بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

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

WOMEN - 3

THIRD TOPIC: The two following matters are part of the examples given in the Twenty-Fifth Word showing the impotence of civilization before the miraculousness of the Qur'an. They are two examples out of thousands proving how unjust is the law of civilization, which opposes the Qur'an:

Just as the Qur'anic decree,فَلِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ اْلاُنْثَيَيْن 1 is pure justice, so too is it pure compassion. Yes, it is justice, for the overwhelming majority of men take a wife and undertake to provide for her. As for women, they take a husband and load their livelihood on him, and this makes up for the deficiency in what they have inherited. It is also mercy, for a weak girl is greatly in need of kindness from her father and brothers. The Qur'an decrees that she receives kindness from her father without worry. Her father does not consider her anxiously, thinking of her as "a harmful child due to whom half of his wealth will pass to the hands of a stranger." Anxiety and anger are not mixed with his kindness. She also receives her brother's kindness and protection free of rivalry and jealousy. He does not consider her "as a rival who will destroy half of the household and give an important part of our property to someone else." There will be no resentment and hostility mixed with his feeling of compassion and protection towards her. Thus, the girl, who is delicate and graceful by fitrah, weak and powerless by creation, is apparently deprived of a small part, but in place of it, she gains inexhaustible wealth in the form of the compassion and kindness of those close to her. Also, to give her more than her due with the idea of being more merciful to her than Haqq’s rahmah is not kindness, but a great wrong. Indeed, the savage greed of the present time, which recalls the appalling tyranny of burying girl children alive in the Age of Ignorance due to savage jealousy, may possibly open the way to merciless wickedness. Like this one, all Qur'anic rulings confirm the decree, وَمَا اَرْسَلْنَاكَ اِلاَّ رَحْمَةً لِلْعَاَلمِينَ   2

FOURTH TOPIC: فِلاُمِّهِ السُّدُسُ 3 This vile civilization has caused an injustice by giving daughters more than their due, and it perpetrates an even greater injustice by not giving the mother what is her right. Yes, the compassion of mothers is a sweetest, subtle and lovely manifestation of Rabbânî rahmah, and among the haqiqahs of the universe, is one most worthy of respect and reverence. A mother is a so generous, so rahîm, so self-sacrificing friend that driven by her compassion she will sacrifice all her world, her life, and her comfort for her child. A timid hen, even, the simplest and lowest level of motherhood, will cast herself at a dog and attack a lion in order to protect her young, through a tiny manifestation of that compassion.

And so, to deprive a mother, who is the bearer of such an honourable and elevated haqiqah, of the property of her child is an appalling injustice, a most savage lack of respect, a compounded wrongful insult, an ingratitude for ni’mahs, that causes the ‘Arsh of Rahmah to tremble and adds poison to a most brilliant and beneficial cure for man's social life. If those human monsters who claim to love humanity cannot understand this, for sure true humans can. They know that Al-Qur’an Al-Hakîm's command of, فِلاُمِّهِ السُّدُسُ 4 is pure haqq and pure justice.” The Letters ( 59 )

 

“Second Question: I felt pity for some of the people associated with the Risale-i Nur. Why is it that although a man’s right over his father’s property is two thirds, what is the reason behind Ilahî Qadar partly depriving him from this right?

The answer given is this Although it is necessary that men should respect their parents and respond to the compassion of their fathers and mothers with utmost reverence and obedience, without any limits or conditions; in this age, by way of a strange inculcation, since that true respect and obedience has been mostly spoilt, men have been unfairly deprecated from receiving (the share of) two thirds. Qadar allowed this due to their mistake. As for women, despite having many mistakes in different aspects, due to their weakness, however, as they are in much need of protective and compassionate support, they possess a higher level of respect and sensitivity in feeling the need for their fathers and mothers. As a result, Qadar has permitted to temporarily hand over to them part of the rights of their brothers by the dhâlim hands of people.

Third Question: Certain devout men experience much difficulty from their wives who are inclined to worldly possessions. Why is this? There are so many of these types of incidents in this region.

