LESSONS / Compilations

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

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

KUFR-UNBELIEF - 3

“KNOW, O ONE WHO INVITES Muslims to the worldly life, which is a diversion and amusement in sleeping, urging them to leave the sphere of halal, which is sufficient for them to satisfy their needs, as well as some shaâ’er of religion or even the religion itself and enter into the wicked sphere of haram. You resemble a drunk who cannot distinguish a wild, ravenous lion from a docile horse, a hangman’s noose from a child’s skipping rope, a gaping wound from an opening rose. You suppose the lion to be the horse; a rope to execute by hanging to be the skipping rope for amusement, and the open annoying wound to be a red rose. Despite this, you think that you are the one who puts things right and a murshid. You resemble one who sees a person in a dreadful condition—a wondrous lion behind him waiting to attack momentarily, a gallows in front of him, and two bleeding grievous deep wounds on either side of his body.

He has two kinds of medicine that will change the wounds into two red roses Bi-idhnillah1 . And also he has two talismans one in his tongue, the other in his heart. If he will use them Bi-Amrillah2 , the lion changes into a horse that will carry him to the presence of his Sayyîd Who is Karîm, Who invites him to the abode of salâm to feast. The noose of separation dangling from the tree of decay and death will, Bi-Lutfillah3 , carry him through continuously changing scenes to increase the pleasure taken in the renewal of their beauty, forms, and favours through the days and seasons, years and centuries.

Then that drunken man who is in the same situation with that unfortunate person said: “Leave those talismans and medicines, come let’s amuse ourselves and dance.”

The person replies: “What I am allowed to do by preserving the talismans and medicine is enough for my pleasure, for only they bring true pleasure and happiness. Can you kill the lion of death that will die only in Jannah; remove decay and death and so change Earth into something other than itself; heal my wound of impotence, which has penetrated all of my being and so change my fleeting, transient life into a permanent, everlasting one; and cure my other wound of poverty and the destitution in my essence into perpetual richness? If you can do those four things, I will do as you say. Otherwise, leave me alone, O drunk shaytan! You can deceive only other drunks who cannot distinguish between laughing and crying, permanence and transience, remedy and ailment, and deviation and guidance. حَسْبُنَا اللّٰهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ ٭ نِعْمَ الْمَوْلَى وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ4

KNOW, O FRIEND, that students of corrupt, misguided civilizations and philosophies are driven by greed and various passions. They invite Muslims to follow foreign traditions and customs, to abandon the shaâ’er radiant with the nûr of Islam. Students of the Qur’an respond: “O people of dhalâlah and ghâfils! If you can remove decay and death from the world, and impotence and poverty from humanity, then you may abandon the religion and abrogate the shaâ’er. Otherwise keep silent, for your words are no more than a fly’s buzzing compared to the thunder-like cry of the four things mentioned above. The takwinî âyahs and life, also proclaim the necessity of the religion and its shaâ’er.”وَاِذَا قُرِىَٔ الْقُرْاٰنُ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ وَاَنْصِتُوا لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ5

The lion of the appointed hour of death is behind us, waiting. If you listen to Qur’an’s voice with the ear of îmân, that lion will change into a Burâq, and separation will become a Burâq to carry you to the rahmah of Ar-Rahmân Who is Rahîm, to the Presence of our Sayyîd, Al-Hannân Who is Karîm. Otherwise, that lion will rip us apart and eternally separate us from what we love. Decay and transience are also before us in the form of alternating day and night, and perishing and separation as seasons and years. Death and separation, decay and transience are gallows set up to hang us together with all our beloved ones. If we follow the guidance (irshad) of Qur’an, all of these become a mount for a pleasant journey on the stream of time and ocean of the world to observe the shuûn of qoudrah through successive seasons following one another by the sun’s wheel and earth’s rotation wrapping around its head the turban of days and nights and wearing the garments of summer and winter one over the other. During that journey, we can observe the continuous renewal of the Ilahî Names’ manifestations on moving objects, in changing mirrors and on altering tablets through the alternation of days and nights.

