Said Nursî
Encyclopedia
Bediuzzaman Said Nursî ,commonly known as Bediüzzaman (Badi' al-Zaman), which means "The Wonder of the Age"
was a Muslim scholar who wrote the Risale-i Nur Collection
, a body of Qur'an
ic commentary exceeding six thousand pages. . He was born in Nurs, a village in the Ottoman Bitlis Province in eastern Anatolia
. He educated by the district's best scholars. He soon surpassed them in debates and earned the name Bediuzzaman (Wonder of the Age) Believing that modern science and logic was the way of the future, he advocated teaching religious sciences in secular schools and modern sciences in religious schools.
on the side opposing the Committee of Union and Progress
but he was acquitted and released. He had always been an advocate for true democracy as a Muslim scholar and knew the facts that voting was initially practiced during and a short time after the death of the Islamic prophet Mohammad. Therefore he supported true democracy but protested with peaceful dissent against the then common era dictatorship. Agitated by his then far more ahead his time democratic views the new revolutionist and top general Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his western supporters offered Said Presidency of Religious Affairs of the then eastern region. However, he declined this offer. This was the beginning of his split from the Kemalist Ideology. During the World War I
, he was a member of the Sperical Organization of the Ottoman Empire.
Said Nursi heard that a British Secretary for the Colonies had even said in a newspaper: "So long as the Muslims have the Qur'an, we shall be unable to dominate them. We must either take it from them, or make them lose their love of it." Such threats caused him to declare: "I shall prove and demonstrate to the world that the Qur'an is an undying, inextinguishable Sun!" thus he decided to write his masterpiece, Risale-i Nur.
. His teachings attracted many people in the area. These manuscripts were sent to Sav, another village in the region where dozens of people duplicated them in Arabic script (which was officially replaced by the Latin script in 1928). After being finished these books were sent to Nursî's disciples all over Turkey via the "Nurcu postal system". Bediuzzaman's study of science and involvement with philosophy should be seen in the context of the increasing Western influence in the Ottoman Empire at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries and the attacks which were being made on the Qur'an and Islam in the name of science, materialism and Positivist philosophy
in particular. Bediuzzaman's activity was intended to provide an Islamic answer to these attacks. When the leadership of Turkey came into the hands of Mustafa Kemal
and his supporters at the founding of the Republic in 1923, the drive for Westernization
received a strong impetus.
As the New Said, Bediuzzaman had immersed himself in the Qur'an, searching for a way to relate its truths to modern man. In Barla in his isolation he began to write treatises explaining and proving these truths, for now the Qur'an itself and its truths were under direct attack. The first of these was on the Resurrection of the Dead, which in a unique style, proves bodily Resurrection rationally, where even the greatest scholars previously had confessed their impotence. He described the method employed in this as consisting of three stages: first God's existence is proved, and His Names and attributes, then the Resurrection of the Dead is 'constructed' on these and proved.
With these writings, Bediuzzaman opened up a new, direct way to reality (haqiqat) and knowledge of God which he described as the highway of the Qur'an and way of the Companions of the Prophet through the 'legacy of Prophethood,' which gains for those who follow it 'true and certain belief.' He did not ascribe the writings to himself, but said they proceeded from the Qur'an itself, were 'rays shining out of from [its] truths.'
Thus, rather than being a Qur'anic commentary which expounds all its verses giving the immediate reasons for their revelation and the apparent meanings of the words and sentences, the Risale-i Nur is what is known as a mânevî tefsir, or commentary which expounds the meaning of the Qur'anic truths. For there are various sorts of commentaries. The verses mostly expounded in the Risale-i Nur are those concerned with the truths of belief, such as the Divine Names and attributes and the Divine activity in the universe, the Divine existence and Unity, resurrection, prophethood, Divine Determining or destiny, and man's duties of worship. Bediuzzaman explains how the Qur'an addresses all men in every age in accordance with the degree of their understanding and development; it has a face that looks to each age. The Risale-i Nur, then, explains that face of the Qur'an which looks to this age. We shall now look at further aspects of the Risale-i Nur related to this point.