The answer given With regard to religious requirements, in this age of women’s freedom, those devout men have attempted to meddle with the world through liberated women. And as a result of this mistake, Qadar has allowed these men to be struck by the hands of those women. The remainder has been postponed due to an unintentional interruption by a blessed lady.” Kastamonu Addendum (290-291)

 

Civilization does not accept polygamy, it considers the Qur'an's decree to be contrary to itself and opposed to humanity's benefits and hikmah. Indeed, if the hikmah of marriage was only to satisfy lust, polygamy would have been contrary to it. But as is testified to by all animals and corroborated by plants that 'marry', the hikmah and aim of marriage is reproduction. The pleasure of satisfying lust is a small wage given by rahmah to encourage the performance of the duty. Since according to haqiqah and hikmah, marriage is for reproduction and the perpetuation of the species, since women can give birth only once a year, and can be impregnated only half the month, and after the age of fifty fall into despair, and men can impregnate till a hundred years old, and thus one woman is insufficient for one man, civilization has been compelled to accept numerous houses of promiscuousness.

Third Principle: Unreasoning civilization criticizes the Qur'anic âyah which apportions to women one third [in inheritance]. However, most of the rulings concerning social life are in accordance with the majority, and mostly a woman finds someone to protect her. As for the man, she will be a burden on him and will have to combine efforts with someone else who will leave her her means of subsistence. Thus, in this form, if a woman takes half of the father's legacy, her husband makes up her deficiency. But if the man receives two parts from his father, one part he will give to maintaining the woman he has married, thus becoming equal with his sister. The justice of the Qur'an requires it to be thus. It has decreed it in this way.{This is part of my court defence, which was the supplement for the Appeal Court and which silenced the court. It is appropriate as a footnote for this passage. I told the court of law: Surely if there is any justice on the face of the earth, it will reject and quash an unjust decision which has convicted someone for expounding a most sacred, just Ilahî rule which governs in the social life of three hundred and fifty million people in the year one thousand three hundred and fifty, and in every century, relying on the confirmation and consensus of three hundred and fifty thousand tafsirs, and following the beliefs of our forefathers of one thousand three hundred and fifty years. }

Fourth Principle: Just as the Qur'an severely prohibits the ‘ibâdah to idols, so it forbids the ‘ibâdah to images,  which is a sort of imitation of the ‘ibâdah to idols.5 Whereas considering the images as one of its virtues, civilization has wanted to contend with the Qur'an. But images, whether possessing shadow or not, are either petrified dhulm, or embodied riyâ, or embodied desires of the nafs; by whipping up the desires of the nafs, they encourage mankind to dhulm, riyâ and following the desires of the nafs. Moreover, the Qur'an compassionately commands women to wear the veil of hayâ so that they will be treated with respect and those mines of compassion will not be trodden under the feet of low desires, nor be like worthless goods for the excitement of lust. {The Twenty-Fourth Flash of the Thirty-First Letter about the tasattur has proved most decisively that Tasattur is appropriate for women’s fitrah, and abrogation of tasattur is contrary to fitrah.} Civilization, however, has drawn women out of their homes, rent their veils, and corrupted mankind. For family life continues through the mutual love and respect of man and wife. But immodest dress has destroyed sincere respect and affection and has poisoned family life. While ‘ibâdah of images has appallingly shaken morality, causing the abasement of man's rûh. This may be understood from the following: to look lustfully and with desire at the corpse of a beautiful woman who is in need of pity and compassion destroys morality; so too, to look lasciviously at the representations of dead women, or of living women, for they are like little corpses, shakes to their very roots the elevated human feelings and destroys them.

Thus, together with assisting human happiness in this world, all of the thousands of matters of the Qur'an like the above three examples also serve eternal happiness. You can compare other matters to these.

The Twenty-Fifth Word/3rd Ray/2nd Radiance/Fourth Principle

 

Question: From the point of view of civilisation, foreigners adduce doubt and wahm about the Sharî’ah through using as a pretext certain matters like polygamy and slavery.

