بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

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

 

If one loyal student of Risale-i Nur’s du'â offered in the Ramadhan is accepted, all loyal students will have their share

“My ‘Azîz, Siddîq, Blessed, Champion Brothers!

Firstly: With the principle of ‘partnership in deeds of the âkhirah’ during this blessed Ramadhan, it is our hope from the rahmah of Allah, that like malâikah possessing forty thousand tongues, the du'âs performed by the forty thousand tongues of each of the elect brothers - that is, the du'âs they have performed and will perform with ma’nawî tongues to the number of their fellow brothers; we beseech Janâb Arham ar-Rahîmîn to the number of those tongues that these du'âs are accepted. We congratulate your Ramadhan of this nature.” Kastamonu Addendum (107)

 

The holy month of Ramadhan this year is of great importance and is extremely valuable for both the Islamic World and the Risale-i Nur Students. In accordance with the mystery of partnership in deeds of the âkhirah which is a fundamental principle of Risale-i Nur students, it is a requisite of the principle and of the rahmah of Allah that with respect to the ma’nawî gains of each of them, a share of all his other brothers is recorded into the book of good deeds in exactly the same amount. It makes the rewards gained by those who enter the circle of the Risale-i Nur with loyalty and ikhlas so great and universal that each one of them will gain a thousand shares. InshâAllah, without being divided or diminished like the collective shares in material worldly gains, it will be recorded in each person’s book of good deeds in exactly the same amount. Just like a single lamp that a person brings will enter each of the thousands of mirrors as the same lamp, without being divided. In this way, We strongly hope from the vast rahmah of Allah that if one loyal student of the Risale-i Nur was to gain the haqiqah of the Night of Qadr and the high level of Ramadhan, truly loyal students, in general, will earn and share the rewards.

The Kastamonu Addendum 106

 

Gaining Great benefits in the Ramadhan

“Today, due to a ma’nawî warning, I felt a disquiet, a grief, on account of you. Just when I was feeling upset at those of my brothers who being anxious about their livelihoods want to be released quickly, a blessed memory occasioned a haqiqah and some good tidings to be imparted to my heart: the 'Three Months' will begin in five days time, which are truly blessed and are the months of highly meritorious ‘ibâdah. For if the reward yielded by good works at other times are tenfold, in the month of the Noble Rajab they are more than a hundredfold, in the mighty Sha'ban they exceed three hundredfold, and in the blessed Ramadhan they reach a thousandfold, while on Juma nights in Ramadhan they reach thousands and on the Night of Qadr may reach thirty thousand. It is certainly highly profitable therefore, to spend those three months -which are thus a sacred market for the trade of the âkhirah earning plentiful gains for it, and an exceptional exhibition for the people of haqiqah and ‘ibâdah, and in three months may secure for the people of îmân a life of eighty years- in this Madrasa of Yûsuf (as), which increases the profits tenfold. Whatever the hardships suffered, they are pure rahmah. As with ‘ibâdah, so with the service of the Nur; with respect not to quantity but quality, its profits are fivefold. For people are continuously entering this guest-house, then being released, and they are means of the Nur’s lessons being disseminated. Sometimes one man's ikhlas yields the benefits of twenty men. It is of no importance if such a man suffers a little hardship and distress so that the Nur's mystery of ikhlas might spread among the unfortunate prisoners, who are inclined to be political heroes and are much in need of the Nur's solace. In regard to the problem of livelihood, since these three months are a market for the âkhirah, I felt perfectly easy at it and understood that being here inside until the 'Eid is a great ni’mah, for since all of you were sent to this prison in place of numerous other Risale-i Nur students, and some of you in place of a thousand, they will help out in your business outside.

            S a i d N u r s î

The Rays (491-492 )

 

“Since the haqiqah is this, it is truly good fortune to submit and tawakkul without alarm, and with caution, and perfect patience and shukr, to whatever Ilahî Qadar and Qadhâ1 has decreed for us, and to trust in Ilahî ‘inâyah which protects us, and with ikhlas, consoling, and heartfelt friendliness and love for our brothers here, together with them busy ourselves with our awrâd, which in the Noble Ramadhan yield a thousandfold reward; and with our lessons of ‘ilm, try not to give importance to these minor passing hardships. The Nur's giving effective instruction in this most important examination and trial, and its making its enemies read it, is a significant conquest for it.” The Rays ( 506 )