In numerous of its verses, the Holy Qur'an invites man to observe the universe and reflect on the Divine activity within it; following just this method, Bediuzzaman provides proofs and explanations for the truths of belief. He likens the universe to a book, and looking at it in the way shown by the Qur'an, that is, 'reading' it for its meaning, learns of the Divine Names and attributes and other truths of belief. The book's purpose is to describe its Author and Maker; beings become evidences and signs to their Creator. Thus, an important element in the way of the Risale-i Nur is reflection or contemplation (tefekkür), 'reading' the Book of the Universe in order to increase in knowledge of God and to obtain 'true and certain belief' in all the truths of belief.
Bediuzzaman demonstrates that the irrefutable truths, such as Divine Unity, arrived at in this way are the only rational and logical explanation of the universe, and making comparisons with Naturalist and Materialist philosophy which have used science's findings about the universe to deny those truths, show the concepts on which they are based, such as causality and Nature, to be irrational and logically absurd.
Indeed, far from contradicting them, in uncovering the order and working of the universe, science broadens and deepens knowledge of the truths of belief. In the Risale-i Nur many descriptions of the Divine activity in the universe are looked at through the eyes of science, and reflect Bediuzzaman's knowledge of it. The Risale-i Nur shows that there is no contradiction or conflict between religion and science.
In addition, all these matters discussed in the Risale-i Nur are set out as reasoned arguments and proved according to logic. All the most important of the truths of belief are proved so clearly that even unbelievers can see their necessity. And so too, inspired by the Qur'an, even the most profound and inaccessible truths are made accessible by means of comparisons, which bring them close to the understanding like telescopes, so that they are readily understandable by ordinary people and those with no previous knowledge of these questions.
Another aspect of the Risale-i Nur related to the face of the Qur'an which looks to this age, is that it explains everything from the point of view of wisdom; that is, as is mentioned again below, it explains the purpose of everything. It considers things from the point of view of the Divine Name of All-Wise.
Also, following this method, in the Risale-i Nur Bediuzzaman solved many mysteries of religion, such as bodily resurrection and Divine Determining and man's will, and the riddle of the constant activity in the universe and the motion of particles, before which man relying on his own intellect and philosophy had been impotent.
While in Barla, Bediuzzaman put the treatise on Resurrection and the pieces that followed it together in the form of a collection and gave it the name of Sozler (The Words). The Words was followed by Mektûbat (Letters), a collection of thirty-three letters of varying lengths from Bediuzzaman to his students. And this was followed by Lem'alar (The Flashes Collection), and Sualar (The Rays), which was completed in 1949. Together with these are the three collections of Additional Letters, for each of Bediuzzaman's main places of exile, Barla Lahikasi, Kastamonu Lahikasi, and Emirdag Lahikasi.
The way the Risale-i Nur was written and disseminated was unique, like the work itself. Bediuzzaman would dictate at speed to a scribe, who would write down the piece in question with equal speed; the actual writing was very quick. Bediuzzaman had no books for reference and the writing of religious works was of course forbidden. They were all written therefore in the mountains and out in the countryside. Handwritten copies were then made, these were secretly copied out in the houses of the Risale-i Nur 'students,' as they were called, and passed from village to village, and then from town to town, till they spread throughout Turkey. Only in 1946 were Risale-i Nur students able to obtain duplicating machines, while it was not till 1956 that various parts were printed on modern presses in the new, Latin, script. The figure given for hand-written copies is 600,000.
It may be seen from the above figure how the Risale-i Nur movement spread within Turkey, despite all efforts to stop it. After 1950, the period of what Bediuzzaman called 'the Third Said,' there was a great increase in the number of students, particularly among the young and those who had been through the secular education system of the Republic. At the same time the number of students outside Turkey increased.
Besides these powerful writings themselves, a major factor in the success of the movement may be attributed to the very method Bediuzzaman had chosen, which may be summarized with two phrases: 'mânevî jihad,' that is, 'jihad of the word' or 'non-physical jihad', and 'positive action.' For Bediuzzaman considered the true enemies in this age of science, reason, and civilization to be materialism and atheism, and their source, materialist philosophy. Thus just as he combatted and 'utterly defeated' these with the reasoned proofs of the Risale-i Nur, so through strengthening the belief of Muslims and raising it to the level of 'true, verified belief,' the Risale-i Nur was the most effective barrier against the corruption of society caused by these enemies. In order to be able to pursue this 'jihad of the word,' Bediuzzaman insisted that his students avoided any use of force and disruptive action. Through 'positive action,' and the maintenance of public order and security, the damage caused by the forces of unbelief could be 'repaired' by the healing truths of the Qur'an. And this is the way they have adhered to.
city. After the introduction of the multi-party system he advised his followers to vote for the Democratic Party of Adnan Menderes
which gained the support of the rural and conservative populations. Because Said Nursî considered communism
the greatest danger of that time, he also supported the pro-Western orientation of the Democrats, leading to his support of NATO, CENTO
and Turkey's participation in the Korean war
. He tried to unite Muslims and Christians in the struggle against communism
and materialism
therefore he corresponded with the Pope
and the Greek Orthodox
patriarch
.
