بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

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

THE PRINCIPLE OF THE DUTY OF THE TABLÎGH AND DISSEMINATION - 2

The importance of presenting and drawing attention to the Risale-i Nur in an outright manner:

We will try to understand if it is permissible to spread and prompt the meanings understood from the Risale-i Nur without using the same text of it or by not presenting and mentioning it.

It is a requirement to evince the current of the Risale-i Nur against the currents of sharr.

It is a necessity to work for the establishment of the ma’nawî collective personality of the current of Mujaddidism and acquainting and making others join it against the current of Sufyanism. If The Risale-i Nur and the movement of Nur are not presented in an outright manner the duty of establishing that ma’nawî collective personality would not be fulfilled.

28) “At the time of the attack of the people of dhalâlah and injustice by the genius of a strong ma’nawî collective personality in the form of jamâ’ah arising from their solidarity, to preserve justice and truth by realising that individual resistance of the most powerful person succumbs to that ma’nawî collective personality and by creating a ma’nawî collective personality against that fearsome ma’nawî collective personality of dhalâlah with an alliance on the side of people of haqq.” The Twentieth Flash - Second Cause

29) “Forty-thousand witnesses can attest that the most proven saviour from the plague, tyranny and darkness of this sick, cruel and unfortunate century is the nûr disseminated from the scales and comparisons of the Risale-i Nur. That is, if those who are close to the Risale-i Nur’s circle do not enter it, there is great risk of danger.” Kastamonu Addendum (122-123)

If The Risale-i Nur and its current are not presented and made known, how will the ‘awâm enter its circle and be saved from the dangers of this age?

30) “Yes, in this age, through the barakah being withdrawn and the rise of poverty due to wastefulness, the lack of frugality, discontentment and greed, mankind’s vein of living and device for preserving life have been wounded, and that vein is harmed to such an extent due to the conditions of livelihood becoming heavier, and the people of dhalâlah have consistently made this temporary world the centre of attraction and drawn people’s attention to themselves to such a degree that the most insignificant need of this worldly life is made to be preferred over important matters of religion.

In response to this strange illness and terrible disease of this bizarre age, the Risale-i Nur, which is the herald of the panacea-like remedies of the Quran of Miraculous Exposition, can withstand it; its firm, steadfast, sincere, loyal and sacrificing students can resist it. Thus, in order to save themselves from the effects of this strange illness, one must foremost enter the circle of the Risale-i Nur and adhere to it with loyalty, perfect steadfastness, utmost ikhlas and complete trust.” The Kastamonu Addendum (104)

Those who want to serve religion with ikhlas should join the service of the Risale-i Nur instead of personal and individual service.

31) “If it joined the service of the Risale-i Nur, like those two alifs, it will gain the value and strength of eleven, rather, of one hundred and eleven, and can withstand the dhalâlahs that are united against it.

For the people of haqiqah, this age is not the age of individuality and ananiyyah. This age is the age of jamâ’ah. The ma’nawî collective personality born out of the jamâ’ah prevails and can withstand.” The Kastamonu Addendum (158-159)

32) “Since this is the haqiqah, the people of ‘ilm, tarîqah and followers of the Sufi paths who are close to the circle of the Risale-i Nur, are expected to enter its current, and using their experience from their ‘ilm and tarîqah, should work to strengthen it, expand it and to encourage its students. In order to achieve a complete pool, it is necessary and essential that they cast their ananiyyah which is like an ice block, and dissolve it into the water of life in that pool within that circle. Otherwise, by starting a new path with rivalry against the Risale-i Nur, they will be at loss and will harm this mustaqîm and firm highway of the Qur’an without realizing. Rather, they will be indirectly assisting the zandaqa.” The Kastamonu Addendum (136)

Thus, due to the above important reasons, heroic Nur students who were judged in the Afyon Criminal Court with the planned execution, fearlessly, openly and officially declared the Risale-i Nur and their being the students of Risale-i Nur. The heroic Zübeyir Gündüzalp ağabey1 declared his being a nur student in his defence in court as follows;

33) “I can say gratefully and outright that I am a Risale-i Nur student. Denying it is contrary to the instruction of fadhîlah which was taught to me by the Risale-i Nur, I cannot commit such a transgression. A person who reads the Risale-i Nur would not conceal it. On the contrary, he would proclaim it proudly and fearlessly. For it contains not a single word or sentence that demands hesitation.” The Rays ( 538 )

One who wants to see the defences of the court may look to the end of the 14th Ray, and see the outright and official declaration of the Nur students which have been made in those fearsome conditions.

