بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

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

SHAÂ’ER – The Marks of Islam

(For the literal meaning of shaâ’er, please refer to the dictionary)

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

 

Just as there are two sorts of rights, 'personal rights' and 'common rights,' which are considered to be a kind of the rights of Allah, so, in the matters of the Sharî’ah, some matters are connected with the individuals and some matters are connected with the public since they concern all, and they are called 'Shaâ’er of Islam.' All participate in them since these shaâ’er concern all. Attacking or interfering with them without the consent of all is a transgression against the rights of all. The most minor of those Shaâ’er (a matter of it among the sort of Sunnah) is the greatest matter in regard to importance. They directly concern the whole world of Islam. Those who work to break, destroy and distort those luminous chains with which all the greatest personages of Islam since the Era of Bliss till now have been bound, and those who assist them 1 should think what a ghastly error they fall into. If they possess an iota of consciousness, they should tremble!

The Twenty-Ninth Letter-The First Section-8th Subtle Point

 

By means of obeying commands and abstaining from prohibitions, numerous connections are formed between a person and the many levels of society, and the individual becomes like a species. Indeed, there are many commands — especially those connected with shaâ’er and the general good — that resemble threads on which morals, qualities, ranks, laws and arrangements, and many public and personal rights within them are set. If there were no thread of obeying commands and abstaining from prohibitions, all those rights and duties would be torn and scattered to the wind.

Signs of Miraculousness-290

 

The Qur'an Will Defend Itself and Perpetuate Its Sovereignty

I saw someone, he was addicted to despair and sick with pessimism. He said: "The 'Ulamâ have decreased in number and quality. "I'm afraid our religion will extinguish one day."

I said: Just as the universe can not be extinguished, neither can Islam. Also, if the shaâ’er of Islam, the minarets of religion, Ilahî places of ‘ibâdah, the works of the Sharî’ah, which are like nails struck on the face of the earth, are not extinguished, Islam will ever shine.

All the places of ‘ibâdah are teachers, and give lessons with their disposition to different natures. Also, all the works have become a Ustadh; through the language of being, they instil the religion, without error nor forgetfulness.

All the shaâ’er are learned hojas, constantly teaching the rûh of Islam to those who look upon them. Passing through the centuries, as a cause in the continuity of time.

The nûrs of Islam are as though embodied in its shaâ’er; and the pure water of Islam has solidified in its places of ‘ibâdah. Each a pillar of îmân.

The injunctions of Islam are as though embodied within its works; the pillars of Islam are as though petrified in its worlds - each a diamond pillar; through them, the earth and sky are bound together...

...The heart is the seat of îmân; the mind is where the nûr of îmân is reflected.

Sometimes, it is a mujâhid; sometimes, it is a sweeper. If the waswasas and various possibilities in the mind do not enter the heart, îmân and conscience will not be shaken.

For if, as some people suppose, îmân is in the mind, numerous possibilities become merciless enemies oppose haqq al-yaqîn, which is the rûh of îmân.

The heart and conscience are the seats of îmân. Hads and ilham are evidence for îmân. They are the sixth sense, a way to îmân. Thought and mind are the guards of îmân.

The Gleams

 

The sawm in the Noble Ramadhan is one of the foremost of the five pillars of Islam. It is also one of the greatest of the shaâ’er of Islam.

The Risale on Ramadhan

 

“The constant proclamation of His grandeur and sublimity in most of the shaâ’er of Islam like the adhan and the salâh mostly by,  اَللّٰهُ اَكْبَرُ ٭ اَللّٰهُ اَكْبَرُ ٭ اَللّٰهُ اَكْبَرُ ٭ اَللّٰهُ اَكْبَرُ ...” The Rays ( 129 )

 

