THE FIVE POWERS THAT REINFORCE MUSLIMS

 

The truths of Islam have also the innate ability to develop materially and therefore Islam will rule in the future, for five strong, unbreakable powers have been united and fused.55

The first power is the truth of Islam, the teacher of all perfections, which is able to unite hundreds of millions of souls into one soul, and equipped with true civilization and sciences, and which is so strong that no force can break it.

The second is the intense neediness, the true master of civilization and crafts, and which is equipped with the completion of the prerequisites and means of development, and our poverty, which almost breaks our backs. This is such a force that it cannot be silenced or defeated.

The third power is the freedom ordered and allowed by the Shari‘a. It urges humankind to race for the attainment of lofty goals, smashes oppression, and invigorates elevated feelings. At the present, this power is equipped with competition, awakening, vigilance, the zeal of competing, and a tendency toward revival and civilization. In short, it is equipped with the tendency toward and desire for the loftiest perfections that are most fitting for humankind.

The fourth is courage and the spirit of enterprise that results from belief and which is equipped with compassion. That is, it is not lowering oneself before injustices or wrongdoers, and it is not degrading the oppressed. As a foundation of the freedom that is encouraged by the Shari‘a, this fourth power means not flattering oppressors and not domineering over the weak and poor.

The fifth power is Islamic dignity. It requires the uplifting of God’s Name. At this time, uplifting God’s Name depends on material development and the adoption of true civilization. It cannot be doubted that in the future the collective persona of the world of Islam will completely fulfill this duty, which the dignity of Islam requires based on belief.

Islam has sometimes had to resort to the sword in the past in order to break the bigotry and obstinacy of the enemy, and repel its attack. But in the future, it will defeat its enemies with true civilization, material development, and the spiritual sword of truth and right.

Understand what follows:

What we demand in the name of civilization is its beauty and its good aspects, which are beneficial for humankind. We never demand its vices or evils, which some fools regard as beauty and which have destroyed our own “wealth” by our imitation. They have bribed the world in return for the Religion, but they have not been able to take the world. The vices of civilization have overcome its beauties and humanity has received a terrible blow (now two terrible blows) in the form of a world war and has thus stained the world with blood. God willing, supported by the power of Islam, the beauties of civilization will prevail in the future, clean the earth of filth, and secure general peace.

Since the tendency toward perfection is ingrained in human nature, if humanity does not suffer total destruction due to its faults and injustices, the truth of Islam will bring happiness to the Muslim world in particular, and the whole world in general, and will thus serve as atonement for the past and present vices of humanity.

Look, time does not move in a straight line so that its beginning and end grow distant from one another. Rather, like the movement of the earth, time moves by drawing a circle. It sometimes displays progress as an embodiment of spring and summer and sometimes displays decline as an embodiment of winter and a season of storms. So, just as every winter is followed by spring and every night by the morning, so too humankind will, God willing, also live a new morning and spring. From the Divine Mercy we can expect to see the true civilization marked by a general peace in the sun of the truth of Islam.

Furthermore, as scientific studies and uncountable experiences clearly show, what is dominant in the order of the universe and in the basic purposes of the All-Majestic Maker for its existence are good, beauty, and perfection. For every branch of science that studies the universe indicates such a magnificent order and perfection with the general principles on which it is based that minds cannot conceive of something better than this universe. For example, the sciences of anatomy, astronomy, botany, and zoology, with the general principles of being the direct result of the order of the All Majestic Creator, display His miracles of Power and Wisdom, as well as the truth of He Who makes excellent everything that He creates (32:7).

It is also an observable and experienced fact that evil, ugliness, falsehood, and badness are secondary and subordinate in creation. They are not the purposes of creation; rather, they exist indirectly and as measures of comparison. For example, ugliness serves for beauty to be manifested in various forms and degrees. Evil, and even Satan, have been allowed to attack humans so that they may function as a means for the development and perfection of human beings. In short, ugliness and evil have been created to serve as means for universal beauty and good.

