بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

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

BID’AH-INNOVATION - 1

Contents:

1: What is bid’ah?

2: The sources of bid’ahs and the peculiarity of this age.

 

What is bid’ah?

The customs, living styles and bâtil understandings of Europe and foreigners (in the aspect of religion), which replaced the Islamic customs and understandings that are originated from the Qur’an and Sunnah as-Saniyyah and were practised in the Islamic community openly and accepted by ahl al-sunnah Imams. For example, attires and clothing, relations in the social life, morality and tarbiyyah and the life of ‘ibâdah. That is to say, the styles, shapes, habits and customs that spread into every area of personal and social life, which are under the dominion of religion. They cause Muslims to fall into dhalâlah. For example, non-mahram women and men being together in the same place, the lifestyle of intermixing with non-mahrams, immodest clothing, the harams and sins which are published by the internet, television, radio, etc…

These actions became habits and customs in social life. Their being haram was forgotten. Muslims accepted and named them as modern Islamic life and Islamic service. When these foreigner customs and lifestyles — which are completely contrary to Sunnah as-Saniyyah and the Sharî’ah — became common among Muslims under the name of civilisation and modern life, thus the age of fitnah and corruption began. The name of this fitnah is “the fitnah of the âkhirzaman” in the Hadiths.

The most dangerous and harmful bid’ahs are the bid’ahs that are mixed in the shaâ’er. The shaâ’er are the most effective symbols of Islam affecting directly the consciousness of the community’s heart. The bid’ahs mixed into them corrupt the Islamic social life directly. In former times, bid’ahs were in the Sunnahs concerning personal ‘ibâdah or âdâb. But in this age of fitnah, bid’ahs are now also mixed in the certain ordinances of the Qur’an like the fardhes, harams and wâjibs which concern the social life.

There is a sort of bid’ah named bid’ah al-hasanah. They are not contrary to religion and are mostly accepted by ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamâ’ah Imams. For example: Minaret, tasbih and some dhikrs of tarîqahs.

 

 

Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm decreed:كُلُّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلاَلَةٌ وَكُلُّ ضَلاَلَةٍ فِى النَّارِ 1 That is to say, according to the mystery اَلْيَوْمَ اَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ 2 , after the rules of the Illustrious Sharî’ah and the principles of the Sunnah as-Saniyyah have been completed and perfected, not appreciating those principles by creating new things or — Hâsha and Kalla! 3 — creating bid’ahs, which is a sign of considering them deficient, is dhalâlah and fire.

Sunnah as-Saniyyah has degrees. Some of them are wâjib; these are not to be abandoned. This sort is declared in detail in the Illustrious Sharî’ah. They are muhkamât and not to be changed in any aspect. Another sort of it is nawâfil. The sort of nawâfil is also of two sorts:

One sort is the Sunnah as-Saniyyah subjected to ‘ibâdah. They, too, are declared in the books of the Sharî’ah. To change them is bid’ah. The other sort is called âdâb, and they are described in the books of the Prophet's biography (Siyar as-Saniyyah). Opposition to them is not called bid’ah, but opposition to the Prophet's âdâb; it is to not benefit from their nûr and from such true adab. As for this sort, it is to follow Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm’s actions of general custom, habitual practices and fıtrî acts, which are known through tawâtur. For example, there are many Sunnah as-Saniyyah that concern social relations and show the conduct of speaking and declare the principles of the conduct of conditions such as eating, drinking and sleeping. This sort of Sunnah is called âdâb. However, one who follows such âdâb transforms his customary actions into ‘ibâdah and receives significant faydh from that âdâb. Following the smallest âdâb reminds a person of Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm and gives a nûr to the heart.

The most important among the Sunnah as-Saniyyah are the Sunnahs, which are the symbols of Islam and connected with the shaâ’er. Shaâ’er is an ‘ubûdiyyah concerning the community, that is, in fact, a sort of common right. As the whole community benefits through one person performing them, the whole community will be responsible for its abandonment. Riyâ cannot penetrate the shaâ’er of this kind, and it is to be proclaimed. Even if they are of the nawâfil sort, they are more important than personal fardhs.

