بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَ الصَّلاَةُ وَ السَّلاَمُ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَ عَلَى آلِهِ وَ صَحْبِهِ اَجْمَعِينَ

‘ILM - KNOWLEDGE – 2

 

(A passage by Said Nursî)

(A letter was written to a doctor who is filled with longing for the Risales of Nur and awakened through the studying of them. Although its connection to the third conclusion is few, but it also would be a passage among the passages of my brothers.)

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Welcome, O fortunate doctor, who was able to diagnose his own illness, my sincere and ‘azîz friend!  

The awakening of rûh that your passionate letter shows is worthy for saying “Barakallah”. You should know that the most precious among the creations is life, and the most valuable among the incumbent duties is service to life. And among the services to life, the most valuable is endeavouring the transient life’s being transformed into eternal life. All the value and importance of this life is of being the seed, origin and source of eternal life. Otherwise, it is a madness; focusing on this transitory life in a manner of poisoning and destroying eternal life, like preferring an instantaneous flash to an eternal sun.

In the point of view of haqiqah, those who are most sick are the corporeal, materialistic and ghâfil doctors. If they can take the medicines of îmân like a panacea from the sacred pharmacy of the Qur’an, they can heal both their own illness and the illness of humanity, Inshaallah. Like your awakening becomes an ointment for your wounds, it would also make you a cure to the illness of the doctors. And also you know that a ma’nawî consolation to a hopeless patient in despair is sometimes more beneficial than a thousand medicines. Whereas a doctor who is drowning in the swamp of nature, adds more darkness to that unfortunate sick person’s excruciating despair. Inshaallah, your awakening will make you a source of consolation for those who are unfortunate like them and makes you a doctor with nûr.

You know that life is short and the works needed to be done are much. If you too examine your head as I have done, you will find many unnecessary, useless, insignificant, dead matters like woodpile in your knowledge. Because I have done it, I found very insignificant matters in it. Thus it is necessary to search for the solution of making those scientific learnings and philosophical knowledge beneficial and with nûr and rûh. You too, ask an awakening from Janâb-i Haqq that turns your thoughts toward the account of Hakîm Zuljalâl, so that it will burn those woods and be illuminated and your unnecessary knowledge of science would be equivalent to precious Ilahî knowledge.

My intelligent friend! The heart would have been longing, man who will resemble Hulusi Bey in the point of view of feeling the need to the nûrs of îmân and mysteries of the Qur’an at the degree of longing, would advance forward from the people of science. And since, The Words can talk with your conscience. Take each Word as a letter for you from the proclaimer of the Qur’an and a prescription from the sacred pharmacy of the Qur’an…

Said Nursî

Barla Lahikası ( 66 - 67 )

 

“The fourth group are children. They want mercy from nationalist patriotism; they await compassion. Also, from the point of weakness, impotence and powerlessness, their rûh may expand through knowledge of a compassionate and powerful Khâliq and their dispositions may unfold happily. Instilled with tawakkul springing from îmân and with the submission (taslîm) of Islam which can withstand the terrifying fear and situation of the world in the future, those innocents may look eagerly to life. Could this be achieved by teaching them the lessons of the progress of civilization with which they have little connection, and the mere material philosophical principles without nûr which destroys their ma’nawî power and extinguishes their rûhs? If man consisted only of an animal body and he had no mind in his head, perhaps this European method which you call tarbiyyah of civilization and fancifully feign as national tarbiyyah which will temporarily amuse these innocent children could give some worldly benefit such as a childish toy. Since those innocents are going to be cast onto the upheavals of life, and since they are human beings, they will certainly have far-reaching desires in their small hearts and large goals will be born in their little heads. Since the haqiqah is thus, the compassion for them requires to place in their hearts an extremely powerful point of support and inexhaustible point of recourse in their infinite poverty and impotence through îmân in Allah and îmân in the âkhirah. Compassion and mercy to them are in this way. Otherwise, like a crazy mother slaughtering her child with a knife, it is slaughtering those wretched innocents in a ma’nawî manner through the drunkenness of nationalist patriotism. It is savage cruelty and dhulm, like pulling out his brain and heart and feeding him to nourish his body.” The Twenty-Ninth Letter/The Sixth Section/4th Wile of the Shaytan

 

In the riwâyât, it was mentioned that "Sufyan will be a great ‘âlim; he will fall into dhalâlah due to ‘ilm, and numerous ‘ulamâ will follow him."

