guzelhan
23-06-10, 19:27
The Ninth Topic
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. The Messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Sustainer. As do the men of faith. Each one [of them] believes in God, His angels. His Books, and His Messengers. "We make no dis-tinciion [they say} between one and another of His Messengers..." [to the end of the verse].24
An awesome question and a state of mind arising from the unfolding of a vast Divine bounty were the causes of my explaining a univer¬sal, lengthy point about this comprehensive, elevated and sublime verse. It was like this: it occurred to my spirit: why does one who denies a part of the truths of belief become a disbeliever, and one who does not accept a part of them cannot be a Muslim? Surely belief in God and the hereafter dispels the darkness like the sun. Also, why does a person who denies one of the pillars and truths of belief become an apostate, falling into disbelief, and by not accepting it, quit Islam? Whereas if he believes in the other pillars of belief, it should save him from absolute disbelief?
The Answer: Belief is a single truth, which, composed of its six pillars, cannot be divided up. It is a universal that cannot be separated into pans. It is a whole that cannot be broken up. For each of the pillars of belief proves the other pillars with the proofs that prove itself. They are all extremely powerful proofs of each other. In which case, an invalid idea that cannot shake all the pillars together with all their proofs, cannot in reality negate any one of the pillars, or even a single of their truths, and cannot deny them. Under the veil of non-acceptance one might only, by shutting his eyes, commit Obstinate unbelief;' he would by degrees fall into abso¬lute disbelief and lose his humanity, and go to Hell, both physically and mentally. In this station then, with God*s grace, we shall explain this supreme matter in six Points in the form of brief summaries, just as in The Fruits of Belief when proving the resurrection of the dead, the other pillars of belief's proofs of resurrection were propounded in the form of brief summaries.
FIRST POINT
Belief in God proves with its own proofs both the other pillars and belief in the hereafter, as is shown clearly in the Seventh Topic of The Fruits of Belief. Yes, is İt at all possible and can reason accept that a pre-eiernal everlasting sovereignty of dominicality, a post-eternal Divine rule, which administers the boundless universe as though it was a palace, a city, or a country; and makes it revolve in balanced and ordered fashion; and changes it with wisdom; and equips and directs all together particles, plan¬ets, flies, and stars as ihough each was a regular army, and continuously drills them within the spheres of command and will in a lofly manoeuvre; and employing Ihem in duties makes them act, and causes them to roam and travel, and to parade worshipfully; —is it at alt possible that that eter¬nal, everlasting, enduring nile would not have an eternal seat, a permanent and everlasting place of manifestation; that is, the hereafter? God forbid! That means the sovereignty of Almighty God's dominicality and —as is described in the Seventh Topic— most of His Names and the proofs of His necessary existence, require the hereafter and testify to it. So see and understand what powerful support this pole of belief has, and believe in it as though seeing it!
-----------------------------
24. Qur'an,2:285.
Also, just as there could be no belief in God without the hereafter; so — as is explained with brief indications in the Tenth Word— is it at all possible and could reason accept that God, the True Object of Worship, should create the universe, in order to manifest His Godhead and fitness to be worshipped, as an embodied book every page of which expresses a book of meanings and every line of which states a page of meanings, and as an embodied Qur'an all the creational signs and words, and even points and letters of which are miracles, and as a magnificent mosque of His mercy the inside of which is decorated with numberless inscriptions and adornments, and in every corner of which are species of beings each preoccupied with the worship dictated by its nature —is it at all possible He should create it in this way and not send masters to teach the meanings of that vast book, and commentators to expound the verses of that Qur'an, and not appoint prayer-leaders to that huge mosque to lead all those worshipping in their myriad ways, and that He should not give decrees to those masters, commentators, and leaders of worship? God forbid, a hundred thousand times !
