From the Risale-i Nur Collection

Humanity's Encounter with the Divine Series

The Miraculous Qur'an and Some of Its Mysteries

The Twelfth Word

The Twentieth Word

The Twenty-fifth Word

The Twenty-ninth Letter

Bediuzzaman SAID NURSI

Table of Contents

Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur........ iii

The Twelfth Word

Revealed Wisdom and Human Thought

Four fundamentals................................... 1

[Differences between the Qur'anic wisdom and human philos­ophy • Moral training in one's personal life • Moral training in human social life • The Qur'an is superior to all other Divine Scriptures, speech, and writings]

The Twentieth Word

The Qur'an: Eloquence and Science

Two stations............................................ 15

[Apparently insignificant events hide a universal principle and present the tip of a general law • The Prophets' miracles show what humanity can attain through observation, experimenta­tion, and concerted effort]

The Twenty-fifth Word The Miraculous Qur'an

Three parts.............................................. 59

[Said Nursi's definition of thè Qur'an ]

First light................................................. 62

[An analysis of verses exhibiting the Qur'an's miraculous elo­quence]

Second light........................................... 152

[Three rays displaying more aspects of the Qur'an's miracu­lous eloquence]

Third light.............................................. 195

[Three rays showing how the Qur'an's verses remove the dark­ness of unbelief]

Conclusion................... :........................ 212

First addendum..................................... 215

[Six points dealing with the Qur'an's excellence]
The flower of Emirdag.......................... 226

[Why there is repetition in the Qur'an]
Two concluding notes.......................... 244

[A translation can never replace the original Qur'an • Reflections on belief]

The Twenty-ninth Letter The Qur'an

Nine points....... .................................... 249

[Nine points dealing with various subtle points related to the Qur'an]

Index...................................................... 267

Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur

In the many dimensions of his lifetime of achievement, as well as in his personality and character, Bediuzzaman (1877-1960) was and, through his continuing influence, still is an important thinker and writer in the Muslim world. He represented in a most effective and profound way the intellectual, moral and spiritual strengths of Islam, evi­dent in different degrees throughout its fourteen-century history. He lived for eighty-five years. He spent almost all of those years, overflowing with love and ardor for the cause of Islam, in a wise and measured activism based on sound reasoning and in the shade of the Qur'an and the Prophetic example.

Bediuzzaman lived in an age when materialism was at its peak and many crazed after communism, and the world was in great crisis. In that critical period, Bediuzzaman pointed people to the source of belief and inculcated in them a strong hope for a collective restoration. At a time when science and philosophy were used to mislead young generations into atheism, and nihilistic attitudes had a wide appeal, at a time when all this was done in the name of civilization, modernization and contemporary thinking and those who tried to resist them were subjected to the cruelest of persecutions, Bediuzzaman strove for the over­all revival of a whole people, breathing into their minds whatever and spirits whatever is taught in the institutions of both modern and traditional education and of spiritu­al training.

Bediuzzaman had seen that modern unbelief origi­nated from science and philosophy, not from ignorance

iv

The Miraculous Qur'an and Some of Its Mysteries

as previously. He wrote that nature is the collection of Divine signs and therefore science and religion cannot be conflicting disciplines. Rather, they are two (appar­ently) different expressions of the same truth. Minds should be enlightened with sciences, while hearts need to be illu­mined by religion.

Bediuzzaman was not a writer in the usual sense of the word. He wrote his splendid work the Risale-i Nur, a collection exceeding 5,000 pages, because he had a mis­sion: he struggled against the materialistic and atheistic trends of thought fed by science and philosophy and tried to present the truths of Islam to modern minds and hearts of every level of understanding. The Risale-i Nur, a mod­em commentary of the Qur'an, mainly concentrates on the existence and unity of God, the Resurrection, Prophethood, the Divine Scriptures primarily including the Qur'an, the invisible realms of existence, Divine Destiny and human­ity's free will, worship, justice in human life, and human­ity's place and duty among the creation.