Moreover, on our right side is the wound of infinite poverty. We are poorer than all other animate beings, while our power to satisfy all our material and ma’nawî needs is lesser than that of a sparrow. If we cure our wounds with the remedy of Qur’an, our painful absolute poverty changes into a pleasure-giving zeal to sit at the feast of Ar-Rahmân, and into a pleasant appetite for the rahmah fruits of Ar-Rahmân Who is Rahîm. The pleasure of feeling one’s poverty and impotence is much greater than that of being apparently rich and powerful. Otherwise, we will suffer the pain of need and the humiliation of begging from and bowing before whoever we expect to satisfy our needs.

On our left side is the deep wound of infinite impotence and weakness despite unending hostility and danger. The pain of fear destroys the worldly life’s pleasure. But if we submit to the Qur’an’s call, our impotence and weakness will turn a letter which invites us to rely upon Absolutely Qadîr for gaining a contact with tawakkul which is a point of support consists securing us against all the hostiles. Otherwise, we will continue to suffer hostility and danger in our boundless impotence.

Furthermore, our journey extends through the grave and the resurrection to eternity. Other than the ‘ilm and mind (‘aql), which are illuminated by the nûr deriving from Qur’an and taken from the treasury of Ar-Rahmân Who is Rahîm cannot illumine the veils of darkness enveloping that way, nor do they provide the rizq in that journey. If you have something that will prevent our journey, declare it. But that thing you found should be something other than interrupting the ways by dhalâlah, which is accepting to fall from the edge of the grave to the deep, fearful and terrible darkness of non-existence and annihilation. Otherwise, keep silent and let the Qur’an say what it says. While we are reading these five âyahs in the book of ‘âlam, how can we follow you, O conceited, deceived one, especially after we hear the âyah: فَلاَ تَغُرَّنَّكُمُ الْحَيٰوةُ الدُّنْيَا وَلاَيَغُرَّنَّكُمْ بِاللّٰهِ الْغَرُورُ6 . Only those who are drunk with the wine of politics or passion for fame, ambition to be heard, compassion towards human-beings, zandaqa of philosophy, or dissipation of civilisation, would follow you. The blows we receive must bring us to our senses. Unlike animals, who suffer only the present time’s pain, we suffer the present time’s pain, the future’s anxiety and grief, and those of the past as well. If you do not want to remain the most wretched, foolish, and misguided of all animals, keep silent and listen to the Qur’an’s good news by the ear of îmân:

اَلآَ اِنَّ اَوْلِيَٓاءَ اللّٰهِ لاَخَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَهُمْ يَحْزَنُونَۚ{٦٢}

اَلَّذ۪ينَ اٰمَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَۜ{٦٣}

7 لَهُمُ الْبُشْرٰى فِى الْحَيٰوةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِى اْلاٰخِرَةِۜ لاَتَبْد۪يلَ لِكَلِمَاتِ اللّٰهِۜ ذٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظ۪يمُۜ{٦٤}

Al-Mathnawi Al-Nuri

 

The Seventh Word

If you want to understand how valuable two talismans which solve difficulties are آمَنْتُ بِاللّٰهِ وَ بِالْيَوْمِ اْلآخِرِ8 , which open the abstruse enigma of the universe and open the door of happiness for the rûh of man; and how beneficial two panacea-like medicines are having tawakkul and taking refuge in one’s Khâliq through patience, and offering du’â and beseeching to one’s Razzâq through shukr; and how important, precious, splendid a ticket on the journey to all eternity, and provision for the âkhirah and nûr for the grave are listening to the Qur'an, obeying its commands, performing the salâh, and giving up kabâir, look to this short story which is in the form of a comparison, and listen:

One time a soldier fell into a very dismaying situation in the field of battle and examination, and at the revolution of profit and loss. It is as follows:

He is wounded with two terrible deep wounds on his two sides, right and left, and a huge lion behind him stands as though waiting to attack him. And before his eyes, a gallows has been set up; it annihilates all those he loves by hanging them and awaits him too. Also together with this situation of his, he has a long journey and he is exiled. While that unfortunate despairingly thinking in this terror, a luminous person who wishes khayr like Khidhr appeared on his right side. He said to him: "Do not despair. I shall give you two talismans and teach you them. If you use them well, the lion will become a submissive horse for you. The gallows too will turn into a nice swing for your pleasure and a ride of amusement. Also, I shall give you two medicines. If you use them well, those two rotten and fetid wounds of yours will transform into two sweet-scented elegant flowers called the Rose of Muhammad (asm). Also, I shall give you a ticket. With it, you may pass the way, which takes a year, in a day as though flying. Here, if you do not believe, experiment a bit, so that you may understand it is true." Indeed, he experimented a bit and affirmed that it is true. Yes, I, that is, this unfortunate Said, affirm it too. For, I experimented a bit and saw it is really true.

