[The First Discussion of The Twenty-Sixth Letter]

بِاسْمِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَاِنْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ اِلاَّ يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

1 وَاِمَّا يَنْزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ نَزْغٌ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللّٰهِ اِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ

A Proof of the Qur'an Against Shaytan and His Followers... The First Discussion which silences Iblis, prevails upon shaytan, silences the people of rebellion: It is an event which decisively rebuts a fearsome wile of shaytan, within the impartial reasoning. I described a summary part of that event ten years ago in The Lemeât2 . It is as follows:

Eleven years before this risale was written, in the month of the Noble Ramadhan, I was listening to the hâfidhs in the noble Mosque of Bayezid of Istanbul. Suddenly, I did not see his figure, but it seemed to me that I heard a ma’nawî voice. It turned my mind to itself. I listened with my imagination. I looked at it, it was saying to me:

"You consider the Qur'an to be extremely elevated and brilliant. Reason impartially, then consider it again. That is to say, suppose it to be a word of man, then look. I wonder will you see those excellences and adornments?"

In truth, I was too deceived by him. Supposing it to be the word of man, I looked at it so. I saw that: just as how everywhere falls into darkness when the electric switch of Bayezid is turned off, so too, with that supposition, the brilliant lights of the Qur'an began to hide. At that time, I understood that the one speaking with me was shaytan. He was throwing me into the abyss.

I sought help from the Qur'an. Suddenly a nûr came to my heart. It gave me a decisive strength for the defence. Then such a debate against shaytan began. I said:

"O shaytan! Impartial reasoning is a position between two sides. Whereas, what both you and your disciples among men call impartial reasoning is iltizâm3 of the opposing side. It is not impartiality, it is a temporary irreligiousness. Because considering the Qur'an to be the word of man and reasoning it in that way is to hold the opposing side as the fundamental principle; it is the iltizâm of bâtil. It is not impartial reasoning but the partiality of bâtil."

Shaytan said: "In which case, say it is neither the word of Allah nor the word of man. Suppose it in the middle." I said:

"It cannot be either. For if there is a disputed property about which there is a dispute, and if the two claimants are close to one another and there is proximity in place, the property will then be left to a place in a way in which someone other than them will hold it or which both can reach it. Whoever proves takes it. But if those two claimants are far apart, one in the East and one in the West, then according to the rule, it will be left with the one who possesses it since it is not possible to leave it somewhere in between.

"Thus, the Qur'an is a valuable property. However far the word of man from the word of Janâb-i Haqq is, those two sides are to that extent, even infinitely, far apart from one another. It is not possible to leave it between the two sides, which are as far apart as the Pleiades and the ground. Also, there is no middle point. For they are opposites like existence and non-existence and the two contrary things. There cannot be a middle point between them. In which case, for the Qur'an, the one who possesses it is the side of Allah. In which case, its being in His hand will be accepted, then the evidences will be considered. If the opposing side one by one refutes all the necessarily conclusive arguments concerning it to be the word of Allah, it may reach forth. Otherwise, it may not. Alas! This magnificent diamond, which riveted to al-‘arsh al-‘âdham by the thousands of rivets of necessarily conclusive arguments, what hand can cause it to fall by pulling out all those rivets and cutting off those pillars?"

"Thus, O shaytan! Despite you, the people of justice and haqq reason in this manner of truthful reasoning. They increase their îmân in the Qur'an with even the most minor evidence. As for the way shown by you and your disciples, if just once it is supposed to be the word of man, that is, if that mighty diamond fastened to the ‘arsh is thrown to the ground, a conclusive argument, which possesses the strength of all the rivets and the firmness of many conclusive arguments, becomes necessary to raise it from the ground and rivet it to the ma’nawî ‘arsh. So that it may be saved from the darkness of kufr and reach the nûrs of îmân, but it is extremely hard to achieve. Therefore, at this time, due to your wile, many people lose their îmân under the supposition of impartial reasoning."