“The frequent declaring of "Allahu Akbar!" during the Hajj is for the above mystery. For the blessed Hajj is ‘ubûdiyyah at a universal level for everyone. Just as on a special day like a festival a soldier goes to the sultân's celebrations like a General in the sphere of General, and receives his favours, in the same way, a Hajji, no matter how lowly, is turned towards his Rabb under the title Mighty Rabb of every region of the earth, like a walî who has traversed all the degrees. He is honoured with universal ‘ubûdiyyah. For sure, the universal degrees of Rubûbiyyah opened with the key of the Hajj, and the horizons of the tremendousness of Ulûhiyyah which are visible to his eye through its telescope, and the spheres of ‘ubûdiyyah which gradually unfold to his heart and imagination through its shaâ’er, and the heat, wonder, awe, and dread of Rubûbiyyah caused by the levels of sublimity and last stage of manifestation, can only be quieted by "Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!", and those observed, unfolded or imagined degrees or can only be proclaimed by it. After the Hajj, this meaning is found in various exalted and universal degrees in the salâh of 'Eid, the salâh for rain, and as-salâh al-kusuf and as-salâh al-khusuf,2 and in salâh performed as a jamâ’ah. Thus, the importance of the shaâ’er of Islam, also even if of the category of Sunnah, lies in this mystery.” The Words ( 216 )

 

“It suddenly occurred to me that foremost this phrase and many others of these shaâ’er like Subhânallah, Alhamdulillah and Lâ Ilâha Illallah, which bear the title of "al-bâqîyât as-sâlihât," recall particular and universal points about the matter we are discussing, and infer its realization.

For example, one aspect of the meaning of Allahu Akbar! is that Janâb-i Haqq’s qoudrah and ‘ilm are greater than everything; nothing at all can quit the bounds of Allah's ‘ilm, nor escape or be saved from the disposals of His Qoudrah. He is greater than the things we fear most. This means He is greater than bringing about the resurrection of the dead, saving us from non-existence, and bestowing eternal happiness. He is greater than any strange or unimaginable thing, so that, as explicitly stated by the âyah,  مَا خَلْقُكُمْ وَلاَ بَعْثُكُمْ اِلاَّ كَنَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ the resurrection of mankind is as easy for His Qoudrah as the creation of a single nafs. It is in connection with this meaning that when faced with serious calamities or important undertakings, everyone says: "Allah is Most Great! Allah is Most Great!", making it a source of consolation, strength, and support for themselves.” The Rays ( 253 )

 

One of shaytan's greatest wile: He deceives people who possess narrow hearts, short minds and deficient thoughts concerning the immensity of the haqiqahs of îmân. He says: "It is said that single Being controls and administers all particles and planets and stars and all other beings within all their states under the management of His rubûbiyyah. How can such an infinite, vast and extraordinary thing be believed? How can it be placed in the heart? How can the mind accept it?" He awakens a feeling of denial with respect to the impotence of man.

The Answer: The mystery that silences this wile of shaytan is "Allahu Akbar!" And its true answer is also "Allahu Akbar". Yes, the numerous repetition of "Allahu Akbar" in the shaâ’er of Islam is for destroying this wile of shaytan. For the impotent strength, weak power and narrow thought of man see and affirm such infinite vast haqiqahs through the nûr of "Allahu Akbar", bear those haqiqahs through the strength of "Allahu Akbar", place them within the sphere of "Allahu Akbar!" and say to the heart which falls into waswasa: The management of the universe and its being controlled in a most orderly fashion are evidently seen.

The Thirteenth Flash-Thirteenth Indication

 

First Question: Although the blessed words of the tashahhud are a conversation between Janâb-i Haqq and His Rasûl (asm) on the night of Mi’raj, what is the hikmah for them being recited in the salâh?

The Answer: Each mu’min’s salâh is a sort of Mi’raj of his. And as for the words worthy of such presence, they are the words that were spoken at the great Mi’raj of Muhammad (‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm). By reciting them, that sacred conversation is recalled. With that recollection, the meanings of those blessed words raise from particularity to universality and those sacred and comprehensive meanings are or can be formed in the mind. And through forming in the mind in such a way, their value and nûr become elevated and expand.