In 1956 he was allowed to have his writings printed. His books are collected under the name The Collection Of Risale-i Nur
(Letters of Light).
He died of exhaustion after traveling to Urfa
. He was buried on the premises where according to Islamic beliefs prophet Ibrahim (Abraham
) is buried. After the military coup d'état in Turkey in 1960, a group of soldiers led by the later extreme right-wing politician Alparslan Türkeş
opened his grave and buried him at an unknown place near Isparta during July 1960 in order to prevent popular veneration. His followers are reported to have found his grave after years of searching in the area, and took his remains to a secret place in an effort to protect his body from further disturbance. Now, only two followers of him know where he is buried. When one of them dies, the other one tells one more person the secret place of the grave reducing the chance that the place be forgotten.
Interestingly enough, he wrote in a treaty (risala
), that no one should know where his tomb is.
During his lifetime his students have claimed to have witnessed his many signs and foretellings that were acknowledged to have become true. He has attributed these "karamat" - in Arabic- to God. His students documented these many instances and wanted these to be published separately as a book along with his works but he didn't allow them to be bound together to become a source of distraction from his work "The Risale-i Nur Collection" revealing his claimed personal level of closeness to God. Although in letters circulating between the disciples many have been narrated instantly and are to be found within published letters combined under books called "Lahikalar". There are a few of these published "Lahikalar" named after where Said Nursi resided.
· 1925-35: Kept under strict control at Barla, a very small, mountanous district, and forced to live alone.
· 1935: Arrested and imprisoned for 11 months with 125 students during their trial at Eskisehir Criminal Court.
· 1936-43: Following his release, began a 7-year exile in Kastamonu, where he spent the first 3 months at a police station After that, he was transferred to a house opposite to the police station.
· 1943: Arrested and tried with 126 students at the Denizli Criminal Court for having a treatise on God's existence printed secretly in Istanbul. He taught the other prisoner and produced his Fruits from the Tree of Light and other works on small pieces of paper torn from paper bags, which were then smuggled out. He was acquitted and exiled to Emirdag.
· 1948: Arrested in Emirdag with 53 students, and jailed for 20 months in Afyon prison. Now 72, Said Nursi endured solitary confinement in a cell with broken windows that were not fixed during the two harsh winters he stayed there. Sick and eventually poisoned, he had to serve his full term even though the Supreme Court had annulled his sentence. In 1956, they were declared innocent.
· In 1950: the multiparty system was introduced and restrictions on religion were relaxed. Said Nursi was arrested only once after this, and was acquitted by a unanimous decision. Dying on March 23, 1960, he left this world with his works and his magnum opus: Risale-i Nur Collection
was a Muslim scholar who wrote the Risale-i Nur Collection
Risale-i Nur
The Risale-i Nur Collection is an approximately six-thousand-page tafsir on the Qur'an written by Said Nursi between the 1910s and 1950s in accordance with the mentality of the age...
, a body of Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
ic commentary exceeding six thousand pages. . He was born in Nurs, a village in the Ottoman Bitlis Province in eastern Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. He educated by the district's best scholars. He soon surpassed them in debates and earned the name Bediuzzaman (Wonder of the Age) Believing that modern science and logic was the way of the future, he advocated teaching religious sciences in secular schools and modern sciences in religious schools.
