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The Third Purpose

 

 

This is about the bodily Resurrection. Creation without the bodily Resurrection would be meaningless. The Resurrection is a vital truth, and its clearest proof is Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings.

 

Introduction

The Qur’an, clear in itself and showing the truth clearly, has clarified the matter of the bodily Resurrection to the extent that it has allowed no room for any doubt. I will try to mention only a few of the proofs the Qur’an has offered.

 

A SUMMATION OF THE MOST GENERAL PROOFS

The perfect universal order and wisdom in creation; the exact purposefulness of existence which allows no room for uselessness; the fact that there is no waste in the universal system and that all sciences point to the harmony that is established in the uniform operation of the universe and on the basis of which they deduce universal laws; the constant repetition of daily, seasonal, and yearly instances of the resurrection of life in “nature”; the capacities and ambitions of humanity which worldly life is absolutely unable to satisfy; the limitless Mercy of the All-Wise Maker; the truthful tongue of God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings; and the manifest declarations of the Qur’an with miraculous exposition are all indisputable proofs of the bodily Resurrection.

 

EXPLANATIONS

  1. But for eternal life, the magnificent orderliness of the universe would be totally insignificant and lose all its meaning, connections, and relationships. The foundation of this orderliness is eternal life.
  2. The eternal Divine Wisdom, which is the universal representation of the Divine eternal favor, has attached many purposes to creation. Without eternal life, all these purposes would be void, and as a result so too all the wisdom in existence.
  3. As clearly demonstrated by observations and the life of the universe and confirmed by deductive reasoning, there is nothing meaningless or useless in existence. This points to the fact that the eternal life will follow a bodily resurrection. To go into absolute non-existence would make all existence meaningless and useless.
  4. There is no waste in creation. For example, the science of anatomy demonstrates that there is nothing useless or functionless in the human body. Likewise, the mental and spiritual capacities of humanity, as well as its almost unrestricted ambitions, thoughts, and tendencies have not been given to it in vain. This essential character of humanity demonstrates that it has been created for eternity.
  5. But for the eternal life, the capacities, ambitions, thoughts, and tendencies of humanity would be in vain. While the cover—the body— of that jewel that is worth the world is given infinite care and protected against even a particle of dust alighting on it, how could the One Who has made the jewel break it up and destroy it eternally? Absolutely no! The care shown to the cover is due to the exceptional value of the jewel.
  6. All “natural” sciences originate in the magnificent, stable orderliness of the universe. The real purpose for the perfection and preservation of this orderliness is the eternal life that will follow the bodily Resurrection.
  7. Like the hour, minute, and second hands of the clock following each other to the completion of a day, the hour, month, and year hands of the clock of time follow one another; thus time progresses to a definite end. This self-evidently demonstrates that just as morning comes after night, and spring after winter, the night of the world will result in the morning of the eternal life of the hereafter.

Each member of humanity is like a species of other existent beings. The light of thought has broadened its scope of ambitions to the extent that even if it swallowed all of time, it would not become full. The nature, value, viewpoints, perfectibility, pleasures, and pains of the members of other species are restricted, while those of humanity are constant, universal, and unrestricted. Daily, seasonal, and yearly cycles of a sort of death and resurrection can be observed in the lives of many other species, and these all point to the resurrection of each human and indeed of the whole of humanity.

  1. The capacities with which the essence of humanity has been endowed are sources of infinite abilities. From these abilities originate tendencies which give rise to limitless ideas and concepts. These ideas and concepts are directed essentially to the eternal happiness that will follow the bodily Resurrection.
  2. The Mercy of the All-Wise Maker, the All-Merciful and Compassionate, which gives a favor its true nature, and preserves it from being the cause of suffering, saving the universe from the laments that would otherwise arise from eternal separation, will confer eternal life on humanity. Were it not to confer this, the greatest of all Divine favors, then all the favors coming in the world would become suffering and vengeance. This would mean the denial of Divine Mercy, the existence of which the whole of existence decisively proves.

O brothers and sisters! Think about love and compassion, which are only two among the infinite varieties of Divine favor. Then, consider eternal separation and the endless pangs that would arise from it! What great suffering love would turn into! This means that pangs of eternal separation cannot exist together with love. So, the eternal life, particularly the eternal life of happiness, will strike such a blow at eternal separation that it will cast it into eternal non-existence.

  1. The truthful tongue of our Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, the absolute truthfulness of which has been explained in the foregoing Five Ways, is a key to the eternal happiness that lies in the treasury of bodily Resurrection.
  2. The Qur’an of miraculous exposition, which has been proven and confirmed for thirteen (now fourteen) centuries to be miraculous and inimitable in forty aspects, opens the doors of the bodily Resurrection and manifestly presents it to the views with all its contents and dimensions.

 

A SECOND SUMMATION OF TWO OTHER GENERAL PROOFS

 

This explains the two proofs of the Resurrection, which the Qur’an indicates.

 

In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate.58

 

Said Nursi

58 Bediüzzaman Said Nursi writes at the beginning of “The Ninth Ray” (included in The Rays), which he composed 30 years after this book:

It is a subtle Divine favor that at the end of The Reasonings, which I wrote as an introduction to the Qur’anic commentary, I wrote, “A Second Summation of Two Other General Proofs: This explains the two proofs of the Resurrection which the Qur’an indicates. In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate,” and stopped. I was not able to continue. Thanks to my All-Compassionate Creator to the number of the signs and proofs of the bodily Resurrection, He favored me with writing the number of proofs of the Resurrection more elaborately.