The Eleventh Flash- Sixth Subtle Point

 

Ninth Subtle Point: By Allah’s facilitation, only special khawass can accomplish completely following the practice of each sort of Sunnah as-Saniyyah. Even, if not by action, everyone can diligently seek it intentionally, purposely and by supporting it to the degree of necessity (Iltizâm). In any way, to follow the sorts of fardh and wâjib is a necessity. Even if it is not a sin to abandon the mustahab4 sort of the Sunnah as-Saniyyah concerning ‘ubûdiyyah, it is a great loss of sawâb. While changing them is a great error. As for the Sunnah as-Saniyyah concerning customary actions and behaviours, such customary actions become ‘ibâdah as much as they are followed. If they are not followed, there is no reprimand, but one’s benefit from the nûr of âdâb of Habibullah’s life will decrease. Creating new laws concerning ‘ubûdiyyah are bid’ah. As for the bid’ahs, they are rejected since they are opposed to the mystery of اَلْيَوْمَ اَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ 5 . But if they are the sort of awrâd, dhikr and methods in the tarîqah, on condition of their origins having taken from the Book and Sunnah and on condition of not opposing or changing established basis and principles of the Sunnah as-Saniyyah, even if they are in different manners and forms, they are not bid’ahs. Yet, some people of ‘ilm included a part of these into bid’ahs, but called them “bid’ah al-hasanah”.6 Imam Rabbânî (ra), the Mujaddid of the Second Millenium, said: "On the ma’nawî journey of the rûh, I saw that words narrated from Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm were luminous and shining with the rays of the Sunnah as-Saniyyah.When I saw brilliant and powerful awrâd and states not narrated from him, there was no such nûr on them. The most brilliant of this sort was not equal to the least of the first sort. I understood from this that the rays of the Sunnah as-Saniyyah are elixirs. Also, such Sunnah is sufficient for those who seek nûr, there is no need to seek nûr outside them."

Thus, this judgement of such a person, who is a hero of haqiqah and the Sharî’ah, shows that the Sunnah as-Saniyyah is the foundation stone of the happiness of both worlds and the source and origin of all attainment and perfection.

The Eleventh Flash-9th Subtle Point

 

First Matter: The sources of Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm's Sunnah as-Saniyyah are three: his words, his actions and his attitude.

These three parts also contain three parts: fardh, nawâfil and his commendable customary actions.

It is obligatory to follow and adhere to fardh and wâjib; there is torment and punishment in abandoning them. Everyone is accountable for following them. The people of îmân are also responsible for following the nawâfil since they are mustahab. However, in abandoning them, there is neither torment nor punishment, and in performing and following them, there is great sawâb; altering and changing them is bid’ah, dhalâlah and a great error. As for his exalted customary actions and admirable conduct, emulating and following them is extremely commendable in terms of hikmah and benefit, and for personal life, the life of society and mankind, because in each of his habitual actions, there are numerous benefits for life, and by conforming to them, those conduct and customary actions become ‘ibâdah.

Yes, the Sunnah and actions of that personage certainly are the finest examples to emulate, the soundest guides and the strongest laws to uphold as principles since, by the consensus of both friends and foes, Ahmad (asm) is the place of manifestation for the highest degrees of moral virtues, and since, unanimously, he is the most famous and distinguished personage among mankind, and since, through the indication of thousands of miracles, the testimonies of the Islamic world that he established, the perfections of the Islamic world and the affirmation of the haqiqahs of Al-Qur’an Al-Hakîm, of which he is the herald and interpreter, he is the most excellent, perfect man and greatest murshid, and since, as a result of following him, millions of people of perfection have advanced in the levels of attainment and perfection and have reached the happiness of both worlds.

Happy is the one who has a great share of following the Sunnah. One who does not follow the Sunnah, if it is out of laziness, it is a great loss; if he considers it unimportant, it is a great crime; the criticism of it, which reeks of pronouncing it to be false, is a great dhalâlah.