 

Reciting Qur’an in the Ramadhan

“I have great need this Noble Ramadhan to read the Qur’an with eagerness and pleasure, but I have become nervous due to the effects of my painful illness, and physical and ma’nawî distress, weariness and preoccupations. Then, one after the other I began to read the miraculous juzs2 of the Qur’an written by Husrev with his elegant pen and the wondrous Hizb al-Akbar al-Qur’aniyyah which will gain numerous merits for Hâfidh Ali and Tahirî, and they filled me with such pleasure and eagerness that they dispelled all that weariness. While listening to those shining lessons from the Qur’an, which disallow every sort of doubt and scruple, I desired with all my life and soul and resolved determinedly to print our miraculous Qur’an photographically, as far as is possible, just as the Hizb al-Akbar al-Qur’aniyya has been printed, Inshaallah.” Emirdağ Letters (247)

 

“My ‘Azîz, Siddîq Brothers!

Firstly: We congratulate you for your Night of Barâ’at and your upcoming Ramadhan, and we pray to Janâb-i Haqq that this upcoming Night of Qadr provide us with the merits of more than a thousand months and that it be recorded in our book of good deeds as such. With this we have made the intention to offer this du'â until ‘Eid

اَللّٰهُمَّ اجْعَلْ لَيْلَةَ قَدْرِنَا فِى هذَا الرَّمَضَانَ خَيْرًا مِنْ اَلْفِ شَهْرٍ لَنَا وَ لِطَلَبَةِ الرَّسَائِلِ النُّورِ الصَّادِقِينَ

Also, your sending two of your miraculous Qurans to us during these blessed months will Inshaallah become the means of barakah, reward, merit and such conquests, that we hope from the rahmah of Allah for each day of this Ramadhan to be like that of Night of Qadr for us.

We have planned from now that: During the blessed month of Ramadhan the elect students of the Risale-i Nur here can read both those Qurans, and by each reading a juz together with you, a khatmah3 of the Quran can be made for each day of Ramadhan. And in doing so, the Risale-i Nur students will form a circle in a very broad ma’nawî assembly encompassing Isparta and Kastamonu, and with you at the centre, all the Risale-i Nur students will be circled around you. It is our supplication from the rahmah of Janâb-i Haqq that he make it suitable so that, in the style of the khatmah performed by Naqshîs, but in a much larger scale, we perform this sacred khatmah by carrying the intention and envisaging all Risale-i Nur students as present in that circle in a ma’nawî manner.” Kastamonu Addendum (103-104)

 

all Nur students offering du'â for each other in the Ramadhan

“With the mystery of the blessed Ramadhan’s Night of Qadr; and the mystery in the hikmah of it affording an eighty-three year ma’nawî life; and through the solidarity with the mystery of ikhlas and the ‘partnership in deeds of the âkhirah’ which are principles of Risale-i Nur students, each and every loyal student will gain that extraordinary ma’nawî reward. A very strong proof of this is as follows: within this circle in which there are forty thousand, rather a hundred thousand sincere and true mu’mins, there will be, not one to two, ten to twenty, but rather hundreds, who are highly likely to gain the haqiqah of Night of Qadr.

By directing ourselves and yourselves to this haqiqah, through the mystery of ikhlas and the mystery of the principle of ‘partnership in deeds of the âkhirah’, during this Blessed Ramadhan we can each consider ourselves as acting on behalf of all, and as being amongst our friends; and by taking the (nun) as the first person plural, that is, in words such as

اَجِرْنَا اِرْحَمْنَا وَاغْفِرْلَنَا وَوَفِّقْنَا وَاهْدِنَا

وَاجْعَلْ لَيْلَةَ الْقَدْرِ فِى هذَا الرَّمَضَانَ خَيْرًا فِى حَقِّنَا مِنْ اَلْفِ شَهْرٍ

we can at all times intend to have all brothers included in the نَا . And with that personal intention, it is to especially assist this weakest brother of yours in his difficult duty.” Kastamonu Addendum (199)

 