The "Early Said"
Due to his fame as a scholar, he was invited by the governor of the vilayet of Van to stay within his residency. In the governor's library, Nursî gained access to an archive of scientific knowledge he had not had access to previously. Moreover, Said learned proper Turkish there. During this time, he developed a plan for university education for the Eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire. By combining scientific and religious (Islamic) education, the university was expected to advance the philosophical thoughts of these regions. However, he was put on trial in 1909 for his apparent involvement in the 1909 countercoupCountercoup (1909)
The Countercoup of 1909 was an attempt to dismantle the Second Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire and replace it with a monarchy under Sultan Abdul Hamid II...
on the side opposing the Committee of Union and Progress
Committee of Union and Progress
The Committee of Union and Progress began as a secret society established as the "Committee of Ottoman Union" in 1889 by the medical students İbrahim Temo, Abdullah Cevdet, İshak Sükuti and Ali Hüseyinzade...
but he was acquitted and released. He had always been an advocate for true democracy as a Muslim scholar and knew the facts that voting was initially practiced during and a short time after the death of the Islamic prophet Mohammad. Therefore he supported true democracy but protested with peaceful dissent against the then common era dictatorship. Agitated by his then far more ahead his time democratic views the new revolutionist and top general Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his western supporters offered Said Presidency of Religious Affairs of the then eastern region. However, he declined this offer. This was the beginning of his split from the Kemalist Ideology. During the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he was a member of the Sperical Organization of the Ottoman Empire.
Said Nursi heard that a British Secretary for the Colonies had even said in a newspaper: "So long as the Muslims have the Qur'an, we shall be unable to dominate them. We must either take it from them, or make them lose their love of it." Such threats caused him to declare: "I shall prove and demonstrate to the world that the Qur'an is an undying, inextinguishable Sun!" thus he decided to write his masterpiece, Risale-i Nur.
The "New Said"
He was finally exiled to the village Barla in the Isparta ProvinceIsparta Province
Isparta Province is a province in southwestern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Afyon to the northwest, Burdur to the southwest, Antalya to the south, and Konya to the east. It has an area of 8,993 km² and a population of 448,298 up from 434,771...
. His teachings attracted many people in the area. These manuscripts were sent to Sav, another village in the region where dozens of people duplicated them in Arabic script (which was officially replaced by the Latin script in 1928). After being finished these books were sent to Nursî's disciples all over Turkey via the "Nurcu postal system". Bediuzzaman's study of science and involvement with philosophy should be seen in the context of the increasing Western influence in the Ottoman Empire at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries and the attacks which were being made on the Qur'an and Islam in the name of science, materialism and Positivist philosophy
Positivism
Positivism is a a view of scientific methods and a philosophical approach, theory, or system based on the view that, in the social as well as natural sciences, sensory experiences and their logical and mathematical treatment are together the exclusive source of all worthwhile information....
in particular. Bediuzzaman's activity was intended to provide an Islamic answer to these attacks. When the leadership of Turkey came into the hands of Mustafa Kemal
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
and his supporters at the founding of the Republic in 1923, the drive for Westernization
Westernization
Westernization or Westernisation , also occidentalization or occidentalisation , is a process whereby societies come under or adopt Western culture in such matters as industry, technology, law, politics, economics, lifestyle, diet, language, alphabet,...
received a strong impetus.
As the New Said, Bediuzzaman had immersed himself in the Qur'an, searching for a way to relate its truths to modern man. In Barla in his isolation he began to write treatises explaining and proving these truths, for now the Qur'an itself and its truths were under direct attack. The first of these was on the Resurrection of the Dead, which in a unique style, proves bodily Resurrection rationally, where even the greatest scholars previously had confessed their impotence. He described the method employed in this as consisting of three stages: first God's existence is proved, and His Names and attributes, then the Resurrection of the Dead is 'constructed' on these and proved.
With these writings, Bediuzzaman opened up a new, direct way to reality (haqiqat) and knowledge of God which he described as the highway of the Qur'an and way of the Companions of the Prophet through the 'legacy of Prophethood,' which gains for those who follow it 'true and certain belief.' He did not ascribe the writings to himself, but said they proceeded from the Qur'an itself, were 'rays shining out of from [its] truths.'
Thus, rather than being a Qur'anic commentary which expounds all its verses giving the immediate reasons for their revelation and the apparent meanings of the words and sentences, the Risale-i Nur is what is known as a mânevî tefsir, or commentary which expounds the meaning of the Qur'anic truths. For there are various sorts of commentaries. The verses mostly expounded in the Risale-i Nur are those concerned with the truths of belief, such as the Divine Names and attributes and the Divine activity in the universe, the Divine existence and Unity, resurrection, prophethood, Divine Determining or destiny, and man's duties of worship. Bediuzzaman explains how the Qur'an addresses all men in every age in accordance with the degree of their understanding and development; it has a face that looks to each age. The Risale-i Nur, then, explains that face of the Qur'an which looks to this age. We shall now look at further aspects of the Risale-i Nur related to this point.
