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By Thomas Michel
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
At the time of the Indian Ocean tsunami on 26 December 2004, in which over 300,000 persons where killed, 168,000 in Indonesia alone, I was lecturing in Central Java in Indonesia. The island of Java was relatively unaffected by the tsunami, since it is sheltered from the Indian Ocean by the larger island of Sumatra. Nevertheless, everyone in Indonesia was shocked at the widespread destruction and loss of life, and there was much soul-searching in an effort to understand God’s will in such a terrible disaster. For Muslims, the questioning was especially acute, because Aceh, the North Sumatran province most severely affected, was well-known as being the most pious and faithful Islamic region of the country. Aceh is known in Indonesia as “the threshold of Mecca.” Consequently, many Muslims were asking how God could permit such an event to occur in the most God-fearing region of Indonesia, and they wondered where God’s justice could be found in an event in which good and bad perished indiscriminately. The experience of discussing with Indonesian friends the mystery of God’s will in relation to the tsunami provoked me to learn what Said Nursi had to say about natural disasters and how he reconciled such events with faith in God’s justice and mercy. There is a passage in the Risale-i Nur [1] which specifically treats these questions. It was penned in response to many queries put to Said Nursi following upon a severe earthquake which occurred on 27 December 1939 in the Turkish province of Erzincan. The quake, which caused more than 30,000 deaths, was actually a series of seven powerful shocks (the most violent registering 7.9 on the Richter scale), that together went to produce the most lethal and destructive disaster to hit Anatolia in modern times. In his response, Said Nursi treats seven questions which people had put to him in regard to the earthquake.
First Question. What is the reason for the anxiety that people experience as a result of the earthquake? They are terrified that there will be another one. While admitting that the physical destruction and loss of life caused by earthquakes and other natural disasters are matters of great distress, Nursi notes that the spiritual and psychological crises that follow upon such calamities are often more severe than the material damage. The reason for this is that people who have experienced this type of disaster are traumatized; they are fearful that another quake will occur, and they live in despair since they do not know how to avoid this imminent danger or save themselves from it. The result of this fear and despair is that people lie awake nights worried about another earthquake, losing sleep and becoming depressed. Said Nursi’s answer is that licentious, blasphemous lifestyles lie at the heart of this fear and despair. He suggests that if people were truly engaged in pious behaviour and faithfully living according to God’s will, they would not be caught in the grip of torment, fear, and despair. They would see the hand of God even in the occurrence of natural calamities. “The reins of all those things that are hostile to you, from microbes to plagues, storms, famine, and earthquakes, are in the hands of the Compassionate, Wise One. Being wise, He does nothing in vain. Being compassionate, His mercy is superabundant. There is a form of grace and favour contained in everything He does.”[2] If people were living in accord with God’s will, they would not fear death because they would have a peaceful afterlife to look forward to. They would have the inner resources to confront disaster realistically and rationally and in this way find strength to overcome their fear as well as hope to overcome their despair. Nursi says elsewhere in the Risale-i Nur that if one views natural events with the eyes of faith, “he will realize that the storms and earthquakes and tempestuous events are all submissive officials, and understand that they are the means for instances of wisdom which though apparently harsh are in fact most gentle.”[3] It is noteworthy that Said Nursi’s concern here is not to interpret the earthquake as a punishment for licentious living, but rather to note that the inner defects and inadequacies that people experience in confronting such disasters come from a lack of faithful, observant lives. However, the matter is complex. Elsewhere in the Risale-i Nur, he makes clear that at least some of the disasters that befall humanity are indeed the result of pride and obstinacy, of people thinking they know better than God. Certainly, this does not mean every individual is guilty, but it is the erroneous ideas and attitudes of the majority of people that bring down disasters upon the whole nation. Nursi states this view clearly in a dream debate with supporters of the secular state: “The error of the majority is always the cause of general disasters. Mankind’s misguided ideas, Nimrod-like obduracy, Pharaoh-like pride, swelled and swelled on the earth till it reached the skies. It upset the sensitive mystery of creation and it caused to descend from the heavens the plague and storm of the last war’s quakes; it caused a heavenly blow to be visited on the infidel.”[4] In other words, there is a mysterious connection between the way that humans live, exemplified in the Qur’anic narratives of prophets such as Noah, Hud, Salih, Lot, and Shuayb, the cosmic forces that sometimes “rebel” against human obstinacy and assail earthly society.