 The Eleventh Flash- 11th Subtle Point

 

Riyâ cannot penetrate in fardh and wâjib actions, the shaâ’er of Islam, following the Sunnah as-Saniyyah and abandoning harams. Displaying them openly is not riyâ unless, together with an extremely weak îmân, one has riyâ in his fitrah. In fact, ‘ulamâ such as Hujjat’ul Islam Imam Ghazâlî (ra) declare that to openly display the ‘ibâdah connected with the shaâ’er of Islam is much more rewarding than to perform them privately. Although it is much more rewarding to perform nawâfil privately, in this age of bid’ah, to display openly the shaâ’er, which shows the honour of following the Sunnah, and to display the taqwâ in abandoning the haram within such great kabâir is not a riyâ but rather more rewarding and sincere than performing them privately.

Kastamonu Addendum (202-204)

 

 The sources of bid’ahs and the peculiarity of this age.

Giving fatwas by following one’s own inclination and understandings, ignoring the basic Sharî’ah books based on the ijtihads of As-Salaf of Islam and being regardless of them are bid’ah.

 

“All Those Qualified May be Mujtahid,

But They Can Not Be Musharri’7

Everyone capable who is qualified to practise ijtihad, may ijtihad matters for himself which are not nass, and they are binding on himself, but not on others.

He cannot make laws and call on the Ummah to conform to them. His ideas are from the Sharî’ah, but they are not the Sharî’ah. He may be a Mujtahid, but he cannot be the Musharri’.

The Sharî’ah is ratified through the ijma’ and jumhur.8 The first condition for calling on others to accept an idea is the surmised acceptance of the jumhur.

Such a call is otherwise bid’ah; it gets stuck in the gullet, never again to emerge!” The Words ( 738 )

 

The First: Just as, in winter, when the storms are fierce, even small holes are closed. Opening up new doors is in no way an act of a reasonable man. Just as, under the onslaught of a great flood, opening holes in the walls for repair is also a cause for drowning. In the same way, at this time of harams and the moment of the invasion of foreign customs, the superabundance of bid’ahs and the destruction of dhalâlah, in the name of ijtihad, opening new doors in the palace of Islam and opening holes that will be the means for the destroyers to enter from the walls is a crime against Islam.

The Second: As for the dharûriyyah of religion, ijtihad cannot enter them. Because they are certain, unconditional and determined. Those dharûriyyah are also the basic food and sustenance. At this time, they are abandoned and shaken. Although all effort and endeavour should be expended on their being raised and revived, and although there are judgements of As-Salaf on the nadhariyyah of Islam that were established by their pure and sincere ijtihads, which are sufficient for all times’ needs, to abandon them and make new ijtihads by following the desires of the nafs is the bid’ah and betrayal of Islam.

The Twenty-Seventh Word

 

“Then, when I said:10 اِهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ اَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ

I saw among the convoys of mankind that were travelling towards the past, was the luminous, radiant caravan of the prophets, the siddîqîn, the shahîds, the awliyâ, and the sâlihîn. They were scattering the darkness of the future and travelling the road to post-eternity on a mustaqîm highway. The phrase was showing me the way to join the caravan, indeed, it was joining me to it. Suddenly I exclaimed: "Fasubhanallah! Anyone with an iota of intelligence must know what a loss it is not to join that long, nûr-scattering caravan which is illuminating the future and travelling in perfect safety. Where can one who deviates from it by creating bid’ahs find a nûr; which road can he take? Our guide, Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalam decreed:كُلُّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلاَلَةٌ وَكُلُّ ضَلاَلَةٍ فِى النَّارِ11

I wonder what advantage do certain wretches worthy of the epithet “ ‘Ulamâ as-sû’ ” find in the face of this certain statement? What fatwa do they issue so that unnecessarily and harmfully they oppose the clear matters of shaâ’er of Islam, and deem it possible to change them? It must be that a temporary awakening caused by a fleeting manifestation of meaning deceived those ‘Ulamâ as-sû’. For example, if an animal or fruit is stripped of its skin, it displays a temporary delicacy, but in a very short time, the delicate flesh and delicious fruit go black and rot under the skin which is now a stranger, withered, dense, and extraneous. In exactly the same way, the prophetic and Ilahî phrases in shaâ’er of Islam are like a living and meritorious skin. On being stripped, the luminosity of the meanings is temporarily naked and visible to an extent. But like a fruit that has been separated from its skin, the rûh of those blessed meanings flies away leaving behind the human skin in darkened hearts and minds. The nûr flies away, while its smoke remains.” The Letters (463 - 464 )