Then he suddenly saw a deceptive, wile man who fond of merriment like the shaytan came from his left side bringing with him many adornments, ornamented pictures, fantasies,9 and intoxicants. He stopped before him and said:

"Hey, friend! Come on, let's get drunk and make merry together.10 Let's look at these pictures of beautiful girls,11 listen to those nice songs and eat these tasty foods. 12 "

The Question: "Haha! What is it you are secretly reciting in your mouth?"

Answer: "A talisman".

-"Stop that incomprehensible thing! Let's not spoil our present merry!"

Q- "Ha, what is it in your hands?"

A- "A medicine".

-"Throw it away! You are healthy. You have nothing for worry.13 It is the time of cheer."

Q-" Ha, what is that paper with five marks on it?"

A-"A ticket. A voucher for rations."

-"Tear them up! What need do we have of a journey in this beautiful spring?" he said. He tried to convince him with every sort of wile. That unfortunate even inclined a bit. Yes, man may be deceived. I was deceived by such an intriguer .

Suddenly from his right side, a voice came like thunder. It said "Do not be deceived! And say to that cunning one: 'If you have the solution to kill the lion behind me, and to remove the gallows from before me, and to cure the wounds at my right and my left, and to prevent the journey in front of me, if you find it, let’s do so, and show and let us see it! Then say, come on, let’s make merry together. Otherwise, shut up you fool! Let samâwî man like Khidhr speak what he will say."

O my nafs, which laughed in its youth and now weeps of its laughter! Know! As for the unfortunate soldier, it is you and man. And as for the lion, it is the appointed time for the end of one's life. And as for the gallows, it is death, fade and separation, which all friends bid farewell and lose in the revolving of night and day. And as for the two wounds, one is the infinite and troublesome impotence of man, while the other is the grievous and boundless poverty of man.14 And as for the exile and journey, it is the long journey of examination that passes from al-‘âlam al-arwâh through the womb of the mother, childhood, old age, the world, the grave, the barzakh, the rising from the dead and the assembly of judgment and the Sirât.

As for the two talismans, they are îmân in Janâb-i Haqq and îmân in the âkhirah. Yes, through this sacred talisman, death takes the form of a submissive horse and Burâq which takes the mu’min man from the dungeon of this world to the gardens of Jannah and the hudhur of Ar-Rahmân. It is because of this that the people of attainment, who have seen the haqiqah of death, have loved it. They have wished for death before it came. And through that talisman of îmân, the passage of time, which is fade and separation, death and decease and the gallows, takes the form of the means to behold and view with perfect pleasure As-Sâni’ Zuljalâl's fresh, multicoloured, various miracles of embroideries, wonders of His Qoudrah and manifestations of His rahmah. Yes, mirrors having changed and renewed, which display the colours of the sun's nûr, and the images of the cinema being changed form better and more beautiful scenes.

As for the two medicines, one is tawakkul through patience. Relying upon the Qoudrah of one's Khâliq and trust in His hikmah. Is that so?

Yes, what fear can a man have, who, through the certificate of the impotence, relies on the Sultân of the universe Who possesses the command: كن فَيَكُونُ15 .  For in the face of the worst calamity, he relies upon his Rabb Who is Rahîm with the tranquillity of heart saying: اِنَّا لِلّٰهِ وَاِنَّا اِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ16 Yes, one who is ‘ârif of Allah takes pleasure from impotence, and fear of Allah. Yes, there is pleasure in fear. If a twelve-month old baby has the intelligence and it is asked to him: "What is the most pleasurable and sweetest state of yours?", he might say: " By fearing my mother's gentle slap, the state that I again take refuge in my mother’s tender breast through understanding my impotence and weakness." While the compassion of all mothers is but a flash of the manifestation of rahmah. It is because of this that the people of attainment have found such pleasure in impotence and fear of Allah, declaring themselves to be free of their strength and power they have vehemently taken refuge in Allah through their impotence. They have made impotence and fear a shafî’ for themselves.