The Answer: The laws of Islam are of two sorts:

The First: Sharî’ah grounds the matters of it on a new foundation.  This sort is truly beautiful and pure khayr. 

Also the other: Sharî’ah equalizes. That is, Sharî’ah expels from a great savage and cruel form and moulds to a form, which is taken from the time and place, applicable to the nature of human and a lesser sharr and equated for transition to complete true beauty.

Because, to annul a matter together all of a sudden, that generally governs the nature of human requires to change together all of a sudden human nature. Consequently upon it, Sharî’ah has not established slavery, indeed it equated and deduced from a most savage form to a form, which can open the way to complete freedom and progress to it.

And also, with polygamy being conformable to nature, mind and hikmah, Sharî’ah did not increase from one to four {Man mostly can impregnate until a hundred years old. Women may be impregnated until fifty, although menstruates half of her time} but decreased from eight or nine to four. Especially, Sharî’ah put conditions to multiplying through conforming to them, it cannot cause any harm. If it is sharr in some points, it is still a lesser sharr and the lesser sharr is a relative justice.

Alas! There can not be pure khayr in every situation of this ‘âlam.

Sünuhat (95-97)

 

“They also wrote that "a person is guilty of irtijâ’ if he calls bid’ah, dhalâlah, and ilhad, the reforms, such as the closure of the takkas6 and zaviyes7 and the madrasas; the acceptance of secularism; the establishment of nationalist principles instead of Islam; the wearing of the hat; the banning of tasattur; the enforced use of the Latin alphabet in place of the Qur'anic alphabet; the adhan and iqâmah being recited in Turkish; the prohibition of religious instruction in schools; the recognition of equal rights for women and in inheritance; and the abolition of polygamy."

Unfair committee! The Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition has every century been the sacred, samâwi guide of three hundred and fifty million people, the programme of all their happiness, and the sacred treasury of the life of this world and the âkhirah. If it is possible to deny numerous of its sarîh âyahs, which do not bear interpretation, about the tasattur, inheritance, polygamy, dhikr of Allah, instruction in ‘ilm of religion and its dissemination, and the preservation of the shaâ’er, and to make guilty the crimes of all the Islamic mujtahids and all the Shaykhs al-Islam, and if you can annul the passage of time, quash the numerous court acquittals, and the legal pardons, and abolish confidentiality and the private side of things, and freedom of conscience and freedom of thought, and intellectual and scholarly opposition, and remove them from this country and its governments, you can make me guilty of these things. Otherwise, in the court of haqiqah, haqq and justice, you will be awesomely guilty!” The Rays ( 428 )

 

 

Women Left Their Homes and Led Mankind Astray, They Must Return To Their Homes

اِذَا تَاَنَّثَ الرِّجَالُ السُّفَهَاءُ بِالْهَوَسَاتِ ٭ اِذًا تَرَجَّلَ النِّسَاءُ النَّاشِزَاتُ بِالْوَقَاحَاتِ8

{*This is the basis of Risale on Tasattur. Twenty years later, a court of law that made that risale the cause of its author's conviction eternally shamed and convicted itself and its judges.}

Vile civilization made womankind fly from their homes; it destroyed their blessedness and respect towards them and made them common goods.

As a rahmah, the Sharî’ah of Islam invites them to their previous homes. It is there, they are respected, their comfort is in their homes, in family life.

Cleanliness is their adornment; goodness of character is their splendour; innocence is their grace and beauty; compassion is their perfection’s beauty; their children are their amusement.

Despite so many causes of corruption, she has to be as strong and firm as steel so that she can withstand them.

When a beautiful woman enters a gathering of brothers, riyâ, rivalry, envy and selfishness stir the veins. Sleeping desires of the nafs suddenly awaken.

Increased freedom of womankind has caused a sudden unfolding of bad morality in mankind.

