty-five years of Bediuzzaman’s exile, the handful of students grew into many thousands, the Risale-i Nur movement and its service to belief and the Qur’an spread throughout Turkey, despite all efforts to stop it.

After 1950, the period of what Bediuzzaman called ‘the Third Said,’ there was a great increase in the number of students, particularly among the young and those who had been through the secular education system of the Republic. At the same time the number of students outside Turkey increased. It is no exaggeration to say that with its conveying the Qur’anic message in a way that addresses and answers modern man’s needs, the Risale-i Nur played a major role in keeping alive the Islamic faith in Turkey in those dark days, and in the resurgence of Islam that has occurred subsequently. Bediuzzaman indeed continues to “prove and demonstrate to the world that the Qur’an is an undying, inextinguishable Sun.”

YOUR SEVENTH QUESTION

Is the following a Hadith, and what does it mean? “The best of your youths are those who resemble men of mature age, while the worst of your men of middle age are those who resemble youths.”¹

T h e A n s w e r : I have heard that it is a Hadith. Its meaning is this: “The best youth is he who thinks of death like an elderly person, and working for the hereafter, is not one of those who become captive to the passions of youth and drown in heedlessness. And the worst of your elderly people is he who tries to resemble the young in heedlessness and passion, and follows the lusts of the soul like a child.”

The correct form of the second part you saw in the piece is as follows. I have hung it above my head for the wisdom it teaches. I look it at it every morning and evening and receive instruction:

If you want a friend, Allah is sufficient. Yes, if He is the friend, everything is a friend.

If you want companions, the Qur’an is sufficient. Indeed, for in the imagination one meets with the prophets and angels in it, observes the events in which they were involved, and becomes familiar with them.

If you want possessions, contentment is sufficient. Yes, one who is content is frugal; and one who is frugal, finds the blessing of plenty.

If you want an enemy, the soul is sufficient. Yes, one who fancies himself is visited with calamities and meets with difficulties. Whereas one who is not fond of himself, finds happiness, and receives mercy.

If you want advice, death is sufficient. Yes, one who thinks of death is saved from love of this world, and works in earnest for the hereafter.

I am adding an Eighth to your Seven Matters. It is like this:

A couple of days ago, a reciter of the Qur’an recited part of Sura Yusuf as far as,

Take my soul [at death] as one submitting to Your will [as a Muslim], and unite me with the righteous.²

Suddenly, like a flash, this point occurred to me: everything concerning the Qur’an and belief is valuable; however insignificant it appears to be, its value is great. Whatever assists in eternal happiness is not insignificant. In which case, it may not be said that this point is only a small point and not worth explaining or being given importance. And certainly, the first student and one addressed in matters of this kind, who appreciates the fine points of the Qur’an, Ibrahim Hulûsi, wants to hear this point! In which case, listen to it:

It is a fine point of the finest of stories. An elevated, subtle, happy, and miraculous point of the verse,

Take my soul [at death] as one submitting to Your will [as a Muslim], and unite me with the righteous,

which announces that the story of Joseph (Upon whom be peace), the best of stories, has reached its conclusion. It is this: the sorrows and pains of death and separation at the end of other happy stories make bitter the pleasure the listener has received from the story in his imagination, and dispel it. Especially if they tell of death and separation just when recounting the moment of perfect joy and happiness; this is even more painful and causes those listening to cry out in sorrow. However, although this verse tells of Joseph’s death just at the most brilliant part of his story, when he is Ruler of Egypt, united with his mother and father, fondly meeting with his brothers, and is experiencing the greatest happiness and joy of this world, it does so in such a way as to say: Joseph himself asked for his death from Almighty Allah in order to experience an even more happy and brilliant state; and he did die and did receive that happiness.

That is to say, there is beyond the grave a happiness and joy greater than the pleasurable happiness of this world, so that while in that most pleasurable worldly situation, a truth-seeing person like Joseph (Upon whom be peace) wished for bitter death, so as to receive that other happiness.

So see this eloquence of the All-Wise Qur’an; in what way it announces the end of the story of Joseph. It causes not sorrow and regret to those listening to it, but gives good tidings and adds further joy. It also gives guidance, saying: Work for beyond the grave, for it is there that true happiness and pleasure will be found. It also points out Joseph’s exalted veraciousness, saying: even the most brilliant and joyful situation of this world did not cause him to become heedless; it did not captivate him; he still wanted the hereafter.

The Enduring One, He is the Enduring One!

S a i d N u r s i
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1. ‘Ali Mawardi, Adab al-Dunya wa’l-Din 27; Ghazali, Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din i, 142; al-Manawi, al-Fayd al-Kabir iii, 487.
2. Qur’an, 12:101.

FOURTH POINT

In your first question, you ask five or six questions: “What will the Great Gathering at the Last Judgement be like, and will everyone be naked? How shall we find our friends there, and how shall we find Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) in order to avail ourselves of his intercession? How shall innumerable people meet with a single person? What shall the garments of the people of Paradise and those of Hell be like? And who will show us the way?”

T h e A n s w e r : The answers to these questions are given most clearly and explicitly in the books of Hadith. Here we shall mention only one or two points connected with our way and method. As follows:

Firstly: It is explained in a letter that the field of the resurrection is within the earth’s annual orbit, and like it now sends its immaterial produce to the tablets of that field, so with its annual rotation it defines a circle, and through the produce of that existent circle, is a source for the formation of the field of the resurrection. The Lesser Hell at the centre of this dominical ship known as the earth will be emptied into the Greater Hell, as its inhabitants will be emptied into the field of the resurrection.

Secondly: Chiefly in the Tenth and Twenty-Ninth Words, and in others of the Words, the occurrence of the resurrection, as well as the existence of the field where it will take place, have been proved most decisively.

Thirdly: As for meeting with people, it is proved conclusively in the Sixteenth, Thirty-First, and Thirty-Second Words that through the mystery of luminosity, a person may be present in thousands of places at the same instant, and may meet with millions of people.

Fourthly: It is required by the Name of All-Wise that stripped of artificial clothes, Almighty Allah will clothe men in natural garments at the Great Gathering and resurrection of the dead, just as He now clothes beings with spirits, other than man, in natural garments. In this world, the wisdom in artificial clothes is not restricted to protection against heat and cold, adornment, and covering the private parts; another important instance of wisdom is their being like an index or list indicating man’s power of disposal over the other species of beings, and his relationship with them, and commandership over them. He might otherwise have been clothed in cheap and easy natural dress. For if it had not been for this wisdom, man would have draped himself in various rags, becoming a laughing-stock in the view of conscious animals and in relation to them; he would have make them laugh. At the resurrection of the dead this relation will not be present, nor will the instance of wisdom, so neither should the list be present.

Fifthly: When it comes to someone to show the way, for those like yourself who have entered under the light of the Qur’an, it is the Qur’an. Look at the start of the Suras which begin Alif. Lam. Mim., and Alif. Lam. Ra., and Ha. Mim.; you will see and understand how acceptable an intercessor is the Qur’an, how true a guide, how sacred a light!

Sixthly: As for the garments of the people of Paradise and the people of Hell, the principle in the Twenty-Eighth Word explaining the houris’ wearing of seventy dresses is applicable here too. It is as follows:

A person from among the people of Paradise will of course want to benefit continuously from all the varieties of beings in Paradise. The good things of Paradise will vary greatly. He will all the time communicate with every sort of being in Paradise. In which case, he will clothe himself and his houris in samples, in small amount, of the good things of Paradise, and they will each become like small Paradises.

For example, a person collects together in his garden samples of all the species of flowers spread throughout the country, making it a miniature specimen of it; and a shopkeeper collects samples of all his wares in a list; and a man makes for himself a garment and everything necessary for his house from samples of all the species of creatures in the world, which he governs, has disposal over, and with which he is connected.

Similarly, a person whose place is Paradise -especially if he used all his senses and non-physical faculties in worship and has gained the right to experience the pleasures of Paradise- will himself and his houris be clothed by Divine mercy in a sort of garment which will show every one of all the varieties of the wonders of Paradise, so as to gratify all his senses, please all his members, and delight all his subtle faculties.

Evidence that those numerous garments will not all be of the same kind or sort is the Hadith the meaning of which is: “The houris will be dressed in seventy garments, yet the marrow in their leg bones will still be visible.”1 That is to say, from the top garment to the innermost one, there will be degrees gratifying and delighting all the senses and members with different subtle wonders in different ways.

As for the people of Hell, since they committed sins in this world with their eyes, their ears, their hearts, their hands, and their minds, and so on, it does not appear to be contrary to wisdom and justice that in Hell they will be made to wear a garment made up of various differing pieces that will be like a small Hell, and will cause them torment and pain in accordance with their sins.

____________________

1. Bukhari, Bad’ al-Khalq 8; Tirmidhi, Qiyama 60; Janna 5; Darimi, Riqaq 108; Musnad ii, 345; iii, 16.

The Twenty-First Letter

In His Name, be He glorified!

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

Whether one or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honour. * And out of kindness, lower the wing of humility, and say: “My Sustainer! Bestow on them Your mercy even as they cherished me in childhood.” * Your Sustainer knows best what is in your hearts: if you do deeds of righteousness, indeed he is Most Forgiving to those who turn to Him again and again [in true penitence].¹

O heedless one in whose house is an elderly parent or an invalid or someone no longer able to work from among his relations or brothers in religion! Study the above verses carefully and see how on five levels in different ways it summons children to be kindly towards their elderly parents. Yes, the highest truth in this world is the compassion of parents towards their children, and the most elevated rights, their rights of respect in return for their compassion. For they sacrifice their lives with great pleasure, spending them for the sake of their children’s lives. In which case, every child who has not lost his humanity and been transformed into a monster honours those respected, loyal, self-sacrificing friends, serves them sincerely, and tries to please them and make them happy. Uncles and aunts, maternal and paternal, are like parents.

So understand from this how base and lacking in conscience it is to be contemptuous towards those blessed elderly people, or to want their deaths. Know what a wicked wrong and iniquity it is to want the lives to pass of those who sacrificed their lives for yours.

O you who struggles to secure his livelihood! The means of plenty and mercy in your house, and the repeller of disaster, is that elderly or blind relative of yours, whom you belittle. Beware, do not say: “My income is little, I have difficulty in making ends meet,” for if it was not for the plenty resulting from their presence, your circumstances would have been even more straitened. Believe this fact which I am telling you; I can prove it most decisively and can convince you. But in order not to prolong the discussion, I am cutting it short. Be content with this much. I swear that this is absolutely certain; my evil-commanding soul and own devil, even, have submitted to it. You should be convinced of a fact which has smashed my soul’s obduracy and silenced my devil.

Yes, the All-Glorious and Munificent Creator, Who, as the universe testifies, is infinitely Merciful, Compassionate, Bountiful, and Generous, provides infants with the finest of sustenance when His sends them into this world, causing it to flow into their mouths from the springs of their mother’s breasts. So too, He provides, in the form of plenty, the sustenance of the elderly, who are like children though even more in need and deserving of kindness and compassion. He does not burden the avaricious and miserly with their livelihood. All living creatures, all their species, declare through the tongues of their beings the truth expressed by the following verses:

For Allah is He Who gives [all] sustenance,-Lord of Power and Steadfast [for ever].² * How many are the creatures that carry not their own sustenance? It is Allah Who feeds [both] them and you;³

they state this munificent truth. In fact it is not only elderly relations, certain creatures like cats, who are a friend to man-their sustenance also comes in the form of plenty, sent within the food of the human beings. An example which corroborates this and I myself observed is as follows: my close friends know that for two to three years my appointed lot every day was half a loaf of bread, the loaves in that village were small, and very often this was insufficient for me. Then four cats came and stayed with me as my guests, and that same portion was sufficient both for myself and for them. There was frequently even some left over.

This situation has recurred so often that it has made me certain that I was benefiting from the plenty resulting from the cats. I declare most definitely that they were not a load on me. Also, it was not they who were obliged to me, but I to them.

O man! If an animal which is as though wild is the means of plenty when it comes as a guest to the house of a human being, you can compare for yourself what a means of plenty and mercy will be man, the noblest of creatures; and the believers, the most perfect of men; and the powerless and ailing elderly, the most worthy of respect and compassion among the believers; and relatives, the most worthy and deserving of kindness, love, and to be served among the ailing elderly; and parents, who are the truest and most loyal friends among relatives, if they are present in a house in their old age. According to the meaning of, “If it was not for the elderly, bent double with age, calamities would be visited on you in floods,”⁴ you can see what an important cause they are of disasters being repelled.

O man, come to your senses! If you do not die earlier, you too will become old. If you do not honour your parents, in accordance with the meaning of, “the punishment is similar to the act that required it,” your children will not be dutiful towards you. If you love your life in the hereafter, this is an important treasury for you: be dutiful towards them and gain their pleasure. While if it is this world that you love, still try to please them, so that through them your life will be easy and your sustenance plentiful. For if you are contemptuous of them, wish for their deaths, and wound their sensitive and easily hurt hearts, you will manifest the meaning of the verse,

They lose both this world and the hereafter.⁵

If you want the mercy of the Most Merciful One, be merciful towards those in your house whom He has entrusted to you.

There was someone called Mustafa Çavuş, one of my brothers of the hereafter. I used to observe that he was very successful both in his religious life and his worldly life. I did not know the reason for this. Then I later understood that the reason for his success was that he had understood the rights of his elderly parents and he observed them to the letter; due to them he had found ease and mercy. God willing, he repaired his life in the hereafter as well. Those who wish for good fortune should try to resemble him...

O Allah, grant blessings and peace to the one who said: “Paradise is beneath the feet of mothers,”⁶ and to all his Family and Companions.

Glory be unto You! We have no knowledge save that which You have taught us; indeed You are All-Knowing, All-Wise.

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1. Qur’an, 17:23-5.
2. Qur’an, 51:58.
3. Qur’an, 29:60.
4. al-‘Ajluni, Kashf al-Khafa’ ii, 163; Suyuti, Kanz al-Ummal ix, 167; Ghazali, Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din 341.
5. Qur’an, 22:11.
6. Suyuti, al-Jami’ al-Saghir, 3642; al-‘Ajluni, Kashf al-Khafa’ i, 335; al-Albani, Sahih al-Jami’ al-Saghir wa ziyadatuhu 1259, 1260.

The Twenty-Fourth Letter

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

Allah does what He wishes, and decrees what He wills.

Q u e s t i o n : How can the solicitous nurturing, the purposeful and beneficial planning, the loving kindness of the Names of All-Compassionate, All-Wise, and Loving, which are among the greatest of the Divine Names, be reconciled with death and non-existence, decline and separation, and disaster and hardship, which are awesome and terrible? Very well, man goes to eternal happiness, so we can tolerate his passing down the road of death, but for the delicate, lovely species of trees and plants, and the flowers, all living creatures, and the species of animals, which are worthy of existence, lovers of life, and desire permanent life-what compassion and kindness is there in their continuously, without exception, being annihilated, in their swiftly being despatched to non-existence without being allowed to so much as open their eyes, in their being made to work and labour without being allowed to so much as take a breath, in their being changed by calamities with not one of them being left in peace, in their being killed without exception, in their dying with not one of them remaining, in their departing with not one of them being gratified-what wisdom and purpose, what favour and mercy are there in this?

T h e A n s w e r : Through Five Signs which show the necessitating cause and reason, and Five Indications which point out the aims and benefits, we shall try to look from afar at the mighty truth which solves this question, and which is extremely broad, profound, and elevated.

First Station

[This consists of Five Signs]

FIRST SIGN

As is described at the end of the Twenty-Sixth Word, when making a precious bejewelled and embroidered garment, a skilful craftsman employs a poor man in return for a commensurate wage. In order to display his skill and art, he dresses the poor man in the garment, then measures it and cuts it, and lengthens and shortens it, and making the man sit down and stand up, he gives it various forms. So does the wretched man have the right to say to the craftsman: “Why are you interfering with this garment which makes me beautiful, and altering and changing it? Why are you making me stand up and sit down, disturbing me and causing me trouble?”

In exactly the same way, in order to display the perfections of His art through the embroideries of His Names, the All-Glorious Maker takes the essential nature of every sort of being as a model, then He clothes them all and especially living creatures in the garment of a body be-jewelled with senses, and inscribes it with the pen of Divine Decree and Determining; thus demonstrating the manifestation of His Names. In addition, He gives to every being a perfection, a pleasure, an effulgence, in a way suitable to it and as a wage.

Has then anything the right to say to the All-Glorious Maker, Who manifests the meaning of, the Lord of All Dominion has free disposal over His realms as He wishes: “You are giving me trouble and disturbing me.”? God forbid! In no way do beings have any rights before the Necessarily Existent One, nor can they claim them; their right is to carry out through offering thanks and praise, what is required by the degree of existence He has given them. For all the degrees of existence that are given are occurrences, and each requires a cause. Degrees which are not given are possibilities, and possibilities are non-existent as well as being infinite. As for instances of non-existence, they do not require a cause. For example, minerals cannot say: “Why weren’t we plants?”; they cannot complain. Their right, since they have received mineral existence, is to offer thanks to their Creator. And plants may not complain asking why they were not animals; their right is to offer thanks, since they have received life as well as existence. As for animals, they may not complain that they are not humans; the right over them rather, since they have been given the precious substance of spirit in addition to life and existence, is to offer thanks. And so on.