Wa’l ‘ilm ‘indallah1, a ta’wîl of it is this: unlike the other kings, he will obtain a position through his cleverness, science and political knowledge, although they are not the means of sovereignty such as strength and power, tribe and family, or courage and wealth, and he will subjugate the minds of many ‘ulamâ and make them give fatwas to his actions around him through his intelligence. And, he will make numerous teachers his supporters and make an education system stripped of religious instruction a guide and fervently work for its widespread enforcement.

The Fifth Ray-Seventh Matter

 

In the riwâyât, it was mentioned that "the despotic rulers of the âkhirzaman, especially Dajjal, will have fake Jannahs and Jahannams." الْعِلْمُ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ ,a ta’wîl of it is this: it is an indication that the prison and the high school, which are the government offices that are situated opposite and facing each other, the high school will take the form of an ugly imitation of the houri and qilman and the prison will take the form of torture and a dungeon.

The Fifth Ray-Third Matter

 

His disposition and abilities have become distant from ijtihad since his thought drowned in philosophy, his mind plunged into politics, and his heart dazed by the life of this world. For sure, as much as he is occupied with modern sciences, his disposition and abilities have become distant from the ability to make ijtihad of the Sharî'ah and as much as he is versed in physical sciences, he has remained backwards regarding the comprehension of ijtihad.

The Twenty-Seventh Word-The Third

 

“Sirs! It is easy to dispel dhalâlah and badnesses if they arise from ignorance, but it is extremely difficult to eliminate the dhalâlah which arises from science and ‘ilm. Since at the present time dhalâlah arises from science and ‘ilm, a work like the Risale-i Nur that is in every way perfect is needed to save those of the coming generations who fall into that trouble, so that they may resist it. Evidence that the Risale-i Nur has that value is that not one of my many fierce opponents and the philosophers who have recieved its blows has been able to refute or counter it; nor have three courts of law or the experts’ committee appointed by the central government been able to find in nine months a single matter in the hundred books of which the Risale-i Nur consists to indict us.” Emirdağ Addendum(37)

 

“In the past, the fundamentals of îmân were protected, the submission was strong. On the secondary matters, even if the ma’rifat of ‘ârifs without proof, their expositions were acceptable and sufficient. But at this time, since the dhalâlah of science has stretched out its hand to the fundamentals and pillars, Al-Hakîm Ar-Rahîm Zuljalâl One Who bestows a remedy for every ill, mercifully bestowed a single ray from the comparisons of the Noble Qur'an, which are a most brilliant manifestation of its miraculousness, in these writings of mine which belong to the service of the Qur'an, in consequence of my impotence and weakness, want and need.” The Letters ( 443 )

 

“The greatest danger facing the people of Islam at this time is their hearts being corrupted and îmân harmed through the dhalâlah that arises from science and philosophy.” The Flashes ( 143 )

 

It is a necessity to purify the education system originated from Europe from the view of al-ma’nâ al-ismî, as it is affected by the view of naturalism and materialism which are sorts of shirk.

“One channel of modern education, which flows in from outside, should consist of some of the people of the madrasa,4 so that it may be purified of rancour and hatred intent and afterthought. It is necessary to strain it with the filter of the Sharî'ah, for it came from another channel with its rottenness and turbidness, and this rotten water sometimes has an inverse effect on thoughts that arise from the swamp of idleness and breathe through the poison of despotism which are oppressed by the dhulm. It is referred to the keen endeavour of the people of the madrasa.” The Damascus Sermon ( 82 )

 

“I was aware of the wretched state of the tribes in the Eastern provinces. I understood that: Our worldly happiness will in one way be achieved through the new sciences of the civilisation. And the ‘ulamâ must be an unrottened pathway for those sciences, and the madrasas must be one of its sources. Just so the ‘ulamâ of religion can familiarise themselves with the sciences.” Biography ( 76 ) 

 

“Alas! What a shame! The people of this nation were longing and thirsty for the happiness that lied in the constitutional system which is based on the Sharî’ah together with the new learnings compliant with Islam as the basis of our social lives. Yet the nation’s demand was unfortunately hampered by those who were extremist in their views and mixed malice to the idea of the constitution and with the irreligious, negligent behaviour of those whose minds were enlightened.