Shaytan turned and said: "The Qur'an resembles the word of man, it is in the form of their conversation. That means it is man's word. If it was the word of Allah, it would be in a form that is suitable to Him and wondrous in all aspects. Just as His art does not resemble man's art, so His word also should not resemble man's word."

I said as a reply: "Just as our Prophet remained in the sphere of human nature in all his actions, states and conduct apart from his miracles and special attributes, and he submitted and obedient to ‘Âdâtullah and His takwinî commands like other human beings. He too suffered from the cold and pain and so on. To not all of his states and conducts were given a wondrous state. So that he may be an Imam to his ummah through his actions, he may be a guide through his conduct and he may give lesson through all his behaviour. If he was wondrous in all his conduct, he could not himself be an Imam in every respect. He could not be the absolute murshid to everyone. He could not be the 'Rahmah to all ‘âlams'4 through all his states.

In just the same way, Al-Qur'an Al-Hakîm is the Imam to the conscious beings, the murshid to jinn and men, the guide to the people of perfection, and the teacher to the people of haqiqah. Therefore, being in the form of man's conversation and style is a necessity and certainty. For men and jinn take their supplication (munâjât) and learn their du'â from it, and they speak of their matters through its language and learn the adab of social behaviour from it, and so on. Everyone has recourse to it. In which case, if it was in the form of the kalâm of Allah, which Hazrat Mûsâ ‘Alayhissalâm heard on Mount Sinai, man could not endure listening and hearing it, nor had recourse to it. An ulu'l-‘azm prophet like Hazrat Mûsâ ‘Alayhissalâm could only endure hearing a few words. Mûsâ ‘Alayhissalâm said: اَهكَذَا كَلاَمُكَ قَالَ اللّٰهُ لِى قُوَّةُ جَمِيعِ اْلاَلْسِنَةِ5

Shaytan turned and again said:  "Like the matters of the Qur'an, many people speak of those kinds of matters in the name of religion. Is it not possible, therefore, that a man did such a thing in the name of religion?"

Through the nûr of the Qur'an I said as a reply:

“Firstly: Out of love of religion, a religious man says, 'The Haqq is thus, the haqiqah is this. The commands of Allah are these.' But he does not make Allah speak as he pleases. By transgressing his limits to an infinite degree and imitating Allah, he does not speak in His place. He trembles from the principle, فَمَنْ اَظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ كَذَبَ عَلَى اللّٰهِ6

And Secondly: It is in no way possible for a human being to do such a thing on his own and to be successful in it. Indeed, it is impossible a hundred times. For individuals who are close to one another can imitate each other. Those of the same kind can enter into one another’s form. Those who are close to each other in terms of status can imitate one another's rank. They temporarily deceive people, but they cannot deceive forever. For, in any case, the pretences and artificialities within their conduct and states will show his dishonesty to the attentive. His deception will not continue. If the one who dishonestly tries to imitate is far from the other, for example, if an ordinary man wants to imitate a genius like Ibn Sina in knowledge, or a shepherd assumes the state of a sultân, of course, he cannot deceive anyone. He will rather be a laughingstock. Every state of his will shout: 'This is an impostor.'

"Thus, Hâsha!7 , a hundred thousand times Hâsha!... When the Qur'an is supposed to be man's word: How a fire-fly may appear to the astronomers as a real star for a thousand years... and a fly may display to observers the complete form of a peacock for a year without pretence... and an impostor common private may assume the behaviour of a famous exalted marshal, sit in his position and remain there a long time and hide his deception... and a slanderer, liar and unbelieving man may display the manner and state of the most loyal, trustworthy, firm believing person to the most investigative people throughout his life without haste and his pretence may be concealed before the geniuses!... As for this, it is impossible hundred times. No reasonable being can say it is possible. In the same way, to suppose that is even to talk nonsense, like supposing that something self-evidently impossible has happened.