Janâb-i Haqq saying that night  3 اَلسَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا اَيُّهَا النَّبِىُّ makes known commandingly that in the future, each of the hundreds of millions of people saying  4 اَلسَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ يَا اَيُّهَا النَّبِىُّ every day at least ten times. And that salâm of Allah gives to that phrase an extensive nûr and elevated meaning. In the same way, as a reply to that salâm, Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm saying 5 اَلسَّلاَمُ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَى عِبَادِ اللّٰهِ الصَّالِحِينَ expresses and warns that he asked from his Khâliq hopefully and beseechingly that in the future his great ummah and the sâlihs among them would manifest Islam, which represents the salâm of Allah, and that all his ummah would say اَلسَّلاَمُ 6 عَلَيْكَ وَ عَلَيْكَ السَّلاَمُ which is a general shiâ’r of Islam between mu’mins.

And Hazrat Jabrâil ‘Alayhissalâm, who was a partaker in that conversation, saying that night by the command of Allah   اَشْهَدُ اَنْ لاَ اِلهَ اِلاَّ اللّٰهُ وَ اَشْهَدُ اَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ7  brings the glad tidings that all the ummah will say and testify in that way until the qiyâmah. Through recalling this sacred conversation, the meanings of the words shine and broaden.

The Sixth Ray

 

“My ‘Azîz Brothers!

Last night while I was reciting my awrâd, the guards and others could hear me. I wondered anxiously to myself if such a display did not decrease the merit. Then I remembered a famous saying of Hujjat al-Islam Imam Ghazali: "Sometimes doing something openly is preeminent than concealing it." That is, in many ways, it may be far more meritorious to do something openly, for others may benefit from it, or copy it, or be aroused from ghaflah; or it may display the shaâ’er of Islam in the face of those who persist in dhalâlah or vice, and preserve the dignity of religion. Especially at this time and if done by those who have learnt thoroughly the lessons of ikhlas, and it is not riyâ if no hidden artificiality intervenes. I thought of this and was consoled.” The Rays (328-329 )

 

Three points will be written about riyâ.

The First: 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.

….

The Third Point: In terms of religious duties, to make people accept favourably and the high manners and states required of that station are not considered boasting and riyâ and should not be considered as such, unless that person uses that duty and makes it subjugated to his ananiyyah.

Yes, while performing the duty as the imam, an imam can openly display and vocalise his tasbîhât, this can in no way be considered riyâ. However, when it is outside his duty since riyâ might interfere in making others hear the tasbîhât explicitly, it is more rewarding to perform it privately.

In their spreading religion, their ‘ibâdah in following the Sunnah and their taqwâ in abandoning the kabâir, true students of the Risale-i Nur are considered to be on duty on behalf of the Qur’an. InshâAllah it will not be riyâ unless they have entered the Risale-i Nur for some other worldly intention. More was going to be written, but a state of stoppage has cut it short.

Kastamonu Addendum (202-204)

 

“There are certain matters of the Sharî’ah concerning “al-masâil al-taa’bbudiyyah” 8 which are not tied to the mind, and are done because they are commanded. The real cause (‘illah) for them is the command.

There are others which have “ma’qûl al-ma’nâ”9 . That is, they possess some hikmah or benefit by reason of which they have been incorporated into the Sharî’ah. But it is not the reason or real cause (‘illah); the real cause (‘illah) is Ilahî command and prohibition.

Instances of hikmahs or benefits cannot change those matters of the shaâ’er which pertain to ‘ibâdah; their aspect of pertaining to ‘ibâdah preponderates and they may not be interfered with. They may not be changed, even for a hundred thousand benefits. Similarly, it may not be said that "the benefits of the shaâ’er are restricted to those that are known." To suppose such a thing is wrong. Those benefits may rather be only one out of many instances of hikmahs. For instance, someone may say: "The hikmah of the adhan is to summon Muslims to salâh; in which case, firing a rifle would be sufficient." However, the foolish person does not know that it is only one benefit out of the thousands of the adhan. Even if the sound of a rifle shot provides that benefit, how, in the name of mankind, or in the name of the people of the town, can it take the place of the adhan, the means to proclaiming ‘ubûdiyyah before Ilahî Rubûbiyyah and the proclamation of Tawhîd, which is the greatest result of the creation of the universe and the result of mankind's creation?

