The Eighth Premise
AN ESTABLISHMENT
Do not tire of this long premise, for its conclusion is of great significance. Moreover, it defeats hopelessness, which destroys all perfections, and it vitalizes hope; it is the yeast of happiness in every matter. It also gives the glad tidings that the future will belong to the Muslims. It is about measuring the children of the past and the future.
The alphabet is not taught and studied in colleges. Even if knowledge has a definite, constant nature, it is taught in different ways. The school of emotions which we call the past is not the same as the university of thoughts called the future. What I mean by the children of the past is, in regard to non-Muslims, those who lived before the sixteenth century. As for the Muslims, they were very far ahead of all other peoples during the first three centuries of Islam, and during the succeeding two centuries they were more advanced, being revered in most matters. I call the subsequent seven centuries the past, and the time that follows the future.
What generally directs a person is either the reason or the sense-perceptions. In other words, people are directed either by their thoughts and emotions, or by right and force, or by wisdom and power, or by guidance or lusts and caprices. We see from this perspective that untainted but untrained tendencies and emotions were dominant in the children of the past and these directed their unenlightened thoughts. This sometimes caused divergences or conflicts. But since the enlightened opinions of the children of the future will hopefully dominate their emotions, which are darkened by desires, ambitions, and lusts, we can say with certainty that in the future law will prevail and humanity will manifest itself to a certain extent. In turn, this gives the glad tidings that Islam, which is the true and greatest humanity, will shine like an unclouded sun in the heavens of the future and over the orchards and gardens of Asia.
What generally prevailed in the past and gave rise to spite, enmity, and the complex of being superior was emotions, inclinations, and force. A powerful, convincing speech was enough to guide people. At that time, the ability to embellish a thesis in such a way that it would affect the feelings and inclinations or make it attractive with the power of rhetoric or gestures served for evidence. But comparing ourselves to them means returning to the corners of that time. Every age has a character peculiar to itself. We demand evidence, and are not deceived through the mere statement or embellishment of a thesis.
The source from which established truths originate, like vapor formed over the ground of the present to pour as rain on the mountains of the future, consists of thought, reason, right, and wisdom; and any thesis or claim put forward can only be proved through evidence, which gives rise to a tendency towards investigation, the love of truth, a preference for public interest over personal interest, and the awakening to truth of humanity. We are people of the present and candidates for the future. The embellishment of the thesis or a mere statement of it is not enough to satisfy our minds. We demand evidence.
Now, let us briefly mention the positive and negative aspects of the past and future. Since force, desires, natural untrained dispositions, and emotions were considerably dominant in countries of the past, despotism and authoritarianism prevailed. Enmity towards the way of others was more popular than love of one’s own way. Enmity towards a person was manifested as friendship to that person’s enemies. In addition, partisanship and fanaticism prevented the appearance of the truth. Since differences of opinion supported by partisanship caused fierce conflicts, the truth retreated and concealed itself. As one of the evils of despotism, what sustained the way of each and every group was generally bigotry and/or denouncing others as deviant or fallacious. Whereas, as all of these have attitudes that are condemned in the sight of the Shari‘a, they are also contrary to religious brother/sisterhood, to the bonds of humanity, and the mutual assistance that is required by collective life. It sometimes even happens that when people have abandoned bigotry or its fallacies and entered on the way followed by people in unison, they have had to change their own way. However, if they had supported the truth instead of bigotry, followed evidence instead of fallacies, lived with love of their own way according to the rules of Shari‘a and for the good pleasure of God instead of denouncing others as deviants, and had based their actions on consultation, they would not have felt the need to change their own way. But just as doubt and suspicion had no effect on people’s minds during the Age of Happiness and the subsequent periods of the righteous generations due to the dominance of the truth and the application of evidence, reason, and consultation, so too, through the efforts of scientific thought and investigation will the truth prevail over force, evidence over fallacies, reason over disposition, guidance over lust and caprice, steadfastness in the truth over bigotry or fanaticism, public spirit over spite, intellectual tendencies over the inclinations of the carnal soul, thought over emotions. This will happen to some extent in the present and fully in the future. The situation was completely thus in the first three centuries of Islam and to a certain extent during the succeeding two centuries. From the sixth century onwards, everything began gradually to deteriorate.
It is one of the laudable effects of the dominion of thought that the sun of the truth of Islam has begun gradually to appear from behind the clouds of whims and imaginings and illuminate everything. Even those who have rotted in the swamp of unbelief are benefiting. It is the beauty of consultation that the ways followed and methods applied are founded on evidence and the facts are bound to the unchanging truth, leading to perfection in every field. As a result of this, falsehood will not be able to guide under the guise of truth and deceive minds.
O Muslim brothers and sisters! The present gives us the glad tidings that the reality announced in The truth has come and falsehood has vanished (17:81) has begun to show itself and, pointing to the future, announces with a loud voice: The truth of Islam, which is the representation of eternal justice in this world, will dominate over time and over the nature of humanity until the end of time, which is fast approaching. It is the greatest, true humanity.
The beauty brought by new developments in human civilization is an indicator of the dominance of the truth of Islam. Is it not apparent that owing to the intellectual enlightenment—a result of reasoned thoughts built one upon the other over the course of time—that the dust of whims and caprices which has been collected on the shoulders of Islamic truths has been partly eliminated? This suggests that these truths, which are the stars of the heavens of guidance, will appear fully in all their brightness and diffuse their light everywhere, even if their opponents struggle against this.
If you would like, go into the future and see how those who search for the truth of the Divine Oneness in Trinity in the field of truths under the supervision of wisdom and true knowledge attempt to struggle against those who have been girded with the sword of evidence and equipped with the true creed based on the Divine Oneness—the true creed that has been confirmed by sound intellects—see how they will be utterly defeated.
I swear by the wise styles of the Qur’an that what has thrown certain Christians into the valleys of misguidance, along with many others, is that they have dismissed reason, expelled evidence, and imitated the clerics blindly. What has allowed Islam to always manifest its excellences (despite all obstacles) and the truths to develop in accordance with the intellectual development of humanity is that Islam is based on the truth, it has equipped itself with evidence, it consults with reason, and does not conflict with the basic principles of scientific research, wisdom, or sound thinking. Is it not apparent that in many of its verses the Qur’an calls humanity to turn to their conscience and consult with their reason? The Qur’an frequently says: Do they not contemplate…? Go about, then, on the earth and behold…! Do they not consider…? They reason and understand. They do not perceive. Then reflect…! Will you not, then, reflect and take heed? Learn a lesson, then, O people of insight! They know! They do not reason or understand.
I say: Learn a lesson, then, O people of insight!
CONCLUSION
Learn a lesson, then, O people of insight! Do not restrict yourselves to or get stuck in what you see only with your eyes! The truth is waiting for you. But when you see it, do not damage it!
Said Nursi