بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

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

ÎMÂN-BELIEF - 2

Tawhîd is of two sorts. For example, if the various goods of a great man arrive in a market and a town, in two ways it is known that they are his. One is brief and in a way befitting ‘âwam, which is: “Possessing such significant goods is beyond everyone’s limits. No one apart from him can be the owner.” But under the supervision of such an ordinary and ignorant man, there can be a lot of theft. Many men might claim ownership of its parts. The second sort is this: One reads the writing on every large package and recognizes the signature on every roll; by knowing that great man’s seal on each brand, he says: "Everything belongs to that man." Here, in this sort, each thing in a ma’nawî manner points to the owner of the goods.

In the same way, tawhîd, too, is of two sorts:

One is tawhîd al-‘âmi and dhâhirî: "Janâb-i Haqq is One, He has no sharik or like. This universe is His."

The Second is tawhîd al-haqîqî: through seeing on everything the mark of His qoudrah, the seal of His rubûbiyyah and the embroidery of His pen, and opening a window directly onto His nûr from everything, it is to have îmân and confirm His oneness and that everything emerges from the hand of His qoudrah and He has no sharik or assistant in His ulûhiyyah, rubûbiyyah and sovereignty in any aspect, and to attain a sort of perpetual hudhur with a firm belief approaching the degree of shuhûd. In this Word, we, too, shall mention rays that point to this pure and elevated tawhîd al-haqîqî.

The Twenty-Second Word Second Station-First Flash

 “Our brother Younger Ali who has a great rûh, also is a hero of the blessed and carries the meanings of both Abdurrahmân and Lütfi and Hâfidh Ali the Elder, asks a question. Whereas the answer to that question is addressed in a hundred places in the Risale-i Nur. He asks: “What is it for, such a degree of numerous emphasis on the pillars of îmân in the Risale-i Nur? The former hojas have taught us that the îmân of an ordinary mu’min is like the îmân of a great walî.

The Answer: Foremost Âyet-ül Kübra1 , in the discussions about the degrees of îmân, and near its end the statement and rule of Imam-i Rabbânî, the Mujaddid of the Second Millennium, which says: “The endpoint of all the tarîqahs and their greatest aim is the unfolding of the haqiqahs of îmân. And to clarify a single matter of îmân decisively is far better than thousands of karâmât and kashfs”, and the part of the letter at the end of Âyet-ül Kübra which is taken from the Addendum, and its statement completely, are answers to this question. Also, the Tenth Matter about the repetition of the Qur’an in The Risale on the Fruits, the hikmah of the repeated and numerous emphasis on Tawhîd and the pillars of îmân in the Qur’an is completely present in just the same way in the Risale-i Nur which is a true tafsir of it, is too an answer.

Furthermore, the explanations of the parts of the Risale-i Nur which state that îmân and îmân al-tahqîqî, îmân al-taqlîdî, îmân al-ijmâlî and îmân al-tâfsîlî remain unshaken and withstand all assaults, waswasas and doubts, are such an answer to the letter of Younger Ali who has a great rûh, that it leaves no need for us.

Second Aspect: Îmân is not restricted to an ijmâlî and taqlîdî assent. It has degrees and unfoldings from a seed to a large date tree and from the resembling of the sun which appears in the mirror in the hand to the reflection of the sun on the surface of the sea, and even to the sun itself, îmân has such numerous haqiqahs. The thousand and one Ilahî Names and the other pillars of îmân have so many haqiqahs which pertain to the haqiqahs of the universe that the people of haqiqah have agreed unanimously “the greatest of all ‘ilm, ma’rifat and human perfections is îmân and the sacred ma’rifatullah detailed and evidenced which comes from îmân al-tahqîqî.

Yes, îmân al-taqlîdî may be swiftly defeated by doubts. Îmân al-tahqîqî which is far more powerful and far more comprehensive has many more degrees. Among these degrees, the degree of ‘ilm al-yaqîn2 may withstand against thousands of doubts with the strength of its many evidences. Whereas, îmân al-taqlîdî may sometimes be defeated against a single doubt.

Also, a degree of îmân al-tahqîqî is the degree of ‘ayn al-yaqîn which contains so many degrees. Rather, it has degrees of manifestations to the number of the Ilahî Names. It reaches a degree in which it may read the whole universe like a Qur’an.