Insomuch that Ustadh Bediuzzaman explains a mustâqim member of a tarîqah who is ignorant but sincere can preserve himself in the corrupted communities, more than a muhaqqiq 'âlim who is not loyal and not tied to the method:

34) “A sincere ordinary ahl al-tarîqah preserves himself better than a superficial, externalist person who is versed in sciences. Through the zawq of the tarîqah and the love of the awliyâ, he saves his îmân. If he commits kabâir, he becomes a fâsiq, but not a kâfir; he is not easily drawn into zandaqa. No power at all can refute in his view the chain of shaykhs he accepts, with a strong love and firm belief, to be aqtâb. And because no power can refute it, his confidence in them cannot be destroyed. And so long as his confidence is not shaken, he cannot enter into zandaqa. In the face of the wiles of the zindiqs at the present time, it has become difficult for one who has no share from the tarîqah and whose heart has not been brought to action, to preserve himself completely, even if he is a muhaqqiq âlim.” The Letters ( 520-521 )

That is to say, without presenting the Risale-i Nur and its current, reading it but saying or disseminating it with one’s own understanding and expression is to prefer an individual service and it is not the right way to follow. Consequently, those addressees who are in need of obtaining tablîgh will be tied to the individual’s idea and understanding instead of the firm and mustâqim current of the Risale-i Nur, and those ties cannot preserve them from the terrible fitnah of this age.  

Whereas, The bestowal of Allah manifested on the effectiveness and the good acceptance of the instruction and guide (Irshad) of the Risale-i Nur arises from the mystery of ikhlas. Hazrat Ustadh points out this quality which bears great importance in this age:

35) “For at this time, such Qur’anic instruction is necessary which is not the tool for anything and will save îmân and will afford complete certainty and it has to be taught in a way that is not made as a tool for anything, does not follow anything, following no other aim and imparts the haqiqahs of îmân effectively to those in need through the fitrî ‘ubûdiyyah. This is the sole solution in this terrible time.  Only in this way absolute kufr and obdurate, obstinate dhalâlah can be smashed and everyone can gain complete certainty. A person may feel completely confident in such instruction in present conditions by knowing that it is not being used as a tool for anything, neither personal, worldly, nor  pertaining to the âkhirah, nor material nor ma’nawî…

…In truth, millions of books disseminated eloquently, the haqiqahs in the same meaning that the Risale-i Nur discusses, and thousands of true ‘ulamâ have instructed those haqiqahs, yet they have been unable to halt fully the terrible kufr al-mutlaq in this country. Whereas by mystery of the above, the Risale-i Nur has overcome it to an extent, as even its enemies agree. Yes, the Risale-i Nur has performed this task against kufr al-mutlaq in this heavy condition. That is to say, its power arises from this mighty mystery.

So with my whole rûh and soul, I am pleased towards the calamities with torments that I had suffered for the past twenty eight years. I forgave all of them and I told just Qadar that I deserved your compassionate slaps. For it, I had taken the completely licit, harmless blessed way that everyone takes for Allah’s sake and had not sacrificed entirely my physical and ma’nawî feelings, I would have lost this extraordinary ma’nawî power in the service of îmân. A strange example of the power was that someone read a book about the haqiqahs of îmân by certain persons of whom I could be only the lowest student, and then read a page of the Risale-i Nur, and declared that one page of the Risale-i Nur had saved his îmân to a great extent than the other book.” Emirdağ Addendum (378)

A remarkable point that is indicated in the above expression related to our subject is this: Although the haqiqahs discussed in the Risale-i Nur were eloquently written in the books of the ‘ulamâ, they are yet to reach the effect of the Risale-i Nur. Because in this age, for acceptance, utmost ikhlas should be gained through sacrificing all the licit benefits, worldly, or pertaining to the âkhirah, or material or ma’nawî, and the service should be performed as a command of Allah.

