On the purpose of the Risale-i Nur

 

 

I recently listened to a substantial discussion regarding the purpose of the Risale-i Nur. What follows is a summary of that discussion:

Someone said: “The Risale-i Nur is forever setting forth new treatises and proofs for the sake of belief and the Divine Unity. While even one hundredth part of its contents is enough to silence the most obstinate denier, what is the reason for the fervent increase in its publication?”

The following answer was given: “The Risale-i Nur is not repairing some minor damage done to some small house; it is repairing the incalculable damage that has been inflicted on the all-embracing citadel which contains Islam, the bricks of which are the size of mountains. It is not striving to reform a single heart or an individual conscience; rather, with the wonderful medicines of the miraculous Qur’an and true belief, it endeavors to heal the public heart, severely wounded as it has been by the weapons and instruments of corruption for over a thousand years. It is also striving to cure the public conscience, which is becoming corroded by the continuous attacks on the foundations, values and public symbols or marks of Islam, which are a refuge for the mass of believers and a point of support and reference for them.

“Certainly, to address and cure such terrible damage, destruction and wounding, incredibly strong proofs and arguments at the level of certainty based on experience, and numerous tried and tested medicines are necessary. The Risale-i Nur, which issues from the miraculousness and miraculous meanings of the Qur’an, performs this function, and is also the means by which one is able to progress through the infinite degrees of belief.”

I listened to this long discussion intently and, when it was over, offered endless thanks to my Lord. I curtail the matter here.

Said Nursi