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Bediüzzaman
Said Nursi
The
Risale-i Nur collection is a six-thousand-page commentary on the Qur'an
written by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi in accordance with the mentality of the
age. Since in our age, faith and Islam have been the objects of the attacks
launched in the name of so called science and logic, Bedizzaman Said Nursi
therefore concentrated in the Risale-i Nur on proving the truths of faith
in conformity with modern sciences, through rational evidence and by
manifesting the miraculous aspects of the Qur'an that relate primarily to
our century. This collection now has millions of readers both in and
outside Turkey.
Thanks
to the Risale-i Nur, the Turks managed to maintain their religion despite
the most despotic regimes of the past decades; although its author faced
unbearable torments, prisons and exiles and no effort was spared to put an
end to his service to faith, he was able to complete his writings
comprising the Risale-i Nur and raise a vast group of believers who
courageously opposed the oppression and preserved the dominance of Islam in
the country.
WONDER
OF THE AGE
Bediuzzaman
Said Nursi was born a century ago, in 1873, in a village in eastern
Anatolia, Nurs, from which he received the name Nursi. He received his
basic education from the best-known scholars of the district. The
extraordinary intelligence and capability of learning that he showed at a
very early age made him popular with his teachers, colleagues and the
people. When he was sixteen years old, he silenced the distinguished
scholars who had invited him to a debate (debate was then a popular
practice among scholars). This later recurred several more times with
various groups of soholars, and he thereby began to be called Bediuzzaman
(Wonder of the Age).
The
time he spent in education paved the way in his mind for the thought that
at a time when the world was entering a new and different age, where
science and logic would prevail, the classical educational system of
theology would not be sufficient to remove doubts concerning the Qur'an and
Islam. He concluded that religious sciences should be taught at modern
schools on the one hand, and modern sciences at religious schools on the
other. "This way," he said, "the people of the school will
be protected from unbelief, and those of the madrasa from fanaticism."
With
this idea, he twice went to Istanbul-once in 1895, the second time in
1907-where he sought to convince the Sultan to establish a university in
Anatolia, one that would teach religious and modern sciences together. But
the sharp words in his conversation with the Sultan caused him to be
court-martialed, and during his trial too he did not hesitate to use the
same sharpness. Alarmed by this, the military judges thought it best to
send him to a mental hospital, but the phisician who examined him reported,
"If there is a grain of insanity in Bediuzzaman, then there must be no
sane person in the whole world"
FIRST
ACQUITTAL
To be
the object of accusations contrary to his aim and intention was, in fact,
an invariable feature of Bediuzzaman's fate. When the uproars of March 31,
1909, took place, he was arrested and court-martialed on the charge of
inciting the uproar, although he had tried, and to a degree managed, to
calm down the events. While the hanging bodies of the convicts executed were
seen through the windows of the court-martial room, Bediuzzaman made a
heroic defense and in the end was acquitted.
After
the first of a series of acquittals, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi returned to
eastern Anatolia, visited the remote proviences and explained to the people
that the movement freedom that was beginning to emerge in the country was
not contrary to Islam. He told them that all kinds of dictatorship were
rejected by the Sacred Law, which would be nourished and would manifest its
virtues in a free atmosphere. Her later collected these speeches in a book
entitled the Debates.
In the
winter of 1911, Bediuzzaman went to Damascus and gave a sermon at the
Umayyad mosque to an audience including one hundred well-known scholars,
explaining that the true civilisation contained in Islam would dominate the
modern world. Afterwards he went to Istanbul once again, to continue his
efforts to have a, university established in eastern Anatolia. As the
representative of the Eastern provinces, he escorted Sultan Reþad on his
journey in Rumelia and, when they were in Kosovo Metohija, where the Sultan
was planning to establish a university, Bediuzzaman told him, "The
East is in more need of a university, for it is the centre of the Muslim
world." He thus convinced Sultan Resad to earmark a sum of nineteen
thousand gold liras, and then went to Van and laid the foundation of the
university. Unfortunately, the construction was not completed because of
the World War which soon broke out.
THE
FEAR OF THE RUSSIANS
In World
War I, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi served as a commander of a volunteers'
regiment on the Caucasian front and in eastern Anatolia. The heroism he
demonstrated in battle was highly admired by the generals of the Ottoman
army, including Enver Pa=FEa, Minister of Defense and Deputy
Commander-in-Chief of the Ottoman Armed Forces. Together with his
volunteers known as "the Felt Caps," he struck terror into the
Russian and Armenian forces. In the meantime, he wrote his celebrated
commentary on the Qur'an in the Arabic language, sometimes on horseback,
sometimes on the front line and sometimes in the trench. This commentory,
entitled the Signs of Miraculousness; received immense appreciation from
eminent scholars.