Those who have placed this impediment should lift it. This is an appeal on behalf of the nation.” Biography ( 78 ) 

 

Bediuzzaman says; the deficiencies which are explained in the above parts caused being unsuccessful of the “Dar ül-funun”, the university of sciences that was opened during the last period of the Ottoman Empire.

“The ‘âlam of Islam's advance-post against the ‘âlam of kufr was the Dar ül-funun. But due to negligence and ghaflah, the reptilian foe of Nature

Opened up a breach behind the front; irreligion assaulted, the nation was well shaken. The advance-post should be a Jannah illuminated with the rûh of Islam.

It should be the firmest, and truly awakened, or it should not be that institution. It must not deceive Islam.” The Words ( 766 )

 

Bediuzzaman criticizes the way of expression of an ‘âlim’s book on geology for it is affected by the common habitual way.

“Also, for example, some sentences which touch philosophy: such terms as “it formed a crust in the passage of time, then it turned into soil, then the plants appeared, and then the animals found existence” suggest philosophy in regard to Ilahî creation and the giving of the existence, which is not in keeping with the Risale-i Nur’s explanations of Ilahî arts and bringing into being.” Emirdağ Addendum(171) 

How should the language of science be?

The expressions and phrases of the Risale-i Nur used in the point of view of Tawhîd about these scientific matters clearly show us what kind of expressions and phrases must be used in sciences without deviating from the way of Tawhîd. In this way, all sciences can be the source of ‘ilm. They will not be used for philosophy, the shirk of causes, the shirk of nature and the source of dhalâlah. For example:

“Yes, it is only fitting that the Qur'an should explain the three important duties of the rock strata, the foundation stone of the majestic travelling palace known as the earth, which are entrusted to it by Al-Fâtir Zuljalâl.

Their First Duty: Just as earth acts as a mother to plants and raises them through Rabbâni Qoudrah, so through Ilahî Qoudrah, the rocks act as a nurse to the earth and raise it.

Their Second Duty: They serve the orderly circulation of waters in the body of the earth, like the circulation of the blood.

Their Third Duty: This is to act as treasurer to the rising and continuous flow with the regular balance of the springs and rivers, sources and streams. Indeed, the evidences of wahdâniyyah which the rocks make flow with all their strength in mouthfuls in the form of the water of life, they write and sprinkle over the face of the earth.”The Words ( 256 - 257 )

 

This âyah indicates that the earth was created before the samâwât, while the âyahوَ اْلاَرْضَ بَعْدَ ذلِكَ دَحَيهَا5 indicates that the samâwât were created before the earth. And the âyahكَانَتَا رَتْقًا فَفَتَقْنَاهُمَا6 indicates that they were created together and then split apart from the same matter.

Know that too that the transmission of the Sharî’ah indicates that Allah Taâ’lâ created firstly a substance, that is, a matter, then He manifested on it. Through this manifestation that substance or matter melted and spread. Then, He made some of them steam and some fluid. Then, through an Ilahî manifestation, the fluid part thickened and became froth. Out of this, He created the earth or the seven globes of the earths. Then, a samâ was formed for each of these earths out of the breeze. Then, He spread the steamy matter, arranged the samâwât out of it and planted the stars in them. So the samâwât took form containing the nuclei of the stars.

According to the assumptions and theories of modern science, the solar system, together with the samâwât in which it floats was a simple substance which was transformed into a sort of steam. Out of this, some fiery fluid was formed, part of which cooled down and solidified. Then due to its motion, the fluid threw off sparks and pieces which broke up. These became compressed and turned into the planets, one of which is our earth.