As for the other medicine, it is to offer du’â and to seek through shukr and contentment, and to trust the rahmah of Ar-Razzâq Who is Rahîm. Is that so?

Yes, how can poverty and need be painful and burdensome for a guest of a Jawwâd Who is Karîm, Who makes the whole face of the earth a table of ni’mah, and the spring a bunch of flowers, and places the flowers on that table and scatters them over it? Rather, his poverty and need take the form of a pleasant appetite. He tries to increase his poverty like he tries to increase his appetite. It is because of this that the people of attainment have felt proud with poverty. Beware, do not misunderstand! It means to beseech Allah through recognizing one's poverty before Him. Otherwise, it is not to display one's poverty to people and assume the state of a beggar.

And as for the ticket and voucher, foremost the salâh, it is to perform the fardhs and to give up kabâir. Is that so?

Yes, through the agreement of the people who are devotedly attached to the Islamic sciences and the people who witness the truths of religion and the people of kashf and zawq; on the long and dark road to all eternity, the provisions, rations, light and Burâq can only be obtained through conforming to the commands of the Qur'an and avoiding its prohibitions. Otherwise, science and philosophy, art and hikmah are not worth a penny on that road. Their light endures until the door of the grave.

Thus, o my lazy nafs! How little and light and easy it is to perform the salâh five times a day and give up the seven kabâir! If you have the mind (aql) and it is not corrupted, you may understand how important and great are their results, fruits and benefits, and you may say to the shaytan and that man who encourages you to fisq and dissipation:

"If you have the solution to kill death, and to annihilate fading from the world, and to remove impotence and poverty from man, and to close the door of the grave, tell us and let us listen to it! Otherwise, shut up! The Qur'an reads the universe in the great mosque of the universe. Let us listen to it. Let us be illuminated with that nûr, and act through its hidâyah, and make it our constant wird. Yes, the word is the Qur'an and it is said to it. It is the Haqq and it comes from the Haqq and says the Haqq and shows the haqiqah and spreads luminous hikmah..."

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

 

 

1 (By the permission of Allah)

2 (By the command of Allah)

3 (By the grace of Allah)

4 (Allah is sufficient for me. How good a Guardian He is, and how good a Helper. )

5 [When the Qur’an is recited, give ear to it and listen in silence so that you will find, and be treated with rahmah. (7:204)]

6 [(Let not the life of the world delude you, nor let any deluder delude in regard to Allah. (35:5)]

7 (Assuredly, close servants of Allah (awliyâ) no fear shall come upon them, neither shall they grieve. They had îmân and reached taqwâ. For them is glad tidings in the life of the world and in the âkhirah. No change can there be in the words of Allah; that is the supreme triumph./10:62-64)

8 (I believe in Allah and the Last Day)

9 Question: There are riwâyât which state: "The Dajjal has a false Jannah into which he puts those who follow him, and he also has a false Jahannam into which he casts those who do not follow him. He even has made one of his mount's ears like a Jannah and the other like a Jahannam... his body is of such-and-such vast dimensions..."; they describe him like this?

The Answer: The bodily form of Dajjal is like a human being. He is a foolish shaytan and a cunning man, who calls his apparent, tyrannical rule ulûhiyyah, since he is proud and became a pharaoh and has forgotten Allah. But his huge current of irreligiousness which is his ma’nawî collective personality is extremely enormous. The fearsome descriptions of the Dajjal in the riwâyât indicate that. At one time, the commander-in-chief of the Japanese army was pictured with one of his feet in the Pacific Ocean and the other in Port Arthur, ten days' distance. Picturing that small Japanese commander in this way, the ma’nawî collective personality of his army was shown.