Also, one of its degrees is haqq al-yaqîn. This too has many degrees. Even if the armies of doubts attack a person with such îmân they cannot provoke any confusion. And the thousands of volumes of books from the ‘Ulamâ of ‘ilm al-Kalâm which were written based on mind and logic have shown only one way of that ma’rifat of îmân that is based on proofs and reasoning. And the hundred of books of people of haqiqah, which are based on kashf and zawq, have demonstrated a different aspect of that ma’rifat of îmân. However, the miraculous highway of the Qur’an and the haqiqahs of îmân and sacred ma’rifat that it shows is far beyond than those ‘ulamâ and awliyâ in strength and loftiness.

Thus through interpreting (tafsir) this all-embracing, universal and elevated highway of ma’rifat, in the name of the Qur’an and îmân, the Risale-i Nur defends and resists against the universal destructive currents which for a thousand years are working against the Qur’an and to the detriment of Islam and humanity on account of  ‘âlams of non-existence. Indeed, it needs infinite emphasis so that it may withstand the infinite enemies and with the nûr of the Qur’an, it may become the means of preserving the îmân of the people of îmân.

The noble hadith narrates that: “To have one person embrace îmân through you is better for you than a desert full of red sheep” “Sometimes an hour’s tafakkur is better than a year’s ‘ibâdah.” In fact, the great importance the Naqshis attach to silent dhikr is in order to reach  tafakkur of this kind.” Emirdağ Addendum-1 (103-104)

 

“As tahqîqî îmân moves from ‘ilm al-yaqîn closer to haqq al-yaqîn it can no longer be eradicated. This was the judgement made by ahl al-kashf and tahqîq who have said: At the hour of sakarât, shaytan can cause uncertainty only in the mind (aql) by using its waswasa to bring doubts. Whereas this type of tahqîqî îmân does not remain with the mind (aql) alone. Rather, it spreads into the heart, the rûh, the sirr and settles in such subtle faculties that shaytan cannot reach them. Îmân of such people is preserved.

One path, which serves to reach this level of tahqîqî îmân, is to reach the haqiqah through perfect walâyah, and with kashf and shuhûd. This is a special path for the very special khawass. It is to have îmân at the level of shuhûd.

The Second Path is an evidential and Qur’anic style which, from the perspective of îmân in the ghayb, derives from the faydh of the mystery of wahy. It is to confirm the haqiqahs of îmân through the union of the heart and the mind which reaches the degree of strength found in the level of haqq al-yaqîn, and at the level of ‘ilm al-yaqîn which reaches the degree of necessity and clarity. The elect students of the Risalet-un Nur can see that this second path is the foundation, basis, rûh and haqiqah of the Risale-i Nur. If others too look with fairness, they will see that the Risalet-un Nur shows that the paths contrary to the haqiqahs of îmân are at the degree of improbability, impossibility and inconceivability.” Kastamonu Addendum ( 25 )

 

Muhyiddîn Bin 'Arabî said in his letter to Fakhraddîn Râzî: "To know Allah is different from knowing His existence." What does this mean, and what was his aim in saying it?

Firstly: In the introduction to the Twenty-Second Word you read to him, the comparison and example that demonstrate the difference between tawhîd al-haqîqî and tawhîd adh-dhâhirî point to his aim. While the Second and Third Stopping-Places of the Thirty-Second Word and its Aims explain it.

And Secondly: Since the expositions of the Imams of Usul ad-dîn and the ‘ulamâ of ‘Ilm al-Kalâm concerning the aqâid, the existence of Al-Wâjib Al-Wujûd and tawhîd of Allah were insufficient in his view, Muhyiddîn Bin 'Arabî said that to Fakhraddîn Râzî, who was one of the Imams of ‘Ilm al-Kalâm.

Yes, the ma’rifatullah gained by means of ‘Ilm al-Kalâm does not give a perfect ma’rifat and a complete hudhur. When it is in the way of the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition, it gives complete ma’rifat and also causes one to gain a complete hudhur; InshâAllah, all sections of the Risale-i Nur perform the service of an electric lamp on that luminous highway of the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition.

