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From the Risale-i Nur Collection
LIGHTS OF REALITY
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi
Contents Who
was Bediuzzaman Said Nursi and
what is the Risale-i Nur?........................ 7 About
Compassion........................................ 13 Transforming
Transience into Immortality..... 17 The
Highway of the Practices of
the Prophet (PBUH).............................. 26 Happy
News for Believers............................. 33 A
Letter about the Risale-i Nur and its Way... 48 A
Most Beneficial Light for the
People of the Present............................. 52 The
Nine Allusions, About Sufism ................ 56 A
Short, The
Companions' Sainthood......................... 96 The
Legacy of Prophethood and
Unity of Existence............................. 101 "In
Everything is a Sign that He is One" ... 115 The
Need for the Renewal of Faith............... 119 About
Sainthood......................................... 125 Principles
for Bediuzzaman's Visitors.......... 129 Announcing
"the Wares ojaQur'anic Shop" 133 About
the Companions ............................... 144 A
Rule.......................................................
150 The
Degrees of Belief................................... 153 For
the People of Reality............................. 158 The
Risale-i Nur Saves Belief....................... 159 Bediuzzaman's
Exemplary Frugality ......... 161 The
Eighth Letter About
Compassion In
His Name! And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with
praise.
here
are numerous instances of wisdom in the Names of Most
Merciful and Compassionate being included in "In
the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate"
and at the start of all good things. Postponing the
explanation of these to another time, I shall for now
recount a feeling of mine: My
brother, to me the names of Merciful and Compassionate
appear as a light so vast it embraces the whole universe
and satisfies all the eternal needs of all spirits, and
so luminous and powerful it secures a person against all
his innumerable enemies. The most important means I
have found for attaining to these names, these two vast
lights, are poverty and thanks, impotence and compassion.
That
is, worship and realizing one's neediness. What comes to
mind in connection with this and I say contrary to the
great mystics and religious scholars, and even to
Imam-i Rabbani,1 one of my masters, is this:
the intense and brilliant emotion the Prophet Jacob (Upon
whom be peace) felt for Joseph (Upon whom be peace) was
not love or passion, but compassion. For compassion is
much sharper and more brilliant and elevated than
passionate love, and purer and more worthy of the rank
of prophethood. Intense love and passion for worldly (inecazî)
beloveds and creatures are not fitting for the elevated
rank of prophethood. This means Jacob's feelings, which
the All-Wise Qur'an describes with brilliant eloquence,
and were a way of attaining to the name of
AU-Compassionate, were a high degree of compassion. As
for passionate love, a way of attaining to the name of
All-Loving, that looks more to Zulaikha's love for Joseph
(Upon whom be peace). That is to say, however much higher
the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition shows Jacob's (Upon
whom be peace) emotions to be than Zulaikha's, compassion
is higher than passionate love to the same degree. My
master, Imam-i Rabbani,1 did not consider
worldly (mecazT) love to be altogether fitting for the
rank of prophethood and therefore said: "Joseph's
virtues pertained to the hereafter, so love for him was
not of a worldly kind that it should have been
defective." But I say: "Master! That is an
artificial interpretation, the truth of the matter must
be this: that was not love, but a degree of compassion a
hundred times more brilliant, more extensive, and more
elevated than love." Yes, in all its varieties,
compassion is subtle and pure, while many sorts of love
and passion may not be condescended to. Furthermore,
compassion is extremely broad. Because of the compassion
a person feels for his child, he may well feel compassion
for all young and all living beings even, and act as a
sort of mirror to the comprehensive name of
All-Compassionate. Whereas passionate love restricts its
gaze to its beloved and sacrifices everything for it. Or
else while elevating and praising its beloved, it
denigrates others and in effect insults them and abuses
their honour. For example, someone said: "The sun
espied my beloved's beauty and was embarrassed. Not to
see it, it veiled itself in cloud." Lover, fine sir!