 

Although the ‘ulamâ of ‘ilm al-kalâm are students of the Qur'an and some of them have written thousands of works of ten volumes on the pillars of îmân, they have not been able to express them clearly, prove them decisively and convince persuasively like the ten âyahs of the Qur'an, because they preferred the mind to the transmitted knowledge (naql) like the Mu'tazilites. It is as if they have dug tunnels under distant mountains and gone to the farthest point of ‘âlam through pipes and chains of causes; they have cut the chains there. Then, they proved the existence of Al-Wâjib Al-Wujûd and the ma’rifat of Allah, which is the water of life. As for the noble âyahs, each can extract water from every place like the staff of Mûsâ; each opens up a window from everything and makes known As-Sâni’ Zuljalâl. This haqiqah has actually been proved, and we demonstrated it in the Arabic risale Katre and other Words, which flow forth from the ocean of the Qur'an.

It is also due to this mystery: all imams of the groups of dhalâlah, who, by relying on their shuhûd and not following the Sunnah as-Saniyyah, passed toward the inside and essence of matters and things (bâtin), turned halfway back and became the leaders of a jamâ’ah and founded groups, have fallen into bid’ah and dhalâlah since they were unable to preserve the mutual proportion and balance of the haqiqahs; in this way, driven a jamâ’ah of mankind down the wrong way. Thus, all their impotence demonstrates the miraculousness of the âyahs of the Qur'an.

The Twenty-Fifth Word/Third Light/Third Gleam

 

“[An important, confidential matter, and a mystery of walâyah.]

The largest group in al-‘âlam of Islam, ahl al-haqq and istiqâmah, called Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah, have preserved the haqiqahs of the Qur'an and îmân by following to the letter the Sunnah as-Saniyyah within the bounds of istiqâmah. The great majority of the people of walâyah have arisen within this sphere. Some other groups of the people of walâyah have appeared outside of some principles of Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah, and on a path opposed to their rules. Thus, those who have considered this group of the people of walâyah have divided into two groups:

One group have denied their walâyah because they are opposed to the principles of ahl al-Sunnah. They have even gone as far as declaring some of them to be kâfirs.

The other group are those that follow them. Since they accept their walâyah, they say that "The haqq is not restricted to the way of Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah." They have formed a group of ahl al-bid’ah and have even gone as far as dhalâlah.  They do not know that: Every person who is rightly guided cannot be a guide. Their shaykhs are to be excused from their mistakes because they were majdhûb, but their followers cannot be excused.

As for the middle group, they do not deny the walâyah of the awliyâ, but do not accept their ways and paths. They say: "Their words which are opposed to the principles [of religion] were either shatahât like mutashabihât of which the meaning is not known, or they [the awliyâ] were in error, being overcome by their state."

Unfortunately, the first group, and especially externalist ‘ulamâ, have denied awliyâ of great importance intending to protect the way of ahl al-Sunnah, and have even been compelled to accuse them of dhalâlah. And their supporters, which form the second group, have left the haqq path because of their excessive good will towards shaykhs of that sort, and have fallen into bid’ah, and even dhalâlah.

There was a situation connected with this mystery which occupied my mind for a very long time: at a crucial time, I made a du'â to extinguish a group of the people of dhalâlah. Then an awesome ma’nawî strength arose in the face of my imprecation; it both returned my du'â and prevented me.

Then I saw that facilitated by a ma’nawî strength in its activities which are opposed to haqq, that group of the people of dhalâlah was driving forward the people, whom it had taken behind it and become successful. Since it had become combined with a desire arising not only from compulsion but from the power of walâyah, some of the people of îmân were being carried away by that desire, looking on the group favourably and not considering it to be very bad.

