The Twenty-First Flash

On Ikhlas

[While being the Fourth Matter of the Seven Matters of the Seventeenth Note of the Seventeenth Flash, due to being related with ikhlas, it became the Second Point of the Twentieth Flash. As a consequence of its luminosity, it entered the Flashes as the Twenty-First Flash.]

(This Flash should be read at least once a fortnight)

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

وَلاَ تَنَازَعُوا فَتَفْشَلُوا وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ ٭ وَ قُومُوا لِلّٰهِ قَانِتِينَ ٭ قَدْ اَفْلَحَ مَنْ زَكَّيهَا وَ قَدْ خَابَ مَنْ دَسَّيهَا ٭ وَلاَ تَشْتَرُوا بِآيَاتِى ثَمَنًا قَلِيلاً1

O my brothers of the âkhirah, and O my friends in the Qur'anic service! You do know and you should know that, in this world, in particular, in services pertaining to the âkhirah, the most important principle, the greatest strength, the most acceptable shafî’, the firmest point of support, the shortest way of haqiqah, the most acceptable ma’nawî du'â, the most karamât-full means of aims, the highest moral quality and the purest ‘ubûdiyyah is ikhlas. Since in ikhlas, there are many nûrs and much strength like the abovementioned points, and since at this dismaying time, against terrible enemies, in the face of severe oppression, amid attacking bid'ahs and dhalâlahs, an extremely heavy, great, general and sacred duty of îmân and Qur'anic service has been placed on our shoulders by the grace of Allah although we are very few, weak, poor and powerless, surely, with all our strength, we are compelled and charged to gain ikhlas more than anyone, and we are in extreme need of establishing the mystery of ikhlas in ourselves.

Otherwise, the sacred service we have achieved up to the present will, in part, be lost and will not continue, and we will be responsible as well. By being the place of manifestation for the severe threatening prohibition of Allah in the âyah 2 وَلاَ تَشْتَرُوا بِآيَاتِى ثَمَنًا قَلِيلاً , and shattering ikhlas to the detriment of eternal happiness for the sake of insignificant benefits and some meaningless, unnecessary, harmful, grievous, boasting, ugly, inferior feelings full of riyâ, we would both transgress the rights of all our brothers in this service, attack the service of the Qur'anic service and disrespect the sacredness of the haqiqahs of îmân.

O, my brothers! There are many detrimental obstacles to the important and great works of khayr. Shaytans struggle a lot with the servants of that service. Against these obstacles and shaytans, it is necessary to rely on the strength of ikhlas. Beware of causes that will shatter ikhlas as you beware of snakes and scorpions. As Hazrat Yûsuf (as) said: اِنَّ النَّفْسَ َلاَمَّارَةٌ بِالسُّوءِ اِلاَّ مَا رَحِمَ رَبِّى3 , nafs al-ammarah is not to be relied on. Do not let ananiyyah and nafs al-ammarah deceive you! Take the following principles as your guide in order to gain ikhlas and preserve it and repel the obstacles!

YOUR FIRST PRINCIPLE: In your action (‘amal), there must be the acceptance and pleasure of Allah. If He is pleased, it has no importance if the whole world turns its back on you. If He accepts it, it has no effect if the entire creation rejects it. After He accepted and is pleased, if He wishes and His hikmah requires, He makes the entire creation, too, accept it and pleases them with it, although you do not demand. Therefore, in this service, it is necessary to directly make the acceptance and pleasure of Janâb-i Haqq the only main aim.

YOUR SECOND PRINCIPLE: It is to not criticize your brothers in this Qur'anic service and to not incite the vein of ghibta4 by pretending to be virtuous over them. For just as one of man's hands does not compete with his other hand, one of his eyes does not criticize his other eye, his tongue does not object to his ear, the heart does not see the fault of rûh, they rather complete the deficiencies of one another, veil their faults, assist their need and help in their duty; otherwise, the life of that man's being would extinguish, his rûh would flee and his body would decompose. And just as the cogs of a factory do not struggle with one another with rivalry; by preceding each other, they do not domineer; by seeing each other’s faults, they do not criticize, shatter other's eagerness for work and make them fall into idleness. They rather assist with all their dispositions in order to direct each other’s motions toward the common aim; they walk towards the purpose of their creation in true solidarity and alliance. If one iota of opposition or domination interferes, it will disorder the factory and cause it to be fruitless and barren. Then the factory's owner will break and destroy the factory entirely.