Also, how deficient the ma’rifatullah Fakhraddîn Râzî acquired by means of ‘Ilm al-Kalâm is in Muhyiddîn Bin 'Arabî’s view, in the same way, the ma’rifat acquired by way of tasawwuf is deficient to the same degree in comparison with the ma’rifat acquired directly from Al-Qur’an Al-Hakîm through the mystery of the legacy of nubuwwah. Because in order to attain a perpetual hudhur, by saying لاَ مَوْجُودَ اِلاَّ هُوَ3 , the way of Muhyiddîn Bin 'Arabî came to such a point that will deny the existence of the universe. As for the others, again, in order to gain a perpetual hudhur, by saying 4 لاَ مَشْهُودَ اِلاَّ هُوَ , they have entered a strange way such as putting the universe under absolute oblivion. As for the ma’rifat acquired from Al-Qur’an Al-Hakîm, together with giving a perpetual hudhur, it neither condemns the universe to non-existence nor imprisons it in absolute oblivion. It rather saves it from disorderliness and employs it in the name of Janâb-i Haqq. Everything becomes a mirror for ma’rifat. As Sa'dî Shirazi said:دَرْ نَظَرِ هُوشِيَارْ هَرْ وَرَقِى دَفْتَرِيسْتْ اَزْ مَعْرِفَتِ كِرْدِگَارْ5 In everything, it opens a window onto the ma’rifat of Janâb-i Haqq.

In some of the Words, about the differences between the way of ‘ulamâ of ‘Ilm al-Kalâm and the true method taken from the Qur'an, we said the following comparison:

For example, in order to obtain water, some people bring it from a distant place by means of pipes by digging under mountains. While some people extract it by digging wells everywhere. The first sort is very laborious; pipes become blocked and water stops. But those who are competent to dig wells everywhere and extract water can find water everywhere with no difficulty. In exactly the same way, the ‘ulamâ of ‘Ilm al-Kalâm cut causes at the extremities of ‘âlam with the impossibility of the chain of causes and causal sequences, then they prove the existence of Al-Wâjib Al-Wujûd with that. A long road is travelled. However, the true method of Al-Qur’an Al-Hakîm finds water everywhere and extracts it. Like a staff of Mûsâ, each of its âyahs makes water of life flow forth wherever it strikes and makes everything recite the rule: 6 وَ فِى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ لَهُ آيَةٌ تَدُلُّ عَلَى اَنَّهُ وَاحِدٌ

Also, îmân is not obtained only through ‘ilm; many subtle faculties have their share in îmân. Just as when food enters a stomach, it is distributed in various ways to various blood vessels and nerves. In the same way, after the matters of îmân, which come through ‘ilm, enter the stomach of the mind, the rûh, heart, sirr, nafs and other subtle faculties receive their share from it according to their degree, and absorb it. If they do not receive their share, it is deficient. Thus, Muhyiddîn Bin 'Arabî was reminding this point to Fakhraddîn Râzî.

The Twenty-Sixth Letter Fourth Topic Second Matter

 

“As for life, if it is without îmân or because of rebelliousness, îmân is ineffective,7 it will produce pains, sorrows and grief far exceeding the superficial, fleeting enjoyment it brings. Because, since, contrary to the animals, man possesses a mind and he thinks, he is connected to both the present time and to the past and the future through his fitrah. He can obtain both pain and pleasure from them. Whereas, since the animals do not think, the sorrows arising from the past and the fears and anxieties arising from the future do not spoil their pleasure of the present. Since man, if he has fallen into dhalâlah and ghaflah the sorrows arising from the past and the fears and anxieties arising from the future spoil that limited pleasure, give severe pain. Especially if the pleasure is illicit; then it is like an altogether poisonous honey.

That is to say, from the point of view of the pleasure of life, man falls to a level a hundred times lower than the animals. In fact, life for the people of dhalâlah and ghaflah, and indeed their existence, rather their universe, is the day in which they find themselves. From the point of view of their dhalâlah, all the time and universes of the past are non-existent and are dead. So their minds, which connect them to the past and the future, produce darkness and blackness for them. Due to their lack of belief, the future is also non-existent. Furthermore, because they think, the eternal separations resulting from this non-existence continuously produce darkness to their lives.

Whereas, if îmân becomes the life of life, then through the nûr of îmân, both the past and the future times are illuminated and find existence. Like present time, it produces elevated, ma’nawî azwaq and nûrs of existence for the rûh and heart-in respect of îmân. There is an explanation of this haqiqah in the 'Seventh Hope' in the Risale For The Elderly. You may refer to that.