What right do you have to impute shame to the sun, which
is a light-filled page of eight Greatest Names? Moreover,
compassion is sincere and wants nothing in return; it
is pure and seeks no recompense. The self-sacrificing,
unselfish tenderness of animals towards their young is
evidence for this at the lowest level. Passionate love,
however, desires remuneration and seeks return. The
weepings of passionate love are a sort of demanding, a
desiring remuneration. Thus,
Jacob's (Upon whom be peace) compassion, the most
brilliant light of Sura Yusuf- the most brilliant of the
Qur'an's suras - points to the names of Merciful and
Compassionate. It informs us that the way of compassion
is the way of mercy. And as a salve for the pain of
compassion, it causes a person to utter: For
God is the Best of Protectors and He is the Most Merciful
of the Merciful.2
The
Eternal One, He is the Eternal One, Said Nurs i
The
Third Flash Transforming
Transience into Immortality [Emotion
and spiritual insight {zevk) have become mixed in this
Flash to an extent, and since their exuberance does not
much heed the principles of the intellect and the scales
of thought nor conform to them, it should not be weighed
up on the balance of logic] In
the Name of God, the Mercifid, the Compassionate. Everything
shall perish save His countenance; His is the command,
and to Him shall you return.1
he
two phrases, "The Eternal One (al-Baqi), He is the
Eternal One! * The Eternal One, He is the Eternal
One!" express the meaning of the above verse, and
they state two important truths. It is because of this
that some of the leading members of the Naqshbandi Order
made themselves
a
special invocation with the repetition of them, a sort of
concise Naqshi litany. Seeing that the two phrases
express the verse's meaning, I shall explain a few points
about the significant truth they state. FIRST
POINT The
first time "The Eternal One, He is the Eternal
One!" is recited, like a surgical operation it
severs and isolates the heart from everything other
than God. It is as follows: By
virtue of his comprehensive nature, man is connected with
virtually all beings. Also included in his nature is a
boundless capacity to love. For these reasons he nurtures
love towards all beings. He both loves the vast world as
though it were his house, and he loves eternal The
fault in suffering such torment is his, for he was given
a heart with an infinite capacity to love in order to
direct it toward One possessing infinite undying beauty.
By misusing it and spending it on transitory beings, he
has done wrong and suffers the punishment for his fault
due to the pain of separation. Thus,
the first time he utters: "The Eternal One.' He is
the Eternal One!", it severs his attachment to
transitory beings; he leaves those objects of love before
they leave him and he is thus cleared of his fault. The
phrase declares that love is restricted to the Eternal
Beloved, and expresses this meaning: "You are the
only Truly Enduring Being! Everything other than You is
transient. My heart cannot become attached to anything
transient, for it was created for everlasting love, to
feel ardour from pre-eternity to post-eternity. Since
those innumerable beloveds are transitory and they leave
me and depart, I declare, 'The Eternal One, You are the
Eternal One!" and leave them before they leave me.
Only You are immortal, and I know and believe that beings
can only be immortal by Your making them so. In which
case, they should be loved with Your love. They are not
otherwise worthy of the heart's attachment." When
in this state, the heart gives up innumerable things it
loves; seeing that their beauty is stamped with
transitoriness, it severs its attachment to them.
Otherwise it will suffer wounds to the number of its
beloveds. The second "The Eternal One, He is the
Eternal One!" is both a salve and an antidote for
those wounds. That is, "O You who is Eternal! Since
You are thus, it is enough for me. You take the place of
everything. Since You exist, everything exists." Yes,
the beauty, bounty, and perfection in beings which excite
love, are generally signs of the Truly Enduring One's
beauty and bounty and perfections, and passing through
many veils, are pale shadows of them. Indeed, they are
shadows of the shadows of the manifestations of His Most
Beautiful Names. SECOND
POINT Included
in human nature is an intense love of immortality. Even,
because of his power of imagination, man fancies a sort
of immortality in everything he loves. Whenever he thinks
of or sees their passing, he cries out from the depths
of his being. All lamentations at separation are
interpretations of the weeping caused by love of
immortality. If there were no imagined immortality, there
would be no love. It might even be said that a reason for
the existence of the eternal realm and everlasting Is
it at all possible that the Munificent and
Compassionate Creator would accept the insignificant
wish of a tiny stomach and its supplication through the
tongue of disposition for a temporary immortality by
creating innumerable delicious foods, and not accept the
intense desire of all humankind, which arises from an
overpowering innate need, and its universal, constant,
rightful, just prayer for immortality, offered through
word and state? God forbid, a hundred thousand times! It
is impossible that He would not accept it. Not to accept
it would be in keeping with neither his wisdom, nor His
justice, nor His mercy, nor His power. Since
man is most desirous of immortality, all his perfections