In numerous of its verses, the Holy Qur'an invites man to observe the universe and reflect on the Divine activity within it; following just this method, Bediuzzaman provides proofs and explanations for the truths of belief. He likens the universe to a book, and looking at it in the way shown by the Qur'an, that is, 'reading' it for its meaning, learns of the Divine Names and attributes and other truths of belief. The book's purpose is to describe its Author and Maker; beings become evidences and signs to their Creator. Thus, an important element in the way of the Risale-i Nur is reflection or contemplation (tefekkür), 'reading' the Book of the Universe in order to increase in knowledge of God and to obtain 'true and certain belief' in all the truths of belief.
Bediuzzaman demonstrates that the irrefutable truths, such as Divine Unity, arrived at in this way are the only rational and logical explanation of the universe, and making comparisons with Naturalist and Materialist philosophy which have used science's findings about the universe to deny those truths, show the concepts on which they are based, such as causality and Nature, to be irrational and logically absurd.
Indeed, far from contradicting them, in uncovering the order and working of the universe, science broadens and deepens knowledge of the truths of belief. In the Risale-i Nur many descriptions of the Divine activity in the universe are looked at through the eyes of science, and reflect Bediuzzaman's knowledge of it. The Risale-i Nur shows that there is no contradiction or conflict between religion and science.
In addition, all these matters discussed in the Risale-i Nur are set out as reasoned arguments and proved according to logic. All the most important of the truths of belief are proved so clearly that even unbelievers can see their necessity. And so too, inspired by the Qur'an, even the most profound and inaccessible truths are made accessible by means of comparisons, which bring them close to the understanding like telescopes, so that they are readily understandable by ordinary people and those with no previous knowledge of these questions.
Another aspect of the Risale-i Nur related to the face of the Qur'an which looks to this age, is that it explains everything from the point of view of wisdom; that is, as is mentioned again below, it explains the purpose of everything. It considers things from the point of view of the Divine Name of All-Wise.
Also, following this method, in the Risale-i Nur Bediuzzaman solved many mysteries of religion, such as bodily resurrection and Divine Determining and man's will, and the riddle of the constant activity in the universe and the motion of particles, before which man relying on his own intellect and philosophy had been impotent.
While in Barla, Bediuzzaman put the treatise on Resurrection and the pieces that followed it together in the form of a collection and gave it the name of Sozler (The Words). The Words was followed by Mektûbat (Letters), a collection of thirty-three letters of varying lengths from Bediuzzaman to his students. And this was followed by Lem'alar (The Flashes Collection), and Sualar (The Rays), which was completed in 1949. Together with these are the three collections of Additional Letters, for each of Bediuzzaman's main places of exile, Barla Lahikasi, Kastamonu Lahikasi, and Emirdag Lahikasi.
The way the Risale-i Nur was written and disseminated was unique, like the work itself. Bediuzzaman would dictate at speed to a scribe, who would write down the piece in question with equal speed; the actual writing was very quick. Bediuzzaman had no books for reference and the writing of religious works was of course forbidden. They were all written therefore in the mountains and out in the countryside. Handwritten copies were then made, these were secretly copied out in the houses of the Risale-i Nur 'students,' as they were called, and passed from village to village, and then from town to town, till they spread throughout Turkey. Only in 1946 were Risale-i Nur students able to obtain duplicating machines, while it was not till 1956 that various parts were printed on modern presses in the new, Latin, script. The figure given for hand-written copies is 600,000.
It may be seen from the above figure how the Risale-i Nur movement spread within Turkey, despite all efforts to stop it. After 1950, the period of what Bediuzzaman called 'the Third Said,' there was a great increase in the number of students, particularly among the young and those who had been through the secular education system of the Republic. At the same time the number of students outside Turkey increased.
Besides these powerful writings themselves, a major factor in the success of the movement may be attributed to the very method Bediuzzaman had chosen, which may be summarized with two phrases: 'mânevî jihad,' that is, 'jihad of the word' or 'non-physical jihad', and 'positive action.' For Bediuzzaman considered the true enemies in this age of science, reason, and civilization to be materialism and atheism, and their source, materialist philosophy. Thus just as he combatted and 'utterly defeated' these with the reasoned proofs of the Risale-i Nur, so through strengthening the belief of Muslims and raising it to the level of 'true, verified belief,' the Risale-i Nur was the most effective barrier against the corruption of society caused by these enemies. In order to be able to pursue this 'jihad of the word,' Bediuzzaman insisted that his students avoided any use of force and disruptive action. Through 'positive action,' and the maintenance of public order and security, the damage caused by the forces of unbelief could be 'repaired' by the healing truths of the Qur'an. And this is the way they have adhered to.