Little corpses, the smiling deads, which are called images, have played a great role in the violent-tempered rûh of civilized mankind. {**Just as to look lustfully at a dead woman shows extreme despicability of nafs, in the same way, to look with carnal desires at a beautiful picture of a helpless female corpse needy of compassion extinguishes the elevated feelings of the rûh.}

The statues and images prohibited by the Sharî’ah are either petrified dhulm, embodied riyâ, or frozen desires of the nafs. Or it is a talisman attracting those evil rûhs.

 The Words-Gleams

 

“There is a riwâyât which says: "At the âkhirzaman, one man will look after forty women." Allahu a'lam bissawab9 , this may be interpreted in two ways:

Firstly: Lawful marriage will decrease at that time, or like in Russia, it will disappear. Someone who flees from being tied to one woman, will remain at a loose end, and become a shepherd to forty unfortunate women.

The Second: It is an allusion that at that time of fitnah, most of the men will perish in wars, and for a hikmah most of the children born will be girls. Perhaps as well, independence of women and the total freedom of women will so inflame their lust that they will acquire superiority over their menfolk as their fitrah. This will result in their causing their children to attract mother’s gender, and through the Ilahî command, girl children will be more numerous.” The Rays ( 107 )

 

Since both Dajjals won the assistance of a secret committee of Jews which nurtures severe revenge against Islam and Christianity, and the help of another terrifying committee, which is under the veil of women's liberation, and even the Islamic Dajjal won the aid of the Mason committees by deceiving them, they will be supposed to possess tremendous power.

 The Fifth Ray-Three Brief Matters-The Third Aspect And Reason

 

“The reality of the fitnah at the âkhirzaman appeared to me. It seemed to me that its most fearsome and attractive aspect of that fitnah would spring from the shameless faces of women. Negating free choice, it would cast people into the flames of dissipation, like moths, and make them prefer one minute of the life of this world to years of eternal life.

Another day while watching the street, I noticed a powerful example of that fitnah. I felt great pity for the young people I saw. While thinking: “These unfortunates cannot save themselves from the fire of this attractive fitnah which attracts like magnets,” A Guide For Youth ( 24 )

 

I knew that just as in order to harm the social life of Islam and thereby to the religion of Islam, one or two committees work to mislead youth and drive them to dissipation through using the desires of youth, in the same way, I felt that one or two committees effectively work under the veil in order to drive the ghâfil part of womenkind to the wrong ways, and I knew that a terrifying blow to this Muslim nation is coming from that aspect.

 The Twenty-Fourth Flash- A Conversation with Women-2nd Subtle Point

 

“It is understood from the riwâyât of certain Hadiths that what will play the most fearsome role in the fitnah at the âkhirzaman will be women and their fitnah. Yes, just as it is related in the histories that in olden times a group of soldiers composed of warrior women called ‘Amazons’ were extremely skilled in war, so in just the same way at the present time, the most fearsome of the group in the war of dhalâlah of zandaqa against Islam, the commandership of which has been given to shaytan through the scheming of the nafs al-ammarah, is half-naked women, who with their bare legs-those ghastly knives- attack and assault the people of îmân. By striving to close the road to marriage and widen the road to houses of debauchery, they take many people’s nafs captive and wound their hearts and rûhs with kabâir. Indeed, they kill some of those hearts.

As a perfect punishment for displaying them to the desirous gazes of those who are non-mahrams, those knife-like legs become the logs to fuel Jahannam and will be the first to burn. And since such women have lost their claims to trustworthiness and loyalty in this world, they are no longer able to find suitable husbands, which by their creation they want and of which they are in great need by their fitrah. Even if they do find one, it only brings them trouble. It is understood from some Hadith even that as a result of this situation, at the âkhirzaman because marriage will be neither sought after nor observed in some places, women will lose their value to the extent one man looks after forty women.

Since the haqiqah is this; and since every beauty loves her beauty and wants to preserve it as far as she can and does not want it to be spoilt; and since beauty is a ni’mah and if shukr is offered for the ni’mahs they increase in a ma’nawî manner, while if shukr is not offered for the ni’mahs it changes and becomes ugly; for sure if such a person is sensible, she will flee with all her strength from committing sins, and making her beauty and loveliness commit sins, and making them ugly and poisonous, and through ingratitude turning that ni’mah into something that leads to punishment. And in order to make permanent her fleeting five or ten years’ beauty, she will offer shukr for the ni’mah by using it in a licit fashion. Otherwise, for the long period of her old age, she will be spurned and will weep despairingly.