O complaining man! You did not remain non-existent; you were clothed in the bounty of existence. You tasted life; you did not remain inanimate, nor become an animal. You received the bounty of Islam; you did not remain in misguidance. You have experienced the bounties of good health and well-being!

O ungrateful one! Where did you win the right not to offer thanks in return for the degrees of existence which Almighty Allah has given you and are pure bounty. How is it that because exalted bounties which are contingencies and non-existent and which you do not deserve have not been given you, you complain about Almighty Allah with meaningless greed, ungrateful for the bounties you have received? If a man rises to an exalted degree like climbing to the top of a minaret and finds a high station, and on every step receives a large bounty, then does not thank the one who gave him the bounties and complainingly asks why he could not have risen higher than the minaret, how wrong he would be, what an ungrateful denial of the bounties, what great foolishness it would be; as even a lunatic would understand.

O discontented greedy, thriftless wasteful, unjustly complaining, heedless man! Know certainly that contentment is profitable thanks, greed is loss-causing ingratitude, and frugality, fine and beneficial respect for bounties. As for wastefulness, it is ugly and harmful contempt for bounties. If you have intelligence, grow accustomed to contentment and try to be satisfied with little. If you cannot endure it, say: “O Most Patient One!” and seek patience. Be satisfied with your lot and do not complain. Understand who is complaining about whom, and be silent. If you have to complain, then complain about your soul to Allah Almighty, for the fault is its.

SECOND SIGN

As is stated at the end of the final matter of the Eighteenth Letter, one instance of wisdom in the All-Glorious Creator constantly changing and renewing beings in an astonishing and awesome fashion through the activity of His dominicality is as follows:

Activity and motion in creatures arises from an appetite, a desire, a pleasure, a love. It may be said that in all activity is a sort of pleasure; even, that every activity is a sort of pleasure. Pleasure too is turned towards a perfection; it is a sort of perfection even. Since activity indicates a perfection, a pleasure, a beauty; and since the Necessarily Existent One, Who is absolute perfection and the Perfect One of Glory, unites in His essence, attributes, and Names every sort of perfection; for sure, in a manner fitting for the necessary existence and holiness of the Necessarily Existent Essence, in a form suitable to His absolute riches and the self-sufficiency of His essence, in a way appropriate to His absolute perfection and freedom from defect, He has a boundless sacred compassion and infinite pure love. Of a certainty, there is an infinite holy eagerness arising from that sacred compassion and pure love; and from that holy eagerness arises an infinite sacred joy. And arising from that sacred joy, is, if the term is permissible, an infinite holy pleasure. And from this holy pleasure and from the gratitude and perfections of creatures which result from the emergence and development of their potentialities within the activity of His power, arise, if one may say so, an infinite sacred gratification and holy pride pertaining to that Most Merciful and Compassionate Essence; and it is these which necessitate a boundless activity. And that boundless activity in turn necessitates boundless change and transformation, alteration and destruction. And that boundless change and transformation necessitate death and extinction, decline and separation.

At one time, the benefits shown by ‘human’ science and philosophy concerning the aims of beings appeared most insignificant in my view. I understood from this that such philosophy leads only to futility. It is for this reason that leading philosophers either fall into the swamp of Nature, or they become Sophists, or they deny Divine knowledge and choice, or they call the Creator “self-necessitating.”

At that point, Divine mercy sent the Name of All-Wise to my aid, and it showed me the great aims of creatures. That is to say, every creature, every artefact, is such a dominical missive that all conscious beings study it. This aim satisfied me for a year. Then the wonders in the art of beings were unfolded to me, and the former aim started to appear insufficient. Another, much greater aim became apparent, which was that the most important aims of creatures look to their Maker. I understood that this aim is to present to His gaze the perfections of His art, the embroideries of His Names, the embellishments of His wisdom, and the gifts of His mercy; it is to be mirrors to His beauty and perfections. This aim satisfied me for a long time. Then the miracles of Divine power and functions of dominicality in the extremely swift changes and transformations within the astonishing activity in the art and creation of things became apparent. The former aim too began to appear insufficient. I understood that a necessitating cause, a motive, as great as this aim was necessary. It was then that the causes in this Second Sign and aims in the Indications to follow became apparent. It was made known to me with complete certainty that “the activity of Divine power in the universe and the constant flood of beings is so meaningful that through it the All-Wise Maker causes all the realms of beings in the universe to speak.” It is as if the beings of the earth and the skies and their motion and actions are the words of their speech; their motion is their speech. That is, the motion and decline arising from activity is speech glorifying Allah. And the activity in the universe, too, is the universe’s silent speech and that of the varieties of its beings; their being made to speak.

THIRD SIGN

Things do not go to non-existence, they rather pass from the sphere of power to the sphere of knowledge; they go from the Manifest World to the World of the Unseen; they turn from the world of change and transience to the worlds of light and eternity. From the point of view of reality, the beauty and perfection in things pertain to the Divine Names and are their impresses and manifestations. Since the Names are eternal and their manifestations, perpetual, certainly their impresses will be renewed, refreshed, and made beautiful. They do not pass and depart for non-existence, only their relative determinations change; their realities, essences, and identities, which are the means of beauty and loveliness, effulgence and perfection, are enduring. The beauty and fineness in beings with no spirits pertain directly to the Divine Names; the honour is theirs; praise is due to them; the beauty is theirs; love goes to them; they suffer no harm on those mirrors changing.

If they are beings with spirits but no intellect, their death and departure is not extinction and vanishing into non-existence, it is being saved from physical existence and the turbulent duties of life. Making over to their spirits, which are immortal, the fruits of the duties they have gained, each relying on a Divine Name, their immortal spirits persist, attaining a happiness worthy of them.

If they are beings possessing both spirits and intellects, their demise is anyway a journeying to everlasting happiness, to the eternal realm, which is the means to perfections, material and non-material, and to the other dwelling-places of the All-Wise Maker, like the Intermediate Realm, the World of Similitudes, and the Spirit World, which surpass this world in beauty and luminosity. Their passing is not death and extinction, separation and non-existence, it is attaining perfection.

I n S h o r t : Since the All-Glorious Maker exists and He is Eternal, and since His attributes and Names are perpetual and everlasting; certainly His Names’ manifestations and impresses are renewed, affording a sort of perpetualness; they are not destroyed and transitory, departing for non-being. It is clear that by reason of his humanity, man is connected with most other beings; he receives pleasure at their happiness, and is grieved at their destruction. And he is more grieved at the suffering of living creatures, of mankind in particular, and particularly of those possessing perfection he loves and admires; and his happiness is greater at their happiness. Like a fond mother, even, he sacrifices his own happiness and comfort for their happiness. Thus, in accordance with their degree, through the light of the Qur’an and mystery of belief, all believers may be happy at the happiness of all beings, and at their enduring and being saved from nothingness and their being valuable dominical missives; they may gain a light as extensive as the world. Everyone may profit from this light according to his degree. As for the people of misguidance, they are grieved at the destruction of all beings, at their transience and apparently being despatched to non-existence-and if they have spirits, at their suffering, in addition to their own pains. That is to say, their unbelief fills their world with non-existence; it empties it over their heads, causing them Hell before they go there.

FOURTH SIGN

As we have said in many places, a monarch has various different offices and departments proceeding from his titles like Sultan, Khalifa, Judge, and Commander-in-Chief, and in the same way, Almighty Allah’s Most Beautiful Names have innumerable different sorts of manifestations. The varieties and different sorts of creatures arise from the varieties of manifestations. Thus, in accordance with the fact that every possessor of beauty and perfection has an innate desire to see and display his beauty and perfection, those various Names too -since they are constant and eternal- want to be displayed in permanent fashion on account of the Most Pure and Holy Essence. That is to say, they want to see their impresses; that is, to see the manifestation of their beauty and reflection of their perfection in the mirrors of their embroideries; that is, to renew every instant the mighty book of the universe and the different missives of beings; that is, to constantly write them anew; that is, to write thousands of different missives on a single page and to display each missive to the witnessing gaze of the Sacred Essence, the Most Pure and Holy One Who is Signified; and together with this, to exhibit them to the meditative gazes of all sentient beings, and cause them to read them. Consider the following poem which alludes to this truth:

The leaves of the book of the world are of variety incalculable,

Its letters and words, too, are of number infinite;

Inscribed on the workbench of the Preserved Tablet of reality,

An embodied meaningful word, is each being in the world.

Study the lines of the universe; for they are missives to you from the Sublime Assembly.

FIFTH SIGN

The Fifth Sign consists of Two Points.

F i r s t P o i n t : Since Almighty Allah exists, everything exists. Since they have a relation with Almighty Allah, all things exist for everything. For through the mystery of Unity, through the relation with the Necessarily Existent One, all beings become connected with all other beings. That means, through the mystery of Unity, every being which knows its relation with the Necessarily Existent One, or whose relation is known, becomes related with all beings which are related to Him. This means, from the point of view of the relation, every being may manifest endless lights of existence. There is no separation or death from that point of view. To live for a single passing second is the means to innumerable lights of existence. Whereas if the relation does not exist or is not known, the being manifests infinite separations and deaths. For in that case, in the face of every being with which he could have been connected, he is exposed to a separation, a parting, a death. That is, he burdens his own personal existence with endless instances of non-existence and separation. Should he remain in existence for a million years even (without connection), it would not be as much as living for an instant being related in the former respect. The people of reality have said therefore: “Illumined existence for even a passing instant is preferable to a million years of profitless existence.” And it is also because of this that those who have researched into the realities of creation have said: “The lights of existence become apparent through recognizing the Necessarily Existent One.” That is to say: “In that case, the universe is seen to be full of angels, spirit beings, and intelligent beings within lights of existence. Whereas without them, the darkness of non-existence and pains of death and separation encompass all beings. The world appears in such a view to be an empty and desolate wasteland.”

Indeed, each one of a tree’s fruits has a relation with all the other fruits on the tree, and since through the relation, each is its friend and brother, it possesses accidental existences to their number. But when the fruit is plucked from the tree, a separation and death comes about in the face of all the other fruits; they all become as though non-existent for it; a darkness of external non-existence results for it.

In exactly the same way, in respect of being related to the Power of the Single Eternally Besoughted One, for everything, all things exist. If not for that relation, there would be external non-existences for all things to the number of things.

And so, from this Sign you may see the vastness of the lights of belief and the terrifying darkness of misguidance. That is, belief is the title of the elevated truth described in this Sign; and it may be benefited from through belief. In the absence of belief, just as everything is non-existent for someone who is blind, deaf, dumb, and stupid, so is everything non-existent and dark for one without belief.

S e c o n d P o i n t : The world and all things have three faces:

The First Face looks to the Divine Names and is their mirror. Death, separation, and non-existence cannot intrude on this face; there is rather renewal and renovation.

The Second Face looks to the hereafter and gazes upon the World of Eternity; it is like its arable field. Enduring fruits and produce are raised on this face. It serves eternity, and makes transitory things as though eternal. On this face too there is no death and decline, but the manifestations of life and eternity.

The Third Face looks to transient beings, that is, to us. It is the beloved of ephemeral beings and those who follow the caprices of their souls; the place of trade for the conscious; the arena of trial and examination for those charged with duties. Thus, the salve and cure for the pains and wounds of the transience and decline, the death and extinction, on this third face, are the manifestations of life and eternity in its inner face.

I n S h o r t : This flood of beings, these travelling creatures, are moving mirrors and changing places of manifestation for the renewal of the Necessarily Existent One’s lights of creation and existence.

Second Station

[The Second Station consists of an Introduction and Five Indications. The Introduction contains Two Topics.]

F i r s t T o p i c : In each of the following Five Indications is a comparison, written in the form of a dull, short-ranged telescope, in order to observe the attributes of dominicality. These comparisons cannot contain the reality of those attributes; they cannot encompass them and be the measure of them, but they can assist in looking at them. Any phrases or expressions in the comparisons, or in the previous Signs, unfitting for the attributes of the Most Pure and Holy Essence are the fault of the comparisons.

For example, the meanings of pleasure, joy, and gratification known by us cannot express the sacred attributes, but each is the title of an observatory, a means of reflective thought. In addition, through showing in a small example the tip of an encompassing, mighty law of dominicality, it proves the reality of the law within the attributes of dominicality. For example, it is said that a flower departs from existence leaving behind it thousands of existences; this demonstrates a mighty law of dominicality which is in force in all the beings of spring, indeed, of all the world.

Yes, through whichever law the All-Compassionate Creator changes and renews the feathered dress of a bird, through the same law that All-Wise Maker renews the dress of the globe of the earth every year. Through the same law, He transforms the shape of the world every century. And through the same law, He will change the form of the universe at the resurrection of the dead.

Through whichever law He impels particles like Mevlevi dervishes, He makes the earth spin through the same law, like an ecstatic Mevlevi dervish rising up to dance the sama‘. And through that law, He causes worlds to revolve, and the solar system to travel through space.

Through whichever law He renews, repairs, and dissolves the particles in your body’s cells, through the same law, He renews your garden every year, making it anew many times every season. And through the same law, He renews the face of the earth every spring, drawing a fresh veil over its face.

Through whichever law that All-Powerful Maker raises a fly to life, through the same law He restores to life the plane-tree before your window every spring; and through that law, He raises the globe of the earth to life in the spring; and through the same law will raise creatures to life at the resurrection. The Qur’an alludes to this with the verse,

Your creation and your resurrection is but as a single soul.¹

And so on; you can make further examples in the same way.

There are many laws of dominicality like these which are in force from particles to the totality of the world. Consider the immensity of these laws within dominical activity; note carefully their breadth, and see the meaning of Unity within them. Understand that each law is a proof of Divine Unity. Yes, through each of these numerous and immense laws being the manifestation of knowledge and will, and being both the same and all-encompassing, each also proves most certainly the Maker’s Unity, knowledge, and will.

Thus, most of the comparisons in the Words [Risale-i Nur] show the tips of laws like these through a small example, and by doing this, point to the existence of the same law in the matter claimed. Since the existence of the law is demonstrated through a comparison, it proves the assertion as categorically as a logical proof. That is to say, most of the comparisons in the Words may be seen as categorical proofs and certain arguments.

S e c o n d T o p i c : As described in the Tenth Truth of the Tenth Word, however many flowers and fruits there are on a tree, each has aims, purposes, and instances of wisdom to that number. These instances of wisdom are of three sorts:

One sort looks to the Maker and displays the embroideries of His Names.

Another sort looks to intelligent and conscious beings, and in the view of the conscious, things are valuable missives and meaningful words.

Another sort looks to itself and to its own life and perpetuation; and if beneficial for man, the being contains instances of wisdom accordingly.

At one time, while contemplating on how all beings have such numerous aims, the following phrases occurred to me in Arabic, which, like notes forming the basis of the following Indications, allude to those universal aims:

These glorious beings are flowing places of manifestation and roving mirrors for the renewal of the manifestations of the lights of His creativity, Glory be unto Him: through the changing of their relative determinations, * Firstly, and by preserving their beautiful meanings and their identities in the World of Similitudes; * Secondly, and producing truths pertaining to the World of the Unseen and the weavings of the Preserved Tablet; * Thirdly, and spreading the fruits of the hereafter and publishing everlasting panoramas; * Fourthly, and proclaiming dominical glorifications and making known what the Divine Names necessitate; * Fifthly, so that the Divine attributes become apparent and the aspects of Divine knowledge.

These five sections comprise the bases of the Indications we shall discuss below. Yes, all beings, and particularly living beings, possess on five levels different aims and instances of wisdom and purposes. Like a tree produces fruit on branches one over the other, so all living beings have five different levels of aims and purposes.

O ephemeral man! If you want your own reality which is like a small seed to be transformed into an eternal fruit-bearing tree, and to obtain the ten levels of fruits and ten sorts of aims pointed out in the five Indications, acquire true belief. Otherwise, in addition to being deprived of all of them, you will be squeezed into that seed and you will rot!

FIRST INDICATION

Firstly: through the changing of their relative determinations, and by preserving their beautiful meanings and their identities in the World of Similitudes.

This section expresses the following: although a being apparently disappears into non-existence after departing from existence, the meanings it has expressed are preserved and perpetuated. Its identity, form, and essential nature are preserved also in the World of Similitudes, on the Preserved Tablets, which are samples of the World of Similitudes, and in memories, which are samples of the Preserved Tablets. That is, the being loses its visible existence, and gains hundreds of immaterial existences and existences in knowledge.

For example, in order to print a page in a printing-press, the type is set up and arranged. Then after the page has bequeathed its form and identity to many pages on being printed and after it has proclaimed its meanings to many minds, the arrangement of the type is changed. For no need remains for it, also other pages have to be printed.

In exactly the same way, the pen of Divine Determining sets up and arranges the beings of the earth, and especially plants. Divine power creates them on the page of the springtime. Then in order for them to express their beautiful meanings and for their forms and identities to pass to the ledgers of the World of the Unseen, like the World of Similitudes, Divine wisdom requires that the arrangement be changed. In this way, the page of another, future spring may be written and its beings express their meanings too.

SECOND INDICATION

Secondly, and producing truths pertaining to the World of the Unseen and the weavings of the Preserved Tablet.