Thus, O Risale-i Nur students and servants of the Qur'an! You and we are members of such a ma’nawî collective personality worthy of the title of perfect man… and the cogs of a factory that produces eternal happiness within eternal life… and servants working in a ship of Ar-Rabb that will disembark the ummah of Muhammad (asm) at Dâr as-Salâm5 , the shore of salâmât. We are surely in need of and obliged to solidarity and true union through gaining the mystery of ikhlas that provides the mana’wî strength of one thousand one hundred eleven from four individuals. Yes, if three alifs6 do not unite, they have the value of three. If they unite, they acquire the value of one hundred and eleven through the mystery of numbers. If four times four are apart from each other, they have the value of sixteen.

If through the mystery of brotherhood (ukhuwwah) and unity on aim and alliance on duty, they correspond and stand shoulder to shoulder on a line, they have the strength and value of four thousand four hundred and forty-four. Numerous historical events testify to the value and mana’wî strength of sixteen self-sacrificing brothers being over four thousand through the true mystery of ikhlas.

The mystery of this mystery is this: In a true and sincere unity, each individual can also see with the eyes of the other brothers and hear with their ears. It is as if each of the truly united ten men has the mana’wî value and strength in a manner of looking with twenty eyes, thinking with ten minds, hearing with twenty ears and working with twenty hands. {Note: Yes, just as sincere solidarity and alliance through the mystery of ikhlas are the means to infinite benefits, so too, they are an important shield and point of support against fears and even death. For if death comes, it takes one rûh. Through the mystery of true brotherhood (ukhuwwah), on the way of acceptance and pleasure of Allah, in works connected with the âkhirah, since he has rûhs to the number of his brothers, if one of them dies, he meets death with a smile by saying: “May my other rûhs remain alive; I am not dying since those rûhs make a mana’wî life continue by causing me to gain sawâb continuously”; he lays in ease by saying “By means of those rûhs, I live with respect to sawâb; I am only dying with respect to sin”.}

YOUR THIRD PRINCIPLE: You should know that all your strength is in ikhlas and haqq. Yes, strength is in haqq and ikhlas. The unjust even gain strength due to the ikhlas and sincerity they display within their injustice.

Yes, evidence for strength being in haqq and ikhlas is this service of ours. A bit of ikhlas in this service of ours proves this claim and becomes evidence for itself. Because compared to the service of ‘ilm and religion we carried out in my homeland and Istanbul for more than twenty years, here it was carried out with you hundredfold in seven or eight years. In my homeland and Istanbul, while I had helpers a hundred rather a thousand times more than my brothers working together with me here, I have absolutely no doubt that the mana’wî strength, which has been successful a hundred times more than the former service, and the service I have carried out seven or eight years with you here, where I am alone, without anyone, stranger, semi-literate, under the surveillance and pressures of unfair officials, arise from the ikhlas you have.

I also confess that through your sincere ikhlas, you have saved me to an extent from the riyâ flattering my nafs under the veil of fame and honour. InshâAllah, may you succeed in gaining complete ikhlas and cause me to gain it too. You know that in consequence of this mystery of ikhlas, Hazrat ‘Ali (ra), with his miraculous karâmât, and Ghawth al-A'dham (ks), with his wondrous karâmât from the ghayb, pay their attention to you, console you protectingly and applaud your service in a mana’wî manner. Yes, do not have any doubt that this attention of theirs is in consequence of ikhlas. If you knowingly shatter this ikhlas, you will receive their slap. Remember the compassionate slaps in the Tenth Flash. If you want to find such mana’wî heroes as a supporter behind you and an ustadh, who protects you, gain complete ikhlas through the mystery of the âyah وَ يُؤْثِرُونَ عَلَى اَنْفُسِهِمْ7 . Prefer your brothers' nafs to your own nafs in honour, rank and attention, even in the things your nafs enjoys like material benefits. Even informing a mu’min in need about a subtle and beautiful haqiqah of îmân, which is the most innocent and harmless benefit, if possible, for your nafs not to become conceited, take pleasure to cause a friend, who does not want to, to do it. If you have a desire like "Let me gain the sawâb, let me tell this beautiful matter", it is not a sin and there is no harm in it. But the mystery of ikhlas between you might be harmed.