As for the Dajjal's fake Jannah, it is the alluring amusements and fantasies of civilisation. As for his mount, it is the means of transport, like a train, at one head of which is the fire pit; he sometimes casts those who do not follow him into the fire. One ear of that mount, that is, the other head of it, has been furnished like Jannah, and he seats those who follow him in it. In fact, the train, which is an important mount of dissolute and cruel civilisation, brings a fake Jannah for the people of dissipation and ahl ad-dunyâ, while for the unfortunate people of religion and Islam, it brings danger in the hand of civilisation, like the zabânî of Jahannam, and casts them into captivity and indigence.” The Fifteenth Letter – The Answer to Your Fourth Question

“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

"O Europe, which is corrupted with dissipation and dhalâlah and distanced from the religion of ‘Îsâ ‘Alayhissalâm! With your blind genius bearing a single eye like the Dajjal, you gifted this Jahannam-like state to the rûh of mankind. Then, you understood that it is such a disease without remedy that casts man from the a’lâ ‘illiyyin to the asfal sâfilîn and lowers him to the most unfortunate level of animals. The remedy you have found for this disease is the attractive playthings, sedative desires and fantasies of yours that serve to numb the senses temporarily. May this remedy of yours kill you and it will kill!” The Seventeenth Flash-Fifth Note

This year, while I was in seclusion and although I withdrew from the life of society, I looked at the world for the sake of some of Nur student brothers and sisters of mine. I heard complaints about their own family lives from most of the friends who visited me. "Alas!", I said: "The refuge of man, particularly of Muslims, a sort of Jannah and a small world of his is family life. Has this started to corrupt as well?" I sought its reason. I knew that just as in order to harm the social life of Islam and thereby to the religion of Islam, one or two committees work to mislead youth and drive them to dissipation through using the desires of youth, in the same way, I felt that one or two committees effectively work under the veil in order to drive the ghâfil part of womenkind to the wrong ways, and I knew that a terrifying blow to this Muslim nation is coming from that aspect.

...Alas for the wife and husband who assist one another in throwing each other into the fire! That is, they encourage each other in the fantasies of civilization. Thus, the meaning of the Risale-i Nur’s sentences with this substance is this: at this time, the cause to unfold family life and its happiness in the world and the âkhirah and to unfold the elevated morals in women can only be through Islamic âdâb within the sphere of the Sharî’ah.” The Twenty-Fourth Flash- A Conversation with Women-2nd Subtle Point

10 “how can we follow you, O conceited, deceived one, especially after we hear the âyah: فَلاَ تَغُرَّنَّكُمُ الْحَيٰوةُ الدُّنْيَا وَلاَيَغُرَّنَّكُمْ بِاللّٰهِ الْغَرُورُ (Let not the life of the world delude you, nor let any deluder delude in regard to Allah). Only those who are drunk with the wine of politics or passion for fame, ambition to be heard, compassion towards human-beings, zandaqa of philosophy, or dissipation of civilisation, would follow you.” Al-Mathnawi al-Nuri (308)

“O ghâfil man, who has been created on Ahsan Taqwîm and who goes towards asfal sâfilîn by misusing his will! Listen to me! Like you, while I was seeing the world as nice and beautiful through the drunkenness of youth amidst the ghaflah, at the moment I awoke from that drunkenness of youth in the morning of old age, I saw how ugly the world's face is which does not turn towards the âkhirah that I had previously imagined to be beautiful and how beautiful its real face is which looks to the âkhirah.” The Twenty-Third Word/Second Discussion/Fifth Subtle Point

“Indeed, in order to avoid feeling this grievous pain, this awesome ma’nawî torment, the people of dhalâlah have recourse to the drunkenness of ghaflah that is like a sort of blocking out the feelings. But when they do feel it, they suddenly feel the proximity of the grave.” The Words ( 662 )

“a person who supposes this world is a guesthouse, which belongs to As-Sâni’ Who is Hakîm, to be the plaything of chance and natural forces through the lunacy of dhalâlah and drunkenness of kufr which arises from the misuse of his will.” The Words ( 663 )

“KNOW, O FRIEND, that nature and causes close the door of shukr and open the door of shirk. Shirk, kufr, and ingratitude to Allah are based on infinite impossibilities, one of those impossibilities is, if the kâfir awakes from the drunkenness of ignorance and looks to their kufr through the eye of ‘ilm, they must acknowledge that they have attributed functions and missions to one minute particle that it cannot fulfil….” Al-Mathnawi al-Nuri (48)