Also, is it al all possible and could reason accept that the Most Compassionate and Munificent Maker, Who in order to display to conscious beings the beauty of His mercy and lhe goodness of His compassion and the perfection of His dominicality, and in order to encourage them to praise and thank Him, creates the universe as a banqueting hall, exhibition, and place of excursion in which are displayed infinite varieties of delicious bounties and priceless, wondrous arts, is it at all possible that He should not speak with those conscious beings at the banquet and not inform them by means of envoys of their duties of thanks for the bounties, and their duties of worship in the face of the manifestations of His mercy and His making Himself loved? God forbid, a hundred thousand times!
Also, is it at all possible that although the Maker loves His art and wants others lo love it, and as is shown by His having taken into account the thousand pleasures of the mouth, wants it to be met with appreciation and approval, and has adorned the universe with priceless arts in a way that shows He wants through all His arts both to make Himself known, and loved, and to display a sort of His transcendent beauty, is it at all possible that He should not speak to men, the commanders of living beings in the universe, through some of the most eminent of them, and send them as envoys, and that His fine arts should not be appreciated and the exquisite beauty of His Names not be valued, and His making Himself known and loved be unreciprocated? God forbid, a hundred thousand times!
Also, is it at all possible or reasonable that the All-Knowing Speaker Who answers clearly by act and deed through His infinite bounties and gifts, which indicate intention, choice, and will, at exactly the right time, all the supplications of living beings for their natural needs, and their desires and recourse through the tongue of disposition, that He should speak by deed and by state with the most insignificant living creature and remedy its woes and heed its troubles with His bounties, and know its needs and meet them, then not meet with the spiritual leaders of men, who are the choicest result of the universe. His vicegerent on earth, and the commanders of most of the creatures on the earth? Although He speaks with them and with all living beings, should He not speak with men verbally and send them scriptures, books, and decrees? God forbid, innumerable times!
That is to say, with its certainty and innumerable proofs, belief in God proves belief in the prophets and sacred scriptures.
Also, is it at all possible or reasonable that in response to the One Who makes Himself known and loved through all His creatures and seeks thanks by deed and state, Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) should have known and made known, loved and made loved that Glorious Artist through the Qur'anic reality, which brings the the universe to tumult, and with his declarations of "Glory be to God!" "All praise be to God!" and "God is Most Great!" should have caused the globe to ring out so that it could be heard by the heavens, and have brought the land and seas to ecstasy; and that in one thousand three hundred years he should have taken behind him numerically a fifth of mankind and qualitatively a half of ît, and responded with extensive, universal worship to all the manifestations of the Creator's dominicality; that in the face of all the Divine purposes he should have called oui with the Qur'an's suras to the universe and the centuries, and taught them and proclaimed them; that he should have demonstrated the honour, value, and duties of man; and that he should have been confirmed through his thousand miracles — and that he should not have been the most choice creature, the most excellent of envoys, and the greatest prophet? îs this at all possible? God forbid! A hundred thousand times, God forbid!
That is to say, with all its proofs, the truth of "I testify that there is no god but God" proves the truth of "I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of God "
Also, is it at all possible that the universe's Maker should cause creatures to speak with one another in myriad tongues, and that He should listen to their speech, and know it, and Himself not speak? God forbid!
Also, is it at all reasonable that He should not proclaim through a decree the Divine purposes in the universe? That He should not send a book like the Qur'an which will solve its riddles and provide the true answers to the three awesome universally-asked questions: "Where do they come from?", "Where are they going?", and "Why do they follow on caravan after caravan, stop by for a while, then pass on?" God forbid!
Also, is it at all possible that the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition, which has illuminated thirteen centuries; every hour is uttered with complete veneration by a hundred million tongues; is inscribed through its sacredness in the hearts of millions of hafizes; in effect governs through its laws the greater part of mankind and trains, purifies, and instructs their souls, spirits, hearts, and minds; and forty aspects of whose miraculousness is proved in the Risale-i Nur and explained in the wondrous Nineteenth Letter, which demonstrates an aspect of its miraculousness towards each of forty classes of men, and as one of the thousand miracles of Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) is proved decisively to be the true Word of God; —is it at all possible that it should not be the word and decree of the Pre-Eternai Speaker and Eternal Maker? God forbid! A hundred thousand times, God forbid!