The "Third Said"
He was finally released in 1949. In the last decade of his life he settled in IspartaIsparta
Isparta is a city in western Turkey and the provincial capital of the Isparta Province. The city's population is 222,556 and elevation from sea level is 1035 m. Another name of the city is "City of Roses"....
city. After the introduction of the multi-party system he advised his followers to vote for the Democratic Party of Adnan Menderes
Adnan Menderes
Adnan Menderes was the first democratically elected Turkish Prime Minister between 1950–1960. He was one of the founders of the Democratic Party in 1946, the fourth legal opposition party of Turkey. He was hanged by the military junta after the 1960 coup d'état, along with two other cabinet...
which gained the support of the rural and conservative populations. Because Said Nursî considered communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
the greatest danger of that time, he also supported the pro-Western orientation of the Democrats, leading to his support of NATO, CENTO
Cento
Cento is a city and comune in the province of Ferrara, part of the region Emilia-Romagna . In Italian "cento" means 100.-History:The name Cento is a reference to the centuriation of the Po Valley...
and Turkey's participation in the Korean war
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. He tried to unite Muslims and Christians in the struggle against communism
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
and materialism
Materialism
In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
therefore he corresponded with the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
and the Greek Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
.
In 1956 he was allowed to have his writings printed. His books are collected under the name The Collection Of Risale-i Nur
Risale-i Nur
The Risale-i Nur Collection is an approximately six-thousand-page tafsir on the Qur'an written by Said Nursi between the 1910s and 1950s in accordance with the mentality of the age...
(Letters of Light).
He died of exhaustion after traveling to Urfa
Sanliurfa
Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language , in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323 inhabitants Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language (Syriac ܐܘܪܗܝ Urhoy,Armenian Ուռհա Owr'ha, Arabic الرها ar-Ruhā), in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323...
. He was buried on the premises where according to Islamic beliefs prophet Ibrahim (Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
) is buried. After the military coup d'état in Turkey in 1960, a group of soldiers led by the later extreme right-wing politician Alparslan Türkeş
Alparslan Türkes
Alparslan Türkeş was a Cypriot-born Turkish nationalist politician who was the founder and former president of the Nationalist Movement Party party...
opened his grave and buried him at an unknown place near Isparta during July 1960 in order to prevent popular veneration. His followers are reported to have found his grave after years of searching in the area, and took his remains to a secret place in an effort to protect his body from further disturbance. Now, only two followers of him know where he is buried. When one of them dies, the other one tells one more person the secret place of the grave reducing the chance that the place be forgotten.
Interestingly enough, he wrote in a treaty (risala
Risala
Risāla means "message" in Arabic. It is also an Islamic term that has a broader meaning.- Islamic term :The Message is sometimes a way to refer to Islam. In the Islamic context, ar-Risāla means scriptures revealed from God through a Messenger to the people...
), that no one should know where his tomb is.
During his lifetime his students have claimed to have witnessed his many signs and foretellings that were acknowledged to have become true. He has attributed these "karamat" - in Arabic- to God. His students documented these many instances and wanted these to be published separately as a book along with his works but he didn't allow them to be bound together to become a source of distraction from his work "The Risale-i Nur Collection" revealing his claimed personal level of closeness to God. Although in letters circulating between the disciples many have been narrated instantly and are to be found within published letters combined under books called "Lahikalar". There are a few of these published "Lahikalar" named after where Said Nursi resided.
Said Nursi and the Republic of Turkey
Said Nursi's life, both while writing the Risale-i Nur (1925-48) and until his death in 1960, consisted of arrest and imprisonment, surveillance, and harassment. But he persevered. In the words of a person familiar with such anti-Said Nursi activities. Following is a brief chronology of this phase of his life:· 1925-35: Kept under strict control at Barla, a very small, mountanous district, and forced to live alone.
· 1935: Arrested and imprisoned for 11 months with 125 students during their trial at Eskisehir Criminal Court.
· 1936-43: Following his release, began a 7-year exile in Kastamonu, where he spent the first 3 months at a police station After that, he was transferred to a house opposite to the police station.
