THE EIGHTH STEP: Humanity, primarily including the Prophets

 

 

Afterwards, the reflective traveler wishes to enter the world of humanity in order to advance further in the infinite ranks and unlimited degrees of pleasure and the lights of knowledge of God. And thus, humankind, headed by the Prophets, invites the traveler inside. Entering there, and looking first into the vast mansion that is the past, the traveler sees that all of the Prophets, upon them be peace, who are the most luminous and perfect of all people, proclaim in unison: “There is no deity but He.” With the power of their innumerable brilliant and confirmed miracles, they are affirming and pronouncing God’s Unity, and in order to raise humanity from the rank of animals to that of angels, they are instructing people in belief in God and summoning them to it. Kneeling down in that school of light, the traveler also pays heed to the lesson and observes the following:

All of these teachers, the most exalted and renowned of all celebrated human beings, have in their hands numerous miracles that have been bestowed on them by the Creator of the universe as a sign that confirms their mission. In addition, a large group of people, a whole community, has confirmed their claims and reached belief through their instruction. The traveler sees how powerful, decisive, and definitive a truth it is that was agreed on unanimously and confirmed by these more than one hundred thousand serious and veracious individuals. The traveler also understands that by denying a truth attested to and affirmed by so many absolutely truthful instructors, the people of misguidance are committing a most grievous error—nay, a crime—and are thus deserving of a most painful everlasting punishment. The traveler perceives, in contrast, how truly righteous are those who confirm the message of the Prophets and come to belief, and thus a further degree of the sanctity of belief becomes apparent to the traveler.

Apart from the innumerable miracles worked by the Prophets, upon them be peace, as a sign of God’s actual confirmation of them and their mission; apart from the heavenly blows dealt to their opponents, which demonstrate the truthfulness of the Prophets; apart from their individual perfections and veracious teachings, which indicate their truthfulness and righteousness; apart from the strength of their faith, their supreme seriousness, and self-sacrifices, which demonstrate their honesty; apart from the sacred Books and Scrolls they hold in their hands, and apart from their countless pupils who have attained truth, perfection, and light by following them, thus proving the truthfulness of their paths—apart from all of these realities, the unanimous agreement of the Prophets, who are the most earnest conveyors of God’s Messages, and their followers on all true, positive matters, and their concord, mutual support, and affinity in establishing and proving the same all constitute a proof so powerful that no power in the world is able to confront it, and no doubt or hesitation can be cast. The traveler comes to understand that belief in all the Prophets, upon them be peace, as one of the pillars of belief, is another source of power, and they derive great benefit of belief from the lessons that they taught.

In expression of the lessons learned by this traveler, in The Eighth Step of The First Station it was said:

There is no deity but God, Whose Necessary Existence in His Unity is demonstrated clearly by the consensus of all the Prophets with the power of the manifest miracles which confirm (their missions and Messages) and are confirmed (by innumerable people and unanimously accepted reports).

Said Nursi