That is to say, with all its proofs, belief in God proves that the Qur'an is the Word of God.
Also, is it all possible that the Glorious Monarch Who continuously fills and empties the earth with living beings and inhabits this world of ours with conscious creatures in order to make Himself known and worshipped and glorified, should leave the heavens and earth empty and vacant, and not create inhabitants suitable to Ihem and settle them in those lofty palaces, that in His most extensive lands he should leave the sovereignty of His dominicality without servants, functionaries, envoys, and majesty; without lieutenants, supervisors, spectators, worshippers, and subjects? God forbid! To the numbers of the angels, God forbid!
Also, is it at all possible that the All-Wise Ruler, the All-Knowing and Compassionate One, should write the universe in the form of a book; inscribe the entire life-stories of trees in all their seeds, and write in the seeds of grasses and plants all their vital duties, and record precisely the lives of conscious beings in their memories, as tiny as mustard seeds, and preserve with innumerable photographs all the actions and events in all His dominions and all the eras of His sovereignty, and create mighty Heaven and Hell and the supreme scales of justice for the manifestation and realization of justice, wisdom and mercy, the basis of His dominicality, then not have written down the acts of men connected with the universe, nor have their deeds recorded so they may meet with reward or punishment, nor write their good and bad deeds on the tablets of Divine Determining? God forbid! To the number of letters inscribed on them.
That is to say, with its proofs, the truth of belief in God proves the truth of both belief in the angels, and belief in Divine Determining. The pillars of belief prove each other as clearly as the sun shows the daylight, and daylight shows the sun.
SECOND POINT
All the teachings and claims of foremost the Qur'an, and all the revealed books and scriptures, and foremost Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him), and all the prophets, are based on five or six points. They have continually striven to teach and prove those basic teachings. All the proofs and evidences which testify to their messengership and truthfulness look to those bases, corroborating their veracity. And those fundamentals are belief in God and belief in the hereafter and in the other pillars of belief. That is to say, it is not possible to separate the six pillars of belief. Each proves all of them, and requires them, and necessitates them. The six are a whole, a universal, which cannot be broken in parts and whose division is outside the bounds of possibility. Like the Tuba-tree whose roots are in the heavens, each branch, fruit and leaf of that mighty tree relies on its universal, inexhaustible life. A person unable to deny that powerful life which is as clear as the sun, cannot deny the life of a single of its leaves, attached to it. If he does deny it, the tree will refute him to the number of its branches, fruits, and leaves, and silence him. Belief, with its sis pillars, is similar to this At the beginning of this 'Station,' I intended to expound the six pillars of belief in thirty-six points, as six 'Points,' each with five sub-sections. I also intended to reply to and explain the awesome question at the beginning. But certain unforeseen circumstances did not permit this. 1 reckon, the first Point being sufficient, for the intelligent no need remained for further explanation. It was understood perfectly that if a Muslim denies one of the pillars of belief, he falls into absolute disbelief. For in the face of the summary explanations of other religions. Islam eApounds and elucidates them completely, and the pillars of belief are bound together. A Muslim who does not recognize Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) and does not assent to him, will also not recognize God, or His attributes, and will not know the heteafter. A Muslim's belief is based on such powerful, unshakeable and innumerable proofs that there is no excuse for denial; they quite simply compel the reason to accept them.
THIRD POINT
One time, 1 said "All praise be to God!" and searched for a bounty that would be equal to its infinitely broad meaning. Suddenly, the following sentence occurred to me:
"All praise be to God for belief in God, and for His unity, and necessary existence, and attributes, and Names, to the number of the manifestations of His Names from pre-etemity ю post-eternity."