"In just the same way, to suppose the Qur'an to be the word of man necessitates that the reality of Al-Kitâb Al-Mubîn, which is accepted as a most brilliant star of haqiqah perpetually scattering the nûrs of haqiqahs that is seen by eyes, rather, a sun of perfection in the samâ of the ‘âlam of Islam, hâsha, may be a superstitious sham of a pretending man like a firefly, and those who are closest to it and look to it most carefully may not realize this and may always consider it to be an exalted star which is a source of haqiqah. Together with being a hundred times impossible if you go a hundred times further in your evil, O shaytan, you can not make anyone accept the possibility of it. You cannot deceive any uncorrupted mind! You deceive people only by making them look from a ma’nawî great distance. You show the star appear as small as a firefly.

"Thirdly: Also, to suppose the Qur'an to be the word of man necessitates that the hidden haqiqah of Furqân, which is gilded with the most spirited and life-scattering, the most truthful and happiness-bringing, the most comprehensive and exalted qualities of the world of mankind through the testimony of its works, effects and results, and which is miraculous in its exposition, hâsha, may be the pretence of a single unaided and unlearned man's base thought, and that the great minds and exalted geniuses who observe it closely and pay attention to it curiously may not ever see any trace of dishonesty or pretence in it in any aspect and they may always find seriousness, sincerity and ikhlas!

"Together with being a hundred times impossible, supposing one, who throughout his life demonstrated and taught trust, îmân, trustworthiness, ikhlas, seriousness and istiqâmah through all his states, words and actions, and who raised siddiqîn and is accepted as the possessor of the highest, most brilliant and elevated virtues, to be the most untrustworthy, insincere and unbelieving, is a nonsense talk of kufr, which even would shame shaytan like considering an utter impossibility having occurred. Because there is no middle point in this matter.

"If — we take for granted an impossibility — the Qur'an is not the word of Allah, it will decrease from the ‘arsh to the ground as though falling. It cannot remain between the two.  While it is a place, which the haqiqahs are collected, it becomes the source of superstition. And if, hâsha! again and again hâsha!, the one who shows that wonderous decree is not the Rasûl of Allah, it becomes necessary to descend from the a’lâ ‘illiyyin to the asfal sâfilîn, and from the degree of being the source of perfections to the rank of being a source of wiles. He cannot remain between the two. For one who slanders and lies in the name of Allah falls to the lowest of degrees.

"However impossible to permanently see a fly as a peacock and to permanently observe the attributes of peacock in the fly is, this matter is impossible to that extent. Only someone drunken, lunatic, lacking mind by fitrah may regard it possible.

"Fourthly: Also, to suppose the Qur'an to be the word of man necessitates accepting hundreds of impossibilities through supposing the Qur'an, a sacred commander of the ummah of Muhammad (asm), the largest and most magnificent army of sons of Âdam, —hâsha! A hundred thousand times hâsha! — to be a powerless, valueless, baseless sham, although, it self-evidently has given the order to such a huge army, has regimented and equipped it both materially and ma’nawî, and according to the degree of each individual of that army, it has trained their minds, has rendered tarbiyyah to their hearts, has subjugated their rûhs, has purified their consciences, and has employed and utilized their limbs and members to a degree which will conquer both worlds through its powerful laws, sound principles and penetrating commands... It also becomes necessary to accept hundreds of impossibilities at once through supposing the one who throughout his life teaches sons of Âdam the laws of Haqq through his serious acts, and instructs mankind the principles of haqiqah through his earnest behaviour, and shows and establishes the ways of istiqâmah and happiness through his sincere and reasonable words, and through the testimony of his biography, who greatly feared the punishment of Allah, and who knew Allah and made Him known more than anyone else, and who rules a fifth of mankind and half the globe of the earth for one thousand three hundred and fifty years with perfect splendid, and who raises outcry in the universe, and through his well-known qualities who is in truth the means of pride of mankind, rather, of the universe, hâsha! a hundred thousand times hâsha!, to be an impostor and a man at the lowest degree of humanity who neither fear Allah nor know Him and His dignity. Because there is no middle point in this matter. For if — we take for granted an impossibility — the Qur'an is not the Kalâm of Allah and falls from the ‘arsh, it cannot remain between the two. Indeed, it then has to be accepted as the property of the very worst of liars. And as for this, O shaytan, even if you were a hundred times over more shaytan, you cannot deceive any uncorrupted mind nor persuade any unrotten heart."

