A Guide for Youth

by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi

 

How can We Save our Lives?

[A conversation held with some young people who, though surrounded by temptation, had not yet lost their power of reason.]

Being assaulted by the deceptive, seductive amusements of the present time, a group of young people were asking: "How can we save our lives in the Hereafter?", and they sought help from the Risale-i Nur. So I said the following to them in the name of the Risale-i Nur: The grave is there and no one can deny it. Whether they want to or not, everyone must enter it. And apart from the following 'Three Ways', there is no other way it can be approached:

First Way: For those who believe, the grave is the door to a world far better than this world.

Second Way: For those who believe id the Hereafter, but who approach it on the path of dissipation and misguidance, it is the door to a prison of solitary confinement, an eternal dungeon, where they will be separated from all their loved ones.

Third Way: For the unbelievers and the misguided who do not believe in the Hereafter, it is the door to eternal extinction. That is to say, it is the gallows on which both themselves and all those they love will be executed. Since they think it is thus, that is exactly how they shall experience it: as punishment.

These last two Ways are self-evident, they do not require proof, they are plain for all to see. Since the appointed hour is secret, and death may come any time and cut off one's head, and it does not differentiate between young and old, perpetually having such an awesome and serious matter before him, unhappy man will surely search for the means to deliver himself from that eternal extinction, that infinite, endless solitary confinement; the means to transform the door of the grave into a door opening on to an everlasting world, eternal happiness, and a world of light. It will be a question for him that looms as large as the world.

The certain fact of death, then, can only be approached in these three ways, and one hundred and twenty-four thousand veracious messengers-the prophets, in whose hands are miracles as signs of confirmation-have announced that the three ways are as described above. And, relying on their illuminations and visions, one hundred and twenty-four million saints have confirmed and set their signatures on the prophets tidings. And innumerable exact scholars have proved it rationally with their categorical proofs at the level of 'certainty at the degree of knowledge*. They have all unanimously declared it to be a ninety- nine per cent certain probability, saying: "The only way to be saved from extinction and eternal imprisonment, and be directed towards eternal happiness, is through belief in God and obedience to Him."

 

*. One of these is the: Risale-i Nur. And it is there for all to see.

 

If a person considers but does not heed the word of a single messenger not to take a dangerous road on which there is a one per cent danger of perishing, and takes it, the anxiety at perishing that he suffers will destroy even his appetite for food. Thus hundreds of thousands of veracious and verified messengers announced that there is a one hundred per cent probability that misguidance and vice lead to the gallows of the grave, ever before the eyes, and eternal solitary confinement, and that there is a one hundred per cent probability that belief and worship remove those gal- lows, close the solitary prison, and transform the ever-apparent grave into a door opening onto an ever- lasting treasury and palace of felicity; and they have pointed out signs and traces of these. Confronted as he is, then, with this strange, awesome, terrifying matter, if wretched man-and especially if he is a Muslim-does not believe and worship, is he able to banish the grievous pain arising from the anxiety he suffers as he all the time awaits his turn to be summoned to those gallows, ever-present before his eyes, even if he is given rule over the whole world together with all its pleasures? I ask you.

Since old-age, illness, disaster, and on all sides death open up the frightful pain and are a reminder, even if the people of misguidance and vice enjoy a hundred thousand pleasures and delights, they most certainly experience a sort of hell in their hearts, but a profound stupor of heedlessness temporarily makes them insensible to it.

Since for the people of belief and obedience the grave, which is always before their eyes, is the door to an everlasting treasury and eternal happiness, and since, by reason of the 'belief coupon', a ticket from the pre-eternal lottery of Divine Determining for millions upon millions of poundsworth of gold and diamonds has come up for each of them, they all the time await the word, "Come and collect your ticket" with a profound and true pleasure and real spiritual delight. This pleasure is such that if it materialized and the seed became a tree, it would be like a private paradise. However, one who abandons the delight and great pleasure due to the drives of youth, and chooses in a dissolute and licentious manner temporary illicit pleasures, which resemble poisonous honey polluted with those innumerable pains, falls to a degree a hundred times lower than an animal.

Furthermore, such a person will not be like unbelieving foreigners, for if they deny the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), they may recognize the other prophets. And if they do not know God, they may possess some good qualities which are the means to certain perfections. But a Muslim knows both the prophets, and his Sustainer, and all perfection by means of Muhammad the Arabian (PBUH). If one of them abandons the Prophet's instruction and puts himself outside his chain, he will not recognize any other prophet, neither will he recognize God. Nor will he know any of the fundamentals within his spirit which will preserve his perfections. For, since Muhammad (PBUH) is the last and greatest of the prophets, and his religion and summons are for the whole of mankind, and since he is superior to all with regard to his miracles and religion, and acts as teacher to all mankind in all matters concerning reality, and has proved this in a brilliant manner for fourteen centuries, and is the cause of pride for mankind, a Muslim who abandons Muhammad (PBUH)'s essential training and the principles of his religion will most certainly be able to find no light, nor achieve any perfection He will be condemned to absolute decline.

And so, you unfortunates who are addicted to the pleasures of the life of this world, and with anxiety at the future, struggle to secure it and your lives! If you want pleasure, delight, happiness, and ease in this world, make do with what is licit. That is sufficient for your enjoyment. You will surely have understood from other parts of the Risale-i Nur that in each pleasure which is outside this, and is illicit, lies a thousand pains. If the events of the future- for example, of fifty years hence-were also shown in the cinema in the same way that they show at the present time the events of the past, those who indulge in vice would weep filled with horror and disgust at those things which now amuse them.

Those who wish to be permanently, eternally happy in this world and the Hereafter should take as their guide the instruction of Muhammad (PBUH) within the sphere of belief.

 

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True Pleasure

In the playground of the High School opposite the prison the older girls were dancing and laughing, but they seemed to me to be like the houris of Hell in that worldly paradise. They suddenly appeared to me as they would be in fifty years' time, and their laughter had turned into piteous weeping. From this the following truth became apparent. That is to say, I saw them as they would be in fifty years on an imaginary cinema screen. I saw that fifty of those sixty laughing girls were suffering the torments of the grave and had become earth. While ten of them were ugly seventy-year-olds attracting only looks of disgust. I too wept for them.

The true nature of the dissension at the end of time appeared to me. It seemed to me that its most fearsome and seductive aspect would spring from the shameless faces of women. Negating free choice, it would cast people into the flames of debauchery, like moths, and make them prefer one minute of the life of this world to years of eternal life.

Another day while watching the street, I noticed a powerful example of this. I felt great pity for the young people I saw. While thinking: "These unfortunates cannot save themselves from the fire of these seductive temptations which attract like magnets," a sort of embodiment of all the forces urging apostasy appeared before me, which fans the flames of those temptations and that dissension, and gives instruction in them. I said to it and to those apostates who follow its lessons and deviate from Islam:

Oh you miserable creatures who sacrifice their religion on the way of taking pleasure with the houris of Hell, and loving it perpetrate depravity on the way of misguidance, who accept irreligion and deviation on the way of the pleasures and lusts of the soul, and worship life, are terrified of death, do not want to remember the grave, and have turned their faces towards apostasy! You should know definitely that, by reason of your irreligion, this mighty world of yours, the previous hour and the coming minute, all this universe of yours and your past and your future, all your species and races of the past and the creatures and generations of the future, and all the worlds and nations that have gone and all the peoples and communities that will come, all these are completely non-existent and dead.

Therefore, because of the form of your misguidance, all these traveling worlds and flowing universes with which you are connected by reason of your humanity and intellect continuously rain down on your head the severe suffering of a worldful of terrible and innumerable deaths. If you possessed consciousness, it would be searing your heart. If you had a spirit, it would be scorching it. If your reason had not been extinguished, it would be drowning in grief. If one short hour of your drunken dissipation and filthy pleasure can make up for this boundless grief, sorrow, and pain, then remain in it. But if it does not, come to your senses! In order to be saved from that hell, enter the paradise which belief ensures in this world also, and taste the happiness of life, take heed of the lessons of the Qur'an, ex- change a partial, transitory minute's worth of pleasure for the universal, unending, eternal pleasures of belief*

 

*Indeed, belief may produce the pleasures of Paradise in this world too. Consider the following single benefit out of hundreds of pleasurable lights. For example, at the very minute you see someone you love dearly in great danger and dying, a doctor who is like both Loqman the Sage and Khidr arrives. Suddenly your friend is restored to life. What great joy you feel. In the same way, belief gives you happiness and joy to the number of the dead whom you love and with whom you are connected. For through the light of belief, millions of people loved by you in the graveyard of the past are suddenly delivered from extinction and death and resurrected before you. They come to life saying, "We did not die, and we shall not die." In place of the numberless pains resulting from those numberless separations, through belief, the innumerable pleasures and joys arising from union and coming to life may be experienced in this world also. Thus, this shows that "Belief is a seed which produces for those who believe the shoots of Paradise together with all its pleasures and properties in this world, and so too will it produce them in the next."

 

Also do not say: "I shall pass my life like an animal", because for an animal the past and the future are hidden, as though non-existent. By not causing them to realize this, the All-Wise and Compassion- ate One has saved them from innumerable pains. A hen which is being held down to be slaughtered, even, does not feel any pain or grief. It wants to feel it as the knife cuts, but the feeling passes and it is saved from that pain, too. That is to say, God Almighty's most vast and perfect mercy, clemency, and compassion do not make the unseen known to them. They are more complete for innocent animals in particular. And so, in licentious pleasure you can- not reach the level of the animals; you fall a thousand times lower. For your intellect sees things that are hidden to animals, and receives pain from them. You are altogether deprived of the total ease to be found in the veiling of the unseen.

Also, since your good qualities, like brotherhood, respect, and zeal, which are a cause of pride for you, are restricted to a minute point of time and the space of a finger out of a vast desert, and are special to only the present hour out of limitless time, they be- come artificial, temporary, contrived, baseless, and most insignificant, and your humanity and achievements diminish proportionately, and are reduced to ' nothing. Whereas, since the brotherhood, respect, love, and zeal of the believers encompass the past and the future, which are existent by reason of their belief, they elevate their humanity and achievements proportionately.

Also, like a crazy Jewish diamond merchant who gives the price of diamonds for pieces of glass, for your worldly success, you have given the price of a long, permanent, and broad life for a brief, short time and life, so of course you will be dominant within those limits. Since you address yourself to one minute with a year's worth of such emotions as a fierce greed, love and revenge, you will prevail temporarily over the people of religion.

Also, since your mind, spirit, heart, and feelings have abandoned their exalted duties, and shared and assisted in the vile doings of your base soul and filthy lusts, you will be victorious over the believers in this world. And superficially you will appear more lovable. For your mind, heart, and spirit have declined, degenerated, and fallen to an extreme degree, and have been transformed, deformed, into filthy lust and despicable soul. For sure, in this respect you will prevail temporarily, which will gain you Hell, and the wronged people of belief Paradise.

 

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Youth Will Go

[A Warning, Lesson and Reminder Given to a number of Unhappy Youths ]

One day a number of bright youths came to me, seeking an effective deterrent in order to guard them- selves against the dangers arising from life, youth, and the lusts of the soul. Like I had told those who had previously sought help from the Risale-i Nur, I also said to these youths:

Your youth will definitely leave you, and if you do not remain within the sphere of the licit, it will be lost, and rather than its pleasures, it will bring you calamities and suffering in this world, in the grave, and in the Hereafter. But if, with Islamic training, you spend the bounty of your youth as thanks honorably, in uprightness and obedience, it will in effect remain perpetually and-will be the cause of gaining eternal youth.

As for life, if it is without belief, or because of rebelliousness belief is ineffective, it will produce pains, sorrows and grief far exceeding the superficial, fleeting enjoyment and pleasure it brings. Because, since, contrary to the animals, man possesses a mind and he thinks, he is connected to both the pre- sent time, and to the past and the future. He can obtain both pain and pleasure from them. Whereas, since the animals do not think, the sorrows arising from the past and the fears and anxieties arising from the future do not spoil their pleasure of the present. And especially if the pleasure is illicit; then it is like an altogether poisonous honey.

That is to say, from the point of view of the pleasure of life, man falls to a level a hundred times lower than the animals. In fact, life for the people of misguidance and heedlessness, and indeed their existence, rather their world, is the day in which they find themselves. From the point of view of their misguidance, all the time and universes of the past are non-existent, are dead. So their intellects, which connect them to the past and the future, produce darkness, blackness for them. And, due to their lack of belief, the future is also non-existent. Further- more, because they think, the eternal separations resulting from this non-existence continuously produce darkness for their lives.

Whereas, if belief gives life to life, then through the light of belief, both the past and the future are illuminated and find existence. Like present time, it produces elevated and spiritual pleasures and lights of existence for the spirit and heart-in respect of belief. There is an explanation of this truth in the 'Seventh Hope' in the Treatise for The Elderly. You may refer to that. And so, life is thus. If you want the pleasure and enjoyment of life, give life to your life through belief, and adorn it with religious duties. And preserve it by abstaining from sins.

Concerning the fearsome reality of death, which is demonstrated by deaths every day, in every place, at all times, I shall explain it to you with a comparison, in the same way that I told the other youths.

For example, a gallows has been erected here in front of your eyes. Beside it is a lottery office, but one which gives tickets for truly huge prizes. We people here are ten people, whether we like it or not, we shall be summoned there; there is no other alternative. They will call us, and since the time is secret, any minute they may say either: "Come and collect the ticket for your execution! Mount the gallows!" Or: "A ticket to win a prize of millions of dollars' worth of gold has come up for you. Come and collect it!" While waiting for them to say this, two people suddenly appear at the door. One of them is a scantily dressed woman, beautiful and deceiving. In her hand is some apparently extremely delicious, but in fact poisonous, halva, which she has brought wanting us to eat it. The other is an undeceiving and undeceivable serious person. He enters behind the woman, and says:

"I have bought you a talisman, a lesson. If you study it, and if you do not eat that halva, you will be saved from the gallows. With this talisman, you will receive your ticket for the matchless prize. Look, you see with your own eyes that those who eat the honey mount those gallows, and untill that time they suffer dreadful stomach pains from the poison of the halva. And who it is that will recieve the ticket for the large prize is not apparent; it seems that they too mount the gallows. But there are millions of witnesses who testify that they can enter the prize arena easily. So, look from the windows! The highest officials and the high-ranking persons concerned with this business proclaim with loud voices: 'Just as you see with the clear certainty of your own eyes those mounting the gallows, so also be certain as daylight, with no doubt or misgiving, that hose with the talisman receive the ticket for the prize.' "

Thus, like the comparison, since the dissolute pleasures of youth in the sphere of the illicit, which are like poisonous honey, lose belief, which is the ticket for an eternal treasury and the passport for everlasting happiness, a person who indulges in them descends to death, which is like the gallows, and to the tribulations of the grave which is like the door to eternal darkness. And since the appointed hour is unknown, its executioner, not differentiating between young and old, may come at any time to cut off your head. If you give up illicit desires, which are like the poisonous honey, and aquire belief and perform thr religious duties, which are the Qur'anic talisman, one hundred and twenty-four thousand prophets (upon whom be peace) together with innumerable saints and people of truth have unanimously announced that you shall recieve the ticket for the treasury of eternal happiness which comes up from the extraordinary lottery of human destiny. And they have pointed to traces of it.

IN SHORT: Youth will go. And if it goes being squandered, it results in thousands of calamities and pains both in this world and in the Hereafter. And if you want to understand how the majority of such youths end up in hospitals with imagined diseases arising from misspent youth and prodigality, and in prisons or hostels for the destitute through their excesses, and in bars due to the distress arising from their pain and suffering, then go and ask at the hospitals, prisons and graveyards.

For sure, just as you will hear from most of the hospitals the moans and groans of those ill from dissipation and debauchery resulting from the drives of youth, so too will you hear from the prisons the regretful sighs of unhappy youths who are being punished for illicit actions mostly resulting from the excesses of youth. And you will understand that most of the torments of the grave-that Intermediate Realm the doors of which continuously open and shut for those who enter it-are the result of misspent youth, as is testified to by those who have divined the life of the grave, and is affirmed by the people of truth.