Life is thus. If you want the pleasure and enjoyment of life, give life to your life through îmân, and adorn it with fardh, and preserve it by abstaining from sins.” The Words (158)

 

Amongst the ‘Ulamâ of Islam, the differences between Islam and îmân have been discussed much. One group has said: “They are the same”, while another has said: “They are not the same, but one cannot be without the other.” They have declared various ideas like these. I understood the following difference:

Islam is iltizâm; îmân is idh'ân, in other words, Islam is supporting the haqq and submission and obedience; while îmân is accepting the haqq and affirming it. In the past, I saw certain irreligious people that they were fervently displaying support for the laws of the Qur'an. It means that in one respect, due to having the iltizâm of haqq, that irreligious man possessed Islam in one aspect; he was called “An irreligious Muslim.” Then later, I saw certain mu’mins who did not display support for the laws of the Qur'an and did not have iltizâm. They were worthy of the term "A non-Muslim mu’min."

Can îmân without Islam be the means of salvation?

The Answer: Just as Islam without îmân is not the cause of salvation, so îmân without Islam cannot be the means of salvation. Falillahilhamdu wal-minnatu8 , through the faydh of the Qur'an's ma’nawî miraculousness, the comparisons in the Risale-i Nur have demonstrated the fruits and results of the religion of Islam and the haqiqahs of the Qur'an in such a way that even if an irreligious man understands them, not supporting them will not be possible for him. Also, they demonstrated the evidence and proofs of îmân and Islam such powerfully that if even a non-Muslim understands them, he will certainly affirm them. Even if he remains non-Muslim, he will believe.

Yes, The Words have demonstrated the fruits of îmân and Islam, which are sweet and beautiful like the fruits of the Tûbâ tree of Jannah, and demonstrated such pleasant and agreeable results of them as the beauties of happiness in both worlds that they give to those who see and know them an infinite feeling of support, iltizâm and submission. And they have demonstrated proofs of îmân and Islam as powerful as the chains of beings and as numerous as particles that they give an endless idh‘ân and strength of îmân. To a degree that while reciting the testify to îmân (Shahâdah) in the awrâd of Shah Naqshband, when I say عَلَى ذلِكَ نَحْيَى وَ عَلَيْهِ نَمُوتُ وَ عَلَيْهِ نُبْعَثُ غَدًا9 I feel an endless feeling of support. If the whole world was given to me, I could not sacrifice a single haqiqah of îmân. It is excruciating for me to imagine the opposite of a haqiqah of îmân for a minute. If the whole world was mine, my nafs would submit without hesitation to give it for the existence of a single haqiqah of îmân. When I sayوَ آمَنَّا بِمَا اَرْسَلْتَ مِنْ رَسُولٍ وَ آمَنَّا بِمَا اَنْزَلْتَ مِنْ كِتَابٍ وَ صَدَّقْنَا10 , feel the infinite strength of îmân. I consider that the opposite of each of the haqiqahs of îmân is rationally impossible and the people of dhalâlah are extremely foolish and crazy.

The Ninth Letter-Fourthly

 

The meaning of the non-mu’min Muslim and the non-Muslim mu’min is this: At the early period of the Freedom11 , I saw irreligious people who penetrated among the members of the Party of Union and Progress12 ; 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)

 

“Together with pointing out to mankind in the samâwî scriptures great rewards like Jannah and terrible punishments like Jahannam, Janâb-i Haqq gives guidance, and many admonishments, reminders, threats and encouragement. Despite, there are so many causes of hidâyah and istiqâmah, the people of îmân are defeated in the face of the feeble, repellent wiles of shaytan's party, which are without merit. At one time this caused me much thought. How is it, I wondered, that while they have îmân, they pay no attention to Janâb-i Haqq's severe threats? How have they not lost their îmân? According to the mystery of the âyah, اِنَّ كَيْدَ الشَّيْطَانِ كَانَ ضَعِيفًا 13 they are carried away by shaytan's weak wiles, and rebel against Allah. Some of my own friends, even, although they affirmed a hundred lessons of haqiqah they had received from me by heart and had an excessively good opinion of me and relations with me, were carried away by the unimportant and hypocritical compliments of a corrupt person who had no heart and assumed a position in favour of him and against me. “Fasubhanallah!”, I exclaimed, "can man fall so low? What a false man he was." I had a ghiybah of the man and committed a sin.