When I perceived these two secrets, I took fright. "Fasubhanallah!" I said, "Can there be walâyah other than that of the way of haqq? Especially a terrible current of dhalâlah, can the people of haqiqah come forward and support it?" Then one blessed Day of 'Arafa, following a praiseworthy Islamic practice, I recited Surah al-Ikhlas hundreds of times, and through its barakah the matter which was written under the name of "Answer to an important question" and, through Ilahî rahmah, the following haqiqah also was imparted to my impotent heart. The haqiqah is this:

Similar to the famous and meaningful 'story of Jibali Baba,' which was related in the time of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, some of the people of walâyah are majdhûb while appearing to be rational and reasonable. Others appear to be sober and in command of their reasoning faculties, and sometimes they enter a state outside this. One class of this sort are confused and cannot distinguish between things. They apply a matter they see while in a state of intoxication to the state of sobriety. They are in error and do not know that they are in error. Some majdhûbs are preserved by Allah and do not enter dhalâlah. While others are not preserved and may be found in the groups of bid’ah and dhalâlah. It has even been thought possible for them to be among the kâfirs.

Thus, because they are temporarily or permanently majdhûb, they are like "blessed distracted (majnûn)" in a ma’nawî manner. And because they are like blessed and free distracted, they are not responsible. And because they are not responsible, they are not punishable. With their walâyah in a majdhûb manner persisting, they emerge as supporters of the people of dhalâlah and bid’ah; they cause their ways to become popular to a degree, and inauspiciously give rise to some of the people of îmân and people of haqq entering them.” The Letters ( 403 - 404 )

 

“It may then be asked: "What was the hikmah in the awesome and bloody fitnah that was visited on blessed Islam and the luminous Age of Bliss, and what aspect of rahmah was there in it, for they did not deserve such distress?

The Answer: Just as a heavy spring rainstorm stirs into action the potentialities of all the varieties of plants, seeds, and trees, and causes them to develop, so each blossom in its particular way and performs the fitrî duties, so too, the fitnah visited on the Sahâbah and Tâbi’în stirred their potentialities into action, which were all different and like seeds; it spurred them on. Exclaiming, "Islam is in danger! Fire! Fire!", it put fear into all the groups and made them hasten to protect Islam. According to its abilities, each of the groups shouldered one of the numerous different duties of the Islamic community and strove in utmost earnestness. Some working for the preservation of the Hadiths, some for the preservation of the Sharî'ah, some for the preservation of the haqiqahs of îmân, some for the preservation of the Qur'an, and so on; each group undertook a particular duty. They strove in performing the duties of Islam. Numerous multicoloured flowers opened. And through the storm, seeds were cast to all the corners of the most extensive ‘âlam of Islam; half the earth was transformed into a rose-garden. But sadly, together with the roses, the thorns of the ahl al-bid’ah appeared in the garden.” The Letters (131-132 )

 

“In the 'Abbasid period, numerous groups of dhalâlah came into being which harmed Islam, like the Mu'tazila, the Rawafid, Jabariyya, and atheists and zandaqa under various guises. At a time there were serious upheavals regarding the Sharî'ah and tenets of belief, numerous leading figures of Islam like Bukhari, Muslim, Imam-i A'zam, Imam Shafi'i, Imam Malik, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Imam Ghazali, Gawth al-A'zam, and Junayd al-Baghdadi, emerged and quelled the religious fitnah. The victory continued for around three hundred years, but the groups of the people of dhalâlah under the veil, by way of politics, brought down on the Muslims the fitnah of Hulagu and Jenghiz. Both Hadiths, and Imam 'Ali Radiyallahu anh explicitly indicate this fitnah together with its date. Then since the fitnah of the present time is one of the most serious, both numerous Hadiths, and numerous Qur'anic allusions give news of it, together with the date.” The Rays (355-356 )

 

“The people of bid’ah got the following inauspicious idea from the foreigner reformists: through disapproving the Catholic Church, foremost the revolutionaries, reformists and philosophers, supported Protestantism, which was considered to be the people of bid’ah and Mu'tazilite by the Catholic Church, and through taking advantage of the French Revolution and partially destroying the Catholic Church, they proclaimed Protestantism.

Thus, those who claim public spirit and zeal here, who are accustomed to imitating blindly, say: "Since such a revolution occurred in the Christian religion, and since in the beginning, the revolutionaries were called apostates (murtad), then later they were again accepted as Christians, such a religious revolution can occur in Islam."