Also, ask the elderly and the sick, who form the majority of mankind. Certainly, the great majority of them will say with sorrow and regret: "Alas! We wasted our youth on passion and fancy; indeed, harmfully. Be careful, do not do as we did!" Because, as a consequence of the illicit pleasures of five to ten years' youth, a person suffers years of grief and sorrow in this world, torment and harm in the Intermediate Realm, and the-calamities of Hell in the Hereafter. And although such a person is in a most piteable situation, he in no way deserves pity. For those who freely consent to indulge in harmful actions may not be pitied. They are not worthy of it.

May Almighty God save us and you from the al- luring temptations of this time, and preserve us from them. Amen.

 

* * * *

 

The Way to Preserve Beauty

It is understood from the narrations of certain Hadith that what will play the most fearsome role in the dissension at the end of time will be women and their dissension. Indeed, just as it is related in the histories that in olden times a group of soldiers composed of warrior women called Amazons were extremely skilful in war, so in just the same way at the present time, the most fearsome of the group in the war of atheistic misguidance against Islam, the commander- ship of which has been given to Satan through the scheming of the evil-commanding soul, is half-naked women, who with their bare legs-those ghastly knives-attack and assault the believers. By striving to close the road to marriage and widen the road to houses of debauchery, they take many people's souls captive, and wound their hearts and spirits with grave sins. Indeed, they kill some of those hearts.

As a perfect punishment for displaying them to the desirous gazes of those who are canonically strangers, those knife-like legs become the logs to fuel Hell and will be the first to burn. And since such women have lost confidence and faithfulness in this world, they are no longer able to find suitable husbands, which by their natures they want, and of which they are in great need. And even if they do find one, it only brings them trouble. It is understood from the narrations of some Hadith, even, that as a result of this situation, at the end of time, because marriage will be neither sought after nor observed in some places, the value of women will fall to the degree at which one man looks after forty women.

Since the reality of the matter is this; and since every beauty loves her beauty and wants to preserve it as far as she can, and does not want it to be spoilt; and since beauty is a bounty, and if bounty is thanked for, it increases, while if it is not thanked for, it changes and becomes ugly, for sure, if such a person is sensible, she will flee with all her strength from committing sins, and making her beauty and loyeliness commit sins, and making them ugly and poisonous, and through ingratitude turning that bounty into some- thing that leads to punishment. And in order to make permanent that fleeting five or ten years' beauty, she will give thanks for the bounty by using it in a licit fashion. Otherwise for the long period of her old age, she will be spurned and will weep despairingly.

If her loveliness is made beautiful with the adornment of Qur'anic conduct and manners within the sphere of Islamic training, that fleeting beauty will in effect become eternal, and in Paradise she will be given a beauty more graceful and shining than that of the houris, as is definitely established in some Hadiths. If such a beauty has even the minutest amount of sense, she will not allow this beautiful, shining, and everlasting result to slip from her hand.

 

* * * *

 

Mankind Will Embrace The Qur'an

I shall allude briefly to a most extensive and lengthy truth which occurred to my heart on the Night of Power.

Because of the extreme tyranny and despotism of this last World War and its merciless destruction, and hundreds of innocents being scattered and ruined on account of a single enemy, and the awesome despair of the defeated, and the fearsome alarm of the victors and their ghastly pangs of conscience arising from the supremacy they are unable to maintain and the destruction they are unable to repair, and the utter transitoriness and ephemerality of the life of this world and the deceptive and opiate nature of the fantasies of civilization becoming apparent to all, and the exalted abilities lodged in human nature and the human essence being wounded in a universal and awesome manner, and heedlessness and misguidance and deaf, lifeless nature being smashed by the diamond sword of the Qur'an, and the exceedingly ugly, exceedingly cruel true face of world politics becoming apparent, which is the widest and most suffocating and deceptive cover for heedlessness and misguidance, most certainly and without any shadow of a doubt, since the life of this world -which is the metaphorical beloved of mankind- is thus ugly and transient, man's true nature will search with all its strength for eternal life, which it truly loves and yearns for, just as there are signs of this occurring in the North, the West, and in America.

And most certainly there is no doubt that since the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition, which each century for one thousand three hundred and sixty years has had three hundred and fifty million students, and sets the seal on each of its pronouncements and claims through the affirmation of mil- lions of profound, veracious scholars, and each minute has been present with its sacredness in the hearts of millions of hafiz's and given instruction to man- kind through their tongues, and which in a way unmatched by any other book conveys the good news of eternal life and everlasting happiness to mankind and heals all their wounds,-since the Qur'an has given this certain good news of eternal life and happiness with thousands of its insistent, powerful and repeated verses, and with its certain unshakeable proofs and innumerable indubitable arguments which invite and give news explicitly and implicitly tens of thousands of times, so long as human kind does not altogether lose its mind and a material or immaterial doomsday does not erupt over its head, the broad masses and great states in the world will search out the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition, and having grasped its truths, will embrace it with all their lives and spirits, just as there are [now] famous preachers in Sweden, Norway, Finland and England working to have the Qur'an accepted, and the important community of America is searching for the true religion. Because in view of this fact, the Qur'an by no means has nor can have-any equal. And absolutely nothing can take the place of this greatest miracle.

SECONDLY: Since the Risale-i Nur has per- formed a service like a diamond sword in the hand of this greatest miracle and compelled its stubborn enemies to submit, and acts as a herald to the treasures of the Qur'an in a fashion that illuminates and heals completely both the heart, and the spirit, and the emotions, and has no source nor authority other than the Qur'an and is its miracle, it performs that duty perfectly.

Furthermore it has completely routed the obstinate atheists and their fearsome propaganda against it, and smashed to pieces with the treatise Nature: Cause or Effect nature, which is the most impregnable bastion of misguidance, and, with the Sixth Matter in the treatise Fruits of Belief together with the First, Second, Third and Eighth Proofs all of which are included in the book The Staff of Moses, has banished heedlessness in a most brilliant fashion in its most dense, suffocating and extensive sphere under the wide-reaching veils of science and has demonstrated the light of divine unity.

For sure, since religious instruction is now officially permitted and permission has been given to open private places of study, it is necessary for us and essential for the nation that, as far as is possible, Students of the Risale-i Nur should open a small 'Risale-i Nur Study Center' in every place. Al- though everyone would benefit to some extent, not everyone would understand every matter completely. But since these matters are explanations of the truths of belief, they are both learning, and knowledge of God, and lead to God's presence, and are worship.

Insha'llah, these 'Risale-i Nur Medreses' will se- cure in five to ten weeks the same results that the former medreses produced in five to ten years-and they have been so doing for twenty years.

Also it is essential for the Government not to interfere with these Flashes of the Qur'an, the Risale-i Nur, which is the Qur'an's herald and is beneficial in many ways for the worldly and political life of this nation and country, and for its life in the Here- after. Rather, it should work for its total spread and acceptance, so that it will atone for the grievous sins of the past, and form a barrier to the severe trials and anarchy of the future.

 

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Today's Most Pressing Question

The question we asked 'Ustad', our Master, was this: "For two years during the most critical times of this World War*, which is closely connected with the fate of the Islamic World,-and now it is about ten years-you have asked neither us, nor Emin, who everyday sees to your needs, anything at all about it, you have given it no importance at all. Is there some other fact more momentous than this event, that dominates and overrules it? Or is it harmful in some way to be preoccupied with it?" He answered as follows:

 

*The Second World War.

 

Yes, there is a fact more momentous, an event of greater consequence than the World War, and since it dominates the War, the War becomes extremely unimportant in comparison with it. The reason is this: this World War is to do with two governments disputing a claim for world supremacy; and at a time when the two great religions have opened suits for peace and reconciliation, and an alarming current of irreligion has embarked on a mighty struggle with the revealed religions, a case has been opened far exceeding in importance the cases opened in the supreme court of the 'proletariat' and 'bourgeoisie' of mankind. Such an immense matter has arisen that the amount of this case that concerns even a single person is greater than the World War. The case is as follows:

For every believer, indeed for everyone at this time, such a case has been opened that if each had as much wealth and power as the English and Germans put together, and sense as well, he would spend all of it just to win the case. For sure, anyone who attaches importance to other things before winning the case is crazy. And even it has become so full of risk that according to the observation of one seer of the realities of creation, out of forty people in a place who received their demobilization papers from the hand of the appointed hour, only one won the case. Thirty-nine lost.

And so, if a lawyer is to be found who has won such great and important cases for eight out of ten people for twenty years, and will win this one, anyone with any sense will be bound to attach greater importance to anything he can do which will induce such a lawyer to do his duty and win the case for him.

One such lawyer, indeed the foremost, is the Risale-i Nur, which proceeds, issues and is derived from the miraculousness of the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition, as thousands who have won the case through it can testify.

Indeed, it has been indisputably established that each human being sent as an official to this world is a temporary guest here, and that his true nature is turned towards an eternal life. But at this time the fortresses which are his point of support and will save eternal life for him have been shaken, and it seems he will leave for ever this world and all his friends who are in it. At such a time a case has been opened that will either gain him or lose him an eternal property thousands of times more perfect than the world. If he does not have the document of belief, and if his belief, which forms his warrant and papers, is not firm, he will lose the claim. Then is there anything that can take the place of what he has lost?

Thus, in consequence of this fact, even if the minds and ideas of each of us, that is, myself and my brothers, expanded a hundred times over, they would still be only just sufficient for this immense and sacred duty. To consider other matters is superfluous and meaningless. Indeed, we have only considered other things when certain students of the Risale-i Nur have been involved in the other cases; at times when for no reason, we have been subject to unnecessary aggression and assaults by the brainless, and then it was against our wishes and to the minimum degree necessary.*

 

*This refers to defense speeches in court.

 

Furthermore, it is harmful to become involved mind and heart with cases and conflicts outside this immense and rightful case. For a person who pays attention to and becomes preoccupied with the large and exciting sphere of politics will either neglect the duties with which he is charged in a narrow sphere, or his enthusiasm will be dampened. Also, a person sometimes gets carried away by paying attention to the enticing broad sphere of politics and conflict. Then, just as he does not carry out his duties, even if he does not lose his soundness of heart, purity of intention, integrity of thought and sincerity in his duties, he may anyway be accused of it. In fact, when they were attacking me in court concerning this very point, I silenced them with the following words:

Just as the sun-like truths of belief and the Qur'an cannot be a tool to and follow the attraction of transitory lights on the ground, so also one who truly knows those truths cannot use them as a tool for the whole universe, let alone events on the earth."

Our Master's answer ended here. And we assent to it with all our strength.

Students of the Risale-i Nur.

 

* * * *

 

How to Benefit From Prison

Those in prison are in great need of the true consolation of the Risale-i Nur. Particularly those who having suffered the blows of youth, are passing their young, sweet lives in prison; they need the Risale-i Nur as much as they need bread.

Indeed, youth heeds the emotions rather than reason, and emotions and desires are blind; they do not consider the consequences; They prefer one ounce of immediate pleasure to tons of future pleasure. They kill for the one minute pleasure of revenge, then suffer for eighty thousand hours the pain of prison. And one hour's dissolute pleasure in questions of honor may result in life's enjoyment being utterly destroyed through distress at the fear of both prison and enemies. And there are many other examples, many pitfalls for the unfortunate young because of which they transform their most sweet lives into the most bitter and pitiable lives.

Consider a vast state to the north*; it has gained possession of the passions of its young people and is shaking this century with its storms. For it has made lawful for its youths the pleasing daughters and wives of upright people, and these youths act only according to their feelings, which are blind to all consequences. Indeed, by permitting men and women to go together to the public baths, they are encouraging immorality. And they consider it lawful for vagabonds and the poor to plunder the property of the rich. All mankind trembles in the face of this calamity.

 

*Trans. Note; Russia

 

And so it is most necessary in this century for all Muslim youths to act heroically, and to respond to this two-pronged attack with keen swords like the Fruits of Belief and the Guide for Youth from the Risale-i Nur. Otherwise those unfortunate youths will destroy utterly both their futures in this world, and their agreeable lives, and their happiness in the Hereafter, and their eternal lives, and transform them into torment and suffering. And through their abuses and dissoluteness, they will end up in hospitals, and through their excesses in life, in prisons. In their old age, they will weep copiously with a thousand regrets.

If, on the other hand, they protect themselves with Qur'anic training, and with the truths of the Risale-i Nur, they will become truly heroic youths, perfect human beings, successful Muslims, and in some ways rulers over animate beings and the rest of the animal kingdom.

Indeed, when a youth in prison spends one hour out of the twenty-four each day on the five obligatory prayers, and repents for the mistakes that were the cause of his disaster, and abstains from other harmful, painful sins, just as this will be of great benefit for both his life, and his future, and his country, and his nation, and his relatives, so too will he gain with his fleeting youth of ten to fifteen years an eternal, brilliant youth. Foremost the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition, and all the revealed scriptures, have given this certain good news.

If such a youth demonstrates his gratitude for the pleasing, delightful bounty of youth through moderation and obedience, it will both increase it, and make it eternal, and make it a pleasure. Otherwise it will be both calamitous, and become painful, grievous, and a nightmare, and then it will depart. It will cause him to become like a vagrant, harmful for both his relatives, and his country, and his nation.

If the prisoner has been sentenced unjustly, on condition he performs the obligatory prayers, each hour will be the equivalent of a day's worship, and the prison will be like a recluse's cell. He will be counted among the pious hermits of olden times who retired to caves in order to devote themselves to worship. If he is poor, aged, and ill, and desirous of the truths of belief, on condition he performs the obligatory prayers and repents, each hour will become the equivalent of twenty hours' worship, and prison will become like a resthouse for him, and because of his friends there who regard him with affection, a place of love, training, and education. He will probably be happier staying in prison than being free, for outside he is confused and subject to the assaults of sins from all sides. He may receive a complete education from prison. On being released, it will not be as a murderer, or thirsting for revenge, but as someone penitent, proven by trial, wellbehaved, and beneficial for his nation. In fact, the Denizli prisoners became so extraordinarily wellbehaved after studying the Risale-i Nur for only a short time that some of those concerned said: "Studying the Risale-i Nur for fifteen weeks is more effective at reforming them than putting them in prison for fifteen years."

Since death does not die and the appointed hour is unknown, it may come at any time; and since the grave cannot be closed, and troop after troop enter it and are lost; and since it has been shown through the truths of the Qur'an that for those who believe death is transformed into the discharge papers releasing them from eternal annihilation, while for the corrupt and the dissolute it is disappearing for ever into eternal annihilation, and is unending separation from their loved ones and all beings, most certainly and with no doubt at all, the most fortunate person is he who with patience and thanks fully benefits from his time in prison, and studying the Risale-i Nur works to serve the Qur'an and his belief on the straight path.

Oh man who is addicted to enjoyment and pleasure! I am seventy-five years old, and I know with utter certainty from thousands of experiences, proofs, and events that true enjoyment, pain-free pleasure, grief-free joy, and life's happiness are only to be found in belief and in the sphere of the truths of belief. While a single worldly pleasure yields numerous pains. As though dealing ten slaps for a single grape, it drives away all life's pleasure.

Oh you unfortunate people who are experiencing the disaster of prison! Since your world is weeping and your life is bitter, strive so that your Hereafter will not also weep, and your eternal life will smile and be sweet! Benefit from prison! Just as sometimes under severe conditions in the face of the enemy, an hour's watch may be equivalent to a year's worship, so too in the severe conditions you are under, the hardship of each hour spent as worship becomes the equivalent of many hours, it transforms that hardship into mercy.

 

* * * *

 

Prison as Profit

In His Name, be He glorified

My dear and loyal brothers!

I shall explain in three 'Points' an effective solace for those who are experiencing the calamity of prison, and for those who kindly help them and faithfully supervise their food, which comes from outside.