Later, the haqiqah explained in the previous Indications unfolded and illuminated many obscure points. Lillahilhamd, through its nûr I understood both that Al-Qur’an Al-Hakîm's powerful encouragement and assurances are completely in place, and that the people of îmân being deceived by the wiles of shaytan is not due to lack of îmân or weakness of îmân. I understood too that one who commits kabâir does not become a kâfir, and that the Mu'tazilites and some Kharijite sects are in error by stating that "Someone who commits a kabâir either becomes a kâfir or is in a state between îmân and kufr," and that unfortunate friend of mine sacrificing a hundred lessons of haqiqah to win the attention of such a scoundrel was not despicable abasement and degeneration; I offered shukr to Janâb-i Haqq and was saved from the abyss. Because as I said before, through some insignificant matter pertaining to non-existence, shaytan throws man into serious peril. Moreover, man's nafs always listens to shaytan. And his quwwa ash-shahawiyyah and quwwa al-ghadhabiyyah are like both receivers and transmitters of shaytan's wiles.

It is because of this that Janâb-i Haqq's two Names like Ghafûr and Rahîm are turned to the people of îmân with a maximum manifestation. And He shows in Al-Qur’an Al-Hakîm that His greatest bounty to the prophets is maghfirah and calls on them to istighfâr.14 Through repeating the blessed word, بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ at the start of every Surah and ordering it to dhikr at the commencement of all blessed works, He shows that His all-encompassing rahmah embraces the universe and is a stronghold and place of refuge. And through the command, فَاسْتَعِذْ 15 , He makes a shield of the phrase, "A‘ûzu billahi minashshaytanirrajîm"16  The Flashes ( 107 )

 

“How can someone who commits kabâir remain a mu’min?": Firstly, their error has been understood clearly in the previous Indications so that there is no need to repeat it. Secondly, just as the man's nafs prefers an ounce of immediate, present pleasure to a ton of postponed, hidden pleasure, so too he shrinks at the fear of an immediate slap more than at a year's torment in the future. Furthermore, if the feelings are dominant in a person, they do not heed the reasoning of the mind. Desires and wahm govern and he prefers the slightest and least significant present pleasure to huge reward in the future. And he flinches from some minor present distress more than from some terrible postponed torment. For the wahm, the desires of nafs and feelings do not see the future, indeed, they deny it. And if the nafs assists them, the heart, which is the seat of îmân, and the mind, fall silent and are defeated.

In which case, committing kabâir does not arise from lack of îmân,17 but from the defeat of the heart and mind through the predomination of feelings, the desires of nafs and wahm.18

Moreover, as is understood from the previous Indications, the way of the passions and of evil is destruction and therefore extremely easy. Shaytans from among jinn and men quickly drive people down that road. It is an astonishing situation, for according to Hadith, a nûr to the extent of a fly's wing from al-‘âlam al-baqâ is comparable with the pleasure and ni’mahs a person receives in his entire life in this world, yet following shaytan, certain unfortunates prefer the pleasures of this fleeting world, which are the equivalent of a fly's wing, to the pleasures of that eternal ‘âlam, which are worth all this world.” The Flashes ( 111 )

 

“Corresponding to the outer wounds and sicknesses of Hazrat Ayyûb ‘Alayhissalâm, we have inner sicknesses of the rûh and heart. If our inner being was to be turned outward, and our outer being turned inward, we would appear more wounded and diseased than Hazrat Ayyûb ‘Alayhissalâm. For each sin that we commit and each doubt that enters our mind, inflicts wounds on our heart and our rûh.

The wounds of Hazrat Ayyûb ‘Alayhissalâm threatened his brief worldly life, but our ma’nawî wounds threaten our infinitely long everlasting life. We need the munâjât of Ayyûb thousands of times more than he did himself. Just as the worms that arose from his wounds penetrated to his heart and tongue, so too the wounds that sin inflicts upon us and the waswasas and doubts that arise from those wounds will -na’ûzu Billah!19 - penetrate our inner heart, the seat of îmân, and thus wound îmân. Penetrating too the ma’nawî joy of the tongue, the interpreter of îmân, they cause it to shun in revulsion the dhikr and reduce it to silence.

Yes, sin, penetrating to the heart, will blacken and darken it until it extinguishes the nûr of îmân. Within each sin is a path leading to kufr. Unless that sin is swiftly obliterated by istighfâr, it will grow from a worm into a ma’nawî snake that gnaws on the heart.