· 1943: Arrested and tried with 126 students at the Denizli Criminal Court for having a treatise on God's existence printed secretly in Istanbul. He taught the other prisoner and produced his Fruits from the Tree of Light and other works on small pieces of paper torn from paper bags, which were then smuggled out. He was acquitted and exiled to Emirdag.
· 1948: Arrested in Emirdag with 53 students, and jailed for 20 months in Afyon prison. Now 72, Said Nursi endured solitary confinement in a cell with broken windows that were not fixed during the two harsh winters he stayed there. Sick and eventually poisoned, he had to serve his full term even though the Supreme Court had annulled his sentence. In 1956, they were declared innocent.
· In 1950: the multiparty system was introduced and restrictions on religion were relaxed. Said Nursi was arrested only once after this, and was acquitted by a unanimous decision. Dying on March 23, 1960, he left this world with his works and his magnum opus: Risale-i Nur Collection
Risale-i Nur
The Risale-i Nur Collection is an approximately six-thousand-page tafsir on the Qur'an written by Said Nursi between the 1910s and 1950s in accordance with the mentality of the age...
Further Reading
- Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi‘Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi‘Ibrahim M. Abu Rabi , Professor and The Edmonton Council of Muslum Communities Chair in Islamic Studies.Ibrahim M. Abu Rabi‘ is Professor and Edmonton Council of Muslim Communities Chair in Islamic Studies in the Department of History and Classics at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada...
. Islam at the Crossroads Suny Press, 2003. - Fred A. ReedFred A. ReedFred A. Reed is a journalist and translator of literature who has published and translated several books.-Books:*Persian postcards: Iran after Khomemi. Talonbooks. 1994. ISBN 0889224439...
. Anatolia junction: A journey into hidden Turkey. Talonbooks. 1999. - Michel, Thomas, Said Nursi's Views on Muslim-Christian Understanding
- Ian MarkhamIan MarkhamDr. Ian S. Markham was appointed as Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary in August 2007. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom where he focused on Christian Ethics. He previously earned an M.Litt. in Philosophy and Ethics from the University of...
Engaging with Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, A Model of Interfaith Dialogue. Ashgate, 2009 - Ian MarkhamIan MarkhamDr. Ian S. Markham was appointed as Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary in August 2007. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom where he focused on Christian Ethics. He previously earned an M.Litt. in Philosophy and Ethics from the University of...
A Theology of Engagement. Blackwell, 2003 - Ian MarkhamIan MarkhamDr. Ian S. Markham was appointed as Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary in August 2007. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom where he focused on Christian Ethics. He previously earned an M.Litt. in Philosophy and Ethics from the University of...
Globalization,Ethics and Islam: The Case of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, 2005 - Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi‘Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi‘Ibrahim M. Abu Rabi , Professor and The Edmonton Council of Muslum Communities Chair in Islamic Studies.Ibrahim M. Abu Rabi‘ is Professor and Edmonton Council of Muslim Communities Chair in Islamic Studies in the Department of History and Classics at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada...
. Spiritual Dimensions of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi's Risale-i NurRisale-i NurThe Risale-i Nur Collection is an approximately six-thousand-page tafsir on the Qur'an written by Said Nursi between the 1910s and 1950s in accordance with the mentality of the age...
Suny Press, 2008. - Barnett, Peter, Guardian of the Flamehttp://www.oznursi.com/peter-barnett.html
External links
- SaidNur.com A comperehensive page about Said Nursi and Risale-i Nur Collection in many languages
- Suffa Vakfi Said Nursi based Organization.
- Questions On Islam Based on Principles of Said Nursi.
- http://www.openinform.ru/fs/j_photos/openinform_295.pdf The European Court of Human Rights. Application no. 1413/08 by Ibragim IBRAGIMOV and CULTURAL EDUCATIONAL FUND “NURU-BADI” against Russia lodged on 3 December 2007.
- Risale-i Nur
- http://www.nur.gen.tr/en.html A web page including Risale-i Nur Collection in various languages
- http://www.erisale.com/index.jsp?locale=en A web page including Risale-i Nur Collection in English
- NursiStudies Academic Researches on Said Nursi
- http://nur.org/ A web site serving in United States
- http://nurru.com/uploads/files/lettertomedvedev.pdf A letter about ban of Risale-i Nur Collection to President of Russia Medvedev
- Bediuzzamansaidnursi.org