“In the circle of the Risale-i Nur a ma’nawî corporation of the âkhirah has been established and bestowed upon us without our will. In it, each true and loyal student partakes in the collective du'â with thousands of tongues and hearts, doing istighfâr and performing ‘ibâdah like that of some malâikah who perform tasbîh, with forty thousand tongues. Like the haqiqah of Night of Qadr in the holy month of Ramadhan, it is to seek the sacred and lofty haqiqah with thousands of hands. It is for this reason that students of the Risale-i Nur prefer the service of the Nur over levels of walâyah. They do not seek kashf and karâmâts, and do not attempt to pick the fruits of the âkhirah in this world. They do not busy themselves with matters outside their duties such as achieving success, making people accept, being granted superiority and becoming victorious. They do not chase after the deserved fame, honour, azwaq and ‘inayah, all of which pertain to the duties of Allah. They do not base their actions on these results. They work purely and sincerely for Allah saying: ‘Our duty is to serve and that is sufficient’.” Kastamonu Addendum (289)

 

Holding sawm and performing ‘ibâdah under hard circumstances are perfect instructions given by the language of being

With a subtle smile he gave for Feyzi and Salâhaddin being called into military service, Ustadh said: “They cannot take you. You have a duty, you are invited. For even if it is not with your tongues, your actions and manners will perform that duty”. It is true that despite the poor weather conditions, when Salâhaddin was on duty on Tavshan Hill in Izmit, he was able to lead the tarâwih salâh with the jamâ’ah during the holy month of Ramadhan; and with his regiment’s move to Hadimkoyu coinciding with the 27th, 28th and 29th days of Ramadhan, he performed his sawm and salâh on the ship, spent Night of Qadr on the Hadimkoyu station ramp, took his wudû in the cold rainy weather with water that was difficult to obtain, and praying on the covers of a container spent the evening by offering shukr to Allah inside the transport containers in a sorrowful state. All these arouse religious emotions in other soldiers and became a lesson for them. Moreover, he read out the exact Fourth Word about salâh to a congregation consisting of both military individuals and civilians before the Eid salâh in the masjid of Balaban village and preached reading the Risale-i Nur. And more effectively, my brother Feyzi gave lessons through the ma’nawî language of being and verbal language in his regiment. These, indeed, confirm Ustadh’s words.

Salâhaddin

The Kastamonu Addendum-71-72

 

Preferring the service of publishing the Risale-i Nur instead of reciting awrâd in the Ramadhan

“I was distressed this Ramadhan because while correcting Sirajunnûr I could not find the time to recite my awrâd. Then suddenly it is warned that in one aspect the topics you were reading were ‘ibâdah, and also they were pure ma’rifatullah and dhikr of Allah and hudhur of heart and love of îmân; they therefore filled the place of the awrâd that were only partially recited. And I said “Alhamdulillah”.” Emirdağ Letters

 

The students of Nur offered du'â when Ustadh was ill

“Last year during Ramadhan, I witnessed ‘ayn al-yaqîn and haqq al-yaqîn the great results of the one-hour work each of my brothers performed on my behalf due to my illness. These innocents, blessed elderly and the fortunate Ustadhs of them whose du'âs cannot be rejected, occasionally working and offering du'â on my behalf by tongue and heart, and assisting me with their scribing, has showed me the eternal fruits of my service to the Risale-i Nur –which pertain to the âkhirah- even in this world.” Kastamonu Addendum (130)

 

“In recent days, due to that incident, the sorrow caused by the anxiety that I will be coerced into a degree of stoppage with the Risale-i Nur and forced to look upon worldly matters, and be made to address the people I have not been speaking with for twenty years, and come in contact with politics which we have been prohibited with respect to the service of the Quran; made me suffer the attack of an illness that cannot be detected physically but is  dangerous in ma’nawî aspect. As I have not been able to fulfil my regular practice, it is my sincere request from my brothers that they once again, reach out to assist me in ma’nawî aspect, like the illness I suffered in Ramadhan. But do not worry, I am not bedridden. But I am unable to embed writings which have many copies.” Kastamonu Addendum (151)

 

“My ‘Azîz, Siddîq  Brothers!

