The Second Station: A comparison between belief and unbelief, and Divine Knowledge, Will and Power
In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate
And from Him do we seek help
One of the truths contained in the last verse of Suratu’l-Fatiha, which compares the people of guidance and the Straight Path with the people of misguidance and rebellion, and which is the source of all the comparisons in Risale-i Nur, is also expressed in a most wonderful fashion by the following verse of Suratu’n-Nur:
God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His Light is like a niche wherein is a lamp; the lamp is in a crystal, and the crystal is shining as if a pearl-like radiant star, lit from the oil of a blessed olive tree that is neither of the east nor of the west. The oil would almost give light of itself though no fire touches it. Light upon light! God guides to His Light whom He wills. God strikes parables for people. God has full knowledge of all things. (24:35)
and by the verse:
Or their deeds are like veils of darkness covering up an abysmal sea down into its depths, covered up by a billow, above which is a billow, above which is a cloud: veils of darkness piled one upon another, so that when he stretches out his hand, he can hardly see it. For whomever God has appointed no light, no light has he. (24:40)
The first verse was the main reason for the name “Nur” (The light) being given to the Risale-i Nur (The Treatises of Light). The traveler in The Supreme Sign (Ayatu’l-Kubra) questioned the entire universe and all beings in order to seek, find and learn about their Creator. They came to know Him through thirty-three ways and decisive proofs to the degrees of certainty based on knowledge and certainty based on vision or observation. This untiring, insatiable traveler also journeyed through the centuries and the various levels of the heavens and earth with their mind, heart and imagination, inspecting the entire world as though it were a single city. Having their reason dwell now on the Qur’an and now on philosophy, and gazing at the most distant levels through the powerful telescope of imagination, the traveler saw truths as they are in reality and in part informed us of them in The Supreme Sign.
Now, of these many worlds and levels that the traveler entered on their journey of the imagination, which was representational in nature and completely in conformity with reality, only three are explained here in brief in order to illustrate just one aspect of the comparison at the end of Suratu’l Fatiha. It concerns the power of reason. The other visions of the traveler and other comparisons may be found in the relevant parts of Risale-i Nur.
THE FIRST EXAMPLE IS SIMILAR TO THE FOLLOWING
The traveler, who has come into the world only to find their Creator and attain knowledge of Him, addresses their reason thus: “We have asked everything about our Creator and have received perfectly satisfying answers. Now, as expressed in the proverb: “In order to learn about the sun one has to ask the sun itself,” we will make a further journey in order to gain knowledge of our Creator through the manifestations of His sacred Attributes, such as Knowledge, Will and Power, and through His visible works and the manifestations of His Names.” And so the traveler enters the world. Then in the manner of the people of misguidance—those who represent the second current or way mentioned at the end of Suratu’l-Fatiha—they embark on the ship of the earth. They put on the spectacles of the science and philosophy that do not follow the wisdom of the Qur’an, and look in accordance with the program of the geography that does not map out the Qur’an. They see the following:
The earth is traveling in an infinite void seventy times faster than a cannon-ball, covering a twenty-thousand-year distance in one year. It has taken upon itself millions of species of wretched, helpless living beings. The traveler realizes that if the earth were to confuse its way for even a minute, or were to collide with a stray star, it would break up and scatter throughout space, pouring all these wretched creatures into nothingness and non-existence. Perceiving the awesome calamity of the current indicated in the verse, Not of those who have incurred Your wrath, nor of those who are astray, and the suffocating gloom of the veils of darkness covering up an abysmal sea down into its depths, the traveler exclaims: “Alas! What have we done? Why did we get on this terrible ship? How are we to be saved?” Then smashing the spectacles of blind philosophy, the traveler joins the current of Those whom You have favored (with true guidance). Suddenly the wisdom of the Qur’an comes to their aid, giving their reason a telescope that shows the exact truth of everything. “Look now!” it says. The traveler looks and sees the following:
The Name “the Lord of the heavens and earth” rises like a sun in the sign of He it is Who has made the earth subservient to you (like a docile animal), so go about through its shoulders and eat of His provision (67:15).146 The Lord has made the earth like a well-organized and secure ship, filling it with living beings together with their provision, and causing it to journey around the sun in the ocean of the universe to attain numerous benefits and instances of wisdom, bringing the produce of the seasons to those who are in need of provision. The Lord has appointed the two angels Thawr (Ox) and Hut (Fish) as captains of the ship; they steer it on its voyage for the enjoyment of the All-Majestic Creator’s creatures and guests, through the magnificent domain of the Lord. The traveler understands that this indicates the truth of God is the Light of the heavens and the earth, and thus makes known their Creator through the manifestations of this Name that is the Light. With all their heart and spirit the traveler exclaims: “All praise and gratitude are for God, the Lord of the worlds,” and joins the group of Those whom You have favored.