This section indicates that before departing from existence, everything, whether particular or universal, and particularly living beings, produces many truths pertaining to the Unseen. So too they leave behind them on the tablets and notebooks of the World of Similitudes forms to the number of the stages of their lives; their life histories and those of their forms that are meaningful are inscribed and become objects of study for spirit beings.

For example, a flower passes from existence, but together with leaving behind its essential nature in its hundreds of seeds, it also leaves thousands of its forms on small Preserved Tablets and in memories, which are small samples of the Preserved Tablets, and through the stages of its life, causes conscious beings to study the embroideries of the Divine Names and dominical glorifications it expresses; then it departs.

Similarly, adorned with finely wrought beings in the flower-pot of the face of the earth, the springtime is a flower; it apparently passes and departs for non-existence, but in its place it leaves behind in existence the truths pertaining to the Unseen it has expressed to the number of its seeds, and identities in the World of Similitudes it has published to the number of its flowers, and the instances of dominical wisdom it has displayed to the number of its beings; only then is it hidden from us. Moreover, it makes room for its friends, other springs, to come and perform their duties. That is to say, the spring is divested of an external existence, and in meaning is clothed in a thousand existences.

THIRD INDICATION

Thirdly, and spreading the fruits of the hereafter and publishing everlasting panoramas.

This section states that the world is a workbench and arable field raising crops suitable for the market of the hereafter. We have proved in many of the Words that just as jinn and men send their actions to the market of the hereafter, so too the other beings of the world perform numerous duties on account of the hereafter and produce many crops for it. It may even be said that the earth travels for them, or even that this is its purpose. This dominical ship traverses a twenty-four thousand year distance in one year, circumscribing the field of the resurrection.

For example, the people of Paradise will surely desire to recall their adventures in this world and recount them to one another. They will be exceedingly curious to see the images and pictures of those adventures, and if they watch them like watching the cinema screen, they will enjoy it immensely. Since that is the case, as the verse,

[Joyfully] facing each other on thrones [of dignity]²

indicates, there will be in Paradise, the realm of delight and happiness, the recounting of worldly adventures and scenes of worldly happenings, amid everlasting panoramas.

Thus, these beautiful beings appearing for a moment then disappearing, and their following on one after the other in succession, appear to be factories and workshops for manufacturing the vistas of eternity. For example, in order to afford a sort of permanence to transient situations and leave a souvenir for the people of the future, the people of present-day civilization record the forms of beautiful or strange situations and present them as gifts to the future by means of the cinema screen; they show the past in the present and the future, and include it in them.

In just the same way, the All-Wise Maker of the beings of spring and this world records the aims of their brief lives which look to the World of Eternity in that world, and He records in everlasting scenes in the Eternal Realm the vital duties and the Divine miracles those beings have performed throughout the stages of their lives, as is the requirement of His Names of All-Wise, All-Compassionate, and Loving.

FOURTH INDICATION

Fourthly, and proclaiming dominical glorifications and making known the requirements of the Divine Names.

This sections states that throughout the stages of their lives, beings perform numerous varieties of dominical glorifications. They also demonstrate various situations that the Divine Names necessitate and require. For example, the Name of All-Compassionate desires to be compassionate. The Name of Provider necessitates the giving of sustenance. The Name of Gracious requires the granting of favours. And so on; all the Divine Names require and necessitate something. Thus, in addition to demonstrating the requirements of the Names through their lives and existences, all living beings glorify the All-Wise Maker to the number of their members and faculties.

For example, a man eats delicious fruits which are then dissolved in his stomach and apparently destroyed, but in addition to producing a pleasure and eagerness arising from activity in all the cells of his body as well as his mouth and stomach, they are the means to very many instances of wisdom like nurturing his life and every part of his body and causing his life to continue. The food itself also rises from vegetable existence to the level of human life; it progresses.

In exactly the same way, when beings are hidden behind the veil of death, in addition to their very many glorifications enduring in their places, they bequeath to the Divine Names many of the Names’ embroideries and requirements. That is to say, they depart entrusting them to an eternal existence. If, then, on the departure of a transient and temporary existence thousands of existences manifesting a sort of permanence remain in its place, can it be said that the thing is to be pitied, or that it was all for nothing, or why did that lovable creature depart; can it be complained about? It is rather that the mercy, wisdom, and love which look to it required and necessitated it to be thus. Otherwise it would be necessary to abandon thousands of benefits so that a single harm should not come about; in which case the harm would be a thousandfold. That is to say, the Names of All-Compassionate, All-Wise, and Loving One are not opposed to death and separation; indeed, they require and necessitate it.

FIFTH INDICATION

Fifthly, so that the Divine attributes become apparent and the aspects of Divine knowledge.

This section states that on departing from visible existence, beings, and particularly living beings, leave behind them many enduring things. As described in the Second Sign, among the attributes of dominicality in a way fitting to the sacredness and perfect self-sufficiency of the Necessarily Existent Essence, and in a form worthy of Him, are a boundless love, an infinite compassion, an endless pride, and, if the term is permissible, a boundless holy pleasure, a joy, and if the expression is not mistaken, an infinite sacred delight, and a transcendent happiness; the traces of which are to be observed and seen.

Thus, through change and transformation, decline and transience, beings are driven on at speed within the astonishing activity necessitated by these attributes; they are constantly sent from the Manifest World to the World of the Hereafter. Under the manifestations of the attributes, creatures are shaken up in a continual flow and flood, motion and movement, scattering to the ears of the heedless the lamentations of death and separation, and to the hearing of the people of guidance, a clamour of glorification and recitation of Allah’s Names. It is due to this mystery that all beings depart leaving behind them in existence meanings, qualities, and states which will each be the means to the manifestation of the Necessarily Existent One’s eternal attributes.

Furthermore, beings depart leaving behind them the stages and states they have undergone throughout their lives -a detailed existence which represents their external existence- on the Preserved Tablet, and in the Clear Book and Clear Record, and other spheres like these pertaining to Divine Knowledge where there is existence. This means that every transitory being abandons one existence and gains thousands of permanent existences.

For example, a number of common substances are thrown into a wondrous machine in a factory; they burn up inside it and are apparently destroyed, but in those vats valuable chemical substances are precipitated. Also, through its force and steam, the factory’s machinery works: in one area of it textiles are woven, in another books are printed, while in another sweets and other rare confections are manufactured; and so on; it is the means to these. That is to say, thousands of things come into existence through the burning of those common substances and their apparently being destroyed. One common existence departs, but it leaves a legacy of numerous elevated existences. Can one therefore feel sorry for the common substance? Can one complain about the factory owner because he did not pity it and burnt it, destroying those affectionate substances?

In exactly the same way, And Allah’s is the highest similitude,³ as necessitated by mercy, wisdom, and lovingness, the Wise, Compassionate, and Loving Creator causes the factory of the universe to work. He makes all transient existences the seeds to numerous perpetual existences; He makes them the means for the fulfilment of the dominical aims; He makes them manifest the Divine functions; He makes them the ink for the pen of Divine Determining and shuttles for the weaving of Divine power; and for many elevated aims and favours which we do not yet know, through the activity of His power, He causes the activity of the universe; He causes particles to spin, beings to travel, animals to flow, and the planets to rotate; He makes the universe speak, causing it to silently recite His verses, His signs, and to inscribe them. And of the creatures of the earth -with regard to His dominicality- He makes the air a Throne to His command and will; the element of light a Throne to His knowledge and wisdom; water a Throne to His bounty and mercy; and earth a Throne to His preservation and giving of life; and three of these Thrones He rests on the creatures of the earth.

Know certainly that the shining truth demonstrated in these Five Signs and Five Indications is to be seen through the light of the Qur’an and may be laid claim to through the strength of belief. Otherwise a terrifying darkness takes the place of this enduring truth. For the people of misguidance, the world is full to overflowing with deaths, separations, and non-existence; for them, the universe becomes a sort of Hell. Having only a flash of existence, everything is surrounded by never-ending non-existence. The past and the future are filled with the darkness of non-existence; they may find a sad light of existence only in the fleeting present. While through the mystery of the Qur’an and the light of belief, a light of existence becomes apparent which shines from pre-eternity to post-eternity; they may become connected with that, and through it secure eternal happiness.

I n S h o r t : In the manner of the poet Niyazi Misri, we say:

Till this breath becomes the ocean,

Till this cage is smashed to fragments,

Till this voice is silenced,

I shall call: O Truth! O Existent! O Living One! O Worshipped One!

O Most Wise! O Sought One! O Compassionate One! O Loving One!

And I call out:

There is no god but Allah, the Sovereign, the Truth, the Evident; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, faithful in His promise, Amen.

And believing, I state:

Resurrection after death is a reality; Paradise is a reality; Hell-fire is a reality; eternal happiness is a reality; Allah is Compassionate, Wise, and Loving; and Mercy, Wisdom, and Love encompass all things and all their attributes.

And they shall say: “Praise be to Allah, Who has guided us to this [felicity]; never could we have found guidance, had it not been for the guidance of Allah; indeed, it was the truth that the prophets of our Sustainer brought to us!”⁴

Glory be to He Who has made the garden of the earth: the exhibition of His art, the gathering of His creatures, the place of manifestation of His power, the means of His wisdom, the garden of His mercy, the tillage of His Paradise, the place of passage of creatures, the place through which beings flow, the measure of artefacts; adorned by animals, embroidered with birds, made fruitful by trees, made to blossom with flowers; miracles of His knowledge, wonders of His art, gifts of His munificence, proofs of His favour, evidences of His Unity, subtleties of His wisdom, witnesses to His mercy; the smiling of the blossoms with the adornment of fruits, the singing of the birds in the breezes of morning, the pattering of the rain on the cheeks of the flowers; the adornment of the flowers, the embellishment of the fruits in these gardens; all mothers, human and animal, are tender towards their small young, making known a Loving One, making loved a Merciful One, the compassion of a Kind One, the tenderness of One sympathetic to man and jinn, and to spirits, animals, angels, and jinn.

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1. Qur’an, 31:28.
2. Qur’an, 15:47; 37:44.
3. Qur’an, 16:60.
4. Qur’an, 7:43.

The Second Part,
which is the Second Matter

[This was written to put a stop to and solve an important argument about the Hadith which describes how Moses (Upon whom be peace) struck Azra’il (Upon whom be peace) in the eye, and the rest of the story.¹]

I heard of a scholarly argument in Egridir. Such an argument was wrong especially at this time, but I did not know it was an argument. A question was asked me, and a Hadith in a reliable book marked with a qaf which signifies the agreement of the two Shaykhs [Bukhari and Muslim], was shown to me. They asked me: “Is it a Hadith or isn’t it?”

I said that one should have confidence in someone who, in a reliable book such as that, cites the agreement of the two Shaykhs concerning a Hadith; it means it is a Hadith. But Hadiths contain certain allegorical obscurities like the Qur’an. Only the elite can ascertain their meanings. Even the apparent meaning of this Hadith suggests the possibility that it is one of those containing obscurities, difficult to understand. If I had known that it had been a point of argument, I would not have given such a short answer, I would rather have replied as follows:

Firstly: The first condition for discussing matters of this sort is to argue fairly, with the intention of discovering the truth; it is permissible between those with knowledge of the question, so long as it is not in obstinate fashion and does not give rise to misunderstanding. Evidence that such an argument is for the sake of the truth is that if the truth becomes apparent at the hand of an opposer, a person is not upset, but pleased. For he will have learned something he did not know. If it had emerged from him, he would not have learned much and there is the possibility he would have fallen into pride.

Secondly: If the argument is about a Hadith, the degrees of Hadiths, and the degrees of implicit revelation, and the sorts of prophetic speech have to be known. It is not permissible to discuss the difficulties of Hadith among the ordinary people, show oneself to be right like a lawyer by demonstrating one’s superiority, and search for proofs in the form of preferring egotism to truth and right. This question being broached and becoming a point of argument is having a negative effect on the minds of the poor ordinary people. Because they cannot comprehend obscure allegorical Hadiths like these, and if they deny them, it opens a terrifying door; that is, it opens the way to them also denying definite Hadiths which they cannot comprehend with their tiny minds. If, taking the apparent meaning of the Hadith and accepting it as that, they spread it around, it opens up the way to the people of misguidance objecting to it and calling it “superstition.” Since attention has been attracted to this allegorical Hadith in unnecessary and harmful fashion, and there are many Hadiths of this sort, it is certainly necessary to expound a truth that will remove their doubts. Whether or not the Hadith is certain, the following fact has to be mentioned.

Regarding as sufficient the detailed explanations in the treatises we have written; that is, the Twelve Principles in the Third Branch of the Twenty-Fourth Word, and in the Fourth Branch; and in one of the Principles in the Introduction about the sorts of Revelation in the Nineteenth Letter, here we shall only indicate briefly to that truth. It is as follows:

The angels are not restricted to a single form like human beings; while individuals, they are like universals. Azra’il (Upon whom be peace) is the supervisor of the angels charged with taking possession of the spirits of the dying.

Q u e s t i o n : “Does Azra’il (UWP) himself take possession of the spirits of the dying, or do his helpers take possession of them?”

There are three ‘ways’ in this matter:

T h e F i r s t W a y : Azra’il (Upon whom be peace) takes possession of everyone’s spirit. No matter can be an obstacle to another, for he is luminous. Something luminous may be present in innumerable places by means innumerable mirrors and be represented in them. The representations of luminous beings possess their characteristics; they may be considered to be the same as them, not other than them. The sun’s image in mirrors displays the sun’s light and heat. Similarly, the images of spirit beings like the angels in the various mirrors of the World of Similitudes are the same as them; they display their characteristics. But they are represented in accordance with the capacities of the mirrors. The same instant Gabriel (Upon whom be peace) appeared before the Companions in the form of Dihya, he also appeared in different forms in thousands of places, and was prostrating with his magnificent wings which stretch from the east to the west before the Divine Throne. His representation was everywhere in accordance with the place’s capacity; at the same instant he was present in thousands of places.

Thus, according to this way, for the human and particular image of the Angel of Death represented in man’s mirror when taking possession of the spirit of a dying person to receive the blow of a resolute, angry, awe-inspiring person like Moses (Upon whom be peace), and for that image-form which was like the clothes of the Angel of Death to have his eye put out, would be neither impossible, nor extraordinary, nor irrational.

T h e S e c o n d W a y : The archangels like Gabriel, Michael, and Azra’il are each like general supervisors, having helpers who are of their kind, resemble them, and are lesser than them. Those assistants differ according to the sorts of creatures. Those who take possession of the spirits of the righteous² are of one sort, while those who take possession of the spirits of the wicked are of another. As the following verses point out, they are all different:

By the [angels] who tear out [the souls of the wicked] with violence; * By those who gently draw out [the souls of the blessed].³

According to this way, for Moses (Upon whom be peace) to deal a blow not at Azra’il (Upon whom be peace), but at the similitude of a body belonging to one of his helpers, as a consequence of his natural awesomeness, courage, and being a suppliant before Allah, is most reasonable.⁴

T h e T h i r d W a y : As explained in the Fourth Principle in the Twenty-Ninth Word and as Hadiths indicate, there are some angels who have forty thousand heads, and in each head are forty thousand tongues -that means they also have eighty thousand eyes- and with each tongue they utter forty thousand Divine glorifications. Yes, since the angels are charged with duties in accordance with the sorts of beings in the Manifest World, they represent those species’ glorifications in the Spirit World. It must certainly be thus, because the globe of the earth is a creature; it glorifies Almighty Allah. It has not forty thousand, but perhaps a hundred thousand sorts of beings, which are like heads. Each sort has hundreds of thousands of individual members, which are like tongues; and so on. That means the angel appointed to the earth must have not forty thousand heads, but hundreds of thousands; and in every head must be hundreds of thousands of tongues; and so on.

Thus, according to this way, Azra’il (Upon whom be peace) has a face and an eye which looks to every individual. Moses (Upon whom be peace) striking Azra’il (Upon whom be peace) was not directed at his essential self and his true form, and it was not an insult, or non-acceptance; he struck, and strikes, in the eye the one who drew attention to his death and wanted to prevent his work, because he wanted his duties of prophethood to continue permanently.

Allah knows best what is right. * None knows the Unseen save Allah. * Say: The knowledge is with Allah alone.

He it is Who has sent down to you the Book: in it are verses basic or fundamental [of established meaning]; they are the foundation of the Book; others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: “We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Sustainer;” and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.⁵

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1. Bukhari, Jana’iz 69; Anbiya’ 31; Muslim, Fada’il 157-8; Nasa’i, Jana’iz 121; Musnad ii, 269, 315, 351.
2. In my native land, the Angel of Death charged with taking possession of the spirits of the saints came while a great saint famous with the name of Seyda was in the throes of death. Seyda shouted out beseeching the Divine Court: “I love students of the religious sciences, so let the angel charged with taking possession of their souls take possession of mine!” Those who were present testified to this incident.
3. Qur’an, 79:1-2.
4. In my native land, even, a very bold man saw the Angel of Death while he was in the throes of death. He said: “You’re seizing me while I’m lying in my bed!” And he got up, mounted his horse and challenged him, taking his sword in his hand. He died on horseback, like a man.
5. Qur’an, 3:7.