I looked and saw it was completely appropriate. As follows....
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. The Messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Sustainer. As do the men of faith. Each one [of them] believes in God, His angels. His Books, and His Messengers. "We make no dis-tinciion [they say} between one and another of His Messengers..." [to the end of the verse].24
An awesome question and a state of mind arising from the unfolding of a vast Divine bounty were the causes of my explaining a univer¬sal, lengthy point about this comprehensive, elevated and sublime verse. It was like this: it occurred to my spirit: why does one who denies a part of the truths of belief become a disbeliever, and one who does not accept a part of them cannot be a Muslim? Surely belief in God and the hereafter dispels the darkness like the sun. Also, why does a person who denies one of the pillars and truths of belief become an apostate, falling into disbelief, and by not accepting it, quit Islam? Whereas if he believes in the other pillars of belief, it should save him from absolute disbelief?
The Answer: Belief is a single truth, which, composed of its six pillars, cannot be divided up. It is a universal that cannot be separated into pans. It is a whole that cannot be broken up. For each of the pillars of belief proves the other pillars with the proofs that prove itself. They are all extremely powerful proofs of each other. In which case, an invalid idea that cannot shake all the pillars together with all their proofs, cannot in reality negate any one of the pillars, or even a single of their truths, and cannot deny them. Under the veil of non-acceptance one might only, by shutting his eyes, commit Obstinate unbelief;' he would by degrees fall into abso¬lute disbelief and lose his humanity, and go to Hell, both physically and mentally. In this station then, with God*s grace, we shall explain this supreme matter in six Points in the form of brief summaries, just as in The Fruits of Belief when proving the resurrection of the dead, the other pillars of belief's proofs of resurrection were propounded in the form of brief summaries.
FIRST POINT
Belief in God proves with its own proofs both the other pillars and belief in the hereafter, as is shown clearly in the Seventh Topic of The Fruits of Belief. Yes, is İt at all possible and can reason accept that a pre-eiernal everlasting sovereignty of dominicality, a post-eternal Divine rule, which administers the boundless universe as though it was a palace, a city, or a country; and makes it revolve in balanced and ordered fashion; and changes it with wisdom; and equips and directs all together particles, plan¬ets, flies, and stars as ihough each was a regular army, and continuously drills them within the spheres of command and will in a lofly manoeuvre; and employing Ihem in duties makes them act, and causes them to roam and travel, and to parade worshipfully; —is it at alt possible that that eter¬nal, everlasting, enduring nile would not have an eternal seat, a permanent and everlasting place of manifestation; that is, the hereafter? God forbid! That means the sovereignty of Almighty God's dominicality and —as is described in the Seventh Topic— most of His Names and the proofs of His necessary existence, require the hereafter and testify to it. So see and understand what powerful support this pole of belief has, and believe in it as though seeing it!
-----------------------------
24. Qur'an,2:285.
Also, just as there could be no belief in God without the hereafter; so — as is explained with brief indications in the Tenth Word— is it at all possible and could reason accept that God, the True Object of Worship, should create the universe, in order to manifest His Godhead and fitness to be worshipped, as an embodied book every page of which expresses a book of meanings and every line of which states a page of meanings, and as an embodied Qur'an all the creational signs and words, and even points and letters of which are miracles, and as a magnificent mosque of His mercy the inside of which is decorated with numberless inscriptions and adornments, and in every corner of which are species of beings each preoccupied with the worship dictated by its nature —is it at all possible He should create it in this way and not send masters to teach the meanings of that vast book, and commentators to expound the verses of that Qur'an, and not appoint prayer-leaders to that huge mosque to lead all those worshipping in their myriad ways, and that He should not give decrees to those masters, commentators, and leaders of worship? God forbid, a hundred thousand times !