Second question. Why don’t these disasters happen in countries populated by non-believers? Why do they seem to occur very frequently in Muslim regions? Said Nursi’s answer is that chastisement for small sins and errors is made quickly, on-the-spot, while the punishment for great matters is deferred to a more august assembly. For example, one might be forced to pay a trivial traffic fine immediately, but a serious case, such as that of homicide or sedition, will be deferred to an important tribunal. In the same way, God punishes Muslims’ less grievous sins in this world immediately by disasters like earthquakes, while the more serious sins of evildoers are deferred to the Final Judgment.
Third question. If an earthquake is a punishment for sin, why are the innocent also punished for the sins of a few? Obviously, in any given region, not all people are evildoers, yet in a natural disaster, everyone suffers. Said Nursi’s answer is that it is not correct to say about any human society that only a few people have sinned. In every society, most people are in one way or another involved in the general wrongdoing. Whether it be the injustices visited upon the poor, the corruption of politicians and businessmen, public promiscuity, or general disbelief, many people cooperate silently in such misdeeds in various ways. Whether by complacently ignoring the wrong, by profiting from the wrongdoing in one way or another, by passively putting up with it and doing nothing to stop it, or by defending the rights of miscreants to carry out their offences, guilt is more widespread than that for which a relatively small number of perpetrators is responsible. Nursi here is raising the question of what might be called “social sin,” the general wrongdoing of a society for which no individual is responsible, but in which all are to a greater or lesser extent complicit.
Fourth question. It could be argued that disasters like earthquakes atone for the sins that the people have committed. In other words, they are occasions by which people begin in this world to atone for the punishment due to their sinful deeds. But if this is so, it would seem unjust on the part of God to punish the innocent along with the guilty. Said Nursi replies that the issue is bound up with the mystery of Divine determining, that is, God’s omnipotent power over all things and the reality of human freedom to choose good or evil. He cites a Qur’anic verse to the effect: “Fear tumult or oppression, which affects not only those of you who do wrong (8:25).” Nursi interprets this verse to mean this world is like a proving ground or examination hall in which each person’s level of responsibility and accountability is being tested. If in the case of disaster the innocent were spared while the guilty were being punished, then evildoers would do what is right, not because they wanted to obey and believe in God, but simply out of self-interest, to avoid worldly destruction. The upright “Abu Bakrs” of this world would have no opportunity to show their positive, God-fearing qualities, nor would the self-serving, evildoing “Abu Jahls” be shown up for the cowardly, desperate people they had made out of themselves. Thus, it is necessary that in a disaster, both good and bad undergo the same misery, so that the spiritual stuff of which each is made will become evident. Moreover, God does not forget His faithful, upright servants in time of disaster. God shows them mercy and treats their suffering as a type of martyrdom which will gain for them a great reward in the afterlife. Just as the deaths of innocent victims can be considered a kind of martyrdom, so also their property and livelihood which were destroyed in the disaster take on the status of alms, which will earn the faithful victims eternal benefit. Nursi concludes that men have no right to complain in the case of disasters and illness, nor are they justified in accusing God of injustice. He gives three reasons for his view. Firstly, God as Creator and Provider has disposal over His creation to do as he wishes. Disasters provide an opportunity for God to display His beautiful names by consoling and caring for the innocent victims. Secondly, “by means of disasters and sicknesses, life is refined, perfected, strengthened and advanced; it yields results, attains perfection and fulfils its own purpose. Life led monotonously on the couch of ease and comfort resembles not so much the pure good that is being, as the pure evil that is non-being.”[5] Thirdly, this world is a testing-ground where patiently endured suffering purifies the person and becomes equivalent to an act of worship of God.