Second Topic

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

Verily Allah it is Who gives all sustenance, Lord of Power and Steadfast.¹ * How many are the creatures that carry not their own sustenance? It is Allah Who provides for them and for you; He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.²

O people of belief! You will have understood by now how harmful is enmity. Understand too that greed is another awesome disease, as harmful for the life of Islam as enmity. Greed brings about disappointment, deficiency, and humiliation; it is the cause of deprivation and abjection. The humiliation and abjection of the Jews, who more than any other people have leaped greedily upon the world, is a decisive proof of this truth. Greed demonstrates its evil effects throughout the animate world, from the most universal of species to the most particular of individuals. To seek out one’s sustenance while placing one’s trust in Allah will, by constrast, bring about tranquillity and demonstrate everywhere its beneficient effects.

Thus, fruit trees and plants, which are a species of animate being insofar as they require sustenance, remain contentedly rooted where they are, placing their trust in Allah and not evincing any greed; it is for this reason that their sustenance hastens toward them. They breed too far more offspring than do the animals. The animals, by contrast, pursue their sustenance greedily, and for this reason are able to attain it only imperfectly and at the cost of great effort. Within the animal kingdom it is only the young who, as it were, evince their trust in Allah by proclaiming their weakness and impotence; hence it is that they receive in full measure their rightful and delicate sustenance from the treasury of Divine mercy. But savage beasts that pounce greedily on their sustenance can hope only for an illicit and coarse sustenance, attained through the expenditure of great effort. These two examples show that greed is the cause of deprivation, while trust in Allah and contentment are the means to Allah’s mercy.

In the human kingdom, the Jews have clung to the world more greedily and have loved its life with more passion than any other people, but the usurious wealth they have gained with great efforts is merely illicit property over which they exercise temporary stewardship, and it benefits them little. It earns them, on the contrary, the blows of abjection and humiliation, of death and insult, that are rained down on them by all peoples. This shows that greed is a source of humiliation and loss. There are in addition so many instances of a greedy person being exposed to loss that “the greedy is subject to disappointment and loss” has become a universally accepted truth. This being the case, if you love wealth, seek it not with greed but with contentment, so that you may have it in abundance.

The content and the greedy are like two men who enter the audience-hall of a great personage. One of them says to himself: “It is enough that he should admit me so that I can escape from the cold outside. Even if he motions me to sit in the lowest position, I will count it as a kindness.”

The second man says arrogantly, as if he had some right in the matter and everyone were obliged to respect him: “I should be assigned the highest position.” He enters with greed and fixes his gaze on the highest positions, wishing to advance toward them. But the master of the audience-hall turns him back and seats him in a lower position. Instead of thanking him as he should, he is angered against him in his heart and criticizes him. The lord of the palace will be offended by him.

The first man enters most humbly and wishes to sit in the lowest position. His modesty pleases the lord of the audience-hall, and he invites him to sit in a higher position. His gratitude increases, and his thankfulness is augmented.

Now this world is like an audience-hall of the Most Merciful One. The surface of the globe is like a banqueting spread laid out by His mercy. The differing degrees of sustenance and grades of bounty correspond to the seating positions in the audience-hall.

Furthermore, even in the minutest of affairs everyone can experience the evil effects of greed. For example, everyone knows in his heart that when two beggars request something, he will be offended by the one who greedily importunes him, and refuse his request; whereas he will take pity on the peaceable one and give him what he asks.

Or to give another example, if you are unable to fall asleep at night and wish to do so, you may succeed if you remain detached. But if you desire sleep greedily, and say: “Let me sleep, let me sleep,” then sleep will quit you entirely.

Yet another example is this, that if you greedily await the arrival of someone for some important purpose and continually say: “He still hasn’t come,” ultimately you will lose patience and get up and leave. But one minute later the person will come, and your purpose will be frustrated.

The reason for all this is as follows. The production of a loaf of bread requires a field to be cultivated and harvested, the grain to be taken to a mill, and the loaf to be baked in an oven. So too in the arrangement of all things there is a certain slow deliberation decreed by Allah’s wisdom. If on account of greed one fails to act with slow deliberation, one will fail to notice the steps one must mount in the arrangement of all things; he will either fall or be unable to traverse the steps, and in either event will not reach his goal.

O brothers giddied by preoccupation with your livelihood, and drunk on your greed for this world! Greed is harmful and pernicious; how is it then that you commit all kinds of abject deed for the sake of your greed; accept all kinds of wealth, without concern for licit or illicit; and sacrifice much of the hereafter? On account of your greed you even abandon one of the most important pillars of Islam, the payment of zakat, although zakat is for everyone a means of attracting plenty and repelling misfortune. The one who does not pay zakat is bound to lose the amount of money he would otherwise have paid: either he will spend it on some useless object, or it will be taken from him by some misfortune.

In a veracious dream that came to me during the fifth year of the First World War, the following question was put to me:

“What is the reason for this hunger, financial loss, and physical trial that now afflicts the Muslims?”

I replied in the dream:

“From the wealth He bestows upon us, Allah Almighty required from us either a tenth or a fortieth³ so that we may benefit from the grateful prayers of the poor, and rancour and envy may be prevented. But in our greed and covetousness we refused to give zakat, and Allah Almighty has taken from us a thirtieth where a fortieth was owed, and an eighth where a tenth was owed.

“He required of us to undergo, for no more than one month each year, a hunger with seventy beneficial purposes. But we took pity on our instinctual souls, and did not undergo that temporary pleasurable hunger Allah Almighty then punished us by compelling us to fast for five years, with a hunger replete with seventy kinds of misfortune.

“He also required of us, out of each period of twenty-four hours, one hour to be spent in a form of Divine drill, pleasing and sublime, luminous and beneficial. But in our laziness we neglected the duty of prayer. That single hour was joined to the other hours and wasted. As penance, Allah Almighty then caused us to undergo a form of drill and physical exertion that took the place of prayer.”

I then awoke, and upon reflection realized that an extremely important truth was contained in that dream. As proven and explained in the Twenty-Fifth Word, when comparing modern civilization with the principles of the Qur’an, all immorality and instability in the social life of man proceeds from two sources:

The First: “Once my stomach is full, what do I care if others die of hunger?”

The Second: “You work, and I’ll eat.”

That which perpetuates these two is the prevalence of usury and interest on the one hand, and the abandonment of zakat on the other. The only remedy able to cure these two awesome social diseases lies in implementing zakat as a universal principle and in forbidding usury. Zakat is a most essential support of happiness not merely for individuals and particular societies, but for all of humanity. There are two classes of men: the upper classes and the common people. It is only zakat that will induce compassion and generosity in the upper classes toward the common people, and respect and obedience in the common people toward the upper classes. In the absence of zakat, the upper classes will descend on the common people with cruelty and oppression, and the common people will rise up against the upper classes in rancour and rebellion. There will be a constant struggle, a persistent opposition between the two classes of men. It will finally result in the confrontation of capital and labour, as happened in Russia.

O people of nobility and good conscience! O people of generosity and liberality! If acts of generosity are not performed in the name of zakat, there are three harmful results. The act may have no effect, for if you do not give in the name of Allah, you are in effect imposing an obligation, and imprisoning some wretched pauper with a sense of obligation. Then you will be deprived of his prayer, a prayer which would be most acceptable in the sight of Allah. In reality you are nothing but an official entrusted with the distribution of Allah Almighty’s bounties among His servants; but if you imagine yourself to be the owner of wealth, this is an act of ingratitude for the bounties you have received. If, on the contrary, you give in the name of zakat, you will be rewarded for having given in the name of Allah Almighty; you will have offered thanks for bounties received. The needy person too will not be compelled to fawn and cringe in front of you; his self-respect will not be injured, and his prayer on your behalf will be accepted. See how great is the difference between, on the one hand, giving as much as one would in zakat, but earning nothing but the harm of hypocrisy, fame, and the imposition of obligation; and, on the other hand, performing the same good deeds in the name of zakat, and thereby fulfilling a duty, and gaining a reward, the virtue of sincerity, and the prayers of those whom you have benefited?

Glory be unto You; we have no knowledge save that which you have taught us; indeed, you are All-Knowing, All-Wise.⁴

O Allah, grant blessings and peace to our master Muhammad, who said: “The believer is with respect to the believer like a firm building, of which one part supports the other,”⁵ and who said too that “Contentment is a treasure that never perishes,”⁶ and to his Family and his Companions. And praise be to Allah, the Sustainer of All the Worlds.
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1. Qur’an, 51:58.
2. Qur’an, 29:60.
3. A tenth, that is, or wealth like corn that every year yields a new crop; and a fortieth of whatever yielded a commercial profit in the course of the year.
4. Qur’an, 2:32.
5. See page 320, fn. 13.
6. Suyuti, al-Fath al-Kabir ii, 309; Ahmad al-Hashimi, Mukhtar al-Ahadith al-Nabawiya, Istanbul 1967, 99.

Fourth Matter

You ask concerning the wisdom contained in: "Renew your belief by means of 'There is no god but Allah.'"¹The wisdom in it has been mentioned in many of the Words and one aspect of it is as follows:

Since man himself and the world in which he lives are being continuously renewed, he needs constantly to renew his belief. For in reality each individual human being consists of many individuals. He may be considered as a different individual to the number of the years of his life, or rather to the number of the days or even the hours of his life. For since a single individual is subject to time, he is like a model and each passing day clothes him in the form of another individual.

Furthermore, just as there is within man this plurality and renewal, so also is the world in which he lives in motion. It goes and replaced by another. It varies constantly. Every day opens the door of another world. As for belief, it is both the light of the life of each individual in that person, and it is the light of the world in which he lives. And as for 'There is no god but Allah,' it is a key with which to turn on the light.

Then the instinctual soul, desire, doubts, and Satan exercise great influence over man. In order to damage his belief, they are much of the time able to benefit from his negligence, to trick him with their wiles, and thus to extinguish the light of belief with doubts and uncertainty. Also, man is prone to act and utter words which apparently oppose the Shari'a, and which in the view of some religious authorities are no less then unbelief. Therefore, there is a need to renew belief all the time, every hour, every day.

Question: The masters of scholastic theology wrapped up the world in the abbreviated concepts of contingency and created ness and having disposed of it, so to speak, proved Divine Unity. And one school of Sufis, in order to experience Allah's presence and affirm His Unity fully, said: "Nothing is observed but Him." They thus forgot the universe and drew the veil of oblivion over it, and then fully experienced the Divine presence, Another school of Sufis, in order to truly affirm Divine Unity and enter Allah's presence in the highest degree, said: 'There is no existent but Him." They relegated the universe to the level of imagination and cast it into non-existence, and then fully entered the Divine presence. But you point out that in the Qur'an is a mighty highway besides these three ways. And you say that its mark is the phrases: "There is nothing sought but Him," and, "There is nothing worshipped but Him." Can you provide me with a brief proof of this highway that concerns the affirmation of Divine Unity and point out a short way leading to it?

The Answer: All the Words and Letters in the Risele-i Nur point out that highway. For now, as you wish, we shall concisely indicate an extensive, lengthy and mighty proof of it.

Each thing in the world ascribes every other thing to its own Creator. And each artistically fashioned object in this world demonstrates that all such objects are the works of its own fashioner. And each creative act in the universe proves that all creative acts are the acts of its own author. And each name that is manifest in beings indicates that all names are the names and titles of the one whom it itself signifies. That is to say, each thing is a direct proof of Divine Unity and a window yielding knowledge of Allah.

Each object, especially if it is animate, is a miniature specimen of the universe, a seed of the world, and a fruit of the globe of the earth. Since this is so, the one who created the miniature specimen, seed and fruit must also be the one who created the whole universe. For the creator of the fruit cannot be other than the creator of the tree that bears it.

And so, in the same way that each object ascribes all other objects to its own fashioner, each act also ascribes all other acts to its author. For we see that each creative act appears as the tip of a law of creativity that is so extensive as to encompass most other creatures, and so long as to reach from particles to galaxies. That is to say, whoever performs the creative act must be the author of all the creative acts which are tied to the universal law that encompasses those beings and stretches from particles to galaxies.

For sure, one who gives life to a fly must be the one who creates all insects and animals and who gives life to the earth. And whoever spins particles as though they were Mevlevi dervishes must be the one who sets successive beings in motion as far as the sun travelling through the skies with its planets. For the law is a chain and creative acts are tied to it.

That is to say, just as each object ascribes all other objects to its fashioner, and each creative act attributes all acts to its author, in exactly the same way, each Divine Name manifested in the universe ascribes all Names to the One Whom it itself describes and proves that they are His titles. For the names manifested in the universe are like intersecting circles, blending with one another like the seven colours in light; they assist one another and perfect and adorn one another's works of art.

For example, the instant the Name of Giver of Life is manifested on a thing and life is given, the Name of All-Wise also becomes manifest; it orders the body which is that animate creature's dwelling-place with wisdom. At the same time, the Name of Munificent is manifested; it adorns the creature's dwelling-place. So too, the manifestation of the Name of All-Compassionate appears; it presents the body's needs with tenderness. At the same instant, the manifestation of the Name of Provider appears; it supplies the material and spiritual sustenance necessary for the continued existence of the animate creature in unexpected ways. And so on. That means to whomever the Name of Giver of Life belongs, the Name of All-Wise, which is luminous and comprehensive in the universe, is also His. The Name of All-Compassionate, which nurtures all creatures with tenderness, is also His. And the Name of Provider, which sustains all animate creatures with munificence, is His Name and title. And so on.

That is to say, each Name, each act, each object is a proof of Divine Unity, and such a proof that each is a stamp of Divine Unity and each is a seal of Divine Oneness which has been inscribed on the pages of the universe and on the lines of the centuries. Each indicates that all the words of the universe, which are called beings, are inscriptions traced by the pen of its own scribe.

O Allah! Grant blessings to the one who said: "The best thing Iand the prophets before me have said is, 'There is no god but Allah' "²and to his Family and Companions, and grant them peace.
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1. Musnad ii, 359; al-Mundhirî, al-Targhîb wa'l-Tarhiîb ii, 415; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak iv, 256; al-Haythamî, Majma'al-Zawâ'id i, 52.
2. Muwatta', Qur'ân 32; Hajj 246; al-'Ajlûni, Kashf al-Khafâ'i, 353; al-Albani, Sahîh al-Jami' al-Saghîr, no:1113.

FIRST STRATAGEM

As a consequence of the instruction they have received from satans among the jinn, human satans want to deceive, by means of the desire for rank and position, the self-sacrificing servants of the party of the Qur’an, and to make them give up their sacred service and elevated ‘jihad of the word.’ It is as follows:

Present in most people is the hypocritical desire to be seen by people and hold a position in the public view, which is the ambition for fame and acclaim, and self-advertisement; this desire for rank and position is present to a lesser or greater extent in all those who seek this world. To accomplish this ambition, the desire for fame will drive a person to sacrifice his life even. This ambition is exceedingly dangerous for those who seek the hereafter. And for those who seek this world it is a rough road, is also the source of many bad morals and is man’s weakest vein of character. In order to get possession of someone and draw him to himself, a person only has to gratify this ambition; this ties the man to him, and he is defeated by him. My greatest fear for my brothers is the possibility that the atheists will take advantage of this weak vein of theirs. It has caused me much thought. For in that way they attracted some unfortunates who were not truly friends, drawing them into a dangerous situation.¹

My brothers and friends in the service of the Qur’an! Say the following to the secret agents of the cunning ‘worldly,’ or the propagandists of the people of misguidance, or the students of Satan, who try to deceive you through the desire for rank: “Firstly, Divine pleasure, the favours of the Merciful One, and dominical acceptance are such a position that the regard and admiration of men is worth virtually nothing beside them. If one receives Divine mercy, that is sufficient. The regard of men is acceptable in respect of its being the reflection and shadow of the regard of mercy; otherwise it is not something to be desired. For it is extinguished at the door of the grave, so worth nothing!”

If the desire for rank and position is not silenced and eliminated, it has to be directed towards something else, like this: in accordance with the following comparison, perhaps the emotion may have a licit side; if it is for reward in the hereafter, or with the intention of being prayed for, or from the point of view of the effectiveness of service.

For example, at a time Aya Sophia Mosque is filled with eminent and blessed people, the virtuous and excellent, there are one or two idle youths and immoral loafers around the entrance and porch, while by the windows and in front of them are a few Europeans watching for amusement. A man enters the mosque and joins the congregation, then recites a passage from the Qur’an beautifully in a fine voice; the gazes of thousands of the people of truth are turned on him, and they gain reward for him through their regard and prayers. Only, this does not please the idle youths and heretic loafers and the one or two Europeans. If when the man had entered the blessed mosque and joined the huge congregation, he had shouted out disgraceful, rude, indecent songs, and danced and jumped around, then it would have made the idle youths laugh, have pleased the dissolute loafers since it encouraged immorality, and made the Europeans smile mockingly, who receive pleasure at seeing any faults in Islam. But it would have attracted looks of disgust and contempt from the vast and blessed congregation; he would have appeared in their view to have fallen to the very lowest of the low.