In order to remove from people's minds and hearts the accumulated 'sediment' of false beliefs and concep­tions and to purify them both intellectually and spiritu­ally, Bediuzzaman writes forcefully and makes reiterations. He writes in neither an academic nor a didactic way; rather he appeals to feelings and aims to pour out his thoughts and ideas into people's hearts and minds in order to awak­en them to belief and conviction.

This book is a selected section from the Risale-i Nur collection.

The Twelfth Word

Revealed Wisdom and Human Thought

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

Whoever has been given the Wisdom, certainly has been given much good. (2:269)

[Note: This Word presents a brief comparison between the Qur'an's sacred wisdom and human phi­losophy, a concise summary of the Qur'anic instruc­tion and training for humanity's personal and social life, and an indication of the Qur'an's superiority to all other Divine Words and speech.]

Four fundamentals

First fundamental: Differences between the Qur'anic wisdom and human philosophy: A reli­gious, skillful, and renowned ruler wanted to make a copy of the Qur'an as beautifully as required by its sacred meanings and miraculous wording in order to adorn its wonderful words in a worthy fashion. So, he wrote it in a truly wonderful fash­ion with all kinds of precious jewels. To point out the variety of its truths, he wrote some of its let­ters in diamonds and emeralds, others in pearls and agate, brilliants and coral, and gold and silver. He adorned and decorated in such a way that every­one was full of admiration and astonishment. That Qur'an became a most precious artwork for the people of truth, for its outer beauty indicated its brilliant inner beauty and striking adornment.

The ruler showed this Qur'an to a foreign [non-Muslim] philosopher and a Muslim scholar. Seeking to test and reward them, he told each one to write about it. The two men complied. The philosopher discussed the letters' shapes, decorations, and inter­relationships, and the jewels' properties and meth­ods of use. He said nothing of its meaning, for he saw only an ornamented object and was unaware that it was an invaluable book with depths of mean­ing. As he was well-informed about engineering and chemistry, could describe things, and knew a great deal about jewelry but nothing about Arabic, he wrote his book accordingly. But the truth-lov­ing Muslim scholar, understanding that it was the Clear Book (the Wise Qur'an), ignored its out­ward ornamentation and the letters' decorations and described the sacred truths and secret lights behind the veil of decorations, for they are far more valuable and worthy of respect, more useful and comprehensive.

Both men presented their books to the ruler, who began with the philosopher's book. Seeing that he had worked very hard, the ruler neverthe­less refused his book and expelled him from his presence. Why? Because he had written nothing of the bejeweled Qur'an's true wisdom, understood none of its meanings, and showed his disrespect for it by thinking that this source of truths consists of meaningless decoration. Looking through sec­ond book, and seeing that the truth-loving schol­ar had written a very beautiful and useful interpre­tation, a wise and illuminating composition, he congratulated him. It was pure wisdom, and its author was a true scholar, a genuine sage. As a reward, the scholar was given 10 gold coins from the ruler's inexhaustible treasury for each letter of his book.

The meaning is as follows: The embellished Qur'an is this artistically fashioned universe; the ruler is the Eternal Sovereign. The first man rep­resents the line of philosophy and philosophers: the second man represents the way of the Qur'an and its students. Indeed, the wise Qur'an is the most exalted expounder and a most eloquent translator of this universe (a macro-Qur'an). It is the Criterion that instructs jinn and humanity in the signs of creation—Divine laws regarding creation and the universe's operation—inscribed by the Pen of Power on the sheets of the universe and pages of time. It looks upon creatures, each a meaningful letter, as bearing the meaning of another (on account of their Maker) and says: "How beautifully they have been made, how meaningfully they point to the Maker's beauty and grace." Thus it shows the uni­verse's real beauty.

Philosophy, focused on the design and decora­tions of creation's "letters," has lost its way. While it ought to look upon this macro-book's letters as bearing the meaning of another (on account of God), it looks upon them as signifying themselves (on account of themselves) and says: "How beautiful they are," not "How beautifully they have been made." Thus philosophers insult creation and cause it to complain. In truth, materialistic philosophy is a falsehood having no truth, an insult to creation.

