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My ‘azîz, siddîq brothers!

It has been brought to my heart to express four matters to you:

First: It is the answer to a question asked both verbally and through the language of being, as well as through other outward signs.

It is said: Since the Risale-i Nur is both endowed with karâmât and provides greater advancement in the unfolding of the haqiqahs of îmân than the tarîqahs do, and its loyal students are, in one respect, at the degree of walâyah — why is it that the manifestation of ma’nawî delights, kashf and physical karâmât is not seen in them as it is in the awliyâ, nor do its students seek such things? What is the hikmah behind this?

The Answer: Firstly, the reason is the mystery of ikhlâs. For in this world, temporary delights and karâmât become an objective for those who have not completely prevailed over their nafs, forming a motive for their deeds pertaining to the âkhirah, and thus their ikhlâs is shattered. For worldly objectives and delights are not to be sought through deeds pertaining to the âkhirah; seeking them impairs the mystery of ikhlâs.

Secondly: Karâmât and kashf are granted to those at a lower degree who possess imitative (taqlîdî) îmân and have not reached the level of verified (tahqîqî) îmân, sometimes in order to strengthen the weak among them and to bestow conviction upon those beset by waswasa and doubts. However, the proofs that the Risale-i Nur demonstrates for the haqiqahs of îmân leave no room whatsoever for waswasas, nor, in terms of providing conviction, do they leave any need for karâmât or kashf.

Because the verified (tahqîqî) îmân the Risale-i Nur confers is far superior to kashf, azwaq and karâmât, its true students do not seek such wonders as karâmât.

Thirdly: A fundamental principle of the Risale-i Nur is to serve without rivalry, purely for the sake of the pleasure and acceptance of Allah, acknowledging one's own flaws with profound humility. However, the disagreement and a kind of rivalry among those granted karâmât and the people of the tarîqah who take delight in kashf, as well as the fact that in this age of ananiyyah, the people of ghaflah accuse those blessed personages of ego and ananiyyah, harbouring prejudiced ill opinions of them demonstrate that it is necessary and essential for the students of the Risale-i Nur not to desire or pursue karâmât and kashf for themselves.

Furthermore, in its path, no importance is attached to the individual. In terms of the ma’nawî collective partnership and the brothers' annihilation in one another (tafâni), the favours bestowed upon the Risale-i Nur by Allah — such as thousands of karâmât al-‘ilmiyyah, the facilitation in the dissemination of the service and the barakah in the livelihood of those who study it — are sufficient for all; they seek no further personal perfection or karâmât.

Fourthly: A hundred gardens of this world, by virtue of being transient, cannot equal a single eternal tree of the âkhirah. However, since blind human emotions, captivated by immediate pleasures, prefer a transient, immediate fruit to an eternal garden of the âkhirah, the students of the Risale-i Nur do not seek the ma’nawî delights and kashf in this world, lest the nafs al-ammârah exploit this fitrî state.

A personage of the past who resembled the students of the Risale-i Nur in this respect, despite being at a high ma’nawî rank together with his wife, faced severe hardship regarding their livelihood. His wife said to her husband, 'Our need is dire.' Suddenly, a brick of gold appeared beside them. He said to his wife, 'Look, this is a brick from our palace in Jannah.' That blessed lady immediately replied, 'Although our need is dire and we have many such bricks in the âkhirah, let it not be wasted in a transient form, and let not a single brick be missing from our palace there. Offer du’â that it returns to its place; we do not need it here.' Suddenly it returned to its place. It is narrated that the people of kashf witnessed this.

These two heroic champions from among the people of haqiqah serve as a fine example of how the students of the Risale-i Nur do not pursue the worldly pleasures of karâmât.