Exactly like this example, the World of Islam and Asia is a huge mosque, and the people of belief and truth within it are the respected congregation in the mosque. The idle youths are the sycophants with the minds of children. The dissolute loafers are those villains who follow Europe and have no nation or religion. While the European spectators are the journalists who spread the ideas of the Europeans. All Muslims, and especially the virtuous and perfected ones, have a place in the mosque according to their degree; they are seen and attention is turned towards them. If they perform actions and works proceeding from the injunctions and sacred truths the All-Wise Qur’an teaches, in regard to the sincerity and Divine pleasure which are a fundamental of Islam, and if their tongues of disposition recite Qur’anic verses, they will then be included in the prayer: O Allah, grant forgiveness to all believing men and to all believing women, which is constantly uttered by all individuals in the World of Islam, and will have a share of it, and they will become connected to them all in brotherly fashion. Only, its value will not be apparent to some of the people of misguidance who are like harmful beasts and to some idiots who are like bearded children. If the man disowns all his forefathers, the source of honour, and all the past, the cause of pride, and abandons in the spirit the luminous highway of his righteous predecessors, which they considered to be their point of support, and performs actions following his own whims and passions, hypocritically, seeking fame, and following innovations, he will fall to the very lowest position in the view of all the people of truth and belief. In accordance with: “Beware the insight of the believer, for he sees with the light of Allah,”² however common and ignorant a believer is, even if his mind does not realize it, his heart looks coldly and in disgust on such boastful, selfish men.

And so, the man carried away by love of position and rank and obsessed by the desire for fame-the second man, descends to the very lowest of the low in the view of that numberless congregation. And he gains a temporary and inauspicious position in the view of a number of insignificant, mocking, raving loafers. In accordance with the verse,

Friends on that Day will be foes, one to another-except the righteous,³

he will find a few false friends who will be harmful in this world, torment in the Intermediate Realm, and enemies in the hereafter.

As for the first man, even if he does not expunge from his heart the desire for position, on condition he takes sincerity and Divine pleasure as basic and does not make rank and position his goal, he will attain a sort of spiritual rank, and a glorious one at that, which will perfectly satisfy his desire for rank. This man will lose something insignificant, very insignificant, and find in place of it many, very many, valuable and harmless things. Indeed, he will chase away a few snakes, and find numerous blessed creatures in their place; he will become familiar with them. Or he will ward off stinging wild hornets, and draw to himself blessed bees, the sherbert-sellers of mercy. He will eat honey at their hand, and find such friends that from all parts of the Islamic world his spirit will be given effulgences like the water of Kawthar to imbibe through their prayers, which will pass to his book of good deeds.

At one time, when through perpetrating a great wrong due to the desire for fame, a little man who was occupying a high worldly position became a laughing-stock in the eyes of the World of Islam, I spoke to him teaching him the meaning of the above comparison; I hit him over the head with it. He was well-shaken, but because I had not been able to save myself from the desire for rank and position, my warning did not arouse him.

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1. Those unfortunates suppose themselves to be in no danger through thinking: "Our hearts are together with Ustad." But someone who strengthens the atheists' current and is carried away by their propaganda, offering the possibility of perhaps unknowingly being used in spying activities, saying: "My heart is pure, and loyal to Ustad's way" resembles the following example: While performing the obligatory prayers, someone cannot hold his wind and expels it; and his prayer is invalidated. When he is told that his prayers are invalid, he replies: "Why should they be? My heart is pure."

2. Tirmidhi, Tafsiru Sura 156; Abu Na'im, Hilyat al-Awliya' iv, 94; al-Haythami, Majma' al-Zawa'id x, 268; al-'Ajluni, Kashf al-Khafa' i, 42.

3. Qur'an, 43:67.

SECOND STRATAGEM

One of the most important and fundamental emotions in man is the sense of fear. Scheming oppressors profit greatly from the vein of fear. They restrain the pusillanimous with it. The agents of the worldly and propagandists of the people of misguidance take advantage of this vein of the common people and of the religious scholars in particular. They frighten them and excite their groundless fears. For example, in order to throw someone on a roof into danger, a scheming man shows the fearful one something which he supposes is harmful; he excites his fear and draws him gradually towards the edge of the roof; then he makes him fall and break his neck. In exactly the same way, they make people sacrifice most important things through most unimportant fears. Thinking, Don’t let this mosquito bite me, they flee into the dragon’s mouth.

One time, an eminent person -May Allah have mercy on him- was frightened of climbing into a rowing-boat. One evening, we walked together in Istanbul to the Bridge. We had to board a boat; there was no carriage, and we had to go to Eyüp Sultan. I insisted. He said: “I’m frightened. Perhaps it will sink!” I said to him: “How many boats do you reckon there are, here on the Golden Horn?” He replied: “Perhaps a thousand.” So I asked him: “How many boats sink in a year?” He said: “One or two. Perhaps none at all.” I asked him: “How many days are there in a year?” “Three hundred and sixty,” he replied. Then I said to him: “The possibility of sinking, which arouses groundless fears in you and makes you anxious, is one in three hundred and sixty thousand. Someone who is frightened at such a possibility is not a human being, he could not even be an animal!” Then I asked him: “How long do you reckon you will live?” He replied: “I am old; perhaps I shall live another ten years.” So I said to him: “Because the appointed hour of death is secret, every day there is the possibility of dying. In which case, you might die on any day of the three thousand six hundred. You see, it is not a possility of one in three hundred thousand like the boat; rather one in three thousand, that you might die today; so tremble and weep, and write your will!” He came to his senses, and I got him trembling to board the boat. When on board, I said to him: “Almighty Allah gave the sense of fear to preserve life, not to destroy it! He did not give life to make it burdensome, difficult, painful, and torment. If fear is due to a possibility of one in two, three, or four, or even one in five or six, it is a precautionary fear and may be licit. But to have fear at a possibility of one in twenty, thirty, or forty, is a groundless fear, and makes life torture!”

And so, my brothers, if those who toady to the atheists attack you by frightening you into giving up your sacred ‘jihad of the word,’ say to them: “We are the party of the Qur’an. According to the verse,

We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it,¹

we are in the citadel of the Qur’an. The verse,

For us Allah suffices, and He is the Best Disposer of Affairs²

is a firm bastion surrounding us. Through fear at the possibility of one in thousands of some minor harm coming to our fleeting transient lives here, you cannot drive us through our own wills down a way which with a hundred per cent possibility will cause thousandfold harm to our eternal lives!” And say too: “Is there anyone who has suffered harm due to Said Nursi, our friend in the service of the Qur’an and Master and foreman in running this sacred service, or from the people of truth like us who are his companions on the way of truth? Is there anyone who has suffered any trouble due to his close students, so that we might suffer it too? So should we be anxious at the possibility of suffering it? This brother of ours has thousands of friends and brothers of the hereafter. Although for twenty to thirty years he played an effective role in the social life of this world, we have not heard of a single of his brothers suffering harm due to him. Especially at that time, he was carrying the club of politics. Now in place of that club, he has the light of reality. For sure, long ago they mixed him up in the Thirty-First of March Incident and they crushed some of his friends, but it later became evident that the affair had erupted due to others. His friends suffered misfortune, not because of him, but because of his enemies. Moreover, at that time, he saved very many of his friends. So satans like you shouldn’t get it into their minds to make us throw away an eternal treasury through fear of a danger the possibility of which is one in not a thousand but thousands.” You should say that, hit those toadies of the people of misguidance in the mouth, and drive them away! And tell them this:

“And if the possibility of death is not one in hundreds of thousands but a hundred per cent probability, if we have a jot of sense, we will not be frightened and leave him and flee!” Because it has been seen through repeated experiences, and it is seen, that the calamity which is visited on those who betray their elder brother or their Master in times of danger, strikes them first. And they are punished mercilessly and they are looked down upon contemptuously. Both physically dead, and their spirits abased, they are dead in meaning. Those who torment them feel no pity for them, for they say: “Since they betrayed their Master who was loyal and kind to them, they must be completely despicable, and worthy not of pity but contempt.”

Yes, the reality is this. Also, if a tyrannical, unscrupulous man throws someone to the ground and stands over him certain to crush his head with his foot, and the man on the ground kisses that savage oppressor’s foot, through his abasement, his heart will be crushed before his head, and his spirit will die before his body. He will lose his head, and his self-respect and pride will be destroyed. By displaying weakness before that savage tryrant without conscience, he emboldens him to crush him. But if the oppressed man under his foot spits in the tyrant’s face, he will save his heart and his spirit, and his body will be a wronged martyr. Yes, spit in the shameless faces of the oppressors!

One time when the British had destroyed the guns on the Bosphorus and occupied Istanbul, the head clergyman of the Anglican Church, the main religious establishment of that country, asked six questions of the Shaykh al-Islam’s Office. I was a member of the Darü’l-Hikmeti’l-Islamiye at the time. They asked me to answer them, saying that they wanted a six-hundred-word reply to their six questions. But I said to them: “I shall answer them not with six hundred words, and not even with six words, or even a single word, but with a mouthful of spit! For you can see that government; the moment it set foot on our Bosphorus, its clergyman arrogantly asked us six questions. In the face of this, we should spit in his face. So spit in the pitiless faces of those tyrants!” And now I say:

My brothers! Since at a time a tyrannical government like the British had occupied us the protection of the Qur’an was enough for me, despite the danger of confronting them in this way through the tongue of the press being a hundred per cent, it is certainly a hundred times more sufficient for you in the face of the harm that comes to you at the hand of insignificant bullies, the possibility of which is only one in a hundred.

Furthermore, my brothers! Most of you have done your military service. Those that have not, have certainly heard this. And those who have not heard it, let them hear it from me: “Those who receive most wounds are those who abandon their trenches and run away. While those who receive fewest wounds are those who persevere in their trenches!”

The allusive meaning of the verse,

Say: “The death from which you flee will truly overtake you”³

shows that those who run away are more likely to meet death through their flight!

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1. Qur'an, 15:9.

2. Qur'an, 3:173.

3. Qur'an, 62:8.

FIFTH POINT

You ask, in that period between prophets, did the forefathers of the Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) belong to a religion and were they religious?

T h e A n s w e r : There are narrations stating that they were religious in accordance with the vestiges of the religion of Abraham (Upon whom be peace), which, under the veils of heedlessness and spiritual darkness, continued in certain special people. Certainly, the individuals who formed a luminous chain coming from Abraham (Upon whom be peace) and concluding in the Most Noble Messsenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) were not indifferent towards the light of the true religion and were not defeated by the darkness of unbelief. But in accordance with the verse,

Nor would We visit with Our wrath until We had sent a prophet [to give warning],¹

the people who live in the time between prophets are among those saved.

It has been stated unanimously that they are not punished for their mistakes in secondary matters. According to Imam Shafi‘i and Imam Ash‘ari, even if they are deniers and do not believe in the fundamentals of faith, they still are among those saved. For responsibility before Allah occurs through the sending of prophets, and when prophets are sent, responsibility is established through knowledge of their mission. Since heedlessness and the passage of time had obscured the religions of the former prophets, they could not provide the proof for the people of that time. If they obeyed the former religion, they will receive reward; if they did not, they will not be punished. For since it was hidden, it could not be a proof.

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1. Qur’an, 17:15.

NINTH ALLUSION

Here we shall describe briefly Nine out of the truly numerous fruits and benefits of the Sufi path.

The First is the unfolding and clarification, by means of Sufi paths which are on the straight way, of the truths of belief, which are the keys, sources, and springs of the eternal treasuries in everlasting happiness; it is their manifestation at the degree of ‘the vision of certainty.’

The Second: Through the Sufi path being a means of working the heart, the mainspring of the human machine, and causing the heart to stir into motion the other subtle faculties, it is to drive them to fulfil the purposes of their creation, and thus to making man into a true human being.

The Third: On the journey to the Intermediate Realm and the hereafter, it is to join one of the chains of the Sufi paths, and to be a companion in such a luminous caravan on the road to eternity, and to be saved from the desolation of loneliness, and to find familiarity with them in this world and in the Intermediate Realm; and relying on their consensus and accord in the face of the attacks of doubts and fears, and seeing each of their masters as a powerful support and proof, it is to repulse through them those doubts and instances of misguidance.

The Fourth is to understand by means of the pure Sufi way the knowledge of Allah to be found in belief in Allah, and the pleasure of love of Allah within the knowledge of Allah, and by so understanding, to be saved from the absolute desolation of this world and man’s absolute exile in the universe. We have proved in many of the Words that the happiness of both worlds, and pain-free pleasure, and familiarity without loneliness, and true pleasure, and untroubled happiness are all to be found in the reality of belief and Islam. As explained in the Second Word, belief bears the seed of a Tuba-tree of Paradise. It is through the training and nurturing of the Sufi path that the seed grows and develops.

The Fifth is to perceive through an awakening of the heart resulting from the Sufi path and remembrance of Allah, the subtle truths contained in the obligations of the Shari‘a, and to appreciate them. Then one obeys and performs his worship, not under compulsion, but with longing.

The Sixth is to rise to the station of reliance on Allah and rank of submission to Him and to gain His pleasure, which are the means to true pleasure, real solace, painfree pleasure, and familiarity without loneliness.

The Seventh is, through sincerity, the most important condition for travelling the Sufi way and its most important result, to be delivered from base qualities like the hidden associating of partners with Allah, hypocrisy, and artificiality. And it is to be saved by means of the purification of the soul, which is like the surgical operation of the Sufi path, from the dangers of the evil-commanding soul and the perils of egotism.

The Eighth : By means of the regard, sense of the Divine presence, and powerful intentions which are gained through the remembrance of Allah with the heart and reflective thought of the mind on the Sufi path, it is to transform customary actions into worship and make mundane dealings into actions for the hereafter. And through utilizing the capital of life, it is to make all its minutes into seeds which will produce the shoots of eternal happiness.

The Ninth is to work to be a perfect human being through journeying with the heart and striving with the spirit and spiritual progress; that is to say, to be a true believer and total Muslim; that is, to gain not superficial belief, but the reality of belief and the reality of Islam; that is, to be directly the slave of the Glorious Creator of the Universe, in the universe and in one respect as the universe’s representative, and to be His addressee, and His friend, and His beloved, and to be a mirror to Him; and through showing man to be on the best of patterns, it is to prove man’s superiority over the angels. It is to fly through the lofty stations with the wings of belief and actions of the Shari‘a, and to look on eternal happiness in this world, and even to enter that happiness.

Glory be unto You! We have no knowledge save that which You have taught us; indeed, You are All-Knowing, All-Wise!¹

O Allah! Grant blessings and peace to the Supreme Help in every age and the Sublime Spiritual Pole at all times, our master Muhammad, the magnificence of whose sainthood was manifested in his Ascension, as was the station of his being the beloved of Allah, and under the shadow of whose Ascension are included all sainthoods, and to all his Family and Companions. Amen. And all praise be to Allah, the Sustainer of All the Worlds.

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1. Qur’an, 2:32.

The Second Section,
which is the Second Treatise

On the Month of Ramadan

[There having been a brief discussion of ‘the marks of Islam’ at the end of the First Section, the most brilliant and splendid of the marks, Ramadan the Noble, is discussed in this Second Section. This Section consists of Nine Points, which explain nine of the numerous instances of wisdom in the month of Ramadan.]

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

It was the month of Ramadan in which the Qur’an was bestowed from on high as a guidance unto man and a self-evident proof of that guidance, and as the standard to discern true from false.¹

FIRST POINT

The fast of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, and it is one of the greatest of the marks and observances of Islam.

There are many purposes and instances of wisdom in the fast of Ramadan which look to both Allah Almighty’s dominicality, and to man’s social life, his personal life and the training of his instinctual soul, and to his gratitude for Divine bounties. One of the many instances of wisdom in fasting from the point of view of Allah Almighty’s dominicality is as follows:

Allah Almighty created the face of the earth in the form of a table laden with bounties, and arranged on the table every sort of bounty in a form of From whence he does not expect,² in this way stating the perfection of His dominicality and His mercifulness and compassionateness. Human beings are unable to discern clearly the reality of this situation while in the sphere of causes, under the veil of heedlessness, and they sometimes forget it. However, during the month of Ramadan, the people of belief suddenly become like a well drawn-up army. As sunset approaches, they display a worshipful attitude as though, having been invited to the Pre-Eternal Monarch’s banquet, they are awaiting the command of “Fall to and help yourselves!” They are responding to that compassionate, illustrious, and universal mercy with comprehensive, exalted, and orderly worship. Do you think those who do not participate in such elevated worship and noble bounties are worthy to be called human beings?

SECOND POINT

One of the many instances of wisdom in the fast of the blessed month of Ramadan with respect to thankfulness for Allah Almighty’s bounties is as follows:

As is stated in the First Word, a price is required for the foods a tray-bearer brings from a royal kitchen. But, to give a tip to the tray-bearer, and to suppose those priceless bounties to be valueless and not to recognize the one who bestowed them would be the greatest foolishness.

Allah Almighty has spread innumerable sorts of bounties over the face of the earth for mankind, in return for which He wishes thanks, as the price of those bounties. The apparent causes and possessors of the bounties are like tray-bearers. We pay a certain price to them and are indebted to them, and even though they do not merit it, are over-respectful and grateful to them. Whereas the True Bestower of Bounties is infinitely more deserving of thanks than those causes which are merely the means for the bounty. To thank Him, then, is to recognize that the bounties come directly from Him; it is to appreciate their worth and to perceive one’s own need for them.