and pleasures are dependent on it. And since immortality
is particular to the Eternal One of Glory; and since the
Eternal One's names are eternal; and since the Eternal
One's mirrors take on His hue, and reflect His decree,
and manifest a sort of immortality; for sure the matter
most important for man, his most pressing duty, is to
form a relation with that Eternal One and to adhere to
His names. For everything expended on the way of the
Eternal One receives a sort of immortality. The second "the
Eternal One, He is the Eternal One!" expresses this
truth. In addition to healing man's innumerable
spiritual wounds, it satisfies the intense wish for
immortality inherent in his nature. THIRD
POINT In
this world, the effects of time on things, and on their
transience and passing, differ greatly. Also, although
beings are one within the other like concentric
circles, they all differ as regards the speed of their
passing. Just
as the hands of a clock counting the seconds, and those
counting the minutes, hours, and days superficially
resemble each other, but differ in respect to speed, so
too the spheres of the body, soul, heart, and spirit in
man differ from one another. For example, the body
possesses an immortality, a life, and an existence in
the present day, and even in the present hour while its
past and future are dead and non-existent, yet the sphere
of the heart's existence and life extends from many days
previous to the present day and to many days in the
future. Then the sphere of the spirit is vast; the sphere
of its life and existence extends from years previous to
the present day to years subsequent to it. By
virtue of this capacity, in respect of knowledge, love,
and worship of God the Sustainer, and the pleasure of
that Most Merciful One, from which spring the life of the
heart and spirit, transient life in this world contains
within it a perpetual life, and results in eternal life,
and resembles everlasting life. Yes,
one second seeking the love, knowledge, and pleasure of
the Truly Eternal One is like a year. While a year not
spent on His way, is a second. A single second, even, on
His way becomes immortal and the equivalent of many
years. But for the people of neglect, a hundred years
looking to this world are like a single second. There is
a famous saying: "A moment's separation lasts a
year, and a year's union passes in an instant." I
say the complete opposite to this: a moment's union for
God's sake within the bounds of the Eternal One of
Glory's pleasure is a window of union, not of only a
year; it is a permanent window. While hot one year, but
perhaps a thousand spent in heedlessness and misguidance
pass in an instant. There is a saying more famous than
the previous one that corroborates this: "The broad
earth with enemies resembles a cup, while the eye of a
needle with friends is a broad arena." A
correct meaning of the first saying above is this: since,
however long it is, union with transitory beings is
transient, it seems brief. A year of such union passes in
a second; it is an illusion, a dream, causing regret and
sorrow. The human heart can only receive from it the
tiniest pleasure within a fraction of a second, since it
desires immortality. And one moment's separation seems
like not one year, but many. For the arena of separation
is broad. Even if only for a second, it inflicts years of
destruction on the heart, which yearns for eternity. It
bodes of innumerable separations. For physical and lowly
loves, the past and future are filled with separations. While
oh the subject, we say this: O man! Don't you want to
make your brief, futile life immortal, beneficial, and
fruitful? Since humanity demands this, spend your life on
the way of the Truly Eternal One. For everything turned
to Him receives the manifestation of immortality. Since
everyone fervently desires long life and yearns for
immortality; and since there is a way of transforming
this fleeting life into perpetual life and it is possible
to make it lengthy; for sure everyone who has not lost
his humanity will seek out that way and try to convert
the possibility into reality and will act accordingly.
Yes, the way is this: work for God's sake, meet with
others for God's sake, labour for God's sake; act within
the sphere of "For God, for God's sake, on account
of God." Then all the moments of your life will
become years. Alluding
to this truth, verses of the Qur'an indicate that a
single night such as the Night of Power is like a
thousand months, that is, around eighty years. The
expansion of time, a tried principle among the people of
sainthood and reality, also alludes to it. Through this
mystery, a few minutes' Ascension become like many years
and prove the existence of this truth and demonstrate it
in fact. The Ascension of the Prophet (PBUH), which
lasted a few hours, had the length, breadth, and
comprehensiveness of thousands of years, for by way of it
he entered the world of eternity, and a few minutes of
that world comprise thousands of years of this. Besides
this are the numerous instances of the expansion of time
experienced by the saints, constructed on this truth.
It is related that some of them did a day's work in a
single minute, and others performed a year's duties in
an hour, or recited the whole Qur'an in the space of a
minute. Such veracious people of truth would never
knowingly stoop to lying. There can be no doubt that they
experienced this fact of the expansion of time,2
which is thus numerously and unanimously reported.