Whereas, let alone leaving the licit benefits, which are demanded to be sacrificed, the possibility of attaining worthiness in being effective and gaining the mystery of ikhlas seems to be hard in this age of fitnah, amid the invasion of the state of partisanship, envy, enmity, the ambition of gaining material and ma’nawî benefits, inclination and desire of gaining the public attention and fame, which are the causes of spoiling ikhlas.

That is to say, one who tries to guide people with his own way through veiling the Risale-i Nur will be deprived of the ma’nawî effect which is the favour of Allah.

36) “If the instruction of haqiqah which is taken from an ustadh who does not condescend to the world, does not fall into greed and abasement, does not take worldly goods in return of the haqiqah and who is not obliged to pretence has the value of a diamond; the same instruction of haqiqah which is taken from an ustadh who is obliged to accept sadaqa, who is compelled to pretend to the people of wealth, who sacrificed his honour of ‘ilm through the abasement of greed, who inclined to act upon riyâ to seem good to those who gives sadaqa and who gave permission to eat the fruits of the âkhirah in this world declines to the degree of the glass from the degree of the diamonds.” Barla Lahikası (123)

A remarkable aspect of this guidance (Irshad) and expression is this, although the same instruction is given, the result and its effect change due to having ikhlas or a lack of it.  Ikhlas and the effectiveness can be gained through compliance with the principles of the Risale-i Nur. This can be understood from the following:

37)“Since you want many sawâb, take ikhlas as your foundation and think only of the acceptance and pleasure of Allah so that units of the blessed words within the air that issue forth from your mouth can be brought to life by ikhlas and truthful intention, and they can illuminate innumerable conscious beings by going to their ears and cause you to gain sawâb. Because for example, you said "Alhamdulillah"; this phrase, millions of great and small words of "Alhamdulillah" are written on the air with the permission of Allah. Since The Embroiderer (Naqqâsh), Who is Hakîm, does not do anything without purpose nor waste, He created innumerable ears that will listen to those multiple blessed words. If those words in the air are brought to life by ikhlas and truthful intention, each of them enters into the ears of the rûh beings like a tasty fruit. If the acceptance and pleasure of Allah and ikhlas do not give life to those words in the air, they are not listened to, and sawâb, too, will be limited to the single word within the mouth.” The Twentieth Flash – The Third Cause

38) “and knowing that the points of favourable acceptance and effect and gaining people’s attention are the duty of Janâb-i Haqq and His favour, and they are not included in the tablîgh, which is one's own duty, nor necessary, nor is one charged with gaining them. Otherwise, he will lose ikhlas.” The Twentieth Flash – The First Cause

39) “The acceptance and pleasure of Janâb-i Haqq are gained by ikhlas, not by a great number of followers or great success. Since they belong to the duty of Allah, they are not to be demanded but rather given sometimes. Yes, sometimes a single word becomes the cause of salvation and the means of acceptance and pleasure of Allah. The importance of quantity should not be the cause of consideration. Because sometimes guiding one man (Irshâd) becomes a means of acceptance and pleasure of Allah as much as guiding a thousand men.” The Twentieth Flash – The Third Cause

40) “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.” The Twenty-First Flash/Your First Principle

“‘Ubûdiyyah looks to the command of Allah and the acceptance and pleasure of Allah. The cause of ‘ubûdiyyah is the command of Allah and its result is the acceptance and pleasure of Haqq. Its fruits and benefits belong to the âkhirah. But, on condition that they are not the ultimate purpose and not intentionally sought, the benefits belonging to this world and the fruits that come about themselves and are given without being sought are not contrary to ‘ubûdiyyah.” The Seventeenth Flash - Thirteenth Note/The Second Matter

41) “Several high-ranking officials asked me: "Why did you not accept Mustafa Kemal's offer of a three-hundred-lira salary and the position of general preacher in Kurdistan and the Eastern Provinces in place of Shaykh Sanusi? If you had accepted it, you would have been the cause of saving the lives of the hundred thousand people who were slaughtered because of the revolution."

