24 Hours, 24 Coins, and One Eternal Ticket | Risale-i Nur Collection

Find Yourself! - Don’t Set Off Without a Ticket

Once upon a time, in a magnificent city, there lived a great ruler, who was famous for his justice and generosity. One day, he summoned two of his servants to his presence. He gave them each two bags of gold. His voice was resolute, his gaze deep. And he commanded them.

I will send you to my magnificent mansion in a distant land. You will reside there and live in peace. The twenty-four gold coins in these bags are for your travel expenses. Use them to buy your travel tickets and to get the necessary items for your home there.

Know that there is a big station a day’s journey away. There are all kinds of vehicles there, from cars to ships, from trains to airplanes.

He who arrives there with a solid capital, without squandering his gold, rides the fastest vehicle and reaches his destination quickly. The two servants set off. Their paths were the same but their intentions were different.

The fortunate one had memorized his master’s every word. He spent his gold carefully and took every step cautiously. He tried to acquire the necessary goods for the place where the sultan had said they would live in peace.

The unfortunate one, however, was captivated by the deceptive allure of sin. The false glitter of the gambling tables, the singing parties, the sparkling goblets swallowed his gold coins one by one. That momentary splendor dazzled his eyes, but silently gnawed away at his capital from within it.

Finally, their paths crossed.

The unfortunate man had only one gold coin left of all his wealth; a pale glow was flickering like the last breath of a dying lamp.

The fortunate one looked at him with compassion and said, “At least spend the remaining gold on a ticket. Otherwise, you will have to travel this long road hungry and on foot. 

And our Master is generous. Perhaps he will have mercy and forgive your mistakes. He will put you on the train.

If you waste this single gold coin, you have a two-month desert ahead of you: You will have to walk through the desert where hunger is burning, thirst is scorching, and loneliness is deadly. Do not sacrifice this last gold coin for mortal pleasure!”

On the face of the unfortunate man, there was a drunken delusion hidden behind a proud smile. He raised his voice and said: “Don’t give advice. This gold is enough for my entertainment. The so-called hardships of the road, the scorching heat of the desert, etc. I’ll enjoy myself; nothing else matters,” he said.

Thus, this unfortunate man left his only gold coin on the dark table of sins for a few minutes of false and temporary pleasure. Having lost everything, he set off alone. A long and arduous two-month journey was ahead of him.

The fortunate man finally arrived at the station and his purse was full; his small expenditure, with his master’s approval, had been transformed into a thousandfold profit. The fortunate man held out his gold coin; the gleam of the ticket pressed into his hand illuminated his heart. Peace descended upon his heart, and a joyful smile spread across his face.

At that moment, powerful voices echoed throughout the station: “Tickets! Tickets! This ticket will free you from the scorching toil of the desert; it will take you safely to the land of peace!”

He handed his ticket to the attendant and with a peaceful smile, he turned his steps toward the train.

As he headed toward the platform, he saw other passengers like him. Each one of them, filled with the same hope and joy, was heading toward the train doors. As the train moved slowly, he felt with indescribable peace that the journey had begun.

The fortunate servant looked out the window and saw his friend: He was all alone on the hot sand. As the train moved along the tracks, it was as if it was carrying its passengers into the bosom of an eternal separation.

His lips were cracked with thirst and his feet were covered in blood. The sun, descending from the sky was burning his body and regret was scorching his soul. There was despair on his face and regret in his eyes… He had spent the treasure of his life in vain desires; he realized that what he called happiness was actually a false mirage. But it was too late.

Now let’s try to understand the truthful side of this story.

That ruler is our Lord, the Sultan of pre-eternity and post-eternity.

As for those two servant travelers, one is a blissful traveler who is devoted to his religion and performs his prayers with zeal; the other is an unfortunate traveler who is heedless and lives without prayer. Those twenty-four gold coins represent the twenty-four hours given to us every day. The station a day away is the grave; that magnificent mansion is Paradise. That long journey is the human journey, extending from the grave to the resurrection and from the resurrection to eternity.

Everyone progresses on this path according to his deeds and taqwa (piety): Some, with the wings of piety, travel a thousand years’ distance in a day, like lightning. Others, with the speed of imagination, cover a distance of fifty thousand years in an instant. What makes them fly are the wings of worship and piety.
And the ticket... Yes, that saving ticket is prayer. Just one hour a day is enough for five prayers a day. Prayer is the ticket to eternity in this mortal world.

A person who spends twenty-three hours on the vain desires of this mortal world and does not allocate a single hour to eternal life... What a loss he suffers! And how he oppresses his soul!

And in the end… Going to the dreadful Gathering Place, not with dignity and honor, but by crawling and regretting… That is the real disaster!

Now let us ask our souls: What kind of eclipse of reason is it to find time for the transient and fleeting things of this world, yet not be able to spare an hour for prayer, which is the key to eternal bliss?

Can today’s comfortable resting chairs be a pillow for tomorrow’s grave?

Is it worth risking eternal peace for a moment of pleasure?

How appropriate is it to rush to every invitation but to drag one’s feet against the invitation of the call to prayer?

Is it a gain or a loss to give twenty-three hours to the mortal and not to give one hour to the everlasting?

“If a person who thinks it wise to give half of his wealth in a lottery game in which a thousand people are participating, even though the probability of winning is one in a thousand, and does not spare only one hour out of twenty-four hours for the ticket to eternal happiness, which has a ninety-nine percent chance of winning, can there be a greater foolishness than this?”

However, there is a great peace in prayer for the soul, the heart and the mind. It doesn’t actually burden the body that much. In addition, most of the daily work of the praying person gains the value of worship with a good intention. A soldier’s main duty lasts for three or four hours a day; and even if the rest of his time is spent resting, lying down, and sleeping, all that time is regarded as military service. The same holds true for the one who prays; if he spends one hour a day in worship, the rest of his time is also regarded as worship. Thus, he invests all the capital of his life in the Hereafter. It makes his mortal life eternal.

Now is the time to think and decide.

Remember: One day you will definitely die. That dark grave will either be the door to eternal bliss or a pit of endless disappointment. So, start today, because tomorrow may be too late.