The Answer: The difference in this comparison is more apparent than the comparison in the First Sign. Because in the religion of ‘Îsâ ‘Alayhissalâm, only the fundamentals of religion were taken from Hazrat ‘Îsâ ‘Alayhissalâm. Most of the injunctions concerning social life and the secondary matters of the Sharî’ah were formed by the disciples and other spiritual leaders. The greater part was taken from the former sacred books. Since Hazrat ‘Îsâ ‘Alayhissalâm was not a worldly ruler and sultân, and since he was not the source of general social laws, the fundamentals of his religion were as though clothed with the garment from outside, common laws and civil rules had been taken in the name of the Christian Sharî’ah and had been given a different form. If this form is changed and the garment transformed, the fundamental religion of Hazrat ‘Îsâ ‘Alayhissalâm may remain. It does not infer denying ‘Îsâ ‘Alayhissalâm or pronouncing Îsâ ‘Alayhissalâm to be false.

However, Since Fakhr al-‘Âlam12 ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm, the owner of the religion and Sharî’ah of Islam, is the sultân of the two worlds and the East and West and Andalusia and India is his seat of sovereignty, he brings the secondary matters and other rules of the religion, even the most minor matters of âdâb, just as he himself demonstrates the fundamentals of the religion of Islam; he informs about them; he commands about them. It means that the secondary matters of Islam are not like a garment capable of change; the fundamentals of religion cannot remain if they are changed. Rather, they are a body to the fundamentals of religion or at least a skin. They have blended and united with it; they are not capable of being separated. To change them directly concludes denying the owner of the Sharî’ah and pronouncing him to be false.

As for the differences in the madhabs, these have arisen from the manner of understanding the principles of nadhariyyah shown by the Sharî’ah's owner. Principles, which are not capable of being interpreted and are called dharûriyyah of religion or muhkamât, cannot be changed in any way and cannot be the subject of ijtihad. One who changes them excludes his head from religion and is included under the rule: يَمْرُقُونَ مِنَ الدِّينِ كَمَا يَمْرُقُ السَّهْمُ مِنَ الْقَوْسِ 13

The Twenty-Ninth Letter/Seventh Section/2nd Sign

 

“Just like the corruption spread across the world by Ya’juj and Ma’juj was through the destruction of the barrier of Zulqarnayn14 ; so too, through the decline of the Quranic barrier, which is the Sharî'ah of Muhammad (asm), a dark anarchy and tyrannical atheism more fearsome than Ya’juj and Ma’juj has begun to corrupt and cause mischief in life and morality.” Kastamonu Addendum (165)

 

“And since, like in every age, in its addresses such asيَا اَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواthe people of îmân in this age are included as are the mu’mins at the time of the Prophet; and since with regard to Islam, this age is very important and terrifying; the Qur’an and Hadith have made stern warnings by notifications from the ghayb so that the people of îmân may avoid its fitnah.” Kastamonu Addendum (205)

 

Bediuzzaman Said Nursî was held in the village of Barla under constant and severe oppression and surveillance. The reason for his exile was to prevent the Islamic zeal in his rûh from erupting, silence him, prevent him from speaking and writing about îmân and Islam by taking him away from populated cities and throwing him to an isolated village, and prevent him from the jihad against irreligious people and from serving the Qur’an by keeping him inactive and unproductive. But Bediuzzaman was successful in doing completely contrary to their plans. He was never inactive and unproductive for even a moment; he wrote the Risale-i Nur that gives lessons on the haqiqahs of the Qur’an and îmân and ensured their dissemination in secret in a secluded place like Barla. This success and this triumph were magnificent victories because, during that terrible period of irreligion, not a single true religious work was allowed to be written; all ‘ulamâ were silenced and efforts were made to destroy them. The irreligious could not destroy Bediuzzaman; they were unable to prevent his dissemination of îmân and Islam that revived the numbed hearts and minds. This dissemination of religious works carried by Bediuzzaman was a work that no other person could have done during the twenty-five-year period of extreme oppression and absolute tyranny.