So I told them in reply: the Risale-i Nur, which has been the means of gaining for hundreds of thousands of our fellow-countrymen millions of years of life in the âkhirah, has performed that task a thousand times over, in place of twenty or thirty years of worldly life I was unable to save for those people. If I had accepted the offer, the Risale-i Nur, which can be the tool of nothing nor follow anything and holds the mystery of ikhlas, would not have come into being.” The Rays ( 314 )

42)“Yes, the successful resistance of the Risale-i Nur against such terrifying obstinate people, is the result of the mystery of ikhlas; that it has never been the instrument of anything, that it looks directly to eternal happiness, that it does not follow any objective other than the service of îmân and that it pays no importance to the personal kashfs and karâmât to which the people of tarîqah attach so much importance. Just like the Sahâbah who posses great walâyah (walâyah al-kubra), the Risale-i Nur, through the mystery of the legacy of nubuwwah, only disseminates the nûrs of îmân and saves the îmân of the people of îmân.” Kastamonu Addendum (288)

43) “Why do you run away from the luminous ranks and degrees of the âkhirah which are ma’nawî, acceptable and harmless and which all the people of îmân and haqiqah desire and are given through the good opinion of our sincere brothers despite their being harmless for your ikhlas and established through incontestable proofs? Why do you run away from those degrees and ranks, not with modesty and humility, but aggressively and angrily by offending the brothers who confer them on you?

The Answer: Just as a patriotic person sacrifices himself to save the life of his friends; in the same way, to protect the eternal lives of the people of îmân from the dangerous enemies if need be – which there is – based on the lesson of compassion I have received from the Risale-i Nur, let alone sacrificing those ranks which I do not deserve, I would even sacrifice the ranks of true eternal life.

Always, and particularly at this age and especially in a general ghaflah which arises from dhalâlah and the prevalence of politics and philosophy, and in the thrilling age of ananiyah and vain; those high ranks make everything conform to themselves and use everything as a stepping-stone for themselves. They even make sacred religious matters a tool for those worldly ranks too. If it were ma’nawî ranks, they use it even more as a tool. He will be accused of making part of his sacred duties and haqiqahs a stepping-stone and a means to preserve himself in the public view and make himself appear appropriate for those ranks. And the demand of the haqiqahs which he disseminates will be injured by doubts. While it may give a benefit to the person and the rank, the general loss that it brings to the public is a thousandfold due to lacking demand.” Emirdağ Addendum-1 (74)

44) “As to states of pretending and displaying myself as more worthy than I am, and showing myself as possessing a rank in order to be seen favourably to those who have an excess good opinion for me, and showing myself as lofty which is completely opposed to the mystery of ikhlas, and seeking the harmful and fleeting pleasures of the ego beneath the veil of dignity, O my nafs, reduce to nothing all those pleasures you are seduced with.” Emirdağ Addendum-1 (201)

45) “Then; possessing ma’nawî ranks, progressing in the levels of walâyah and acknowledging those ni’mahs of Allah upon one’s own self which people can only benefit and receive no harm from, and from the point of view of haqiqah are agreeable by all and are sought by everyone but deemed a weak vein in us in regard to our service. However, in an age in which selfishness and ananiyyah, the worshipping of personal benefit and the feeling of saving one’s nafs are dominant, the service of îmân which is built on the mystery of ikhlas and not being made the instrument for anything requires not to pursue personal ma’nawî ranks. It is necessary to not desire nor consider them in one’s actions lest the mystery of true ikhlas is ruined.” Emirdağ Addendum-1 (244)

46) “Just as the mystery of ikhlas strongly restrains me from exploiting the Risale-i nur and the service of îmân for worldly degrees and high ranks for myself in the âkhirah; so too, I shrink from exploiting that sacred service for my personal ease or comfort or to pass a pleasant, troublefree life in this world. For since consuming the eternal fruits of the good works of the âkhirah on trivial pleasures in this fleeting life is opposed to the mystery of ikhlas, I tell you certainly that if the servants from among the rûh beings and jinns that the people of riyâzah who abandoned the world sought and accepted were to everyday bring me the finest remedies when I was hungry and wounded, for the sake of true ikhlas I would know myself compelled not to accept them. Even, if some of the awliyâ from the barzakh were to assume forms and give me sweets and baklavas out of respect for the service of îmân both my nafs and my heart would agree to kiss their hands and not to accept them so as not to consume the everlasting fruits of the âkhirah in this world in a transient form. But on condition, the nafs al-ammarah does not interfere, with all my rûh I accept such  bestowals of Rahmân like barakah proceeding from inâyah, due to their being a sign of the acceptance of the service.” Emirdağ Addendum (297) 