Good, perfection, and beauty are essential to the existence of the universe. So, humankind, who has sullied the earth with its injustices and unbelief, will not be able to go to non-existence without first suffering the punishment for such atrocities and then without being the means for the realization of the basic purposes for the existence of the universe (by observing the Divine order).

It is another established fact that humankind is the noblest and most important among creatures. For humankind is a unit of comparison to understand the acts and Art of God. It discovers with its intellect the relationship and steps between the apparent causes and their effects in the creation and operation of the universe, and thus imitates the wise acts and works of God’s Art. It also acquires knowledge of God’s Art, His universal, all-encompassing acts, and His Attributes through its particular knowledge and artistry. All this proves that humankind is the most honorable and noblest creature in the universe.

Also, as testified by the truths of Islam that pertain to the universe and humankind, the people of Islam, who are the people of truth, are the most distinguished and honorable among human beings. As demonstrated by history and attested to by the almost one thousand miracles of Prophet Muhammad and by his most exalted morality and best conduct, as well as the truths of the Qur’an and Islam, Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, is the most blessed and the highest of the people of Islam and therefore of humankind.56

In the face of these realities, is it possible that humankind can contradict the testimonies of science, history, experiences, and logic and thus resist the Divine Will and Wisdom, Which encompass the whole universe? Can it continue its savageries, obstinate unbelief, and terrible destruction? Is it at all possible that the present state, which is contrary to Islam, can last?

I swear with all my strength, and I wish I could swear with countless tongues by the All-Majestic, the All-Gracious and All-Beautiful Maker, Who has created this universe from particles to planets, from the wings of flies to the lamps of the heavens with perfect wisdom, that contrary to all other species of creation and all the varieties of existent beings that are inferior to it, humankind will not be able to oppose the universal order with its universal evils much longer; it will not be able to continue eating and digesting the Hellish fruits of the triumph of evil over good in its realm. So, just as the existence of Paradise and Hell is certain, so too, the future victory of good and the true Religion is beyond question; thus will humankind be equal to its brothers and sisters – all other species – in the universe in the domination of good and virtue, and thus will the mystery of the eternal Wisdom be realized in the human realm as well.

If the evils and injustices of humankind do not soon cause Doomsday to burst on the head of humankind, we entreat the Mercy of the All-Merciful and the All-Compassionate to make the truths of Islam a means for the salvation of humankind from falling to the lowest of the low, for the purification of the earth of its sins, and the realization of universal peace.

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi

55 We understand from the teaching of the Qur’an that with the mention of the miracles of the Prophets the Qur’an informs us that humankind will imitate them and develop, and encourages us to do so. It says:

Work and display the examples of these miracles! Like Prophet Solomon, upon him be peace, cover a distance of two months within one day; like Prophet Jesus, upon him be peace, try to cure the most terrible diseases; like the Staff of Prophet Moses, upon him be peace, extract the water of life from rocks and save humankind from thirst; like Prophet Abraham, upon him be peace, discover the substances which will save you from fire and don them; like some Prophets, upon them be peace, hear the most distant voices in the east and west, and see the most distant forms; like Prophet David, upon him be peace, melt iron like dough or make it like wax so that it may be used as a means for all technical developments; and as much as you benefit from the clock and ship, which were the miracles of Prophets Joseph and Noah respectively, upon them be peace, benefit from all the miracles of other Prophets, and imitate them. (For a detailed explanation of this matter by Said Nursi, see The Words (trans.), “The 20th Word,” The Light, New Jersey 2005, pp. 59–79. [Tr.])

Teaching humankind in every respect in order to urge them to spiritual and material development, the Qur’an demonstrates that it is a universal teacher.

56 For the excellences of the miracles of Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, see Said Nursi, The Letters (trans.), “The 19th Letter,” The Light, New Jersey 2007, pp. 117–236. (Tr.)