Second fundamental: Moral training in one's personal life: Sincere students of philosophy are Pharaoh-like tyrants.¹ They abuse themselves by bowing in worship before the meanest thing, if they perceive it to be in their interest to do so. These materialist students are stubborn, mislead­ing, and unyielding, but so wretched that they accept endless degradation for one pleasure; unbending but so mean as to kiss the feet of devilish people for a base advantage. They are conceited and dom­ineering, but, unable to find any point of support in their hearts, are utterly impotent and vainglorious tyrants. Such people are no more than self-centered egoists striving to gratify their material and carnal desires, pursuers of personal interests and certain national interests.

Sincere students of the Qur'an are worshipping servants of God. They do not degrade themselves by bowing in worship before, even the greatest of the created. They are dignified servants who do not worship in order to obtain a benefit, even Paradise. They are modest students, mild and gentle, who only lower themselves voluntarily to their Creator, nev­er exceeding what He has permitted. They are aware of their weakness and need, but are independent because the Munificent Owner provides them with spiritual wealth. Relying on their Master's infinite Power, they are powerful. They act and strive pure­ly for God's sake and pleasure, and to be equipped with virtue. The training given by philosophy and the Qur'an may be understood through the above comparison.

Third fundamental: Moral training in human social life: Philosophy considers force to be the point of support in social life, and life as the real­ization of self-interest (its goal) and conflict (its principle). A community's unifying bonds are race and aggressive nationalism, and its fruits are the gratification of carnal desires and increased need. Force calls for aggression, seeking self-interest caus­es battles over material resources, and conflict brings strife. Racism feeds by swallowing others, thereby paving the way for aggression. This is why human­ity is not happy.

The Qur'an accepts right as the point of support in social life. The aim is virtue and God's approval, and its principle is mutual assistance. The only com­munity bonds it accepts are those of religion, pro­fession, and country. Its aim is to control and thus weaken carnal desires by urging the soul to sublime matters, satisfying our exalted feelings so that we will strive for human perfection and true human­ity. Right calls for unity, virtues bring solidarity, and mutual assistance means helping each other. Religion secures brotherhood, sisterhood, and cohe­sion. Restraining our desires and urging the soul to perfection brings happiness in both worlds.

• Fourth fundamental: The Qur'an is superi­or to all other Divine Scriptures, speech, and writ­ings: This truth is explained in the following two parables: First, a king has two forms of speech and address. He uses the first one while speaking on his phone to a common subject regarding a minor matter or private need. He uses the second one in his capacity as the supreme sovereign, supreme head of the religious office, and supreme ruler. He directs his words toward an envoys or high official so that his commands will be promulgated through an exalted decree that manifests his majesty.

Second, a person holds a mirror toward the sun. According to the mirror's capacity, he receives the sun's seven-colored light and thereby establishes a connection with it. When he directs this light-filled mirror toward his dark house and roof-cov­ered garden, he benefits from the sun only accord­ing to the mirror's ability to reflect it. Another per­son opens broad windows in his house or roof-covered garden, thus exposing them to the bene­fits of direct and continuous sunlight. In gratitude, he says: "O fine sun, beauty of the world and skies, who gilds Earth with your light and makes flow­ers smile. You have furnished my house and garden with your heat and light, just as you have done for the skies, Earth, and flowers." The first person can­not say such things, for he has to be content with his mirror's reflections of the sun's light and heat.

Consider the Qur'an in the light of these two parables. See its miraculousness and understand its holiness. The Qur'an declares: If all the trees on Earth were to become pens and all the seas ink, and if they were to write the words of Almighty God, they would never finish them.

The Qur'an holds the greatest rank among God's infinite words because it originated in His Greatest Name and in the greatest level of every Name, each of which has infinitely different levels of manifes­tation.² It is the Word of God because He is the Lord of the Worlds; His decree because He is the Deity of all creatures; and a Divine address because He is the Creator of the Heavens and Earth. It is a speech of God in regard to His absolute Lordship, an eternal address in regard to His universal Divine Sovereignty; a ledger of the All-Merciful One's favors from the point of view of His all-embrac­ing, comprehensive Mercy; a collection of commu­nications that sometimes begin with ciphers in respect of His Divinity's sublime majesty; and a wisdom-infusing Holy Scripture that, having orig­inated from the Divine Greatest Name's all-com­prehensive realm, looks to and examines the all-embracing domain of the Supreme Throne of God. This is why the Qur'an deserves to be called— and is called—the Word of God.