Like the previous Ramadhan, I express my sincere request that for this Ramadhan too, you offer this powerless and weak brothers of yours the ma’nawî works and efforts relating to the âkhirah equivalent to that of its zakat, and that you partly work on his behalf, and that you may assist him in regards to the responsibilities you have burdened him with your excessive favourable thoughts.” Kastamonu Addendum (170)

 

“And saying “Amen” to acceptance for your du'âs and ‘ibâdah in the Noble Ramadhan, which wins an eighty-year life of ‘ibâdah, I beseech Ilahî rahmah that every night of Ramadhan will gain for you the reward of the Night of Qadr. I request ma’nawî assistance from you this Ramadhan, since I am unable to work well due to my extreme weakness and illness.” Emirdağ Letters (305)

 

-“On the twenty-seventh night of Ramadhan, which in the Islamic world is reckoned to be the Night of Qadr I felt both a sort of poisoning and ghastly stomach upset, and another terrible illness that was as though suffusing my nerves, conscience, and heart. Together with these two sicknesses, physical and ma’nawî, I suddenly felt a sympathy for all living creatures and their pains. I experienced a state of rûh far more grievous than my illness. Then I felt a sorrowful despair more severe than the other two illnesses at my being unable at the end of my eighty-year life to work in  a way worthy of its final Night of Qadr, which gains a lifetime of ma’nawî ‘ibâdah of eighty years. Then just as a feeling of pain produced by the nerves and performing the function of the nafs al-ammarah was crushing me, a mystery of the âyah al-karîmah حَسْبُنَا اللّٰهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَك۪يلُ 4 came to my assistance. It dissolved those three illnesses, and endless shukr be to Janâb-i Haqq, in a way outside the customary I was able to bear it. It also healed the three illnesses.” Emirdağ Letters (456)

 

“The universal mystery of participating in all the above came to my assistance that night and was such a panacea for the grievous ma’nawî sickness I was suffering at being unable to perform my service in my sick, weak, despairing state, that I experienced a ma’nawî joy that in truth I had not found in my healthiest states in the time of my youth and in my most pleasurable awrâd. I offered endless shukr and was resigned to that awful illness. I exclaimed: “Alhamdulillahi bi ‘adadi ‘âshirati daqâiqi shahr-i Ramadhana fî kulli zaman” 5 Emirdağ Letters (457)

 

Searching the Night of Qadr at the last ten days of Ramadhan

“A Hadith announces the strong possibility that the Night of Qadr may fall on any of the last ten days of Ramadhan, especially the odd numbers. The Nurjus therefore should try to profit from that supreme nûr.” Emirdağ Letters (242)

 

“It is stated in riwâyât as-sahîhah: "Seek the Night of Qadr in the second half of Ramadhan, especially in the last ten days." It is therefore a great happiness to try to profit from the Night of Qadr, which may gain for a person an eighty-year lifetime of ‘ibâdah, and which is probably among the coming nights.” The Rays (506-507 )

 

“There is a strong possibility that tomorrow night6 is the Night of Qadr. Some of the mujtahids stated it is tomorrow. Even if it is not in fact, since the Ummah consider it to be so, Inshallah it will be accepted as such” The Rays ( 507 )

 

7.th Ray (Âyet-ül Kübra7 ) written through the faydh of Ramadhan

“It is true that the nûrs of this risale reflected to me from the faydh of Ramadhan. Nonetheless, I was distraught in a number of respects, and it is written hastily at a time my body was wracked by several illnesses, without revising the first draft. I felt, moreover, that I was not writing with my own will and volition, and it seemed inappropriate to rearrange or correct what I had written, according to my own thoughts. This, too, resulted in rendering it difficult of comprehension.” The Rays ( 124 )

 

“My brothers! Just as Âyet-ül Kübra8 was composed in Ramadhan, and as far as I know was printed in Ramadhan and arrived in Isparta, and in Ramadhan was read freely and entered the mosques to be read publicly; so this Noble Ramadhan, the Hizb-i Nuriye, which bears the meaning of “An hour’s tafakkur is equal to a year’s ‘ibâdah”, emerged from Âyet-ül Kübra. Similarly through the barakah and faydh of Âyet-ül Kübra, around two pages were imparted to my heart through the nûr of Ramadhan which express the same haqiqah of Tawhîd of the phrase “Lâ Ilâha Illallah”, which is recited thirty-three times in our tasbihât.9 Now I can read the whole of Âyet-ül Kübra in ten minutes, and as it says in the introduction, at each degree in my imagination the universal tongue of the globe of the earth becomes my tongue and utters: “Lâ Ilâha Illallah” And the language of being of the seas and mountains, the elements, skies  and the classses of humanity become my tongues, proclaiming: “Lâ Ilâha Illallah”And as each declares: “Lâ Ilâha Illallah” I declare it in the tongue of either the earth, or the samâwât, or the atmosphere, or the elements. Inshallah. It shall be sent to you.” Emirdağ Letters (74-75)

 

“My ‘Azîz, Siddîq Brothers!