One
sort of it is experienced in dreams and is confirmed by
everyone. Sometimes a day of the waking world, or many
days, would be needed to experience all the happenings,
words, pleasures, and pains experienced in a
minute-long dream. In
Short: For sure man is transitory, but he was created for
immortality and to be a mirror to the Eternal One. He is
charged with duties which produce enduring fruits, and
is given a form whereby he manifests the impresses of an
Eternal One's eternal names. In which case, man's true
duty and happiness lie in clinging with all his powers
and faculties to the names of that Eternally Enduring One
within the bounds of those things that please Him; it is
to be turned towards Him, and to go to Him. As man's
tongue utters "the Eternal One, You are the Eternal
One!" so his heart, spirit, mind, and all his subtle
faculties should declare: "He
is the Eternal One! He is Pre-Eternal and Post-Eternal!
He is the Everlasting, the Perpetual One! He is the One
who is Sought, Beloved, Wished For, and Worshipped!" Glory
be unto You! We have no knowledge save that which You
have taught us; indeed, You are All-Knowing, All-Wise!3
O
our Sustainer! Do not take us to task if we forget or
do wrong.4
from
The Fourth Flash The
Highway of the Practices of the Prophet (PBUH) [Although
the Imamate question is a matter of secondary
importance, in consequence of the excessive attention
paid it it was as though included among the matters of
belief and was dealt with by the sciences of theology (kalâm)
and the principles of religion. Here, it is in part
discussed because of this, and also because of its
relevance to our basic duties towards the Qur'an and
belief.] In
the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
Now
has come a prophet from among yourselves; it heavily
weighs upon him that you might suffer; fidl of concern is
he for you, and fidl of compassion and mercy towards
the believers. * But if they turn away, say: God is
enough for me, there is no god but He. In Him have I
placed my trust, for He is the Sustainer of the Mighty
Throne.1 *
Say:
I ask no recompense of you save love of close kin.2 We
shall point out in two stations two of the many vast
truths contained in these glorious verses. First
Station The
First Station consists of four points. FIRST POINT
his
describes the perfect compassion and mercy towards his
community of God's Noble Messenger (Peace and blessings
be upon him).'According to sound narrations, when at the
terror of the resurrection everyone, even the prophets,
will cry out for themselves, God's Noble Messenger will
demonstrate his compassion by calling out: "My
community! My community!"3 So too, as is
affirmed by those who disclose the realities, when he was
born, his mother heard among his supplications the
words: "My community! My community!" Then the
whole story of his life, as well as the kindly conduct
which he propagated demonstrate his perfect benevolence
and clemency. Also, by evincing an infinite need for
the innumerable prayers of his community he showed a
boundless compassion, for he showed that out of his
perfect compassion he was concerned with the happiness of
all of them. So you can understand how lacking in
gratitude and conscience it is not to observe the
practices (Sunna) of so kind and compassionate a leader. SECOND
POINT While
performing the universal, general duties of his
prophethood (niibiivvet), God's Noble Messenger (Peace
and blessings be upon him) showed great kindness in
particular, minor matters. Superficially, his doing this
appears incompatible with the supreme importance of
prophethood and its functions. But in reality, such
minor matters were the tips or samples of a chain which
would be a means of fulfilling a universal and general
function of prophethood. Therefore the greatest
importance was given to the sample for the sake of the
mighty chain. For
example, the extraordinary gentleness God's Noble
Messenger (PBUH) showed towards Hasan and Husayn in their
childhood, and the great importance he gave them, was
not only out of love, natural kindness and family
feeling; it was rather because they were each the tip of
a luminous thread of the function of prophethood, and the
source, sample, and index of a community of great
consequence that would receive the legacy of prophethood. Yes,
the Messenger (PBUH) used to take Hasan (May God be
pleased with him) tenderly into his arms and kiss his
head for the sake of the luminous, blessed, Mahdi-like
descendants who would spring from him, such as Shah
Geylani, the Ghawth al-A'zam,4 who would be
the inheritors of prophethood and would bear the sacred
Shari'a of Muhammad. He saw with the eye of prophethood
the sacred service and duty they would perform in the
future, and approved and applauded them. He kissed
Hasan's head as a sign of approval and encouragement. Also,
he embraced Husayn tenderly and accorded him importance
on account of the illustrious Imams like Zayn al-'Abidin
and Ja'far al-Sadiq, and the numerous Mahdi-like luminous
persons, the true inheritors of prophethood, who would
spring from his effulgent line, and for the sake of the
religion of Islam and functions of prophethood.