YOUR FOURTH PRINCIPLE: Imagining your brothers' virtues in your personalities and their fadhîlah in yourselves, it is to thankfully take pride in their honour. Among the people of tasawwuf, the terms “fana fish-shaykh”8 and “fana fir-rasûl”9 are present. I am not a Sufi, but this principle of theirs, in the form of “fana fil-ikhwan”10 , is a beautiful principle in our way. Among brothers, this is called “tafânî”. That is, it is to annihilate one's self in one another. That is to say: By forgetting the feelings of one's own nafs, it is to live with the virtues and feelings of his brothers in his mind. Essentially, the basis of our way is the brotherhood (ukhuwwah). It is not the means between a father and a son or a shaykh and a follower (murid) but rather the means of true brotherhood. Among us, there can only be the means of being ustadh at the very most. Since our way is “khalîliyyah”11 , our outlook is “khillah”. As for the khillah, it necessitates being the closest friend, the most sacrificing fellow, the most appreciative companion and the most generous brother. The fundamental basis of this khillah is sincere ikhlas. One who shatters sincere ikhlas falls from the top of the extremely high tower of this khillah. There is the possibility of falling into a very deep pit. He cannot find anything to cling in between.

Yes, the way is seen to be two. There is the possibility that those who part now from this way of ours, the great highway of the Qur’an, are unknowingly helping the power of irreligion that is hostile to us. InshâAllah, those who enter the sacred sphere of the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition by way of the Risale-i Nur will always give strength to nûr, ikhlas and îmân, and will not fall into such pits.

O, my friends in the Qur'anic service! One of the most effective causes of gaining and preserving ikhlas is “the rabita of death.”12 Yes, just as it is “tûl al-amal”13 , which harms ikhlas and drives a person to riyâ and the world, so it is the rabita of death which causes feeling disgusted from riyâ and causes one gaining ikhlas. That is to say: it is to be saved from the tricks of the nafs by thinking about his death and pondering the world to be transient. Yes, through the lesson the people of tarîqah and the people of haqiqah received from âyahs of Al-Qur'an Al-Hakîm like 14 كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ ٭ اِنَّكَ مَيِّتٌ وَاِنَّهُمْ مَيِّتُونَ , they have taken the rabita of death as their fundamental principle on their ma’nawî journey and have ceased the imagination of being eternal which is the source of tûl al-amal. By imagining and thinking of themselves as dead in the form of supposition and imagination, supposing themselves to be washed and placed in the grave and thinking continuously in that way, nafs al-ammarah becomes affected by such imagining and thinking and gives up its long-term wishes to an extent. There are numerous benefits of this rabita. The Hadith اَكْثِرُوا ذِكْرَ هَادِمِ اللَّذَّاتِ [As he said (asm)] "Mention constantly death which destroys pleasures and makes them bitter" teaches this rabita.

However, since our way is not tarîqah but the way of haqiqah, we are not obliged to perform this rabita in the form of supposition and imagination like the people of tarîqah. It is not in conformity with the way of haqiqah either. It is not to bring the future to the present time in the form of thinking of the end but rather — in point of haqiqah — to go to the future from the present time by the mind, and look at it. Yes, without the need for imagination or supposition, one can look at his own corpse, which is the single fruit on the head of the tree of this brief life. With it, he can see not only his own death but if he goes a bit further, he can also see the death of his century; if he goes a bit further, he can also witness the death of the world; it opens up a way to the complete ikhlas.

The Second Cause: By attaining a sort of hudhur through the strength of tahqiqî îmân and the flashes proceeding from tafakkur of îmân on artful beings which gives the result of the ma’rifat of As-Sâni’, by thinking that Al-Khâliq, Who is Rahîm, is all-present and all-seeing, not seeking the attention of anyone other than He and thinking that looking to others in His hudhur and seeking help from them are contrary to the adab of that hudhur, he is saved from such riyâ and gains ikhlas. However, there are many degrees and ranks in this. The more everyone can benefit from it, according to his own share, the more profitable it is.

Since numerous haqiqahs are mentioned in the Risale-i Nur that will save one from riyâ and cause gaining ikhlas, referring to those, we cut short here.

Of the numerous causes that shatter ikhlas and drive one to riyâ, we shall briefly explain two or three.

The First: The rivalry arising from the aspect of material benefits slowly shatters ikhlas. It also harms the result of service and causes the material benefit to be lost. Yes, this ummah has always nurtured the thought of respect and assistance for those who work for haqiqah and âkhirah. Intending to actively participate in the haqiqah of their ikhlas and their loyal service in one respect, they have respected them by assisting with material benefits like sadaqah and gift in order to save them from their time being lost by occupying themselves with the procurement of their material needs. But such assistance and benefit are not to be asked, rather they are given. Also, they are not to be asked through desiring by the heart, waiting expectantly and even through the language of being but given while one was not expecting it. Otherwise, his ikhlas will be harmed. He also approaches the prohibition of the âyah 15 وَلاَ تَشْتَرُوا بِآيَاتِى ثَمَنًا قَلِيلاً and his action (‘amal) in part is ruined. Thus, to wait expectantly by desiring such material benefit, then in order to not let that benefit be snatched by someone else, from the aspect of self-conceitedness, the nafs al-ammarah excites a vein of rivalry towards a true brother of his and a friend in that particular service. His ikhlas is harmed; he loses the sacredness of the service. He takes an ugly state in the eyes of the people of haqiqah and loses the material benefit as well. However... This subject bears more discussion; cutting it short, I will only tell two examples that will strengthen the mystery of ikhlas and sincere union among my true brothers.