I congratulate you will all my heart and rûh on Ramadhan, the Night of Qadr, and the ‘Eid, and wish you all happiness. May Janâb Arham Ar-Râhimîn bestow many more on you! Amen.

It is true that I have suffered extreme distress this Ramadhan due to the poisoning, but endless thanks be to Janâb-i Haqq, He bestowed patience and fortitude on me. And the considerable reward for illness dispelled the ghaflah caused by the distress. Through the barakah of your prayers, I was completely saved this time too from the poisoning.

Nevertheless, the weakness and shock it caused continues to upset me from time to time.

As I write and told you, just as the Hizb-i Nuriye is a summary of the Risale-i Nur and of Âyet-ül Kübra; so like the newly Ramadhan published Âyet-ül Kübra, a summary of the Hizb-i Nuriye was written in Ramadhan through its faydh, as a manifestation of the thirty-three universal tongues of the thirty- three degrees of the divine necessary existence and Tawhîd. Rûh, imagination, and heart so expanded and unfolded that when I uttered the testimony “Lâ Ilâha Illallah” At each degree, I felt a vast Tawhîd such that tongue was mine. Âyet-ül Kübra may impart nûrs of îmân as effluent as the sun to rûhs. I was indubitably certain of this and saw it and understood the importance Imam ‘Ali (ra) had given it.” Emirdağ Letters (83-84)

 

“Recently I read the Hizb-i Nuriye, a summary of Âyet-ül Kübra, which was composed three years ago in Ramadhan and published freely this Ramadhan. It took me over an hour. Then again in Ramadhan, a ten or fifteen-minute summary of that summary occurred to me. When I read it, I experience on reading two or three pages of Arabic an unfolding of îmân and of what is denoted by,  تَفَكُّرُ سَاعَةٍ خَيْرٌ مِنْ عِبَادَةِ سَنَةٍ 10 as though I were reading the whole of Âyet-ül Kübra. I can’t find the time to write to you with my own pen; Inshallah, sometime I shall do so. Those who understand the price as I do may read it from their own copies or write it out at the end of either Âyet-ül Kübra, or the Hizb-i Nuriye, after the tasbihât and du'â, instead of our tasbihât “Lâ Ilâha Illallah”, which is recited thirty-three times, but only thinking of the meaning of the morning tasbihât.” Emirdağ Letters (102-103)

 

“It is meaningful that just as the majority of the haqiqahs of Âyet-ül Kübra and the Risale-i Nur were imparted during Ramadhan and the tasbihât of salah, so was the Hulâsatu’l-Hulâsa imparted during Ramadhan and the tasbihât.” Emirdağ Letters (108)

The slap came for the desecration of the sawm of Ramadhan

First Question: What is the reason for the fear and despair, which arise from the further earthquakes and which are a ma’nawî calamity more excruciating than the material calamity of this severe earthquake, destroying most people's rest at night in most of the country and giving them a terrible torment?

Again, the ma’nawî answer, it has been said: At the time of tarawih in the Noble Ramadhan, with utmost joy and cheer, the drunken songs serving the desires being made to be heard attractively by the mouth of the radio, sometimes through the voices of girls, in every corner of this blessed centre of Islam, resulted in the torment of this fear.

The Addendum to the Fourteenth Word

 

Seventh Question: What should be understood from this event of the earth's looking at the Muslim people of this country and being aimed at them? And, why does it affect the areas of Erzincan and Izmir more than other places?

The Answer: Through the indication of many proofs like the earthquake occurring during a severe winter, in the dark of night, in severely cold weather, and its being restricted to a region where Ramadhan was not respected and the earthquakes continuing in order to awake the ghâfil gently since they did not awaken by its destruction, this event aims at the people of îmân, looks and shakes them in order to wake them to salâh and supplications, and itself trembles as well.