In one
of the battles against the invading Russian forces, Bediuzzaman and ninety
other officers were captured. He was sent to a prisoners' camp in Kostroma,
Northwestern Russia, where he spent over two years and once appeared before
a firing squad, as a result of his insulting the Russian general Nicola Nicolaevich,
the Commander-in-Chief of the Caucasian front and the Czar's uncle. One day
the general came to the camp for inspection and, as he passed by
Bediuzzaman, he did not stand up before the general. When asked,
Bediuzzaman explained the reason why he had not stood up in these words:
"I
am a Muslim scholar and have belief in my heart. Whoever has belief in his
heart is superior to the one who does not. I cannot act against my
belief."
He was
court-martialed, sentenced to death, and, when the sentence was to be
executed, he began his last duty, prayer, in front of the firing squad. The
general witnessed the scene and came to Bediüzzaman, this time with an
apology. He said that he had now realized that the act of Bediuzzaman was
the result of his adherence to his faith; and that the sentence was
withdrawn, and apologized to Bediuzzaman because he had bothered him.
Sadly, this virtuousness of a Russian, the long-standing enemy of the
Muslims, was never shown to him in his homeland by those who caused him a
life full of torments of all kinds.
AGAINST
THE BRITISH FORCES
Amid
the uproars caused by the communist revolution, Bediuzzaman found a way of
escaping and, after a long iourney, came back to Istanbul in 1908 He was
rewarded with a war medallion and Enver Paþa, Minister of Defense, offered
him some positions in the government. He refused all these offers; however,
upon the suggestion of the army and without his knowledge, he was appointed
to Dar-al-Hikmat al-Islamiya, the religious academy of the time. He did not
object to this appointment, as it was a pure scientific position.
When
the country was invaded by imperialist forces after the defeat in World War
I, Bediuzzaman challenged the invading British in Istanbul with bitter
attacks that almost cost him his life. He addressed them in his articles in
daily newspapers with phrases such as, "O dog doggified from the
atmost degree of dogness!" and "Spit at the shameless face of the
damned British" These attacks made him the target of the British, but,
with the help of God Almighty, he escaped all the plans against him and ran
toward the new services that were awaiting him. In 1922, upon the
invitations of the government that recurred eighteen times, Bediuzzaman
Said Nursi went to Ankara and was received at the Grand National Assembly
with a ceremony. However, he could not find in Ankara what he had
anticipated; rather he saw the most of the representatives negligent in
their religious obligations. On January 19, 1923, he issued a declaration
to the representatives. Upon this declaration fifty to sixty of them began
prayer.
Bediuzzaman
spent eight months in Ankara and then left for Van. For two years he lived
there in seclusion and was occupied only with meditation and prayer.
Meanwhile the unfortunate events known as "the Eastern rebellion"
broke out. The rebels sought Bediuzzaman's help, as he had a strong
influence over people, but Bediuzzaman refused their requests, saying,
"Sword is to be used against the outside enemy; it is not to be used
inside. Give up your attempt, for it is doomed to failure and may end up in
the annihilation of thousands of innocent men and women because of a few
criminals." But once again Bediuzzaman was charged falsely and sent
into exile in Burdur, western Anatolia. There he was kept under strict
surveillance and oppression, but this did not prevent him from teaching the
truths of faith to the people around him and from collecting his writings
secretly in a book. His activities were reported to Ankara , and then a
plan was prepared to silence him. They sent him to Barla, an out-of-the-way
place in central Anatolia surrounded by mountains, with the thought that
Bediuzzaman would eventually die there from impotence and loneliness.
THE EMERGENCE OF THE
RISALE-I NUR
In reality, the dissemination
of the truths of faith was nothing to be alarmed about, nor was it a crime
that would be the cause of plots against a man's life. However, it was an
unforgiveable crime under the circumstances of the time! For those were the
days when despotism had fallen down over the nation with all its darkness
and awesomeness; a ban had been put over adhan; hundreds of mosques were
being used for nonreligious purposes; the plans to cut off all that
connects the nation with its past and its moral values were in process; and
the mere mention of religion was a matter of great courrage. The head of
the press department of the government could order the editors of
newspapers to cut within ten days all the serials that directly or
indirectly. mentioned religion, as "it was considered harmful to lead
to the emergence of the concept of religion in the minds of youths."
Such were the
circumstances under which Bediuzzaman Said Nursi entered the second part of
his life which he called the New Said and which was dedicated to the
waiting and dissemination of the truths of faith. Taking as the aim the
revival of faith, which is the first and most important truth of the
cosmos, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, "I will demonstrate to the world that
the Qur'an is a spiritual sun that shall never set and shall never be
extinguished." And indeed so he did. Bediuzzaman did not die in Barla,
where he had been sent to die alone, but a new Said emerged there, and with
it emerged a sun over the world of science and culture, .one that has since
been illuminating millions. In Barla too, an awesome oppression and
surveillance were waiting for Bediuzzaman. It appeared that his enemies had
not yet come to know him, who, in the World War had been the fear of the
Russians, in Istanbul had spat at the face of the British who were in his
pursuit, and had several times returned from the gallows. Nevertheless,
they later had enough time to know him and in the end found themselves
having to say, "Despite all we have done in the past twenty-five
years, we have not been able to prevent Said Nursi from his
activities." During the eight years and a half that he spent under
absolute oppression in Barla, Bediuzzaman wrote three quarters of the
Risale-i Nur collection: The treatises were being multiplied by handwriting,
as neither the author nor his students could afford the printing costs.