First Example: In order to obtain great wealth and extreme power, ahl ad-dunyâ even certain politicians, important committees and governors of the life of society have adopted the principle of partnership in goods as their guide. Together with all the misuses and harms of it, they obtain extraordinary strength and benefit. Whereas — together with many of its harms — the essence of partnership in goods does not change through participation. Each of them is the owner of all goods — though in supervision and in one aspect — but cannot benefit from all of them. However, if this principle of partnership in goods enters the works (‘amal) of the âkhirah, it becomes a source of great benefit without loss. Because it bears the mystery of all the possessions passing completely to the hands of each individual. Just as one of four or five men, with the intention of participating, brings kerosene, another a wick, another a lamp, another a glass, and another the matches; they light the lamp. Each of them becomes the owner of a complete lamp. If each of those who participated has a huge mirror on a wall, a lamp will enter it together with the room without deficiency or being split up. In the same way, partnership in the goods of the âkhirah through the mystery of ikhlas, solidarity through the mystery of brotherhood and working collectively through the mystery of unity... The total sum and nûr obtained from such a partnership in action being entered entirely into the book of good deeds of each is a fact and has been witnessed by the people of haqiqah and is the requirement of the abundance of rahmah and the munificence of Allah.

Thus, O my brothers! Material benefits, inshâAllah, will not drive you to rivalry. But, in point of the benefits of the âkhirah, you might also be deceived like some of the people of tarîqah have been deceived. But, there is no comparison between a personal and particular sawâb with the sawâb and nûr that manifest in the point of the participation in actions in the above example.

Second Example: In order to gain more results from their craft, by means of cooperation in their craft, craftsmen are obtaining significant wealth. As proof, it may be mentioned that ten manufacturers of sewing needles worked separately. Only three needles a day were the fruits of such individual labour and craft. Then, ten men united through the principle of working collectively. One brought the iron, one lit the furnace, one pierced the needles, one placed them in the furnace, another sharpened the points and so on... Since each was occupied with only a particular work in the craft of needle-making and the service each of them engaged in was simple, time was not wasted; acquiring mastery on that service, they performed their work with great speed. Then, they divided the fruit of the craft which was made through the principle of working collectively and the division of labour. They saw that each man had three hundred needles instead of three in a day. This event has become a common legend among the craftsmen of ahl ad-dunyâ in order to encourage them to work collectively.

Thus, o my brothers! Since in the works of the world and dense materials, such union and alliance give such results and immense total benefits. Each of them possessing the same sawâb gained by all and all nûr being reflected on the mirror of each through the fadl of Allah, those luminous sawâb and nûr of the âkhirah, which do not need to be divided and separated, you can compare how great profits are. This immense profit should not be lost through rivalry and lack of ikhlas.

The Second Obstacle, Which Shatters Ikhlas: It is to flatter the ananiyyah and to give a rank to the nafs al-ammarah by attracting attention to one’s self and gaining public regard through the urge of the ambition for fame arising from the love for rank and position under the veil of dignity and honour. This is the most serious sickness of the rûh; it also opens the door to the riyâ and boasting, which are called hidden shirk, and harms ikhlas.

O, my brothers! Since our way in the service to Al-Qur'an Al-Hakîm is haqiqah and brotherhood (ukhuwwah), and since the mystery of brotherhood (ukhuwwah) is to annihilate one's personality among the brothers {Note: Yes, happy is he who, in order to gain a sweet and large pool filtered from the kawsar of the Qur'an, casts his personality and ananiyyah, which are fragments of ice, into that pool and melts them.} and to prefer brothers’ nafs to one's own nafs, the rivalry arising from this sort of love for rank should not affect us. Because it is altogether opposed to our way. Since brothers’ honour can generally belong to each individual, I am hopeful that sacrificing that great ma’nawî honour for personal, boastful, competitive, minor honour and fame is a hundred times far away from the Risale-i Nur students.