The Addendum to the Fourteenth Word

 

“The Worrying Question: it is understood from riwâyâts that hunger will play a significant role in this fitnah of the âkhirzaman. The people of dhalâlah will use it against the wretched impoverished people of îmân to overwhelm them with the struggle for livelihood and thereby make them neglect religious sentiments, or have them view it at a second or third degree (in priority). Since in everything, even within the torments the people of îmân and the innocent are made to suffer, there is an aspect of rahmah for the wronged, and there is justice in the view of Ilahî Qadar; how does it apply to this? And how is it that this calamity will, for the people of îmân and the Risale-i Nur students in particular, provide benefit with regard to their îmân and âkhirah, and how will they respond to it and resist it?

The Answer: The most important reason for this calamity is the rebelliousness which comes from the kufr an-ni’mah, the absence of shukr, and the lack of appreciation for the value of Ilahî ni’mahs. For this reason, by demonstrating the value of His ni’mah, especially in the category of nutrition, and especially of bread which is the greatest ni’mah with respect to life, with the hikmah of driving true shukr, Al-‘Âdil Al-Hakîm has given this calamity to those unappreciative people who do not abide by the riyâzah, like in Ramadhan, and thus manifest justice within complete hikmah.

It is incumbent upon the people of îmân, the people of haqiqah and in particular the students of the Risale-i Nur that: Like the religious riyâzah practiced in Ramadhan, they should endeavour to make this calamity of hunger a means for seeking refuge, repentance and submission to Allah.” Kastamonu Addendum (155-156)

 

“The famine and high cost of living, and the hunger and poverty arising from this terrible act of profiteering severely wounds the temperament of living this life. And this wound becomes the means to silence exalted religious emotions to a degree and aids the people of dhalâlah. It makes everyone think about their stomachs. Thinking more of bread than the haqiqahs, the heart directs itself to this life and living, and leaves its true duty at a second degree of priority. In response to this, students of the Risale-i Nur can consider this a long Ramadhan and can make it kaffârah adh-dhunûb and as a riyâzah of the Sharî’ah. The calamity befalling those unfortunates who disrespect Ramadhan by openly violating the sawm, also hurt the innocent. However, The Risale-i Nur students and its innocents, turn that calamity to their favour and change it to a blessed riyâzah. They welcome it with contentment and frugality.” Kastamonu Addendum (212-213)

 

“One reason for occurences of this kind is an ugly error of mankind. Therefore it is incumbent on and owed to Isparta, which more than anywhere is the Risale-i Nur’s source and madrasa, to protect it and to preserve the respect and value of the month of Ramadhan. It is obliged to protect shaâ’er of Islam against vice and dissipation.” Emirdağ Letters (170)

 

“Someone else asked: Calamities are the result of crimes, and the commencement of rewards. What action of yours has caused qadar to judge you in this way, that it has decreed this calamity? General calamities, are the consequence of the mistakes of the majority. What are your present rewards?

I replied: Its introduction is our negligence in three of the important pillars of Islam. Salah, sawm and zakat. For Khâliq Taâ’lâ requested from us only one out of twenty-four hours to perform the five daily salah. We were lazy. With difficulty and provocation, it made us perform a type of salah by working twenty-four hours for five years. Also it requested from our nafs the sawm of only one month within a year. We pitied our nafs. So it made us hold sawm for five years as kaffârah. From the wealth it bestowed on us, it requested only one out of ten or one out of forty as zakat. We became stingy and did dhulm. So it took away from us an accumulated zakat.” Biography  (141)

 

“I have been warned that there are two special reasons why the many du'âs made last Ramadhan for the safety and salvation of the Ahl al-Sunnah have not appeared to be explicitly accepted for the time being.

First Reason: It is a strange characteristic of this age. {(NOTE) That is, although knowing the qualities of the diamond, people prefer glass over it.} The considerable gullibility of the people of Islam in this age and their preparedness to nobly forgive terrifying criminals, such that if they see a single good deed by one who commits thousands of evils and destroys the ma’nawî and material rights of human beings, they incline to show them some kind of support. In this way, the people of dhalâlah and aggression, who are the smallest of minorities, reach a majority position through the support of such gullible people; they give fatwâ to the qadar of Allah for the continuation and retention and intensity of general calamities, which happen as a consequence of the mistakes committed by the majority. They say this is what we deserve. Yes, on the basis of absolute dharûrah11 , there is rukhsah within the Sharî’ah to prefer what is glass (such as this world and wealth) over what is clearly known as diamond (such as the âkhirah and îmân). Otherwise to make this preference based on a minor need, a fancy or greed and slight fear, is a foolish ignorance and loss that is deserving of a slap. As for noble forgiveness, one can only forgive the crime committed in relation to himself, People have the right to forgo their personal rights, but do not have the right to look forgivingly to criminals who abuse the rights of others; it will make them share in the dhulm.” Kastamonu Addendum (32-33)