Fasting in Ramadan, then, is the key to a true, sincere, extensive, and universal thankfulness. For at other times of the year, most of those who are not in difficult circumstances do not realize the value of many bounties since they do not experience real hunger. Those whose stomachs are full and especially if they are rich, do not understand the degree of bounty there is in a piece of dry bread. But when it is time to break the fast, the sense of taste testifies that the dry bread is a most valuable Divine bounty in the eyes of a believer. During Ramadan, everyone from the monarch to the destitute, manifests a sort of gratitude through understanding the value of those bounties.

Furthermore, since eating is prohibited during the day, they will say: “Those bounties do not belong to me. I am not free to eat them, for they are another’s property and gift. I await his command.” They will recognize the bounty to be bounty and so will be giving thanks. Thus, fasting in this way is in many respects like a key to gratitude; gratitude being man’s fundamental duty.

THIRD POINT

One of the many instances of wisdom in fasting from the point of view of man’s social life is as follows:

Human beings have been created differently with regard to their livelihoods. As a consequence of the difference, Allah Almighty invites the rich to assist the poor, so that through the hunger experienced in fasting, the rich can truly understand the pains and hunger which the poor suffer. If there was no fasting, there would be many self-indulgent rich unable to perceive just how grievous is hunger and poverty and how needy of compassion are those who suffer them.

Compassion for one’s fellow men is an essential of true thankfulness. Whoever a person is, there will always be someone poorer than himself in some respect. He is enjoined to be compassionate towards that person. If he was not himself compelled to suffer hunger, he would be unable give the person-by means of compassion-the help and assistance which he is obliged to offer. And even if he was able, it would be deficient, for he would not have truly experienced the state of hunger himself.

FOURTH POINT

One instance of wisdom in fasting in Ramadan with respect to training the instinctual soul is as follows:

The instinctual soul wants to be free and independent, and considers itself to be thus. According to the dictates of its nature, it even desires an imaginary dominicality and to act as it pleases. It does not want to admit that it is being sustained and trained through innumerable bounties. Especially if it possesses wealth and power in this world, and if heedlessness also encourages it, it will devour Allah’s bounties like a usurping, thieving animal.

Thus, in the month of Ramadan, the instinctual soul of everyone, from the richest to the poorest, may understand that it does not own itself, but is totally owned; that it is not free, but is a slave. It understands that if it receives no command, it is unable to do the simplest and easiest thing, it cannot even stretch out its hand towards water. Its imaginary dominicality is therefore shattered; it performs its worship and begins to offer thanks, its true duty.

FIFTH POINT

One of the many instances of wisdom in fasting in Ramadan from the point of view of improving the conduct of the instinctual soul and giving up its rebellious habits is as follows:

The human soul forgets itself through heedlessness. It cannot see the utter powerlessness, want, and deficiency within itself and it does not wish to see them. And it does not think of just how weak it is, and how subject to transience and to disasters, nor of the fact that it consists merely of flesh and bones, which quickly decline and are dispersed.

Simply, it assaults the world as though it possessed a body made of steel and imagined itself to be undying and eternal. It hurls itself onto the world with intense greed and voracity and passionate attachment and love. It is captivated by anything that gives its pleasure or that benefits it. Moreover, it forgets its Creator Who sustains it with perfect compassion, and it does not think of the results of its life and its life in the hereafter. Indeed, it wallows in dissipation and misconduct.

However, fasting in the month of Ramadan awakens even the most heedless and obstinate to their weakness, impotence, and want. By means of hunger, they think of their stomachs; they understand the need therein. They realize how unsound are their weak bodies, and perceive how needy they are for kindness and compassion. So they abandon the soul’s pharaoh-like despotism, and through recognizing their utter impotence and want, perceive a desire to take refuge at the Divine Court. And they prepare themselves to knock at the door of mercy with the hands of thankfulness. So long as heedlessness has not destroyed their hearts, that is.

SIXTH POINT

One of the many instances of wisdom in fasting in Ramadan from the point of view of the revelation of the All-Wise Qur’an, and with respect to the fact that the month of Ramadan was the most important time in its revelation, is as follows:

Since the All-Wise Qur’an was revealed in the month of Ramadan, to shun the lower demands of the soul and trivialities and to resemble the angelic state by abstaining from food and drink in order to greet that heavenly address in the best manner, is to áttain to a holy state. And to read and listen to the Qur’an as though it was just revealed, to listen to the Divine address in it as if it was being revealed that very instant, to listen to that address as though hearing it from Allah’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), indeed, from the Angel Gabriel, or from the Pre-Eternal Speaker Himself, is to attain to that same holy state. To act in this way is to act as an interpreter and to cause others to listen to it and in some degree to demonstrate the wisdom in the Qur’an’s revelation.

Indeed, it is as if the world of Islam becomes a mosque during the month of Ramadan. In every corner of that mighty mosque millions of those who know the whole Qur’an by heart cause the dwellers on the earth to hear the heavenly address. Each Ramadan displays the verse It was the month of Ramadan in which the Qur’an was bestowed from on high in luminous shining manner. It proves that Ramadan is the month of the Qur’an. Some of the members of the vast congregation listen to the reciters with reverence, while others read it themselves.

Following the appetites of the base instinctual soul while in a sacred mosque that is such, and quitting that luminous condition through eating and drinking, is truly loathsome and makes such a person the target of the aversion and disgust of the congregation in the mosque. In the same way, people who oppose those who fast during Ramadan are to the same extent the target of the aversion and disgust of the whole world of Islam.

SEVENTH POINT

One of the many instances of wisdom in the fast of Ramadan with respect to mankind’s gain and profit, who comes to this world in order to cultivate and trade for the hereafter, is as follows:

The reward for actions in the month of Ramadan is a thousandfold. According to Hadith, each word of the All-Wise Qur’an has ten merits; each is counted as ten merits and will yield ten fruits in Paradise. While during Ramadan, each word bears not ten fruits but a thousand, and verses like Ayat al-Kursi³ thousands for each word, and on Fridays in Ramadan it is even more. And on the Night of Power, each word is counted as thirty thousand merits.

Indeed, the All-Wise Qur’an, each of whose words yield thirty thousand eternal fruits, is like a luminous Tree of Tuba that gains for believers in Ramadan millions of those eternal fruits. So, come and look at this sacred, eternal profitable trade, then consider it and understand the infinite loss of those who do not appreciate the value of those words.

To put it simply, the month of Ramadan is an extremely profitable display and market for the trade of the hereafter. It is an extremely fertile piece of land for the crops of the hereafter. For the growth and flourishing of actions it is like April showers in the spring. It is like a brilliant holy festival for the parade of mankind’s worship in the face of the sovereignty of Divine dominicality. Since it is thus, mankind has been charged with fasting in order not to heedlessly indulge the animal needs of the instinctual soul like eating and drinking, nor to indulge the appetites lustfully and in trivialities. For, by temporarily rising above animality and quitting the calls of this world, man approaches the angelic state and enters upon the trade of the hereafter. And by fasting, he approaches the state of the hereafter and that of a spirit appearing in bodily form. It is as if man then becomes a sort of mirror reflecting the Eternally Besought One. Indeed, the month of Ramadan comprises and gains a permanent and eternal life in this fleeting world and brief transient life.

Certainly, a single Ramadan can produce fruits equal to that of a lifetime of eighty years. The fact that, according to the Qur'an, the Night of Power is more auspicious than a thousand months is a decisive proof of this.

For example, a monarch may declare certain days to be festivals during his reign, or perhaps once a year. Either on his accession to the throne or on some other days which reflect a glittering manifestation of his sovereignty. On those days, he favours his subjects, not within the general sphere of the law, but with his special bounties and favours, with his presence without veil and his wondrous activities. And he favours with his especial regard and attention those of his nation who are completely loyal and worthy .

In the same way, the All-Glorious Monarch of eighteen thousand worlds, Who is the Sovereign of Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity, revealed in Ramadan the illustrious decree of the All-Wise Qur'an, which looks to the eighteen thousand worlds. It is a requirement of wisdom, then, that Ramadan should be like special Divine festival, a dominical display, and a spiritual gathering. Since Ramadan is such festival, Allah has commanded man to fast, in order to disengage him to a degree from base and animal activities.

The most excellent fasting is to make the human senses and organs, like the eyes, ears, heart, and thoughts, fast together with the stomach. That is, to withdraw them from all unlawful things and from trivia, and to urge each of them to their particular worship.

For example, to ban the tongue from lying, back-biting, and obscene language and to make it fast. And to busy it with activities like reciting the Qur'an, praying, glorifying Allah's Names, asking for Allah's blessings on the Prophet Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace), and seeking forgiveness for sins. And for example, to prevent the eyes looking at members of the opposite sex outside the stipulated degrees of kinship, and the ears from hearing harmful things, and to use the eyes to take lessons and the ears to listen to the truth and to the Qur'an, is to make other organs fast too. As a matter of fact, since the stomach is the largest factory, if it has an enforced holiday from work through fasting, the other small workshops will be made to follow it easily.

EIGHTH POINT

One of the many instances of wisdom in Ramadan from the point of view of man’s personal life is as follows:

It is a healing physical and spiritual diet of the most important kind. When man’s instinctual soul eats and drinks just as it pleases, it is both harmful for man’s physical life from the medical point of view, and when it hurls itself on everything it encounters without considering whether it is licit or illicit, it quite simply poisons his spiritual life. Further, it is difficult for such a soul to obey the heart and the spirit. It wilfully takes the reins into its own hands, and then man cannot ride it, it rather rides man. But by means of fasting in Ramadan, it becomes accustomed to a sort of diet. It tries to discipline itself and learns to listen to commands.

Furthermore, it will not be attracting illness to that miserable, weak stomach by cramming it with food before the previous consignment has been digested. And by abandoning even licit actions as it is commanded, it will acquire the ability to listen to the commands of the Shari‘a and the reason, and so to avoid illicit actions. It will try not to destroy his spiritual life.

Moreover, the great majority of mankind frequently suffer from hunger. Man, therefore, needs hunger and discipline, which are training for patience and endurance. Fasting in Ramadan is patient endurance of a period of hunger that continues for fifteen hours, or for twenty-four if the pre-dawn meal is not eaten, and it is a discipline and a training. That is to say, fasting is also a cure for impatience and lack of endurance, which double man’s afflictions.

Futhermore, the factory of the stomach has many workers. And many of the human organs are connected to it. If the instinctual soul does not have a rest from activity during the day for a month, it makes the factory’s workers and those organs forget their particular duties. It makes them busy with itself so that they remain under its tyranny. Also, it confuses the rest of the organs in the human body with the clangour and steam of the factory’s machinery. It continuously attracts their attention to itself, making them temporarily forget their exalted duties. It is because of this that for centuries those closest to Allah have accustomed themselves to discipline and to eating and drinking little in order to be perfected.

However, through fasting in Ramadan the factory’s workers understand that they were not created for the factory only. While the rest of the organs, instead of delighting in the lowly amusements of the factory, take pleasure in angelic and spiritual amusements, and fix their gazes on them. It is for this reason that in Ramadan the believers experience enlightenment, fruitfulness, and spiritual joys which differ according to their degrees. Their subtle faculties, such as the heart, spirit, and intellect, make great progress and advancement in that blessed month by means of fasting. They laugh with innocent joy inspite of the stomach’s weeping.

NINTH POINT

One of the instances of wisdom in fasting in Ramadan with regard to shattering the instinctual soul’s imaginary dominicality and making known its worship through pointing out its impotence is as follows:

The instinctual soul does not want to recognize its Sustainer; it wants its own lordship, like Pharaoh. However much torment it suffers, that character remains in it. It is however destroyed through hunger. And so, fasting in Ramadan strikes direct blows at the soul’s pharaoh-like front, shattering it. It demonstrates its impotence, weakness, and want. It makes it realize that it is a slave.

Among the narrations of Hadith is the following: “Allah Almighty said to the instinctual soul: ‘What am I and what are you?’ The soul replied: ‘I am myself and You are Yourself.’ So He punished it and cast it into Hell, then asked it again. Again it replied: ‘I am myself and You are Yourself.’ However He punished it, it did not give up its egoism. Finally He punished it with hunger. That is, He left it hungry. Then again He asked it: ‘Who am I and who are you?’ And the soul replied: ‘You are my Compassionate Sustainer and I am your impotent slave.’”

O Allah! Grant blessings and peace to our master Muhammad, that will be pleasing to You and fulfilment of his truth to the number of the merits of the words of the Qur’an in the month of Ramadan, and to his Family and Companions, and grant them peace.

Limitless in His glory is your Sustainer, the Lord of Almightiness, [exalted] above anything that men may devise by way of definition! * And peace be upon all His message-bearers. * And all praise is due to Allah alone, the Sustainer of All the Worlds!⁴

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1. Qur’an, 2: 185.
2. Qur’an, 65:3.
3. Qur’an, 2:255.
4. Qur'an, 37:180-2.

APOLOGY: This Second Section was written at speed when both myself and the rough-copy scribe were ill; it is bound therefore to contain disorder and defects. We await from our brothers that they look on it with tolerance. They may correct it as they think fit.

YOUR FOURTH QUESTION

What is the purpose and aim of the saying,

Allah is with those who patiently persevere?

T h e A n s w e r : As required by His Name of All-Wise, Almighty Allah placed in all things an arrangement like the steps of stairs. An impatient man does not act with slow deliberation, and so either skips some of the steps and falls, or leaves some deficient; he cannot mount to the roof of his goal. Thus, greed is the cause of loss. Patience however is the key to all difficulties, and the saying, “The greedy is subject to disappointment and loss,” and the Hadith, “Patience is the key to happiness,”¹ have become like proverbs. That is to say, Almighty Allah’s grace and favour is with the patient. For patience is threefold:

The First is to patiently persevere in refraining from sin; this patience is taqwa, and manifests the meaning of the verse:

Allah is with those who fear Him and restrain themselves.²

The Second is patience in the face of calamity; this to place one’s trust in Allah and to submit to Him. It is to be honoured by the manifestation of these verses:

Allah loves the patient.³ * Allah loves those who put their trust in Him.⁴

As for impatience, it amounts to complaining about Allah, and to criticizing His actions, accusing His mercy, and not liking His wisdom. For sure, man is weak and powerless, and weeps complainingly at the blows of misfortune, but his complaint must be to Him, not about Him. It should be like the words of Jacob (Upon whom be peace):

He said: I only complain of my distraction and anguish to Allah.⁵

That is to say, he should complain to Allah, not lament saying: “What have I done that this should have happened to me?” as though complaining to other human beings about Allah; to excite the sympathy of impotent humans is harmful and meaningless.

The Third Sort of Patience is patient perseverance in worship, which raises a person to the station of being beloved of Allah. It urges a person towards perfect worship of Allah and servitude of Him, which is the most elevated station.
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1. al-Manawi, al-Fayd al-Kabir vi, 298 no: 9318; al-‘Ajluni, Kashf al-Khafa’ ii, 21.
2. Qur’an, 2:194, etc.
3. Qur’an, 3:146.
4. Qur’an, 3:159.
5. Qur’an, 12:86.

The First Addendum
to the Twenty-Fourth Letter

In His Name, be He glorified!

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

Say: No importance would your Sustainer attach to you were it not for your supplication.1

Listen now to Five Points concerning this verse.

FIRST POINT

Supplication is a mighty mystery of worship; indeed, it is like the spirit of worship. As we have mentioned in many places, supplication is of three kinds.

The First Sort of Supplication: This is the tongue of latent ability, through which all seeds and grains supplicate to the All-Wise Creator, saying: “Make us grow! Make our tiny truths sprout and transform us into the mighty reality of a tree, so that we may display the elaborate embroideries of Your Names!”

A further sort of supplication through the tongue of latent ability is this: the gathering together of causes is a supplication for the creation of the effect. That is to say, the causes acquire a position whereby they become like a tongue of disposition through which they supplicate for and request the effect from the All-Powerful One of Glory. For example, water, heat, earth, and light take up positions around a seed, and their positions form a tongue of supplication which says: “O Our Creator, make this seed into a tree!” For the tree, which is a wonderful miracle of power, cannot be attributed to those unconscious, lifeless, simple substances; it is impossible to attribute it to them. That means the coming together of causes is a sort of supplication.

The Second Sort of Supplication: This is through the tongue of innate need. It is a sort of supplication made by all living creatures to the All-Compassionate Creator to give them the things they need and desire, which are beyond their power and will, from unexpected places and at the appropriate time. For an All-Wise and Compassionate One sends them all these things at the right time, from places they do not know, beyond their power and will. Their hands cannot reach them. That is to say, the bestowal is the result of supplication.

In Short: All that rises to the Divine Court from the universe is a supplication. Those things that are causes seek the effects from Allah.

The Third Sort of Supplication: This is the supplication of conscious beings arising from need. It is of two kinds.

If it is made at a time of desperate need, or is completely conformable with innate need, or if it is close to the tongue of latent ability, or is made with the tongue of a pure, sincere heart, this supplication is virtually always acceptable. The greater part of human progress and most discoveries are the result of a sort of supplication. The things they call the wonders of civilization and the matters and discoveries they think are a source of pride are the result of what is in effect supplication. They were asked for with a sincere tongue of latent ability and so were given to them. So long as there is nothing preventing them and they are conformable with conditions, supplications made through the tongue of latent ability and the tongue of innate need are always acceptable.