Also, is it al all possible and could reason accept that the Most Compassionate and Munificent Maker, Who in order to display to conscious beings the beauty of His mercy and lhe goodness of His compassion and the perfection of His dominicality, and in order to encourage them to praise and thank Him, creates the universe as a banqueting hall, exhibition, and place of excursion in which are displayed infinite varieties of delicious bounties and priceless, wondrous arts, is it at all possible that He should not speak with those conscious beings at the banquet and not inform them by means of envoys of their duties of thanks for the bounties, and their duties of worship in the face of the manifestations of His mercy and His making Himself loved? God forbid, a hundred thousand times!
Also, is it at all possible that although the Maker loves His art and wants others lo love it, and as is shown by His having taken into account the thousand pleasures of the mouth, wants it to be met with appreciation and approval, and has adorned the universe with priceless arts in a way that shows He wants through all His arts both to make Himself known, and loved, and to display a sort of His transcendent beauty, is it at all possible that He should not speak to men, the commanders of living beings in the universe, through some of the most eminent of them, and send them as envoys, and that His fine arts should not be appreciated and the exquisite beauty of His Names not be valued, and His making Himself known and loved be unreciprocated? God forbid, a hundred thousand times!
Also, is it at all possible or reasonable that the All-Knowing Speaker Who answers clearly by act and deed through His infinite bounties and gifts, which indicate intention, choice, and will, at exactly the right time, all the supplications of living beings for their natural needs, and their desires and recourse through the tongue of disposition, that He should speak by deed and by state with the most insignificant living creature and remedy its woes and heed its troubles with His bounties, and know its needs and meet them, then not meet with the spiritual leaders of men, who are the choicest result of the universe. His vicegerent on earth, and the commanders of most of the creatures on the earth? Although He speaks with them and with all living beings, should He not speak with men verbally and send them scriptures, books, and decrees? God forbid, innumerable times!
That is to say, with its certainty and innumerable proofs, belief in God proves belief in the prophets and sacred scriptures.
Also, is it at all possible or reasonable that in response to the One Who makes Himself known and loved through all His creatures and seeks thanks by deed and state, Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) should have known and made known, loved and made loved that Glorious Artist through the Qur'anic reality, which brings the the universe to tumult, and with his declarations of "Glory be to God!" "All praise be to God!" and "God is Most Great!" should have caused the globe to ring out so that it could be heard by the heavens, and have brought the land and seas to ecstasy; and that in one thousand three hundred years he should have taken behind him numerically a fifth of mankind and qualitatively a half of ît, and responded with extensive, universal worship to all the manifestations of the Creator's dominicality; that in the face of all the Divine purposes he should have called oui with the Qur'an's suras to the universe and the centuries, and taught them and proclaimed them; that he should have demonstrated the honour, value, and duties of man; and that he should have been confirmed through his thousand miracles — and that he should not have been the most choice creature, the most excellent of envoys, and the greatest prophet? îs this at all possible? God forbid! A hundred thousand times, God forbid!
That is to say, with all its proofs, the truth of "I testify that there is no god but God" proves the truth of "I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of God "
Also, is it at all possible that the universe's Maker should cause creatures to speak with one another in myriad tongues, and that He should listen to their speech, and know it, and Himself not speak? God forbid!
Also, is it at all reasonable that He should not proclaim through a decree the Divine purposes in the universe? That He should not send a book like the Qur'an which will solve its riddles and provide the true answers to the three awesome universally-asked questions: "Where do they come from?", "Where are they going?", and "Why do they follow on caravan after caravan, stop by for a while, then pass on?" God forbid!
Also, is it at all possible that the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition, which has illuminated thirteen centuries; every hour is uttered with complete veneration by a hundred million tongues; is inscribed through its sacredness in the hearts of millions of hafizes; in effect governs through its laws the greater part of mankind and trains, purifies, and instructs their souls, spirits, hearts, and minds; and forty aspects of whose miraculousness is proved in the Risale-i Nur and explained in the wondrous Nineteenth Letter, which demonstrates an aspect of its miraculousness towards each of forty classes of men, and as one of the thousand miracles of Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) is proved decisively to be the true Word of God; —is it at all possible that it should not be the word and decree of the Pre-Eternai Speaker and Eternal Maker? God forbid! A hundred thousand times, God forbid!