 

“It is again a subtlety of this illness that our Ustadh lost his voice and was unable to talk. Close to one iftar time, a doctor turned up without our calling and held his hand. Our Ustadh said: “I refuse to be examined, I do not need a physician. Janâb-i Haqq is the doctor”. Suddenly he was energised and began to talk. It was as though he had taken on the role of the doctor and the doctor had become the patient. He read an important letter to the doctor which was a remedy for the doctor’s ma’nawî woes. It was then time for iftar. “Have iftar here” Ustadh offered. The doctor replied: “I am at fault today, I could not hold sawm” and we understood that our Ustadh was made to react that way due to his refusal in exception the medical judgement of a doctor who had neglected his sawm.” Kastamonu Addendum (111)

 

“Only, in his question about the âyah, يَطُوفُ عَلَيْهِمْ وِلْدَانٌ مُخَلَّدُونَ 12 in the letter of condolence on the death of a child it says in some old tafsirs that in Jannah everyone from children to the elderly will be thirty-three years of age. Allah knows best, but the meaning is this, that the term  وِلْدَانٌ 13 in the sarîh âyah means that children, for whom it is not compulsory to perform the fardh of Sharî’ah and they are absolved from them, and who die before the age of puberty, will remain lovable children worthy of Jannah. Nevertheless, according to the Sharî’ah, parents should command by encouraging their child to perform fardhs like the salah when they reach the age of seven in order to familiarize them, and they should strongly make them perform salah when they reach ten, to accustom them. That is to say, although it is not wâjib, as a sort of nawâfil, children who perform the salah from the age of seven till the age of puberty like adults, and hold the sawm, will be thirty-three years old in Jannah, in order to receive the large rewards of pious adults. Some tafsirs included all children, without elucidating this point. It was supposed to be general, although it is specific.” Emirdağ Letters (346-347)

 

In a manner contrary to my rule and the principle of my life, one of my students insisted that I accept a present of nearly three-kilo honey. However much I stated my rule, he was not to be persuaded. Intending to make the three brothers of mine with me eat it and to let them eat from that honey for thirty to forty days in the noble Sha'ban and Ramadhan with frugality and to cause the one who brought it to earn the sawâb and to let them not be deprived of sweet, I am compelled to say them “Take it”. I also had nearly one and a half kilos of honey. Although that three friends of mine were mustaqîm and among those who appreciate frugality, however, they forgot frugality through offering it to each other, flattering each others' nafs and preferring each other’s nafs to their own nafs, which in one respect are lofty traits. In three nights, they finished three-kilo honey. Laughing, I said: "I would have made you sweet with that honey for thirty to forty days. You have reduced the thirty days to three. May it be health for you!" Whereas I consumed my one and a half kilos honey with frugality. The whole Sha'ban and Ramadhan both I ate it, and, Lillahilhamd, I gave each of those brothers of mine a spoonful, {Note: That is, a largish teaspoon.} at the time of iftar; it became the means of significant sawâb. Perhaps those who saw such a state of mine considered it was stinginess and my brothers' state for three nights was generosity. But in point of haqiqah, we saw that beneath that apparent stinginess a lofty dignity, great barakah and a high sawâb were hidden. And beneath that generosity and wastefulness, If it had not been abandoned, it would have resulted in a much baser state than stinginess, like beggary and depending on others greedily and expectantly.

The Nineteenth Flash

 

سُبْحَانَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ وَسَلاَمٌ عَلَى الْمُرْسَلِينَ وَ الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ آمِينَ

اَللّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ صَلاَةً تَكُونُ لَكَ رِضَاءً وَ لِحَقِّهِ اَدَاءً بِعَدَدِ ثَوَابِ قِرَائَةِ حُرُوفِ الْقُرْآنِ فِى شَهْرِ رَمَضَانَ وَ عَلَى آلِهِ وَ صَحْبِهِ وَ سَلِّمْ

سُبْحَانَكَ لاَ عِلْمَ لَنَا اِلاَّ مَا عَلَّمْتَنَا اِنَّكَ اَنْتَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