Shaytan turned and said: "How can I not deceive them? I made the majority of mankind and the famous geniuses of man deny the Qur'an and Muhammad."

The answer:

"Firstly, the greatest thing may appear as the smallest thing if it is looked at from a great distance. It may be said that a star is as big as a candle.

"Secondly: Also, something extremely impossible may seem possible if it is looked at with a secondary and superficial view.

"One time an old man has looked at the sky to see the crescent of Ramadhan. A white hair has fallen on his eye. He has supposed it to be the moon. He said: 'I have seen the moon.' Now, it is impossible that the crescent may be the white hair. But because he purposely and directly looked at the moon and the hair was indirectly and secondarily seemed, he accepted that impossibility to be possible.

"Thirdly: Also, to not accept is one thing, but to deny is something different. The non-existence of acceptance is indifference, it is to close the eyes and ignorantly being devoid of judgement. In this way, many impossible things can hide within it. His mind does not occupy with them. As for denial, it is not the non-existence of acceptance but an acceptance of non-existence. It is a judgement. His mind is compelled to occupy. In that case, a shaytan like you takes his mind away, then makes him swallow the denial. And O shaytan, through shaytanic wiles like ghaflah, dhalâlah, false reasoning, obstinacy, misleading arguments, pride, deception and custom, which show the void (bâtil) as haqq and the impossible as possible, you make those unfortunate animals in human form swallow denial and kufr, which produce the consequence of numerous impossibilities.

"Fourthly: Also, to suppose the Qur'an to be the word of man necessitates imagining a book, which evidently guides the asfiyâ, siddiqîn and aqtâb, shining like stars in the samâwât of the ‘âlam of mankind, and which self-evidently and continuously teaches haqq and truth, sidq and fidelity, faith and trustworthiness to every level of the people of perfection, and which provides the happiness of the two worlds through the haqiqahs of the pillars of îmân and the principles of the pillars of Islam, and which is necessarily haqq, sincere, pure haqiqah, absolutely right and most serious, to be consist of the opposites of its own qualities, effects and nûrs, hâsha! again and again hâsha! to regard it as a collection of fabrications and slanders. It is together with being a detestable delirium of kufr, which will shame even the Sophists and shaytans and cause them to tremble, it also necessitates supposing a person who, through to the testimony of the religion and Sharî'ah of Islam he demonstrated, and through the indications of his extraordinary taqwâ and sincere and pure ‘ubûdiyyah unanimously he demonstrated throughout his life, and through the requirement of the fine moral qualities unanimously seen on him, and through the affirmation of all the people of perfection and haqiqah whom he raised, was the most believing, the most steadfast, the most trustworthy and the most truthful, -hâsha! again and again, hâsha, a hundred thousand times hâsha!- to be in a most untrustworthy state without belief and not fearing Allah. It becomes necessary to perpetrate the ugliest and most loathed form of impossibility and the cruellest (dhulm) and the darkest way of dhalâlah.