Thus, if you heard and listened to these, it would be permissible (Jâiz) for you to compare them with each other to see whether they coincide; according to the âyahكَانَتَا رَتْقًا فَفَتَقْنَاهُمَا7 it is possible that the earth and the solar system were a sort of dough kneaded by the hand of Qoudrah out of a simple substance, that is, the matter of athîr, which compared with other beings is a fluid substance that passes through and among them like water. The âyahوَ كَانَ عَرْشُهُ عَلَىالْمَاءِ8 indicates this matter, which resembles water.

After its creation, the athîr became the first centre for the manifestation of As-Sâni’s creation; that is, He created athîr, then He made the fundamental atoms (jawâhir fardah) out of it, then He made some of them dense, then out of those dense, He created the seven globes, of which our earth is inhabited. Then the earth solidified before all the rest, speedily forming a crust, and over a long period of time became the source of life while up to the present most of the samâwî bodies remained in a fiery fluid state. In so far as this was the case its creation and formation were before that of the samâwât. And as for its being made suitable for the life of mankind and being arranged and set in order, that is, its being spread was completed after the arrangement and ordering of the samâwât, in this respect, it can be said that the samâwât was created before it.

Signs of Miraculousness

 

“As-Sâni’ Al-Hakîm has created the human body as though it was a well-arranged city. A number of the blood-vessels perform the duties of telephones and telegraphs, while others of them are like pipes from a fountain through which blood, which is the water of life, flows. As for blood, created within it are two sorts of corpuscles. One of them, known as red corpuscles, distributes nutrients to the cells of the body; it conveys sustenance to the cells according to an Ilahî law. (Like merchants and food officials.) The other sort is white corpuscles, which are fewer in number than the former. Their duty, like soldiers, is defence against enemies, such as illness. Whenever they undertake that defence, with their two revolutions like Mawlawi darwishes, they take on a swift and wonderful state. As for blood as a whole, it has two general duties; the first is to repair the damage done to the body. There are two sorts of blood-vessels, veins and arteries. One of these carry purified blood, they are the channels through which clean blood is conveyed. The others are the channels for the turbid blood which collects the waste-matter; these convey the blood to where breathing occurs; that is, the lungs.

As-Sâni’ Al-Hakîm created in the air two elements, nitrogen and oxygen. As for oxygen, when it comes into contact with the blood in breathing, it drawn to itself, like amber, the impure element, carbon, which is polluting the blood. The two combine and are transformed into matter called carbonic acid gas. Oxygen also maintains the body temperature, and purifies the blood. This is because, in the science of chemistry, As-Sâni’ Al-Hakîm bestowed on oxygen and carbon an intense relationship, which might be described as 'chemical passion', whereby, according to this Ilahî law, when those two elements come close to each other, they combine. It has been established by science that heat is produced by combining because it is a sort of combustion.

The hikmah in this is as follows: the motion of the particles of those two elements is different. On combining, the particles of one element unite with those of the other, each two particles thereafter moving like a single particle. The other motion is transformed into heat according to a law of As-Sâni’ Al-Hakîm. As a matter of a fact, 'motion produces heat' is an established principle.

Thus, as a consequence of this fact, by this chemical combination, as carbon is removed from the blood the body temperature of human beings is maintained and at the same time, the blood is purified. On inhaling, oxygen both cleanses the body's water of life and kindles the fire of life. On exhaling, it yields, in the mouth, the fruit of words, which are miracles of Ilahî Qoudrah. فَسُبْحَانَ مَنْ تَحَيَّرَ فِى صُنْعِهِ الْعُقُولُ9 .” The Words ( 622 )

 

Bediuzzaman has some advice and warnings about the result of the education that is sought by everyone.

As for discontentment, it shatters eagerness for effort and work. It causes to complain instead of shukr and casts the discontented into laziness.

