The Voice of Truth

Volkan No: 86

5 Rebîülevvel 1327/ 14 Mart 1325/ 27 March 1909

 

The way of Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace) is free of all doubts and trickery, and therefore does not condescend to concealing things, which is suggestive of doubt and trickery. Anyway, such a mighty, extensive, all-embracing truth could in no way be hidden, especially from the people of this time. How could an ocean be concealed in a pitcher?

I repeat: the means of unity of the İttihad-ı Muham-medî (Muhammadan Union), which in reality is Islamic Unity, is Divine Unity. Its oath and pledge is belief. Its associations and councils are the mosques, religious schools, and Sufi meeting-places. Its membership consists of all believers. It code of rules are the practices of the Prophet (PBUH). Its laws are the commands and prohibitions of the Shari‘a. This Union consists not of numbers but of worship.

Fear and causing fear are both hypocrisy, but there is no hypocrisy in performing the obligatory acts of religion. The obligatory act of greatest importance at the present time is Islamic Unity. While the aim and goal of Unity [or the Muhammadan Union] is to stir into life the long, many-branched, far-reaching luminous chain which binds together the centres of Islam and their places of worship, to arouse those bound to it, and through thewishes and promptings of their consciences drive them to the way of progress.

The way of this Union is love; its enmity is only for ignorance, poverty, and strife. Non-Muslims should feel sure that this Union attacks only those three facts. Our actions towards non-Muslims consist only of persuasion, for we know them to be civilized. And we suppose them to be fair-minded, so we should demonstrate that Islam is lovable and elevated. The lax and negligent should know that they cannot ingratiate themselves with the Europeans by being irreligious, for they only show that they are unprincipled. And no one likes unprincipledness and anarchy. Those who join this Union after due investigation, will not leave it by blindly imitating such people. We present to public opinion the ideas, way, and reality of the Muhammadan Union, which is Islamic Unity. If anyone has any objections, let him voice them; we are ready to answer them.

All the lions of the world are bound to this chain;

Could the fox chew through it by trickery?

 

S a i d  N u r s i  

 

 

A part I left out of the Programme of My Aims, which I published4

 

One channel of modern education, which flows in from outside, should consist of some of the members of the religious schools, so that it may be purified of rancour and hatred. For coming from another channel it is polluted and cloudy. It has had a negative effect on some minds oppressed by the tyranny which arises from the swamp of idleness and breathes through the poison of despotism; it must therefore pass through the filter of the Shari‘a. It will be transformed through the efforts of the religious scholars.

Peace on those who follow right-guidance.

 

S a i d  N u r s i

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4. See, Volkan, Nos: 83, 84. [Tr.]