بِاسْمِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ

A conversation with women who are my âkhirah sisters amongst the people of îmân

At a time when I had seen the sincere and vehement connection of women to the Risale-i Nur in some provinces, and I had learned of their trust in my lessons belonging to Nurs in a way far exceeding my due, when I returned to blessed Isparta and ma’nawî Madrasatu'z-Zehra for the third time, I heard that the women, my blessed âkhirah sisters were waiting for a lesson from me. As though I will have a lesson for them in a masjid in the form of a preach. Although I am both sick in four or five aspects and wretched, not even having the strength to speak and think, tonight, it came to my heart with a severe warning: "Since fifteen years ago at the request of the youth, you wrote 'A Guide for Youth' for them and it has greatly benefited, however, women are in greater need of such a guide than youth at this time." In the face of this warning, together with my extreme wretchedness, weakness and impotence, I shall explain very concisely with 'Three Subtle Points' some necessary matters to those blessed sisters and young ma’nawî children of mine.

FIRST SUBTLE POINT:

Since one of the most important principles of the Risale-i Nur is compassion and since women, by fitrah, are the heroes of compassion, they are more connected with the Risale-i Nur. And Lillahilhamd, this fitrî connection is felt in many places. Since the self-sacrifice within this compassion expresses the meaning of true ikhlas and self-sacrifice without expecting anything in return, it has great importance in this time.

Yes, a mother sacrificing her rûh to save her child from danger without wanting anything in return, and sacrificing herself for her child with true ikhlas due to the duty of her fitrah, show that women have an extremely exalted heroism. Through unfolding this heroism, she can save both her life in this world and her eternal life with it. But due to certain ill currents, this powerful and valuable character does not unfold or is misused. A small example out of hundreds is this:

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.

If true compassion is not misused and if, with the mystery of such compassion, she works to save her helpless child from Jahannam, which is eternal prison, and from dying amid dhalâlah, which is eternal extinction, he will always send nûrs to the rûh of his mother with his good works after her death since the equivalent of all good works of the child will be recorded in the book of good deeds of his mother and he will not be a claimant in the âkhirah but a shafî’ and a blessed child in eternal life with all his rûh and life.

Yes, man's first ustadh and most effective teacher is his mother. In connection with this, I shall explain the following precise meaning to you, which I always felt in myself:

Even though I received lessons from eighty thousand people in my eighty years lifetime, I swear that the inculcations and ma’nawî lessons I received from my late mother are the most fundamental and unshakeable lessons, as though she continually renews her lesson to me; those lessons have been ingrained in my fitrah as if they were seeds in my physical being. I see exactly that the other lessons I received have been constructed on those seeds. That is to say, I observe that my late mother’s inculcations and lessons to my fitrah and rûh, when I was one year old, are each a fundamental seed amongst the great haqiqahs that I see now in my age of eighty.

For instance, I certainly see that from the compassionate acts and states and the ma’nawî lessons of my mother, I learnt to be compassionate, which is the most important of the four principles of my way and outlook, and to pity and to be merciful, which are also the greatest haqiqahs of the Risale-i Nur. 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.

Yes, a hen — which bears a tiny sample of that compassion — attacking a lion and sacrificing its rûh for its chicks prove the heroism of women in terms of compassion and prove that they sacrifice their rûh by wanting nothing in return without the intention of any personal benefit or show off.

Now, the most valuable and most necessary principle amongst Islamic tarbiyyah and deeds pertaining to the âkhirah is ikhlas. Such true ikhlas is to be found in the heroism within this kind of compassion. If these two points begin to unfold among those blessed women, it will be the means of great happiness in the sphere of Islam. Whereas the heroism of men can not be without recompense, rather they want recompense in hundred ways. At least they want fame and honour. But unfortunately, in order to be saved from the sharr and oppression of their dhâlim men, unfortunate blessed women enter into another sort of riyâ arising from weakness and impotence.

SECOND SUBTLE POINT:

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 the religion of Islam, one or two committees work to lead youth astray and drive them to dissipation by using the desires of youth. In the same way, I felt that one or two committees effectively work under the veil in order to lead the ghâfil ones among women in the wrong ways, and I understood that a terrifying blow to this Muslim nation is coming from that aspect.

So I certainly declare to my sisters and my ma’nawî children who are young amongst you:

The sole means of the happiness of women in this world as well as their happiness in the âkhirah and saving elevated morals in their fitrah from corruption is tarbiyyah of religion in the sphere of Islam; there are no other means. You hear about the degradation the unfortunate women in Russia have fallen into. In one part of the Risale-i Nur, it is said that a man of sound mind does not build his love for his wife on her transitory, exterior beauty of five to ten years, rather he should build his love on her compassion which is the most permanent and beautiful of the women’s beauties and on the beauty of her virtues that are particular to womanhood. So that as the unfortunate gets older, her husband's love for her can continue. Because it becomes necessary to love each other with more respect and compassion as they get older, since his wife is not a temporary helper companion merely in the life of this world, but rather an eternal and lovable life companion in his eternal life. The family life, which after a temporary animal-like relationship under the veil of the tarbiyyah of present civilisation is subjected to eternal separation, has begun to collapse together with its foundations.