First Point: Each day spent in prison may gain as much as ten days' worship, and, with regards to their fruits, may transform those transient hours into enduring hours, and through five or ten years' punishment may be the means of saving a person from millions of years of eternal imprisonment. For the believers, the condition for gaining this most significant and valuable advantage is to perform the obligatory prayers, repent for the sins that were the cause of their imprisonment, and offer thanks in patience. For sure, prison is an obstacle to many sins: it does not provide the opportunity for them.

Second Point:Just as the cessation of pleasure causes pain, so also does the cessation of pain give pleasure. Indeed, on thinking of past happy, enjoyable days, everyone feels a pang of regret and longing, and says: "Alas!", and recalling calamitous, unhappy days of the past, experiences a sort of pleasure since they are passed, and says: "Praise and thanks be to God, that calamity has left its reward and departed." He breathes a sigh of relief. That is to say, an hour's temporary pain and sorrow leave behind a sort of pleasure in the spirit, while a pleasurable hour leaves a pain.

Since the reality is thus; and since past calamitous hours together with their pains are no longer existent, and future distressing days are at the present time non-existent, and there is no pain from nothing, to continually eat bread and drink water today, for example, because of the possibility of being hungry and thirsty in several days' time, is most foolish. And in just the same way, to think now of the past and future unhappy hours, which simply do not exist, and to show impatience, and ignoring one's faulty self, to moan as though complaining about God is also most foolish. So long as the power of patience is not scattered to left and right, that is, to the past and future, and is held firm in the face of the present of hour and day, it is sufficient. The distress falls from ten to one.

In fact, but let it not be complaining, divine favor pointed out the above fact to me while, during a few days of material and spiritual affliction, illness, and trial the like of which I had never before experienced in my life, I was being crushed in particular by the despair and distress of the heart and spirit which resulted from my being unable to serve the Qur'an and belief with the Risale-i Nur. I was then content with my distressing illness and imprisonment. For, saying: "It is great profit for an unfortunate like myself who waits at the door of the grave to make one hour which might be passed in heedlessness ten hours' worth of worship", I gave thanks.

Third Point: There is great gain in compassionately aiding and assisting prisoners, in giving them the sustenance they need, and in soothing their spiritual wounds with consolation. And giving them their food which comes from outside is like almsgiving which, exactly to the amount of the food, is written in the book of good deeds of those, outside and inside, who do this, together with the warders concerned. And especially if the unhappy prisoner is old, ill, poor, or a stranger, then the reward of this alms-giving increases many times over.

Thus the condition of this valuable profit is to perform the obligatory prayers, so that such service is for God's sake. And another condition is to hasten to their assistance with sincerity, compassion and joy, and in such a way as to not make them feel obliged.

 

* * * *

 

Reconciliation through The Risale-i Nur

In His Name, be He glorified.

And there is not a thing but it glorifies Him with praise

My friends in prison and brothers in religion!

It occurred to me to explain a truth to you which will save you both from worldly torment and the torment of the Hereafter. It is as follows:

For example: A person killed someone's brother or one of his relatives. A murder which yields one minute's pleasure of revenge causes millions of minutes of both distress for the heart and the anguish of prison. And the fear of revenge by the murdered man's relatives, and anxiety of finding himself face to face with his enemy drives away all his pleasure and enjoyment in life. He suffers the torment of both fear and anger. There is only one solution for this, and that is reconciliation, which the Qur'an commands, and truth, reality, benefit, humanity, and Islam require and encourage.

Indeed, the reality and requirement is peace, because the appointed hour is set, it does not change. Since his appointed hour had come, the murdered man would have stayed no longer in any event. And as for the murderer, he was the means of God's decree being carried out. So long as there is no reconciliation, both sides perpetually suffer the torments of fear and revenge. It is because of this that Islam commands that "one believer should not be vexed with another believer for more than three days". If the murder was not the result of a vindictive grudge and enmity, and a two-faced trouble-maker instigated the discord, it is essential to make peace quickly. Otherwise, that minor disaster becomes a large one, and continues. If they make peace, and the murderer repents and prays continuously for the man he killed, then both sides will gain much and become like brothers. In place of one departed brother, he will gain several religious brothers. He will be resigned to Divine Decree and Determining and forgive his enemy. And especially since they heed the lessons of the Risale-i Nur, both individual and public peace and well-being, and the brotherhood that there is in the sphere of the Risale-i Nur require that they put aside all the hard feelings that exist between them.

It was thus in Denizli Prison; all the prisoners who were enemies became brothers through the lessons of the Risale-i Nur. It was one reason for our acquittal, and caused even the irreligious and ungodly to say about those prisoners: "Mashallah! Barekallah!" And it was an utter relief for those prisoners. I myself have seen here a hundred men suffer inconvenience on account of one man and not go out to take exercise together. It is oppression towards them. A manly believer of sound conscience will not cause each of hundreds of other believers harm because of some insignificant and minor error or benefit. If he makes a mistake and does cause harm, he should repent immediately.

 

* * * *

 

Brotherhood in Prison

My loyal new brothers and old prisoners!

I have formed the firm conclusion that, in respect of divine favor, you are an important cause in our entering here. That is to say, with its consolation and the truths of belief, the Risale-i Nur is to save both you from the distress of this calamity of prison and from much worldly harm, and your life from passing profitlessly and quite in vain through grief and sorrow and being wasted on the winds of fancy, and your Hereafter from weeping like your world is weeping now; it is to provide you with true solace.

Since the reality of the matter is this, of course you must be brothers to one another, like the Denizli prisoners and Students of the Risale-i Nur. You can see that they examine all your possessions, food, bread, and soup which come from outside so that a knife does not get in among you and you do not attack one another. The warders who faithfully serve you suffer much trouble. Also, you do not go out to exercise together, as though you were going to attack one another like wild beasts. And so, new friends, who are by nature bold and courageous, with great moral courage you should say to the group at this time:

"If not knives, but Mausers and revolvers were given us, and the order to fire as well, we would not hurt our friends who are unfortunate and suffering this calamity like ourselves. Through the guidance and at the command of the Qur'an, and belief, and Islamic brotherhood, and our interests, we have decided to forgive them and to try not to offend them, even if formerly there were a hundred reasons for our enmity and hostility." And so transform this prison into an auspicious place of study.

 

* * * *

 

Deliverance through Belief

Seventh Hope

from Treatise for the Elderly

One time at the start of my old age when the laughter of the Old Said was being transformed into the weeping of the New Said, supposing me still to be the Old Said, the worldly in Ankara invited me there, and I went. At the close of autumn I climbed to the top of the citadel, which was far more aged, dilapidated, and worn out than me. It seemed to me to be formed of petrified historical events. The old age of the season of the year together with my old age, the citadel's old age, mankind's old age, the old age of the glorious Ottoman State and the death of the Caliphate's rule, and the world's old age all caused me to look in a most grieved, compassionate and melancholy state in that lofty citadel at the valleys of the past and the mountains of the future. As I experienced an utterly black state of mind in Ankara encompassed by four or five layers of the darknesses of old age one within the other*, I sought a light, a solace, a hope.

 

*. My state of mind at that time prompted me to write a supplication in Persian. It was printed in Ankara, in a treatise entitled, Hubab.

 

As I sought consolation looking to the right, that is, to the past, my father and forefathers and the human race appeared in the form of a vast grave and filled me with gloom rather than consoling me. Seeking a remedy I looked to the future, which was my left. I saw that it appeared as a huge, dark grave for myself, my contemporaries, and future generations; it produced horror in place of familiarity. Feeling desolate in the face of the left and right, I looked at the present day. It appeared to my heedless and historical eye as a coffin bearing my half-dead, suffering and desperately struggling corpse. Then, despairing from that direction as well, I raised my head and looked at the top of the tree of my life, and saw that the tree bore only a single fruit, and that was my corpse; it stood at the top of the tree and was watching me. Feeling horror at this direction, too, I bowed my head. I looked to the foot of the tree of my life, to its roots, and saw that the soil there, the earth which was the source of my creation and the dust of my bones mixed together, was being trampled underfoot. That was no remedy, rather it added further pain to my affliction.

Then I was forced to look behind me. I saw that this unstable, transient world was tumbling, disappearing into the valleys of nothingness and the darkness of non-existence. While seeking a salve for my pain, it only added poison. Since I could see no good in that direction I looked in front of me, I sent forward my view to the future. I saw that the door of the grave was to be seen open right in the middle of my path, it was watching me with its mouth open. The highway beyond it which stretched away to eternity, and the convoys travelling that highway struck the eye from the distance. And apart from a limited, partial power of choice as my support and defensive weapon in the face of the horrors coming from these six directions, I had nothing else.

Since the partial power of choice, man's only weapon against those innumerable enemies and endless harmful things, is both defective, and short, and weak, and lacks the power to create, man is capable of nothing apart from acquisition. I could neither pass to the past in order to silence the sorrows which came to me from there, nor could I penetrate the future to prevent the fears which came from there. I saw that there was no benefit in my hopes and pains concerning the past and future.

At the time I was struggling in the horror, desolation, darkness and despair coming from these six directions, the lights of belief which shine in the sky of the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition suddenly came to my assistance. They lit up and illuminated those six directions to such a degree that if the terrors and darkness I had seen increased a hundredfold, that light would still have been sufficient to meet them. It transformed all those horrors one by one into solace and the desolation into familiarity. It was as follows:

Belief rent asunder the desolate view of the past as a vast grave, and showed it with utter certainty to be a familiar and enlightened gathering of friends.

And belief showed the future, which had appeared in the form of a huge grave to my heedless eyes, to be most certainly a banquet of the Most Merciful One in delightful palaces of bliss.

And belief rent the view of present time as a coffin, as it had appeared to my heedless view, and showed it with certainty to be a place of trade for the Hereafter and a glittering guest-house of the All Merciful One.

And belief showed with utter certainty that the only fruit at the top of the tree of life was not a corpse as had appeared to my neglectful eye, rather, that my spirit, which would manifest eternal life and was designated for eternal happiness, would leave its wom out home to travel around the stars.

And belief showed through the mystery of belief that my bones and the earth which was the source of my creation were not valueless pulverized bones trampled underfoot, rather, that the soil was the door to Divine Mercy and a veil before the hall of Paradise.

And belief showed through the mystery of the Qur'an that the world which had appeared to my heedless eye behind me as tumbling into nothingness and non-existence to consist of missives of the Eternally Besought One and pages of decorations and embroideries glorifying God which had completed their duties, stated their meanings, and left their results in existence in their place. It made known with complete certainty what the true nature of the world is.

And belief showed through the light of the Qur'an that the grave which would open its eyes and look at me in the future was not the door of a well, rather, that it was the door to the world of light, and that the highway which stretched to eternity beyond the grave led not to nothingness and non-existence, but to existence, a place of light, and eternal bliss. Since belief demonstrated this to a degree which afforded utter conviction, it was both a remedy and a salve for my afflictions.

And in place of a very minor ability to receive, belief puts a document into the hand of the limited, partial power of choice so that it may rely on an infinite Power and be connected to a boundless Mercy in the face of those innumerable enemies and layers of darkness. Indeed, belief is a document in the hand of the partial power of choice. And although this human weapon of partial choice, is in itself both short, and powerless, and deficient, just as when a soldier utilizes his partial strength on account of the state, he performs duties far exceeding his own strength, so too through the mystery of belief, if the limited, partial power of choice is used in the name of Almighty God and in His way, it may gain also a Paradise as broad as five hundred years.

And belief takes from the hands of the body the reins of the partial power of choice, which cannot penetrate to the past and future, and hands them over to the heart and spirit. Since the spirit and heart's sphere of life is not restricted to present time like the body, and included within it are a great many I years from the past and a great many years from the future, the partial power of choice ceases being partial and acquires universality. Just as through the strength of belief it may enter the deepest valleys of the past and repel the darkness of its sorrows, so also with the light of belief it may rise as far as the farthest mountains of the future, and remove its fears.

And so my elderly brothers and sisters who are suffering the difficulties of old age like myself! Since, praise be to God, we are believers, and in belief there are this many luminous, pleasurable, agreeable, and gratifying treasures; and since our old age impels us even more to the contents of the treasure, for sure, rather than complaining about old age accompanied by belief, we should offer endless thanks.

 

* * * *

 

The Inner Face of the World

Eighth Hope

from Treatise for the Elderly

At a time when gray hairs, the sign of old age, were appearing in my hair, the turmoil of the First World War which made even heavier the deep sleep of youth, the upheaval of my captivity as a prisoner-of-war, the position of great fame and honor accorded to me on my final return to Istanbul and the kind treatment and attention far exceeding my due from everyone, from the Caliph, even, sheyhu'lIslam, and Commander-in-Chief of the Army to the medrese students, the intoxication of youth, and the mental state produced by position made the sleep of youth so heavy that I quite simply saw the world as permanent and myself in a wonderful undying situation cemented to it.

Then, one day in Ramazan, I went to Bayazid Mosque to listen to the sincere reciters of the Qur'an. The Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition was proclaiming with its exalted heavenly address through the tongues of the reciters the decree of, _ Every living creature shall taste death which most powerfully tells of man's death and that of all animate creatures. It entered my ear, penetrated to the depths of my heart and established itself there; it shattered that profound sleep and heedlessness. I went out from the mosque. Because of the stupor of the sleep which for a long time had settled in my head, for several days a tempest was now raging in it, and I saw myself as a boat with smoking boilers and compass spinning. Every time I looked at my hair in the mirror, the grey hairs told me: "Take note of us!" And so the situation became clear through the warnings of my gray hairs.

I looked and saw that my youth which so captivated me with its pleasures and in which I so trusted was bidding me farewell, and that this worldly life which I so loved and with which I was so involved was beginning to be extinguished, and that the world with which I was closely connected and of which I was quite simply the lover was saying to me: "Have a good journey", and was warning me that I would be leaving this guest-house. Itself, too, was saying "Good-bye", and was preparing to leave. From the indications of the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition's verse,

Every living creature shall taste death*,

the following meaning was unfolding in my heart: the human race is a living creature; it shall die in order to be resurrected. And the globe of the earth is a living creature; it also will die in order to take on an eternal form. And the world, too, is a living creature; it will die in order to assume the form of the Hereafter

 

*Qur'an 21:35, etc.

 

So, while in this state, I considered my situation. I saw that youth, which is the source of pleasure, was departing, and old age, which is the source of sorrow, was approaching, that life, which is so shining and luminous, was taking its leave, while death, which is terrifying and apparently darkness was preparing to arrive, and that the lovable world, which is thought to be permanent and is the beloved of the heedless, was hastening to its decease.

In order to deceive myself and again plunge my head into heedlessness I considered the pleasures of the social standing I enjoyed in Istanbul, which was far higher than my due, but there was no advantage in it at all. All their regard, attention, and consolation could only come as far as the looming door of the grave; there it would be extinguished. And since I saw it as a tedious hypocrisy, cold conceit, and temporary stupefaction under the embellished veil of glory and renown, which is the imaginary aim of the worshippers of fame, I understood that-these things which had deceived me until then could provide me with no solace, there was no light to be found in them at all.

I again started to listen to the reciters in Bayazid Mosque in order to hear the Qur'an's heavenly teaching, and to awaken once more. Then from that sub I lime instruction I heard good news through sacred decrees of the sort,

And give glad tidings to those who believe*

Through the effulgence of the Qur'an, I sought consolation, hope, and light, not outside them, but within the points at which I had felt horror, desolation, and despair. A hundred thousand thanks be to Almighty God, I found the cure within the malady itself. I found the light within the darkness itself. I found the solace within the horror itself.

 

* Qur'an 2:25, etc.

 

Firstly, I looked in the face of death, which is imagined to be the most terrible thing, and terrifies everyone. Through the light of the Qur'an I saw that although death's veil is black, dark, and ugly, for believers its true face is luminous and beautiful. And we have proved this truth decisively in many parts of the Risale-i Nur. For example, as we explained in the Eighth Word and the Twentieth Letter death is not annihilation, it is not separation, it is rather the introduction to eternal life, its beginning. It is a rest from the hardships of life's duties, a demobilization. It is a change of residence. It is to meet with the caravan of one's friends who have already migrated to the Intermediate World; and so on. I saw death's true, beautiful face through truths like these. It was not with fear that I looked at death's face, indeed, in a sense, it was with longing. I understood one meaning of the Sufis' 'contemplation of death'.