Fifth question. Would it not be more in keeping with God’s justice and mercy for Him to punish individual sins one-by-one, rather than by sending a general and indiscriminate punishment like an earthquake? Why doesn’t God step in pre-emptively to prevent an earthquake or similar natural disaster from happening before such widespread destruction occurs? Said Nursi answers that there are times when God allows the natural elements to rise up in anger against human sinfulness. The Qur’an recounts, for example, the flood visited on the people of Noah, the anger of the air at the denial of the peoples of ‘Ad and Thamud peoples, the fury of the sea and water at the people of Pharaoh, the rage of the earth at Qarun, and the anger of Hell at the unbelievers in the Hereafter.[6] Obviously, Nursi is not claiming that the natural world has the capacity for an emotional response such as anger, but it is clear from the Qur’an that human sin is so disruptive of the cosmic order that on occasion the earth itself rebels against the corruption done by humans. Even though God sometimes permits an element of the natural world to rise up in rebellion against human sin, if God were then to step in and prevent that element from following its set course, then in the long run, as many instances of good as of evil would have been prevented. Nursi recognizes that it is the function of some elements of nature to control and balance others. He expresses this view in the form of a prayer and says: “Just as the seas with their strange creatures recognize You and make You known, so do the mountains through the wise services they perform. They ensure that the earth is released from the effects of earthquakes and internal upheavals, save it from being overrun by the seas, purify the air of poisonous gases, function as tanks for the saving and storage of water, and act as treasuries for the minerals and metals necessary for living beings.”[7] God’s intervention to contravene and override the processes of nature, which had been decreed by God from the beginning, would be contradictory to God’s own wisdom in creation.[8] The function of a natural element cannot be canceled in order to prevent a possible unwanted result. This would mean canceling as well all the good results tied to the intended action of that particular element. If an element were thus prevented from carrying out its given duty, it might avoid bad results, but at the same time, would cause the cancellation of an equal number of good results. Since God is good and without fault, such an action would not be in keeping with His Divine nature. In his mercy and wisdom, God selectively allows the occurrence of lesser evils for the greater good. For example, a disaster like an earthquake, while it causes serious destruction, also produces positive results in keeping with Divine providence, such as testing people’s faith, rewarding faithful believers to the status of martyrs, and serving as a salutary warning to miscreants.[9]
Sixth Question. Many modern people deny that divine intervention is in any way involved in earthquakes, tsunamis, floods and similar disasters. They hold that such disasters can be explained by purely natural causes, such as an earthquake occurring because of a shift in the rock strata inside the earth or architectonic plates sliding against each other. They see no need for recourse to God, sin, punishment or any other religious reference to explain these events. For them, the universe consists entirely of matter, and disasters are entirely due to an unfortunate combination of material factors. Said Nursi answers that the marvellous complexity of creation shows that not even the tiniest element of the cosmos can be outside the control and awareness of the Creator. God’s providence, decision, and purpose are sovereign, and nothing occurs in the universe that is outside of God’s determination. However, sometimes God in His wisdom conceals His power and acts through secondary causes. An earthquake is a case in point. It is in keeping with God’s habitual way of acting that He will on occasion command the terrestrial strata to shift at a fault line, thus producing an earthquake. Nursi offers an image to illustrate his point that God’s ultimate agency must be affirmed for everything that happens in the universe. When a man is shot with a gun, it is not the gun that is blamed but rather the person who fired it. To presume the gun as uniquely at fault is ridiculous, for common sense tells us that one has to go beyond the material instrument to discover the true agent who employed that instrument. Similarly, to pretend that the earth is the ultimate cause of earthquakes and other natural events is to disregard the true actor, who is God the Creator. Nevertheless, those who do not believe in God are forced to relegate all natural events to the status of chance occurrences within the natural order, ignoring the One who set forth and directs the forces of nature.