THE SECOND EXAMPLE
The second example of what the traveler sees on their journey through the worlds is as follows:
Leaving the ship of the earth, the traveler enters the world of animals and humankind. They look at that world through the spectacles of the natural science that is devoid of spirit, and sees the following:
These innumerable living creatures have endless needs and are under constant attack from countless harmful enemies and pitiless events, while having a capital with which they can only meet a thousandth, nay, a hundred thousandth of their need. Their power too is perhaps a millionth of what is required to combat these harmful things. Feeling a connection with them on account of being an intelligent being and out of compassion for their fellow beings, the traveler pities them in their terrible plight and feels so sorry for them that they suffer hellish pain. They begin to regret a thousand times over ever having come to this wretched world when suddenly a flash of Qur’anic wisdom comes to their aid, giving them the telescope of Those whom You have favored, and saying: “Look!” The traveler looks through it and sees that through the manifestation of God is the Light of the heavens and the earth, numerous Divine Names, such as the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate, the All-Providing, the All-Bestowing, the All-Munificent, and the All-Preserving are each rising like the sun in the signs of verses like: No living creature is there but He holds it by its forelock (11:56); How many a living creature there is that does not carry its own provision in store but God provides for them, and indeed for you (29:60); Assuredly We have honored the children of Adam (with many distinctions) (29:70), and The virtuous and godly ones will indeed be in (the Gardens of) perpetual bliss (82:13). Filling the world of humankind and animals with mercy and bounties, they transform it into some sort of temporary Paradise. The traveler now understands that these verses ensure that the All-Munificent Host of this spectacular, instructive guest-house is perfectly known. The traveler repeats a thousand times, All praise and gratitude are for God, the Lord of the worlds!
THE THIRD EXAMPLE
What follows is the third example of the hundreds of observations of the traveler during their journey:
The traveler who wants to know their Creator through the manifestations of His Names and Attributes then says to their mind and imagination: “Come! Leaving our bodies behind on the earth, we will ascend to the heavens like the spirits and angels. We will ask the inhabitants of the heavens about our Creator.” Their spirit mounts their imagination, their mind mounts their thought, and together they ascended to the heavens. They take astronomy as their guide and look with the view of the philosophy that does not heed the Religion, and the current of Those who have incurred Your wrath and Those who are astray. The traveler sees the following:
Thousands of heavenly bodies and fiery stars, each a thousand times larger than the earth and moving a hundred times faster than a cannon-ball, are spinning around unconsciously, lifelessly, aimlessly. If one of these bodies happens to lose its way for even a second, it will collide with another unconscious body in that infinite space, causing utter confusion and chaos, like Doomsday.
In whichever direction they look, the traveler is filled with terror and dismay: they are sorry a thousand times over that they have ascended to the heavens. Their mind and imagination are extremely upset and bewildered. The mind and imagination exclaim: “Our duty is to see and point out fine truths. We no longer want to observe or know such infernally ugly and tormenting spectacles; we withdraw from this task!” Then suddenly, through the manifestation of God is the Light of the heavens and the earth, numerous Names such as “the Creator of the heavens and the earth”, “the Subjugator of the sun and moon”, and “the Lord of the worlds” each rise like a sun in the signs of verses such as And We have adorned the lowest heaven (the heaven of the world) with lamps (67:5); Do they, then, never observe the sky above them, how We have constructed it and adorned it? (50:6), and … then He directed (His Knowledge, Will, Power, and Favor) to the heaven, and formed it into seven heavens (2:20). They fill all the heavens with light and with angels, transforming it into a huge mosque and military encampment. The traveler enters the current of Those whom You have favored, and is saved from that of Those who are astray and veils of darkness covering up an abysmal sea down into its depths. The traveler sees a well-organized, beautiful, and magnificent land, as wonderful as Paradise itself. Observing that its inhabitants are making known the All-Majestic Creator, the value of the traveler’s mind and imagination increases a thousand times over, and so does their task.
Referring to the Risale-i Nur the other observations of the traveler, which are comparable with these three, and the knowledge of the Necessarily Existent One which is acquired through the manifestations of His Names, here we will mention only certain brief indications. Like that traveler through the world, we will try to become acquainted very briefly with the Creator of the universe through the works and manifestations of Knowledge, Will, and Power, which are three of His seven sacred Attributes. For a detailed explanation, we refer you to the relevant parts of the Risale-i Nur.
Said Nursi
146 This verse is miraculous in meaning. It likens the earth to an animal which has been subservient to humankind for its benefits, although it travels very speedily in space. Its shoulders are its uplands or mountains, where provision for human beings are found deposited. (Tr.)