Then I looked at my departed youth-youth, which makes everyone weep with its passing, which infatuates and fills them with desire, causing them to pass it in sin and heedlessness. I saw that within its beautiful embroidered garb was a most ugly, drunken, stupefied face. Had I not learned its true nature, instead of intoxicating and amusing me for a few years if I remained in the world a hundred years, it would have made me weep that long. Just as one such person said lamenting:

"If only one day my youth would return, I would tell it of the woes old age has brought me. "

Indeed, elderly people like the one above who do not know the true nature of youth, think of their own youth, and weep with regret and longing. But when youth belongs to believers with sound minds and hearts, so long as they spend it on worship, good works, and trade for the Hereafter, it is the most powerful, agreeable and pleasant means of securing that trade and those good works. And for those who know their religious duties, and do not misspend their youth, it is a most precious and delightful divine bounty. When it is not spent in moderation, uprightness, and fear of God, it contains many dangers, it damages eternal happiness and the life of this world. Indeed, in return for the pleasures of one or two years' youth, it causes many years of grief and sorrow in old age.

Since for most people youth is harmful, we elderly people should thank God that we have been saved from its dangers and harm. Like everything else, the pleasures of youth depart. If they have been spent on worship and good works, the fruits of such a youth remain perpetually in their place and are the means of gaining youth in eternal life.

Next, I considered the world, with which most people are infatuated and to which they are addicted. Through the light of the Qur'an, I saw that the world has three faces, one within the other:

The First: This looks to the Divine Names; it is a mirror to them.

Its Second Face: This looks to the Hereafter, and is its tillage.

Its Third Face: This looks to the worldly; it is the playground of the heedless.

Moreover, everyone has his own vast world in this world. Simply, there are worlds one within the other to the number of human beings. But the pillar of everyone's private world is his own life. Whenever his body gives way, his world collapses on his head, it is doomsday for him. Since the heedless and neglectful do not realize that their world will be so quickly destroyed, they suppose it to be permanent like the general world and worship it. I thought to myself: "I, too, have a private world that will swiftly collapse and be demolished like the worlds of other people. What value is there in this private world, this brief life of mine?"

Then, through the light of the Qur'an I saw that both for myself and everyone else, this world is a temporary place of trade, a guest-house which is every day filled and emptied, a market set up on the road for the passers-by to shop in, an ever-renewed notebook of the Pre-Eternal Inscriber which is constantly written and erased, and every spring is a gilded letter, and every summer a well-composed ode, that it is formed of mirrors reflecting and renewing the manifestations of the All-Glorious Maker's Names, is a seed-bed of the Hereafter, a flower-bed of Divine Mercy, and a special, temporary workshop for producing signboards which will be displayed in the World of Permanence.

I offered a hundred thousand thanks to the All-Glorious Creator Who had made the world in this way. And I understood that while love for the beautiful, inner faces of the world which look to the Hereafter and Divine Names had been given to mankind, since they spent it on its transient, ugly, harmful, heedless face, they manifested the meaning of the Hadith: "Love of this world is the source of all transgression".

And so, o elderly people! I realized this truth through the light of the All-Wise Qur'an and the warnings of my old age and belief opening my eyes. And I have demonstrated it with decisive proofs in many places in the Risale-i Nur. I experienced a true solace, powerful hope, and shining light. I was thankful for my old age. And I was happy that my youth had gone. You, too, do not weep, but offer thanks. Since there is belief and the truth is thus, let the heedless weep, let the misguided lament.

 

* * * *

 

The Air: A Window onto Divine Unity

In His Name, be He glorified

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.

My very dear and loyal brothers!

My brothers, I observed in a subtle point concerning God's Unity, which suddenly became clear while studying the page of the air on a journey of the imagination and mind, that is, in the word HE in the phrases THERE IS NO GOD BUT HE, and, SAY HE IS GOD, (and that was only in its material aspect) that the way of belief is infinitely easy, easy to the point of being necessary, and that the way of misguidance and associating partners with God is infinitely difficult, so difficult as to be impossible. I shall explain that long and extensive point with an extremely brief indication.

Indeed, if soil, one handful of which can act as a flower-pot for hundreds of plants in turn, is attributed to nature or causes, it becomes necessary either for there to be present in such a handful hundreds of immaterial machines, rather, machines and factories to the number of the plants, or for each particle of that small amount of soil to know how to make all those different plants together with their different characteristics and living organs; quite simply, each would have to possess infinite knowledge and limitless power like a god.

The same is true for the air, which is a place of maximum manifestation of the Divine Will and Command; either there would have to be present on a minute scale in each of its molecules, in each waft of wind, each breath, and in the tiny amount air expended with the word HE, the innumerable different exchanges, centers, receivers and transmitters of all the telephones, telegraphs and radios in the world so that each could perform those innumerable acts at the same time. Or each particle of each molecule of air exhaled with HE, and indeed of the element air, would have to possess abilities and personalities to the number of all the different telephone users, telegraphers, and those who speak on the radio, and know all their different languages, and broadcast them to the other particles at the same time. For such a situation is actually apparent, and every bit of air possesses that ability. Thus, in the ways of the unbelievers, Naturalists, and Materialists not one impossibility, but impossibilities and difficulties are clearly apparent to the number of molecules of air.

If attributed to the All-Glorious Maker, however, the air together with all its particles becomes a soldier under His command. With its Creator's permission and through His power, and through being connected to its Creator and relying on Him, and through the manifestation of its Maker's Power, in an instant with the speed of lightening, and with the ease of uttering the word HE and the movement of the air in waves, its innumerable universal duties are performed as easily as an orderly, single duty of a single particle. That is to say, the air becomes a page for the endless, wonderful, and orderly writings of the pen of Power. And its particles become the nibs of the pen, and their duties the points inscribed by it. The air functions as easily as the movement of a single particle.

And so, while on my journey of contemplation prompted by the phrases THERE IS NO GOD BUT HE, and, SAY, HE IS GOD, and while observing the world of the air and studying the page of that element, I witnessed this brief truth with utter certainty and clarity, and in detail. And I understood with 'certainty at the degree of knowledge' that it was because there is in the word HE, in the air of its utterance, such a brilliant proof and flash of Divine Unity, and also in its meaning and allusions such a luminous manifestation of Divine Oneness and powerful proof of Divine Unity, and in that proof an indication that since the pronoun HE is unconditional and indefinite, it suggests the question, "Who does it refer to?" that both the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition and those who constantly recite the Divine Names frequently repeat this sacred word in the station of Unity. Indeed, if, for example, there is one point on a piece of white paper and two or three other points are jumbled around with it and then someone who already has numerous jobs tries to distinguish them, he will be confused; and if many burdens are loaded on a small creature, it will be crushed; and if numerous words issue from one tongue and enter one ear altogether at the same time, their order will be broken and they will be a muddle.

Despite this being the case, I saw with complete certainty that with the key and compass of HE, although thousands of different points, letters and words had been put in each molecule-and even in each particle-of the element air, through which I journeyed in my mind, neither did they become mixed up nor did they spoil their order; and although they performed a great many different duties, these were carried out without being confused in any way; and although very heavy loads were laid on each molecule and particle, they bore them in order without lagging or displaying any weakness at all. And I saw that thousands of different words of all different sorts enter and issue with perfect order from what is in effect those minute ears and tongues without being mixed up and spoilt in any way, they enter those minute ears and issue from those tiny tongues, and by performing these extraordinary duties, each particle and each molecule declares through the enraptured tongue of its being and its perfect freedom, and through the testimony and tongue of the above truth: THERE IS NO GOD BUT HE, and: SAY, HE IS GOD, THE ONE, and travels among air-clashing waves like storms and lightening and thunder without in any way spoiling their order or confusing their duties. And one duty is not an obstacle to another duty. I observed this and was utterly certain.

That is to say, either every particle and piece of the air has to possess infinite wisdom, knowledge, will, and power, and the qualities for being absolutely dominant over all the other particles so that it can be the means of those functions being carried out, which is absurd and impossible to the number of particles, and no devil even could imagine it, or else, and it is self-evident to the degree of 'certainty at the degree of knowledge', 'certainty at the degree of witnessing', and 'absolute certainty' that the page of the air functions through the boundless, infinite knowledge and wisdom of the All-Glorious One, and is the changing page for the pen of Divine Power and Determining, and like a signboard for writing and erasing, known as a Tablet of Appearance and Dissolution, which has the function of the Preserved Tablet in the world of transformation and change.

Thus, just as the element of air demonstrates the above-mentioned wonders and manifestation of Divine Unity in only the duty of transmitting sound and shows the impossibilities of misguidance, so also does it perform other important duties like transmitting subtle forces and energy, like electricity, light, and the forces of attraction and repulsion with order and without confusing them. And at the same time as conveying these, with perfect order, it carries out duties essential for the lives of all plants and animals, such as respiration and pollination. It proves in decisive fashion that it is a place of maximum manifestation of the Divine Will and Command. I came to the firm conclusion that it proves that in no way is there any possibility of vagrant chance, blind force, deaf nature, confused, aimless causes, and powerless, lifeless, unknowing matter interfering in the writing and duties of the page of the air. And I understood that every particle and part of it says with the tongue of its being: SAY, HE IS GOD, THE ONE, and: THERE IS NO GOD BUT HE. And just as with the key of HE I saw these wonders in the material aspect of the air, so also, as a HE, did the element of air become a key to the World of Similitudes and the World of Meaning.

I saw that the World of Similitudes is all the time taking innumerable photographs without confusing them, and that each photograph contains innumerable events occurring in this world. I understood that it was a gigantic camera, and a vast cinema of the Hereafter thousands of times larger than the world for showing the fruits of the transitory and impermanent states and lives of ephemeral beings in eternal theaters, for showing to those enjoying everlasting bliss in Paradise scenes from their old memories and adventures in this world* While the faculties of memory and imagination, which are two proofs, two small examples, and two points of both the Preserved Tablet and the World of Similitudes situated in man's head, are as tiny as lentils, within them are written in perfect order and without being mixed up as much information as contained in a large library. This proves decisively that the great and large examples of those faculties are the World of Similitudes and the Preserved Tablet.

 

*Since the time and place and conditions do not allow this to be proved with firm proofs and arguments like clear facts, it is cut short here.

 

It is definite and certain with 'certainty at the degree of knowledge' that the elements of air and water, and the element air and water like seminal fluid in particular, are far superior to the element of earth, and are written with more wisdom and will, and with the pen of Divine Determining and Power, and that it is completely impossible for chance, blind force, deaf nature, and lifeless and aimless causes to interfere in them, and that they are a page of the pen of Power and the wisdom of the All-Wise One of Glory.

 

* * * *

 

On Recognizing the World's Owner

FIFTH MATTER: Since this world is transitory and this life brief; and since the duties to be accomplished here are many and eternal life is to be gained here; and since this guest-house of the world is not without an owner, but has a most Wise and Generous Manager; and since neither good works nor bad will remain without recompense; and since according to the verse,

On no soul does God place a burden greater than it can bear*,

nothing is proposed by God which is unbearable; and since a safe way is preferable to a harmful one; and since worldly friends and position continue only to the door of the grave, for sure, the most fortunate person is he who does not forget the Hereafter for the sake of this world, nor sacrifice the Hereafter for this world, nor spoil his eternal life for the sake of his life here,. nor waste his life on trifles, but considers himself to be a guest and acts in accordance with the commands of the guest-house's owner, 7 opens the door of the grave with safety, and enters eternal bliss.

 

*Qur'an 2:286

 

 

* * * *

 

The Best Youth

YOUR SEVENTH QUESTION:Is the following a Hadith, and what is meant by it? "The best youth is the one who resembles an elderly man, while the worst elderly man is the one who resembles a youth."

THE ANSWER:I have heard that it is a Hadith. Its meaning is this: The best youth is one who, thinking of death and working for the Hereafter like an elderly person, does not become a prisoner to the desires of youth and submerged in heedlessness. And the worst of the elderly among you is one who wants to resemble a youth in heedlessness and sensuality, and follows the desires of the soul like a child.

The correct form of the second part you saw on your board is the following, which I have hung above me as words of wisdom. I look at it every morning and evening, and take a lesson from it:

"If you want a friend, God is sufficient." Yes, if He is a friend, everything is a friend.

"If you want a companion, the Qur'an is sufficient." For sure, in your imagination, you can meet Page 71 & 72 are missing pletely, and after the illness has completed its duty, God willing, the All-Compassionate Creator will restore your health."

Also, I used to say: "Through the calamity of health, and through falling into heedlessness, abandoning the obligatory prayers, not thinking of the grave, forgetting God, and an hour's superficial pleasure of the life of this world, some of your contemporaries shake and damage a boundless eternal life, and perhaps even destroy it. Whereas, through the eye of illness you see the grave, which is an abode you will in any event enter, and the dwellingplaces of the Hereafter beyond it, and you behave in accordance with them. That is to say, for you illness is health, while for some of your contemporaries, health is a sickness..."

 

* * * *

 

On The Evils of The Soul

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

This is a point concerning the verse, the meaning of which is:

The [human] soul is certainly prone to evil*,

and the Hadith, the meaning of which is:

Your most harmful enemy is your own soul.

So long as an unpurified evil-commanding soul is present in a person, and he loves and fancies himself, he will not love anyone else. Even if he apparently loves them, he will not do so sincerely. Rather, he will love for the benefits and pleasure to be gained, and will always try to make himself liked and admired. He will not attribute faults to himself, but will defend and exonerate himself like a lawyer. Praising and absolving himself with exaggerations and even lies, he will quite simply worship himself, and in accordance with the degree of it, will receive a slap from the verse,

Who takes as his god his own desires**

 

*Qur'an 12:53
**Qur'an 25:43

 

And as for his boasting and trying to make him self liked, it will attract coldness and an unsympathetic reception as a reaction.

Moreover, he will lose sincerity in the aspect of his actions which pertain to the Hereafter, he will mix hypocrisy in with them. He will be conquered by emotions which do not consider the consequences, nor think of the results, and are addicted to the pleasure of the moment; through the fetwa' of feelings which have gone astray, he will languish in prison for a year, because of one hour's pleasure. He will suffer ten years' punishment on account of one minute's arrogance or revenge. Simply, like an idle child who sells his lesson book containing the last thirtieth part of the Qur'an* for a single sweet, in order to gratify his senses, indulge his fancies, and satisfy his desires, he will make his good works, which are as valuable as diamonds, the means for egotistical pleasures, which resemble valueless fragments of glass; he will make a loss in what could be profitable.

Oh God! Preserve us from the evil of the soul and Satan, and from the evil of jinn and men. Amen

 

*Trans. note: When learning the Qur'an, children start with this last section of the Qur'an.

 

 

* * * *

 

False Awakening

Know, Oh friend! I am among those included in the poem the meaning of which is: "My eyes were sleeping during my youth, which resembles night. I awoke only with the morning of old age." For I thought I had risen to the highest peak of awakening in youth, but now I understand that that awakening was not awakening, it consisted only of being in the deepest sleep. Therefore, the illumination of awakening which the 'cultured' talk of pretentiously and with pride must be the sort I experienced in my youth.

The example of such people is that of the sleeper who as though awake in his dream, tells the dream to others. Whereas, his waking up in his dream indicates that he has passed from an insubstantial veil of sleep to a thick and profound one. Such a sleeper is as though dead. How can he arouse people who are half asleep?

Oh you who consider yourselves to be in full possession of your senses while being asleep! Do not incline towards the 'cultured', nor be tolerant towards them in matters of religion, nor try to resemble them. For the gulf between us is of great depth. You will not be able to fill it up and establish a line of communication. You will either join them, or fall into misguidance, and drown.