Since
with his heart with its knowledge of the Unseen, the
Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) luminous vision and
future-penetrating eye observed from the Era of Bliss in
this world the Assembly of the Resurrection on the side
of post-eternity, and from the earth saw Paradise, and
watched events which had occurred since the time of Adam
and were concealed in the dark veils of the past, and
even beheld the vision of the All-Glorious One, he surely
saw the spiritual poles and the Imams who were to be the
inheritors of prophethood, and the Mahdis, who would
follow on in the lines of Hasan and Husayn. And for sure
he would kiss their heads in the name of all of them.
Yes, Shah Geylani has a large part in his kissing Hasan's
head. THIRD
POINT According
to one interpretation, the verse: Say:
I ask of you no recompense save love of close kin5 means
that "God's Noble Messenger (PBUH) wants no reward
for carrying out the duty of messenger-ship; he wants
only love for his family." If
it is asked: From this, it seems that advantages were
gained from the family relationship, whereas according to
the meaning of: The
most honoured of you in the sight of God is the most
righteous of you,6 prophethood
functions in regard to nearness to God, not in regard to
family relationships?
The
Answer: With his vision that penetrated the Unseen, God's
Most Noble Messenger (PBUH) saw that his Family would be
a light-giving tree in the world of Islam. The
overwhelming majority of the persons who would perform
the duty of guides instructing every level of the world
of Islam in human attainment and perfection would emerge
from his Family. He divined that his community's prayer
for his Family in the final section of the prescribed
prayers: "O God, grant blessings to our master
Muhammad and to the Family of our master Muhammad, as You
granted blessings to Abraham and to the Family of
Abraham; indeed. You are Worthy of Praise, Most
Exalted" would be accepted. That is to say, just as
the vast majority of the luminous guides of the people
of Abraham were prophets from his family and line, so he
saw in his community the spiritual poles of his Family
performing the momentous duties of Islam, and in most of
the paths and Sufi orders, like the prophets of Israel.
Therefore, being commanded to say: "Say: I ask of
you no recompense save love of close kin," he wanted
his community to love his Family.
There
are numerous narrations corroborating this fact. He
repeatedly decreed: "/ leave you two things. If you
adhere to them, you will find salvation: one is God's
Book, the other is my Family."7 For
members of his family were the sources and guardians of
his practices, and were charged with complying with them
in every respect. This is why the Hadith was inspired
intending adherence to the Book and his (PBUH) practices.
That is to say, what was required from the Prophet's
Family in respect of the function of messengership were
the Prophet's practices. Just as someone who abandoned
his practices could not truly be a member of his Family,
so he could not be a true friend to them. Another
reason he desired his community to rally round his Family
was that, with God's permission, he knew it was going to
become very numerous with the passing of time, and that
Islam was going to become weak. Therefore, an extremely
strong and numerous mutually supportive group of people
was necessary so that it could be the mainspring and
centre of the spiritual and moral progress of the
Islamic world. With divine permission, he thought of
this, and desired that his community should gather round
his Family. Indeed,
even if the members of the Prophet's Family were not
greatly in advance of others in matters of belief and
faith, they were still greatly ahead of them in regard to
submission, partiality, and partisanship. For they were
followers of Islam by nature, birth, and temperament.
Even if natural partiality is weak and unworthy, or
unjustifiable even, it cannot be given up. Would it
therefore be possible for a person to give up his support
for a truth to which all his forefathers - who were most
strong, constant and true, and most illustrious - had
been bound, and through which they had won glory, and for
which they had sacrificed their lives, a truth he felt
clearly to be so fundamental and natural? Thus, due to
this intense partiality and natural submission, the
Prophet's Family accepted the least hint in favour of the
religion of Islam as though it were a powerful proof. For
they were partial by nature. Others become partial after
some powerful proof.
from
The Twentieth Letter Happy
News for Believers In
His Name, be He glorified! And there is nothing but it
glorifies Him with praise. In
the Name of God, the Mercifid, the Compassionate.