The Second Kind: This is the well-known supplication and it too is of two kinds. One is by action and the other by word. For example, ploughing is a supplication by action. It is not seeking the sustenance from the earth, rather, the earth is a door to a treasury of mercy, and the plough knocks on the earth, the door to Divine Mercy.

We shall skip details of the remaining sorts, and explain in the following two or three Points one or two of the secrets of supplication by word.

SECOND POINT

The effect of supplication is great. Especially if the supplication gains universality and persists, it almost always has a result, indeed, its result is continuous. It may even be said that one of the reasons for the creation of the world was supplication. That is to say, after the creation of the universe, the supplications of chiefly mankind, and of them principally the Islamic world, and mainly the sublime supplications of Muhammad the Arabian (Upon whom be blessings and peace) were a cause of it being created. That is to say, the Creator of the World knew that in the future Muhammad (PBUH) would ask for eternal happiness and for a manifestation of the Divine Names in the name of mankind, indeed, on account of all beings, and He accepted that future supplicaton and created the universe.

Since supplication possesses this great importance and capacity, is it at all possible that the supplications offered all the time for one thousand three hundred and fifty years by three hundred million of mankind and by uncountable numbers of blessed beings from among men, jinn, angels, and spirit beings for the Person of Muhammad (PBUH), and for all-encompassing Divine Mercy, eternal happiness, and the accomplishment of their aims would not be accepted? Is it in any way possible that their supplications would be rejected?

Since these supplications have acquired universality, extensiveness, and continuousness to this extent and have reached the level of the tongues of latent ability and innate need, for sure, as a result of them, Muhammad the Arabian (PBUH) is at such a rank and degree that if all minds were to gather together and become one mind, it could not completely comprehend it.

And so, O Muslims! The intercessor you shall have on the Day of Resurrection is thus; in order to attract the intercession of this intercessor towards yourselves, follow his Practices!...

I f y o u s a y : Since he is Allah’s Beloved, what need does he have of all these blessings and supplications?

T h e A n s w e r : This Being (PBUH) is connected with the happiness of all his community and shares in every sort of the happiness of each member of it, and he is anxious at every sort of their tribulations. Although in regard to himself the degrees of happiness and perfection are endless, since he desires ardently the numberless kinds of happiness of the numberless members of his community for an unlimited time, and is saddened at the numberless kinds of their wretchedness, he is surely worthy and needy for endless blessings and supplications and mercy.

I f y o u s a y : Sometimes supplications are offered for matters that are definite. Like, for example, the supplications in the prayers offered at the time of lunar and solar eclipses. Also, sometimes supplications are made for things which will never come about?

T h e A n s w e r : As is explained in others of the Words, supplication is worship. Through supplication, the servant proclaims his own impotence and poverty. The apparent aims mark the times of the supplication and the supplicatory worship; they are not the true benefits. The benefits of worship look to the hereafter. If the worldly aims are not obtained, it may not be said: “The supplication was not accepted.” It should rather be said: “The time for the supplication has still not ended.”

Also, is it at all possible that eternal happiness, which all the believers have asked for at all times, continuously, with complete sincerity and yearning and entreaty, should not be given to them, and that the Absolutely Generous One, the Absolutely Compassionate One, Who according to the testimony of all the universe possesses boundless mercy, should not accept their supplications and that eternal happiness should not exist?

THIRD POINT

There are two ways in which voluntary supplication by word is acceptable. It is either accepted exactly as desired or what is better is granted.

For example, someone asks for a son, and Almighty Allah gives a daughter like Mary. It may not be said: “His supplication was not accepted,” but that “It was accepted in a better form.”

Also, sometimes a person makes supplication for his own happiness in this world, and it is accepted for the hereafter. It may not be said: “His supplication was rejected,” but that “It was accepted in a more beneficial form.” And likewise, since Almighty Allah is All-Wise, we seek from Him and He responds to us. But He deals with us according to His wisdom.

A sick person should not cast aspersions on the wisdom of his doctor. If he asks for honey and the expert doctor gives him quinine, he may not say: “The doctor did not listen to me.” Rather, the doctor listened to his sighs and moans; he heard them and responded to them. He provided better than what was asked for.

FOURTH POINT

The best, finest, sweetest, most immediate fruit and result of supplication is this, that the person who offers it knows there is someone who listens to his voice, sends a remedy for his ailment, takes pity on him, and whose hand of power reaches everything. He is not alone in this great hostel of the world; there is an All-Generous One Who looks after him and makes it friendly. Imagining himself in the presence of the One Who can bring about all his needs and repulse all his innumerable enemies, he feels a joy and relief; he casts off a load as heavy as the world, and exclaims: “All praise be to Allah, the Sustainer of All the Worlds!”

FIFTH POINT

Supplication is the spirit of worship and the result of sincere belief. For one who makes supplication shows through it that there is someone who rules the whole universe; One Who knows the most insignificant things about me, can bring about my most distant aims. Who sees every circumstance of mine, and hears my voice. In which case, He hears all the voices of all beings, so that He hears my voice too. He does all these things, and so I await my smallest matters from Him too. I ask Him for them.

Thus, look at the great breadth of sincere belief in Allah’s Unity which supplication gives and at the sweetness and purity of the light of belief that it shows. Understand the meaning of the verse,

Say, No importance would your Sustainer attach to you were it not for your supplication;²

listen to the decree of,

And your Sustainer says: Call on Me; I shall answer you.³

As the saying goes: “If I had not wanted to give, I would not have given wanting.”

Glory be unto You! We have no knowledge save that which You have taught us; indeed, You are All-Knowing, All Wise!⁴

O Allah, grant blessings to our master Muhammad from pre-eternity to post-eternity, to the number of things present in Divine knowledge, and to his Family and Companions, and preserve us and protect us from harm, and preserve our religion. Amen. And all praise be to Allah, the Sustainer of All the Worlds.
____________________

1. Qur’an, 25:77.
2. Qur’an, 25:77.
3. Qur’an, 40:60.
4. Qur’an, 2:32.

Eighth Matter

[This forms the footnote to the third example in the Third Point about the Fifth of the obstacles to making independent judgements of the Divine Law (ijtihad), in the Twenty-Seventh Word.]

A n I m p o r t a n t Q u e s t i o n : Some of those scholars who have researched into the realities have said that each of the words of the Qur’an and of supplications and other glorifications of Allah illuminate man’s spiritual faculties in numerous ways, providing spiritual sustenance. So if the meanings are not known, the words alone do not express them fully and are insufficient. The words are a garment; would it not be more useful if they were changed, and every people clothed the meanings in words of their own language?

T h e A n s w e r : The words of the Qur’an and of the glorifications of the Prophet are not lifeless garments; they are like the living skin of the body; indeed with the passage of time, they have become the skin. Garments are changed, but it would be harmful to the body if the skin were to be changed. Blessed words like those of the five daily prayers and the call to prayer have become the mark and sign of their usual meanings. And marks and signs cannot be changed. I have often observed and studied in myself a state which I experience. The state is a reality, and it is this:

On the Day of ‘Arafa, the eve of the Festival of Sacrifices, I used to recite Sura al-Ikhlas hundreds of times. I would observe that some of the non-physical senses in me would receive the sustenance several times, then would cease to do so, and stop. Others like the faculty of reflective thought would turn towards the meaning for a time, receive their share, then they too would stop. And some like the heart would receive their share in respect of certain concepts which were the means to a spiritual pleasure, then they too would fall silent. And so on. Gradually, with repetition only some of the subtle faculties would remain and become wearied only long after the others; they would continue, leaving no need for further meaning and study. Heedlessness was not detrimental to these, as it was to the faculty of thought. Enough for them were the usual meaning contained in the marks and signs, with the summary of the meaning which the words and the words full of meaning comprised. If the meaning had been thought of at that point, it would have caused harmful boredom. Anyway, those subtle faculties which continue are not in need of study and comprehension, they rather show need for recollection, regard, and encouragement. And the words which are like skin are sufficient for them and perform the duty of meaning. Especially with recalling through those Arabic words that they are the Word of Allah and Divine speech, they are means of constant effulgence.

Thus, this state which I myself experienced shows that it is extremely harmful to express in another language truths like the call to prayer and the tesbihat following the obligatory prayers, and Suras of the Qur’an like Fatiha and Ikhlas, which are repeated all the time. For when the constant spring of the Divine words and words of the Prophet are lost, the constant share of those constant subtle faculties is also lost. Also harmful are the loss of the minimum of ten merits for each word, and the heedlessness and the darkness caused to the spirit by the human terms of the translations due to the constant sense of the Divine presence not persisting for everyone throughout the prayers.

Indeed, like Imam-i A‘zam said that There is no god but Allah is the mark and sign of the affirmation of Divine Unity, we say the following: the great majority of the words of Divine glorification and praise, and especially of those of the call to prayer and obligatory prayers, have become like marks and signs. Like signs, they are considered more with their usual Shari‘i meaning, more than with their literal meaning. So according to the Shari‘a, it is not possible to change them. An uneducated man even may learn concise meanings of them, which all believers should know; that is, a summary of their meaning. How can those people who pass their whole lives with Islam yet fill their heads with endless trivia be excused for not learning in one or two weeks a summary of the meanings of these blessed words which are the key to eternal life? How can they be Muslims? How can they be called “reasonable people”? It is not reasonable to destroy the protective cases of those springs of light for the sake of the laziness of loafers like them!

Furthermore, from whatever nation he may be, one who says: “Subhanallah! Glory be to Allah!” understands that he is declaring Almighty Allah free of all defect. Is this not enough? If he is turned towards the meaning in his own language, he studies it once from the point of view of the intellect. Whereas if he repeats it a hundred times a day in its true form, apart from his intellect’s share of studying, the summary of the words, which is from the words and spreads to and combines with the words, is the means to many lights and much effulgence. Especially the sacredness he receives from the words being Divine speech, and the effulgence and lights proceeding from the sacredness, they are most important.

I n S h o r t : Nothing at all can be established in place of the sacred Divine words which are the protective cases of the essentials of religion, and nothing can take their place, and nothing can perform their duties. Even if they can express them temporarily, they cannot do so permanently and in sacred and elevated fashion.

However, as for the words that are the protective cases of the theoretical matters of religion, there is no necessity for them to be changed. For such a need is repulsed by preaching, teaching, advice, and other instruction.

T o C o n c l u d e : The comprehensiveness of the Arabic language, the language of grammar, and the miraculousness of the Qur’an’s words are such that they are untranslatable. I can even say it is impossible to translate them. If anyone doubts this, let him refer to the Twenty-Fifth Word. What they call translations are abbreviated and deficient approximations. How can such approximations be compared with the living, true meanings of the Qur’an’s verses, which have many aspects of ramification?

Fourth Topic

[NOTE: The Ten Matters of this Fourth Topic are not connected with each other in the same way that the Four Topics of this Twenty-Sixth Letter are not connected. In which case, no connection should be sought. In whatever way it occurred to me, that was how it was written. It is part of a letter to an important student of mine, consisting of the answers to five or six of his questions.]

To continue reading, please click on the links given below;

First: It mentions the wisdom behind the phrase “eighteen thousand realms”.

Second Matter: Muhyiddin Arabi states the following in his letter to Fakhruddin Razi: “To know Allah is different to knowing that He exists.” What does it mean?

Third Matter: In what way is the verse, “We have honored the sons of Adam”(al-Isra: 70)  conformable with the verse, “He was indeed unjust and foolish”(al-Ahzab: 72)?

Fourth Matter: What is the wisdom behind the hadith: “Renew your belief by means of ‘La ilaha illallah (There is no god but Allah)’”? How is belief renewed?

Fifth Matter: Can a person who says “La ilaha illallah (There is no god but Allah)” but does not say “Muhammadun Rasulullah (Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah)” find salvation?

Sixth Matter: The explanation of “Dispute with Satan” in the First Topic.

Seventh Matter: It was written in order to eliminate the fears of those who stopped serving Islam temporarily due to various reasons and who received divine blows and in order to give them moral support.

Eighth Matter: Is the translation of the Quran and sentences of dhikr possible?

Ninth Matter: “Can there be a way of sainthood apart from Ahl as-Sunnah?”

Tenth Matter: A principle related to those who want to visit Badiuzzaman Said Nursi.

SIXTH SIGN

The Mahdi's luminous community will repair the destruction of the innovative regime of the secret society of the Sufyan, and will restore the Prophet's glorious Sunna. That is to say, the secret society of the Sufyan will try to destry the Shari'a of Muhammad (PBUH) in the World of Islam with the intention of denying his Prophethood, and will be killed and routed by the miraculous immaterial sword of the Mahdi's community.

Moreover, in the world of humanity, the secret society of the Dajjal will overturn civilization and subvert all mankind's sacred matters, with the intention of denying the Godhead. A zealous and self-sacrificing community known as a Christian community but worhy of being called "Muslim Christians," will the reality of Islam, and will kill and rout that society of the Dajjal, thus saving humanity from atheism.

This important mystery is very lengthy. Since we have discussed it briefly in other places, here we make do with this indication.

The Twenty-Seventh Letter

[This Letter consists of fine and beautiful letters, which are pure reality, written by the author of the Risale-i Nur to his students, as well as some written by the Risale-i Nur students to their Master, and to each other, describing the blessings and effulgence they had received from studying the Risale-i Nur. This rich letter has not been included here since is three or four times the size of the present collection, but published separately under the titles of Barla Lahikasi, Kastamonu Lahikasi, and Emirdag Lahikasi.]

First Topic

In His Name, be He Glorified!

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

And if a suggestion from Satan assails your mind, seek refuge with Allah; for He is All-Hearing and All-Knowing.¹

A Proof of the Qur’an Against Satan and His Party

This First Topic defeats in argument the Devil, silences the rebellious, and strikes them dumb by refuting in the most clear manner a fearsome and cunning stratagem of the Devil, which is to be ‘unbiased.’ It concerns an event part of which I described in summary form ten years ago in my work entitled Lemeât. It is as follows:

Eleven years before this treatise was written in the month of Ramadan, I was listening to the Qur’an being recited in Bayezid Mosque in Istanbul. Suddenly, although I could see no one, I seemed to hear an unearthly voice which captured all my attention. I listened with my imagination, and realized that it was saying to me:

“You consider the Qur’an to be extremely elevated and brilliant. Be unbiased for a minute and consider it again. That is, suppose it to be man’s word. I wonder whether you would still see the same qualities and beauty in it?”

In truth, I was deceived by the voice; I thought of the Qur’an as being written by man. Just as Bayezid Mosque is plunged into darkness when the electric switch is turned off, I observed that with that thought the brilliant lights of the Qur’an began to be extinguished. At that point I understood that it was the Devil who was speaking to me; he was drawing me towards the abyss.

I sought help from the Qur’an and a light was at once imparted to my heart giving me firm strength for the defence. I began to argue back at the Devil, saying:

“O Satan! Unbiased thinking is to take a position between two sides. Whereas what both you and your disciples from among men call unbiased thinking is to take the part of the opposing side; it is not impartiality, it is temporary unbelief. Because, to consider the Qur’an to be man’s word and to judge it as such is to take the part of the opposing side; it is to favour something baseless and invalid. It is not being unbiased, it is being biased towards falsehood.”

The Devil replied: “Well, in that case, say it is neither Allah’s Word nor man’s word. Think of it as between the two.” To which I rejoined:

“That is not possible either. For if there is a disputed property for which there are two claimants, and the claimants are close both to one another and to the property, the property will then either be given to someone other than them, or will be put somewhere accessible so that whoever proves ownership can take it. If the two claimants are far apart with one in the East and one in the West, then according to the rule, it will remain with the one who has possession of it, as it is not possible for it to be left somewhere between them.

“Thus, the Qur’an is a valuable property, and however distant man’s word is from Allah’s, the two sides in question are that far apart; indeed, they are infinitely far from one another. It is not possible for the Qur’an to be left between the two sides, which are as far apart as the Pleiades and the ground. For they are opposites like existence and non-existence or the two magnetic poles; there can be no point between them. In which case, for the Qur’an, the one who possesses it is Allah’s side. It will be accepted as being in His possession, and the proofs of ownership will be regarded in that way. Should the opposing side refute all the arguments proving it to be Allah’s Word, it may claim ownership of it, otherwise it may not. God forbid! What hand can pull out the nails fastening that vast jewel to the Sublime Throne of Allah, riveted as it is with thousands of certain proofs, and break its supporting pillars, causing it to fall?”

“And so, inspite of you, O Satan!, the just and the fair-minded reason in this equitable and rightful manner. They increase their belief in the Qur’an through even the slightest evidences. While according to the way shown by you and your disciples, if just once it is supposed to be man’s word and that mighty jewel fastened to the Divine Throne is cast to the ground, a proof with the strength of all the nails and the firmness of many proofs becomes necessary in order to raise it from the ground and fasten it once more to the Throne, and so be saved from the darkness of unbelief and reach the lights of belief. But because it is extremely difficult to do this, due to your wiles, many people are losing their faith at this time by imagining themselves to be making unbiased judgements.”