Some other Divine Words are Divine speech manifested for a specific reason, under a minor title, and through the particular manifestation of a par­ticular Name. This results from a particular man­ifestation of Divine Hardship, Sovereignty, or Mercy. Divine Words vary in degree with respect to par­ticularity and universaUty. Most inspiration is of this kind. For example, in ascending order, God sends the most particular and simple inspiration to ani­mals. It increases in importance as it is sent to ordi­nary people, ordinary angels, saints, and greater angels, respectively.

This is why saints who supplicate without medi­ation directly through the telephone of the heart "connected to God" say: "My heart reports to me from my Lord." They do not say: "It reports to me from the Lord of the Worlds." They can say: "My heart is a mirror, a Throne, of my Lord," but not: "My heart is the Throne of the Lord of the Worlds," for saints receive the Divine address only accord­ing to their capacity and to how many of the 70,000 veils separating humanity and God they have removed.

A king's decree issued in his capacity as the supreme sovereign is higher and more exalted than his conversation with a commoner. We receive far more benefit from direct exposure to the sun than we do from its reflection. The Qur'an is superior to all speech and books in the same way. Next come the other Divine Scriptures,³ which are superior to all other speech and books, for they are based on Revelation. If all non-Qur'anic but nevertheless fine words, epigrams, and wise sayings known to human­ity and jinn were collected, they could not equal the Qur'an.

If you want to have some understanding of how the Qur'an has originated in God's Greatest Name and in the greatest level of every Name, consider the universal, sublime statements of Ay at al-Kursi (2:255) and the following verses:

God, there is no god but He; the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting (by Whom all subsist.) Slumber seizes Him not, nor sleep. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. Who is there that shall intercede with Him save by His leave? He knows what lies before them and what lies after them, (what lies in their future and in their past, what is known to them and what is hid­den from them;) and they comprehend not any­thing of His Knowledge save, what He wills. His Seat (of dominion) embraces the heavens and Earth, and their preservation wearies Him not; He is the All-High, the Tremendous. (2:255)

With Him are the keys of the Unseen. (6:59)

O God, Owner of sovereignty. (3:26)

He covers the day with the night, each pursuing the other urgently. (7:54)

O Earth, swallow your water, and O sky, cease your rain! (11:44)

The seven heavens and Earth, and all within them extol Him. (17:44)

Your creation and your upraising are as but as a sin­gle soul. (31:28)

We offered the Trust to the heavens and Earth and the mountains. (33:72)

On the day when We shall roll up heaven as a scroll is rolled for books. (21:104)

They measure not God as is due to Him. Earth alto­gether shall be His handful on the Day of Resurrection. (39:67)

If We had sent down this Qur'an upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled, split asunder out of the fear of God. (59:21)

Meditate upon the initial verses of those suras beginning with al-hamdu li-llah (All praise be to God) or tusabbihu (glorifies Him), and try to under­stand this significant fact. Look at the openings of those suras beginning with Alif Lam Mim, AlifLam Ra, and Ha Mim, and try to understand the Qur 'an's importance in God Almighty's sight.

If you understand the significant kernel of this fourth fundamental, you understand the following facts:

•       Revelation mostly came to Prophets via an angel; inspiration is mostly without mediation.

•       The greatest saint cannot attain the level of any Prophet.

•       The-Qur'an possesses its own grandeur, sacred glory and honor, which are the sources of its sublime miraculousness.

•       Prophet Muhammad was honored with Ascen­sion, ascended to the Heavens, reached the fur­thest lote-tree and to thé distance of only two bows ' length,⁴ and there supplicated the All-Majestic One, Who is closer to us than our jugu­lar veins, and returned in the Iwinkling of an eye for specific reasons. Just as spUtting the moon was a miracle of Messengership demonstrating his Prophethood to the jinn and humanity, the Ascension was a miracle of his worship and servanthood to God demonstrating to spirits and angels that he is the Beloved of God.