There
is no god but God, He is One, He has no partner; His is
the dominion and His is the praise; He alone grants life,
and deals death, and He is living and dies not; all good
is in His hand, He is powerful over all things, and with
Him all things have their end.1
[This
sentence expressing divine unity, which is recited
following the morning and evening prayers, possesses
numerous merits and according to an authentic narration,
bears the degree of the Greatest Name. It contains eleven
phrases, each of which contains both some good tidings,
and a degree in the affirmation of the unity of God's
dominicality, and an aspect of the grandeur and
perfection of divine unity from the point of view of a
Greatest Name. Referring a full explanation of these
great and elevated truths to other parts of the Risale-i
Nur, in fulfilment of a promise we shall for now write a
brief, index-like summary of them in two stations and an
introduction.] Introduction Be
certain of this, that the highest aim of creation and its
most important result is belief in God. The most exalted
rank in humanity and its highest degree is the knowledge
of God contained within belief in God. The most radiant
happiness and sweetest bounty for jinn and human beings
is the love of God contained within the knowledge of God.
And the purest joy for the human spirit and the sheerest
delight for man's heart is the rapture of the spirit
contained within the love of God. Indeed, all true
happiness, pure joy, sweet bounties, and untroubled
pleasure lie in knowledge of God and love of God; they
cannot exist without them. The
person who knows and loves God Almighty is
potentially able to receive endless bounties,
happiness, lights, and mysteries. While one who does
not truly know and love him is afflicted spiritually and
materially by endless misery, pain, and fears. Even if
such an impotent, miserable person owned the whole world,
it would be worth nothing for him, for it would seem to
him that he was living a fruitless life among the vagrant
human race in a wretched world without owner or
protector. Everyone may understand just how forlorn and
baffled is man among the aimless human race in this
bewildering fleeting world if he does not know his Owner,
if he does not discover his Master. But if he does
discover and know Him, he will seek refuge in His mercy
and will rely on His power. The desolate world will turn
into a place of recreation and pleasure, it will become a
place of trade for the hereafter. First
Station Each
of the eleven phrases of the above-mentioned sentence
affirming divine unity contains some good news. And in
the good news lies a cure, while in each of those cures a
spritual pleasure is to be found. FIRST
PHRASE: "There is no god but God" This
phrase contains the following good news for the human
spirit, subject as it is to countless needs and the
attacks of innumerable enemies. On the one hand it finds
a place of recourse, a source of help, through which is
opened to it the door of a treasury of mercy that will
guarantee all its needs. While on the other it finds a
support and source of strength, for the phrase makes
known its Creator and True Object of Worship, Who
possesses the absolute power to secure it from the evil
of all its enemies; it shows its master, and who it is
that owns it. Through pointing this out, the phrase saves
the heart from utter desolation and the spirit from
aching sorrow; it ensures an eternal joy, a perpetual
happiness. SECOND
PHRASE: "He is One" This
phrase announces the following good news, which is both
healing and a source of happiness: Man's
spirit and heart, which are connected to most of the
creatures in the universe and reach the point of being
overwhelmed in misery and confusion on account of this
connection, find in the phrase "He is One" a
refuge and protector that will deliver them from all the
confusion and bewilderment. That
is to say, it is as if "He is One" is saying to
man: "God is One. Do not wear yourself out having
recourse to other things; do not demean yourself and feel
indebted to them; do not flatter them and fawn on them
and humiliate yourself; do not follow them and make
things difficult for yourself; do not fear them and
tremble before them; because the Monarch of the universe
is One, the key to all things is with Him,
the reins of all things are in His hand, everything
will be resolved by His command. If you find Him, you
will be saved from endless indebtedness, countless
fears." THIRD
PHRASE: "He has no partner" Just
as in His divinity and in His sovereignty He has no
partner, God is One and He cannot be many, so too He has
no partner in His dominicality and in His actions and in
His creation. It sometimes happens that a monarch is
one, having no partner in his sovereignty, but in the
execution of his affairs his officials act as his
partners; they prevent everyone from entering his
presence, saying: "Have recourse to us." However,
God Almighty, the Monarch of Pre-Eternity and
Post-Eternity, has no partner in His sovereignty, just
as He has no need for partners or helpers in the
execution of His dominicality. If it were not for His
command and will, His strength and power, not a single
thing could interfere with another. Everyone can have
recourse to Him directly. Since He has no partner or
helper, it may not be said to someone seeking recourse,
"It is forbidden, you may not enter into His
presence." This
phrase, therefore, delivers the following joyful
announcement to the human spirit: the human spirit which
has attained to faith may, without let or hindrance,
opposition or interference, in any state, for any wish,
at any time and in any place, enter the presence of the
All-Beauteous and Glorious One, the One of power and
perfection, Who is the Pre-Eternal and Post-Eternal Owner
of the treasuries of mercy, the treasuries of bliss, and
may present its needs. Finding His mercy and relying on
His power, it will attain perfect ease and happiness. FOURTH
PHRASE: "His is the dominion" That
is to say, ownership is altogether His. As for you, you
are both His property, you are owned by Him, and you work
in His property. This phrase announces the following
joyful and healing news: "O
mankind! Do not suppose that you own yourself, for you
have no control over any of the things that concern you;
such a load would be heavy. Also, you are unable to
protect yourself, to avoid disasters, or to do the
things that you must. In which case, do not suffer pain
and torment without reason, the ownership is another's.