The Devil turned and said: “The Qur’an resembles man’s word. It is similar to the way men converse. That means it is man’s word. If it was Allah’s Word, it would be appropriate to Him and would be altogether out of the ordinary. Just as His art does not resemble man’s art, so should His Word not resemble man’s word.” I replied:

“It may be understood as follows: apart from his miracles and special attributes, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was a human being in all his actions, conduct, and behaviour. He submitted to and complied with the Divine laws and commands manifested in creation. He too suffered from the cold, experienced pain, and so on. So that he could be the leader of his community through his actions, its guide through his conduct, and instruct it through all his behaviour, his deeds and attributes were not all made out of the ordinary. If he had been out of the ordinary in all his conduct, he could not himself have been the leader in every respect, the total guide of everyone, the ‘Mercy to All the Worlds’ through all his attributes.

“In just the same way, the All-Wise Qur’an is the leader to the aware and the conscious, the guide of jinn and men, the teacher of those attaining to perfection, and instructor of those seeking reality. It is of necessity and of a certainty, therefore, in the same form as man’s conversation and style. For men and jinn take their supplications from it and learn their prayers from it; they express their concerns in its language, and learn from it the rules of social behaviour, and so on. Everyone has recourse to it. If, therefore, it had been in the form of the Divine speech which the Prophet Moses (Peace be upon him) heard on Mount Sinai, man could not have borne listening to it and hearing it, nor made it the point of reference and recourse. Moses (Peace be upon him), one of the five greatest prophets, could only endure to hear a few words. He said:

“‘Is Your speech thus?’ Allah replied: ‘I have the power of all tongues.’”²

Next, the Devil said: “Many people speak of matters similar to those in the Qur’an in the name of religion. Is it not possible, therefore, that a human being did such a thing and made up the Qur’an in the name of religion?”

Through the light of the Qur’an I replied as follows:

“F i r s t l y : Out of love of religion, someone who is religious may say, ‘The truth is thus, the reality of the matter is this. Almighty Allah commands that.’ But he would not make Allah speak to suit himself. Trembling at the verse,

Who, then does more wrong than one who utters a lie concerning Allah?,³

he would not overstep his mark to an infinite degree, imitate Allah, and speak on His behalf.

“S e c o n d l y : It is in no way possible for a human being to be successful in doing such a thing on his own, in fact, it is completely impossible. Individuals who resemble one another may imitate one another, those of the same kind may take on one another’s forms, those who are close to one another in rank or status may imitate one another and temporarily deceive people, but they cannot do so for ever. For in any event, the falseness and artificiality in their behaviour will show up their imposture to the observant, and their deception will not last. If the one who is attempting to imitate another under false pretences is quite unlike them, for example, if an uneducated man wants to imitate in learning a genius like Ibn Sina, or a shepherd assume the position of a king, of course they will not deceive anyone at all, they will only make fools of themselves. Everything they do will proclaim, ‘This is an impostor.’

“Thus, to suppose -God forbid!, a hundred thousand times- the Qur’an to be man’s word is utterly impossible, no rational being can accept it as possible, to do so is a delirium like imagining to be possible something that is self-evidently impossible like a fire-fly being seen by astronomers as a real star for a thousand years; or a fly appearing to observers in the true form of a peacock for a year; or a bogus common private posing as a famous lofty field marshal, taking over his position and remaining in it for a long period without giving away his deception; or like a slandering, unbelieving liar affecting the manner and position of the most truthful, trustworthy, upright believer throughout his life and being completely unruffled before even the most observant while concealing his fraud from them.

“In just the same way, if the Qur’an is supposed to be man’s word, then it has to be supposed, God forbid, that that Perspicuous Book, which is considered to be clearly a most brilliant star, rather, a sun of perfections perpetually scattering the lights of truth in the heavens of the world of Islam, is like a fire-fly, a spurious sham made up by a counterfeiting human. And those who are closest to it and study it most carefully do not realize this, and consider it to be a perpetual, exalted star and source of truth. Together with this being impossible a hundred times over, even if you went a hundred times further in your diabolical machinations, O Satan, you could not make such an assertion, you could not deceive anyone of sound reason! Only sometimes you trick people by making them look from a great distance, thus making the star appear as small as a fire-fly.

“T h i r d l y : Also, if the Qur’an is imagined to be man’s word, it necessitates that the hidden reality of a criterion of truth and falsehood, which is miraculous in its exposition, and through the testimony of its fruits, results, and effects, is gilded with the most spiritual and life-giving, the most truthful and happiness-bringing, the most comprehensive and exalted qualities in the world of mankind, is, God forbid, the fabrication of a single unaided and unlearned man’s mind. And that the great geniuses and brilliant scholars who observed that being closely and studied him meticulously at no time saw any trace of counterfeit or pretence in him and always found him serious, genuine, and sincere.

“This is completely impossible, an idea so nonsensical as to shame the Devil himself, like dreaming up an utterly impossible situation. For it entails supposing one who throughout his life demonstrated and taught trust, belief, confidence, sincerity, seriousness, and integrity through all his conduct, words, and actions, and raised eminently truthful and sincere followers, and was accepted to possess the highest and most brilliant and elevated virtues to be the most untrustworthy, insincere, and unbelieving. Because in this question there is no point between the two.

“If, to suppose the impossible, the Qur’an was not the Word of Allah, it would fall as though from the Divine Throne to the ground, it would not remain somewhere between. While being the meeting-point of truths, it would become the source of superstition and myth. And if, God forbid, the one who proclaimed that wonderful decree was not Allah’s Messenger, it would necessitate his descending from the highest of the high to the lowest of the low, and from the degree of being the source of accomplishments and perfections to the level of being a mine of trickery and intrigue; he could not remain between the two. For one who lies and fabricates in Allah’s name falls to the very lowest of degrees.

“However impossible it is to permanently see a fly as a peacock, and to all the time see the peacocks’s attributes in the fly, this matter is that impossible. Only someone lacking all intelligence could imagine it to be possible.

“F o u r t h l y : Also, if the Qur’an is imagined to be man’s word, it necessitates fancying that the Qur’an, which is a sacred commander of the community of Muhammad, mankind’s largest and most powerful army, is -God forbid- a powerless, valueless, baseless forgery. Whereas, self-evidently, through its powerful laws, sound principles, and penetrating commands, it has equipped that huge army both materially, and morally and spiritually, has given it an order and regularity and imposed a discipline on it that are such as to conquer both this world and the next, and has instructed the minds, trained the hearts, conquered the spirits, purified the consciences, and employed and utilized the limbs and members of individuals according to the degree of each. To imagine it to be a counterfeit necessitates accepting a hundredfold impossibility.

“This impossibility entails the further complete impossibility of supposing that one who, through his deliberate conduct throughout his life taught mankind Almighty Allah’s laws, and through his honest behaviour instructed man in the principles of truth, and through his sincere and reasonable words showed and established the straight way of moderation and happiness, and as all his life testifies, felt great fear of Divine punishment and knew Allah better than anyone else and made Him known, and in splendid fashion has for one thousand three hundred and fifty years commanded a fifth of mankind and half the globe, and through his qualities of renown is in truth the means of pride of mankind, indeed, of the universe, God forbid a hundred thousand times, neither feared Allah, nor knew Him, nor held back from lying, nor had any self-respect. Because in this matter there is no point between the two. For if, to suppose the impossible, the Qur’an is not the Word of Allah, if it falls from the Divine Throne to the ground, it cannot remain somewhere in between the two. Indeed, it then has to be accepted as the property of the very worst of liars. And as for this, O Satan, even if you were a hundred times more satanic, you could not deceive any mind that was not unsound, nor persuade any heart that was not corrupted.”

The Devil retorted: “How should I not deceive them? I have deceived most of mankind and their foremost thinkers into denying the Qur’an and Muhammad” I replied:

“F i r s t l y : When seen from a great distance, the greatest thing appears the same as the smallest. A star may even appear as a candle.

“S e c o n d l y : Also, when seen both as secondary and superficially, something which is completely impossible may appear to be possible.

“One time an old man was watching the sky in order to see the new moon of Ramadan when a white hair fell on his eye. Imagining it to be the moon, he announced: ‘I have seen the new moon.’ Now, it is impossible that the white hair should have been the moon, but because his intention was to look for just the moon and the hair was by the way and secondary, he paid it no attention and thought that impossibility was possible.

“T h i r d l y : Also, non-acceptance is one thing and denial is something quite different. Non-acceptance is indifference, a closing of the eyes to something, an ignorant absence of judgement. Many completely impossible things may be concealed within it, and the mind does not concern itself with them. As for denial, it is not non-acceptance, but an acceptance of non-existence; it is a judgement. The mind is compelled to work. So a devil like you takes hold of the mind of a person, then leads it to denial. And, showing the false as truth and the impossible as possible through satanic wiles like heedlessness, misguidance, fallacious reasoning, obstinacy, false arguments, pride, deception, and habit, you make those unfortunate creatures in human form swallow unbelief and denial, although they comprise innumerable impossibilities.

“F o u r t h l y : Also, if the Qur’an is supposed to be the word of man, it necessitates imagining to be its opposite a book which has self-evidently guided the purified, veracious saints and spiritual poles, who shine like stars in the heavens of the world of mankind, has continuously instructed every level of the people of perfection in truth and justice, veracity and fidelity, faith and trustworthiness, and has ensured the happiness of the two worlds through the truths of the pillars of belief and the principles of the pillars of Islam, and through the testimony of these achievements is of necessity veracious, and pure, genuine truth, and absolutely right, and most serious -it necessitates imagining, God forbid, that this Book comprises the opposites of these qualities, effects, and lights. And that, regarding it as a collection of fabrications and lies, it is a frenzy of unbelief that would shame even the Sophists and the devils, and cause them to tremble.

“And this impossibility necessitates the further most ugly and abhorrent impossibility that One who, according to the testimony of the religion and Shari‘a of Islam which he proclaimed, and the unanimous indications to the extraordinary fear of Allah and pure and sincere worship which he demonstrated throughout his life, and as necessitated by the good moral qualities unanimously witnessed in him, and according to the affirmation of the people of truth and perfection whom he raised, was the most believing, the most steadfast, the most trustworthy, and the most truthful, was -God forbid, and again, God forbid- without belief, that he was most untrustworthy, did not fear Allah, nor shrink from lying. To imagine this necessitates imagining the most loathsome form of impossibility and perpetrating the most iniquitous and vicious sort of misguidance.

“I n S h o r t : As is stated in the Eighteenth Sign of the Nineteenth Letter, the common people, whose understanding of the Qur’an is gained by listening to it, say, ‘Were the Qur’an to be compared with all the books I have listened to and the other books in the world, it would not resemble any of them; it is not of the same sort as them nor of the same degree.’ The Qur’an, then, is of a degree either above all of them or below all of them. To be below them is impossible, and no enemy nor the Devil even could accept it. In which case, the Qur’an is above all other books, and is therefore a miracle. And in just the same way, we say according to the categorical proof called ‘residue,’ taken from the sciences of method and logic:

“O Satan and O disciples of Satan! The Qur’an is either the Word of Allah come from the Supreme Throne of Allah and His Greatest Name, or, God forbid, and again, God forbid, it is a human forgery fabricated on earth by someone without belief who neither feared Allah nor knew Him. In the face of the above proofs, O Satan, you can neither say that, nor could you have said it, nor will you be able to say it in the future. Therefore, the Qur’an is the Word of the Creator of the universe. Because there is no point between the two; it is impossible and precluded that there should be. Just as we have proved in the most clear and decisive manner; and you have seen it and heard it.

“In the same way, Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace) is either Allah’s Messenger and the highest of the prophets and the most superior of creatures, or, God forbid, he has to be imagined to be someone without belief having fallen to the lowest of the low because he lied concerning Allah, and did not know Allah, and did not believe in His punishment.⁴ And as for this, O Devil, neither you nor the philosophers of Europe and hypocrites of Asia on whom you rely could say it, nor could you say it in the past, neither shall you be able to say it in the future, for there is no one in the world who would listen to it and accept it. It is because of this that the most corrupting of those philosophers and the most lacking in conscience of the hypocrites, even, admit that ‘Muhammad the Arabian (PBUH) was very clever, and was most moral and upright.’

“Since this matter is restricted to these two sides, and the second one is impossible and no one at all claims it to be true, and since we have proved with decisive arguments that there is no point between them, for sure and of necessity, in spite of you and your party, Muhammad the Arabian (Upon whom be blessings and peace) is the Prophet of Allah, and the highest of the prophets and the best of all creatures.”

Upon him be blessings and peace to the number of angels and jinn and men.

A Second, Small Objection of Satan

Not a word does he utter but there is a sentinel by him, ready [to note it]. * And the stupor of death will bring the truth [before his eyes]: “This was the thing you were trying to escape!” * And the Trumpet shall be blown: that will be the Day whereof Warning [had been given]. * And there will come forth every soul: with each will be [an angel] to drive, and [an angel] to bear witness. * “You were heedless of this; now have We removed your veil. And sharp is your sight this Day!” * And his companion will say: “Here is [his record] ready with me!” * “Throw, throw into Hell every contumacious rejecter!”⁵

One time while reading these verses from Sura Qaf, the Devil said to me: “You consider the most important aspects of the Qur’an’s eloquence to lie in its clarity and fluency of style, but in these verses it jumps from one subject to another. It jumps from death agonies to the Resurrection of the Dead, from the blowing of the Trumpet to the Last Judgement, and from that to the entry into Hell of the unbelievers. What fluency of style remains with this extraordinary switching about? In most places in the Qur’an, it brings together subjects that bear little relation to each other like this. Where is its eloquence and smoothness with such discontinuity?”

I answered as follows:

“After its eloquence, one of the most important elements of the miraculousness of the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition is its conciseness. Conciseness is one of the strongest and most important elements of the Qur’an’s miraculousness. Instances of this miraculous conciseness of the Qur’an are so numerous and beautiful that exacting scholars are left in wonder at it. For example:

Then the word went forth: “O earth! swallow up your water, and O sky! withhold [your rain]!” And the water abated, and the matter was ended. The ark rested on Mount Judi, and the word went forth: “Away with those who do wrong!”⁶

“It describes the Great Flood and its consequences so concisely and miraculously in a few short sentences that it has caused many scholars of rhetoric to prostrate before its eloquence. And, for example:

The Thamud rejected [their prophet] through their inordinate wrongdoing. * Behold, the most wicked man among them was deputed [for impiety]. * But the Apostle of Allah said to them: “It is a she-camel of Allah. And [bar her not from] having her drink!” * Then they rejected him, and they hamstrung her. So their Lord, on account of their crime, obliterated their traces and made them equal [in destruction, high and low]! * And for Him is no fear of its consequences.⁷

“In these few short sentences and with a miraculousness within the conciseness, fluency, and clarity, and in a way that does not spoil the understanding, the Qur’an relates the strange and momentous events concerning the Thamud people, together with the consequences and their calamitous end. And for example:

And remember Zun-Nun, when he departed in wrath: he imagined that We had no power over him. But he cried through the depths of darkness: “There is no god but You; glory be unto You; I was indeed among the wrongdoers.”⁸

“Here, many sentences have be ‘rolled up’ between the words “that We had no power over him” and “but he cried out in the depths of the darkness,” but these omitted sentences neither spoil the understanding, nor mar the fluency of the style. It mentions the most important elements in the story of Jonah (upon whom be peace), and refers the rest to the intelligence.

“And for example, in Sura Yusuf, the seven or eight sentences between the words “Send me” and “Joseph, O man of truth!”⁹ have been skipped in conciseness. And it neither impairs the understanding, nor mars the smoothness of the style. There are a great many instances of this sort of miraculous conciseness in the Qur’an, and they are very beautiful indeed.

“However, the conciseness of the verses from Sura Qaf are particularly wonderful and miraculous. For they each point out the truly dreadful future of the unbelievers when each endless day will last fifty thousand years, and to the grievous, dire things that will happen to them in the awesome revolutions of the future. It conveys the mind over them like lightening, presenting that long, long period of time to the mind’s eye as a single present page. Referring the events which are not mentioned to the imagination, it describes them with a most elevated fluency and smoothness of style.

When the Qur’an is read, listen to it with attention, and hold your peace: that you may receive mercy.¹⁰

“And now if you have anything to say, O Satan, say it!”

Satan replied: “I cannot oppose what you say, nor defend myself. But there are many foolish people who listen to me; and many devils in human form who assist me; and many pharaohs among philosophers who learn things from me which flatter their egos, and prevent the publication of works like yours. Therefore I shall not lay down my arms before you.”
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1. Qur’an, 7:200.
2. Suyuti, al-Durar al-Manthur iii, 536.
3. Qur’an, 39:32.
4. Relying on the fact that the Qur’an mentions the blasphemies and obscenities of the unbelievers, in order to refute them, trembling, I too have been compelled to use these expressions in the form of impossibilities in order to demonstrate the total impossibility and complete worthlessness of the blasphemous ideas of the people of misguidance.
5. Qur’an, 50: 18-24.
6. Qur’an, 11:44.
7. Qur’an, 91:11-15.
8. Qur’an, 21:87.
9. Qur’an, 12:45-6.
10. Qur’an, 7:204.