 

* * * *

 

A Strange Aspect of Man

THIRD SIGN

Oh man! A most strange aspect which the always Creator has included in your make-up is this: although sometimes you cannot settle in the world, and like a man whose throat is constricted in prison you gasp and long for somewhere broader than the world, at other times you enter into some miniscule matter, a memory, a moment, and settle there. Your heart and thought, which cannot be situated in the vast world, are situated in those miniscule matters. You wander around with your most powerful emotions in that fragment of time, in that tiny memory.

And He has given you such immaterial tools and subtle faculties that if some of them consumed the world, they would not be satisfied. Some of them cannot situate a minute particle within themselves. Although the head can raise a load of stones, like the eye cannot raise a single hair, a faculty such as those cannot sustain the weight of a hair; that is, they cannot bear even a slight condition arising from heedlessness and misguidance. Sometimes even they are extinguished and die. Since it is thus, be on the alert, tread carefully, be wary of sinking! Do not drown in a mouthful, a word, a seed, a flash, a sign, a kiss! Do not plunge all your subtle faculties, which can swallow the world, into them! For there are very small things which in some respect swallow very large things. Just as the sky together with all its stars may enter into a small piece of glass and drown in it, and most of the pages of your deeds and leaves of your life enter your faculty of memory, which is as tiny as a mustard seed, so too there are many small particular things that in one respect swallow and contain large things such as those.

 

* * * *

 

On Taqwa

(This letter is most important)

In His Name, be He glorified.

My Dear and Loyal Brothers!

I have been thinking recently of the principles of taqwa and good deeds, which, after belief, are taken most often as fundamentals in the view of the Qur'an. Taqwa is to avoid sins and what is forbidden, and a good deed is to act within the sphere of what is commanded and in the way of gaining God's pleasure. While repelling evil and attracting benefit always take precedence, in these times of destruction, extravagance, and enticing sensuality, the repelling of evil-doing and giving up of grave sins, which constitute taqwa, have become essential and have gained priority.

Since destruction and negative currents have reached horrific proportions at this time, taqwa forms the strongest foundation in the face of them. One who performs the obligatory religious duties and does not commit grave sins will be saved. Good deeds performed with sincerity among grave sins such as those are successful to only a very small degree.

Also, under these difficult conditions, an insignificant good deed becomes like much.

Furthermore, within taqwa is a sort of good deed. For it is compulsory to give up what is unlawful. Performing a compulsory act gains a reward equal to many acts that are Sunna. In times such as these, through a small act and giving up hundreds of sins, avoiding a single unlawful act in the face of the attacks of thousands of sins is equal to performing hundreds of compulsory acts. With the intention and aim of avoiding sins in the name of taqwa, this important point constitutes a significant good deed proceeding from 'negative' worship.

The most important duty of Students of the Risale-i Nur at this time must be to take taqwa as the basis of their conduct. Since in the present-day form of social life every minute a person is-confronted with hundreds of sins, for sure, through taqwa and the intention of avoiding them, it is as though hundreds of good works have been performed.

It is well-known that twenty men cannot construct in twenty days a palace which one man destroys in one day. And while it is necessary for twenty men to work in the face of one man's destruction, in the face of thousands of destructive agents at the present time, the very great resistance and effectiveness of a repairer like the Risale-i Nur is truly extraordinary. If these two reciprocal forces were at the same level, the success and triumph in the repairs it would achieve would be miraculous.

In short: Respect and compassion, the most important principles in administering social life, have been badly shaken. In some places, the results have been most grievous and dreadful-concerning aged parents. Thanks be to God that wherever the Risale-i Nur confronts this fearsome destruction, it offers resistance and repairs the damage.

Just as Gog and Magog caused corruption and disorder in the world through destroying 'the barrier of Zu'l-Qarnayn', so too with the barrier of the Qur'an formed by the Shari'a of Muhammad being shaken, a dark anarchy and tyrannous irreligion in morality and life more fearsome than God and Magog have begun corrupting and subverting. Like at the time of the Companions of the Prophet when a small acts were the means of great rewards, God willing, the moral and spiritual struggles of the Students of the Risale-i Nur in a situation such as this will be the means of good works and great reward.

 

* * * *

 

Manifestations of Mercy

This concerns six of the thousands of mysteries contained in In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

NOTE: A bright light from the part of the verse 1n The Name Of God, the Merciful, The Compassionate concerning Divine Mercy appeared to my dull mind from afar. I wanted to record it for myself in the form of notes, and to hunt it down and capture it, and circumscribe the light with twenty to thirty mysteries. But unfortunately I was not able to do this at the present time and the twenty or thirty mysteries were reduced to five or six.

When I say: "Oh man!", I mean myself. And while this lesson is directed particularly to my own soul, I refer it as the Second Station of the Fourteenth Flash for the approval of my meticulous brothers in the hope that it may benefit those with whom I am connected spiritually and whose souls are more prudent than mine. This lesson looks to the heart more than the mind, and regards spiritual pleasure rather than rational proofs.

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate

[The Queen] said: "Ye chiefs! Here is -delivered to me -letter worthy of respect. It is from Solomon, and is [as follows]: 'In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate'.*"

 

*Qur'an 27:29-30

 

A number of mysteries will be mentioned in this Station.

FIRST MYSTERY

I saw one manifestation of In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate as follows:

On the face of the universe, the face of the earth, and the face of man are three Stamps of Dominicality one within the other and each showing samples of the others.

The First is the Great Stamp of Godhead which is manifest through the mutual assistance, cooperation, and embracing and corresponding to one another of beings in the totality of the universe. This looks to In the Name of God

The Second is the Great Stamp of Divine Mercifulness which is manifest through the mutual resemblance and proportion, order, harmony, favor and compassion in the disposal, raising and administration of plants and animals on the face of the earth. This looks to In the Name of God, the Merciful.

Then there is the Exalted Stamp of Divine Compassionateness, which is manifest through the subtleties of divine beneficence, fine points of divine clemency, and rays of divine compassion on the face of man's comprehensive nature. This looks to The Compassionate in In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

That is to say, In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate is the sacred title of three Stamps of Divine Oneness, which form a luminous line on the page of the world, and a strong cord, and shining filament. That is, through being revealed from above, the tip of In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate rests on man, the fruit of the universe and miniature copy of the world. It binds the lower world to God's throne. It is a way for man to ascend to God's throne:

SECOND MYSTERY

In order not to overwhelm minds by Divine Unity, which is apparent in the boundless multiplicity of creatures, the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition constantly points out the manifestation of Divine Oneness within Divine Unity. For example, the sun encompasses numberless things with its light. In order to consider the sun's essence in all its light, a most extensive conceptual ability and comprehensive view would be necessary. So, lest the sun itself be forgotten, it is displayed in every shining object by means of its reflection. And in accordance with the capacity of each, all shining objects display the sun's qualities, such as its light and heat, together with the manifestation of its essence. And just as according to the ability of each, all lustrous objects show the sun together with all its attributes, so too do each of the sun's qualities, like its light and heat and the seven colors in its light, encompass all the things facing it.

And in the same way, And God's is the highest similitude*- but let there be no mistake in the comparison- just as Divine Oneness and Eternally Be- soughtedness have a manifestation together with all the Divine Names in everything, in animate creatures in particular, and especially in man's mirror- like essence, so too through Divine Unity does each of the Divine Names connected to beings encompass all beings. Thus, lest minds become overwhelmed by Divine Unity and hearts forget the Most Pure and Holy Essence, the Qur'an constantly puts before the eyes the Stamp of Divine Oneness within Divine Unity. And that is In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, which points out the three important points of the Stamp.

 

*Qur'an 16:60.

 

THIRD MYSTERY

What makes this boundless universe rejoice is clearly Divine Mercy. And what illuminates these dark beings is self-evidently again Divine Mercy. And what fosters and raises creatures struggling within these endless needs is self-evidently again Divine Mercy. And what causes the whole universe to be turned-towards man, like a tree together with all its parts is turned towards its fruit, and causes it to look to him and run to his assistance is clearly Divine Mercy. And what fills and illuminates bound- less space and the empty, vacant world and makes it rejoice is self-evidently Divine Mercy. And what designates ephemeral man for eternity and makes him the addressee and beloved of a Pre-Eternal and Post-Eternal One is self-evidently Divine Mercy.

Oh man! Since Divine Mercy is such a powerful, inviting, sweet, assisting lovable truth, say: In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, ad- here to this truth and be saved from absolute desolation and the pains of unending needs. And draw close to the throne of the Pre-Etemal and Post- Eternal Monarch, and through the compassion and rays of Divine Mercy, become the addressee, friend, and beloved of that Monarch.

Indeed, to gather around man the realms of beings in the universe within the sphere of wisdom, and to make them hasten to meet all his needs with perfect order and graciousness is clearly one of two situations. Either each realm of beings in the universe it- self knows man, and obeys him and runs to help him, which just as it is completely irrational is also impossible in many respects, or an absolutely impotent being like man has to possess the power of the mightiest absolute sovereign, or this assistance occurs through the knowledge of an Absolutely Powerful One behind the veil of the universe. That is to say, it is not that the different beings in the universe know man, but that they are the evidences of a Knowing, Compassionate One being acquainted with him and knowing him.

Oh man! Come to your senses! Is it at all possible that the All-Glorious One, Who causes all the varieties of creatures to turn towards you and stretch out their hands to assist you, and causes them to say: "Here we are!" in the face of your needs, is it possible that He does not know you, is not acquainted with you, does not see you? Since He does know you, He informs you that He knows you through His Mercy. So, you know Him too, and with respect let Him know that you know Him, and understand with certainty that what subjugates the vast universe to an absolutely weak, absolutely impotent, absolutely needy, ephemeral, insignificant creature like you, and despatches it to assist you is the truth of Divine Mercy, which comprises wisdom, favor, knowledge, and power.

Most certainly, a Mercy such as this requires universal and sincere thanks, and earnest and genuine respect. Therefore, say: In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, which is the interpreter and expression of such sincere thanks and genuine respect. And make it the means of attaining to the Mercy, and an intercessor at the court of the All-Merciful One.

Indeed, the existence and reality of Divine Mercy is as clear as the sun. For just as a woven tapestry centered on one point is formed by the order and situation of the threads of its warp and weft coming from all directions, so too the luminous threads ex- tending from the manifestation of a thousand and one Divine Names in the vast sphere of the universe weave such a seal of compassionateness, tapestry of clemency, and seal of benevolence within a Stamp of Mercy that it demonstrates itself to minds more brilliantly than the sun.

Indeed, the Beauteous All-Merciful One, Who orders the sun and moon, the elements and minerals, plants and animals like the warp and weft of a vast woven tapestry through the rays of His thousand and one Names, and causes them to serve life; and demonstrates His compassion through the exceedingly sweet and self-sacrificing compassion of all mothers, plant and animal; and subjugates animate creatures to human life, and from this demonstrates man's importance and a most fine and lovely large tapestry of divine dominicality, and manifests His most brilliant Mercy, has, in the face of His own absolute lack of need, most certainly made His Mercy an acceptable intercessor for animate creatures and man.

Oh man! If you are truly a human being, say: In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Find that intercessor. For sure, it is clearly, indeed, self-evidently, Divine Mercy which, without forgetting or confusing any of them raises, nurtures, and administers the four hundred thousand all different plant and animal species on the earth at precisely the right time, and with perfect order, wisdom, and beneficence, and stamps the Seal of Divine Oneness on the face of the globe of the earth. And just as the existence of Divine Mercy is as certain as the existence of the beings on the face of the earth, so too do the beings form as many evidences to its reality as their own number

Indeed, just as on the face of the earth there is such a Seal of Mercy and Stamp of Divine Oneness, so also on the face of man's nature is a Stamp of Divine Mercy which is not inferior to the Stamp of Compassion and vast Stamp of Mercy on the face of the universe. Simply, man possesses a comprehensiveness like being a point of focus for a thousand and one Divine Names.

Oh man! Is it at all possible that the One Who gives you this face, and places such a Stamp of Mercy and Seal of Oneness on it would leave you to your own devices, attach no importance to you, pay no attention to your actions, make the whole universe, which is turned towards you, futile and point- less, and make the tree of creation rotten and insignificant with decayed fruit? Would He cause to be denied His Mercy, which is as obvious as the sun, and His Wisdom, which is as clear as light, neither | of which can in any way be doubted, nor are in any way deficient? God forbid!

Oh man! You should know that there is a way to ascend to the throne of Divine Mercy, and that is, In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. If you want to understand how important this way of ascent is, look at the beginning of the one hundred and fourteen chapters of the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition, and at the beginnings of all estimable books, and at the start of all good works. And a clear proof of the God-determined grandeur of In the Name of God is that the very foremost Islamic scholars like Imam Shafi'i (may God be pleased with him) said; "Although In the Name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate is one verse, it was revealed one hundred and fourteen times in the Qur'an."

FOURTH MYSTERY

To declare: "You alone do we worship" in the face of the manifestation of Divine Unity within bound- less multiplicity is not sufficient for everyone; the mind wanders. It is necessary to possess a heart as broad as the globe of the earth in order to observe the Unique and Single One beyond the unity in the totality of beings, and to say: "You alone do we worship, and from You alone do we seek help"* As a consequence of this, so that the Seal of Divine Oneness should be apparent on each species and realm of beings just as it is shown clearly on individual objects, and that they should call to mind the Unique and Single One, it is shown within the Stamp of Divine Mercy. Thus everyone at every level may turn to the Most Pure and Holy One, and saying: "You alone do we worship, and from You alone do we seek help", address Him directly.

 

* 3. Qur'an 1:5.

 

It is in order to express this mighty mystery and clearly point out the Seal of Divine Mercy that the All-Wise Qur'an suddenly mentions the smallest sphere and most particular matter when describing the vastest sphere of the universe, for example, the creation of the heavens and the earth. And so that the mind does not wander, nor the heart drown, and the spirit may find directly its True Object of Worship, it opens the subject of man's creation and man's voice, and the subtle details of the bounties and wisdom in his features, for example, while mentioning the creation of the heavens and earth. The verse,

And among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and in your colors*

demonstrates this truth in a miraculous fashion.

Indeed, within innumerable creatures and an infinite multiplicity, there are sorts and degrees of Stamps of Divine Unity like concentric circles from the greatest Stamp to the smallest. But however clear that Unity is, it is still a unity within multiplicity. It cannot truly address observers. It is be- cause of this that there has to be the Stamp of Divine Oneness behind Unity. So that Unity does not call to mind multiplicity, and directly before the Most Pure and Holy One a way may be opened up to the heart.

Furthermore, in order to direct gazes towards the Stamp of Divine Oneness and attract hearts towards it, a most captivating design, shining light, agreeable sweetness, pleasing beauty, and powerful truth, which is the Stamp of Divine Mercy and Seal of Divine Compassion, has been placed on it. For sure, it is the strength of that Mercy which attracts the gazes of conscious beings, draws them to It, and causes them to reach the Seal of Oneness and to observe the Unique and Single One, and from that to manifest 4 Qur'an 30:22. the true address in You alone do we worship, and from You alone do we seek help.

Thus, it is through In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate being the index of the Sara al-Fatiha and a concise summary of the Qur'an that it is the sign and interpreter of this mighty mystery. One who acquires this sign may travel through the levels of Divine Mercy. And one who causes this interpreter to speak may learn the mysteries of Divine Mercy and see the lights of Divine Compassion and pity.

FIFTH MYSTERY

There is a Hadith which goes something like this:

God created man in the form of the All-Merciful One.

It has been interpreted by some Sufis in an extraordinary way inappropriate to the tenets of belief. Some of them who were ecstatics even considered man's spiritual nature to be 'in the form of the All- Merciful'. Since ecstatics are mostly immersed in contemplation and confused, they are perhaps to be excused in holding views contrary to reality. But those in their senses on consideration cannot accept their ideas which are contrary to the fundamentals of belief. If they do, they are in error.