In Short: Jahannam is not unnecessary; there are many things which cry out "Long live Jahannam!" with all their strength. Jannah is not cheap, either; it demands a high price.

لاَ يَسْتَوِى اَصْحَابُ النَّارِ وَاَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ اَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ هُمُ الْفَائِزُونَ10

 [To the end of the âyah.]” The Letters ( 465 )

 

Whereas, if there is no ma’nawî permission of Al-Khâliq, the interference in the laws of Al-Khâliq of the samâwât and the earth and meddling in the ‘ibâdah of His ‘abds are rejected. For example, for two reasons, some ghâfil people commend changing the Arabic language of some of the shaâ’er of Islam like the khutbah11, and delivering it in each nation’s language:

The First: "So in that way, current politics can be made to be understood by the ‘awâm of Muslims." But so many lies and trickery and evil entered into current politics that it became the waswasa of shaytans. However, since minbar is the place of delivering the wahy of Allah, the waswasa of politics does not have the right to rise to that elevated place.

The Second: "The khutbah is for understanding the advices of certain surahs of the Qur'an." Yes, if the majority of the nation of Islam were conforming to the dharûriyyah and the well-known and admitted laws of Islam and were carrying them out, then, in order to understand the nadhariyyah of the Sharî’ah, subtle matters and hidden teachings of the Qur’an, delivering the khutbah in their language and the translation of the surahs of the Qur'an — if it was possible — {Note: The Twenty-Fifth Word on miraculousness has shown that a real translation of the Qur'an is not possible.} might have been commended. But the well-known definite and unconditional laws of Islam like the salâh, sawm and zakat being wâjib and the murder, fornication (zinâ) and wine being haram are neglected. The ‘awâm people are not in need of receiving lessons on their being wâjib or haram. Rather, through encouragement and warning, they are in need of being reminded of those sacred laws and being encouraged, reminded and warned to conform to those laws through the feeling of îmân and the vein of Islam being stirred. However ignorant an ‘awâm is, he understands the following brief meaning from the Qur'an and Arabic khutbah: "The preacher and the hâfidh are recalling the pillars of îmân and the principles of Islam, which are known by me and everyone; he is teaching them to us and reciting them." A yearning for them emerges in his heart. What words are there in the universe that can be an equivalent of the miraculous and instructive reminders, warnings and encouragement of Al-Qur’an Al-Hakîm, which comes from al-‘arsh al-â’dham?

The Twenty-Seventh Word/The Third/The Fifth

 

“Like all the bad things they do, the arguments which those who are attempting to change the shaâ’er of Islam cite to support themselves spring from their blind imitation of foreigners.

They say: "In London, foreigners who have embraced Islam translate many things like the adhan and iqâmah into their own languages in their own country. Al-‘âlam of Islam is silent in the face of this and does not object. That must mean it is permissible according to the Sharî’ah, since they are silent?"

The Answer: There is such a glaring difference here that no conscious being could make such an analogy and imitate them. For the foreigner lands are called dâr al-harb12 in the terminology of the Sharî’ah, and there are numerous things which are permissible in the dâr al-harb which are not lawful in the Abode of Islam.

Furthermore, the lands of Europe are the realm of Christendom. Since they are not an environment in which the meanings of the terms of the Sharî’ah and concepts of the sacred words are communicated and instilled by the language of being, necessarily the sacred meanings have been preferred to the sacred words; the words have been abandoned for the meaning; the lesser of two evils has been chosen. In the Abode of Islam, environment gives the instruction of the abbreviated meanings of those sacred words to the people of Islam through the language of being. The conversations of people of Islam about Islamic traditions and Islamic history and all the shaâ’er of Islam and all the pillars of Islam, continuously instil into the people of îmân the concise meanings of those blessed words. In this country, besides the places of ‘ibâdah and the madrasas, even the gravestones in the graveyards are like teachers instilling those sacred meanings in the people of îmân and recalling them to them. If for some worldly advantage, someone who calls himself a Muslim learns fifty words every day from a French dictionary, and then in fifty years does not learn the sacred words like Subhânallah, Alhamdulillah, Lâ Ilâha Illallah, and Allahu Akbar, which are repeated fifty times daily, would he not fall fifty times lower than an animal? These sacred words cannot be translated and corrupted and deported for animals such as that! To change and deport them is to erase all the gravestones; it is to turn against them all the dead in the graveyards, who would turn in their graves at such an insult.

