The Ninth Letter

 

 

Orientation of human feelings and inclinations, and iman (belief–conviction) and Islam (Muslimness)

 

In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate.

 

THOSE WHO REGARD THIS WORLD AS A MILITARY GUEST-HOUSE AND live accordingly are the happiest of all people. They can rise to the rank of being approved and loved by God Almighty, the highest spiritual rank, and do not sell something of the greatest value for almost nothing. Such people live happy lives on the Straight Path and do not deviate.

Worldly affairs and things are almost as worthless and brittle as glass, while those belonging to the Hereafter are as valuable as diamonds and impossible to break. All human instincts, such as curiosity and love, passion and desire, are implanted in people to help them earn a happy life in the Hereafter. If one exploits them for the sake of this life, they only buy brittle glass at the price of diamonds.

On this subject, I would like to emphasize one point: Love is a very strong emotion. Feeling it for mortal beings either throws lovers into endless pain and sorrow or, since mortal beings are not worth so sincere a love, leads lovers toward seeking the Permanent Beloved One. In the latter case, it becomes real love.

Each of a person’s thousands of feelings has two aspects: figurative and real. For example, everyone worries about the future even though they have no guarantee that they will be alive tomorrow. Then, they realize that they will die only at their appointed time. As a result, they stop worrying about their uncertain future here and focus on their eternal future beginning with death. That is a future worth worrying about, especially for those who do not heed the Divine commandments.

In the same way, people feel great passion for wealth and position. But they soon understand that wealth, fame, and position are not worth it, for such things may remove their dignity, reveal such degrading attitudes as show and hypocrisy, or cause them to bow and humble themselves before others. But above all, these things are temporary. In the end, such people incline toward the spiritual ranks and nearness to God and busy themselves with good deeds so that they will have provisions for their eternal life. Their inordinate ambition to acquire transient things thus changes into acquiring what is eternal.

People’s excessive inclination toward insignificant, transient things can be obstinate. But if they eventually realize that this obstinate attachment is of no benefit, such obstinacy can become persistence for belief’s truths or Islam’s fundamentals, as well as for striving for the next life.

If people exploit their spiritual faculties to satisfy their sensual and worldly desires and live in this world as if they will stay here forever, those faculties will lead to immoral qualities and cause much waste. But if people use them to prosper in the Hereafter, without neglecting life’s essential needs, these faculties will lead to laudable moral qualities and happiness in either world in accordance with wisdom and truth.

One reason why preachers’ advice is ineffective nowadays is that they invite people to change their nature. They advise: “Do not be envious or ambitious, do not feel enmity or be obstinate, do not love the world,” and so on. Such advice is useless, for it is against human nature. Instead, these energies can and should be channeled into good deeds and directed toward positive aims. For example, love for the world can be channeled into love for the other world, enmity can be directed against one’s carnal self, and envy can become a means for competing to do good deeds.

Muslim scholars have discussed at length whether Islam (being a Muslim) and iman (belief–conviction) are different. Some say they are the same and others say they are different, although one is not acceptable without the other. I see a difference between them, as follows: Islam is choosing a side, while iman means affirming with certainty.

In other words, Islam, or being a Muslim, means siding with, submitting to, and obeying the truth. Iman, or being a believer (mu’min), means confirming and confessing the truth of Islam. I know some people who strongly advocate the Qur’an’s commandments even though they are not believers. Such people may be considered muslim in the literal sense (of those who surrender) because they observe some of Islam’s elements without believing in all of them. Some believers cannot be considered muslim, for they do not pay much attention to the Qur’an’s commandments or try to obey them.

Question: Is belief without Islam or being a Muslim—without obedience and practice in daily life—enough for one to prosper in the other world?

Answer: Those who live according to the Qur’an’s commandments but without belief, and believers who do not apply the Divine commandments in their lives, will not prosper in the other world. The proofs of Islam, as numerous as all particles in creation and as strong as the chain of beings, and the truths of the Qur’an and belief are expounded so clearly in the Risale-i Nur that they provide the reader with firm belief and submission.

Whenever I recite in the daily rite of Shah Naqshband, after confessing my belief: “We live with this confession, and we die with it, and tomorrow we will be resurrected with it,” I feel that I would not give up even one truth of belief, even if the whole world were offered to me. It is unbearable for me to think any thought contrary to one truth of belief, even for a second. If the whole world were my private property, even my carnal self would not oppose sacrificing it in return for establishing one truth of belief.

I feel a very firm belief in my heart when I recite: “We believe in all the Prophets You raised up, and we believe in all the Scriptures You sent down, and we confirm them all.” I consider it impossible to think or believe otherwise, and consider misguided people as infinitely stupid and foolish.

I send my greetings and present my respects to your parents. I ask them to pray for me. They are like my own parents, as you are my brother in religion. I also send my greetings to everyone in your village, particularly to those who hear you read The Words.

The Everlasting: He is the Everlasting.

Said Nursi