"In Short: As it is said in the Eighteenth Sign of the Nineteenth Letter, the ignorant class possessing ear says about the understanding of the miraculousness of the Qur'an “If the Qur'an is compared with all the books I have listened to and compared with the other books that exist in the world, it does not resemble any of them, and it is not at their degree.” In which case, the Qur'an is either below all of them or has a degree above all of them. The choice of being below them is together with being impossible, no enemy, even shaytan cannot say or accept it. In which case, the Qur'an is above all other books, therefore, it is a miracle. In just the same way, with an absolute proof called “sabr wa taqsîm”8 in the sciences of method and logic, we say:

"O shaytan and O disciples of shaytan! The Qur'an is either the Kalâm of Allah, which has come from Al-‘arsh al-â’dham and Al-ism al-â’dham or, hâsha! again and again, hâsha! a hundred thousand times hâsha!, it is a sham of an impostor unbelieving man who neither feared Allah nor knew Him. As for this, in the face of the above proofs, O shaytan, you could not say and cannot say and will not be able to say it. Therefore, necessarily and without doubt, the Qur'an is the Kalâm of Al-Khâliq of the universe. Because there is no middle and it is impossible and cannot be. Just as we have decisively proved. You too have seen and heard it.

"Also, Muhammad ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm is either Rasûl of Allah and the perfect of all the Rasûls and the most superior of creatures in terms of fadhîlah or, hâsha! a hundred thousand times hâsha!, it becomes necessary supposing him to be a man without belief having fallen to the asfal sâfilîn because he lied concerning Allah, and did not know Allah, and did not believe in His punishment. {Relying on Al-Qur'an Al-Hakîm mentioning the kufr and rude expressions of the kâfirs in order to refute them, I too have been compelled to use tremblingly these expressions in the form of the taking for granted an impossibility in order to demonstrate the complete impossibility and rottenness of the idea of kufr of the people of dhalâlah.}

And as for this, O Iblîs, neither you nor the philosophers of Europe and munâfiqs of Asia on whom you rely can say it, and you could have not said, and you will not be able to say, you have not said, and you will not say it. For there is no one in the world who will listen to this choice and accept it. It is because of this that the most corrupting of those philosophers and the most lacking in the conscience of those munâfiqs of Asia say that 'Muhammad the Arabian (asm) was very clever. He had very good moral qualities.'

"Since this matter is restricted to these two choices, and since the second choice is impossible and no one at all sets up a claim to this, and since we have proved with decisive proofs that there is no middle point between them, self-evidently and through haqq al-yaqîn, despite you and the followers of shaytan, Muhammad the Arabian ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm is the Rasûl of Allah, and the perfect of the Rasûls and the superior of all creatures in terms of fadhîlah."

عَلَيْهِ الصَّلاَةُ وَالسَّلاَمُ بِعَدَدِ الْمَلَكِ وَاْلاِنْسِ وَالْجَانِّ9

A Second, Small Objection of Shaytan

While reciting surah ق وَ الْقُرْآنِ الْمَجِيدِ10

مَا يَلْفِظُ مِنْ قَوْلٍ اِلاَّ لَدَيْهِ رَقِيبٌ عَتِيدٌ وَجَاءَتْ سَكْرَةُ الْمَوْتِ بِالْحَقِّ ذلِكَ مَا كُنْتَ مِنْهُ تَحِيدُ وَ نُفِخَ فِى الصُّورِ ذلِكَ يَوْمُ الْوَعِيدِ وَ جَاءَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَعَهَا سَائِقٌ وَ شَهِيدٌ لَقَدْ كُنْتَ فِى غَفْلَةٍ مِنْ هذَا فَكَشَفْنَا عَنْكَ غِطَاءَكَ فَبَصَرُكَ الْيَوْمَ حَدِيدٌ وَ قَالَ قَرِينُهُ هذَا مَا لَدَىَّ عَتِيدٌ اَلْقِيَا فِى جَهَنَّمَ كُلَّ كَفَّارٍ عَنِيدٍ11

While reciting the above âyahs, the shaytan said to me: "You find the most important eloquence of the Qur'an in its fluency and clarity. But in these âyahs, it passes over from where to where. It passes from sakarât to the Qiyâmah, from the blowing of the Trumpet to the completion of the reckoning. From that, it mentions the entrance into Jahannam. Within these strange passes, what fluency remains? In most places of the Qur'an, it brings together subjects like these which are far from each other. Where is the fluency and eloquence with such an irrelevant state of it?

