The Second Station

 

There are countless facts that absolutely necessitate Divine Unity and prove it beyond doubt. They also reject the association of partners with God. Since hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of these are demonstrated in detail in the Risale-i Nur, here only three of them will be explained in brief.

 

THE FIRST FACT WHICH NECESSITATES AND PROVES DIVINE UNITY

 

As testified by the unquestionably wise acts and insightful control and governance observed in the universe, creatures are brought into being through the all-encompassing Attributes and Names of an All-Wise and Perfect Sovereign, including in particular His boundless Knowledge and Power.

It can be inferred and concluded with certainty from the works in the universe that their Maker has sovereignty and authority at the degree of universal Lordship, and grandeur and supremacy or magnificence at the degree of absolute dominion and control. He also possesses absolute perfection, independence, and self-sufficiency at the degree of absolute Divinity, and boundless and unrestrictable command, rule and activity. His sovereignty and grandeur, His perfection, independence, and self-sufficiency, His absolute freedom from any restriction or interference, His infinitude and boundlessness—all of these absolutely necessitate Unity and reject the notion that He has either peers or partners.

The testimony of sovereignty and authority to Unity has been proven with complete certainty in numerous places in the Risale-i Nur. A brief summary is as follows:

The essential characteristic of sovereignty is independence and the rejection of outside interference: sovereignty necessitates these. Even when humans, who by their innate weakness are in need of assistance, enjoy a modicum of sovereignty, they reject the interference of others and jealously guard their independence. It is for this reason that there cannot be two kings in a country, two governors in a province, two mayors in a town, or two headmen in a village. If there are two of any of these, it causes chaos, anarchy and rebellion break out, and law and order are destroyed. If the slight sovereignty enjoyed by impotent, helpless human beings rejects the interference and partnership of others to this extent, surely the sovereignty of an absolutely Powerful One, free from all impotence, which is exercised in the form of absolute Lordship, will in no way countenance the partnership or interference of others. Indeed, it most vehemently rejects them, and the absolutely Sovereign One will wrathfully eject from His Court those who attribute partners to Him. It is because of this truth that the wise Qur’an issues severe threats to those who associate partners with God.

As for the testimony of grandeur, supremacy and majesty to Divine Unity, this too has been demonstrated with clear proofs in other parts of the Risale-i Nur. What follows is a brief summary of them:

For example, the intensity and splendor of the sun’s light leaves no need for other lights in the places where it shines and illuminates; nor does it allow another light to have any effect. Similarly, the supremacy and grandeur of Divine Power leave no need for another force or power, and do not allow it to have any ability to create or any share in creation. It is particularly inconceivable that Divine Power should delegate to others the creation and control of living and conscious beings, upon which the purposes of Divine Power for the existence of the universe are particularly concentrated. It is also in no way possible that Divine Power should leave to other hands the specific or particular states, results and fruits of living beings, which are the points where the Divine purposes for the creation of humanity and the invention of countless varieties of bounties are for the most part manifested. For example, it would be an insult to God’s Majesty and the supremacy of His Lordship, and the grandeur of His Divinity and the dignity of His being the absolutely Worshipped One if a living being were to show genuine gratitude or offer adoring praise to anyone other than God Almighty for being healed—even from some minor ailment —or for some particular sustenance or for guidance regarding an insignificant issue.

How perfection points to the meaning and absolute necessity of Divine Unity has also been explained with very clear proofs in other parts of the Risale-i Nur. A brief summary is as follows:

The creation of the heavens and the earth self-evidently necessitates an absolute power of infinite perfection. Moreover, the wonderful bodily mechanism of every living being necessitates the same power. The perfection of an absolute power, free from impotence and restriction, most certainly necessitates unity. Were this not so, it would require us to suppose that the perfect was in fact defective, that the unrestricted was in fact restricted, that the infinite was actually finite, that the strongest of power was actually the most impotent, and that the boundless now had boundaries; all of these are absolutely impossible.

A brief summary of the testimonies to Unity of absolute unrestrictedness, comprehensiveness, and infinity, which has been elaborated in parts of the Risale-i Nur, is this: each of the creative and administrative acts observed in the universe show, through the pervasive nature of their acts, effects, and results, that they are comprehensive, unrestricted, and boundless. Now given the fact that partnership and interference would mean placing a restriction on something that is unrestricted and imposing a boundary on something which is boundless, thus destroying their true nature, it is quite clear that partnership in acts which are absolute and comprehensive is impossible. For what is by its very nature absolute and unrestricted spreads and pervades everywhere, even when it concerns itself with something finite, limited, and material. For example, if air, light, heat, and even water had been given an unrestricted nature, they would spread everywhere without let or hindrance. Having an unrestricted nature would grant even a limited being pervasiveness. Given this, it is certain that the true, all-encompassing and immaterial unrestrictedness bestows such all-encompassing pervasiveness on attributes that are infinite, supra-material, unlimited, and free from all defect that this leaves no room whatsoever for the partnership or interference of others. This being so, the sovereignty, grandeur, perfection, comprehensiveness, infinitude, and unrestrictedness of each of the countless Divine Acts and hundreds of Divine Names, Whose works and manifestations are observed in the universe, provide exceedingly powerful proofs of Divine Unity.