Indeed, the Most Pure and Holy Deity, Who ad- ministers with order the whole universe as though it was a palace or house, and spins the stars as though they were particles and causes them to travel through space with wisdom and ease, and employs minute particles as though they were orderly officials, has no partner, match, opposite, or equal. So also according to the meaning of the verse:

There is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He hears and sees [all things]*

He has no form, like, or peer; nothing resembling or similar to Him. However, according to the meaning and manner of comparison of the following verse,

And His is the highest similitude in the heavens and the earth, and He is Exalted in Might, Full of Wisdom**

 

*Qur'an 42:11.
**Qur'an 30:27.

 

His actions, attributes, and Names may be considered. That is to say, there is allegory and comparison in regard to actions. One aim of the above-mentioned Hadith is as follows: "Man is in a form showing the Divine Name of All-Merciful in its entirety."

For sure, as we explained before, just as the Divine Name of All-Merciful is manifest through the rays of a thousand and one Names on the face of the universe, and is apparent through the innumerable manifestations of God's absolute dominicality on the face of the earth, so also is the complete manifestation of the Name All-Merciful apparent in a small measure in man's comprehensive form, like on the face of the earth and the face of the universe.

A further indication is this the evidences to the Necessarily Existent One of places of manifestation like animate creatures and man, who are proofs of and mirrors to the All-Merciful and Compassionate One, are so certain, clear, and obvious that just as it may be said of a shining mirror which reflects the image of the sun: "That mirror is the sun", indicating to the clarity of its brilliance and evidence, so also it has been said and may be said: "Man is in the form of the All-Merciful One", indicating to the clearness of his evidence and completeness of his connection. It is as a consequence of this mystery that the more moderate of those who believed in 'the unity of existence' said: "There is no existent but He", as a way of expressing the clarity of this evidence and perfection of connection.

Oh God! Oh Most Merciful One! Most Compassionate One! Through the truth of In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate have mercy on us as befits Your Compassionateness, and allow us to understand the mysteries of In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate as befits Your Mercifulness. AMEN.

SIXTH MYSTERY

Oh unhappy man struggling within a boundless impotence and endless want! You should understand just what a valuable means and acceptable intercessor is Divine Mercy. For Divine Mercy is the means to an All-Glorious Sovereign in Whose army both the stars and minute particles serve together in perfect order and obedience. And that All-Glorious One and Sovereign of Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity is self-sufficient, He is utterly without need.

He is rich without limit being in no respect needy of the universe and beings. The whole universe is under His command and direction, utterly obedient beneath His majesty and grandeur, submissive before His sublimity. That is Divine Mercy for you, oh man! It raises you to the presence of the One absolutely lacking any need, the Eternal Sovereign, and makes you His friend, addressee, and well-loved servant. But just as you cannot reach the sun, are far from it and can no way draw close to it, although the sun's light gives you its reflection and manifestation by means of your mirror, in the same way you are infinitely distant from the Most Pure and Holy One, the Sun of Pre-Eternity and Post- Eternity, and cannot draw close to Him, but the light of His Mercy makes Him closer to us.

And so, oh man! He who finds this Mercy finds an eternal unfailing treasury of light. And the way to find it is through following the Practices of the Most Noble Prophet (upon whom be blessings and peace), who was the most brilliant example and representative of Mercy, its most eloquent tongue and herald, and was described in the Qur'an as a 'Mercy to All the Worlds.'

And the means to this embodiment of Mercy who is a Mercy to All the Worlds is to utter the prayer calling down God's blessings upon him. Indeed, the meaning of this prayer is Mercy. As a. prayer of Mercy for that living embodiment of Divine Mercy, it is the means of reaching the Mercy to All the Worlds. So, make this prayer the means to the Mercy to All the Worlds for yourself, and at the same time make Him the means to the Mercy of the Most Merciful One.

The whole Muslim community in all their great numbers uttering this prayer which is synonymous with Mercy for the Mercy to All the Worlds proves in brilliant fashion what a valuable divine gift is Divine Mercy, and how broad is its sphere.

To Conclude: Just as the most precious jewel in the treasury of Mercy and its doorkeeper is the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be blessings and peace), so too is its first key In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. And its most easy key the prayer for the Prophet.

Oh God! Through the truth of In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassion- ate grant blessings and peace on him whom You sent as a mercy to all the worlds as be- fits Your Mercy, and in veneration of him, and on all his family and companions. And grant us Mercy so as to make us free of want for the mercy of any other than You from among Your creatures. AMEN.

Glory be unto You! We have no know- ledge save that which You have taught us. Indeed, You are All-Knowing, All-Wise.

 

* * * * *

 

A Comparison

[The Second Topic of The Second point]

When the representative of the people of misguidance could find no support or basis on which to build his misguidance and was thus defeated in argument, he said the following,

"I consider happiness in this world and life's pleasures, and the progress of civilization and perfection of arts as all lying in refusal to think of the hereafter and to know God, in love of this world, in absolute freedom and license and in relying exclusively on myself. And in so doing I have drawn most men onto this path, through the assistance of Satan, and continue to do so."

The Answer: We say, in the name of the Qur'an: Oh wretched mankind! Come to your senses! Do not listen to the representative of the people of misguidance. If you do listen to him, your loss will be so great that your intelligence, spirit and heart will shudder even to imagine it. There are two paths in front of you.

The First: The path of wretchedness laid out in front of you by the representative of the people of misguidance.

The Second: The path of happiness defined for you by the All-Wise Qur'an.

You will have noted and understood numerous comparisons between these two paths in the Words, particularly the Short Words. So, note and under- stand now one of those thousands of comparisons that is suitable to this discussion.

The path of assigning partners to God, misguidance, dissipation and vice causes man to fall to the lowest degree. Afflicted with infinite pains, he is forced to bear an infinitely heavy load on his weak and powerless shoulders. For if man does not recognize God and place his trust in Him, he becomes extremely weak and impotent, needy and improverished, a suffering, grieving and ephemeral animal, exposed to endless misfortunes. Suffering continuously the pain of separation from all the objects of love and attachment, he will ultimately abandon all of his loved ones and go alone to the darkness of the grave.

Throughout his life, he struggles vainly, with an extremely limited will, slight power, a short life-span and dull mind, against infinite pains and hopes. To no avail, he strives to attain innumerable desires and goals.

Even though he is unable to bear the burden of his own being, he takes the load of the vast world onto his wretched solders and mind. He suffers the torment of Hell before even arriving there.

Indeed, in order to avoid feeling this grievous pain, this awesome spiritual torment, the people of misguidance have recourse to a drunkenness that is like a form of stupor and thus are temporarily able to avoid feeling their pain. But when they do feel it, they suddenly feel the proximity of the grave. For whoever is not a true bondsman of God Almighty will imagine that he owns himself. But with his partial and limited will and his petty power and strength, he is unable to administer and control his being in this tempestuous world. He sees thousands of different sorts of enemy attacking his life, from harmful microbes to earthquakes. In an awesome state of painful fear he looks towards the door of the grave, that at all times appears dreadful to him.

While in this state, man will also be troubled by the state of the world and of mankind, for as a human being he is attached to both. But, he does not imagine them to be in the control of One All-Wise, All-Knowing, All-Powerful, Merciful and Generous, and has attributed them instead to chance and to nature. And so, together with his own pains, he suffers also the pains of the world and of mankind. Earthquakes, plagues, storms, famine and scarcity, separation and decease; all of this torments him in the most painful and somber fashion.

But such a man is not worthy of pity and sympathy, for he himself is responsible for it.

In the Eighth Word is a comparison between two brothers who entered a well. One was not content with a refreshing, sweet, reputable, pleasant and licit drink at a splendid feast with pleasant friends in a beautiful garden and so drank some ugly and unclean wine in order to obtain illicit and impure pleasure. He became drunk and then imagined himself to be in some foul place in the middle of winter surrounded by wild beasts, and trembling cried out.

But such a man is not worthy of pity, for he imagined his honorable and blessed companions to be monsters, and thus insulted them. He also imagined the delicious foods and clean dishes at the feast to be impure and filthy stones and began smashing them. And the respected books and profound writings there to be meaningless and banal designs, and so ripped them up and trod on them. Such a person is not merely unworthy of sympathy, rather, he deserves a good beating.

In exactly the same way, a person who, through incorrect choice and the lunacy of misguidance, is intoxicated with unbelief, imagines this hospice of the world, which belongs to the All-Wise Maker, to be the plaything of chance and natural forces. He fancies the passage of creatures into the World of the Unseen, that is in fact renewing the manifestation of the Divine Names, to be execution and annihilation. He supposes the echoes of those creatures' glorification of God, who are accomplishing their duties with the passing of time, to be the lamentations of death and eternal separation. He deems the pages of created beings, which are inscriptions of the Eternally Besought One, to be meaningless and confused. He imagines the door of the grave, which opens onto the world of mercy, to be the entrance to the darkness of nonexistence. And he deems the appointed hour, which is in reality an invitation to join his true friends, to be the onset of separation from all of them.

Such a person both brings upon himself grievous and ghastly torments, and denies, denigrates and insults all beings and God's Names and His inscriptions. He is, therefore, not only unworthy of compassion and sympathy but also deserving of severe punishment. He is not in any way worthy of pity.

And so, Oh wretched people of misguidance and dissipation! What accomplishment of yours, what art, what perfection, what civilization, what progress, can confront this awesome silence of the grave, this crushing despair? Where can you find that true consolation that is the most urgent need of the human spirit?

What nature, what causality, what partner ascribed by you to God, what discovery, what nationality, what false object of worship, in each of which you place so much trust and to which you attribute God's works and His sustaining bounties, which of them can deliver you from the darkness of death that you imagine to be eternal annihilation? Which of them can enable you to cross the frontiers of the grave, the boundaries of the intermediate realm, the marches of the plain of resurrection, the Bridge of Sirat? Or can bring about your eternal happiness?

But know that most definitely you will travel on this path for you cannot close the door of the grave. And a traveler on such a path ought to rely on one whose control and command embraces all this vast sphere and its extensive boundaries.

Oh wretched people of misguidance and neglect! In accordance with the principles that 'the consequence of an illicit love is suffering a merciless torment', you are suffering a fully justified punishment, for you are unlawfully employing your innate capacity for love, knowledge, thanks and worship that relate properly to the essence, attributes and Names of God Almighty, on your own soul and the life of this world.

You have lavished the love that belongs to God Almighty on yourself. Your own soul has become your beloved and will cause you endless suffering: you are not giving true peace to that beloved. You are suffering constantly because you do not hand it over to the Possessor of Absolute Power Who is the only true beloved and you do not trust wholly in Him.

You suffer further misfortunes because you give to the world the love that belongs to God Al- mighty's Names and attributes and divide up the works of His art among causes in the world. One group of those innumerable beloveds of yours will turn their backs on you and leave you without even saying good-bye. Another group will not even recognize you, or if they do, they will not love you. Or if they love you, their love will be of no use. You will constantly suffer from innumerable separations and farewells without hope of return.

This, then, is the essence and true nature of what the people of misguidance call life's happiness, human perfection, the advantages of civilization and the pleasure of freedom. And dissipation and ntoxication are but a veil; they temporarily block all feeling. So, say, "I spit on the intelligence of those who follow such a path".

But as for the luminous highway of the Qur'an, it cures with the truths of faith all the wounds of the people of misguidance. It disperses all the gloom and darkness of that first path. It closes the door on all misguidance and perdition.

It cures man's weakness, powerlessness, poverty and need with trust in One All-Powerful and Compassionate. For, handing over the burden of his life and being to His power and mercy instead of loading it on himself, man finds ease and comfort as if he were riding on his own life and soul. The Qur'an states that he is not a 'rational animal', but rather a true man and a well-accepted guest of the All- Merciful One.

It gently cures man of the wounds inflicted on him by the transience of the world, the ephemeral nature of things and the love of them, and delivers him from the darkness of delusion and fancy. It does this by showing the world to be a guest-house of the All-Merciful One, and the beings in it to be mirrors to the Divine Names and ever-fresh inscriptions of the Eternally Besought One.

It shows death and the appointed hour to be the bridge to the intermediate realm and the prelude to joining and meeting beloved ones already in the world of eternity. It thus cures the wounds inflicted by the notion of death as eternal separation, as held by the people of misguidance. It demonstrates that separation is in fact the truest form of meeting.

Further, by establishing that the grave is a door opening onto the world of mercy, an abode of happiness, a garden of paradise, the luminous realm of the All-Merciful One, it dispels man's most terrifying fear and shows that the apparently painful, troublesome and unpleasant journey to the intermediate realm is in fact the most pleasurable, enjoyable and joyous of journeys. With the grave, it shows that the grave is not a dragon's mouth but is, rather, a door opening onto the garden of mercy.

The Qur'an also says to the believer, "Since you have only partial and restricted choice, hand over your affairs to your Owner's universal will. Since your power is slight, rely on that of the Possessor of Absolute Power. Since your life is brief, think of eternal life. Do not fret! There is an unending life. If your mind is dull, let the sun of Qur'an shine on you. Look with the light of belief, and instead of the firefly of your own mind, each verse of the Qur'an will illumine you like a star.

"Since you have innumerable hopes and pains, know that infinite reward and limitless mercy await you. Since you have innumerable desires and aims, do not think of them and become disturbed. This world cannot contain them; the proper place for them is another realm, and the one who will grant them is one other than Yourself"

The Qur'an also says, "Oh man! You do not own yourself. Rather, you are totally owned by One Whose power is infinite, an All-Compassionate One of Glory Whose mercy is infinite. Therefore, do not trouble yourself by shouldering the burden of your life, for it is He Who grants you life and administers it.

"Also, the world is not without an owner. So do not be anxious thinking of the state of it and load that burden onto your mind, for the world's Owner is All-Wise and All-Knowing. You are a guest so do not be officious and meddlesome.

"Furthermore, creatures such as men and animals have not been left to their own devices, rather, they are all officials with specific duties. They are watched over by an All-Wise and Compassionate One. Do not distress your spirit thinking of their pains and afflictions. Do not try to be more sympathetic and kind-hearted than their All-Compassionate Creator.

"Also, the reins of all those things that are hostile to you, from microbes to plagues, storms, famine and earthquakes, are in the hands of that All- Compassionate All-Wise One. Being All-Wise, He does nothing in vain. Being All-Compassionate, His mercy is superabundant. There is a form of grace and favor contained in everything He does."

The Qur'an also says, "This world is indeed ephemeral, nevertheless, it produces the necessities for an everlasting world. It is transient and fleeting, but it yields eternal fruits, and displays the manifestations of an Eternal Being's eternal Names. Its pleasures are indeed few and its pains many, but the favors of the All-Merciful and Compassionate One are everlasting and true pleasures. And as for the pains of this world, they, too, yield a sort of pleasure by reason of the reward to be had for enduring them.

"Since the sphere of the licit is sufficient for all the pleasures, delights and joys of the spirit, heart and soul, do not approach the sphere of the illicit. For one pleasure within that sphere sometimes leads to a thousand pains. It will also cause the loss of the All-Merciful One's favors, which are true and lasting pleasures.

"Furthermore, as described above, illicit pleasure on the path of misguidance causes man to fall to the lowest of the low. Then no civilization, no philosophy can provide a remedy for him, and no human progress and scientific advances can deliver him from that deep, dark pit. Whereas, the All-Wise Qur'an elevates man, through belief and good deeds, from the lowest of the low to the highest of the high, and demonstrates that it does this with clear proofs. And it fills in that deep pit with rungs of inner development and spiritual progress.

"Moreover, it facilitates man's long, stormy and troublesome journey towards eternity. It shows him the means for traversing a distance of a thousand years, or rather of fifty thousand years, in a single day.

"Also, through making known the All-Glorious One, Who is the Monarch of Pre-Eternity and Post- Eternity, it confers on man the position of a bondsman, guest and official entrusted with specific du- ties. And it ensures that he travels with the greatest ease both in the guest-house of this world and in the stages and stopping-places of the intermediate realm and the hereafter.

