A confidential letter to some of my brothers
I will mention an aspect of two hadiths to my brothers who appear bored and reluctant to serve the Qur’an and belief by writing and making multiple copies of the Risale-i Nur’s parts, and prefer certain supererogatory acts of worship in these three months, namely Rajab, Sha‘ban and Ramadan, which are the months of concentration on worship more than other times. Serving the Qur’an and belief is actually a sort of worship in five respects. 12
The first hadith is, “(At the Last Judgment,) the ink spent by true scholars of the Religion is equal in weight to the blood of the martyrs.”13
The second hadith is, “Whoever follows my Sunna when my Community is corrupted, there is for him (or her) the reward of a hundred martyrs.”14
O brothers and sisters who show boredom and reluctance. These two hadiths together show that a drop of the black light—ink, which is like the water of life—that flows from the blessed pens serving the truths of belief, the essentials of the Islamic life, and the elevated Sunna of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, at this time may be of use to you on Judgment Day as being equal to a hundred drops of the blood of martyrs. Therefore, try to gain this!
If you say: The hadith mentions the scholars, but some of us are only scribes.
The Answer: One who carefully studies these treatises for a year to understand them fully can be an important, eminent scholar of this time. Even if they do not understand them fully, the students of the Risale-i Nur have a collective personality, and this is surely a scholar of this time. Your pens are the fingers of that collective personality. Although, in my view, I am not entitled to be regarded as such, due to your good opinion of me you have regarded me as your teacher and as a religious scholar. Since I have difficulty in writing, your pens may be regarded as mine, and you will receive the reward indicated in the hadith.
Said Nursi
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi
12 We asked our teacher about these five respects. The answer we received is below:
• Such efforts strive to defend the Qur’an and belief against the people of misguidance and heresy, which is the most important jihad at the present.
• They serve our teacher by helping him to communicate the truths of belief.
• They serve Muslims in respect of belief.
• They provide religious education and knowledge through writing.
• They ensure worship in the form of reflective thought, one hour of which may sometimes be equal to a year’s supererogatory worship. Signed: Rüşdü, Husrev, Rafet
13 al-Ghazzali, Ihya’u ‘Ulum ad-Din, 1:6, 8; Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Lisan al-Mizan, 5:225; al-Munawi, Fayd al-Qadir, 6:466. (Tr.)
14 at-Tabarani, al-Mu‘jam al-Awsat, 5:315; al-Bayhaki, Sunan, “Zuhd” 118. (Tr.)