An extraordinary force tends to pervade everywhere when it is released, scattering other forces. Similarly, each of the acts of Divine Lordship and each manifestation of the Divine Names display such extraordinary force in their works that if they were not held in check by God’s universal Wisdom and absolute Justice, they would overrun the whole creation. For example, is it conceivable that a Power Which creates and nurtures poplar trees all over the world would not take under Its control the odd apple or walnut tree which grows among the poplars? Would that Power delegate the nurturing of that apple tree to the hand of another? The way in which that Power acts in each species, and in each individual creature, shows that It has the ability to invade the entire universe and subjugate all things and beings. Certainly, such a Power could in no way admit any partnership or participation in Its acts.

Also, the owner of a fruit tree will pay great importance not only to the fruit that their tree will bear, but also, bearing in mind its future yields, to the seeds inside the fruit, which are in fact its heart. A sensible owner will not make their ownership count for nothing by handing the fruits over to someone else. Now the universe is like a tree: the elements are its branches, the plants and animals at the tips of the branches are its flowers and leaves, and human beings, who are at the topmost part of the tree, are its fruit. The worship and thanks of human beings are both the purpose for and the outcome of the creation of the tree and its fruit—human beings—and the hearts of the human beings are the comprehensive seeds of the fruit of the tree, while human memories lie at the rear of the heart. This being the case, it is inconceivable that the absolute Owner of the universe would hand over the possession and administration of this tree, with all of its component parts, to other forces, thus negating the sovereignty of His Lordship and negating His fitness to be worshipped.

Again, the aims of Lordship are centered in the particulars, which exist in the outermost reaches of the sphere of contingency and multiplicity, and in the states and circumstances of these particulars. It is from the states and circumstances of these particulars and their states that the thanks, gratitude, and adoration owed to the All-Worshipped One arise, and therefore their Lord would never hand them over to others, thus nullifying His Wisdom or invalidating His Divinity. For the most important purpose of Lordship, as far as the creation of the universe is concerned, is that God should make Himself known to conscious beings, that He should be loved and praised by them, and that He should attract their gratitude to Himself.

It is because of this subtle reality that, in order to demonstrate that the universal and particular acts and favors manifested in the furthest realms of the sphere of multiplicity, such as provision, healing and, in particular, guidance and belief,9 which in turn give rise to thanksgiving, adoration, gratitude, love, praise, and worship, are the direct works, bounties, gifts, and acts of the Creator and Sovereign of all creatures, the miraculously eloquent

Qur’an repeatedly ascribes provision, guidance, and healing to the Necessarily Existent One. It declares that it is only He Who bestows them and it vehemently rejects the interference of others.

Surely, the One Who bestows the gift of belief, which enables a person to gain an eternal abode of happiness, can only be the One Who creates that abode of happiness and makes belief the key to it. It could only be His favor. No-one else could bestow such a great favor and thereby close the vast window which opens onto the All-Worshipped One; no one could confiscate or steal this most important means of worshipping Him.

In short, the most particular states, circumstances, and fruit on the farthest tips of the tree of creation testify to Divine Unity in the following two ways:

The first: Since the aims of Divine Lordship in the universe are accumulated and centered in these fruits and states, and the manifestations of most of the Divine Names, together with their results and benefits observable in the creation of beings are concentrated in them, each of them declares: “I am the property, act and work of the One Who has created the whole universe.”

The second: The human heart and memory—which in a hadith is called “the rear of the heart”10—are like concise indexes or maps of most species of beings. In addition, they bear the meaning of being the seed of the tree of the universe, and are subtle mirrors held up to most of the Divine Names. Every human being in the world has a similar heart and memory. This fact indicates, with utmost certainty, the One Who holds the whole universe in the grasp of His Power; for each heart and memory declares: “I am the work and art of Him alone.”

In conclusion: With respect to its benefits, the fruit indicates the owner of the entire tree. With regard to its seed, it indicates all the parts, members, and nature of the tree. And with regard to the stamp on its face, which also exists on the faces of all its fellows, it demonstrates the similarity between all the fruits of the tree. Together they declare: “We are all the same and have been made by a single Hand. We are the property of a single Being. Whoever has made one of us has made all of us.” In exactly the same way, with respect to the stamp on the face of every member, as well as on the faces of all living beings who exist in the furthest reaches of the sphere of multiplicity, and with respect to the fact that humanity is the result and fruit of the tree of creation, with a heart like an inventory of the properties of the tree, humankind directly indicates the One Who holds the entire universe in the grasp of His Power, and humanity testifies to His Unity.

Said Nursi

9 See, for example, 2:22, 60, 142, 168, 172, 213, 272; 3:73; 5:16, 88; 6:71, 88; 26:80….

10 al-Bukhari, “Fadailul-Qur’an” 22; Muslim, “Nikah” 76.