If her loveliness is made beautiful with the adornment of Qur’anic âdâb and manners within the sphere of Islamic tarbiyyah, her fleeting beauty will become eternal in Jannah in a ma’nawî manner and she will be given a beauty more graceful and shining than that of the houris, as is definitely established in Hadiths. If such a beauty has even the minutest amount of sense, she will not allow this beautiful, shining, and everlasting result to slip from her hand.” A Guide For Youth ( 29 )

 

“There are many other examples, many pitfalls for the unfortunate young because of which they transform their sweet lives into the most bitter and pitiable lives.

Consider a vast state to the north; it has gained possession of the passions of its young people and is shaking this century with its storms. For it has made lawful for its youths the pleasing daughters and wives of upright people, and these youths act only according to their blind feelings, which do not see the consequences. By permitting men and women to go together to the public baths, they are even encouraging immorality. And they consider it lawful for vagabonds and the poor to plunder the property of the rich. All mankind trembles in the face of this calamity.” The Rays ( 475 )

 

“There is a riwâyât: "The fitnah of the âkhirzaman will be so terrible that no one will be able to restrain their nafs." It is because of this that for one thousand three hundred years, on the command of the Prophet (asm), all the Ummah has sought refuge with Allah from that fitnah, the phrase of  مِنْ فِتْنَةِ الدَّجَّالِ وَ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ10 became the wird of the Ummah after seeking refuge from the torments of the grave.

Allahu a'lam bissawab11 an interpretation of it is like this: the fitnahs will draw nufûs to itself, captivating them. People will join it voluntarily, indeed, eagerly. For example, in Russia, men and women bathe naked together in public baths. And because by fitrah women have a strong propensity to show off their beauty, they willingly throw themselves into that fitnah and are led astray. The men too, by their fitrah enamoured of beauty, are defeated by their nafs, and with drunken joy, fall into the fire and are burnt. Holding a fascination, the amusements, kabâir and bid’ahs of the times such as dancing and the theatre, draw those who perform ‘ibâdah to their nafs around them like moths, intoxicating them. But if this occurs through absolute compulsion, the will is negated and it is not even a sin.” The Rays ( 105 )

 

“... at the present time, the most fearsome of the group in the war of dhalâlah of zandaqa against Islam, the commandership of which has been given to shaytan through the scheming of the nafs al-ammarah, is half-naked women, who with their bare legs - those ghastly knives - attack and assault the people of îmân. By striving to close the road to marriage and widen the road to prostitution, they take the nafs of many people captive and wound their hearts and rûhs with kabâir. Indeed, they kill some of those hearts". 

Is this not true? Are we denying the prostitutes who promote fornication and destroy the institution of marriage? Is it not true that the government is working to fight against public and secret prostitution? Don't we have the Criminal Law, The Struggle against Prostitution Act and the Moral Police Officers struggling against this problem day and night.

'Yes, there is. However, we deal with this, not Allah?' says the prosecutor. Well, he can say all he wants. But the truth of the matter is that the law, the officials and prosecutor, seize criminals after the crime has been committed. That is after everything has happened; after the chastity has been lost and the murder has been committed. The law has no opportunity to deter anyone beforehand. But religiously you can deter people: Fear of Allah and religious practice. With this fear, one can prevent any type of humiliation. The religion of Islam commands this. It asks us to take preventative measures.

How? By giving advice, warning them, teaching about Allah, instilling the fear of Allah in one's heart, the love of Allah, Jahannam-fire and eternal punishment, by embedding the desire for eternal happiness; making people aware of this and to teach them to love and to fear. They should fear so that their evil does not prevail, and so they can rescue themselves and their community. And so prosecutor and nation and government and citizens can be at ease. Prosecutors, government authorities and the nation will find relief. This is why one should instil the fear and love of Allah in people.