In order to deceive the nation, the ‘Ulamâ as- sû’, who have been misled by the people of ilhad, say that contrary to the other Imams, Imam-i A'zam said: "If the need arises in distant countries, it is permissible to recite the Fatiha in translation of Persian for those who know no Arabic at all." We are in need of this, so can we recite it in Turkish?

The Answer: The most important of the Great Imams as well as the other twelve mujtahid Imams have given fatwas opposing this fatwa of Imam-i A'zam. The great highway of al-‘âlam of Islam is Those Imam’s highway; the majority of Ummah may follow that great highway. Those who drive it to another particular and narrow way are leading them to dhalâlah. Imam-i A'zam's fatwa is particular in five respects:

The First: It concerns people in places distant from the centre of Islam.

The Second: It is in consequence of real need.

The Third: According to one riwâyât, it is particular to translations into Persian, which is considered the language of the people of Jannah.

The Fourth: The ruling is particular to the Fatiha, so that those who do not know it will not give up performing the salâh.

The Fifth: Permission was given so that, due to Islamic zeal arising from the strength of îmân, the sacred meanings could be understood by the ‘awâm. But to translate them and give up the Arabic original due to the weakness of îmân, negative nationalism, and hatred for the Arabic language, driven by a destructive urge, is to make others give up religion.” The Letters (506-508)

 

In the riwâyât, it was mentioned that "at the âkhirzaman, no one will remain who will say: Allah! Allah!"  لاَ يَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ اِلاَّ اللّٰهُ 13 , a ta’wîl of it must be as follows: the takkas14, the places of dhikr and the madrasas, where the dhikr of “Allah! Allah! Allah!” is recited, will be closed, and a name other than the Name Allah will be used in the shaâ’er, such as the adhan and iqâmah. It does not mean that all mankind will fall into kufr al-mutlaq. Because denying Allah is as far from the mind as denying the universe. The mind cannot accept the occurrence of this denial, even in the majority of people, let alone all of them.

The kâfirs do not deny Allah but are in error concerning His attributes. Another ta’wîl of it is this: the rûhs of the mu’mins will be seized a little previously by the qiyâmah so that they do not see its terror. Qiyâmah will erupt over the heads of the kâfirs.

The Fifth Ray-Fourth Matter

 

“Our guide, Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm decreed: كُلُّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلاَلَةٌ وَكُلُّ ضَلاَلَةٍ فِى النَّارِ .15

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. However....” The Letters (463 - 464 )

 

It says in a riwâyât that "the Dajjal of Islam will appear from the Khorasan region." لاَ يَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ اِلاَّ اللّٰهُ 16 a ta’wîl of it is this: the Turk nation, the bravest, most numerous and powerful tribe of the east and the most heroic army of Islam were around the region of Khorasan at the time of that riwâyât and had not made Anatolia their homeland yet. By mentioning the region they inhabited at that time, the hadith indicates that Sufyanic Dajjal will appear from among them.

It is strange, exceedingly strange, that he will temporarily work for using the Turkish nation and Turkism, which was a diamond sword resembling a flash and a mark of honour in the hand of Islam and the Qur'an for seven hundred years, against some of the shaâ’er of Islam. But he will not be successful and will withdraw. It is understood from the riwâyât that the heroic army will save its reins from his hand.

The Fifth Ray-Third Event

 

“Bediuzzaman’s significant achievements in Istanbul began to attract the attention of the central government in Ankara. The central government invited him to visit Ankara for an official acknowledgement of his valuable services. Despite being invited by M. Kemal Pasha his reply was: “I prefer to continue my struggle in the danger zones. I do not like fighting in trenches. I see here to be more at danger than Anatolia.”