The Answer: After its balâghat12 , one of the most important fundamental principles of the miraculousness of the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition is conciseness. Conciseness is one of the firmest and most important fundamental principles of the Qur'an's miraculousness. This miraculous conciseness is so numerous and beautiful in Al-Qur'an Al-Hakîm that the people who minutely examine it are in astonishment before it. For example:

وَ قِيلَ يَا اَرْضُ ابْلَعِى مَاءَ كِ وَيَا سَمَاءُ اَقْلِعِى وَغِيضَ الْمَاءُ وَقُضِىَ اْلاَمْرُ وَاسْتَوَتْ عَلَى الْجُودِىِّ وَقِيلَ بُعْدًا لِلْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ13

With a few short sentences, it declares the immense event of the Flood with its consequences so concisely and miraculously that it has caused many versed people in balâghat to prostrate before its balâghat. And, for example:

كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ بِطَغْوَيهَا اِذِ انْبَعَثَ اَشْقَيهَا فَقَالَ لَهُمْ رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ نَاقَةَ اللّٰهِ وَسُقْيَيهَافَكَذَّبُوهُ فَعَقَرُوهَا فَدَمْدَمَ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ بِذَنْبِهِمْ فَسَوَّيهَا وَلاَ يَخَافُ عُقْبَيهَا14

With such few short sentences, and with a miraculousness within the conciseness, it declares the strange and important events concerning the people of Thamûd, and their consequences and their bad end, with a fluent and clear style which does not spoil the understanding. And for example:

وَذَا النُّونِ اِذْ ذَهَبَ مُغَاضِبًا فَظَنَّ اَنْ لَنْ نَقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ فَنَادَى فِى الظُّلُمَاتِ اَنْ لاَ اِلهَ اِلاَّ اَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ اِنِّى كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ15

Here, many sentences have been folded from the phrase اَنْ لَنْ نَقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ to the phrase فَنَادَى فِى الظُّلُمَاتِ . As for the sentences, which are not mentioned, they neither spoil the understanding nor harm its fluency. It mentions the most important fundamental principles in the story of Hazrat Yûnus and it refers the rest to the mind.

Also for example, in Surah Al-Yûsuf, from the phrase 16 فَاَرْسِلُونِ between the يُوسُفُ اَيُّهَا الصِّدِّيقُ 17 , seven or eight sentences have been skipped with conciseness. It neither spoils the understanding nor harms its fluency. There is numerous miraculous conciseness of this sort in the Qur'an, they are very beautiful as well.

As for the âyah of Surah Al-Qâf, the conciseness within it is so extraordinary and miraculous. For, one by one, it points out the future of the kâfirs, which is so terrifying and long and which one day of it is fifty thousand years, and points out the important and grievous events which will happen to the kâfirs amidst those dreadful future events.

It makes the thought travel over them like lightning. It shows such a long time like a single present page to the eye. Referring the events, which are not mentioned, to the imagination, it declares them with an elevated fluency.

وَاِذَا قُرِئَ الْقُرْآنُ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ وَاَنْصِتُوا لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ18

Thus O shaytan! If you have anything to say, now say it! Shaytan says: "I cannot oppose to these. I cannot defend. But there are many fools, they listen to me, and there are many shaytans in human form, they assist me, and there are many pharaohs among philosophers, they take their lesson from me concerning the matters flattering their ananiyyah. They prevent the dissemination of your words like these. Therefore, I shall not lay down my arms to you."

سُبْحَانَكَ لاَ عِلْمَ لَنَا اِلاَّ مَا عَلَّمْتَنَا اِنَّكَ اَنْتَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