So how can this be done? By teaching it, writing and reading about it. But then this is labelled as propaganda. What will happen? These are commands of Allah and the hikmah of the Qur'an of Mighty Stature, right? Is it not your most natural right to practice religion? Who can prohibit you from this (the path of Allah)? They call this a crime. Is that so? Let us read the command of Allah:

اِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَ صَدُّوا عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللّٰهِ وَ شَاقُّوا الرَّسُولَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الْهُدَى لَنْ يَضُرُّوا اللّهَ شَيْئًا وَ سَيُحْبِطُ اَعْمَالَهُمْ

It's meaning: Verily, those who disbelieve (kufr) and hinder men from the path of Allah and oppose the Rasûl, after the haqq has been made clear to them, they will not harm Allah in the least. But He will make their deeds fruitless.” Biography (698)

 

“If we did not consider the universal service of the Qur’an that Ustadh performed, and we assumed his only service was the interaction he had with those he met and gave lessons to and guided, even that alone would be considered a most significant and influential service. His service in this area is tremendous. Just like in Barla, where he had accepted as students the friends he considered as being brothers and sisters of the âkhirah, so too in Emirdağ and its surrounding villages, he had many students, friends and sisters of the âkhirah. The attention he gave to innocent children, in particular, was amazing.

Ustadh’s boundless ‘iffah and istiqâmah is well established and is undeniable. He would strongly hold-off from speaking to women, and avoid even looking at them. It is understood from one of his letters that even in his youth, he demonstrated the pinnacle of ‘iffah and istiqâmah and this was established through the observations of his friends and companions and the people who knew his life well.

In seeing this exemplary quality of ‘iffah and istiqâmah of Ustadh, the town’s people showed him great ma’nawî affection and attachment that concerning the âkhirah. Ustadh always offered du'â to those he accepted as being his sisters in the âkhirah and the innocent children he saw as his students and ma’nawî children. He would briefly explain to them that women are the champions of compassion; that it is a requirement to act in accordance with the tarbiyyah of Islam in this age; that they are responsible for the âkhirah life of their children; and that if they were to raise them religiously they would share in their rewards of the âkhirah. He would tell them he was very ill and deprived and would request their du'â for him. He would mention that he included the elderly women and those younger women who perform salâh in his du'â and accepted them as his sisters of the âkhirah. He would already speak very little. And through the innocence of their hearts, the blessed women would know that Said Nursî was a pious ahl al-haqq and haqiqah.” Biography (489-490)

 

“In older times there lived a person who resembled the Risale-i Nur students in this respect. Both he and his wife were of high ma’nawî rank, but due to their straitened circumstances, she stated to him their extreme need. Suddenly, a golden brick appeared before them. She exclaimed: “Look! A brick from our mansion in Jannah!” But then the blessed women said: “It’s true that we’re needy and that we’ll have loads of bricks like that in the âkhirah, but this one shouldn’t be wasted on this fleeting life so that it’s missing from our mansion there. Offer a du'â that it return to its place; we don’t need it!” It disappeared, and it is told that with their kashf they beheld it in its place.” Emirdağ Addendum (101)

 

“A hundred thousand shukr be to Janâb-i Haqq, the blessed mothers and women of that village have completely appreciated the full worth of the Risale-i Nur. The sacrifices made in spreading the Risale-i Nur by those blessed women and made valuable and sincere sisters of the âkhirah have made me and all of us cry with utter joy.