For example, a man who secretly commits a shameful sin will fear the disgrace that results if others become aware of it. Thus the existence of malâikah and rûh beings will be hard for him to endure, and he will long to deny it, even on the strength of the slightest indication.

Also, for example, one who commits a major sin deserving of the torment of Jahannam will desire the non-existence of Jahannam wholeheartedly, and whenever he hears of the threat of Jahannam-fire, he will dare to deny it on the strength of a slight indication and doubt, unless he takes up in protection the shield of istighfâr.

Also, for example, one who does not perform the fardh salâh and fulfil his duty of ‘ubûdiyyah will be affected by distress, just as he would be in case of the neglect of a minor duty toward some petty ruler. Thus, his laziness in fulfilling his fardh, despite the repeated commands of the Sultân of Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity, will distress him greatly, and on account of that distress will desire and say to himself in a ma’nawî manner: "Would that there was no such duty of ‘ubûdiyyah!" In turn, there will arise from this desire a desire to deny Allah, and bear a ma’nawî enmity toward Him. If some doubt concerning the existence of Allah comes to his heart, he will be inclined to embrace it like a conclusive proof. A wide gate to destruction will be opened to him. That wretch does not know that although he is delivered by denial from the slight trouble of duty of ‘ubûdiyyah, he has made himself, by that same denial, the target for millions of ma’nawî troubles that are far more awesome. Fleeing from the bite of the gnat, he welcomes the bite of the snake.

There are many other examples, which may be understood with reference to these three so that the sense of, بَلْ رَانَ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ 20 will become apparent.” The Flashes ( 22 )

 

“First disease: Despair

KNOW, O FRIEND, that those who fear the punishment and cannot fulfil to ‘amal, desire the non-existence of punishment and an argument against it. When they see signs that seem to confirm such an argument, they begin to be recruited by shaytans into their legions. [If you are in such a state,] give a sincere and attentive ear to the promise of Taâ’lâ:

قُلْ يَا عِبَادِىَ الَّذِينَ اَسْرَفُوا عَلَى اَنْفُسِهِمْ لاَ تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللّٰهِ اِنَّ اللّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا اِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ21

Al-Mathnawi al-Nuri (85-86)

 

Question: In the previous Indications, you have proved that since the way of dhalâlah is easy and destruction and transgression, many take that way. Whereas, in other risales, you have proved with decisive proofs that the way of kufr and dhalâlah is so doubtful and arduous that no one should have entered it and it is not possible to follow it. And the way of îmân and hidâyah is so easy and clear that everyone should have entered it.

The Answer: Kufr and dhalâlah are two parts. Together with pertaining to actions and secondary matters, one part is negation and denial of the requirements of îmân; this kind of dhalâlah is easy. It is non-acceptance of the haqq, an abandonment, a non-existence and a non-existence of acceptance. Thus, in the Risale-i Nur, this sort has been shown to be easy.

As for the second part, it pertains not to actions and secondary matters, but rather is a judgement pertaining to belief and thought. It is not only a negation of îmân but rather pursuing the opposite of îmân and opening up a way. It is the acceptance of bâtil and proving the reverse of haqq. This part is not only the negation and naqîdh22 of îmân but is its opposite. It is not the non-existence of acceptance so it may be easy, but rather is the acceptance of non-existence. And can only be accepted by proving such non-existence. According to the rule اَلْعَدَمُ لاَ يُثْبَتُ 23 , proving the non-existence is certainly not easy.

Thus, the kufr and dhalâlah shown in other risales to be arduous and doubtful to the degree of being impossible is this part that anyone possessing an iota of consciousness would not follow this way. As is certainly proved in risales, this way also contains such terrible pains and suffocating darkness that anyone possessing an iota of mind would not seek it.

If it is said: How do most people take such a grievous, dark and difficult way?

The Answer: They have fallen into it and cannot extricate themselves. And because the animal and vegetable powers (quwwa) in man do not see the consequence and cannot think of it and because those powers defeated man's subtle faculties, they do not want to extricate themselves; they console themselves with a present and temporary pleasure.