"A loyal official will travel in his monarch's kingdom and pass through the frontiers of each province with ease, journeying by the fastest means, such as by airplane, ship or train. So, too, one who forms a relation with the Pre-Eternal Monarch through belief and obeys Him through good works will pass with the speed of lightening or of Buraq* through the stages of this guest-house of the world, the spheres of the intermediate realm and the world of resurrection and the extensive frontiers of all the realms that are beyond the grave, until he attains eternal happiness." The Qur'an proves this truth decisively and points it out to those who are purified and to the saints.

 

*Trans. Note. The Prophet (PBUH)'s mount during his Ascension.

 

The truth of the Qur'an also says, "Oh believer! Do not give your infinite capacity for love to your ugly, defective, evil, and for you, harmful instinctual soul. Do not take it as your object of love and its whims as your object of worship. Take rather the One who has bestowed on you that infinite capacity for love. He will also make you infinitely happy in the future, and, through His bounties, all those to whom you are attached and whose happiness makes you happy. "Take for your object of love and worship One

Who possesses infinite perfection and a beauty that is infinitely sacred, exalted, transcendent, faultless, flawless and unfading. The beauty of His mercy and the mercy of His beauty are demonstrated by all the beauties and bounties of Paradise. All of His Names are infinitely beautiful and in each of them are abundant lights of fairness and beauty. His beauty and perfection are indicated to and pointed to by all the fairness, beauty, virtue and perfection of all lovable and loved objects in the cosmos."

The Qur'an also says, "Oh man! Do not squander your infinite capacity to love, which properly be- longs to His Names and attributes, on other transient creatures. For the works and creatures of God are ephemeral, but the Beautiful Names, whose impress and manifestation may be seen on them, are eternal and permanent. And in each of His Names and attributes there are thousands of degrees of bounty and beauty, perfection and love. Look only at the Name of All-Merciful: Paradise is a manifestation of it, eternal happiness, a flash of it, and all the sustenance and bounty in the world, a mere drop of it".

Consider carefully, then, this verse which indicates the true nature of the people of misguidance and that of the people of belief, with regard to their lives and duties:

Verily We have created man in the fairest of forms, then sent him down to the lowest of the low, except for those who believe and do good deeds.*

 

* Qur'an 95:44.

 

And this verse that indicates their final result and outcome:

The heavens and the earth wept not over them.*

How sublimely and miraculously they express the comparison we have made. Since the truth expressed miraculously and concisely in the first verse is explained in detail in the Eleventh Word, we refer our readers to that part of the Risale-i Nur for a discussion of it.

 

*Qur'an 44:29.

 

As for the second verse, we shall show, through a brief indication, how sublime a truth it expresses. It is as follows.

The explicit meaning of the verse is that the heavens and the earth do not weep when the people of misguidance die. The implied meaning is that the heavens and the earth do weep when the people of belief depart this world. For the people of misguidance, through their denial of the duties and functions of the heavens and earth, their ignorance of their meaning, their rejection of their value, their refusal to recognize their Maker, are in fact acting insultingly and with hostility toward them. So, of course, the heavens and earth will not weep over them, but in fact curse them and rejoice at their death.

As for the implied meaning, that the heavens and earth weep over the death of the people of belief, this is because they know the duties and functions of the heavens and earth, assent to their true realities and understand, through belief, the meanings they express. They say, "How beautifully they have been made, how finely they are carrying out their duties". They respect them and assign them their true worth. They love them and the Names they mirror for the sake of God Almighty. And so it is for this reason that the heavens and earth grieve over the death of the people of belief as if weeping.

An Important Question

You say, "Love is not voluntary. And, as a con- sequence of innate need, I love delicious foods and fruits. I love my father, mother and children, my wife, and my friends and companions. I love the prophets and the saints. And I love my life and my youth, the spring, beautiful things and the world. How may I not love these things? So how should I rather give all this love to God Almighty's essence, attributes and Names? What does this mean?

The Answer: Listen to four 'Points.

• FIRST POINT

Indeed, love is not voluntary but by means of the will love's face may turn from one object of love to another. For example, when a beloved displays some ugliness or shows that he is a veil or mirror to another beloved, who is truly worthy of love, then love's face may be turned from the metaphorical to the true beloved.

• SECOND POINT

We do not tell you not to love the things you enumerated, but rather to love them for God Al- mighty's sake and in the name of His love. For example, to love delicious foods and luscious fruits as being the bounty of God Almighty, the All- Merciful and Compassionate One, is to love His Names of All-Merciful and Bestower of Bounties, and, moreover, takes on the meaning of thanks. This love is to seek gain contentedly within the sphere of the licit, which shows that it is not only for the sake of the instinctual soul but is in the name of the All-Merciful One. It is to eat thoughtfully and with gratitude.

Furthermore, love and respect for parents, when for the sake of the wisdom and mercy that compassionately fitted you out and caused them to bring you up with tender care, pertain to God Almighty's love. The sign that this love, respect and compassion are for God's sake is that when they are old and are of no more use to you and bring you only trouble and difficulty, you are even more loving, kind and compassionate towards them. The verse,

'Should one of them, or both, attain to old age in your care, never say to them a word of contempt,*

summons children to respect and be kind to their parents in five degrees, and demonstrates how important are the rights of parents in the eyes of the Qur'an, and how ugly ingratitude towards them.

 

*3. Qur'an 17:23.

 

A father desires only his son, and no one else, to be much better than himself, however, the son can- not claim any rights over his father in return for this. That is to say, there is no inherent cause for dispute between parents and child. This is because dispute arises from envy and jealousy and there is nothing of this in the father towards his son. Or it arises from abuse of rights and the son has no rights that he can claim against his father. If he considers his father to be unjust, he may not rebel against him. That is to say, one who does rebel against his father and cause him pain is a monster, a corrupted human being.

And, to love and protect children with perfect compassion and tenderness because they are gifts of the All-Compassionate and Generous One once again pertains to God. The sign indicating that that love is for Almighty God's sake is patience and thankfulness should they die, rather than crying out in despair. It is to say, "He was a lovable little being created and owned by my Creator, Who entrusted him to my supervision. Now that His wisdom re- quires it to be thus, He has taken him from me, taken him to a better place. If I had one apparent share in that little creature, a thousand true shares be- longed to his Creator." It is to submit saying, "All authority is with God."

And as for friends and acquaintances, if they are friends of God Almighty by reason of their belief and good works, according to the meaning of 'love for God's sake', that love, too, pertains to God.

Furthermore, love and cherish your wife as a companionable and gracious gift of divine mercy. But do not fasten your love to her physical beauty, which swiftly fades. Rather, woman's most attractive and agreeable beauty is the fineness of character that ac- companies the delicacy and refinement peculiar to her. And as for her most precious and sweet beauty, it is her earnest, sincere, sublime and luminous compassion. Thus beautiful tenderness and fineness of character continues and increases until the end of her days. Moreover, that weak and delicate creature's rights of respect will be protected by that love. Otherwise, when her superficial beauty fades the poor woman will lose her rights, even when she most needs them.

And to love the prophets and saints as God Almighty's most esteemed bondsmen is to do so for the sake and in the name of God Almighty, and from that point of view it pertains to Him.

And to love and preserve life as most precious wealth and capital that will gain eternal life, and a comprehensive treasury yielding eternal perfections, which Almighty God has given to you and to all humanity, and to employ it in His service, is, once again, in one respect, love that pertains to the True Object of Worship.

Also, to admire, love and put to proper use the grace and beauty of youth as being a fine, sweet and beautiful bounty of Almighty God is a sort of licit and thankful love.

And to love the spring thoughtfully as being the page of the subtlest and most beautiful inscriptions of Almighty God's luminous Names and the most finely adorned and glittering exhibition of the All- Wise Maker's antique art is to love His Names.

And to love this world as being the tillage for the hereafter, as a mirror of the Divine Names and a missive of God Almighty, and as a temporary guest house, on condition that the evil-commanding soul does not interfere, is to do so for God Almighty's sake.

In short: Love this world and the creatures in it as pointing to a meaning beyond themselves, like a word. Do not love them just for themselves. Say, "How beautifully they have been made." Do not say, "How beautiful they are." Do not give any opportunity to other loves to enter into your inner heart be- cause the inner heart is the mirror of the Eternally Besought One and pertains only to Him. Say, "Oh God, grant us love for You, and love for that which will draw us closer to You."

Thus, if in this form, all the loves that you have enumerated will give a pain-free pleasure, and, in one respect, an unending union. Moreover, they will increase love of God. They are licit loves. And are, furthermore a sort of gratitude which is pure pleasure, and thought, which is pure love.

For example, if a mighty king* were to bestow an apple on you, there would be two loves for that apple and two pleasures in it. The first of these is that the apple would be loved because it is an apple, and there would be a pleasure peculiar to and to the extent of the apple. This love does not concern the king. On the contrary, the man who puts the apple to his mouth and eats it in the King's presence loves the apple itself and his own soul rather than the king. It sometimes happens that the king is not pleased with that love which nourishes the instinctual soul; in fact, he detests it. Moreover, the pleasure that the apple gives is very limited and passes quickly. After the apple is eaten it is gone, only regret remains.

 

* Once two tribal chiefs entered the presence of a king. They were in exactly the same situation as is described here.

 

As for the second love, it is for the royal favor that is demonstrated by means of the apple. One who holds the apple precious as if it were the sample and embodiment of a royal favor shows that he loves his king. Moreover, the pleasure in that fruit, which is a sort of container for the favor, is such that it is far greater than the pleasure obtained from a thousand apples. This pleasure, then, is the essence of thankfulness. This love is a respectful love for the king.

In exactly the same way, if all bounties and fruits are loved for themselves, if they are thoughtlessly delighted in only for the material pleasures that they yield, that love is merely love of self. Also, those pleasures are transient and bring pain. But, if they are loved as favors proceeding from Almighty God's mercy and as fruits of His munificence, and if pleasure is obtained from them with good appetite by appreciating the degree of kindness in that munificence and favor, then it has both the meaning of gratitude and is a pain-free pleasure.

• THIRD POINT

There are levels in the love for God Almighty's Names. As we explained above, sometimes the Names are loved with a love for finely made objects. Sometimes they are loved as being titles of the divine perfections. Sometimes, man is needy and desirous of the Names by reason of the comprehensiveness of his true nature together with his having endless needs. It is through those needs that he loves.

For example, if someone was to come forward and do a kindness to all your relations, and the poor, the weak and the needy, for all of whom you feel sympathy although you are powerless to meet their need for help,how that person's favor-granting title and generous name would please you, how you would love that person through that title.

So, too, think only of God Almighty's Names of All-Merciful and Compassionate. They make happy all the believing fathers and forefathers, relations and friends whom you love and feel sympathy for, in this world by means of all kinds of bounties, and in Paradise by means of all kinds of delights. They cause happiness by showing you in eternal bliss to them, and them in eternal bliss to you. So, how deserving of being loved is the Name of All-Merciful and the title of All - Compassionate. And you can see for yourself just how needy of those two Names is the human spirit. And you can understand just how appropriate is the phrase, 'Praise be to God for His mercifulness and His compassionateness.'

You are connected to the world and as a result are afflicted by its wretchedness, so if you consider care- fully, you may understand just how needy and desirous is your spirit for the Name of All-Wise and for the title of Nurturer. For the Owner of those Names orders, regulates and sustains with perfect wisdom the world, which is like a sort of house for you, and the creatures within it, which are its familiar furniture and lovable decorations.

And you are altogether connected to other human beings and grieve when they die. So, if you consider carefully, you may understand just how needy is your spirit for the Names of Inheritor and Resurrector, and for the titles Eternal, All-Generous, Giver of Life, and Munificent. For the Owner of these Names saves human beings at the time of their death from the darkness of non-existence and establishes them in a far finer place than this world.

Thus, since man's nature is exalted and his disposition comprehensive, he is, by his very nature, needy with thousands of different sorts of needs for the innumerable Divine Names, each of which has many degrees. Intensified need is longing. Intensified longing is love. And intensified love is passion. As the spirit is perfected, the degrees of love unfold ac- cording to the degrees of the Names. Furthermore, since the Names are the titles and manifestations of the One of Glory, love of them will be transformed into love of the divine essence.

Now, just as an example, we shall explain one of the innumerable degrees of the Names of All-Just, All-Wise, Truth, and All-Merciful. If you wish to see the Names of All-Merciful and Compassionate, and Truth within wisdom and justice to the utmost extent, consider the following comparison.

Let us suppose there is an army in which there are four hundred different sections. And the uniforms that each section prefers are different, the provisions that please them, the weapons they will carry with ease and the medicines to cure their particular ills are all different. And, furthermore, rather than being separated into squads and companies, they are all intermingled.

If the peerless and single king, then, out of perfect compassion and solicitude, wonderful power, miraculous all-embracing knowledge and extraordinary justice and wisdom, without confusing or for- getting any of them were himself, in person, with- out helper, to give all of them their completely different though appropriate uniforms, provisions, medicines and weapons, would you not see what a powerful, solicitous, just and generous personage that king is. Because, if there were individuals from ten nations in one battalion, it would be extremely difficult to clothe and equip them all differently. Whatever people they were from they would of necessity have to be fitted out in the same way. So. too. if you wish to see the manifestation of the Names of Truth and All-Merciful and Compassionate within the justice and wisdom of God Almighty, look at the plant and animal armies comprising four hundred thousand magnificent nations with their tents pitched on the face of the earth in springtime. For those groups and sections are all one within the other. And the uniform of each one is different, and the pro- visions, weapons, way of life, drill and demobilization are all different. Furthermore, they do not have the power to provide for those needs and the tongues to ask for those wishes. So, watch and see the titles of Truth, All-Merciful, Provider, Compassionate and Generous together with order and equilibrium within the sphere of wisdom and justice. See how, without confusing, obscuring or forgetting any of them, He sustains, regulates and administers them all.

Could another hand, therefore, interfere in a matter performed with such amazing and all-encompassing order and balance? What, apart from the One Who is Single and Unique, Absolutely Wise, and Powerful over all things, could even stretch out its hand to- wards this art, this organizing, this sustaining, this administering? What cause could interfere?

• FOURTH POINT

You ask, "So long as they are in the form that the Qur'an commands, what are the results and benefits of all my different and various loves? That is, my love for food, myself, my wife, parents and children, my friends, the saints, the prophets, beautiful things, the spring and this world?"

The Answer: It would be necessary to write a thick book in order to explain all the results. For now only one or two results will be briefly alluded to. Firstly, the immediate results in this world will be explained, then those that will become apparent in the hereafter will be mentioned. As was explained above, loves such as those of the people of neglect and those attached to this world, that are for the sake of the evil-commanding soul, bring many tribulations, and much pain and suffering in this world. While the ease, pleasures and enjoyment they bring are little and few. For example, compassion becomes a painful calamity on account of impotence. Love becomes a calamitous misfortune on account of separation. Pleasure becomes a poisoned cup on account of its transience. And in the hereafter, because they were not for God Almighty's sake, they will either be without benefit or will be torment. (If they were illicit.)

Question: How might love for the prophets and saints be without benefit?

The Answer: In the same way that the love of the Christians for Jesus (upon whom be peace), and the heretics for Ali (may God be pleased with him) remain without benefit. If that love is in the form that the Qur'an directs, for God Almighty's sake and in the name of the All-Merciful One's love, then it has favorable results both in this world and in the hereafter. Now, to return to our subject, the results in this world of your love for delicious foods and luscious fruits will be that they are a pain-free bounty and a pleasure that is the essence of gratitude.

Your love of your instinctual soul. The result will be pity it, to train it, and to prevent harmful desires. Then the soul will not ride you, it will not make you a prisoner of its desires, rather, you will ride it. You will drive your soul, not to whims and fancies, but to right-guidance.

Your love for your wife. Since it will be built on her being a mine of tenderness, a gift of compassion and on her fineness of character, if you have sincere love and affection for her, she, too, will have earnest love and respect for you. As the two of you approach old age these sentiments will increase, you will pass your life happily. But if it is otherwise, if it is love of a pretty face and for the sake of the instinctual soul, then that love will be quickly destroyed and so too will be good relations.