O God, bestow blessings and peace upon him and his Family⁵ as befits Your Mercy and his dignity.

The Twentieth Word

The Qur'an: Eloquence and Science

Two stations

In the Name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate.

First station: Consider the following verses:

When We said unto the angels: "Prostrate before Adam," they fell prostrate, all save Iblis. (2:34)

God commands you to sacrifice a cow. (2:67)

Yet after all this your hearts were hardened and become like rocks or even harder. (2:74)

Once, Satan suggested three things about these verses:

You say that the Qur'an is a miracle of infinite elo­quence and guidance for everyone forever. So why does it persistently repeat, in a sort of historical manner, certain insignificant events like slaughter­ing a cow and even naming the longest sura (al-Baqara means "The Cow") after that event? Also, the angels' prostrating before Adam is a matter of the Unseen and reason cannot comprehend it. It may be accepted and affirmed only after one has attained a strong belief, and yet the Qur'an addresses all those who have reason or intellect and frequently warns: 'Will they not use their reason?' Additionally, what kind of guidance is intended by describing so forcefully certain natural conditions of-rocks that are only results of chance?

The following points occurred to me.

First point: The Qur'an contains many appar­ently insignificant events, each of which hides a universal principle and present the tip of a gener­al law. For example: (He) taught Adam the names of all of them (2:31) states that Adam was taught "the names" as a miracle to show his superiority over the angels in being favored with God's vicegerency on Earth—the rale of Earth in the name of God.

Although this seems a small and particular event, it constitutes a tip of the following universal prin­ciple: Due to Adam's comprehensive nature, human­ity was taught (or given the potential to obtain) a great deal of information, many sciences concern­ing all aspects of the universe, and vast knowledge about the Creator's Attributes and acts. All of this made humanity superior to the angels, the heav­ens, Earth, and the mountains, for only humanity could bear the Supreme Trust. It also made human­ity Earth's ruler in God's name.

Likewise, the angels' prostration before Adam, in contrast with Satan's rejection, is a small, par­ticular event in the Unseen. However, it is the tip of a most comprehensive and universally observed principle and suggests a most extensive truth: By mentioning their obedience and submission and Satan's haughty refusal, the Qur'an shows that most material beings in the universe and their spiritu­al representatives are subjugated to us and ever-ready to satisfy our needs and desires.

In addition, the Qur'an warns us about evil beings and their immaterial representatives, as well as Earth's devilish inhabitants who corrupt our potential for perfection and seduce us into wrong paths. It reminds us of these terrible ene­mies and great obstacles we will encounter on the path of progress toward perfection. Thus, while nar­rating a particular event pertaining to a single indi­vidual (Adam) the Qur'an of Miraculous Expression holds an elevated discourse with all creation and humanity.

Second point: Although part of the Sahara desert, the blessed Nile's bounteous gifts have made Egypt a fertile, arable land. Such a blessed, paradise-like land being adjacent to the hellish Sahara caused farming and agriculture to be so established in the Egyptians' very nature that agri­culture became sanctified and cows and bulls became objects of worship. In fact, the Egyptians of Moses' time worshipped cows and bulls, as can be seen by the Jews making a calf to worship years after the Exodus. The Qur'an explains that Moses, by sacrificing a cow and through his Messenger-ship, eradicated this ingrained concept. Thus this apparently insignificant event points to a univer­sal principle with an elevated miraculousness, and expounds upon it as a most essential lesson of wisdom for everyone at all times.

By analogy, certain minor incidents mentioned in the Qur'an as historical events are tips of uni­versal principles. In Lema'at, in the "Treatise of the Miraculousness of the Qur'an," I used, as exam­ples, the seven sentences of Moses' story to explain how each part of those particular sentences con­tains a significant universal principle.