Question: If it is said: There is such dismaying pain and fear in dhalâlah that the kâfir should not be able to live, let alone receives pleasure from life. Rather, he should be crushed by such pain and should die due to such fear. For, although regarding his humanity he is filled with the desire for innumerable things and loves life, how can a man live who, by means of kufr, constantly sees before his eyes his death in the form of eternal annihilation and everlasting separation and the fade of beings, deaths of his friends and those he loves in the form of annihilation and eternal separation? How can he receive pleasure from life?

The Answer: He deceives himself and lives through a strange argument devised by shaytan to lead one into a fallacy. He supposes he receives a superficial pleasure. We will indicate the reality of it with a well-known comparison. It is as follows:

It is related that they said to the ostrich24 : "You've got wings, so fly!" But it folded its wings and said: "I'm a camel", and did not fly. But it fell into the hunter's trap. It stuck its head in the sand lest the hunter saw it. But, it left its huge body in the open and made it the hunter's target. They later said to it: "Since you say you're a camel, carry loads." Whereupon it opened its wings and said: "I'm a bird", and was saved from the hardship of carrying loads. But having neither a protector nor food, it became a target for the assault of hunters.

In exactly the same way, the kâfir have given up kufr al-mutlaq before the samâwî proclamations of the Qur'an and reduced his kufr to a doubtful one. If it is said to him: "Since you consider death as eternal extinction; the gallows, which will hang you, is before your eyes… how can a person, who continuously looks at it, live? How can he receive pleasure?" Through the share he has received from the Qur'an's universal face of rahmah and its comprehensive nûr, the man says: "Death is not annihilation; there is a possibility of eternity." Or else he plunges his head in the sand of ghaflah like the ostrich so that the appointed hour may not see him and the grave may not look at him and the perishment of things may not shoot its arrows at him!

In Short: Like the ostrich, by means of such doubtful kufr, When he sees death and perishment to be annihilation, the certain news of the Qur'an and samâwî scriptures about îmân in the âkhirah gives him a possibility. That kâfir adheres to such possibility; he does not take that ghastly pain upon himself. If it is then said to him: "Since one will go to an eternal ‘âlam, to live good in that ‘âlam, one has to suffer the hardship of the religious responsibilities". Regarding such kufr al-mashkuk, the man says: "Perhaps there is not, so why would I work for something that does not exist?" That is to say, when he is saved from the pains of eternal annihilation regarding such a possibility of eternity given by the decree of the Qur'an and he faces with the hardship of religious responsibilities regarding the possibility of non-existence given by kufr al-mashkuk, against it, he adheres to the possibility of kufr and is saved from such hardship. That is to say, from this point of view, he supposes that he receives more pleasure in this life than the mu’min. For, with the possibility given by kufr, he is saved from the hardship of religious responsibilities and with the possibility given by îmân, does not take eternal pains upon himself. However, this argument devised by shaytan to lead one into a fallacy is extremely superficial, temporary and without benefit.

Thus, Al-Qur’an Al-Hakîm also has an aspect of a sort of rahmah for the kâfirs that to a degree it saves the life of the world from being Jahannam for them; it gives a sort of doubt so they live through doubt. Otherwise, in this world too, they would have suffered the torments of a ma’nawî Jahannam recalling the Jahannam of the âkhirah, and they would have been compelled to commit suicide.

Thus, O people of îmân! Enter believingly and determinedly under the protection of the Qur'an, which saves you from eternal annihilation and the Jahannams of this world and the âkhirah, and submissively and admiringly enter the sphere of his Sunnah as-Saniyyah so that you may be saved from both misery of the world and torment in the âkhirah!

The Thirteenth Flash-Eighth Indication

 

اَللّٰهُمَّ يَا اَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِينَ وَ ارْحَمْ اُمَّةَ مُحَمَّدٍ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلاَةُ وَ السَّلاَمُ وَ نَوِّرْ قُلُوبَ اُمَّةِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلاَةُ وَ السَّلاَمُ بِنُورِ اْلاِيمَانِ وَ الْقُرْآنِ وَ نَوِّرْ بُرْهَانَ الْقُرْآنِ وَ عَظِّمْ شَرِيعَةَ اْلاِسْلاَمِ آمِينَ

سُبْحَانَكَ لاَ عِلْمَ لَنَا اِلاَّ مَا عَلَّمْتَنَا اِنَّكَ اَنْتَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ

حَسْبُنَا اللّٰهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ نِعْمَ الْمَوْلَى وَ نِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ اْلعَالَمِينَ