Your love for your father and mother. Since it will be for God Almighty's sake, it will be both worship and the older they grow the more your love and respect for them will increase. If you earnestly desire and pray, with the noblest of sentiments and most manly zeal, that they will live far into old age, and even kiss their hands with sincere respect and say, "Let me gain even more reward on their ac- count", it will obtain for you a most elevated pleasure of the spirit. But if it is otherwise, and for the sake of the soul and this world, when they grow old and approach the time of becoming a burden for you, if you show them, with the most base and despicable sentiment, that they are a nuisance and then wish for the deaths of those respected people, who were the cause of your life, it will be savage and grievous pain for the spirit.

Your love for your children. As for love for those lovable, friendly creatures whom God Al- mighty entrusts to your supervision and upbringing, it will be a most happy love, a most happy bounty. Neither shall you suffer too much pain at their misfortunes, nor shall you cry out with despair at their deaths. As was stated above you will say, "Since their Creator is both All-Wise and Compassionate, as far as they are concerned, that death is happiness". Moreover, concerning yourself, you will think of the mercifulness of the One Who gave them to you and you will be saved from the pain of separation.

Your love for your friends. Since it is for God's sake, because separation from those friends, and even their deaths, will not be an obstacle to your conversing and your brotherhood, you will benefit from that immaterial love and relation of the spirit. And the pleasure of meeting will be permanent. If it is not for the sake of God, the pleasure of one day's meeting will result in the pain of a hundred days' separation.*

 

*One second's meeting for God's sake is a year. Whereas, if it is for the sake of this world, a year is a second.

 

Your love for the prophets and saints. Since the intermediate realm, which seems to the people of neglect to be a dark, lonely and desolate place, appears to you as a stopping-place illuminated by the presence of those luminous beings, the fact that you will go there will not induce terror and fright, but, on the contrary, an inclination towards it and a feeling of longing; it will not drive away the pleasure of worldly life.

But if it is otherwise, if love for the prophets and saints is of the same sort as the love of the subscribers to modern culture for their idols and heroes, on thinking of the death and disappearance of those perfect human beings and of their rotting in that mighty grave known as the past, it will add one more sorrow to lives that are already painful. That is to say, each will say to himself, "I, too, will end up in the grave, which rots even such perfect men".

Whereas, when they are seen from the first point of view, they are thought of with complete ease of mind, for they have discarded the clothes of their bodies in the past and now their dwelling-place is the intermediate realm, which is the waiting-room for the future. And the graveyard will be seen as having a familiarity and friendliness.

Your love for beautiful things. Since it is for the sake of the One Who fashioned them, it will be in the manner of, "How beautifully they have been made". This love is pleasurable thought and it causes the gaze of beauty-worshipping delight to see the more elevated and holy and thousand times more beautiful treasures of the degrees of God's beauty. This love opens up a way to these treasures because it transfers the eye from those beautiful works to the beauty of the divine actions. And it opens a way from them to the beauty of the Names, and from them to the beauty of the attributes, and from them to the One of Glory's peerless beauty; it opens a way to the heart. Thus, if this love is in this form, it is both pleasurable, and it is worship, and it is thought.

Your love of youth. Since you have loved it as a beautiful bounty of God Almighty, you have, of course, done so in worship, you have not drowned it in dissipation and destroyed it. Since this is the case, the worship you have gained during your youth is the undying fruit of that transient state. As you grow older, because you will have obtained the enduring fruits that are the positive aspect of youth, you will have been saved from its harm and excesses. Also, in old age you will see that you have achieved success in performing more worship, and so will be more worthy to receive divine mercy. Unlike the people of neglect, you will not feel sadness for the pleasures of youth that lasted five or ten years, then wail for fifty years, "Alas, my youth has fled!" Neither will you be like one of them who said, "If only my youth would return one day, I would tell it of the woes old age has brought me."

Your love for finely adorned exhibitions like the spring. Since it is in the form of contemplating divine artistry, when the spring ends the pleasure of the spectacle does not fade. For the meanings that the spring delivers, like a gilded missive, may be contemplated all the time. Both your imagination and time are like films in the cinema, they both cause the pleasure of that contemplation to continue for you, and they renew the spring's meanings and beauties. Your love, therefore, cannot be temporary and full of regret and pain. Rather, it will be full of pleasure and enjoyment.

Your love of this world. Since it is in the name of God Almighty, the formidable creatures of this world will be like familiar friends for you. Since you love it as the tillage for the hereafter, you will be able to find in everything capital or a fruit that will produce benefits in the hereafter. Neither will its disasters frighten you, nor will its transience and ephemerality trouble you. You will pass your sojourn in this guest-house with the greatest of ease. But should you love it as the people of neglect do, then as we have said to you a hundred times, you will drown and perish in a fruitless love, condemned to a depressing, crushing and suffocating transitoriness.

Thus we have shown only one subtle point out of hundreds from each of the loves you enumerated, when they are in the form that the Qur'an directs. And we have indicated one hundredth of the harm they cause if they are not in this way. Now, if you want to hear and understand the results of these loves in the eternal realm, in the world of the hereafter, the results to which the All-Wise Qur'an points with its clear and distinct verses, then we shall show briefly by means of an Introduction and nine Indications the results and one hundredth of the benefits of those various licit loves in the world of the hereafter.

AN INTRODUCTION

God Almighty, with His glorious divinity, His beautiful mercy, His mighty dominicality, His generous benevolence, His immense power, and His subtle wisdom, has equipped and adorned tiny man with many senses and feelings, limbs and systems, members and faculties, and subtle and immaterial aspects so that through them He might cause man to perceive, know, taste and recognize the limitless varieties and levels of His bounty, munificence and mercy. And so that, through those tools, He might cause man to ponder over, know and love the endless kinds of manifestations of His thousand and one Names. And, just as each of man's great many members and faculties performs a completely different service and worship, so, too, do they have completely different pleasures, pains, duties and rewards.

For example, the eye beholds the beauty of forms and the varieties of the beautiful miracles of power in the world of things seen. Its duty, taking its lesson from these, is gratitude to its Maker. The pleasures and pains peculiar to sight are known, there is no need to enlarge upon them.

And, for example, the ear perceives the different sorts of voices and their melodious songs, and the subtle instances of God Almighty's mercy in the world of things heard. Its worship, pleasures and rewards are all different.

And, for example, the sense of smell perceives the subtle instances of mercy within the realm of scents. It has a duty of gratitude and pleasure peculiar to itself. And, of course, it has a reward, too.

And, for example, the sense of taste, which is in the tongue, through appreciating the taste of all foods, performs its duty with a truly diverse thankfulness. And so on. All man's faculties, including his important subtle aspects, such as the heart, intellect and spirit, have quite distinct duties, pleasures and pains.

Thus, God Almighty, the Possessor of Absolute Wisdom, will certainly give suitable recompense to each one of those faculties, which He employs in human beings. Everyone may perceive with his conscience the immediate results in this world of those numerous varieties of love, as was explained above, and they may be confirmed through experience.

As for the results in the hereafter, their existence and reality have been conclusively, through briefly, proved by the decisively clear Twelve Truths of the Tenth Word, and by the six self-evident Fundamental Points of the Twenty-Ninth Word. They are also clearly demonstrated in detail by the distinct verses and the explanations, allusions, symbols and indications of the All-Wise Qur'an, which is, 'The most truthful of all words, most eloquent in its order, the Word of God -The Lord, The Mighty, The All- Knowing'. There is no need to present more extensive proofs. In any case, there are further proofs in other Words: in the Second Station of the Twenty- Eighth Word, which is about Paradise, and is in Arabic, and in the Twenty-Ninth Word.

FIRST INDICATION

According to the Qur'an, the result in the hereafter of licit and thankful love for delicious foods and fruits is again delicious food and fruit, but in a form appropriate for Paradise. And this licit love desires those foods and fruits of the hereafter. So much so, that when you utter the phrase 'Praise be to God' over the fruit you eat in this world, it will be em- bodied as a fruit of Paradise and presented to you there. Here you eat fruit, while there you will eat 'Praise be to God'.

And since you see divine munificence and the All- Merciful One's favors in bounty and food, it is established by Hadith, the indications of the Qur'an, and the requirements of wisdom and mercy that that pleasurable gratitude will be given to you in Paradise in the form of a truly delicious food.

SECOND INDICATION

Licit love for your instinctual soul in this world is not a love built on its good qualities, but rather one that sees its short-comings and trains it with a compassion that seeks to perfect it, and that impels it towards good. This love results in giving to the soul objects of love worthy of it in Paradise.

As is explicitly stated and proved by a great number of verses in the Qur'an, when the soul utilizes its desires and wishes correctly and employs its faculties and senses in the best way in this world, that is, in the way of God Almighty, as a result of this licit and worshipful love the Absolutely Generous One will bestow on it houris in Paradise, the ever- lasting realm. He will clothe these houris in seventy all different varieties of the finery and subtle exquisiteness of Paradise. He will adorn their beings with seventy different kinds of beauty that will carries and gratify all the senses of the soul. Each houri will be like a miniature animated Paradise.

Furthermore, your love of youth in this world, that is, the result of expending the power of youth in worship, will be eternal youth in the realm of bliss.

THIRD INDICATION

Licit love for your wife in this world is sincere love in consequence of her delicate tenderness, fine virtues and good character, together with your protecting her from disobeying God obstinately and sinning. The Absolutely Merciful One has promised that as a result of this licit love your wife shall be given to you as an eternal wife in the hereafter, the realm of bliss. She will be in a form more beautifully adorned and attractive than the houris. You will relate to one another in delight your former adventures in the world, bringing to mind old memories. She will be an intimate, gracious and eternal friend, who loves and is beloved. And, most certainly, that which He Promises shall definitely be given.

FOURTH INDICATION

The result of licit love for parents and children is this. According to the Qur'an, the Most Merciful of the Merciful will bestow on that happy family, even though their stations may be quite different, the pure pleasure of each other's company in the everlasting realm

He will return children who die before reaching the age of fifteen years, that is, the age of puberty, once more to the embrace of their fathers and mothers, in a manner appropriate to Paradise. They will be most beautifully adorned and lovable, in the form of the children of Paradise, who are known as, immortal youths'.* He will gratify their child- cherishing sentiments and will give them that pleasure and delight eternally. Since those children had not reached the age of responsibility, they will remain eternally as lovable and sweet children.

 

*Qur'an 76:19. 56:17.

 

Every pleasurable thing in this world will be found in its highest form in Paradise. Some people surmise that since Paradise is not appropriate for re- production, there will be none of this cherishing of children, which is so sweet, that is, the pleasure of loving and carressing them. But it will be there, too. and in the most delightful and sweet form. This, then, is good news for those whose children die before puberty.

FIFTH INDICATION

The result of love for righteous friends in this world, according to the decree of, 'Love for God's sake' is, as the Qur'an states, 'Facing one another on thrones of happiness'*. God Almighty will seat them on the chairs of Heaven facing one another. He will cause them to meet with their friends, pleasantly, agreeably and sweetly. They will enjoy them- selves recounting their old memories and adventures in' this world, with a pure love and companionship that will not be subject to separation.

 

*Qur'an 15:47, 37:44.

 

SIXTH INDICATION

The result of love for the prophets and saints is as the Qur'an explains. That is, it will be both to benefit in the intermediate world and at the resurrection from the intercession of the prophets and saints, and, also, to profit abundantly, through that love, from the station and blessings that befit them.

Indeed, according to the meaning of 'a person will be together with whom he loves', an ordinary man may approach the highest station by following an exalted person whom he loves.

SEVENTH INDICATION

The result of licit love for beautiful things and the spring. That is, to see with the eye of, 'how beautifully they have been made', and to love the beauty and order of the actions, which are behind those works of art. To love the manifestations of the Beautiful Names, which are behind the order and harmony of the actions, and to love the manifestations of the attributes behind those Beautiful Names. And so on.

The result will be to see in Paradise, the ever- lasting realm, the manifestation of the Names, and the beauty and attributes within the Names, in a form a thousand times more beautiful than the beautiful creatures to be seen here. More than-this even, Imam-i Rabbani (may God be pleased with him) said, "The subtle exquisiteness of Paradise will be the similitude of the manifestation of God's Names." Just think of it!

EIGHTH INDICATION

The result in the hereafter of thoughtful love in this world for the two beautiful faces of the world, which are, the tillage for the hereafter and the mirror of the Divine Names. An everlasting Paradise will be given that is as large as the world but is not ephemeral and transient like this world. And the Names, only pale shadows of which are shown in this world, will be displayed in the mirror of Paradise in a most brilliant form.

Moreover, the result of loving the world as being the tillage of the hereafter is as follows. When the world is seen thus, that is, as a seed-bed or small place of cultivation that produces only shoots, it results in a Paradise where those shoots burgeon and blossom. For in this world man's senses and faculties are tiny shoots and in Paradise they will unfold in the most perfect form. And his abilities, which are here like tiny seeds, will be given to him there in a form that will blossom with all sorts of de- lights and perfections. This is proved by the indications of the Qur'an and by Hadith, and is necessitated by mercy and wisdom.

For it is not blameworthy love of the world, which is the source of every fault, but, rather, love of its two faces that look to God's Names and to the hereafter, and is for the sake of the Names and the hereafter. It is to cultivate those faces with thoughtful worship, as if taking the whole world as the means for worship. It is, therefore, most definitely necessitated by mercy and wisdom that a reward should be given that is as large as the world. And, therefore, one who, through love of the hereafter, has loved its seed-bed, and through love of Almighty God, has loved the mirror of His Names, will most certainly desire a beloved like the world. and that, too, will be a Paradise as great as the world.

Question: What is the use of such a vast and empty Paradise?

Answer:If it was possible for you to travel with speed of imagination round all the regions of the earth and most of the stars, you would be able to say, "The whole universe is mine". And the fact that the angels, other human beings and the animals share the world with you would not quash your claim. In the same way, if Paradise, also, was to be thus full, you would be able to say, "Paradise is mine". The meaning of the Hadith, 'A five hundred year Paradise will be given to some of those in Paradise, has been explained in the Twenty-Eighth Word and the Twentieth Flash, the Treatise on Sincerity.

NINTH INDICATION

The result of faith and love of God. It is proved by the consensus of the people of unveiling and verification, by certain Hadith*, and by the Qur'an that a thousand years of happy life in this world is not worth one hour of life in Paradise. And that a thousand years of heavenly life is not worth one hour's vision and contemplation of the All-Glorious One, Who possesses incomparable beauty and perfection.

 

*Included in the Hadith is the following: 'That vision far surpasses all the other delights of Paradise, so much so that it causes them to be forgotten. And after the vision the loveliness and beauty of those who experience it will have increased to such a degree that when they return, it will be only with difficulty and scrutiny that their families in their mansions will recognize them.

 

Everyone may perceive through his conscience a great longing for the vision of a personage famous for his magnificence and perfection, like the Prophet Solomon (upon whom be peace), and a great yearning to behold a personage distinguished by his beauty, like the Prophet Joseph (upon whom be peace). And to, if you can, compare how longed-for, sought after, and desire-arousing is the vision of One, one manifestation of Whose beauty and Perfection are all the virtues and perfections of Paradise, which are thousands of times more elevated than all the virtues and perfections of this world.

Oh God, bestow upon us in this world love for You and love for that which will draw us closer to You, and the right-gidedness that You have commanded, and, in the next world Your mercy and the vision of You.

Glory be unto You, we have no knowledge save that which You have taught us. You are indeed All-Knowing, All-Wise.*

Oh God, grant blessings and peace on him whom You sent as a mercy to all the worlds, and on all his family and companions. Amen.

 

*Qur'an 2:32.

 

WARNING

Do not dwell too long on the detailed explanation in the last section of this Word. It is short in relation to its importance and requires further explanation.

It is not I who speaks in any of the Words, rather, it is reality in the name of 'INDICATIONS FROM THE QUR'AN'. As for reality, it speaks the truth. Should you see anything incorrect, then you can be certain that without my being aware of it my own ideas interfered and caused the error.

 

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