A Commentary on the Contemporary World-1

 

By Bediuzzaman Said Nursi

 

Third Remark
Man, with respect to action and bodily endeavors, is no more than a weak animal, a helpless creature. So limited a circle is the realm at his disposal in this respect that his fingers can touch its circumference, and such are the weakness, impotence and indolence of man that even the domestic animals are influenced by them. If, for example, domesticated goats and asses are compared with their wild counterparts, great differences will be observed between them.

But as a passive, recipient being who needs to pray and petition, man is a worthy traveller allowed to stay for some time in the guest-house of this world. He is the guest of a Generous One, Who has put the treasures of His infinite Compassion at his disposal, and subjugated to him His peerless works of creative power which are his servants. Also, He has prepared for the use and pleasure of His guest such a vast area of spectacle that its radius is as far as sight or even imagination can reach.

Now then, if man, by relying on his physical capacity and innate abilities takes the worldly life as his goal and concentrates on the pleasures of this life, he will suffocate within a very narrow circle. Furthermore, the parts of his body and his senses and faculties will bring suit and witness against him in the Hereafter. But if he knows himself to be a guest and spends his life within the limits approved by his generous Host, he will lead a happy and peaceful life and attain to the highest rank among the creation. In the Hereafter, he will be rewarded with an everlasting life of bliss, and the members of his body and all his faculties will bear witness in his favour.

All the wonderful faculties of man have not been given him so that he might use them in this trivial worldly life, but they have been given for an important life of eternity. When compared to animals, man is seen to have many more faculties and senses whereas the pleasure he can take from merely physical life is much less than that of an animal. Every single pleasure of the worldly life bears the traces of thousands of pains, and is spoiled with the sorrows left from the past, the fears of the future, and the disappearance of the pleasure itself. But this is not the case with an animal. Its pleasures are free from pains and its enjoyments are without anxiety. Neither is it affected by the sorrows of the past, nor can anxieties for the future prevent it from the enjoyment of its life. It leads a comfortable life, and praises its Creator.

To conclude, if man, who has been created on the best pattern, concentrates on the worldly life, he is reduced to a rank a hundred times lower than a sparrow, although he has a hundred times as many and developed faculties as an animal. In another treatise, I explained this fact in the form of a parable. I will now repeat it, as it is related to the subject.

A man gives one of his servants ten gold lira and orders him to have a suit made for himself of some particular type of cloth. He gives a thousand gold lira to another servant of his and sends him to the bazaar with a shopping list. The former has an excellent suit made for himself of cloth of finest quality. The latter acts foolishly. He does not notice how much money was given to him, nor reads the shopping list, but thinks he should imitate his friend. Therefore, he goes to a shop, and gives all of the thousand gold lira in exchange for a suit. That unfortunate servant then returns to his lord and recieves a severe punishment and a terrible torment.

Anyone with a bit of intelligence perceives that the thousand gold lira were not given to the servant to buy a suit, but for a very important transaction.

Similarly, the spiritual faculties and the feelings and senses with which man has been endowed, are much more developed than those of animals. For example, his eye can identify all degrees of beauty; his sense of taste, his tongue, can distinguish the various tastes of all kinds of food, his intelligence can penetrate into the many details of visible realities; his heart yearns for all ranks of perfection, and so on. Whereas, the faculties of animals (with the exception of some one particular faculty which greatly develops in each animal according to its particular duty) can realize only a very little development, if any.

The reason why man has so many faculties is that man’s senses and feelings have developed very far owing to his mind and intellect. The large variety of his needs has caused him to evolve different types of feelings, and to become very sensitive to all kinds of things. Also, due to his comprehensive nature he has been given such desires as are turned to several aims and objectives. Because of the diversity of his essential (natural) duties, his senses and faculties have greatly expanded. Furthermore, since he has an inclination and capacity to perform all types of worship, he has the potential to realize all kinds of perfection.

Obviously, this kind of richness in faculties and abundance of potentialities can by no means have been given to him for an insignificant, temporary, worldly life. They exist in man because his essential duty is to perceive his obligations that are directed to endless aims, to affirm his impotence, poverty and insufficiency in the form of worship, to study by his far-reaching sight and penetrating understanding and to bear witness to the glorification of Allah by all creation, to discern and be grateful for the aid of the All-Gracious One sent in the form of bounties, and to gaze and, reflect upon, and draw warning from, the miracles of the Power of the Lord manifested in His works of creation.

O world-worshipping man, who are charmed by the worldly life and ignorant of the meaning of your nature as the best pattern of creation! Once I saw the true nature of this worldly life in an imaginary vision, as follows:

I happened to be on a long journey. My Lord had caused me to set out on this journey, and had assigned to me sixty gold lira, which would be given to me in instalments on different occasions. This went on for some time and after a while I arrived at an inn where an entertainment was going on. I gambled away my last ten gold lira there in one night of entertainment and notoriety. When it was morning, I had no money to buy the provisions that I would need at my destination. All that remained to me of my allowance was pains and sorrows and regrets left by sins and illicit pleasures.

I was in that wretched state, when a man turned up and said to me: ‘You have lost all you had, and hence you have deserved punishment. Moreover, you will go on to your destination with no money. But the door of repentance is not closed, if you use your mind. Save the half of the fifteen gold lira which will be given to you as the rest of your allowance, and buy with that the (necessary) provisions you will need at your destination.’

My selfhood was not content with putting aside half, so the man said, ‘Save a third of it then.’ But with this also my selfhood was not content. The man insisted ‘then a quarter.’ I realized my selfhood would not be able to abandon it addictions, so the man turned away in some indignation and disappeared.

At just this moment, I found myself on a train speeding down a vertical tunnel. I was alarmed, but there was no way to escape. To my curious surprise, I saw that there were very attractive flowers and tasty-looking fruits alongside the track, hanging out from the sides of the tunnel. I foolishly attempted to pick some of them. But all around them were thorns which hurt and cut my hands as I touched them; what I tried to hold slipped from me because of the speed of the train. I could take hold of only a few and not for long. An attendant came beside me and said: ‘Give me five pence, and in return I will give you as many flowers and fruits as you want. Otherwise with your hands all cut up, you will lose a hundred instead of five. Besides, there is a punishment for picking them without permission.’

Depressed by this condition, I looked out from the window to see when the tunnel would end. But there was no end in sight. I observed many openings in the walls of the tunnel into which passengers from the train were being thrown. Suddenly I caught sight of an opening just opposite me with a gravestone on either side. When I peered out I made out my name, SA’ID written in capital letters on the gravestones. I gave a cry of bewilderment and repentance. Unexpectedly, I heard the voice of the man who had given me advice at the door of the inn, saying to me:

- Have you come to your senses?
- Yes, I have. But I am in despair and there is nothing I can do.
- Repent, and trust in Allah.
- I do.

Then I woke up and I found myself transformed into New Sa’id; the Old Sa’id had gone away.

I will now interpret some aspects of this imaginary vision:

 

Fountain Magazine: Issue 3 / July - September 1993