Since the most important principle of the method of the Risale-i Nur is compassion, and since women are repositories of compassion, for a long time I was expecting al-‘âlam of women to realise the nature of the Risale-i Nur. Lillah’il Hamd the women in this area are also actively working in full with an ardour that is much greater than the men nearby, thereby demonstrating they are the sisters of the blessed people of Sav. Both these manifestations at this time are positive signs that the Risale-i Nur will beam and triumph in those repositories of compassion.” Kastamonu Addendum (107)

 

“I will tell you of an incident that is subtle, beautiful and elegant. The elderly women in this city and the innocent young women who, like the elderly women, have clung on to Risale-i Nur in a self-sacrificing way far more than the men, have used classical gilded threads and valuable prices from their trousseau to decorate the cover of the Risale-i Nur books, making it appear as though all the risale covers were glittered with gold. For the ma’nawî beauty of the Risale-i Nur, and for the glittering beautiful writings of Husrev and Tahiri and the Ali’s and of our brothers like Hasan Atif and Asim, they too have added another charming adornment over its cover. There are many sisters here that work very hard for the Risale-i Nur who are the equivalent of Ummuhan and Sahide, which Hafiz Ali has referred to in his letter. Students of the Risale-i Nur such as Asiye, Saniye, Ulviye, Lutfiye, Aliye for example, pass on their salam and du'â to their sisters and brothers there.” Kastamonu Addendum (169)

 

“During the early stages of the Risale-i Nur being written, when I was in Barla, the late wife of the chief scribe Shamli Hâfidh Tevfik would carry the logs in his place and attend to his duties, in order for Hâfidh to continue his writing. Since then, in return for this favour of hers, we have included his late wife in our du'â among the students of the Risale-i Nur who have passed away, and will continue to do so.” Kastamonu Addendum (260)

 

“Yes, Nur students believe that they are though employed on a Rabbânî ship delivering the Ummah of Muhammad (asm) to the shore of salâmât. Their greatest aim in life is to perform the service of the Qur'an and îmân to facilitate a life of prosperity and happiness for the Ummah of Muhammad (asm). During these years of the Risale-i Nur’s dissemination through handwritten copies, there were people who had been writing and disseminating the Risale-i Nur for seven to eight years without leaving their homes. It was these times in which the thousands of Nur students in the vicinity of Isparta, the men and women, young and old, in fact, the whole village of Sav, which was a Nur darshane in itself, duplicated copies of the Risale-i Nur with a thousand pens for years. (Twenty years after writing, the Risale-i Nur was published with duplicating machines and was printed in publishing houses thirty-five years later. Inshaallah a time will come when the Risale-i Nur collection will be written in gold and be broadcast in different languages, transforming the face of the globe into a vast Nur darshane.)

The blessed women were also honoured to make significant sacrifices in the dissemination of the Risale-i Nur. There were, in fact, some heroic women who came to Hazrat Ustadh saying: "Oh Ustadh! I will try and take on the burden of the worldly affairs under my husband's care. Let him be yours, he is for the Risale-i Nur" and offered greater opportunities for their husbands to work in the service of the Risale-i Nur. With every bit of effort, they would share in the service of religion and îmân engaged by their husbands, by holding the candlelight while their husband's scribed the Risale-i Nur at nights. Women and the girls demonstrated self-sacrificing efforts to write out copies of the Risale-i Nur by hand and as blessed scribes performed great service to further the cause of îmân.

In fact, there were such female Nur Students who passionately studied the Nur Risales, which through the nûr of îmân will attain for them a favourable end in their last breaths, that they fervently read and introduced them to other sisters of religion. By disseminating the Nur among women, they performed a heroic service and became the means of the enlightenment of many women through the nûr of îmân and Qur'an. By reading and teaching the Risale-i Nur, they advanced in the levels of iman like having reached the level of a murshid.

With purity of heart and ikhlas women have been bound to the brilliant and nûr of the Qur'an with faydh in the Risale-i Nur purely to attain the pleasures of Allah. With the inextinguishable love and affection to their hearts towards it, they have attained a fortunate position both in this world and the âkhirah. The value of majesty of the Risale-i Nur was engrained in their pure hearts so much that, the more they read and listened to it, the more they found themselves overflowing with nûr and faydh, and become enlivened and overwhelmed with tears of joy.