Third point: Consider the following verse:

Yet after all this your hearts were hardened and became like rocks, or even harder: For there are rocks from which rivers gush, and some from which, when they are cleft, water issues; and some which fall down for awe of God. God is not unaware of what you do. (2:74)

While reciting this verse, Satan asked: "Why are certain'natural conditions of rocks, known to. everyone, mentioned as if they were among the most important issues?" In response, the follow­ing point issued from the Qur'an's enlightenment: It is appropriate to do so, and there is a need for it, for only through the Qur'an's miraculous con­ciseness and bounty of enlightenment has the mat­ter been simplified and summarized.

Conciseness is a foundation of the Qur'an's miraculousness, and bountiful enlightenment and beauty of explanation are parts of its guidance. These qualities require that universal truths and profound yet general principles be presented in simple terms to the broad masses that make up the majority of the Qur'an's audience. As most peo­pie are not deep thinkers, it requires that only their tips and simple forms should be shown. Also all events, each a Divine operation whose extraordi­nary character is veiled by familiarity, should be pointed out briefly.

Thus, because of this subtle reality, this verse says:

O Children of Israel and children of Adam, why have your hearts become harder and more lifeless than rocks? Look at those very hard, lifeless, large rocks formed in vast underground strata. See how obedient and submissive they are to Divine com­mands, how permeable and open they are to His Lordship's acts. This is so clear that the ease with which the Divine operations form trees can be seen with the same ease, order, and perfect wisdom underground. Water flows to them without resistance, just like blood circulating in veins, in well-arranged water channels and veins through hard, deaf rocks.⁶

Just as tree and plant branches spread easily, the roots' delicate veins spread underground with the same ease and lack of resistance from rocks.

The Qur'an points to this and teaches a com­prehensive truth through that-verse, and so by allu­sion says to the hard-hearted:

O Children of Israel and children of Adam. You are weak and impotent, and yet you can make your hearts so hard that they resist the Divine Being's commands. Huge strata of hard rocks perform their subtle tasks perfectly in darkness and in total sub­mission to His commands. They act as a source of water and other means of life for all living crea­tures in such a way, and as means for their division and distribution with such wisdom and justice, that they are as malleable as wax or even air in the hand of Power of the All-Wise One of Majesty. Without resistance, they prostrate before His Power's vastness, for almost the same well-arranged occur­rences and wise and gracious Divine operations that we see above ground take place underground.

continuation, with well-ordered balance, of springs and rivers, sources and streams. Rocks "write" and scatter over Earth's face "evidences" of Divine Unity that they cause to flow, with all their strength, in "mouthfuls" in the form of water, which serves life.

Moreover, Divine wisdom and favor are manifest­ed there in a more wonderful and more wondrous manner than they are above ground. Consider how soft the hardest and most unfeeling huge rocks are toward God's commands in the creation and oper­ation of the universe, and how unresisting and flex­ible they are to the pleasant waters, delicate roots, and silk-like veins that act according to His com­mand. Like a lover, the rock smashes its heart at the touch of those delicate, beautiful things and becomes soft soil in their path.

Also, through the sentence in the verse and there are some which fall down for awe of God, the Qur'an displays the tip of a tremendous truth: When Moses asked for a vision of God while standing at the foot of a mountain, the mountain crumbled at the Divine manifestation and its rocks were scattered. Like this, through Divine Majesty's awe­some manifestations as earthquakes and similar geological events, rocks fall from summits, which are usually like huge monoliths formed of thick­ened fluid, and are shattered. Some of these crum­ble and become fertile soil; others remain as rocks and are scattered down to the valleys and plains.

They serve many purposes for Earth's inhabi­tants, as in their houses. In utter submission to Divine Power and Wisdom, and for certain hidden purposes and benefits, they stand ready to be used in accordance with the principles of Divine Wisdom. Not in vain, or because of accident or random chance, do they leave their positions at the sum­mit and choose the lower places in humility and become the means of those significant benefits. Rather, they do so out of awe of God.

This shows that such events occur by an All-Wise and All-Powerful One's wise operation, and that there is a wise order invisible to the superfi­cial eye in such seemingly chaotic events. Such are the purposes and benefits attached to these rocks, and the perfect order and fine artistry in the "garments" adorned and embossed with the jew­els of fruits and flowers with which the "body" of the mountains down which they roll are clothed.