Bediuzzaman was exiled to Barla in the years 1925-1926. These years were the early period of implementation of absolute despotism in Turkey that would continue for twenty-five years. The covert irreligious committees were pushing for their plans to confiscate all copies of the Qur’an, eradicate them and destroy the Islamic rûh by repealing shaâ’er one by one. Thinking shaytanically that this plan could not be achieved, they devised a new plan that would result in the Qur’an being demolished by the hands of the future generation that would come thirty years later; they started to implement this plan. To destroy Islam, devastation and aggression unprecedented in history were carried out.

All efforts were made to break all kinds of ties between the Turkish nation and children of this country — who for six hundred years, challenged the whole world as a flag bearer of Al-Qur’an Al-Hakîm, rather for a thousand years since the Abbasids — and the Muslim identity in order to distance and deprive them of Islam, and they were indeed successful. This was not a particular event but a universal one concerning the entire Muslim world. It was a large-scale universal event concerning the îmân and belief of millions of people, especially the youths and the millions of innocents and students, and the catastrophe that would befall them in the world and âkhirah, and it was connected with the eternal lives of the people of Anatolia until the qiyâmah.

At that time, throughout those years, terrible revolutions and destructions against Islam and the Qur’an were carried out in the life of a heroic nation that, as testified by its thousand-year shining history, has held the highest exalted rank as the flag bearer of the Qur’an. The future generations and students were made to forget their honoured ancestors buried in history and the glorious past of the world’s most renowned army that spanned a thousand years of jihâd. The ground was being prepared for the communist regime by severing all their ties to the past and deceiving them with apparently glittering veiled words! In place of the most elevated principles of civilisation and the highest material and ma’nawî development already present in the haqiqahs of Islam, the covert communists, freemasons and irreligious were indoctrinating the principles devoid of nûr in the swamp of irreligious philosophy and the ideologies of intellectuals and philosophers devoid of virtue. These principles and ideologies were being taught on a very vast scale by using the education system. The main aim of the enemies of Islam, especially the British and the French, was to exploit and deteriorate the Islamic world from the material and ma’nawî aspects, and it was their plan to distance the heroic Turkish nation from any religious ties and bring Turkish nation to a state completely contrary to Islam regarding customs, traditions and morality. Unfortunately, these plans have already been put into action!

Thus, the years that Bediuzzaman Said Nursî began his Qur’anic service and his service for îmân in Anatolia with the Risale-i Nur as a hero of Islam striving self-sacrificingly were the beginning and establishment of an extremely terrible era of irreligion that had never been witnessed on earth before; therefore, it is necessary to keep such a terrifying time in mind when Bediuzzaman and his service with the Risale-i Nur are considered.

…

Yes, during that terrible time when irreligiousness was reigning, efforts were made to humiliate the people of religion. It was even considered to completely remove the Qur'an and destroy the aqîdah, as it happened in Russia. But when it was suggested that this would cause a backlash by the Islamic nation, they abandoned the plan and instead made the following decision: "The youth raised with our new methods of education that will be implemented in schools will demolish the Qur’an themselves; thereby all ties between the nation and Islam will be severed." The sources of all this terrible fitnah who devised these atrocious plans were the leaders and members of external irreligious currents, the antagonists and enemies of the current progress in religion.

…

During the most savage periods of such dhalâlah and zandaqa, Bediuzzaman Said Nursî was under constant surveillance and oppression and was under such horrible and burdensome conditions. All kinds of cruelties that Nimrods, Pharaohs, Shaddads and Yazids could not perpetrate were inflicted on Bediuzzaman, and it continued for twenty-five years. At that time, the world of Islam was materially poor and was held captive by the colonialists. All secret committees of corruption and irreligion were carrying out terrible activities both in Turkey and in the world of Islam. Their adherents were supporting them, and they were all united against Islam.

Thus the Risale-i Nur is the product of such a valuable time, just as the significance of the battles of Badr and Uhud at the Era of Bliss that were the key to Islam conquesting the world; therefore, the service of îmân, which the Risale-i Nur was the means of it, and the ma’nawî jihad of religion carried out by the Risale-i Nur are of greatness that has never been seen before in history except in the Era of Bliss. With the one hundred and thirty works of the Risale-i Nur he has written under captivity in such a terrible exile and isolation, Bediuzzaman, despite being helpless, speaks with eloquence in the masjîd of Anatolia and the world of Islam. He repeatedly echoes the lesson he has received from the Qur'an to the people of Islam. It is as if, on the top of the minaret of the fourteenth Muhammadan century and of the twentieth century AD, Bediuzzaman Said Nursî cries out to his contemporaries, humanity and the people of Islam, and he speaks to the future generations lined up behind this century as a great guide (murshid) and a grand mujaddid.