Yes, the heart, mind and rûh of the Risale-i Nur students would not stoop to such lowly, harmful, inferior things. But the nafs al-ammarah is present in everyone. And sometimes the feelings of nafs affect veins and to an extent execute their commands despite the heart, mind and rûh. I do not accuse your heart, rûh and mind. Relying on the effect of the Risale-i Nur, I trust them. But the nafs, desires, feelings and wahm sometimes deceive. For this reason, sometimes you are warned severely. This severity looks to the nafs, desires, feelings and wahm; act cautiously!

Yes, if our way was being shaykh, there would have been a single rank or limited ranks. Numerous capacities would have been candidates for that rank. There might have been self-conceitedness arising from ghibta. But our way is brotherhood (ukhuwwah). A brother cannot be the father of the other brother and cannot assume the position of a guide (Murshid). The rank in brotherhood (ukhuwwah) is broad. It cannot be the means of competition arising from ghibta. A brother would be a helper and supporter of the other brother at most; he completes his service. Evidence for very harmful and perilous results come about due to the ambition for sawâb and exalted efforts in the form of ghibta, which are present in the ways of being father and guide (Murshid), is the dangerous and heavy results arising from the disagreement and rivalry within the significant and great attainments, perfections and benefits of the people of tarîqah. Therefore, that great and sacred power of them cannot resist the winds of bid’ah.  

The Third Obstacle is fear and greed. Since this obstacle has been explained completely in the Six Attacks16 together with some other obstacles, referring to that and making His all Asma Al-Husnâ our shafî, we supplicate to Janâb-i Arhamurrâhimîn that He may grant us success in attaining complete ikhlas... Âmîn...

اَللّٰهُمَّ بِحَقِّ سُورَةِ اْلاِخْلاَصِ اِجْعَلْنَا مِنْ عِبَادِكَ الْمُخْلِصِينَ الْمُخْلَصِينَ آمِينَ آمِينَ

سُبْحَانَكَ لاَ عِلْمَ لَنَا اِلاَّ مَا عَلَّمْتَنَا اِنَّكَ اَنْتَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ

A Confidential Letter to Some of My Brothers

I will tell a subtle point of two noble hadiths to my brothers who become tired of writing, and during the Three Months, the months of ‘ibâdah, prefer other awrâd to write the Risale-i Nur, which is considered to be ‘ibâdah in five respects. {Note: We requested an explanation of the five sorts of ‘ibâdah which our Ustadh indicated in this valuable letter. The explanation we received is written below.

1. It is to perform the ma’nawî jihâd against the people of dhalâlah which is the most important jihâd.

2. It is to serve his ustadh by means of helping him in spreading the haqiqah.

3. It is to serve Muslims in respect of îmân.

4. It is to study for obtaining ‘ilm by means of the pen.

5. It is to perform ‘ibâdah in the form of tafakkur, one hour of which is sometimes equal to a year's ‘ibâdah.

Rüştü, Hüsrev, Re'fet}

The First: يُوزَنُ مِدَادُ الْعُلَمَاءِ بِدِمَاءِ الشُّهَدَاءِ [As he said (asm)] That is: "At the assembly for the last judgement, the ink spent by ‘ulamâ of haqiqah will be weighed with the blood of the shahîd; its value will be equal."

The Second: مَنْ تَمَسَّكَ بِسُنَّتِى عِنْدَ فَسَادِ اُمَّتِى فَلَهُ اَجْرُ مِاَةِ شَهِيدٍ [As he said (asm)] That is: "Those who adhere to and serve the Sunnah as-Saniyyah and haqiqahs of the Qur'an at the time of the invasion of bid'ahs and dhalâlahs can gain the reward of a hundred shahîds."

O, my brothers who are tired of writing due to the vein of laziness! And O my brothers who have an inclination to Sufi paths! These two hadiths together show that at a time such as this, a drop of the black nûr or the ink like the water of life flowing from the blessed, sincere pens serving the haqiqahs of îmân and mysteries of the Sharî’ah and Sunnah as-Saniyyah can give you the benefit of a hundred drops of the blood of shahîds on the day of the assembly for the last judgement. So work to gain it!

If you say: There is the word ‘âlim in the hadith; some of us are only scribers.

The Answer: One who reads these risales and lessons for a year through understanding and accepting can become an important ‘âlim possessing haqiqah of this time. And even if he does not understand them, since the Risale-i Nur students have a ma’nawî collective personality, indubitably that ma’nawî collective personality is an ‘âlim of this time. As for your pens, they are the fingers of that ma’nawî collective personality. In my own view, although I am not worthy of it, in consequence of your good opinion of me, at the point of being followers, you have given this poor man the position of being ustadh and ‘âlim, therefore, you have attached yourselves to me. Since I am unlettered and without the pen, your pens are considered mine; you will receive the reward indicated in the hadith. 

Said Nursî