47) “The first principle of the lesson that Risale-i Nur has received from the Qur’an is: The necessity of abandoning egotism, ananiyyah and vain. So that the saving of îmân may be served with true ikhlas. Shukr be to Janâb-i Haqq, so many individuals have emerged who have gained that utmost ikhlas. Those who sacrifice their egotism, renown and honour for the smallest matter of îmân are many. In fact, when the enemies of one unfortunate student of the Risale-i Nur became friends, in respect of Ilahî rahmah, he lost his voice because their conversations with him increased. Also, those who look to him admiringly become like the evil eye and cause him pain. Even shaking hands with others causes him distress as though he had received a blow.

He was asked: “What is this state of yours? Since you have millions of friends; why do you not meet with them for their sake?”

He replied: “Since our way is utmost ikhlas; leave be egotism and ananiyyah, preferring an eternal matter of îmân being the necessity of utmost ikhlas, even if the sovereignty of the world was given.” Emirdağ Addendum-2 (246)

48) “The mystery to Bediuzzaman Said Nursi’s success and victory in the universal service for the Qur’an, îmân and Islam, and the mystery to the Risale Nur’s powerful efficacy lies in the fact that he has achieved complete ikhlas. That is, his one and only aim is seeking Ilahî pleasure. In this respect: “The foundation of our way is to attain the utmost ikhlas and abandoning ananiyyah. An ounce of ikhlas in an action (‘amal) is superior to tonnes of action without ikhlas. I keep clear away from people’s physical and ma’nawî gifts, reverence and from turning attention to myself and fame”. This mystery was perhaps the hikmah behind why he never accepted guests to visit him. Also, the extreme importance he gives to ikhlas is understood when he states at the beginning of the risale on ikhlas2 among his hundred and thirty pieces of work, “this should be read at least once every fifteen days.” In the book ‘the great defence’ he says: “the Risale-i Nur cannot be a means to attain the world nor even be the means of attaining the universe; our aim is purely Ilahî pleasure.”

It is this mystery of ikhlas that a muhaqqiq person of ‘ilm who seeks the truth carefully and reads the most famous Islamic scholars’ books like Imam Ghazali, says: “The benefit I get when I read one page of Risale-i Nur is far more than reading ten pages of other books.” Biography (767)

49) “In short: The haqiqah of ikhlas prevents me from things that may be a means to fame and honour and material and ma’nawî ranks. True that it is great harm to the service of the Nur, but since quantity is trivial relative to quality, as a sincere servant, I consider giving lessons on the haqiqahs of îmân which are superior to anything to ten people with the haqiqah of ikhlas is more important than to give guidance (irshad) to thousands of people through a great rank of being Qutb.

For since those ten men consider completely that haqiqah is superior to everything, they persevere and their seed-like hearts may grow into trees. But due to the doubts and waswasas arising from the philosophy and the world, those thousands of men may be scattered and defeated by considering the lessons of that Qutb emerge from his particular rank and personal feelings. It is for this meaning, I prefer being a servant over the ranks.” Emirdağ Addendum-1 (75)

50) “And I say to the just Qadar:

I deserved those compassionate blows of yours. For if like everyone I had taken a way thinking of myself, which is completely licit and harmless, and if I had not sacrificed the material and ma’nawî feelings of faydh, I would have lost this supreme ma’nawî strength, present in the service of îmân. I sacrificed everything I have, material and ma’nawî, I submitted to all the calamities. I patiently endured all the torments. It is because of this that the haqiqahs of îmân have spread everywhere. It is because of this that the Nur school of ma’rifat has raised hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions of students. They will now continue the service of îmân. And they will not depart from my way of sacrificing everything, material and ma’nawî. They will only work for Allah’s pleasure alone.” Emirdağ Addendum  (360)

 

 

سُبْحَانَكَ لاَ عِلْمَ لَنَا اِلاَّ مَا عَلَّمْتَنَا اِنَّكَ اَنْتَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