The invitation was sent three times through encrypted messaging. Only when it was delivered by his close friend Tahsin Bey, the former governor of Van who was now a member of parliament, Bediuzzaman accepted the invitation and set off to Ankara. When arrived to Ankara he was greeted with applause. However, Bediuzzaman did not find the atmosphere he had hoped for. He decided to stay in a quarter called Haji Bayram. When he entered parliament he saw that, due to the pretext of westernisation, parliamentarians had drawn distant from the shaâ’er of Islam, which was the cornerstone of national identity and honour for the Turks. Most had become indifferent towards religion. So he prepared a pamphlet to be circulated amongst the members of parliament outlining the significance and necessity of remaining firm in the practice of ‘ibâdah, particularly the salâh. And Kazim Karabekir Pasha read out a copy to M. Kemal. The pamphlet read as follows:

…

…You have pleased al-’âlam of Islam and have gained its love and respect. However, the continuation of that respect and love is dependent on the iltizâm of Islam’s shaâ’er. For it is with respect to Islam that Muslims show you their love...

…Al-’âlam of kufr has been attacking al-’âlam of Islam with all their means, civilisation, philosophy, science and missionaries and has continued their material domination over them for a long time. Despite all this, they have not been able to dominate over al-’âlam of Islam religiously. Also at a time when all domestic dhalâlah fractions within Islam have been contained harmful minorities and Islam has preserved its strength and courage from the Sunnah and the jamâ’ah; a neglectful current of bid'ah which flowed from the wicked civilisation of Europe will find no way to settle within it. Thus within al-’âlam of Islam, success in any activity can only be achieved by adherence to Islamic principles. There is no other way. Neither has there been in the past. Even if there has been it has faded away quickly…

…The foundations of this great revolution need to be robust.

The meaning of the sultanate has been entrusted to the power inherent in the ma’nawî character of this assembly. If this assembly does not undertake the role of representing the khilâfah by fulfilling the shaâ’er of Islam and encourage the people to fulfil them, it will be letting down the religious needs of this nation. Despite needing only four things to live on, the people of this nation whose fitrah has not been corrupted and who has never forgotten the needs of their rûh, depend on religion at least five times a day through the established customs. As a consequence, the people (will have no choice but to) attribute the role of the khilâfah, to the name, image and title agreed to by this assembly. They will support and give strength to it due to that role. Where such a power which is not sourced by the hands of this assembly and is not delivered by it will cause disunity. As for disunity, it is contrary to the âyah وَ اعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللّٰهِ جَمِيعًا    

This age is the age of jamâ’ah. The collective ma’nawî character, which is the rûh of the jamâ’ah, will have vested in it far greater powers to implement the injunctions of the Sharî’ah. The individual Khalîfah can only continue its role by relying on the assembly. If there is istiqâmah in the ma’nawî collective personality, which is the rûh of the jamâ’ah, that role will shine perfectly. If it is corrupt it will become detrimental. The good and evil (deeds) of an individual is restricted to that individual. With the jamâ’ah, it is shared without bounds. Do not spoil the external good you have attained, by committing an evil domestically.

You know that your eternal enemies, opposition and opponents are destroying the shaâ’er. Therefore, your essential duty lies in reviving and protecting the shaâ’er. Otherwise, you will be unconsciously helping the conscious enemy. To attach no importance to the shaâ’er will demonstrate the weakness of the nation. As for weakness, it will not seize the enemy, it will increase its courage حَسْبُنَا اللّٰهُ وَ نِعْمَ الْوَكِيل

Biography (147-150-151 ) 

 

“The covert irreligious committees were pushing for their agenda “to destroy the Islamic rûh by banning shaâ’er one at a time and by confiscating all copies of the Qur’an and annihilating them.” Biography ( 161 )

 

“But since at this time zandaqa and the people of dhalâlah have powerful currents opposing the Qur’an and îmân, they capitalise on rivalries and confuse the people of îmân and meddle with shaâ’er.” Biography ( 528 )

 