Abandoning licit, halal and few possessions, {Note: Consumers increase and producers decrease due to lacking frugality. Everyone fixes his eye on the office of the government. Then, craft, trade and agriculture, the source of social life, decrease. Such nation gradually declines and impoverishes} one seeks haram possessions free of toil. And he sacrifices his honour in that way and even his dignity.

The Nineteenth Flash

 

Since rizq is appointed and bestowed and the One Who gives it is Janâb-i Haqq; He is both Rahîm and Karîm. One, who accepts an inauspicious haram possession without barakah, in a way the Sharî’ah does not give permission, by sacrificing his honour and giving his consciences and even certain sacred matters as bribes to an extent accusing Allah’s rahmah and in a manner of insulting His munificence, should think that what a compounded lunacy this is.

Yes, ahl ad-dunyâ, especially the people of dhalâlah, do not give their money cheaply; they sell it very expensive. In return for a possession, which will help a little for a year of worldly life, he causes infinite eternal life to be destroyed. And through that vile greed, he draws the wrath of Allah on himself and tries to attract the pleasure and acceptance of the people of dhalâlah.

O, my brothers! If ahl ad-dunyâ’s bootlickers and munâfiqs among the people of dhalâlah entrap you due to greed, which is a weak vein of humanity, think of the above haqiqah and take this poor brother of yours as an example to follow. I assure you with all my strength that contentment and frugality maintain your life and ensure your rizq more than a salary. Especially, the haram money that is given to you will ask a price a thousand times higher in return. It can also be an obstacle to the Qur'anic service, an hour of which can open an eternal treasury for you, or it can cause you to lose your zeal. This is such a loss and emptiness that even if thousands of salaries were given to you every month, it cannot fill its place.

The Twenty-Ninth Letter-The Sixth Section, which is the Sixth Risale-Third Wile

 

First Question: Why is it that in this age, mothers who are self-sacrificing and carry an exalted compassion, are deprived of inheriting the assets of their children? Why has Qadar allowed this?

The answer given is this: Mothers in this age have, by way of inculcation, misspent their compassion whereby they impel their children by all their forces to this world and the schools, with the presumption that their children must achieve fame, honour, rank and official posts. Even if they are pious, they withdraw their children from the Quranic ‘ilms and bind them to the world. It is due to the mistake of this compassion that Qadar has sentenced them to this deprivation.

Kastamonu Addendum-290

 

A compassionate mother faces every sort of self-sacrifice for her child to receive benefit and advantage and not to fall into danger in the life of this world; she gives tarbiyyah to him in this way. Saying “May my son be a Commander”, she gives all her property, takes him from the hâfidh school and sends him to Europe. But she does not think that her child's eternal life is falling into danger and works on saving him from the prison of the world; she does not consider his falling into the prison of Jahannam. As the opposite of fitrî compassion, she makes her innocent child a claimant while he should be a shafî’ in the âkhirah. That child will complain: "Why did you cause this destruction of mine without fortifying my îmân?" Since he did not receive Islamic tarbiyyah completely, in this world too, he cannot respond to the right of his mother's wondrous compassion in the way it deserves but rather commits many wrongs.

The Twenty-Fourth Flash- A Conversation with women-1st Subtle Point

 

“According to the conditions of the time and by their fitrah, innocent children will be the foremost students of the Risale-i Nur. For if a child is not taught the questions of îmân thoroughly when small, in later years he can only assimilate the pillars of Islam and îmân in his rûh with the greatest difficulty. Quite simply, it is as difficult as a non-muslim accepting Islam, for it seems alien. It is even stranger for him if he observes that his parents are not religious and his mind is being tarbiyyah only with the secular sciences. The child is then contemptuous of his parents in this world and is a sort of tribulation for them, longing for them to die. And in the âkhirah, he will be plaintiff against them, rather than a shafî’, saying: “Why did not you save my îmân through Islamic tarbiyyah?”