…

Thus, Bediuzzaman was the happiest man in the world and the most fortunate man of his age since, with the permission of Allah and through the disposal of Ar-Rabb, he prepared the grounds for a most magnificent event in history and carried out a duty with such sacred significance. There had been no change or alteration in his attire, purpose or ideals; he was never shaken, even in the minutest way. On the contrary, he carried the torch of hidâyah that would restore the beliefs of the present world and dispel the darkness. He was in a great struggle with determination because his duty and service comprised the happiness and prosperity of all humanity in both worlds.

…

Biography 152-155-159-166

 

“Yes, the so-called 'seekers of freedom' who displayed a small degree of recklessness in social morality religion and national zeal, produced in twenty to thirty years the results of today15 leading to the current state of deficiency and shortcomings in religion, morality and dignity. You can most certainly comprehend, then, the level of religious zeal and social morality, this current state will hold for the future generations of this religious, honourable, and heroic nation fifty years from now. This self-sacrificing nation has for a thousand years displayed exceptional heroism in serving the Qur'an. We see it as the most important national duty to deliver a haqiqah like the Risale-i Nur into the hands of some of those future generations so that they do not spoil or even destroy their glorious history. We, therefore, work with all our thoughts and efforts, not for the people of the present day, but for coming generations….

…There are currently fifty per cent remaining from those who have received the former lessons of Islamic tarbiyyah. The other fifty per cent are neglectful in the national and Islamic traditions. The thought that in fifty years' time, ninety per cent will end up following the nafs al-ammarah and led this nation and country into anarchy, has urged me to investigate solutions to prevent this calamity from taking place. Twenty years ago, this ambition prohibited me in dealing with political life and the people of this century. It is because of this that the Risale-i Nur and its students have cut all ties with the present day; they have no engagement with it nor they argue over it.” Biography (497-498)

 

with regard to this century being the age of jamâ’ah - the people of dhalâlah attacking the people of îmân by means of societies and committees, become a ma’nawî collective personality and wicked rûh spoiling the collective conscience and communal heart of the Muslim world. They tear down the sacred veil of Islam protecting the taqlîdî belief of the ‘awâm and burn away the inherent feelings that have come through the tradition which keeps the life of îmân alive.

The Kastamonu Addendum 64

 

The meaning of the non-mu’min Muslim and the non-Muslim mu’min is this: At the early period of the Freedom16 , I saw irreligious people who penetrated among the members of the Party of Union and Progress17 ; they accepted that Islam and the Sharî’ah of Ahmad contain profitable and valuable sublime principles for the social life of mankind and particularly for the politics of the Ottoman and they were supporters of the Sharî’ah of Ahmad with all their strength. At that point, they were Muslims. That is to say, although they were supporters of haqq and had iltizâm of haqq, they were not mu’mins. It means that they deserve to be categorized as non-mu’min Muslims. But now, although he is a supporter of the European methods and the currents of bid’ah, which destroy the Sharî’ah under the name of civilization, he carries îmân in Allah, the âkhirah and the Prophet and knows himself as a mu’min. Since he does not have iltizâm and true support for the laws of the Sharî’ah of Ahmad, which are haqq and haqiqah, he becomes a non-Muslim mu’min. As Islam without îmân can not be the means of salvation, neither îmân can withstand without Islam knowingly. It can be said that it can not give salvation.

Barla Addendum 349

 

 

هَدَينَااللّٰهُوَاِيَّاكُمْاِلَىالصِّرَاطِالْمُسْتَقِيمِ

سُبْحَانَكَلاَعِلْمَلَنَااِلاَّمَاعَلَّمْتَنَااِنَّكَاَنْتَالْعَلِيمُالْحَكِيمُ