How fortunate are those women who, having worked in the Risale-i Nur's sacred service of îmân, will forever be commemorated and have nûrs sent to their âkhirah, their graves will be filled with Jannah-like nûr and they will rise to the highest levels in the âkhirah Inshallah. Together with being included in the du'âs of foremost Ustadh Hazrat Bediuzzaman, through the mystery of the ma’nawî corporation formed among Nur Students, their book of deeds will be recorded with so many khayr. The sincere connections they have toward the Risale-i Nur make those self-sacrificing women the recipients of the du'âs performed by millions of Nur Students. By reading and causing others to read the Risale-i Nur they would achieve great ma’nawî gains and exalted levels. Inshaallah it is our firm belief, hope and plea from the rahmah of Allah that most women will follow suite.” Biography (172)

 

“You sent me a copy of The Staff of Mûsâ which is not bound and has only a yellow paper cover. The handwriting slightly resembles Husrev’s, but it has the name Mustafa at the top. Who is it? Which Mustafa? The copy also has “thirteen-year-old Hatice, Ahmed’s daughter” written on it. Which Ahmed is this? Thousand Bârakallah12 be upon Him and his daughter. It is heroic for one of the innocent children to write out at that age such a long book most carefully, beautifully and correctly, and with the tawâfuq. Whoever sees it will applaud it. It will also fire the enthusiasm of the women here who have been to school.” Emirdağ Addendum (152)

 

“In another field (in the ‘âlam of women), Kastamonu’s Zehras, Hajers, Lutfiyas, Ulviyas, and Najmiyas accompany Feyzi in serving the Risale-i Nur…

…Our worthy sister Zehra who has come here twice in connection with the Risale-i Nur serve and her giving two hundred liras to cover the paper expenses of the Madrasatu’z Zehra shows that among the women are Husrevs, Feyzis, and Ahmeds.” Emirdağ Addendum (221)

 

“My ‘Azîz, Siddîq Brothers and Nur Students of the ma’nawî Madrasatu’z Zehra!

When I arrived in Isparta, I received the news that a school for Imam and Wâiz was going to be opened. This gave me the idea that since most of the students who would register for the school would be Nur-jus, a Nur madrasa should be opened unofficially in the vicinity of the school and that school can be made into a sort of madrasa of Nur. A day or two later, a rumour spread that I was going to teach, and it was understood from the streams of men and women from all around who came to listen that if such a semi-official, General madrasa of Nur were to be opened, such a thronging crowd would form that it would become impossible. So the idea was abandoned due to the possibility of unnecessary crowds gathering, as they did when we went to the court in Afyon. A second haqiqah was imparted to my heart. It was this:

If anyone had a household of four or five people, he should make his house into a small madrasa of Nur. If he does not have such a household and is alone, he should unite with three or four of his neighbours who show much interest, and they should make the house they gather in a small madrasa of Nur. If at least when they are not working, they spend even five or ten minutes, reading or writing out the Risale-i Nur, or listening to it, they will receive the rewards and honour of true tullâb al-‘ulûm13 , and they will also be performing the five sorts of ‘ibâdah described in the Risale on Ikhlas. It was imparted to my heart that like true tullâb al-‘ulûm, even their daily activities when working for their livelihoods may become a sort of ‘ibâdah. So I am telling this to my brothers.” Emirdağ Addendum (375-376)

 

“Because compassion is a basic principle of the Risale-i Nur and women are more advanced in that respect, they embrace the Risale-i Nur earnestly. When I say my brothers, I mean that sisters are included among the brothers. They too are addressed in all my letters.” Emirdağ Addendum (175)

 

“A strong reason for this event was that since the Risale-i Nur gives great importance to family life and ensures that women pass their lives with ‘iffah, honour, modesty and happiness, mainly women show demand for the Risale-i Nur. A good example of this is how enemies of religion saw a few articles for women that had been published and they launched an attack on account of communism on some cooked up pretexts. But they will in no way succeed. For contrary to their aims, the Risale-i Nur is spreading wondrously among both men and women.” Emirdağ Addendum-2 (219)

 

May Janâb-i Haqq save us and you from the alluring fitnah of this time, and preserve us from them. Amen.

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