In accordance to this haqiqah, the most fortunate children are those who enter the fold of the Risale-i Nur, and serving and honouring their parents with good works, have merits written in their parent’s records of good deeds and become shafî’ for them in the âkhirah according to their degree.” Emirdağ Addendum (56)

 

Yes, through misusing the compassion of motherhood, which bears true self-sacrifice with true ikhlas, and not thinking of her innocent child’s âkhirah, which is his treasury of diamonds, to turn that child’s innocent face towards the world, which is temporary, transient glasses, and to show compassion to him in that way is to misuse that compassion.

The Twenty-Fourth Flash- A Conversation with women-1st Subtle Point

 

Just as different merchandise are sought after in the market according to the season. From time to time, different merchandise is in demand. So in the exhibition of the ‘âlam and the market of human social life and civilization of mankind, every age, different merchandise is sought after and in demand; it is displayed in the market of that age; it attracts demands, gazes turn toward it, minds are drawn by it. For example, at the present time, the demand for merchandise of politics, securing the worldly life and philosophy... And at the age of Salaf as-Sâlihîn and in the market of that time, the most sought-after merchandise was deducing from the Word of Khâliq of the samâwât and the earth, His wishes from mankind and the things with which He will be pleased, and through the nûr of nubuwwah and the Qur'an, obtaining the means to gain eternal happiness in the ‘âlam of the âkhirah, which had been opened to such a degree it could not be closed…

...At this time, due to the domination of European civilization and the hegemony of natural philosophy and the conditions of worldly life becoming heavy, minds and hearts have become scattered, and endeavour and attention divided. Minds have become strangers to the ma’nawî matters.

The Twenty-Seventh Word-The Third

 

اَللّٰهُمَّ نَوِّرْ قُلُوبَنَا بِنُورِ اْلاِيمَانِ وَ الْقُرْآنِ اَللّٰهُمَّ اَغْنِنَا بِاْلاِفْتِقَارِ اِلَيْكَ وَ لاَ تَفْقُرْنَا بِاْلاِسْتِغْنَاءِ عَنْكَ تَبَرَّاْنَا اِلَيْكَ مِنْ حَوْلِنَا وَ قُوَّتِنَا وَ الْتَجَئْنَا اِلَى حَوْلِكَ وَ قُوَّتِكَ فَاجْعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ عَلَيْكَ وَ لاَتَكِلْنَا اِلَى اَنْفُسِنَا وَاحْفَظْنَا بِحِفْظِكَ وَارْحَمْنَا وَ ارْحَمِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَ صَلِّ وَ سَلِّمْ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ عَبْدِكَ وَ نَبِيِّكَ وَ صَفِيِّكَ وَ خَلِيلِكَ وَ جَمَالِ مُلْكِكَ وَ مَلِيكِ صُنْعِكَ وَ عَيْنِ عِنَايَتِكَ وَ شَمْسِ هِدَايَتِكَ وَ لِسَانِ حُجَّتِكَ وَ مِثَالِ رَحْمَتِكَ وَ نُورِ خَلْقِكَ وَ شَرَفِ مَوْجُودَاتِكَ وَ سِرَاجِ وَحْدَتِكَ فِى كَثْرَةِ مَخْلُوقَاتِكَ وَ كَاشِفِ طِلْسِمِ كَائِنَاتِكَ وَ دَلاَّلِ سَلْطَنَةِ رُبُوبِيَّتِكَ وَ مُبَلِّغِ مَرْضِيَّاتِكَ وَ مُعَرِّفِ كُنُوزِ اَسْمَائِكَ وَ مُعَلِّمِ عِبَادِكَ وَ تَرْجُمَانِ آيَاتِكَ وَمِرْآتِ جَمَالِ رُبُوبِيَّتِكَ وَ مَدَارِ شُهُودِكَ وَ اِشْهَادِكَ وَ حَبِيبِكَ وَ رَسُولِكَ الَّذِى اَرْسَلْتَهُ رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ وَ عَلَى آلِهِ وَ صَحْبِهِ اَجْمَعِينَ وَ عَلَى اِخْوَانِهِ مِنَ النَّبِيِّنَ وَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ وَ عَلَى مَلٰئِكَتِكَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ وَ عَلَى عِبَادِكَ الصَّالِحِينَ آمِين