Seventh Question. What lessons can people learn from an earthquake occurring in a pious region of a predominantly Muslim country? It looks like God was intentionally aiming this earthquake directly at them. Why would God not choose some more irreligious part of the world to inflict with an earthquake? Said Nursi’s answer is that God sends such natural catastrophes in order to warn people that they should pray and avoid sinful behavior; moreover, God uses these occasions to punish wrongdoing and injustice. Nursi accuses the persecutors the students of the Risale-i Nur of being responsible for a series of earthquakes which occurred in Turkey: As is indicated by four severe earthquakes in four years coinciding exactly with the severe aggression against the Risale-i Nur students and their being persecuted, and on each occasion their occurring exactly at the time the students were attacked and their stopping when the attacks ceased, you are responsible for the heavenly and earthly disasters that have occurred on our being convicted![10] This statement was misinterpreted, and Nursi was accused of claiming that the Risale-i Nur had some kind of magical power so that if it were attacked, natural disasters would occur in a kind of Divine retaliation. Nursi denied that he stated this and clarified his point as follows: The wrong meaning has been given in the Indictment, for it has deemed an offence some instances of the Risale-i Nur’s ‘wonder-working’ (kerâmet) which took the form of ‘slaps.’ As though disasters like earthquakes that occur when the Risale-i Nur is attacked are blows dealt by the Risale-i Nur. God forbid! We never said such a thing, nor wrote it. What we said in many places was that like acceptable almsgiving, the Risale-i Nur is a means of repulsing disasters. Whenever it is attacked, it hides itself; then calamities seize the opportunity and assault us…I have formed the conviction that those ‘coincidences’ are a Divine bestowal indicating the Risale-i Nur’s acceptability and are a sort of wonder of the Risale-i Nur on account of the Qur’an.[11] On the one hand, earthquakes occur in pious regions because in those places people have not sinned so seriously; consequently, through the natural disaster God is beginning to purify them from their sins. Here the question is connected with the mystery of human suffering, which Nursi views as a blessing and opportunity sent by God to grow in patience and trust. Elsewhere in the Risale-i Nur he offers twenty-five remedies for “the sick and those struck by disaster,” by which he seeks to show how persevering in faith amidst illnesses and disasters can be a source of blessing and grace for the believer.[12] On the other hand, upright lives can sometimes prevent such disasters: “Through the blessings of the Risale-i Nur, Kastamonu was preserved from the disasters [earthquakes] more than any other province.”[13] However, Nursi hastens to admit that these are mere human speculations and the truth remains hidden with God. He cites a Qur’anic verse which states: “All glory be to You. We have no knowledge except that which you have taught us” (Qur’an 2: 32), thereby affirming that natural disasters are among those things about which humans can only conjecture, beyond the basic indications that God has revealed through the prophets.
Conclusion I have no doubt that many modern people will find Said Nursi’s explanation of God’s justice in natural disasters unacceptable. His understanding of God’s sending or permitting disasters as a punishment for human sin they will consider simplistic and outdated. His view that God is accustomed to make use of these tragic events to test people and to bring blessings upon His faithful, patient servants they will regard as wishful thinking and an unfeeling response to the reality of human suffering. However, Said Nursi could rightly respond to such criticisms of his faith-based perceptions by challenging non-believers to come up with their own more satisfactory explanation. Nursi has already pointed out the inadequacy of “blaming the instrument,” and charts of architectonic plates, oceanic currents, and volcanic substrata will serve little to give hope to victims or make sense of the disasters that have afflicted human lives. Nursi, while admittedly trying to find the meaning contained in occurrences that surpass our human comprehension, at least provides people with a way to perceive the hand of a just and compassionate God in such events and offers guidance on the way to respond to the disaster so that it can be an occasion of growth and blessing, and not merely meaningless destruction. It is in such efforts to understand the workings of God that true human wisdom can be found.
FOOTNOTES [1] The Words, the Fourteenth Word, Addendum, pp. 184-190. [2] The Words, Thirty-Second Word, Third Stopping-Place, p. 665. Cf. also, The Words, The Eighteenth Word, p. 240: “Beneath the veil of events like storms, earthquakes, and plague, is the unfolding of numerous hidden immaterial flowers. The seeds of many potentialities which have not developed sprout and grow beautiful because of events which are apparently ugly.” [3] The Words, Twenty-Third Word, First Chapter, p. 322. [4] The Words, Gleams, p. 748. Cf. also, Letters, “Seeds of Reality,” p. 548. [5] The Flashes, The Second Flash, p. 23. [6] The Flashes, The Thirteenth Flash, pp. 118-119. [7] The Rays, The Third Ray, p. 60. [8] I am grateful to Yunus Cengel for his translation of this passage. [9] I am grateful to Faris Kaya for this explanation. [10] The Rays, The Twelfth Ray, p. 312. [11] The Rays, The Fourteenth Ray, p. 407. [12] The Flashes, The Twenty-fifth Flash, pp. 266-285. In my article, “For you, Illness is Good Health: Said Nursi’s Spirituality in his Approach to Physical Illness,” I try to outline the spiritual benefits that, in Nursi’s view, can accrue to the believer in these moments of personal crisis. The paper is published in Turkish as “Hutbe-i Şamiye: Manevî Bir Doktorun, Çağımız Hastalıklarına Reçetesi,” in Bediüzzaman’a Göre Müslümanlık-Hıristiyanlık Münasebetleri (İstanbul: Etkileşim Yayınları, 2006), pp. 115-127. [13] The Rays, The Twelfth Ray, p. 298. Cf. also, “So the exact coincidence of the two centres of the Risale-i Nur’s dissemination, Isparta and Kastamonu, being preserved from disaster relative to other places…is belief and good works.” The Rays, The Thirteenth Ray, p. 348. |