Even if they had been able to, then again they did not have the freedom.
Handwriting was also a dangerous task, for the scribes were being tortured
in prisons and police stations, and every attempt was being made to prevent
people from contact with Bediuzzaman.
600.000 COPIES WRITTEN
BY HAND
Here it must be noted
that at that time the writing or dissemination of even a single religious
treatise was not anything that anybody dared try, let alone the firm,
courageous and continuous struggle that Bediuzzaman Said Nursi and his
students carried out. When these circumstances under which the Risale-i Nur
was written and spread all over Anatolia are taken into consideration, one
cannot find difficulty in realizing how right was Maryam Jameelah, the
well-known American Muslim writer, when she said, "It is no
exaggeration to claim that whatever Islamic fait h remains in Turkey is due
to the tireless efforts of Bediuzzaman Nursi." Indeed, those
instructed by the Risale-i Nur in lessons of the faith of realization
strengthened, in so doing, their beliefs and attained an impregnable
Islamic courage and heroism. With Bediuzzaman, who represented in his
person the spiritual personality of the Risale-i Nur, as their leader,
those hundreds of thousands-now millions-of students of Nur set a pattern
for other Muslims and constituted a support for them in those perilous days
like brave commanders encouraging an army with their states. The strength
of their beliefs and their continuous struggle against irreligion had wide
effects on people, and they thus removed the fears and misgivings from the
hearts, rallied the morale of the nation, brought about hope and relief and
delivered the Muslims from desperation.
Bediuzzaman was
arrested in 1930 with 125 students of his and tried at the Eskiþehir
Criminal Court. In Eskiþehir prison where they spent eleven months during
the trial, they had to put up with unbearable torments. They were released
the next spring but not Ieft in peace. This time, ,again escorted by
gendarmes, Bediuzzaman was sent into exile in another city , Kastamonu.
There he spent the first three months at a police station, then was
transferred to a house opposite to the police station.
Bediuzzaman lived in
Kastamonu for seven years and countinued to write and disseminate the
Risale-i Nur. Because he and his students were deprived of almost all kinds
of freedom, they therefore formed their own postal organization called the
"Nur postmen." Through the "Nur postmen," 600,000
copies of treatises were multiplied by handwriting.
In 1943, he was
arrested again and tried at the Denizli Criminal Court together with 126
students of his. The main reason for this was that Bediuzzaman had recently
had a treatise concerning the existence of God printed secretly in
Istanbul. In prison too he did not shrink from continuing his service, just
as he never did when he was in exile. He was now reforming the criminals
who were considered lost for society. He was also writing new treatises.
Paper and pen were not
allowed into the prison, so the treatises were written on small pieces of
paper torn from paperbags and smuggled out in matchboxes: This way Fruits
from the Tree of Light came out. The trial ended in a unanimous acaquittal.
But that did not mean that Bediuzzaman would be given back his freedom-upon
an order from Ankara, he was sent to another town, Emirdað.
THE ACQUITTAL THAT CAME TOO LATE
For him Emirdað was just the same as it had been
elsewhere again pursuits, pressures and plots, and despite these, a
continuous, tireless service of faith... This period, in the usual fashion,
ended in arrest. Together with fifty-three students, Bediuzzaman was sent
to Afyon Criminal Court and spent twenty months in Afyon prison. The
cruelties they encountered there were even worse than all those before.
Bediuzzaman was then seventy-five years old and suffering from various
illnesses. Yet he was isolated in a cell with broken windows where he spent
two severe winters. And, as if it were not enough to leave him to die
alone, he was poisoned too. When he was suffering from the effect of the
poison, the students of his who dared to approach him in order to help him
were ruthlessly bastinadoed. The sentences given were annulled by the
Supreme Court; the court, however, took its time in deciding whether to
withdraw the sentence or not. After Bediuzzaman and his students had spent
in prison the terms specified in the annulled conviction, the court finally
made up its mind and decided that they should be released. And eight years
later came the final decision in 1956, the court announced that those who
had under unbearable conditions spent almost two years in prison had now
been found innocent!
When the first free and fair elections were held
in Turkey in 1950 and the multiparty system was established, the despotism
of the Republican People's Party which was known, and still is, for its
hostile attitude toward religion-ended, and thereby freedoms began to be
recognized. Thus a new era opened in the history of the Turkish Republic in
the very first session of the new parliament, the ban over adhan was
lifted. During the years that followed, Bediuzzaman had only one trial-the
only one in which he was not arrested in Istanbul and was acquitted with a
unanimous decision.
WITH HONOR, DIGNITY AND VICTORY
And, after completing a lifetime of almost a
century, with every minute spent in the service of faith, Bediuzzaman Said
Nursi departed from this world on the morning of March 23, 1960, with
complete honor, dignity and victory, leaving behind him a work that would
illuminate this and the forthcoming centuries and a love that would be
handed over from generation to generation until eternity.
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