The Owner is both All-Powerful and All-Merciful; rely on
His power and do not cast aspersions on His mercy! Put
grief behind you, be joyful! Discard your troubles and
find serenity!" It
also says: "The universe, which you love, to which
you are connected yet grieves you by its con-fusedness,
but which you are unable to put right, is the property of
One Ail-Powerful and Merciful. So hand over the property
to its Owner, leave it to Him. Attract His pleasure, not
His harshness. He is both All-Wise and All-Merciful. He
has free disposal over His property and administers it as
He wishes. Whenever you take fright, say like Ibrahim Hakki:
'Let's see what the Master does; whatever He does, it is
best;' understand this thoroughly and don't
interfere!" FIFTH
PHRASE: "His is the praise" Praise,
laudation, and acclaim are proper to Him, are fitting for
Him. That is to say, bounties are His; they come from His
treasury. And as for the treasury, it is unending. This
phrase, therefore, delivers the following good news: "O
mankind! Do not suffer and sorrow when bounties cease,
for the treasury of mercy is inexhaustible. Do not
dwell on the fleeting nature of pleasure and cry out with
pain, because the fruit of the bounty is the fruit of a
boundless mercy. Since its tree is undying, when the
fruit finishes it is replaced by more. If you thankfully
think of there being within the pleasure of the bounty
itself a merciful favour a hundred times more
pleasurable, you will increase the pleasure a
hundredfold. "The
apple an august monarch presents to you yields a pleasure
superior to that of a hundred, rather a thousand, apples
because it is he that has bestowed it on you and made you
experience the pleasure of a royal favour. In the same
way, through the phrase "His is the praise"
will be opened to you the door of a spiritual pleasure a
thousand times sweeter than the bounty itself. For this
phrase means to offer praise and thanks; that is to say,
to perceive the bestowal of bounty. This in turn means to
recognize the Bestower, which is to reflect on the
bestowal of bounty, and so finally to ponder over the
favour of His compassion and His continuing to bestow
bounties." SIXTH
PHRASE: "He alone grants life" The
giver of life is He. And it is He who causes life to
continue by means of sustenance is again He. It is also
He who supplies the necessities of life. And it is to Him
that the exalted aims of life pertain, and to Him that
its important results look, and His are ninety-nine out
of a hundred of its fruits. Thus, this phrase calls out
to ephemeral, impotent man in this way, it makes this
joyful announcement: "O
man! Do not trouble yourself by taking the heavy
responsibilities of life onto your own shoulders. Do
not think of the transience of life and start grieving.
Do not see only its worldly and unimportant fruits and
regret that you came to this world. Rather, the
life-machine in the ship of your being belongs to the
Ever-Living and Self-Subsistent One, and it is He Who
provides for all its expenses and requirements. Also,
your life has a great many aims and results and they
pertain to Him, too. "As
for you, you are just a helmsman on the ship, so do your
duty well and take the wage and pleasure that come with
it. Think just how precious is the life-ship and how
valuable its benefits; then think just how Generous and
Merciful is the Owner of the ship. So, rejoice and give
thanks and know that when you perform your duty with
integrity, all the results the ship produces will in one
respect be transferred to the register of your actions,
that they will secure an immortal life for you, will
endow you with eternal life." SEVENTH
PHRASE: "And deals death" |