“KNOW, O FRIEND, that students of corrupt, misguided civilizations and philosophies are driven by greed and various passions. They invite Muslims to follow foreign traditions and customs, to abandon the shaâ’er radiant with the nûr of Islam. Students of the Qur’an respond: “O people of dhalâlah and ghâfils! If you can remove decay and death from the world, and impotence and poverty from humanity, then you may abandon the Religion and abrogate the shaâ’er. Otherwise keep silent, for your words are no more than a fly’s buzzing compared to the thunder-like cry of the four things mentioned above. The takwinî âyahs and life, also proclaim the necessity of Religion and its shaâ’er.”وَاِذَا قُرِىَٔ الْقُرْاٰنُ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ وَاَنْصِتُوا لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ 17

The lion of the appointed hour of death is behind us, waiting. If you listen to Qur’an’s voice with the ear of îmân, that lion will change into a Burâq, and separation will become a Buraq to carry you to the rahmah of Ar-Rahmân Who is Rahîm, to the Presence of our Sayyîd, Al-Hannân Who is Karîm. Otherwise, that lion will rip us apart and eternally separate us from what we love. Decay and transience are also before us in the form of alternating day and night, and perishing and separation as seasons and years. Death and separation, decay and transience are gallows set up to hang us together with all our beloved ones. If we follow the guidance of Qur’an, all of these become a mount for a pleasant journey on the stream of time and ocean of the world to observe the shuûn of qoudrah through successive seasons following one another by the sun’s wheel and earth’s rotation wrapping around its head the turban of days and nights and wearing the garments of summer and winter one over the other. During that journey, we can observe the continuous renewal of the Ilahî Names’ manifestations on moving objects, in changing mirrors and on altering tablets through the alternation of days and nights. ” Al-Mathnawi Al-Nuri (307)

 

“With such an open betrayal of the shiâ’r of tasattur – an important principle of the Risale-i Nur which has spread across most provinces but not entered Adapazari – the Risale-i Nur did not run to its aid.” Kastamonu Addendum (287)

 

“Thus it happened like that in the matter of the Mi’râj in the same way. The tawâfuq of the rahmah of rain, just in the Nights of Raghâib and the Mi’râj and only on those two nights and neither before nor after, and its corresponding with a time of extreme need, and occurring at the same time as the reading, writing out, and publication of the risale about Mi’râj18 , and those two holy nights having tawâfuq with each other in several respects, and its tawâfuq in a way that both threatened and consoled their cries through the rain’s falling with extraordinary rumbling and indescribable material and ma’nawî rumbles of the earth, for it was unseasonal, and its tawâfuq perfectly with the people of îmân’s search for solace in their despair and their seeking support for ma’nawî strength in the face of their weakness and the waswasa caused bu the assaults of dhalâlah, and as a rebuke to the faults of those who behave disrespectfully towards the shaâ’er of Islam like those nights, in the meaning of “even the universe shows respect to these nights why do you not?” having tawâfuq of the samâwât and atmosphere’s through showing their respect with that abundant rahmah to the shaâ’er of Islam so that anyone with even a grain of fairness would know that there were an intention and irâdah in the matter, and a particular instance of ‘inâyah and mercy for the people of îmân, leaving no possibility for coincidence.

That is to say, the haqiqah of the Mi’râj is a miracle of Ahmad (ASM) and his greatest karâmât, and just as his rising to the skies on the staircase of the Mi’râj demonstrated the person of Ahmad’s (ASM) eminence and stature to the dwellers of the samâwât, so the Mi’râj this year displayed a karâmât and demonstrated to the earth and the people of this country the esteem and respect in which He (ASM) is held by the universe.” Emirdağ Addendum (55)

 

“contentment with the Ilahî Qadhâ19 and submission to Qadar are shiâ’r of Islam.” The Letters ( 100 )

 

“Yes, my dear Ustadh! We are forever pleased with Allah, the Qur'an, His Beloved, the Risale-i Nur and at you, our beloved Ustadh, who is the herald of the Qur'an. We in no way regret our following you. We harbour absolutely no intention in our hearts to do harm; we seek only Allah and His pleasure. As time passes, we increase our longing to meet Janâb-i Haqq within the bounds of His pleasure. To refer to Janâb-i Haqq without exception those who have done us evil and to forgive them, and to do good to everyone including those dhâlims who have done us dhulm, is a shiâ’r of Islam established in the hearts of the Risale-i Nur students. We offer endless shukr to Allah, Who proclaims this without our asking.