Furthermore, in one part of the Risale-i Nur, it was said: Happy is the man who imitates his sâliha wife so as not to lose his eternal companion; he, too, becomes sâlih. Also, happy is the woman who sees her husband as pious, and she, too, becomes pious so as not to lose her eternal friend and companion; within her happiness in this world, she attains her happiness in the âkhirah. Unfortunate is the man who follows his wife who fell into dissipation and does not try to make her give it up; he, too, joins her. Unfortunate is the woman who sees her husband's fisq and imitates him in another way. 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 civilisation.

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.

Now, the most important point in family life is this: if a woman sees immorality and disloyalty in her husband and out of spite towards her husband, she spoils her loyalty and trustworthiness, which are the duties of a woman in the family, the factory of that family life will be upside-down like the obedience in the army being spoilt. Rather, that woman should try to reform her husband's faults as far as she can, so that she can save her eternal companion. Otherwise, if she tries to show herself to others by immodest dressing and tries to make herself loved by others, she loses in every aspect. For, one who abandons true loyalty pays the penalty in this world too. Because her fitrah fears and feels ashamed of the looks of non-mahrams and withdraws. She detests the looks of eighteen out of twenty non-mahram men. As for men, they detest only one out of a hundred non-mahram women and feel ashamed to look. As the woman suffers torment in that aspect, she also undergoes the accusation of disloyalty; together with her weakness, she cannot protect her rights.

In Short: Just as, due to compassion, women do not resemble men in heroism and ikhlas, and men cannot reach them in such heroism, so innocent women can in no way reach men in dissipation. Therefore, they severely fear non-mahrams and know themselves to be obliged to shelter themselves beneath charshaf (jilbâb) due to their fitrah and weak creation.

Because, if a man enters dissipation for eight minutes of pleasure, he will only lose as much as eight dollars. But as the punishment for the pleasure in the dissipation of eight minutes, in this world, too, the woman bears a heavy load for eight months and then suffers the hardship of the tarbiyyah of that unprotected child for eight years, therefore, she cannot reach men in dissipation; she suffers a hundred times greater punishment.

Many events of this sort show that just as blessed women are the source of elevated morals by fitrah, so too, they do not have the capacity for worldly pleasure within fisq and dissipation. That is to say, they are a kind of blessed creatures, specially created to have a happy family life within the sphere of Islamic tarbiyyah. Death to those committees who corrupt these blessed ones! And may Allah protect my sisters from the sharr of such dissolute, amen!

My sisters! I say this word of mine to you confidentially: Due to the trouble in livelihood, rather than entering under the oppression of a dissolute, immoral husband, who follows Europe, try to manage yourself with frugality and contentment, which are already in your fitrah, like the innocent peasant women working to obtain their livelihood; do not try to sell yourselves. If having an unsuitable husband is what Allah has decreed for you, accept it and be content with it. InshâAllah, he will be reformed through your acceptance and contentment. Otherwise, you will apply to the courts for a divorce, which I have heard of recently. And this is unsuitable for the dignity of Islam and the honour of our nation!

THIRD SUBTLE POINT:

My ‘azîz sisters, certainly know that Risale-i Nur has proved with hundreds of powerful evidences and events that in the pleasures and enjoyments outside the sphere permitted by the Sharî’ah, there are pains and troubles ten times greater. You can find further details in the Risale-i Nur.

For instance, the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Words from The Short Words and A Guide For Youth will show this haqiqah to you completely in place of me. Therefore, suffice and be content with the pleasures within the sphere permitted by the Sharî’ah. Innocent conversations with your innocent children in your home are more pleasurable than a hundred cinemas.

Also, know certainly that true pleasure in this worldly life is within the sphere of îmân and in îmân. And, there is a ma’nawî pleasure in each ‘amal as-sâlih. The Risale-i Nur has proved with hundreds of decisive evidences that in this world, too, extremely bitter and ugly sorrows are present in dhalâlah and dissipation. Through many experiences and events, I have seen with ‘ayn al-yaqîn that a seed of Jannah is present in îmân, while a seed of Jahannam is present in dissipation and dhalâlah, and this haqiqah was repeatedly written in the Risale-i Nur. They have come into the hands of those who are most obstinate and antagonistic and the official 'committees of experts' and the courts have been unable to refute this haqiqah.

Now, in place of me, may The Risale On Tasattur, A Guide For Youth and The Short Words give a lesson to my blessed and innocent sisters like you and the minors amongst you who are like my children. I have heard that you want me to give a lesson to you in the masjid. But together with my wretched condition, my illness and many other reasons do not permit it.

I have decided to include all my sisters who read and accept this lesson of mine, which I have written for you, in all my ma’nawî gains and du'âs like all the students of the Nur. If in place of me, you obtain and read the Risale-i Nur in part, or listen to it, then as a requirement of our rule, you will also be a partaker of the ma’nawî gains and du'âs of all the Nur students, your brothers.

I was going to write more now, but I am very ill and very weak and very old and have many duties like correcting, so, for now, I have sufficed with this much.

              اَلْبَاقِى هُوَ الْبَاقِى

              Your brother who is in need of your du'â

              Said Nursî