Thus, you have seen the value of the verse's three parts from the viewpoint of wisdom. See the Qur'an's fine manner of expression and miracu­lous eloquence, how it shows through the tips of the comprehensive and significant truths mentioned above those three well-known and observed events. Also, by reminding in the same three parts of three further events, each of which is a means of taking a lesson, it offers a fine guidance and restrains in a way that cannot be resisted.

For example, the verse's second part says: and there are some from which, when they are cleft, water issues. By referring to the rock cleft with "complete eagerness" when Moses struck it with his staff, and the subsequent pouring forth of twelve streams from twelve sources, it means:

O Children of Israel. Large rocks become tears out of awe or joy, yet you are so unjust as to remain obstinate when confronted with all of Moses' mir­acles. You do not weep. Are your eyes so dried and your hearts so hard?

In the third part, it says: and there are some which fall down for awe of God. By recalling the well-known event of the mountain crumbling and the rocks rolling down out of awe at the manifes­tation of Divine Majesty, which took place at Mount Sinai when Moses supplicated for a vision of God, it gives the following lesson:

O People of Moses. You do not fear God, yet moun­tains crumble in awe of Him. You witness that He held Mount Sinai above you to receive your solemn promise of loyalty to Him, and that the mountain crumbled when Moses prayed for the Divine vision.

And yet you are so bold that you do not tremble out of fear of God, and you keep your hearts so hard and unfeeling!

In the first part, it says: for there are rocks from which rivers gush. By recalling such rivers as the Nile, the Tigris, and the Euphrates, which gush out of mountains, it points out how wonderfully and miraculously rocks are susceptible and subjugat­ed to the Divine commands of creation. To awak­ened, attentive hearts, this means:

The mountains cannot be the actual source of such mighty rivers, for even if they were formed com­pletely of water, they could supply such a river for only a few months. Also rain, which penetrates only about a meter underground, cannot be sufficient income for that high expenditure. No ordinary rea­son, natural cause, or chance can explain these rivers' sources and flow. The All-Majestic Creator makes them flow forth in truly wonderful fashion from an unseen "treasury."

One Tradition⁷ refers to this: "Every minute a drop falls from Paradise into each of those three

¹ The Arabic word hadith, commonly translated into English as Tradition, literally means news, story, communication, or conversation, whether religious or secular, historical or recent. In the Qur'an, this word appears in religious (39:23,68:44), rivers. That is why they flow abundantly." Another Tradition states: "The source of these three rivers is in Paradise."⁸ As physical causes cannot produce their abundant flow, their sources must be in an unseen world, a hidden treasury of Mercy, so that the balance between incoming and outgoing water is maintained. By drawing attention to this mean­ing, the Qur'an gives the following instruction:

O Children of Israel and children of Adam, your hardness of heart and lack of feeling cause you to disobey the commandments of such a One of Majesty. Your heedlessness causes you to close your eyes to the light of knowledge of such an Everlasting Sun. He causes mighty rivers like the Nile to gush from the mouths of ordinary, solid rocks and turn Egypt into a paradise. For the universe's heart and Earth's mind, He produces miracles of His Power and wit­nesses to His Oneness as strong and abundant as the gushing forth and flow of those mighty rivers, and makes them flow to the hearts and minds of jinn and humanity. Further, while it shows the All-Majestic Creator as the sunlight shows the sun, that He makes some hard, unfeeling rocks the objects of the miracles of His Power in such wonderful fashion,⁹ how is it that you are blind to the light of His knowledge and do not see the truth?

See how eloquently the Qur'an expresses these truths. Note the guidance of that eloquence. I won­der what hardness of heart and lack of feeling cannot be melted by its "heat." If you have under­stood my words, see one guiding gleam of the Qur'an's miraculousness and thank God.

Glory be to You. We have no knowledge save what You have taught us. Truly, you are the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. O God, enable us to understand the mysteries of the Qur'an as You like and approve, and grant us success in the service of it. Amen, through Your Mercy, O Merciful of the Merciful. O God, bestow blessings and peace upon the one to whom the wise Qur'an was sent, and upon his Family and Companions.

Second station: (A gleam of the Qur'an's miraculousness, which shines through the Pro­phets' miracles.) Notice the two questions and their answers at the end.