“through the drunkenness of nationalist patriotism...” The Letters ( 493)

O, my nafs! Do not say, "The time has changed, age has altered, everyone has plunged into the world and performs ‘ibâdah to the life. Everyone is drunk with the struggle for livelihood." For death does not change. Separation does not transform into eternal union and does not alter. The impotence of mankind and the poverty of man do not change but increase. The journey of mankind does not cease but acquires speed.” The Fourteenth Word- Conclusion

“I saw and felt that the pleasures of this age, which are received from fleeting things superficially and which deceive the people of dhalâlah, who worship the life, and make them drunk, are extremely painful and grievous.”  Kastamonu Addendum (118)

11 “Just as the Qur'an severely prohibits the ‘ibâdah to idols, so it forbids the ‘ibâdah to images, which is a sort of imitation of the ‘ibâdah to idols. Whereas considering the images as one of its virtues, civilization has wanted to contend with the Qur'an. But images, whether possessing shadow or not, are either petrified dhulm, or embodied riyâ, or embodied desires of the nafs; by whipping up the desires of the nafs, they encourage mankind to dhulm, riyâ and following the desires of the nafs. Moreover, the Qur'an compassionately commands women to wear the veil of hayâ so that they will be treated with respect and those mines of compassion will not be trodden under the feet of low desires, nor be like worthless goods for the excitement of lust. {The Twenty-Fourth Flash of the Thirty-First Letter about the tasattur has proved most decisively that tasattur is appropriate for women’s fitrah, and abrogation of tasattur is contrary to fitrah.} Civilization, however, has drawn women out of their homes, rent their veils and corrupted mankind. For family life continues through the mutual love and respect of man and wife. But immodest dress has destroyed sincere respect and love and has poisoned family life. While ‘ibâdah of images appallingly shaken morality, causing the abasement of man's rûh. This may be understood from the following: to look lustfully and with desire at the corpse of a beautiful woman, who is in need of pity and compassion destroys morality; so too, to look lasciviously at the representations of dead women, or of living women, for they are like little corpses, shakes to their very roots the elevated human feelings and destroys them.” The Twenty-Fifth Word/3rd Ray/2nd Radiance/Fourth Principle

“In the playground of the high school opposite the prison the older girls were dancing and laughing, but they seemed to me to be like the houris of Jahannam in that worldly Jannah. They suddenly appeared to me as they would be in fifty years’ time; their laughter had turned into piteous weeping. From this the following haqiqah became apparent; that is to say,  on a ma’nawî and imaginary cinema screen I saw them as they would be in fifty years’ time. I saw that fifty of those sixty laughing girls were suffering the torments of the grave and had become earth, while ten of them were ugly seventy-years-old attracting only looks of disgust. I wept too.

The reality of the fitnah at the âkhirzaman appeared to me. It seemed to me that its most fearsome and attractive aspect of that fitnah would spring from the shameless faces of women. Negating free choice, it would cast people into the flames of dissipation, like moths, and make them prefer one minute of the life of this world to years of eternal life.

Another day while watching the street, I noticed a powerful example of that fitnah. I felt great pity for the young people I saw. While thinking: “These unfortunates cannot save themselves from the fire of this attractive fitnah which attracts like magnets,” ma’nawî collective personality of apostasy has been embodied before me, which fans the flames of those temptations and that fitnah, and gives instruction to them. I said to it and to those mulhids who follow its lessons:

“O you miserable creatures who sacrifice their religion on the way of taking pleasure with the houris of Jahannam, and loving it perpetrate depravity on the way of dhalâlah, who accept ilhad and irreligiousness on the way of the pleasures and lusts of the nafs, and worship life, are terrified of death, do not want to remember the grave, and have turned their faces towards apostasy!” A Guide For Youth ( 24 )

12 In the riwâyât, it was mentioned that "the fitnah of the âkhirzaman will be so terrible that no one will restrain his nafs." It is because of this that for one thousand three hundred years, on the command of the Prophet (asm), all ummah have sought refuge with Allah (isti‘âdha) from that fitnah مِنْ فِتْنَةِ الدَّجَّالِ وَ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ (from the fitnah of the dajjal and from the fitnah of the âkhirzaman) became the wird of the ummah after seeking refuge from the torments of the grave.

