The 20th century Turkish spiritual leader Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (ra) read the Holy Qur’an deeply and through his reading of it new understandings and thoughts would burst forth to him, he would recite these inspirations to his disciples who would work as scribes, recording his words. He began to write treatises explaining and proving the truths of the Holy Qur’an and defending them from the confusions that were being spread by the Materialists.
The Risale-i Nur expounded and explained the truths of the Holy Qur’an in terms that modern readers could understand. Bediuzzaman was not hostile to the West, but he wished the Muslims to understand the difference between the harmful and beneficial elements of Western civilization.
Through explaining the ultimate truths the Risale-i-Nur demonstrated the superiority of the Holy Qur’an over man made philosophies and sciences that were being spread in the Muslim lands by those claiming that they were supports for disbelief. The Holy Qur’an is the book of guidance that people actually need and science and philosophy can only ever bring true benefits when they are used as its servants.
Through the study of the Holy Qur’an we may get a more healthy understanding of human life and our needs in this modern age. The Risale-i Nur is a six-thousand-page long commentary on the Holy Qur’an which was written by Bediuzzaman Nursi (ra) to explain the Divine scripture to the people of the modern age.
Bediuzzaman concentrated on proving the truths of Imaan (true faith) in harmony with modern science and using rational proofs. He also described some miraculous aspects of the Holy Qur’an that we could not truly understand until the 20th century CE.
The Risale-i Nur collection would gain millions of avid readers across the globe and it was this book that saved the faith of millions of Turks who were suffering under the onslaught of the Secular Fundamentalist indoctrinators through the last century.
The Risale-i Nur would explain the basic tenets of Islamic belief and show the blessed truths of the Holy Qur’an to modern people. It also showed how science’s frontiers of new discoveries about the physical the universe’s functioning support Islamic knowledge.
Many non-Muslims have come to Islam through reading this great work, particularly as it provides answers for the ‘why’s’ of the modern mind and also explains profound issues of belief in a way that all sorts of people can understand. The Risale-i Nur helps its readers to understand that true happiness in this life and the hereafter comes through having a belief and connection to Allah .
Arising from the Risale-i Nur came the Nurcu movement, neither a Sufi Order, nor a political party, nor a clear ‘society’ (secret or open). It is a community (cema‘at) and an extremely diverse group of Muslims who came together in religious brotherhood, illuminated by the Risale-I Nur, be they dedicated students, brothers or friends. The Risale-i Nur text forms the inspiration of the Risale-i Nur movement as does the life of Bediuzzaman.
The misuse of the tools of philosophy and science cast the 20th century mind into a chasm of meaningless Materialist confusion, but by explaining the message of the Holy Qur’an in new ways, using those tools, the Risale-i-Nur movement would raise human beings from the darkness of misguided confusion into the light of Imaan (true faith).
The Risale-i Nur would be eventually translated into more than fifty languages and the Risale-i-Nur movement would be a fellowship joined together in Islam and illuminated through the words of Bediuzzaman. Its oath would be the Islamic declaration of faith, its members the believers and its head the Holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and give him peace). Its way would be to live by the morality of the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and give him peace) and its code the Islamic Divine Law.
Bediuzzaman once mentioned that the ways leading to Allah are truly numerous. He spoke of how all true ways come from the Holy Qur’an, but that some were shorter, safer and more general than others. He talked of how he had sought to follow a way taken from the Holy Qur’an; that of harmlessness, poverty, mercy and reflection, which he felt that he had benefited from. In his writings Imam-i Rabbani (ra) told Muslims to make their qibla one and follow only one master.
On thinking about this Bediuzzaman had the thought that true master is the Holy Qur’an and that making his Qibla one would be by means of this master. His heart and his soul began a special spiritual journey through the guidance of the Holy Qur’an. It was a journey through which he was able to pass through and understand new arising thoughts that exist in the modern world.
Abdur Raheem.
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