***

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

Not a thing, fresh or withered, wet or dry, but it is in a Manifest Book. (6:59)

Several years ago in my Isharat al-I'jaz (Signs of Miraculousness), I discussed in Arabic one mean­ing of this verse.¹⁰ Now two of my brothers-in-reli-gion, whose wishes are important to me, have asked for a Turkish explanation of that discussion. Relying on Alrnighty God's help, and based on the Qur 'an's enlightenment, I write the following section.

According to one interpretation, the Manifest Book is the Qur'an. This verse states that everything is found in it. This is true. However, we must real­ize that things are found at different levels. They are presented as seeds, nuclei, summaries, princi­ples or signs, as well as explicitly or imphcitly, allu­sively, vaguely or suggestively. Depending on the occasion, one form is preferred to best convey the Qur'an's purposes and meet the context's require­ments.

For example, progress in science and industry has resulted in airplanes, electricity, motorized transportation, and radio and telecommunication. Such things are prominent in our daily lives. As the Qur'an addresses humanity [at all times], it does not ignore these developments; rather, it points to them through the Prophets' miracles and in con­nection with certain historical events.

Down with the makers of the trench of the fuel-fed fire. When they sat by it, and were themselves the witnesses of what they did to the believers. They ill-treated them for no other reason than that they believed in God, the Mighty, the All-Praised One. (85:4-8)"

... in the loaded fleet. And We have created for them the like thereof, whereon they ride. (36:41-42)

Such verses point to trains, while the following verse, besides its many other meanings and con­notations, alludes to electricity:

God is the Light of the heavens and Earth. The para­ble of His Light is as a niche wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass, and the glass is, as it were, a shin­ing star kindled from a blessed olive tree, neither of the East or the West, whose oil would almost glow forth (of itself) though no fire touched it: Light upon light.¹² God guides to His Light whom He wills. (24:35)

Since many people have analyzed verses of the second type, those alluding to modern technolo­gy in connection with historical events, and since they require much care and detailed explanation, as well as being very numerous, I shall content myself with verses alluding to trains and electric­ity as seen in the Qur'anic accounts of the Prophets' miracles.

Introduction

God Almighty sent the Prophets as leaders and vanguards of spiritual and moral progress, and thus endowed them with certain wonders and miracles and made them masters and forerunners of human­ity's material progress. He commands people to follow them absolutely.

By relating the Prophets' spiritual and moral perfections, the Qur'an encourages people to ben­efit from them. By presenting their miracles, it urges people to achieve something similar through sci­ence. It may even be said that, like spiritual and moral attainments, material attainments and won­ders were first given to humanity as gifts through Prophetic miracles. For example, Noah was the first to build ships, and Joseph was the first to build clocks. Thus the ship and clock were given first as Prophetic miracles. It is a meanmgful indication of this reality that so many craft guilds take a Prophet as the "patron" or originator of their craft. For exam­pie, seamen take Noah, watchmakers take Joseph, and tailors take Enoch.

Since truth-seeking scholars and the science of eloquence agree that each Qur'anic verse con­tains guidance and instruction, it follows that vers­es relating the Prophets' miracles, the most bril­liant of all verses, should not be considered mere historical events. Rather, they comprise numerous indications of guidance. By relating these mira­cles, the Qur'an shows the ultimate goal of scien­tific and technological developments, and specifies their final aims, toward which it urges humanity. Just as the past is the field for the future's seeds and the mirror to its potential picture, so is the future the time to reap the past life's harvest and the mirror to the actual situation. Out of many examples, I shall point out only a few.

The verse: And to Solomon (We subjugated) the wind: its morning stride was a month's journey and the evening stride was a month's journey (34:12) expresses the wind's subjugation to Solomon: Solomon covered the distance of 2 months' walk in two strides by flying through the air. This sug­gests that humanity can and should strive to trav­el through the air. Almighty God also is saying: "One of My servants did not obey his carnal desires, and I mounted him on the air. If you give up lazi­ness and benefit properly from certain of My laws in nature, you too can mount it."

The verse: