Man and the universe was created because of love and it can only be understood through love…

Love is a part of every being and a power which can resist and overcome every force…

Love is what elevates the souls which absorb it and prepares it for the journey to eternity…

of the dramatically fuelled experiences and emotions that Shakespeare had portrayed to his readers, of two youths trying to embrace their love for each other. A love that was never fulfilled, nonetheless, the story has touched so many that it is always made reference to when two individuals hold deep admiration for each other. Similar stories can be seen in many other cultures. It is said that Majnun’s love for Layla had moved mountains. Like Romeo, he too was never able to unite with his beloved. However, Romeo ended his life because he could not bear separation, whereas Majnun was fortunate in realising the “Source” of his love.

I guess it’s not the ending but the journey that one experiences with love that makes it worthwhile. There is an adage which states that “it is better to have loved and lost than to have not loved at all.” But is it really worth enduring all the challenges, despair and turmoil if at the end there is no union but only separation? Even if we don’t experience all the heartache and pain that the romantic pairs above had endured, is it not painful enough knowing that there will, one day, be an end to the union? Separated from the one for whom you have sacrificed so much for to be with, the one whom you have shared so much with. Separated from your hopes, your dreams, and the one that is your “true” love. Can a love that is finite be regarded as true?

I am finite, but I do not desire that which is finite
I am deficient, but I do not desire that which is insufficient
What I desire is an infinite Love…
(Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. The Words, 17th Word – Second Station)

For love to be regarded as true, we need to identify, acknowledge and accept the “Source” of love and direct that love back to this “Source.” For that Source is eternal, and just as important—and so is the unification. Love from the Source is planted like a seed into the heart of every human. Waiting to be watered with the drops of belief, it yearns to blossom into a flower manifesting itself through our actions and perceptions. For once the Source is known, we acknowledge that the love bestowed on us is an eternal reflection of His love for all.

I have fallen in love with all of creation, because of my love for the Creator.
(Yunus Emre)

When we have found our True Love, then no more pain or suffering is felt other than a deep desire to unite with the Source. Then the journey we experience and the affection we feel towards our loved ones (be it our partner, child, sibling, friend, etc.) becomes worthwhile and meaningful because we know that every separation is only temporary. We still feel the sorrow of separation; however, it draws us nearer to the True Source of love, which has been given to us as a blessing. The famous quote by Romeo, “Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow,” transcends beyond corporal boundaries. We then come to realize and acknowledge the blessing of love as a Divine gift, thus, patiently seek and ask for reunification from the Source, to the Source.

For why would He have given us the need to want, if He did not want to give?
(Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. The Letters, 24th Letter – Fifth Point)

All lovers of the Source see the manifestations of His attributes throughout the universe and see the beauty in everything. Every petal on a flower, every drop in the ocean, every sparkle in the night sky and every tone of colour in a rainbow is contemplated and read as a letter from the Beloved. Just as the sunlight penetrates our flesh and gives warmth to our bodies, these eternal messages caress our souls and give us comfort. The unconditional love a mother has for her child; the support and console that one’s partner selflessly offers; the companionship of a dear friend or a sibling that is cherished are all Divinely instilled faculties and attributes which He has provisioned us with—and when viewed in this way, we are able to see His insignia throughout all of creation.

Those that see beauty in everything only think of beauty;
Those that only think of beauty taste the true pleasures of life.
(Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. The Letters, Seeds of Reality)

Despair transforms into hope, anguish into content, deceit into truth and honesty. We are all separated with our loved ones at one stage or another, but this is only temporary. This temporary separation awakens the senses to focus their attention on the Source and appreciate where the love originated from. Only the true Source of Love, God Almighty, Who is eternal and has bestowed the universe with dominical attraction, can answer our call for reunion. Just like the merciful drops of rain meeting with our parched lips or scorching sand, we will one day celebrate the joys of reunion.

All the roads have been barricaded; the travellers only see a mirage
Even if the travellers deny their journey, all paths lead to God.
(Anonymous)

When love is comprehended and experienced in this way, we then come to the realization that we (and everything else in the universe) have an association and connection with all of creation. We begin to recognize that this association or connection is gelled together by means of attraction; the attraction of celestial bodies within space, the attraction of rain drops to drought stricken land, the attraction of the genders—from the microcosm to the macrocosm. This perspective allows us to witness and comprehend the Creator’s Dominical Love over all things.

Now and then like the winds I blow
Now and then like the roads I go
Now and then like the floods I flow
Come, see what love has done to me.
(Yunus Emre)

So enraptured that

We’re oblivious to spring and summer.

The magical song of faith on our tongues,

There’s a love like Majnun’s in our hearts.

Those who visit our circle turn to diamonds,

Divine lights keep showering all around.

We do not actually mean “us,”

all these bestowals are from the Providence,

All souls and beloved ones

are from the Eternal’s garden

The ones who face Him are like flowers turning,

In that blessed climate, autumn turns to spring

No wonder their rosy skins look silvered

The infinite color of the Eternal gleaming bright.

Dancing in the enchantment of Your love,

Like a moth, the world is rushing to meet You,

I wish I could reach You, even if only once it may be.

I await, on the horizon of my hopes, the rise of the moon,

Your hands caressing my anguish-burned face,

You opened to me the sanctuary in Your presence,

May the torment of these painful days conclude soon.

My heart is hungry for Your eternal love,

My life-long palpitations will not ease otherwise,

Nor can my bosom sing in its finest voice.

Would my lips move without You in my heart?

Come and clear the face of my night of sorrow,

Make my troubled bosom happy with Your compliments,

Satisfy with Your love my endlessly searching soul,

Appear in my heart, declaring it Your home…

Intention and sincerity

Excluding childhood and the time spent in sleep, an average person has about thirty years in total for everything else during his or her lifetime. Out of these thirty years, we spend most of our time on eating, school, work, family commitments, and other essential, but non-religious activities. As a matter of fact, in today’s world where everybody is busy, even a person who deems himself or herself “religious” might be considered lucky if he or she can spend an hour a day on traditional religious activities such as reading religious books, praying, and so on. Assuming an hour a day for thirty years, we would spend about fifteen months in total on traditional religious activities, and this is perhaps the upper limit for most people. So, the finite-to-infinite dilemma becomes even more interesting: keeping in mind that even one trillion years is nothing compared to eternity, how can one earn eternal paradise in all its beauty that is far beyond human imagination by spending not more than fifteen months to earn it? The answer is what Bediüzzaman Said Nursi describes as one of the four culminations of his life: intention.

The intention of an action can simply be defined as the true motive behind that action. A “sincere and pure” intention, in a religious context, can perhaps be defined as the true motive of drawing closer to God, and drawing closer to God only. Nursi states that “Intention changes ordinary acts and customs into acts of worship. It is a penetrating and pervading spirit through which inanimate states and deeds acquire life and become ‘living’ acts of worship. It is also through a special quality of intention that evil changes into virtue or good deeds. Intention is a ‘spirit’ that causes ordinary deeds and customs to become ‘living’ acts of worship.” Our intentions are indeed the soul of our actions and, provided that we believe in God, what makes our actions worthy of earning eternal paradise solely lies in the sincerity of our intentions. In a sense, our actions are a sequence of zeros and a sincere intention is a positive 1 in front of those zeros, whereas an insincere intention is a negative 1. That being said, we must pay particular attention not to act against well-established principles of the religion and claim that our actions still carry a good intention. For instance, under no circumstances is one allowed to harm an innocent civilian, even during war, and therefore there can be no good intention behind this crime.

By striving to achieve purity and sincerity in our intentions (known as ikhlas), we can expect the Most Compassionate and Most Merciful God to treat our activities as if we spend our entire life worshipping Him while still leading a regular, balanced life-provided that we respect the basic principles of the religion and avoid committing major sins. Throughout the Risale-i Nur collection, Nursi places tremendous emphasis on sincerity of intention. Nursi describes the fundamental characteristics of ikhlas in the Twenty-first Gleam: “[I]n this world, and particularly in the services done for the afterlife, a most important foundation, and a greatest power, and a most acceptable intercessor, and a firmest point of reliance, and a shortest way to the truth, and a most answerable prayer, and a most blessed and marvelous means of achieving one’s goal, and a most sublime virtue, and a purest form of worship is sincerity, or doing something good or any religious deed purely for God’s sake.” Nursi points out the relationship between actions, intentions, sincerity, and salvation as follows: “[Intention’s] ‘soul’ is sincerity or acting solely for God’s sake. Salvation is found only in sincere actions done in His way. Sincerity multiplies an action’s worth, and through it one can reach Paradise with a little action and in a short life.” Obviously, we can do only a finite number of good deeds during a finite lifetime. Thus, at least from a technical point of view, we cannot earn eternal paradise unless infinite reward is given to our finite actions. God is so merciful that He promises Heaven to believers with the good deeds of a short lifetime, and in order for this to happen, He demands purity and sincerity in the intentions of those good deeds. In other words, the secret component in this finite to infinite transformation is nothing but sincerity of intention.

So it turns out that ikhlas, that is, sincerity of intention, is not optional: it is mandatory, and it is of the utmost importance. So, how do we achieve ikhlas? Nursi defines the first rule for gaining and preserving ikhlas as follows: “You should pursue God’s good pleasure in your actions. If He is pleased with you, even if the whole world is displeased, it is of no consequence. If He approves, it has no effect even if all others reject your ideas and actions. When He is pleased and approves, even if you do not seek the approval of others, should He will it to be so and His Wisdom requires it, He will make others accept it and be pleased with you.” In our daily lives, we might be performing daily prayers, reading religious books, and performing other traditional worship activities. During these activities, it is critical that we make sure that our intention is to draw closer to God and nothing else. A prayer performed to make others think one is pious, a fast observed for health benefits, a Pilgrimage made to enjoy the journey, or wealth distributed to obtain good reputation will not only dishonor the owner of these deeds in the hereafter, but also be rejected as the intentions behind these actions are impure, insincere, and have no ikhlas in them.

There are numerous other activities in our daily lives that are essential to our well-being and social lives, but nonreligious in nature. We go to school or work every day, we eat, we sleep, we love our parents, spouses, and children, we spend time with our families and friends, we brush our teeth, and so forth. God the Most Merciful tells us that he will treat these activities as worship, but only if they are done with good, sincere intention (again, conditioned upon respecting the basic principles of the religion and avoiding major sins).

The key to being rewarded for simple, regular activities such as those above and achieving ikhlas in our daily lives is to ensure that our sole intention in every one of our activities is to draw closer to God and to draw closer to God only. Every individual can achieve ikhlas in different ways in different situations, but the ultimate goal is always the same: to have good intention and be sincere about it. For example, a man might work late every day so that he earns halal money to provide for his family and still has enough money to make donations for just causes. Another person might go to school to study, thus recognizing the names of God, the All-Knower and All-Wise. One might eat in order to be grateful for the food and be healthy enough to perform the daily prayers. Another person might sleep to rest and be more productive at work so as to really earn his or her wages honestly. A person might brush his or her teeth because he or she knows the body is a gift from God and he or she is responsible for taking good care of it. Another way to achieve ikhlas in our lives, as Nursi suggests, is to make sure that love for worldly things, such as delicious foods and fruits, parents, spouses, children, and friends, is for the sake of God and that all this love is given to God Almighty’s essence, attributes and names. Again, from an ikhlas perspective, perhaps we should reconsider plans to buy a huge flat-screen TV, or a luxury SUV, or a house by the lake with ten bedrooms and start asking ourselves how things such as these that we intend to do in the future will help us draw closer to God, if they ever will.

As argued above, good intention is able to convert daily activities into worship through sincerity and therefore earn its owner eternal paradise by the mercy of God. A second critical dimension of sincerity in intention is its continuity. That is to say, if a sincere believer lived not sixty or seventy years, but a thousand years, he or she would still be doing what he or she was doing all along: trying to respect the basic principles of the religion, avoid major sins, and do as many good deeds as possible with pure and sincere intention. This would not change if he or she lived five thousand years, or even fifty thousand years, and thus, he or she would still be seeking ways to draw closer to God even he or she did live in this world forever. This is why it makes sense that eternal paradise can be earned within a short lifetime.

If God is pleased with our intentions in our activities and if He wishes to do so, He might bestow upon us worldly rewards as well, such as success in career, health, or blessed offspring. A potential pitfall here is that the person might start expecting these rewards to continue and see his or her actions as a prerequisite for them, losing the purity in his or her intention as well as those worldly rewards. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, “If anyone’s intention is to seek the hereafter, God will place his sufficiency in his heart and order his affairs, and the world will come to him submissively; but if anyone’s intention is to seek worldly good, God will place poverty before him and disorder his affairs, and only so much of it as has been ordained for him will come to him.”

Nursi warns that believers should avoid things which would harm sincerity the same as they would avoid snakes and scorpions. One should, however, keep in mind that achieving sincerity in each and every one of our actions is a process and might not happen right away. Yet we also should keep in mind that nothing done for His sake shall go unrewarded.

Denying or recognizing Infinite Attributes of God

All the attributes of Almighty God are infinite, although what we see in this world is a finite projection of those infinite attributes, as the world itself is a finite domain in all respects. For example, God is the All-Knower, but what we know about God’s knowledge is very limited. God is the All-Wise, but we do not know the reason behind many things. God is the Absolute Ruler, but the universe that God rules is finite. God is the All-Powerful Creator, but there are only a finite number of creatures in this world. All these examples illustrate that what we experience in this three-dimensional world is a vague shadow of God’s true attributes.

A nonbeliever who claims that there is no Creator and that things just happen by themselves therefore ignores God’s attribute of being the All-Powerful Creator. Someone who claims that there is no God and that there is nobody who rules this universe thus ignores the Absolute Ruler attribute of God, and so on. Denying God’s existence and ignoring God’s infinite attributes is the biggest sin that can ever be committed and it deserves infinite punishment-the fact that this sin is committed in only a short lifetime is irrelevant. (This is the case in worldly affairs too: punishment is determined according to the nature of the crime, not on how long it takes to commit the crime. For instance, a person can commit a murder in one minute, but the murderer may spend the rest of his or her life in prison.) Similarly, consider someone who believes in God, recognizes His infinite attributes, and tries to do good deeds with pure and sincere intention. It makes sense for this person to be rewarded with eternal paradise. From a similar point of view, it can be argued that even one hour of adult life spent with the firm belief in God and in His attributes is sufficient for paradise, and even one hour spent denying God’s existence and his infinite attributes suffices for eternal hellfire.

The intentions argument can also be used to explain how a nonbeliever deserves eternal punishment. As in the case with a sincere believer, a nonbeliever has the intention to continue to commit the sin he or she has been committing: if a nonbeliever lived not sixty or seventy years, but a thousand or five thousand years, or even infinitely many years, he or she would still be doing what he or she was doing all along: denying God’s existence and ignoring God’s infinite attributes, and this is why it makes sense for a nonbeliever to deserve eternal punishment.

A word of caution

It should be noted that this article does not claim to provide a complete logical explanation of why there is an afterlife, why the afterlife is eternal, or why some people will go to Heaven and some people will not. This article simply attempts to illustrate that all these concepts are reasonable and they make sense. Lastly, these are issues of faith and the author believes that matters related to faith and religion cannot be confined within the boundaries of logical, physical, or mathematical principles. After all, it was God who created the universe and everything in it, including the rules of logic, physics, and mathematics. Matters of faith are just that, and it is by our free will that we choose what to believe in. That being the case, one should still keep in mind that if there is indeed eternal life after death, paradise, and hellfire (which we believe there is), disbelief in them will not make them just disappear (just like closing our eyes will not make the sun disappear).

Vedat Akyuz has a PhD in applied mathematics and statistics.

Notes

1. Nursi, Bediüzzaman Said. Al-Mathnawi Al-Nuri, NJ: Tughra Books, 2007, p. 113.
2. Ibid.
3. Nursi. The Gleams, NJ: Tughra Books, 2008, p. 225.
4. Nursi, 2007, p. 113.
5. Nursi, 2008, p. 226.
6. Nursi. The Words, NJ: Tughra Books, 2005, pp. 649–650.
7. Tirmidhi 5320.
8. Holy Qur’an, Al-Zalzalah 99:7.

Upon their death, the victims found themselves in another world. Now, they tried to understand what had happened to them. First, they realized that they had been terribly deceived by the murderer. As a lesson from this unfortunate experience, they also realized that their inherent love for eternity had been abused by the murderer. Days passed, but they did not receive any word from their Lord. The burden of being away from the abode where they were in touch with Him became unbearable. They understood that where they came from was actually the land of eternity.

In later times, they would recall those past days, and they would feel an expansion and serenity in their hearts, feeling apart from the passage of time. So, they started to associate the things of this world with things from their homeland. Thus, they cherished their memories of when they were in the eternal land. Most of all, they each recognized the other as a mirror to remind them of the Eternal Beloved. So, everything they loved in this new place gained a sort of eternity with their longing for the eternal homeland and the Eternal Beloved.

Sometime later, they had children. As the children grew up, the parents related their stories to them, and talked about the homeland with their voices longing for return. The children also took on this behavior from their parents. Just like when their parents expressed their yearning for the homeland, whenever the children talked about loved things or whenever they were with people they loved, time would pass like lightning, and they would wish that those moments would not finish. As new generations followed, the expectation of eternity from the transient beloveds of this world evolved into a subconscious associating of eternity with them.

We do not know exactly how many years have passed since the time of Adam and Eve. Today, in spite of diversity in the definitions of love and the literature about it, there is a certain aspect of it which is the same for everybody who loves. Love changes our experience of time because we subconsciously associate it with eternity. Through this association, love motivates our actions. The limited time spent with the beloved seems very small compared to the human heart’s hunger for eternity. So, we strive to extend those moments-the lengthy phone calls and the long eye-to-eye gazes stretch out between lovers.

Eternity in the realm of the heart reflects itself in the form of continuity with the material world. Similar to the desire for the eternity of the beloved, we would like the continued existence of our loved ones. For example, the first experience of love each one of us feels in this world is the affection of our mothers. The initial manifestation of this love is breast milk. It not only provides the nourishment we need, but also contains the materials and the live cells that supplement our immune system. Thus, breast milk serves the continuity of our life in this world. Later on, our mothers provide intense protection and give us our first education. Both of these form the basis of our continuity in this life. And similar to our mother’s care, when we grow up, we too try to meet the needs of our loved ones in order to ensure their continuity.

In effect, we humans try to bestow continuity and eternity as a manifestation of love in accordance with the powers we are given. The love we feel is a projection of the infinite love that God has for His creation. Just as we strive for the continuity of our loved ones, God endows continuity on His creation by feeding and protecting us in this world, and granting us eternity by opening the hereafter to us. Since our existence is a temporary and dependent one, the continuity we ourselves give is also transient. However, God’s existence is eternal and He is the Self-Subsistent; therefore, the eternity He gives will be an actual one.

In this life, we realize that love bears a seed of continuity in it. We feel the beauty of eternity hidden in the lovely memories of our very first ancestors. Our visions fill with the fruits of the tree of love that fosters such long-lasting relations. However, the conditions we live in today are not coherent with those delightful sensations. When we look around, we see love affairs that last only a very short time. Many people conduct their love life by changing their partners periodically instead of remaining faithful to their spouses for all their lives. The meaning of contemporary love is being reduced to “temporary mutual interest,” obliterating the important notion of a “fellowship on the way to the Eternal Beloved.” This drastic change points to the fact that, along with the passage of time, we have forgotten the heavenly stories told by our common parents.

What is it that we need in order to re-discover the seed of eternity in our hearts? It may be that we all need to retreat to our childhood to find the pure love depicted by the naivety of children. Maybe we need to forget the turmoil of daily life, and focus on the lesson that comes at the end of virtually every one of the bedtime stories told by our beloved mothers, “And they lived happily ever after…”

Seth Mette has a PhD in Aerospace Engineering and is currently working as a postdoctoral fellow at West Virginia University. He has a special interest in psychological fiction.

Notes

1. Based on the story of Adam and Eve according to the Qur’an (2:35–37, 7:19–24)
2. The reason for the choice of the word “murderer” for Satan is as follows: Death is in essence a change of residence (Nursi, S., Letters, First Letter, Second Question). One who dies in this world goes to the heavens. Similarly, one who dies in the heavens comes to this world. According to the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), death will be brought in the form of a sheep on the Day of Judgment, and will be slaughtered, which will mean that death is dead (Bukhari, Tafsir, 1, 19). This will render the people of hell totally hopeless; because until then, they will be crying for another chance in this world. The death of death will imply that return to this world is no longer possible. This explanation supports the idea that death in the heavens may be understood as coming to this world. Accordingly, since Satan is the one who is the apparent cause of the death of Adam and Eve in the heavens, hence the start of their story in this world, he is their murderer.
3. Nursi, Bediuzzaman Said, The Gleams, Third Gleam.
4. Karabuga, Veli, “How Are Babies Protected?” The Fountain, Vol. 50, Apr–June, 2005.

Human life in this world is a composite of two distinct powers, the spirit and the flesh. Although it is sometimes the case that these two powers act in harmony, conflict between them is more usual, conflict of a kind in which the victory of one results in the defeat of the other. In an individual who vigorously indulges bodily lusts, the spirit grows more powerless as it becomes more obedient to those lusts; however, in another individual, one who has given the spirit dominance over the flesh, in whom the heart (the seat of spiritual intellect) has power over reason, and who vigorously opposes the bodily lusts, it attains eternity.

The secret of attaining the eternal life of the spirit

Every part of a spiritually bankrupt country can be likened to a graveyard, no matter how many hundreds of triumphal arches and statues adorn its thoroughfares. The mass of people living in such a country are in reality blind and unfortunate, and a world not built on the breath of the spirit is nothing but the plaything of human violence. A culture which has not developed an ethos that encourages virtue is like an evil sorceress who has ambushed humanity. However, it may never be possible to persuade coarse, insensitive people of this, people who pay no attention to anything except their own pleasures, who have become incapable of considering their lives as connected with the well-being and happiness of others. If only such people had some perception of the mystery of their own deaths, they might yet attain the eternal life of the spirit.

Only those who have filled their hearts with the most sublime ideals and love of humanity will lead a spiritual life so as to attain eternity in their very selves. These fortunate people transcend their carnal desires, grow spiritually alert and attain victory over the commands of the self.

Only the person who overcomes his or her self can rightly be called powerful and victorious. The miserable individuals who have not been able to release themselves from captivity to the self are liable to defeat even if they have conquered the entire world. Moreover, we cannot give to their conquest of the world the name of “victory,” since their permanent presence in the lands they have invaded is an impossibility.

Real heroes

Napoleon was in the madness of esteeming himself sole ruler of the world. I wonder whether he was able to grasp that his real failure was when he slapped a philosopher and this was more bitter and humiliating than his defeat at Waterloo. In the person of that philosopher he actually slapped knowledge and virtue. Mustafa Pasha of Merzifon had been inwardly defeated before his army was put to flight at Vienna. This first defeat in Ottoman history showed itself in the spirit of the commander in chief, then spread far and wide among his forces, and not only caused him to lose his head, but allowed the greatest army of conquest the world had yet known to experience flight. Yildirim Khan, Bayazid I, was not defeated in Cubuk, but on the day when he belittled his opponent and hailed himself as sole ruler of the world. And there have been many others like these…

But we have positive examples too. Tariq ibn Ziyad was victorious, not when he defeated the Visigoths’ army of ninety thousand men with a handful of self-sacrificing valiants, but when he stood before the wealth and treasures of the king and said, “Be careful, Tariq. You were a slave yesterday. Today you are a victorious commander. And tomorrow you will be under the earth.”

Salahuddin Ayyubi’s generous treatment of Richard I astonished and embarrassed the arrogant commander. Alp Arslan conducted himself in peace and mercy towards Romanus IV Diogenes. Likewise, Kilic Arslan released all the crusaders captured during the battle at Antalya Castle. All these examples of humane and noble behavior are in fact the victory of the sublime spirit.

The enormous army of Mehmed II (the Conqueror) owed its success to the power of faith and the spirit. Mehmed II never relied on physical power; rather, he represented spiritual power as well as his military genius. Otherwise, his entry to Istanbul would have been no different than Caesar’s entry into Rome; but Mehmed II entered the capital of Byzantium in a manner of forgiveness, tolerance and justice just like Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, upon the conquest of Mecca.

Selim I regarded the world as too small for two rulers. He was truly victorious, not when he crowned some kings and dethroned others, but when he entered the capital in silence while its people were asleep so as to avoid their enthusiastic welcome and applause for his victories. He was also victorious when he ordered that the robe which had been spattered with mud by the horse of his teacher be draped over his coffin because it had been honored. The Roman commander Cato was victorious and made a place for himself in his people’s memory, not when he defeated the Carthaginians, but when he handed his horse and command over to the Roman Emperor, saying, “I fought to serve my nation. Now my duty is fulfilled, I am going back to my village.” And all the while his army was entering Carthage, the capital city of Rome’s enemy and rival, in triumph.

To transcend selfishness

Sacrificing one’s enjoyment of worldly pleasures has the same significance for human progress as the roots of a tree have for its growth. Just as a tree grows sound and strong in direct relation to the soundness and strength of its roots, so too a human being grows to perfection while striving to free himself or herself from selfishness and instead to live only for others.

We must look at history in order to find examples of real heroes since it is full of stories of great individuals. For instance, history tells us of the caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab, whom it finds carrying a sack of flour in public as soon as he felt a little pride in his heart. We have such heroes who effectively conducted armies and ruled countries during the day while they spent the night in remembrance of God. Those fortunate ones able to maintain a spiritual life no matter what their duties always appeared within the same tradition.

It is essential for an individual to overcome the carnal self. The idea of the “greater jihad” or “struggle against the carnal self” is the starting point of this struggle which gradually affects all the conduct of human beings. This idea also teaches the person how to become invincible against the self. Only those who have attained a victorious spirit can dominate all types of materialistic power in the Universe. In contrast, those who are captured by the self are liable to defeat and regarded as miserable even if they conquer the world. Therefore, the heroes we have mentioned here are different than others. Indeed, real heroes and victorious commanders attained triumph because of the victory of the spirit in their very selves.

To conclude, those who are deprived of sublime ideals and who cannot overcome their personal pleasures cannot be called victorious even if they conquer the entire world. In this case, their temporary success unfortunately results in their everlasting defeat. The only way to transform possible defeats into eternal victories is to attain the victory of the spirit. The crowned heads of the future will be those fortunate ones who have attained felicity through victories of the spirit.

The fifth branch is that of love and fear, worship and imitation of the Prophet. The addressee is first Nursi’s own soul, and secondly “his friend who loves the worldly life.” In the first statement, Nursi wants to direct the love of humans to Almighty God, who deserves the utmost love.

“Love is the universe’s raison d’tre, the bond between all things, the light and life of existence. Since we are the most comprehensive fruit of existence, a love so overflowing that it can invade the universe has been included in that fruit’s heart (its seed or core). One who deserves such an infinite love can only be one with infinite perfection”;¹ this is God.

According to Nursi, human nature has been endowed with two tools: love and fear. Both of these senses inevitably will be directed to the Creator or the created. Fear of the created or blind love of the created are both dreadful calamities according to Nursi; because people become afraid of people and created things that do not show mercy toward them. As for a love of creatures, Nursi explains that many of them do not understand love and do not acknowledge us. One may love a beautiful panorama, but the panorama does not acknowledge a person; one may love the stars of night, but the stars do not acknowledge a person. Many of these beloveds leave us without ever saying goodbye, like our youth or wealth-either they leave us, or we leave them.

According to Nursi, ninety-nine percent of lovers complain about their beloved. The reason for this is that the inner heart is a mirror of God, the Self-Sufficient Who needs no one and Whom everyone else needs. And the heart can only be satisfied with His love. After mentioning this, he makes his point as follows: “So turn your fear and love toward such a One so that your fear will be a pleasant humility and your love a happiness free of humiliation.”

For Nursi, to fear God means to take refuge in his mercy. Fear is a motivator that throws a person on God’s mercy just as a child, when threatened, takes refuge in the arms of their mother. “. . . maternal care and compassion for all living beings is only a ray from His Compassion.” If fear of God is so joyful, then how does the love of God compare? There is great joyfulness in the love of God. For Nursi, even the love of creatures is joyful since it is for His sake. “Only when you can assign that love to its rightful owner can you love, for His sake and as mirrors to Him, all things without pain or trouble. Such love must not be assigned directly to existence for the sake of existence itself. Otherwise, while being a most pleasurable Divine grace, this love will become a most painful ailment.”

According to Nursi, the human soul is prone to love itself above everyone and everything else. In fact, it should not do so; the soul does not deserve such a love, as it is not the source of the beauty of the universe. “Your intense self-love is nothing but your innate love for His ‘Essence’, which you unconsciously carry in yourself and wrongly appropriate for your self. Tear apart the ‘I’ in yourself and show the ‘He’.” Underneath your ego you will find God. “All the love you divide among other beings is nothing but the love implanted in your being for Him.”

For Nursi, the whole beauty of paradise, with all varieties of beauty, is the result of such a love from Him. “However, the universe cannot compensate for even one particular manifestation of His love. Given this, listen and obey the following eternal decree, which the Eternal, Beloved One made His beloved (Prophet Muhammad) declare: If you really love God, follow me [so] that God may love you (3:31).”

Although early Islamic mystics totally rejected love for the world, Nursi found a new way of interpreting the concept of love toward the world. He says, “The world has three faces.” The first two faces of the world are admirable and desirable. The first states that the world is a place where God’s names are reflected. The world is a place where a believer can contemplate them. The world is a fair for the exhibition of God’s names. From this perspective, the world is desirable. One has to think in order to understand God in this world.

The second state of the world, according to Nursi, can be understood by the analogy that the world is a field for the afterlife. This face is also desirable, since individuals must sow in order to reap for the afterlife. Without this world, there would be no results for actions in the afterlife. There would be no place to sow, and thus no fruit. By making such distinctions, Nursi gave a new interpretation of love toward the worldly life.

The third face of the world is the one that the Sufism avoids. This face, Nursi said, is the world as a place of entertainment for those who indulge in worldly desires. This is the face which all Sufis reject. By generalization, it is understood that all parts of the world were not desirable, and thus people generally chose to leave the world. People should not connect their hearts to this world. “It is necessary to abandon the world heartily, not physically.” People have to abandon the world from the heart, not the limbs. Individuals should not abandon their studies or other aspects that are necessary in this world for this life.

One said, “I love my life, I love my youth, I love spring, I love this world, I love all beautiful things. How can I leave all of these things for God?” Nursi says, in answer to this question, “However involuntary loving is, you can direct it to a certain object. For example, by convincing yourself that something beloved is ugly, or an obstacle to or only a mirror for an object worthy of true love, this feeling of love can be diverted to the true object of love.” Nursi thus says, “I do not tell you not to love what you have enumerated, but I tell you to love them in the name of God, and in the name of the love of God. Love the beautiful fruit as a bounty from God, the Merciful and Compassionate One. When you love this, you love the Merciful and the Giver of the Bounties, al-Mun’im. This love is a collective thankfulness. To love these things is good. Love your mother and father, because they helped you when you were young. When you love them in the name of God, your love for them, in fact, is love for God. When your parents are old, you love them more; thus one loves for the sake of God. Love your children in the name of God, as they are gifts from God. Be patient if they die, and do not be without hope; you should say that they were a gift from my Lord to me, and they were His creatures. . . He took them to a better place. If I had one share in them, He had a thousand shares.” It is thus important to submit to the will of God. Nursi says, “Life is the most beautiful bounty that God has given you. When you love your life, you should know that this life is a gift from God, and you love it in the name of God. Loving your spouse is a gift, and your love should not be based on apparent beauty, because when they are old, that beauty will not last. Love should not be based on physical beauty, but on spiritual beauty, or ethical beauty. This beauty continues to the end of life. The criterion of your love for them for the sake of God is that when they lose their physical beauty, they will need you more, and you will continue in your love for them.”

In this way, the world is a reflection of God, and by loving the world, one will be led to loving God. Nursi concludes this concept with the following statement, “Love the world and what is in it, with mana-i harfi;² that is to love it not for itself, but for God, and to say how beautifully it has been created, not how beautiful it is. Do not put the love of anything in the depths of your heart, because the innermost heart is the mirror of God, and it belongs to Him.” Nursi ends with this prayer, “O Lord, bestow upon us your love, and the love of things that make us close to you.”

Nursi also speaks of ubudiyya, or worship of God. According to him, when people pray they do not pray for future rewards, because as humans we have been given our reward. “Oh my soul, worship is not the beginning of future bounties; it is the result of previous ones. Yes, we have already received our wages. Accordingly, we are asked to worship and serve.”

Nursi says that our individual existence is a bounty, and being a human is another bounty-existence is pure goodness compared to non-existence. Food is also a bounty from God prepared for the needs of our stomach. The created world is another bounty which is adored through our eyes and ears. After mentioning this, Nursi says, “Oh my soul, you have already received this wage. You are asked to fulfill worship, which is joyful and easy for the body. Despite that, you are lazy. Even if you perform some kind of worship, you ask for something more, as if the previous bounties were not enough. And you even complain, asking why your prayer has not been accepted. Yes, your duty is not to complain, but to continue praying. Almighty God gives you Paradise and eternal bliss merely as a result of His Grace and Mercy. You constantly take refuge in His Mercy and Grace. Trust in Him and listen to His divine command. ‘Say, Oh Muhammad, let them be happy for what God has given them through His Grace and Mercy. That is better than what they have collected’” (10:58).

Nursi goes on to say that the one person’s worship is not enough to repay the bounties of God. Nursi quotes a saying of the Prophet, “the intention of a believer is higher than their action,” which means that, by performing an action, an individual may have a limited amount of worship, but by making an intention one can have a limitless amount of worship. When a person says in their daily prayers “O Lord, to you alone we worship and to you alone we ask for help,” they introduce the worship of all creatures to God. This makes the amount of worship limitless and makes them the representative of all creatures speaking and presenting their worship to God. Nursi refers to this statement, saying “O Lord, we glorify you with the glorification of all your creatures.”

Nursi finishes this section by restating the importance of love for God and not for the universe. He says, “If a human is deceived by indulging in the world of multiplicity through the love of the world and is drowned, they will most certainly suffer unlimited loss. They will execute themselves collectively. If humans raise their heads and listen to the language of the Qur’an through the ears of the heart and direct themselves to unity, they then can ascend the ladder of worship, approaching the throne of perfection and then can become an eternal human.”

Nursi believes that there are two paths in front of all individuals. On one path they can use this capacity of love for transient things and, in the end, will certainly lose. On the other path, they will be aware of their importance and their unlimited capacity of love and goodness and, being a candidate of eternal bliss, they will successfully, through their trust in God, gain it.

Finally, Nursi refers to Prophet Abraham’s story, as narrated in the Qur’an. In order to make his people see the truth, when he sees a star he says: “This is my lord (according to your claims).” When the star sets (fades), he says “I do not love those that set.” When he sees the Moon, he says “This is my lord (according to your claims).” When he finds it fading, it becomes obvious that it cannot be his lord. When he sees the Sun, he says “This is my lord; this is larger.” When it sets, he says “O, my people, I am innocent of what you associate (with God).” The Qur’an speaks of his famous statement, “I do not love those that set” (6:76). Nursi says, referring to this story, “O my soul, since the truth is this, and since you are from the nation of Abraham, peace be upon him, be like Abraham and say that I do not love those that set and turn your face to the eternal Beloved.”

Footnotes 

1. The quotes in this article are taken from the Turkish Sozler by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (Nesil Yayinlari, Istanbul: 1996) v. I, pp. 156-60; 292-93. For the English translation of the book see The Words, Nursi, S., Kaynak, Izmir:1997
2. Nursi refers to a grammatical rule in the Arabic lan- guage which indicates that a letter by itself has no meaning. In order to have a meaning it has to rely on something else. 

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi reveals the beauty and purposes behind these seemingly ugly events in the “twenty-fifth flash”¹ with twenty-five remedies. Almost every remedy starts with a warning sentence advising “patience and thankfulness”; the reason for this is that a person who tries to understand everything without a strong belief in God and in the Hereafter feels impatient and will often complain. At first sight, the statement “An illness is not a malady; it is a cure” strikes almost everyone as paradoxical. Life is the most important asset that one has in this life, and it has a purpose. Life will pass very quickly in ease and heedlessness without bearing any fruit; illnesses and calamities slow time down, and give room for life to yield its fruit. This helps prevent us from wasting our lives.

To show a given situation in all its clarity Nursi considers all possible aspects of it. When we are ill or struck by a calamity we implicitly assume that a right has been taken from us; yet it is at this difficult time that we are asked to be patient and think of the positive side of what has happened. However, this is not all. When the situation is considered from a more fundamental point of view, it becomes clear that a person has no right to complain if they truly understand that they are not even the owner of their own selves:

“It is your duty not to complain, but to offer thanks and be patient. For your body, organs, and faculties are not your property. You did not make them and you did not buy them from other workshops. That means they are the property of another. Their owner has disposal over His property as He wishes.”

The purpose of the above statement is not to close the matter at this point, leaving no room for further discussion, but to make it clear that, there is no justification for any complaint and the All-Compassionate God will reward those moments of illness and tragedy lived in tranquility and patience, as Nursi states:

“Through the calamity of good health, some of your fellows become neglectful, giving up the five daily prayers, not thinking of the grave, and forgetting God Almighty. For the superficial pleasure of a brief hour of this worldly life, they shake and damage a never-ending, eternal life, even destroying it. Through illness you see the grave, which you will, in any event, enter, and the dwellings of the Hereafter beyond it, and you act in accordance with these. That means that for you, illness is good health, while for some of your peers good health is an illness…”

Ironically, the passing of pain is a pleasure, and the passing of pleasures is a discomfort, a constant sorrow left in the spirit. Even some pleasures that only last a day or a few minutes will sometimes cause a suffering that lasts years. It is not difficult to find an example of this; the use of drugs is an obvious parallel. The purpose in this life is to know our Creator and to prepare ourselves for an Eternal Hereafter, yet there are many distractions on the path. Illness gives us a warning: “Your body is not composed of stone and iron; it is made up of various materials which are always inclined to decay. Stop being proud, understand your impotence, recognize your Owner, know your duties, and learn why you came to this world!” This is what is secretly declared to the heart.

Everything is understood by its opposite. Light would not be known if there was no darkness. “If there was no thirst, there would be no pleasure in drinking water.” And as for illness, Nursi gives the following beautiful comparison: “If there was not this illness in your head, or in your hand, or stomach, would you have perceived the pleasurable and enjoyable Divine bounty of the good health of your head, hand, or stomach, and offered thanks? For sure, not only would you not have offered thanks for it, you would not have even thought of it! You would have unconsciously spent that good health on heedlessness, and perhaps even on dissipation.”

The All-Compassionate God from His mercy forgives the sins of the ill believer; this can be found in a authentic hadith: “As ripe fruit falls from the tree that is shaken, so too do the sins of a believer fall with his shaking in illness.”² What can be better news for a believer than this? With patience and by not complaining, one can transform a passing illness into everlasting health. Said Nursi gives the most fundamental and important cure: “Thus, the first thing you have to do is to search for the cure of belief, which is a healing remedy that is sure for the innumerable illnesses of that infinitely wounded and ill, yet extensive immaterial being of yours; you have to correct your beliefs, and the shortest way of finding such a cure is to recognize the power and mercy of the All-Powerful One of Glory by means of the window of your weakness and impotence; this has been shown you from behind the curtain of heedlessness, rent by your physical illness.”

Death plays the main role in causing pain, fear, and anxiety, as this is where illness may lead. Hear Said Nursi as he warns: “So know firstly and believe firmly that the appointed hour is determined and does not change. Those weeping beside the grievously ill and those in perfect health have died, while the grievously ill have been cured.” Moreover, for a believer, death is not a terrifying end; rather, as clearly shown through magnificent analogies in Nursi’s other masterpiece The Words, death is: “…to be discharged from the burdensome duties of life. And for them it is a rest from worship, which is the instruction and training in the arena of trial of this world. It is also a means rejoining friends and relations, ninety-nine out of a hundred of whom have already departed for the next world.”

The fifteenth remedy is of special importance, because it takes the whole issue to a different platform and shifts the perspective from being focused on merely being “patient and thankful” to establishing the social status of those who are ill and in hardship. The following hadith illustrates this: “Those afflicted with the severest trials are the prophets, then the saints and those like them.”³ That is, “Those most afflicted with tribulations and difficulties are the best of men, the most perfect.” In the same remedy, Nursi also mentions that some illnesses that cause death are a type of martyrdom.

The duty of the people around those who are ill is to look after them with compassion, and to visit them without being a burden. These hard times not only produce all the rewards mentioned above for the person who lives through them, but for the believer around them if they know their responsibilities: “To please an ill person’s heart and console him is like giving alms. Fortunate is the person who pleases the easily touched hearts of the father and mother at the time of illness, and who receives their prayer.”

All the remedies that Said Nursi proposes are focused around one issue, which is a strong belief in God, and the Hereafter. This belief shows its effect when one carries out one’s religious obligations as much as possible. This is a belief that will save a person from heedlessness and ignorance, and that will prepare them for the appointed time, which is a door to the eternal life; a belief that will transform the ugly faces of illnesses and calamities to the beautiful faces of eternal life in the gardens of Paradise.

Footnotes

1. The quotes are taken from, The Flashes Collection by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Sozler Publication, Istanbul 1995, pg 266-285
2. Bukhari, Mardha 1,2,13; Muslim, Birr 45, Darimi Riqaq 57.
3. Bukhari, Mardha 3; Tirmidhi, Zuhd 57

This world is a unique place that exhibits the essence, meaning and material of the cosmos; a rich page that contains various examples of creatures and events; a pleasant habitat for human beings and Jinn (a species of invisible beings mentioned in the Qur’an with a free will like human beings), and also a rehearsal ground for the Hereafter. Both good and bad deeds grow in its bosom, and their fruits are sent to the Hereafter.

In this respect, this world is a dwelling and a factory, as well as being a market open to the Hereafter. Seeds are both grown and harvested here in this world; the necessary food for the long journey to the Hereafter is prepared here; the shining ornaments of Paradise and the goods that are to be exhibited at the markets of the Hereafter are manufactured here in this very world. They are to be displayed to all that is created and later to be offered to the believers in their eternal dwellings. This world is like a rainforest watered with the rains of Mercy and touched by the breezes of Compassion; it is a screen where the magnificence and the glory of the Hereafter are projected. We observe the light of the Hereafter that diffuses through this screen, in the winter-spring cycle we remember death. Every night as an individual, every winter as a group we die, and every morning and spring, we come alive. This cycle continues non-stop and reminds us of eternal life.

In this world sometimes evil resides next to beauty, bad deeds among good ones, and darkness behind light and so on. However, for those who always see the good and think of the good, the positive aspects are always stronger, longer lasting, more desirable, and more attractive. On the other hand, the unattractive aspects that displease us are beneficial in their results and other more subtle aspects. In fact these types of things and events are the sources of good deeds through inspiring our feelings in unusual ways, sharpening our intentions and ambitions, and promising surprises to our free will. This can be illustrated through the elements that are destructive or combustive by themselves, but which in different combinations are sources of life. Hence, through patience, submission and obedience negatives can be turned into positives.

Compared to the heavenly bodies and the universe, and for our limitless ambitions, the world that we live on is small; however, it is the heart of everything. It is just a dot compared to the universe but it is more valuable than the galaxies. It is like a droplet compared to everything that exists and drifts in ether, but such a droplet that it is more valuable than everything combined in this universe. The world is the unique host of the human being who has been created as a complete and transparent mirror of the Divine Names and Attributes, and in addition to being a host, it acts like a ramp that enables the human being leap toward the Hereafter.

Those believing souls who are capable of considering the location and the position of the world with its place and importance before God can acquire oceans as wide as the universe from this droplet; possess the stars and the sun through this miniature universe; transform the limited time spent on it into an eternal life time. All of these are possible, if all the abilities entrusted to or hidden in the essence of the human being are used rightly without being squandered.

This is a mortal world, a temporary resting place which the guests leave when their appointed times are come. Entering after those who leave are the newcomers. Like a hotel, it is in a constant cycle of departing and arriving guests. The newcomers come to this world as if joining the army to do obligatory service, and those departing return their homeland with a license for their eternal dwellings. Since the beginning of humanity both arrivals and departures have continued. Nobody can stop any of them. Thus, for those unfortunates who do not know the purpose of their arrival in this world, tragic moments follow the joyful seconds of laughter; for a glimpse of hope they are surrounded by despair.

On the other hand, there exists a totally different perspective for those who are believers. They know Who has sent them, and they try to stay close to Him, and since they know their destination they are constantly pursuing ways to make their destination pleasant. This comforting perspective of relating every event and everything to Him transforms everything that is contained in the universe, changing its shape, color and meaning; it becomes sweet, attractive, and bright; it becomes light and diffuses into the heart. From this point of view, the world is a ship, a plane whose destination is eternity and eternal happiness for its passengers; a rich library with millions and billions of books; an exhibition which thrills everybody who looks at it. It transforms into a clear language that calls to Him.

In reality, for those who can see with the light of faith, all these beauties folded into one another are only clear signs of His Divine Being, and the human being is an interpreter who can read and understand those signs. The matter shows the path to the secrets beyond the seen to those believers who can filter events through intellect, consciousness, and feelings within a balance. Through time divine secrets diffuse into their souls, and their hearts become observatories of the Divine Attributes. In this way, the torments originating from not knowing the Creator are torn away and they disappear; light covers all.

Whenever we look at existence from this global perspective, we start to feel that the secrets of the beyond fill our souls, and turn our attentions toward the Unseen. At this moment we transform into a dervish filled with awe and admiration; in such harmony with both the world and the Hereafter, matter and spirit, reality and dream that in all of these we hear the poetry of the adventures of nature and humanity. We hear them and fall into a state of wonder.

There is such harmony and order in everything that we cannot help but ask the question, “Is it possible for this order and harmony to be attributed to the spirit in all of these things, if there is such a spirit?” whenever we look at them with an observing eye. Whether everything has a spirit, or a guardian angel or not, we cannot deny their close relationships among themselves and to us, and we feel as if they are trying to say something to us. We start to listen to their silent songs, more eloquent than the most exquisite symphonies; we hold our breaths before their mute, deep conversations with their subtleties; we let our feelings and thoughts into this limitless field. Then everything becomes a messenger that reminds us of something, and it becomes our task to interpret and understand these messages and act accordingly.

Clearly, through the perspective of faith, the whole of creation and all events seem so familiar that we think of them as a friend, a comrade, and we look at them with compassion, and on their face we see that everybody is treated with compassion and we thank the Creator with all our hearts.

At first sight some things may seem rude, cruel, and hidden to us but when we fix our sight with faith, they immediately transform and soften, become gentle and clear and very close friends.

Some are always smiling, like people with pleasant faces and warm manners and they welcome everybody. It is enough just to look at them and they open their hearts to you instantly.

Like smiling children that play joyfully, some of them move with happiness, they spread happiness in their surroundings and they generate an atmosphere of fun around them.

Some, with all their extraordinary ornaments and decorations, make you live unforgettable moments and say to you: “Come again!” And some of them are so generous, beyond imagination, in the dishes they offer to you that they never want you to leave their tables.

Some may not always be warm and sweet. However, if they hurt your hand with a thorn, they never forget to offer a rose to compensate.

Indeed everything that we see and know stands before us with respect, as the angels did before Adam, peace be upon him, and indicate that they are at our disposal with all of their uses and purposes, and open up the secrets they bear. They are always in a state of showing, pointing out, and indicating Him, such that one feels as if one is in the corridors of Paradise. Whenever we observe them with some insight and knowledge, our feelings blend with nature, we see everything as if painted with the colors of His Beautiful Names and Attributes, we feel as if everything is turning into sweet poetry, and we fall into ecstasy.

In such admiration we feel the whole of existence with a loving heart, and we walk on this path of life toward a destination of eternal happiness and joy, one droplet of whose happiness is greater than all of the joys of this world combined, but not to a material or worldly destination. We feel those same feelings in our hearts that the saints have felt and as the people in Paradise will say, we also utter, “All thanks are to God Who removes all the grief and anxiety from us. Thanks to God Who has given us the best dwelling. For us there is no more grief and sorrow.”

Besides all of these beautiful, Paradise-like aspects of this world, there are sides that appeal to our carnal selves and are ugly and unpleasant. We have neither mentioned any of these aspects of the world, nor wished to, since we stated at the very beginning that this is from a believer’s point of view.

Editor’s note:The lead article in July-September 2004 issue “Jalaladdin al-Rumi” was originally written as the foreword for Fundamentals of Rumi’s Thought: A Mevlevi Sufi Perspective by Sefik Can, (published August 04). We are thankful to Sefik Can and Gulen for giving us permission to publish it in The Fountain.

Eternal life comes after death and death follows this life, just as day replaces night, spring follows winter, and autumn takes the place of summer. The Creator, Who governs everything and creates the most beautiful and intricate beings out of the basest, seemingly futile materials, does nothing in vain.

In order for us to enjoy the eternal life, therefore, first we must go through death. It is not an annihilation or a total extinction into a void, rather it is a transformation, a change of place, state, and dimension.

Considering the obligations one has to carry and the burdens that must be endured over the course of one’s life, death is the completion of a mission and a release from all of life’s burdens, too. It discharges us from the hardships of worldly life, which become more difficult to endure with the onset of old age and illnesses.

Remembering where we all came from, death is no more than a return to our own essence and truth. It is, therefore, a place to meet our friends who preceded us in the journey to the place where most of our friends have already gone. There, we will enjoy the company of our loved ones forever.

In view of all of these and the fact that death is the beginning of a new life in which we are no longer mortal, death is as desirable as life itself.

Despite all these positive qualities of death, those who cannot grasp its meaning thoroughly always see death as a horrifying event and compose melancholic odes to it. To those who can only see its horrifying superficial meaning, death is the executioner, a bottomless pit, and a dark passage into the void.

It is true that death affects our minds and touches those feelings in us that make us human, since it is a separation from life and the living. It is impossible to deny such an influence or to silence the heart in the face of death. It arouses a massive turmoil in our hearts and minds, but belief in resurrection causes all such sorrows to be forgotten; this is the promise of a kingdom to someone who has lost everything, or an assurance that one is about to be handed eternal life and happiness.

When believers begin to experience death, the beauties and the rewards of Heaven appear before them. Since they consider death as a release from life’s burdens and hardships and they know that everything continues to exist in other realms in a different form and identity, they view death as an advancement and acquisition of a higher essence and nature.

Because every process of advancement and perfection must pass through certain stages, spiritual progress and the subsequent advancement to higher levels also can only come through trials and purifications. For example, crude ores must perish in the purifying furnace before they yield pure metal. Oxygen and hydrogen atoms must die in their separate identities to be reborn as water, a substance vital for life. Every particle that appears to be moving eagerly toward its own apparent extinction is actually running toward the perfection prescribed for it.

All these analogies allude to the fact that while death appears to be an end, a passing into extinction, in reality it is a passing into a higher mode of being.

Each creature in this life presents itself in a unique parade before the presence of the One Who gave it existence. Each being acts out its role and shows its skills. In this respect, death is the time for a being to resign and give over to its successors. As the parade ends for one being it starts for another; this keeps the parade ground from being monotonous and refreshes the scene with new beings. The freshness, liveliness, and the diversity seen in creation are the results of these comings and goings; these should not be seen as being merely a utilitarian way to make room for new generations.

Another aspect of death is that it teaches us silently that nothing is self-existent or has permanence. It constantly reminds us not to long for ephemeral pleasures and to focus on the path that will take us to eternal happiness. Whatever or whoever ensnares our hearts will leave us one day. This causes us to yearn for an eternal being to love and to be loved by. Such a yearning is the first stage of moving toward eternity, and death initiates this desire in our hearts.

The best way of appreciating the existence and value of many things is to think frequently of them as being otherwise, i.e. to think about their non-existence. If we ask ourselves what would have happened if there was no death for the living in this life, then the numerous answers that come to mind justify the necessity of the existence of death.

If there was no death for the living, then the insect populations, populations that multiply faster than many other species, would have covered the earth by now, and it would be extremely difficult and frightening for human beings to find their way through this flood of creatures. It would be extremely difficult to see, in many parts of the world, the fascinating beauties of the earth through the enormous ivy plants that would surround us. Even such simple examples suffice to help us see what a great blessing death is and a great wisdom there is in allowing dead things to decompose.

In conclusion, death is one of the essential elements for sustaining the marvelous harmony and orderliness that prevail on the Earth. Our fear of death comes from our desire for eternity, but death is the very passage to the realms of eternal beauties. Life is but a glimpse of a long journey that has not even yet begun!