That is to say, with all its proofs, belief in God proves that the Qur'an is the Word of God.
Also, is it all possible that the Glorious Monarch Who continuously fills and empties the earth with living beings and inhabits this world of ours with conscious creatures in order to make Himself known and worshipped and glorified, should leave the heavens and earth empty and vacant, and not create inhabitants suitable to Ihem and settle them in those lofty palaces, that in His most extensive lands he should leave the sovereignty of His dominicality without servants, functionaries, envoys, and majesty; without lieutenants, supervisors, spectators, worshippers, and subjects? God forbid! To the numbers of the angels, God forbid!
Also, is it at all possible that the All-Wise Ruler, the All-Knowing and Compassionate One, should write the universe in the form of a book; inscribe the entire life-stories of trees in all their seeds, and write in the seeds of grasses and plants all their vital duties, and record precisely the lives of conscious beings in their memories, as tiny as mustard seeds, and preserve with innumerable photographs all the actions and events in all His dominions and all the eras of His sovereignty, and create mighty Heaven and Hell and the supreme scales of justice for the manifestation and realization of justice, wisdom and mercy, the basis of His dominicality, then not have written down the acts of men connected with the universe, nor have their deeds recorded so they may meet with reward or punishment, nor write their good and bad deeds on the tablets of Divine Determining? God forbid! To the number of letters inscribed on them.
That is to say, with its proofs, the truth of belief in God proves the truth of both belief in the angels, and belief in Divine Determining. The pillars of belief prove each other as clearly as the sun shows the daylight, and daylight shows the sun.
SECOND POINT
All the teachings and claims of foremost the Qur'an, and all the revealed books and scriptures, and foremost Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him), and all the prophets, are based on five or six points. They have continually striven to teach and prove those basic teachings. All the proofs and evidences which testify to their messengership and truthfulness look to those bases, corroborating their veracity. And those fundamentals are belief in God and belief in the hereafter and in the other pillars of belief. That is to say, it is not possible to separate the six pillars of belief. Each proves all of them, and requires them, and necessitates them. The six are a whole, a universal, which cannot be broken in parts and whose division is outside the bounds of possibility. Like the Tuba-tree whose roots are in the heavens, each branch, fruit and leaf of that mighty tree relies on its universal, inexhaustible life. A person unable to deny that powerful life which is as clear as the sun, cannot deny the life of a single of its leaves, attached to it. If he does deny it, the tree will refute him to the number of its branches, fruits, and leaves, and silence him. Belief, with its sis pillars, is similar to this At the beginning of this 'Station,' I intended to expound the six pillars of belief in thirty-six points, as six 'Points,' each with five sub-sections. I also intended to reply to and explain the awesome question at the beginning. But certain unforeseen circumstances did not permit this. 1 reckon, the first Point being sufficient, for the intelligent no need remained for further explanation. It was understood perfectly that if a Muslim denies one of the pillars of belief, he falls into absolute disbelief. For in the face of the summary explanations of other religions. Islam eApounds and elucidates them completely, and the pillars of belief are bound together. A Muslim who does not recognize Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) and does not assent to him, will also not recognize God, or His attributes, and will not know the heteafter. A Muslim's belief is based on such powerful, unshakeable and innumerable proofs that there is no excuse for denial; they quite simply compel the reason to accept them.
THIRD POINT
One time, 1 said "All praise be to God!" and searched for a bounty that would be equal to its infinitely broad meaning. Suddenly, the following sentence occurred to me:
"All praise be to God for belief in God, and for His unity, and necessary existence, and attributes, and Names, to the number of the manifestations of His Names from pre-etemity ю post-eternity."
I looked and saw it was completely appropriate. As follows....