            Your very faulty student

Husrev

The Rays ( 276 )

 

“Recently, I listened to a question and answer in a ma’nawî conversation. I will share with you a brief summary of it:

Someone said: The great mobilisation and complete preparedness of the Risale-i Nur for the sake of îmân and Tawhîd are constantly increasing. And while even one out of the hundred is enough to silence the most obstinate atheist, why does it continue to make new mobilisations so fervently?

They said to him in reply: The Risale-i Nur is not repairing some minor damage or small house. Rather, it is repairing a vast damage and a comprehensive citadel whose stones are the size of mountains which surround Islam. And it is not working to improve only a private heart and an individual conscience. Rather, it is striving to cure with the medicines of the Qur’an and îmân and with the Qur’ans miraculousness, the collective heart and generally-held ideas that have been breached in awesome fashion by the tools of corruption prepared and stored up over a thousand years, and the general conscience which is facing corruption through the destruction of the foundations, currents, and shaâ’er of Islam which are the refuge of all and the ‘awâm of mu’mins in particular. Certainly, (the repair of) such universal and terrifying breaches and wounds requires proofs and tools at the level of haqq al-yaqîn, as strong as mountains, and well-proven medicines and numberless antidotes with the effectiveness of a thousand remedies. The Risale-i Nur, which has emerged as the ma’nawî miracle of the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition, performs that function in this time, and also has become the means of advancing and progressing through the infinite degrees of îmân.” A long discussion ensued and I heard all of it completely and offered endless shukr to Allah. I am keeping it brief.” Kastamonu Addendum ( 38 )

 

“Our Ustadh says: There is khayr in postponing the trials. Up to now the troubles inflicted on the Risale-i Nur and the Nurjus having been transformed into rahmah shows that there are khayrs in the postponement, one of which may be as follows:

With the Risale-i Nur beginning to unfold and spread and show its effects in the Islamic world abroad and with the politicians here inclining towards westernisation in a degree as a bribe to Europe, giving the verdict of complete freedom for the Risale-i Nur by the courts would raise doubts concerning its true ikhlas in the Islamic world abroad and to what would emerge in the abroad is the supposition of either the Nurjus compelled to be hypocritical, or they show no concern about those inclining to westernisation and they display weakness. For this is serious harm for the value of the Nur, this postponement removes such suspicions. And proves that for the past thirty years they have not bowed before anything which is opposed to the shiâ’r of Islam.” Emirdağ Addendum-2 (107)

 

“Also during oppressive times when the shaâ'er of Islam were forcefully removed, most of the people felt the need to sacrifice those sacred shaâ'er for worldly comfort and acted in a manner that was harming religion. They issued fatwas contrary to Islam and were forced to adhere to bid'ahs. Despite living under oppression and threats of execution. Bediuzzaman did not change his language of being, his speech and his actions in even the minutest way.

If anything, he leapt at the opportunity to strive by saying "The time of death has been appointed, it does not change. Death is a charge from this transient ‘âlam to al-’âlam al-baqâ and al-‘âlam of Nûr".

As though bringing back a manifestation of the Era of Bliss, for thirty years he continued to write and disseminate his works which identified and stopped the bid'ahs, upheld the shaâ'er of Islam and revived the Sunnah as-Saniyyah. He chose a life of torturous seclusion to avoid living against the Sunnah as-Saniyyah. For thirty years the irreligious and an unprecedented and oppressive regime which ruled over millions, could in no way rule Bediuzzaman. In fact, it was those oppressive dhâlims who were defeated by him.” Biography  (761-762)

رَبِّ اَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ هَمَزَاتِ الشَّيَاطِينِ

وَاَعُوذُ بِكَ رَبِّ اَنْ يَحْضُرُونِ

سُبْحَانَكَ لاَ عِلْمَ لَنَا اِلاَّ مَا عَلَّمْتَنَا اِنَّكَ اَنْتَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