Allahu a'lam bissawab (Allah knows best what is right) a ta’wîl of it is this: those fitnahs will attract the nafs of people to themselves, deceive and corrupt them. People will perpetrate them voluntarily, indeed, with pleasure.

For example, in Russia, men and women bathe naked together in public baths. And since, by fitrah, women have a strong inclination to show off their beauty, they willingly plunge themselves into that fitnah and are led astray. The men, too, who worship beauty in their fitrah, are defeated by their nafs, and, with drunken joy, fall into the fire and are burned. By means of an attraction, the amusements, kabâir and bid’ahs of that time, such as dance and the theatre, draw those who perform ‘ibâdah to their nafs around them like moths and daze them. But if this occurs through absolute compulsion, the will is negated and it is not even a sin. ” The Fifth Ray-Sixth Matter

13 “Even men like Plato and Aristotle, Ibn-i Sina and Farabi, who were the perfect members of the chain of philosophy and the geniuses of that chain, said, “The ultimate aim of mankind is to be like Al-Wâjib ”, that is, “It is to resemble Al-Wâjib Al-Wujûd.” They judged like Pharaoh and opened the way to numerous different disciplines of shirk, like ‘ibâdah to causes, ‘ibâdah to idols, ‘ibâdah to nature and ‘ibâdah to the stars, by whipping up ananiyyah and galloping it free in the valleys of shirk. They have obstructed the road of ‘ubûdiyyah by closing the doors of impotence and weakness, poverty and need, deficiency and imperfection, which are contained in the essence of humanity. They could not find the wide door of shukr due to sinking in and sticking to nature and not being completely able to emerge from shirk.” The Thirtieth Word-First Aim

14 “By fitrah, man is extremely weak, but everything attacks, grieves and saddens him. He is also extremely impotent, but his troubles and enemies are numberless. He is also extremely poor, but his needs are abundant. He is also lazy and powerless, but the responsibilities of life are extremely burdensome. Also, being human has connected him to the universe, but the fade and separation of the things he loves and with which he is familiar continually hurt him. The mind also shows him exalted aims and eternal fruits, but his hand is short; his life is short; his power is short; his patience is short.” The Ninth Word-Fifth Subtle Point

“Since îmân comprises the points of support and assistance, it necessitates saying: “Alhamdulillah”. Yes, because of their impotence and the multiplicity of their enemies, mankind is in need of a point of support so that they can refuge at that point to repulse their enemies. In the same way, because of the abundance of needs and the extreme poverty, they are in need of a point of help that they will ask for help from it so that their needs can be delivered through its aid.

O, man! Your point of support is only îmân in Allah. As for the point of help for your rûh and conscience, it is only îmân in the âkhirah. Therefore, a man’s heart and rûh, which do not know of these two points, take fright; his conscience is perpetually tormented. While a man, who relies on the first point and asks for help from the second one, feels many joys and pleasures, familiarities in his heart and rûh that he takes comfort and his conscience founds safety.” The Second Chapter from the Twenty-Ninth Flash

“Through the scale of impotence and weakness, poverty and need, it is to understand the degrees of manifestation of the Ilahî qoudrah and Rabbânî riches. Just as the varieties and degrees and pleasure of food are understood in relation to the degrees of hunger and in proportion to the varieties of need, so you too should understand the degrees of the infinite riches and qoudrah of Allah through your infinite impotence and poverty.” The Eleventh Word

Like the darkness of the night shows nûr, so too through his weakness and impotence, his poverty and need, his defects and faults, man makes known the qoudrah, strength, riches, and rahmah of a Qadîr Zuljalâl, and so on... he acts as a mirror to numerous Ilahî attributes in this way. Even, through searching for a point of support in his infinite impotence and boundless weakness in the face of his innumerable enemies, his conscience perpetually looks to Al-Wâjib Al-Wujûd.” The words (719)

15 ("Be!" and it is.)

16 ("We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return.")

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